I Know What You Do Online…I Really Analyze It.

Every week I learn something new. I know a lot of people say that but this is really true for me in my social media class. This week we learned great amount about social media analytics. I retain the most of the information that I  come across by personal accounts I can have with them. If I can experience it or some how apply it to a real life situation.

One topic this week pertained to different businesses, companies, and universities that have social media command centers in their locations. I think with social media always on the incline with people trying to get involved this would be beneficial to that company. One of the ones that we saw in class that I liked the most was Oregon Quack Cave. Besides the obvious, the coolest name ever, the set up was very nice. The purpose of a social media command center is to obtain and watch all of the social media interaction your place receives around the clock, 24/7/365. These centers are equipped with flat screen tv monitors as well as computers to allow these analyst to do their best work. Social media commands centers are good for a number of reasons as well. One reason that command centers are beneficial is because they serve as a platform for a social media crisis plan. It also allows you to connect with key decision makers.

 

Another topic this week was about Strategic Listening. This one was topic I really tuned into because we recently did a paper on managing our online reputations. For that paper I really focused in on the content of what I was posting. With that being said we were able to get on site where we could see our activity and who our greatest influences were. With strategic listening analyst  create a plan for you to be able to keep the group of influencers that you have engaged as well as keep the door open to attracting more with all of the data that they collect.

I found all of this information to be interesting because it is amazing to see what you are really being perceived as out there. It is amazing what you can find on these social media analytic sites. I thought that I was a person that thought I knew all I needed to know, which was basically everything about social media, in reality this is completely foreign concept to me. Social media is one thing that is forever changing which I think makes it more interesting because you get to watch how it evolves and it keeps you update with the changes of the world. It is not only useful on a corportation setting but very useful and informational for personal use.

Security?!

 

What is the purpose of security? According to dictionary.com is means

/siˈkyo͝oritē/

Noun

1. The state of being free from danger or threat.
2. The safety of a state or organization against criminal activity such as terrorism, theft, or espionage: “national security”

Think about this for a second. You live in an apartment complex that is not the safest place in the world but defiantly is not the worst. Just like many other places of living each has been hit some type of crime in their time. Despite the crime that has happened before and the off again on again, if there is even any security you still live there and no drastic measures have been made. Then all of a sudden you get notice from the property management stating all the new changes in security they will be making. You don’ t think too much of it for one of two reasons. One reason being they have said this time and time before and still nothing had changed. They talked about getting security but nothing happened. Reason two, if they are actually serious about this, then this must be a big deal and this security that will  be enforced and legit.

Sad to say this is something that I am currently experiencing with my place of living, and those were my thoughts. With a recent spike in burglaries in our complex management decided it, it would be best to add the change. Not a problem on my behalf this will actually be good for where I live. When the new plan was being implemented it was a little rough, it cause major traffic in the front entrance but that soon died down. At the station located in the front of the complex and there is where you check in with the security guard. If you live at the residence and have the up to date parking pass they wave you right in. If you are not a resident then you must state which building you are going to and the name of the person that lives there. With those type of questions you would think there would be a computer system to check on the information to make sure it was correct, write down notes, take a picture something. None of that is taking place here. It is so simple to tell someone where you are headed and they remember exactly without making some sort of note. With our complex being a busy college place it is in a nice location for a decent amount of traffic in and out. What is the purpose of that?

Knowing that it is that easy to get past the security does not make me feel any safer about what has been happening in the area. Another question that I ask myself pertaining to this security is what time would you come in and leave? You would think that the reason for getting security is to protect the area more so in the most common time frame. Most of the theft would take place between 3 am and 6 am. There have been many times that I have returned late to my apartment and the security be gone during those hours. That seems pretty pointless to me. I guess these are things that just make sense to me, I can’t imagine a property own not being able to figure these things out.

Oh well we just have to roll with the punches.

 

XOXOXOX

Valentines Day!

Valentines Day is a holiday from what I learned in past years that is a love hate holiday…more people hate it rather than love it. More people dislike it for more than one reason but the underlying reason is because of being alone and not having anyone to share that day with. The thought really sucks when you think  about it like that. The thought of being alone is one that we lonely people wish not to have and the last thing that we need is for some holiday to remind us that we are alone. On the other hand this holiday is brilliant for stores and candy sales. This is yet another holiday in which people buy their loved ones something that they really want and like to show their appreciation and love for one another. This time of year they get to jack up the prices on, teddy bears, shoes and everything else that is super common on this day of loooove. Why do some people go all out for a day that some see as a pointless day?

First things first… where did the thought of Valentines Day even come from? Do people even know or care for that matter or has the way of the world just changed the meaning of every holiday by making it about material things? St. Valentine’s Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus.The most popular associated with Saint Valentine was that he was jailed for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians during his imprisonment. Legend states that before his execution he wrote a letter “from your Valentine” as a farewell. Awww isn’t that special. Unless you really do research on the history of valentines day you would never really know the origin or if all because you never here or see anything about this holiday. For most they see it as a day just like any other. Nothing really makes this day special. I asked a few people the same question, ” how do you feel about valentines day?” Most of the answers went something like this, ” I don’t see what is so special about this day, why should I show the person I love that I love them today by buying them a gift when that is something that I am supposed to do everyday.”  That statement came from both the single people and those involved with someone. Others gave chummy answers like, it just just nice to show that person in an even more special way today that you love them or care about them. Both are completely understand able. Now I had another question, Is Valentines Day more about the girl or the guy?

Personally, I thought that Valentines Day was more about the girl than the guy. Call me selfish but that is just what I thought. When I asked some of my friends this question they said a while ago it was mainly about the girl but now things are changing and it should be something like an even exchange. While guys might do more for the girl they are seeing but it is nice and makes your guy feel special to know that his happiness was something that you thought about. The slightest bit of appreciation that you can show to him will mean so much to him. I was shocked to find out that most people that I asked thought like that. Not only was that the answer but I even saw a lot of posts on instagram of different things girls were doing for their men. I learn something new everyday. Who do you think Valentines Day is for?!

The Most Info from Infographics!

I am not one for reading really long passages of information, especially when it does not have to be very long to begin with. I am one of those people  that is a very visual learner. The best and the most information that I can get is that from something visual that can do the same thing as a long passage of information. The topic of discussion in class this week was on infographics. After a guest speaker in class today I learned that there are more people out there like me. It has been tested and proven that most people stop paying attention to printed post after the firs 120 to 140 characters. With this new finding how is it that one would get the information they need from different companies? Infographics is the answer.

Infographics is the best way to get out different types of data as well as information in the most simplest form. With infographics you are able to put the most important information that you need as well add different tables that are needed to best show what it is that you are trying to have be seen by the desired audience. A lot goes into account when you are thinking about dealing with infograpics. You do not want to have too much text with your tables and other information because you then lose the attention of the audience. You also want to make sure to use colors that are going to add to your infographic not hinder in and take it away from your information

One of the most important parts to an infographic is making sure that it is creative. When you think of new and improved ways to get out infomation being creative is what is going to set you apart from the rest of the competition. You want to stay away from using only excel graphs. Another important tip that we learned pertaining to infographics is making sure that the information is easy to follow. When dealing with numbers and graphs you have to make sure that the information has a consistent flow and is easy to navigate  from one set of information to the next.

Not only is infograpics used to display information faster and easier and straight to the point but also because it allows the company that is using the infographic to discuss current trends from a timeline like perspective, while at the same time showing how fast it is growing.

I think that infographics is one of the best ways to display information now because we are a part of a culture that is now more than ever always on the move. With this culture always on the move simplicity and straight to the point is the way to go, and you get just that with the use of displaying information through infographics.

Below are examples of a bad infographic and a good infographic….can you tell why?

 

Privacy…or is it?

 

The topic of this week is privacy. When it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. how private do you think you actually are? In my opinion there is no real privacy, no matter what extremes you go to or the settings you try to fix on the social media sites there will never a real privacy. I say that because I feel as though nothing is sacred. You put things that you want  others to see on facebook, but what about your friends that have those embarrassing pictures of you from a party while in school? You did not post those pictures but your friends did and not that i out for the entire world to see. Also when you think about privacy you would think that what you say and what you post will be just for the people that you are friends with, but with the different sites that allow different companies to look into who you are without your permission. That is not by any means my definition of privacy. I would like to think that if I am taking the precautions that all of our parents, teachers, and friends warn us about that I would have no worries. As long as I know who is following me and who I am following I should be fine right?! Think again.

You have heard of the different institutions that have forced different student athletes to tell them their social media names and passwords to see what types of conversations they are having. Granted they are looking out for the best intrest in the student athlete but it is almost like they can not have a life of their own. It is bad enough that they are in the public eye as an athlete and they would like to have something that makes them feel somewhat normal and with all of “privacy” issues we face now it almost takes the fun away of even being on a social media site. We as a people should not put anything out there that we would not want our mothers or grandmothers to see but we should also be able to have fun and not feel stressed about having the time of our lives and it hurting us in the long run. This is strictly coming from a college students perspective. As a college student we are trying to have a good time as well as prepare for our future, within limits of course. I think that it would be unreal for a company to think that as a college student we would not drink and express our feelings. It was brought up in class that some companies will look at pictures of potential employees and 60% of the companies would drop the candidate if they were to see a picture with a drink in it over an individual that has no type of content like that, while the other 40% would by-pass it. The first thing that popped into my head was well maybe the people that they are looking at that have “no” content like that just might have deleted those pictures or somehow moved around the system. The way it seems now days is that you have to be perfect on social media while you’re young and I think that is unfair and unrealistic.

In my eyes nothing is private anymore, if they say privacy it is a total falsehood.

Just my thoughts,

 

Elle xoxo

Hello Hello

Hello there fellow bloggers,

 My name is Elle Smith and I am a senior at the University of Louisville and I am also on the dance team there (we are pretty good if I might say so myself). I was born and raised in Louisville but I must say that since I have been in college I have seen and experience Louisville ways like never before. Living down on the campus has been like living in a totally different state for me. I am constantly learning and experiencing new things about this place that I have lived in for almost 22 years. 

After my graduation,which is quickly approaching in December 2013, I plan on moving to a bigger city and getting into the world of Public Relations focusing mainly with sports and entertainment. I really like the aspect of images when it comes to PR. With the social media class that I am taking, which this blog is for, I am looking forward to learning what steps need to be taken to maintain a good image as well as what it takes to reconstruct and build a good image. I also enjoy social media as a whole and think that with this class it will give me more insight as to how companies are using social media and what is needed and not needed in the social media world.

As I learn more about the ins and outs of social media I will be sharing what I am learning as well as my thoughts on these topics with you all. Over the course of the next several months I see this blog as being an insight and application of what I am learning but also little by little showing different parts of me and an individual. Blogging is something that is new for me, so with this blog it will be a reflection of real thoughts and issues which I can express more than just a 140 character tweet. This will be a very interesting journey. Enjoy

Tata for now,

Elle