Social Media Laws and Ethics

Social Media Laws and Ethics

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/edej45lmkd/infamous-vancouver-rioter-brock-anton-2

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mobiledia/2011/09/08/employees-cant-be-fired-for-facebook-complaints-judge-says/

For this blog post I found some cool articles that discuss ways people have been using social media in ways  we do not like to see. (hostage situations, and bragging about hitting police.) Please check out the first link as it lays it out very reader friendly and they really did find way interesting stuff that makes one think..."What on earth were these people thinking?"

The second one is a personal favorite of mine. This is a report from the case that says employees cannot be fired based of what they say on Facebook. Note though that if you did it on company time you are not protected. Also its always a good rule of thumb never to complain about your bosses... even if they cant fire you they can make life miserable and make you want to quit or find another way to fire you. Thanks for reading!

QR Codes aren't dead quite yet

Don't start digging QR code's grave

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/11/qr-codes-embedded-in-paintings/

http://www.awwwards.com/10-creative-uses-of-qr-codes.html

In my social media class we recently had a discussion about QR codes and what their future was. This class on twenty-somethings, living in this era of smart phones, and only a few had ever even used a QR code. This was crazy to me! These little squares can be utilized all the time! Companies and organizations are finding new and more creative ways to utilize these. People who think that these are the thing of the past obviously have not done enough research on these. Just looking at these stories that were found on a basic Google search will show you why QR codes are just heading out of their starting gate of innovation, convenience, and interaction.

The first article I posted is so cool. This artist embeds QR codes into his paintings and kind of does an abstract work on a city line and then the QR code is a picture of the real thing! So cool and makes art a little more interesting for those of us who may not enjoy it as much.

Now for the second article it has a ton of different ways that QR codes can be used. In class I discussed the shopping center anywhere because that was my favorite. Which you do find the most useful? Comment below...

SEO Tips and Thoughts

SEO Tips and Thoughts

http://www.searchenginejournal.com/55-quick-seo-tips-even-your-mother-would-love/6760/

http://searchengineland.com/21-essential-seo-tips-techniques-11580

First off I would like to say that I found it funny "Googleing" SEO tips and then seeing what came up on the first page. Or another way to see it, whoever was living their principles. Being on the first page about SEO tips is what you are preaching people! Credibility of your tips are based on this. Anyways... this post is more for me to use later on if needed, so I am just going to post some similar ideas I found from these sites and combine it with past things I have heard and my thoughts. 

• Have good content
• Have patience
• Avoid "experts"
• Easy URL's
• Keep things fresh on website or blog
• Write for real people not to bots who "decide" SEO
• Commit 
• Write Press Releases
• Quality over quantity
• Have a call to action
• Have fun and don't be afraid to try new things

This is just a small list but these are things I found that I need to remember especially points like having patience and avoiding "experts." Hope this helps! 

Second Life and Skype aint Jesus

Collaborative and distance communication tools like Second Life and Skype are far from perfect.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651500,00.html

http://www.tgdaily.com/security-features/59240-skype-security-flaw-allows-location-tracking

People seem to love communication things like Second Life and Skype but their are so many flaws that go unknown. Most of these would turn casual users away if they knew. That is why I titled this in the way that I did. People think these two tools are perfect but really they are far from it.
The first talks about Second LIfe and how it has not lived up to expectations. "The overall traffic has been disappointing: the site has nearly 8.7 million registered members, but the number of active users is closer to 600,000. One reason for this gap may be that the technology isn't intuitive." The report tells us. They have also been running into legal issues too.


The second article talks about Skype and its fatal flaw of hackers being able to track where you are from calling you without you ever knowing. Skype is even bigger than second life and this whole tracking thing could be fatal because the military uses this application to connect active service men talk to their family, and it could give away their coordinates. Hopefully both of these companies figure out these problems and live up to the full-potential they both have. 

Viral Video Marketing in comparison to Super Bowl

Viral vs. Super Bowl

http://www.businesspundit.com/viral-videos-vs-super-bowl-commercials/

http://www.viralblog.com/viral-cases/five-facts-on-ray-bans-viral-marketing-success/

In this blog post I will be talking about who would win the battle of what is better? Viral Videos or Super
Bowl Commercials. The first article shows that viral videos can actually be just as effective as a Super Bowl ad. The cost thought to make a viral video is much less. Granted Super Bowl commercials reach a much larger audience instantly and results are all but guaranteed.
Viral videos have a greater purpose to companies how do not have the money to invest in a multi-million dollar commercial. Students are also great creators of viral videos.
The second article talks abotu how Ray Ban used virtual marketign to gain great success and a low cost. Both great articles and should be read if you are interetsed in topics like these. 

Foursquare: From King of the playground to Mayor of Chilis

Foursquare: From King of the playground to Mayor of Chilis

https://foursquare.com/

http://blackfin360.com/2010/04/15/6-benefits-of-foursquare/

           

            This week I will be writing on Location Based Programs. Most of you will know about GPS, Yelp or the Facebook check-in process but today I will be talking about my personal favorite, which is Foursquare. Foursquare is an application that pulls your location from the GPS on your phone and lets you know what is going on around you. Like a GPS system it tells you where you are and how far you are from it.  Like a Facebook check-in it updates your friends on your activities and accomplishments. And like Yelp it allows you to give your friends advice on what to do. If you want to find out more click on the link above or of course, Google it.

            In this post I will share some of my thoughts about this service. Foursquare has gotten me free chips and salsa, a free carwash, a free drink, and even more followers on Twitter (I was the mayor of USU for a while). I also had places that were more of an inside joke between me and my friend son foursquare like the location, “VIP Wal-Mart Parking.” It is pretty easy to use and is very user friendly. My mother even, bless her, can use it while she is still figuring out Facebook and blogging. You have the ability to leave reviews on places but they are more like tips then reviews I guess... Little snapshots of what's good or bad about the place. If you are searching for more in-depth info I suggest Yelp. If you are just interested in specials that places offer you can search you area and see what people are offering. I feel like a lot of them are crap stuff that is either free anyway or not a good deal. Chili's is the bomb diggity and to spark interest I wont tell you what they give you but it alone is worth downloading the app for. You can also earn badges for doing certain things or going to specific places. Check this app out it is on both itunes store and android market. The ipad app is nonexistent but word on the street is that will be a while because foursquare is meant to be used on devices that are more mobile. (aka phones)

            

Old School vs New School

Traditional Media vs. Social Media

Bryce Brinkman

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1602/new-media-review-differences-from-traditional-press

http://inklingmedia.net/social-media/social-media-vs-traditional-media/

            There is a constant conversation of the “Big 3” media (television, newspaper, and radio) and how it can either compete or mesh with the new beasts of media especially Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs in general. Some more traditional people argue that the “Big 3” will never be replaced due to their long reaching audiences. But as we have seen with newspaper and radio followers declining we can see how failure to intergrade in the new “social” world can prove disastrous.

            A study by the Pew Research Center has shown us that people are discussing different things than what the traditional media is focusing on. The main differences are in the areas of science and technology. Traditional media talks about these combined about 2% of the time where on all types of new media they are discussed almost 20% of the time. This may be one of two things I think:
1. Traditional media is focusing on the wrong topics. Or
2. Traditional media is focusing on demographics that make up the majority of viewers which is the older generation and the newer generation cares much more about science and technology.
I think its the second. This can only be short loved goals though because when the older generation dies off then what?
The second article talks about how traditional marketing is like throwing a wide cast and hoping to catch the right people and social media is now a direct targeting of your audience. I would like to alter that a little bit. Traditional marketing can guarantee that you will find the right people but social media "can" be just as effective and is a lot cheaper.