How Companies Can Make Facebook More Efficient

I found a great article discussing how companies misuse Facebook and often have to pay for it. Brad Smith, from Social Media Today, discusses the 3 worst ways companies waste in social media and I found that he made some very good points.

Smith's first point was that companies do a poor job promoting their social media pages offline. Whether it is a sticker on the front door or a television ad with a Facebook logo in the corner, Smith feels that these tactics are not the correct way to promote the social media pages. People are not likely to be swayed by a Facebook logo in the corner of a TV ad and they really have no reason to. Smith says that a better tactic would involve the company providing some sort of incentive to visit their page as well as more specific instructions on how to reach the page.

Smith's second point was that large companies have, on average, 178 social media accounts. This requires a lot of management. And research has shown that when someone is offered numerous choices of social media, they can freeze up and choose none of them. It would be wiser for these companies to downsize the number of sites they use and increase the focus they put into social media as a whole.

The third point Smith made was that Facebook is now "double-taxing" the companies who use it. They charge extra for the companies to be able to reach more of their followers. Smith says this is not an efficient way to promote your company and it would be wiser for any business to track page visits instead of just the number of likes they have. Smith also says that to find repeat customers, its wiser to use email marketing instead of Facebook.

I feel Smith makes some great points, and I definitely agree with his points about how people are not phased by the Facebook logo in commercials. I see social media logos on TV all the time, but I rarely visit the sites that are promoted. It would make more sense for these companies to have someone state in the commercial to visit the Facebook or Twitter page.

NBA rookie struggles with anxiety and Twitter

When the Houston Rockets drafted forward Royce White in the 2012 NBA Draft, they knew that White was dealing with a lot of personal and mental problems. White has a fear of flying in airplanes, and also suffers from O.C.D. and anxiety. The team was prepared to  help White overcome these problems so he could help with the rebuilding process that the Rockets have been working on for the past couple of years.

But things got sour between the two parties. White was missing mandatory team practices and events, and eventually started missing regular season games because of his issues. White used Twitter to vent about what he felt was unfair treatment from the team. The Rockets wanted to fine White for missing these events but he felt since he was suffering from mental problems that he should not be punished so harshly.

Through Twitter, White gained a lot of support and followers who heard about his problems. The problem for White was that he was really stirring up trouble for him and his team. White went from bashing one of the team doctors to apologizing to the doctor via Twitter in one night. White didn't want to use the doctor that the Rockets required him to see, but White did not realize that he was allowed to see his own doctor at the same time if he wanted to.

The issue has gotten so out of hand that White has threatened to quit the team for good and the Rockets are now planning to meet with him one-on-one. I think that both parties have to reach some sort of agreement about how to move on very soon. If White does not meet with the team doctor, the Rockets will not be able to keep track of his progress themselves. If he continues to make negative statements about the Rockets on Twitter, it will anger his teammates and executives who are focused on winning games. If the Rockets start fining White, they will be considered insensitive of the issue and will have plenty of bad publicity.

If the two sides can make peace and focus on getting White mentally healthy and ready to contribute to the team, they can turn this disastrous story into one with a happy ending.

War Between Isreal and Hamas Has Taken to Social Media

"Call it the first social media war." This is what Lawrence Husick, co-chairman for the Center on the Study of Terrorism at the Foreign Policy Research Institute said about the new strategies of Israel and Hamas as they wage a war against each other. The two groups have been using social media hubs like Twitter and YouTube to try to promote their group and their actions as they fight against each other.

The two groups have posted videos of air strikes on YouTube. They have also been posting information about future attacks that sometimes are given to the public before the media can even learn about it. Husick says that the two groups are using social media as propaganda for their causes. In a hotly debated issue, these two groups are trying to promote their side of the war to the world.

I feel that this is a sad use for social media. I do not think that such violent media should be posted for the entire world to see. I could guess that the creators of these social media sites are as equally upset as I am if not a lot more upset. The Philadelphia Inquirer article mentions the earlier political uses of Twitter in Egypt and Tunisia. Those movements were not using violence and the images posted were not those of leaders being murdered.

One of my favorite radio show hosts, Jim Rome, always said that Twitter is like a loaded gun. What he meant was that it was dangerous for famous people to use it because they could instantly destroy their reputation if they made the wrong statements. But now Rome's analogy is quite literal. These two groups are using social media as a weapon against each other. They are trying to show their might and instill fear, but i think that everyone should try their best to boycott these actions.

I do not know exactly how Twitter polices their website, but i do know that they can block accounts. Twitter should try to stop these groups from putting out these violent messages. If they block an account and another one is created, they should just keep trying to block the accounts. It may not be an effective strategy, but it will definitely slow down their efforts and would show that the representatives at Twitter do not approve of such content.

Alan VanderMolen’s Speech on PR a Fun One

For my Live-Tweeting an Event assignment I chose to go to Alan VanderMolen’s speech about public relations and why he loves his job so much. The event, which was put together by the Ohio State PRSSA, was held in Campbell Hall on Wednesday night.

VanderMolen, a former Ohio State communications student, is currently working with Edelman which is the world’s largest PR firm. VanderMolen is very laid back and looked very confident on the stage. He described how the field of public relations has transformed over the years and how new technology continues to transform the industry.

VanderMolen offered up a lot of advice for those in attendance. From the very beginning he urged students to take business and statistics classes. He also mentioned the liberal arts as an important field to study. At the end of the speech VanderMolen told everyone to engulf themselves in numerous cultures, whether it be popular culture, politics, food, or internationally.

I felt VanderMolen was very inspirational and was very likable. He is someone I would love to work for. He genuinely wants to have fun with his work and that’s what everybody wants in their careers.

The PRSSA did a great job setting up the event and even had some hashtags and handles for us to use as well as a number of tips to prepare for the event that helped me a lot. 

Twitter Chat Is Simple, Somewhat Inefficient

For the Twitter Chat I chose to participate in the PRSSA chat. This chat involved PR students and experts discussing topics related to Public Relations. The chat was slow at first and I was worried about having enough content for the assignment, but things started picking up after a few minutes.

At first, I discussed internships and the leader of the chat, Lindsay Wamble, gave me some information about how she got her internship and a number of people asked me about my internship plans. This shows that Twitter chats can be a good way to network with people around the world and find job opportunities.

During the chat I asked a number of questions about PR and finding jobs in PR. Lindsay told me about the many different careers in PR and I gave my insight on the ones I was interested in. She also told me about writing for The Lantern, something that I will definitely think about doing in the coming weeks.

Overall I feel Tweetchats are too disorganized to be efficient communication tools. The tweets were sporadic and I found myself waiting a number of minutes for another tweet to appear. There were tweets coming from other areas of the country not related to our chat and that was very annoying. Another issue is that there were only about three or four people participating in the chat and everything was going fairly slow. I feel a regular chat room is still a better option than a Twitterchat.
 

A Social Media Idea I wouldn't Wrap My Head Around

Facebook is a fun tool and a great way to keep in touch with friends in high school, family overseas and to communicate with others about similar interests. But sometimes I feel that the social media website can be taken way too seriously. Many times in the past I have had friends take Facebook way too seriously, whether its a random comment from someone, or a giant argument about sports or politics. However, I think where i would draw the line is a vest that simulates hugs for every time you get a "Like."

This vest is supposed to squeeze your body every time one of your friends likes something on your page. There are a lot of things i see wrong with this idea. First of all, I don't find the vest very fashionable. It might fit other people's style but I would not look good wearing it.

I don't see how this vest will work efficiently with Facebook. It will likely need some sort of Wi-Fi device installed in it, or it will need to be connected to your phone. So that means that it will drain the phones battery and will make it a hassle to disconnect every time you want to use your phone. This likely would make the vest cost hundreds of dollars. It could also be damaged by rain or snow very easily.

The idea of this vest scares me a little bit. What if the vest malfunctions and starts squeezing my chest without end? It could cause a serious injury. The other aspect is that people with many friends who receive a lot of feedback from people could get annoyed by this vest hugging them 20 or 30 times a day. It could also be a distraction in class for others around you. And then there is the issue of friends trying to prank you. If my friends knew i was wearing this vest, they would immediately log on to Facebook and start liking every single item they can find on my profile. It's something I wouldn't even bother with. The creators of this vest have not yet decided if they would start selling this item, but I would easily say no if they asked for my advice.

Social Media: the key to winning the 2012 Election

In 2008, Barack Obama used the Internet and social media to gain the support of countless voters under the age of 25. One could argue that his excellent utilization of social media was the key to his victory in the 2008 election. Over the next four years, the popularity of social media has skyrocketed and appears to be the key to winning the 2012 election.

President Obama's opponent in 2008, John Mccain, did not utilize social media the way Obama did. However, Obama's current opponent, Republican Mitt Romney, knows that social media is one of the most important aspects of campaigning these days. Both candidates are using every social media hub they can find. From Pinterest to Tumblr, every website is a valuable tool for these candidates to utilize.

Barack Obama seems to have a better grip on these tools and has had more experience using these social media sites. He has a better understanding of what young voters like to see. The New York Times article above describes his posts as "sharper." Romney's following is smaller on sites like Tumblr. This should be a red flag for Romney. I think that Obama's past success was due mostly to the amount of young voters he won over. It looks as if he will be able to win the young vote yet again.

As someone who does not affiliate with either candidate, I feel Obama's messages are stronger. Since Ohio is one of the most important states in this election, I think Obama has the advantage especially in Franklin County, where many Ohio State students will be voting. Obama has had campaigners on campus for many weeks now and I have yet to see someone from the Romney campaign anywhere on campus. It seems to me that Romney has conceded the youth vote.

Facebook Hits a Billion Users, But Still Has Plenty of Work To Do

Five or so years ago when i first joined Facebook, i was not expecting to get much out of it. I thought it was just an upstart website trying to ripoff MySpace. Just a few years later, Facebook ran MySpace to the ground and became the most popular website and social network in the world. Today, the site hit a very significant milestone: 1 Billion Users!

Who would have thought that in less than 10 years this company would become one of the biggest in the world? A lot of people over the years have told me that Facebook is stupid and a waste of time. But Facebook proved how powerful social media is and it created an entirely new marketing strategy for companies.

Despite the milestone,Facebook does have some issues to work on. When the company made itself public and open to the stock market in May, the value of the stock was slashed in half because of how much it struggled. Investors have become very wary of the company and CEO Mark Zuckerburg has to rebuild confidence in the company he created in a Harvard dorm room.

The struggle with the stock market has led to Facebook making its first true advertising campaign. The company created an advertisement involving chairs and their similarity to social networks. This is the first time Facebook has had to fight negative views of their company. Zuckerburg hasn't confirmed whether or not the advertisements will be put on television. I think that this should be considered carefully because the company might come off as desperate if they do put out TV ads.

Another goal of Zuckerburg and Facebook is to break through the walls of China's Internet. China accounts for the most Internet users in the world, but the government has very strict control of the Internet and does not allow citizens to use Facebook. Zuckerburg's wife has relatives in China, and is learning to speak Chinese. If Facebook is ever able to make itself available in China it could be another significant moment in the company's history. It could also help open up China to more Internet freedom and would let Chinese citizens connect with the world, something many of us may take for granted.

Ohio State Football Gets a Chance to Defend Gordon Gee

The Ohio State Buckeyes' Athletic Director Gene Smith announced today that the football team will be playing a home and home series with Texas Christian University (or TCU) starting in 2018. Smith has been looking for tougher non-conference opponents for the Buckeyes to play over the next few years. The two-game series with TCU has the opportunity to be an exciting set of games that provides both schools with national attention. The game also gives the Buckeyes an opportunity to defend one of the schools most beloved figures.

Two years ago, OSU president Gordon Gee received national attention for his comments about TCU and Boise State. In a statement, Gee said that the Buckeyes "do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor" in reference to how tough the Big Ten conference is in comparison to the conferences that TCU and Boise State play in. Gee felt that the two schools did not deserve to play for a National Championship even if they were undefeated because of how easy their schedules were. Gee sounded ignorant to the national media especially when he claimed he "didn't know enough about the X's and O's of college football." Gee's statements angered many TCU fans and Gee was in somewhat of a PR nightmare.

The matchup with TCU offers Ohio State an opportunity to prove Gee's point. If the Buckeyes can outperform and defeat TCU each time it will validate what Gee said. It will provide Gee with an "I told you so" moment. TCU has not played many tough opponents in recent years and playing against the school whose president criticized them will provide plenty of media coverage.

The only risk for the Buckeyes is the possibility of TCU's football program declining and the game losing its luster by 2018. This happened to the Buckeyes this season when they played a subpar California team. The game was scheduled years ago when Cal was at its peak and had numerous star athletes. Unfortunately Cal arrived in Columbus as a mediocre team that the Buckeyes were expected to defeat easily.

When President Gee made his statements about TCU, there was little he could do to weather the media storm coming at him. However, if his school can dominate TCU in the coming years, there will not be much for TCU fans to say.

Why Communications is the field for me!

Before college I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to study or do with my life. I was going in without any commitment to a field of study. After taking a few GEC courses i quickly found an interest in Communications. I found the classes interesting instead of just work that was required of me to complete. I then went on to study specific areas related to media and public relations. I felt that i could find a passion in this type of career. Last year i took one of Alyson's media writing classes and learned a lot about how media writing works and how the public relations industry runs. I was very proud of the work i did in that class and even made PR releases for my fraternity that were useful for the promotion of our philanthropic cause. I have always wanted to work in sports in some capacity. By studying PR and Media relations i can learn the skills that could help me find a job in writing for the sports media, working for the PR firm of a sports team, or possibly even getting involved in sports talk radio. I am very optimistic about where these skills can take me in the post-college world!