Week 7

Video Assignment

I enjoyed the video assignment. Although I am terrible at editing videos and making videos I was excited because my blog “beat” is neo-soul and I was able to sing a neo-soul and that’s something that I rarely do. The timing was also perfect because I was practicing for a wedding with a piano player so it gave the live music aspect that I love with neo-soul. I really wish I would’ve had better lighting and I wish i would have placed the camera in a better spot for my video. It was kind of blurry and I should have put it sideways instead of straight up.Nevertheless, this was a great assignment and I really want to make more videos because I think it will bring more viewers to my blog especially if they are good quality videos.

Reading Reflection

I read the how to edit your video with I Movie and it was very helpful when making and editing my video. I was so confused on how where to even start but this reading gave detailed steps on what to do for different effects and it made it easier to do the assignment.

I read an article about How to make your video go viral. These were some of the tips:
1. Don’t be too good for marketing

2. Understand how things go viral on the internet

3.Release your Video on Monday or Tuesday (that’s when most people are looking)

4. None of this matters if your video isn’t good (why should people share your video?)

6. Tell a story

7. Make your video Short

8. Make a viral Title

There were more tips but these are the ones that were most useful to me! Especially the making a viral title because no one will click on your video if the title isn’t interesting.

 

 

 

Data and mapping

Week 12 assignment was by far the most challenging. However, it is probably the most effective for my blog because I am suggesting places and events for my audience to attend, and it would be beneficial for them to actually have a map of where to go and would probably make them want to read my blog more because it’s like a one stop shop. On my blog I mapped some locations that has neo-soul open mic nights and poetry for people to attend. I found it most difficult to try to enter directions and to embed the map onto my blog. I really enjoyed playing around with mapping and I even found more places and events that my audience could go to, when adding locations to my map.

 

In the Data Driven Journalism Trends, post, I do agree that it will be most used in 2014. Since social media has grown, data will grow even more and people will try to figure out how to use it for their sites. I am most interested in D3 mapping. It seems to be the most interactive, but the coding will probably be the hardest for me to figure out.

Example of d3 Mapping

Assignments for 4/9

My target audience for my journal blog would be people who love music. Specifically unique, “groovy”, soulful music. My audience is individuals mainly 18 and older because most high school and younger kids don’t appreciate this genre of music (in my opinion). My audience uses Twitter and Instagram mostly.  A lot of them are singers themselves, so they post videos and lyrics of neo-soul songs that they like or will record themselves singing. I really don’t have a Facebook strategy. My audience uses Facebook, but for their own personal use with family, friends etc. and not necessarily to talk about music. They mostly tweet. I may do a Twitter chat about different neo-soul artists or topics. I think people would really be into that more-so than on Facebook.

In the article, Facebook, private traits and attributes: Predictions from digital records of behavior, I found this statistic very interesting: “A 2007 report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 60% those surveyed were not concerned about what was available about them online and 61% do not try to control it; however, by 2012, Pew found that many people were employing privacy settings to reduce the information available about themselves.” Although, I don’t really use privacy settings to really hide my profile from people, I really do think it is important and valuable to know what people can find about me online. Being a mass communications major has really taught me what is appropriate to have on social media sites and on the Internet, and I feel that everyone should care. Many employers these days Google candidates for employment before they even ask them for an interview. I want to know what they see and/or what could possibly hinder me from getting the job. But I keep a lot of my pictures and statuses G rated. 

 

Week 10

Linked In

This week, I updated my LinkedIn profile and explored more ways that I could use the site. I updated my picture, because I felt that the picture I had wasn’t professional; I added a summary about myself, and also a few more work experiences. I also browsed at other people’s profiles to see what they had and what I could add. I found that I am really lacking in the LinkedIn world. People have over 500 connections and I probably have 10. So, I added more people who I thought could possibly network with.

I’m not really sure about the groups though. I added some public relations, marketing and non-profit planning groups; however, I’m not sure how they operate and how the discussions work. For most of them, I have to wait to be accepted in the group. Nevertheless, I think that it’s beneficial to have LinkedIn, and although a lot of people don’t like it, it’s something that everyone should at least try in my opinion. You never know who could come across your profile and is interested in you. Oh and I shared a few articles on my LinkedIn profile, so hopefully that will get more people to view my page.

Personal Brand

Some things that I am doing and I am going to do to establish my personal brand is create a website for myself. I have been hearing so many people say that you should have your own webpage, and I believe that maybe it’s time for me to start one. I also, want to tweet more and interact with more people in my field. I lack in the “interacting” aspect on Twitter. Although i’m very outgoing I don’t like interacting with people over the Internet. I’m not sure why, but I think it would be better for me and my career search if I really become an expert in the social media world.

Reading Reflections

In the reading about why comments suck, I slightly agree with one of the reasons being, “because you don’t value them.” You have to encourage comments and give your readers something to comment on in order to get feedback. The writer states, “If you don’t have policies that encourage your editors and writers to read and participate in comments, and user agreements that speak about positive values of civil behavior, then your comments ghetto is really just a self-fulfilling prophecy.” This is also important; the interaction starts with the staff. The staff has to care about the content and wanting valuable feedback from their audience in order to progress.

Engagement Strategy

My engagement strategy for my blog topic is to POST MORE CONTENT! I really have to find more time to really start writing on my blog and posting more so that I can have a larger audience. I also want some comments on my page, I think that will draw more people because even if they are just glancing at my blog for a second, if they see interaction from other people, more than likely they will want to be apart of it; especially if they are interested in the topic.So, hopefully I can really start going to more events and searching and writing more things to add to my blog because it could potentially be a success if I devote more time to it. Also, I’ve learned that the most effective tactic is to tweet about your posts and people will actually go look to see what you’re talking about especially if you have an interesting headline.

Week 9 Building Audience and Understand Metrics

Goal for Social media Presence 

• Tweet more “smart” stuff: Opinions on articles that are posted or debates about certain topics.
• Interact with more people and actually engage in conversations
• Post more neo-soul videos
• Find out about more events and post them to my blog, twitter, instagram etc.
• Use Yelp and Four Square to my advantage (broaden my horizons of the city)
• I need more video (Get more experience in video because with my topic)

My goal is to post a neo-soul event every week. Actually attend a neo-soul event, take videos, and pictures and describe my experience on my blog. I think that will increase my traffic and others will be interested in reading my blog and commenting, (at least those who like neo-soul music). I think the most important goal is consistency. Posting something on a regular basis. Giving my audience something to read about.

Reading Reflections

In the 5 social media metrics that your business should be tracking, article I read about Acquisition, and I found that it relates to what I would be tracking for my neo-soul blog and potentially neo-soul twitter page. With acquisition I would check Google analytics to:

• Track visitor frequency rates
• optimize targeting of new and returning visitors
• Click-thru rate, impressions from social media

I would also focus on engagement to make sure that my audience is engaged in what I am talking about in my blogs, and to see that they even care about what I’m talking about. It’s important because even though you may love something, it doesn’t mean that others are interested. If the sole purpose is to attract people to my blog then engaging them is essential.

The article, A scientific guide to writing great headlines on Twitter, Facebook and your blog, was very helpful because headlines are SO IMPORTANT. It is the reason someone will even take the time to read your writing or the reason they may look over it. Catching someone’s eye with a headline is a gift and it takes being creative to be good at it. This article really made me think of better ways to tweet when I am trying to promote something as well. It gave a list of most retweetable words and I found that it’s very true because of what I retweet. The tips were great and I will definitely be using this article in the future.

 

Week 8

Location App

This week in experimenting with Location based social media apps I found it helpful; however, it isn’t something that I want to use on a daily bases. I do not like for people to know where I am and the fact that I have to check-in and share it with Facebook, Instagram or Twitter is slightly “stalkerish.” Although I wouldn’t use it; when checking in I was at work and able to see what people thought about using our services and get their opinions without having to use surveys and evaluations. I also love that we were even mentioned on FourSquare. I can use this with my topic blog by checking in when I attend different Neo-Soul events or concerts, etc. I can share it on my log and let my audience know what’s going on in the neo-soul world and it would be helpful because a lot of people don’t know about events going on in Memphis like that.

 Yelp Review

I also used Yelp. I must say, this is A GREAT WEBSITE! My boyfriend and I are always trying to find new places to eat and try new things and this is definitely right for us. If we want to try a cheap BBQ place it gives us a list of cheap BBQ restaurants, prices, what they have and reviews of what others think. Restaurants I have never even heard of are on there. I love this website and I am going to download the app.  I don’t know why I have never heard of it because I love food and we always just google good places to eat downtown and never find anything.

Reading Reflection

When reading 5 Creative Location- Based Campaigns for Small Businesses to Learn Form, I really thought the DBA BBQ place and the Boloco Burrito Campaigns were interesting. I liked the idea of them giving incentives to customers who checked in on FourSquare and also showing customers appreciation when they checked-in on four square. Customer engagement is a powerful tool to use especially with small business and I think that it builds customer relationships because you are acknowledging them and that shows that you appreciate them.

In the article 7 Ways a Journalist Can Use FourSquare, by Shane Snow, He says that it helps Journalists find Targeted Contacts. “It provides a simple way for journalists to overcome common problems like “I need to interview a customer who frequents this business,” and helps them find contact information for such people.” That is effective and makes the journalists’ job a little easier when trying to write a review or article on a specific business.

 

Photo Assignment

Doing photographs for my blog is kind of difficult. Since my “beat” is Neo-Soul I have to attend events in order to take photographs. However, most of my pictures would be dark and I didn’t really want to take pictures of people just singing or standing there reciting poetry etc. So I have decided to go the art route. When I think of Neo-Soul I truly think of Art, Artists, those who sing music based on feelings of love, heartbreak and most have a more “earthy” and unique personality. I think of colors, live bands and women with Afros lol. I think that most people who will read my blog will be of that type and I think unless I actually go to an event during the day to take photos at like a music festival or something of that nature, I win’t be able to capture what I really want for my blog. Here are a few pictures of what I am talking about. Notice the colors and eccentricity in the photos. They are all unique and free-spirited.

Week 6 Assignment

JOSCARS

I enjoyed tweeting about the Oscars. It’s always fun tweeting about TV with your followers. Here is a recap of some of my tweets and some tweets from the JOSCAR hashtag.

 

PHOTO A DAY

During the photo a day process, I’ve learned that taking photographs is quite fun. I enjoy taking pictures of random things and posting them. It’s very interesting to take pictures of random things and post them. I also enjoy seeing my other classmates’ posts. The photo a day assignment also kind of gives us a chance to express ourselves through pictures. 

Also I learned that its easy to forget to post something. I applaud those who have social media jobs where they have to post something everyday. It’s a technique that most people don’t have.

READING REFLECTION

I really enjoyed reading the, How Journalists and newsrooms can use Pinterest, article. I never really thought about newsrooms using Pinterest at all, but Buttry is right in saying that “news organizations definitely should explore the possibilities of engaging through a social tool that’s growing as fast as Pinterest.” Newsrooms need to use every aspect of social media, period. Although, Pinterest doesn’t seem like it would be used for news, I liked Buttry’s idea in using it for contests, lifestyle coverage (like food), community attractions, etc.  Those were great ideas and I think it would definitely be beneficial for newsrooms to use Pinterest.

In Shirky’s, Here Comes Everybody, Chapter 8 talks about New tools to create social capital. I really liked his quote, “We gather together because it’s useful, but also because we like to.” He went on to say, ” assuming that videophones or e-mail or virtual reality will reduce the overall amount of travel is like assuming that liquor stores will kill bars, since liquor stores sell drinks much more cheaply than bars do.” 

This quote makes me think of how everyone keeps saying that we have lost interaction because of technology. However, in reality, and according to Shirky, we haven’t. We are meeting new people online everyday, connecting with and meeting significant others online, using social media to talk with our friends BUT at some point you are going to meet with that person face-to-face. Yes, technology is cheaper to interact with others, BUT as humans we long for that face-to-face- interaction. We like to travel, we like to go out and have fun. Technology has not taken that away. 

 

 

Week 5 #SocialJ

Twitter Chat 

So, this week was pretty interesting. I participated in a twitter chat called #foodiechats and the entire chat was about RICE! Different things you can make with rice, what rice is good for etc. I thought it was pretty interesting how many people really engage in things like that. I got a lot of retweets and new followers from the chat as well. When looking up what kinds of chats to join, I randomly chose foodie chats because it was the only one available when I finally had time to get on twitter. I hope to join more in the future and preferably ones that I am more interested in. Although it was fun talking about rice and gravy and Jambalaya lol.

Show Your Blog

I showed my blog to two people this week. One person was one of the student workers where I work, Jessica Jordan. She said that she liked my blog, but she wished that I had a post or some posts for her to read. I explained to her what my blog was about and she suggested something that she said she would look for in a neo-soul blog like different events that are going on in the city or locally. I also showed my blog to the office coordinator where I work, and she is a big neo-soul fan. She suggested that I talk about more underground neo-soul artists that we may not here on the radio. She also suggested that I go to concerts and give feedback in my blog.

Reading Reflections 

In 10 Rules for Increasing Community Engagement article, I really like the quote from Matt Thompson, the interim online community manager for John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. He said “The best leaders inspire leadership in others.” I think this quote is so powerful and true. Leaders are supposed to motivate others to go above and beyond, pushes them to be CEO’s of companies. Leaders shouldn’t be dictators they should be guiders, leading you to higher goals, better careers, pushing you to think critically etc.

In Clay Shirky’s, Here Comes Everybody, I really liked reading about the Flash Mobs, I LOVE FLASH MONS, it’s the coolest thing! The basis of Chapter 7 was about rapid communication and the speed of group action and I think Flash Mobs is a great example of that. It started small but eventually started getting hundreds of people involved. Flash Mobs are not just used for entertainment they can be used to make political statements as well. Flash Mobs also really make me think of the quote in Chapter 7…

“As more people adopt simple social tools, and as those tools allow increasingly rapid communication, the speed of group action also increases, and just as more is different, faster is different.”

Now that flash mobs have grown so fast, it will be so hard to break. Flash mobs have become somewhat an epidemic.

Readings Reflection Week 4

In Chapter 3 of Here Comes Everybody, Shirky talks about being a professional and what a profession is. Something that I found interesting in this chapter is the statement, “A profession exists to solve a hard problem, one that requires some sort of specialization.” That reminds me of something that we talk about in Entrepreneurial Journalism. For a business to be successful it has to solve a problem. For example, Facebook solves the problem of not being able to connect with family and friends all over the world. For something to be long-lasting it people have to need it. 

Something else that I found interesting in Shirky’s book is the quote, “community now shades into audience; its as if your phone could turn into a radio station at the turn of a knob.” This quote explains the evolution of social media in my opinion. It has allowed everyone to have a voice, to express their opinion with any and everyone. With all of the apps that are available on phones you can get any information that you need and can communicate with as many people as you want. 

Lastly, In the article, The Twisted Psychology of Bloggers vs. Journalists, he posted a quote by Andrew Marr, a former political editor of BBC. He said “a lot of bloggers seem to be socially inadequate, pimpled, single, slightly seedy, bald, cauliflower-nosed young men sitting in their mother’s basements and ranting. They are very angry people. OK – the country is full of very angry people. Many of us are angry people at times. Some of us are angry and drunk.” He also said, “But the so-called citizen journalism is the spewings and rantings of very drunk people late at night. It is fantastic at times but it is not going to replace journalism.”

I don’t totally agree with this statement. Yes, this MAY be true to a certain extent. However, some bloggers are well educated individuals with well paying jobs. They just happen to have an opinion and enjoy writing about it without having to work for a newspaper. The same goes for citizen journalists. While it may be some drunk people, most citizen journalists are highly educated as well and can gather more information than a reporter. So,journalists think bloggers and citizen journalists won’t replace journalism? Maybe not, but these are the people that everyone is listening to and want to hear from. They are reading their “news” from their blogs, twitter feeds and Facebook posts.