Twitter Recap

I have been trying to use Twitter as often as possible over the last couple of weeks.  While it's fun to read what people are doing and be directed to new and exciting sites, I'm not entirely sure if people like me are the best people to be using Twitter. All together I've had 46 updates, and 34 of them were since March 1st.
I am following 28 people.  These people are friends, family members, Augie Ray, BigShoes, Telie and everyone that has come and talked to our class.  So far, I have 25 followers.
I find that people in the "real world" are more interesting than people my age.  I feel if my entire network consisted of people my age Tweeting about what they did today, I wouldn't be as interested in Twitter.  A lot of times I felt like I didn't really have anything worthy to say.  My Tweets consisted of "watching the game today!" or "Happy St. Patrick's Day!"  So, a majority of my posts were about my thoughts and whereabouts.  I did re-tweet a few interesting things I found from other people, but I didn't want all of my posts to be re-tweets.  I re-tweeted SocialMedia411 because I find their tweets really interesting.  I also thought their tweets were the most relevant to what our class is all about.
I also used Twitter to try and promote PRSSA meetings, but I don't think it really worked.  
I do enjoy using Twitter now but I feel like I will be able to contribute more once I get a job and have more important information to pass along.  
I think it's still important for people like me to have Twitter because we are the people that businesses and organizations are trying to reach.
I think one of my favorites to follow is Marquette.  I get many e-mails a day and don't always take the time to read my news briefs but when I come on Twitter I can see what's happening on campus right away.
I have benefited from using Twitter because it has allowed me to form contacts with people.  When a speaker would come to our class I would quickly look them up and begin to follow them.  This allowed me to see what they were up to even after they left the classroom.  If I didn't have Twitter I would most likely never hear about or even remember the people who came in and talked to our class. Twitter is a great way to maintain connections that otherwise would have been lost.  This aspect would have to be my most positive experience in using Twitter.
My most negative experience with using Twitter would have to be the fact that I don't believe I have anything exciting to say.  When I see that I have a new follower I always think to myself "why would they want to follow me?"  Hopefully my job this summer will allow me gain more "real world" experience within public relations, and then I'll have more to Tweet about!  For now I think I'll remain somewhat of a spectator.

The New Facebook

Since I was on vacation all last week, I did not have time to really go on the computer.  I just got back and decided to check my Facebook only to notice that the layout and format of it has changed quite a bit. I didn't really find it all that shocking because Facebook seems to do this every so often.  What did shock me was that this new Facebook layout reminds me a lot of Twitter.
Facebook's new homepage has a welcome note that says, "You're looking at the real-time stream of posts from your friends and connections."  This is exactly what Twitter is.  The cool thing about Facebook though is that you can see a real-time stream of not only your friends updates but their pictures, videos, and much more.
Why do you think Facebook changes the layout do often?  Is it to keep this "older" form of social media new and exciting?
The fact that Facebook has become like Twitter makes me think that Facebook is trying to keep up with other forms of social media that are becoming popular.
I would also like to know how people feel about the new Facebook?  I kind of like it.  I think it's cool how you can sort through and filter through what you want to see on the left hand side of the home page.  

Groundswell Profile Tool

I decided to play around with the Groundswell Social Profile Tool, but I did not find exactly what I thought I would find.  I compared females from the US and all different ages.   What I expected to find in the 18-24 age group was what I expected.  Many (77-78%) of these women are spectators and joiners, which is what I thought a majority of this age group would be.  I thought this way because many women in this age group are just being introduced to the many different forms of social media.  This means that they have not had a lot of time to become creators.  I was surprised that 51% were already critics.  I expect that the women in this group are on the older side of the age range.  It was also interesting to see that only 10% were inactives.
In the 25-34 age group I expected to see much more critics and creators and less spectators and inactives.  I thought this would occur because many women in this age group have established a career where they would probably use some form of social media.  I was wrong.  Only 27% of these women were creators and critics dropped down to 40%.  The largest of this age group were spectators with 72%.  An explanation for this may be because many women in this age group have settled down and have families to look after.  This may also explain why men in this same age group have a slightly higher percentage of creators.
Overall, this is a great tool to see where people in our society (and other societies) are with social media.  I would love to see where the numbers are 5 to 10 years from now.  I suspect that the number of critics and creators will greatly increase and the number of inactives will greatly decrease.  

Social Media Time Management

I read an article this week about how to manage your time on social media sites. I know this is something all of us in Gee's class have been struggling with. We have signed up for o many things that we forget about them or just don't have enough time to be actively involved in each of them. Kelli Matthews article "Where Do You Find the Time? Social Media Time Management Tips" listed a few great points.
First, she says it takes time to create a new habit. For the first few weeks you'll have to work at making social media a habit. This is very true. After I got a Twitter account I didn't think it was useful and completely forgot about it. Just recently I forced myself to go on Twitter every now and then and I have really come to enjoy it. I have even found my Uncle and Grandpa on Twitter!
Matthews also says it is important to participate and not only look. My sister has Facebook and I never thought she really used it ever. No one really wrote on her wall, she didn't write on other people's walls and she only had about 14 photos tagged to her. This was until I came home one weekend and saw that she would go on Facebook all the time, but just to look. I don't find this very beneficial because she is not getting anything out of it, just some snooping.
I found Matthews' article interesting and beneficial. The only thing I think Matthews should add is that you have to enjoy the specific form of social media. We have signed up for so many things in class, and a few of them I really do not enjoy. If I don't enjoy using the specific form of social media I will not want to spend any time on it. For example, Utterli is not a website I would ever use outside of social media class. I just don't see the point, especially since I already have Twitter.
Overall I really liked Matthews article. At the end she asks "What tips would you add?" If you would like to add your own tips click here http://www.prosintraining.com/2009/01/where-do-you-find-time-social-media.html and comment!

Too Many Online Friends? Time to Delete.

This week I read an article called "Friends, Until I Delete You."  This article talked about the "Whopper Sacrifice" which was a deal Burger King made that offered people a free hamburger if they would delete 10 of their Facebook friends.  Everyone knows that Facebook sends an alert when your friends do almost anything, but "defriending" is not one of those alerts.  Burger King took this opportunity to send out notifications to people letting them know they were being "defriended" in exchange for a hamburger.  This is the reason Facebook suspended the program.  In the end Burger King's campaign had ended 234,000 friendships!
I did not hear of this campaign while it was happening but I found this article hilarious.  I know my friends and I definitely would have defriended 10 people in exchange for a hamburger.  I have defriended more than 10 people and got nothing in return.  This article brought up a major question within social media: when is it ok to defriend someone?
While I would love Facebook to be an intimate form of social media that I just share with my friends and family, this is not the case.  The proper etiquette on Facebook is to accept almost anyone that you have ever met.  Freshman year of college I would go out and meet hundreds of people, only to find the next morning that they had asked to be my friend  on Facebook.  You obviously can't reject them.  What if they end up being in one of your classes, what if you end up becoming best friends with them?  This led to a huge increase in my number of "friends."  But now, being a junior, I just recently decided to defriend many of my Facebook friends.  My criteria for defriending was "Will I ever see this person again?"  If the answer was no, they got the boot.  
On the reverse side, however, I don't like being defriended.  Not even by people I know I'll never see again.  That moment when you click on a "friend's" picture so you can be directed to their profile only to find that you can no longer look at their profile stings a little, doesn't it?  
So what is the proper defriending etiquette?  Is there any?  Should you keep all of your "friends?"
Maybe this is a chance for a new form of social media to begin where it's acceptable to only be friends with your real friends, and people you've only met once won't be hurt when you deny them.  

Social Media in the Classroom

Since being in this class for a few weeks now I have noticed just how much social media is used in my every day life.  Not only is social media becoming more prominent within businesses and organizations but it is also being used in classrooms.  I have noticed this especially in my psychology classes.  In my Abnormal Psychology class we are learning about various mental illnesses.  My teacher shows at least two YouTube clips a day to show us how a person with a specific disorder acts.  The clips are always extremely interesting to watch but they also allow me to better understand what I am learning.  This is a great tactic that more and more teachers are beginning to adapt.  Social media is now becoming a part of our daily lives and I really wonder how it will progress as time goes on.  Even by the end of this semester I expect changes in social media.  

I feel like I should post something...

I haven't posted anything on this blog yet, so I figured I would.  It's only been a few weeks into class and I already feel like I've learned so much about social media.  I now have a blog, Twitter, Ning, Wiki...and probably more that I can't even remember!  It's been fun to play around with all of the different features on these sites and figure out what they're all about.  Christie and I have a presentation on Wiki's coming up so soon I should be a Wiki expert.  Wish I had more exciting things to say, but I don't.