The World of Buisness Media & Technology

After completing modules 3 and 4 of Hootsuite, I learned how effective content can be developed and shared. Module 3 stressed the importance of aligning your social media strategy with your organizational goals. This is how organizations make sure that their social media content is effective. For example, the company I am working on is an accounting firm. Their organizational goals revolve around gaining more clients. In order for their social media content to be effective, they must attempt to accomplish this goal through their social media posts.

Along with aligning overall strategies, content strategies are also important. Following a content strategy helps the organization keep a cohesive story behind their brand. With every post following the same strategy, consumers won’t get mixed ideas about your brand. This also helps the company focus on their specific target market and understand what is performing well.

Content calendars are another tool for developing and sharing effective content. These calendars make sure that your company is consistent with their posting schedule on different platforms. It also makes sure that your posts are well thought out and intentional. A helpful aspect of a content calendar is that you can keep track of which posts performed well and which didn’t. This helps your company tailor their content to be more engaging with their followers. 

The strategies that you mentioned are very helpful. The small business that I've been working with is wanting to gain more customers and as a local business become more well known in the community. Using social media would be very helpful using these strategies with less confusion and more direct to get the information to the community.

Great post!

Content and it’s development is an extremely important part of any social organization’s goals and it would be very beneficial to plan and strategize on how that content is disseminated. In the content development stage, spending time on what information should be delivered to have as much of an impact on a target audience should be step one. This requires sitting down and taking into consideration all the communication or brand resources that are at the disposal of an organization and decide which is the most effective in how it is presented and if the target audience will be motivated to take action off of it. On that same note, once good content is selected and chosen to use, it is just as equally important to try and see how that content should be delivered based on how it is delivered before and new ways to deliver it so it becomes more effective.

Content delivery obviously varies depending on the medium which is being used to deliver it. There could be two identical messages but the way to go about sharing them using Twitter and Facebook is different. When delivering content certain strategies can be used to keep posts interesting and interactive. Visual content that uses basic design principles’ is an easy way to draw in a target audience and tap into the creative potential of an organization. Varying content in terms of what it includes such as questions, polls or even surveys could also be built on to increase user engagement and allows for interfacing with customers.

Becoming a social organization has everything to do with learning and using content development and delivery strategies. There are so many companies and organizations attempting to grab for everyone’s attention and it’s important to research and use the best tactics to develop captivating content and learn how to use it effectively. The world changes so fast these days and the landscape of social content and media is becoming more and more enhanced and intricate. It’s much easier to be left in the dust if an organization isn’t invested in improving their content delivery and messages.

I agree with how fast the world we are in now moves. New trends start all the time. Being a social organization it's important to keep up with the trends and maybe not all will apply to the company but knowing the trends that may apply if helpful for success.

Great post!

Hello Everyone,

While completing chapters four and five in the Social Organization this week I was able to expand my knowledge on many concepts related to community building. I was able to take a deeper dive into how to form a vision for community collaboration and how to develop a strategic approach to community collaboration. I wasn’t aware of the importance of building your community and how it has such a significant impact on different organizations. Both chapters had tons of valuable and relevant information within them that will be able to apply to my client, Central Marketing Society.

After reading chapters four and five in the Social Organization I was able to learn more about effective principles on online community building with social media. It’s super important for organizations to interact and engage with their community as this helps their social media presence. My biggest takeaway from Chapter Four was the ‘Six F’ Model of Attitudes Toward Social Media. The six attitudes play a huge part in the success of your organization’s collaboration efforts. The ‘Six F’ model consists of folly, fearful, flippant, formulating, forging, and fusing. Each of these different attitudes has unique characteristics and can help organizations build their community and social media presence. My biggest takeaway from Chapter Five was the ‘No, Go, Grow’ model that is related to empowering community collaboration. The model is a way of systemically determining if and how a community collaboration effort should move forward. All three parts of the model help organizations have a deeper understanding of how their collaboration will work with the community.

After completing the Hootsuite/Podium module four I was able to learn more about concepts related to growing an online community. My biggest takeaway from the Hootsuite module this week was that it’s crucial to utilize different social media channels in different ways. All social media channels have different and unique ways for people to engage and interact with their community. It was awesome being able to take a deeper dive into the popular social media channels that are currently in our lives. I was able to apply what I’ve read and put that towards my recommendations that I have for Central Marketing Society. The main social media channels that Central Marketing Society uses consist of Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. The Hootsuite module covered different features that can be used to interact and engage with your community and network. These principles apply to Central Marketing Society because I will be implementing all of these unique features within their social media channels. The organization hasn’t been utilizing all of these features which could help them with recruiting potential members and gaining traffic to their social media platform.

Thank you,

I completely agree with how much this week has opened to my eyes to how important communication and engagement is. Learning how the different apps advertising was interesting to learn as well. If help further verify what I recommend for my client project.

Great post!

Reason 1: Algorithms

My opinion of algorithms are they are not very beneficial in the ways that matter most. As stated in the article “instead of promoting the free flow and exchange of ideas that is necessary for a healthy democracy, the personalization of content has created filter bubbles that limit information flows and perpetuate bias.” I think it is important for businesses and more importantly people to be aware of the fact that algorithms and how they are formed are not a result of human activity, instead they are created by machine learning models. These models improve and get better at reading us every day. Instead of humans selecting information and news that they deem important for the public to know and giving it to us, complex algorithms take on the role of that job and dictates what we see and what we don’t. I would say we can respond to these conditions by realizing that not everything we see is true and not to take everything we see online serious unless we have other sources of proof as well.

Reason 2: Advertising

This section reminded me a lot of the Social Dilemma video that we watched last week. As crazy as this sounds, I have never even thought about why social media is free before watching that video. I don’t agree with how social media platforms are built. As stated in the article we are “paying with our personal information”. This allows for fake news to go viral and turn into a bunch of clickbait. Individuals and businesses should be aware that these social sites are built around collecting their personal information and it is being strategically used to target users with manipulative messages. We should respond to this in the same way as we respond to algorithms. Don’t believe everything you see online.

Reason 3: Exposure

The third reason given as to why junk news spreads so quickly is due to exposure. What individuals are exposed to on the internet on a daily basis often is in line with their personal preferences. As stated in the article “As a result, voters do not get a representative, balanced, or accurate selection of news and information during an election, nor is the distribution of important information randomly distributed across a voting population.” As a result businesses and individuals should make notice to the fact that during times when there are things like elections individuals are only being shown advertisements/ posts that are in line with their pre-existing beliefs. Individuals should respond to this by voluntarily looking for new information that doesn’t necessarily agree with their current perspectives and preferences in order to be informed about more than just what they prefer to see.

Overall, algorithms, advertisements, and exposure should be regulated by humans as well and not just machine operated. They have affected individuals and society as a whole more than any of us even realize. Individuals should be aware of the power that these three tactics have in determining what they see on social media on a daily basis. They should respond by not being so close minded when it comes to their beliefs and what they see on social media. Instead they should look beyond their current perspectives and preferences and expose themselves to information that is new and challenges their current beliefs.

Resources

Howard, P. (2018, March 26). Three reasons junk news spreads so quickly across social media. Oxford Internet Institute. Retrieved November 18, 2021, from https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/blog/three-reasons-junk-news-spreads-so-quickly-across-social-media/.

I agree that having the algorithms be controlled by a machine is not healthy for the users. Changing social media in a way of making it our decision in what we want to learn more of is ideal for us all. Like you mentioned that you never thought about why social media is free I can relate to it. If we can possible benefit so much off of social media why is it free? The video last week when he stated "If the product is free you are the product." Something to that extent really opened my eyes to how social media works. Change in the algorithm or perspective of the users would be very beneficial to mental health, how to use social media, and many more!\

I think the most important qualities a social media consultant should have come down to three things: Social knowledge, adaptability, and a open mind. I believe that social knowledge is important because in order to be successful on and with social media you have to be able to know what is popular and what is not and then act on it. By doing this you are not only staying in the loop but are more likely to gain a following by staying with the trends. Adaptability in social media is what sets apart a short career or a long career, as well as short and long term success. If you are a one hit wonder or stay with your old ways when the times and trends are changing you will lose your following, you have to stay on top of your game and adapt with the media. Finally an open mind, if you go into social media and think that you way is the only way you will go no where you have to learn from others and from your success and failure and be open to change. 

Social media can be very useful as to opening career paths and new doors. Like you mentioned something about having an open mind. I would agree that social media helps you learn more about new topics or more in depth on something that you may already love. I know that with watching some live streams of creators or watching posts of educational platforms I've learned quite a bit from. With TikTok I have learned many ways to lead a healthy lifestyle in many forms with cleaning, working out, new recipes, and many other categories. Since it is a big platform recently I have learned a lot from different creators.

After watching the instructors lecture and the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma I was in a lot of shock. Big data and algorithms are such powerful tools because they are constantly evolving and getting bigger and smarter. Everything from what image you stop to look at on your news feed to how long you look at the image is tracked. Then, the data that they keep from tracking our every move is used to build models of each of us in order to predict our next actions. This is possible because all of the is given to these systems that have no human supervision and can make better and better and better predictions about who we are, what we are going to do next, where we are going to go, etc. They have enough information about us to be able to dictate when people are lonely, or depressed, or whether they are an introvert or an extrovert. That is extremely powerful on a scary level. They have more information about each of us as individuals than what has ever been imagined in history.  

These things become dangerous because of how they can psychologically control you without you even realizing it. The goal of these individuals behind the software are to understand how to use the psychology of what persuades people and then build that into the technology. They’re using our psychology against us. These tactics are programmed into us at such a deep level that we don’t even realize what’s happening. With the evolving algorithms and big data, the world has shifted from using technology as a tool and instead technology is now addictive and used as a manipulation tool. They understand a part of our minds that even we don’t. These big technology companies have been able to prove that they can affect real world behavior without any of us even realizing it. In the video they made a comparison between the use of social media and slot machines in Vegas. That says it all to me.

Something that really caught my eye in The Social Dilemma documentary was a quote that came up on the screen. It said, “There are only two industries that call their customers users: illegal drugs and software.” That is when my mind shifted and started to think on a way deeper level throughout the rest of the documentary. That quote spoke volumes to me. The business models of these companies are centered around how to keep their users engaged for the longest time possible. They’re goal is not in the users’ best interest; it is in the interest of the company itself.

From the documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’ we can see how harmful social media is in numerous ways. They explained how data, algorithms, and other tactics used by social media companies are continuing to become more and more accurate and how with more accuracy, they take more of our time. These social media platforms are not just for connecting with people. These companies are trying to get more of our time and data- which makes us the product being sold. The algorithms used are tailored to each individual which will make you see whatever you want to see on social media which gives you a false sense of harmony within your community. I think this is especially harmful because along with misinformation, this can lead to extremist groups to band together and cause harm. We know that diversity leads to growth and innovation, so a lack of diversity, or in this case- being surrounded by people that think exactly like you in social media communities- leads to a lack of innovation, growth, and learning.

I thought this photo was also interesting because it shows how much the amount of paid government commentators has risen over the past few years and as a result how much misinformation is circulating. 

It is harmful how social media has so much false information. You always have to weed through what influencers or news articles are promoting false information. It is very dangerous for the viewers. As it can lead to poor mental health and many more problems. This is a great post!

I can relate to you on being on my phone as soon as I wake up or go to bed. I realize I wake up in such a better mood and feel productive when I don't use technology for the first 30 minutes in the morning. I think with using my phone at night I look at it as a calm down from the day. But really I find myself checking who has texted me or social media platforms to see what's happening. A lot of nights I find myself on tiktok for what I thought was only 30 minutes but actually being 2 hours. The next day I do feel the affects of minimal sleep .

Unfortunately, technology and specifically social media have close ties to mental illness. Depression, anxiety, behavior issues, etc., have all been linked to an increased use in technology which I don’t believe would come as a surprise to anyone given that it seems to be the norm in todays society to struggle with some kind of mental illness. In the clip from “We’ve Been Sneaking Into Your Brains” Max Stossel describes how something as simple as the little red notification icon on your phone is a source of anxiety, so imagine all the other ways our phones and technology can be anxiety and depression inducing. Although there are many helpful, innovative outcomes from technology, there are many harmful elements that come with it as well. In the article  “Before The Internet“ Emma Rathbone describes different scenarios in a time before the internet where you could  “move to a new state and no one at school would know anything about you“ or maybe decide to  “laze around on a park bench in Chicago reading some Dean Koontz“. In these scenarios there is a common theme of a lack of knowledge/resources but also more creativity than what is typical today. While personally, I feel as though I exercise my creativity in different ways, I do see many children that are glued to technology such as phones and ipads and I can’t help but think of how damaging it must be for them and especially their creativity. I think kids need room to imagine, and although technology provides endless technology and resources, it provides instant gratification and no room for creativity. Because of the speed at which technology progresses, there aren’t many regulations on it even though it is proven to cause health damage. I hope one day there will be more of a balance with technology.

Sources:

https://www.statista.com/chart/19262/impact-of-social-media-on-mental-health/

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/26/before-the-internet

https://vimeo.com/370135963