November 12, 2012 Assignment

In the book, Made to Stick, Heath and Heath discuss strategy in the chapter that is titled Sticky Advice. Heath and Heath talk about an acronym, CHIFF, which stands for "Clever, High-quality, Innovative, Friendly, Fun." This concept informs decisions across the organization. The chapter gives the example of a board game company posing questions for the game. If the creator comes up with a question that lacks one of the standards of CHIFF, then the question will have to be worded differently or thrown out completely. This concept is a great way to measure standards for a company.

Also in this chapter, Heath and Heath introduce a few tips to help your strategy stick with people: be concrete, say something unexpected, and tell stories. These tips are good to remember because all of them working together can create a persuasive and memorable strategy. Personally, I think the best tip out of those three tips is telling stories. I know that when I am listening to someone speak and they tell a personal story I am more engaged because of the personal account they share and the story helps put a connection to the concept that they are explaining.

Ideas that stick are understandable, memorable, and effective in changing thought and behavior and this brings back the SUCCESs principle we talked about earlier. This just proves that the concepts we have learned connect to things we are continuing to learn. They build on each other.

November 5, 2012 Assignment

In chapter 10: Basics of Social Media Content by Gillin, the first two pages had me intrigued immediately because I found so much truth in what it said.

The book says "Content is undeniably the most important element of a successful social media campaign, yet it is one of the most mysterious and least understood," and the secret on the side said "Even bland content can be made interesting if approached in an original way."

I think the secret paragraph says it all. Social media network sites have to have some sort of creative way to convey their information to me. The information may not be good or something that I want to read, but if the presentation is well put together then I am more likely to read it. For example, FaceBook is really easy to look at and it presents the information that the website wants to present (i.e. the advertisements on the sides, and new additions across the top), but also easily shows everything else because of the common "upside down L shape" layout. The information on FaceBook is, most of the time, boring and stuff I don't want to know but it is easy to scroll through and mindlessly read. This aspect keeps me coming back to FaceBook because the website doesn't make me exert any energy and it waste time so I don't have to do something productive.

Turning to a different topic, the section about passion and commitment is great to remember if someone is wanting to run a business one day. You will want to hire employees that are passionate about what they do and not just passively doing the work to get to the end of the day. When an employee enjoys what they do, life will be a lot easier for them and the company they work for. If passionate people are working for your company, your company will make a completely different impact on the community then they would if their employees were not passionate about their line of work. Passion makes a huge difference in the work world and the commitment of the employees can potentially create a better working environment for everyone.

October 29, 2012 Assignment

In Design to Thrive chapter 7 reading, Howard discusses techniques to make people feel significant to your social network. I found this section to be engaging because there are so many companies in need of this on their websites.

The list of techniques on page 186 covers the following: Provide a story that shares a vision, list members accomplishments, participate in influential communities to create trails back to yours, build your social network or community in a custom space, make connections with other leaders in social media, celebrate celebrities, create a contest or a game or a video, and mobilize your existing members.

Looking at this list makes me think of a project I am working on for another class. We are having to create a social media marketing plan for the Clemson Mocha Club because their existence on social media pages is lacking. The National Mocha Club's vision is to change Africa and it supports five core projects - orphan care, education, hiv/

aids medication, child mothers+women at risk, and clean water. They keep their members engage by posting success stories regularly. This relates to the technique "list members' accomplishments" because members donate $7 a month (equivalent to giving up two mochas) and that money goes towards those five projects. When a success story occurs, it is because 

the members stayed true to the organization and donated their $7 each month. 

Thinking about many other examples, like the Mocha Club, the list of techniques is extremely crucial in creating a significance for members of companies or organizations on social networks. 

October 8, 2012 Assignment

In this chapter of Made to Stick, Heath and Heath discuss simplicity. Simplicity is key when people are planning something, such as an event or, like the book said, an attack, or when people are communicating a message to a group of people. The Army planning their next moves play in to both of these aspects. The authors mention that in the end the long, drawn out, and complicated plans do not work. They need a plan that focuses more on the next step/the 'how to' complete that next task.

Heath and Heath talk about decision paralysis. I found this section very interesting because I find that this is true in my life. I do not like to make decisions, but when I am offered options, I do not like to choose, especially when there are more than two options. When someone suggest three or more places to eat or things to do, I find myself stumped and I choose the one I would most likely not choose if the person had offered a good choice and a bad choice.

It is good to remember not to focus on so many details. It is good details flow together and create a clean overall image or idea, but it is also good to not be so nit-picky. This is represented in all types of print journalism and other things, like blogs or websites.

October 1, 2012 Assignment

In Chapter six of Design to Thrive, Dr. Howard talks about belonging and what it ultimately means to belong on different social media sites. If the website is structured correctly, people will develop a sense of togetherness- sort of like they are needed there on that site.

Different communities have different rituals to initiate new members into the community. Dr. Howard mentioned Hell Week of two different sorts (Navy Seals and GTAs). These Hell Weeks are for new members to get to know each other, the values of the group, and the other members. They are conducted by community elders, and at the end of the week, the new members are officially apart of the 'family.' Fraternities do this as well. After Hell Week, you are considered a brother and you are just 'one of the guys' and not a nameless pledge, but the boys now belong. They can wear the greek letters. They can go to the parties. They can hang out with the brothers and not actually do work for them. They now belong.

Belonging through visual elements and routine can go right along with the Greek-life situation. Once the pledges are brothers, like I said before, they can now wear the shirts and have the letters on their cars or their laptops. People who do not know them can see them and tie them to that organization because of the well-known symbols. For routine, girls all across the United States in sororities learn songs or chants about their community. They have "anthems" or things like that that every member of that organization knows and will know until they die. These songs are embedded in their minds and they can identify others through that routine.

September 24, 2012 Assignment

Remuneration, as defined on page 7 of Design to Thrive- "Its simplest formulation basically says that people need to believe that they will obtain some positive return on the investment of their time and energy in order to be attracted to participation in a community. Individuals will not become members of a social network unless there is a clear benefit for doing so."

In chapter four of Design to Thrive, Howard discusses the topic of 'remunerating users through adverstisments' and uses the example from Digg. I found this project to be really interesting and a challenge for marketers. Digg employees were working to make the website a more inviting and welcoming atmosphere for people who are interested in whatever Digg has to offer. Through challenging the marketers of the advertisements, Digg opened up a new look to the online community that they created. Also, I think through the change in advertisements, Digg encouraged social experience, like talked about on page 51.

I found the blue text box- The Roots of "Community"-on page 55 really interesting. The word 'community' and 'remuneration' work hand it hand and both play off of the same idea. In community, people are called to act in togetherness and usually towards one goal. A community has "an obligation to repay a duty." Remuneration also has an almost identical meaning attached to it. So through successful social media, a community should be created, which automatically incorporates remuneration because the two work together to create the whole.

September 17, 2012 Assignment

The Howard reading assignment had me sort of hooked when I started reading the section: Using RIBS to understand the dynamics of a community. The story about the Iranian protest via Twitter was so interesting and I thought it was so cool that Americans got involved and helped the Iranians stand up against the government. Before Twitter, Americans probably would not have known about this protest because the American new casts were not even running the story. Through searching hashtags, the protest was found and Westerns were able to join the movement- through hashtagging, changing the tint of their picture and time zone, and making their profiles resemble Iranians' accounts. With using social media, people can now become plugged in with places all around the world and this will help shift their perspective from a egocentric view to a worldwide view. It will increase tolerance and open new relationships.

I also found it interesting that the chapter talked about how technology is always changing. People are always trying to catch up with the newest and most wanted items- phones, apps, music devices, etc. I thought it was ironic that this chapter was our reading assignment right around the time that the iPhone 5 came out. Apple has out all of the iPhones out within just a few years, and sometimes, months of each other. They are constantly creating new, faster, and improved ways to communication with one another. The technology is becoming smarter and making us more reliant on it, which in turn, makes us less intelligent then we are. We do not rely on brain skills, yet we plug things in to our phones (calculators, Google app, etc). My parents always criticize the way I study and do homework because I always have my phone and computer with me. Technology has evolved so much that they didn't have anything like those things growing up. Soon the upcoming generations will not know a different life before cell phones, iPads/tablets, iPods/MP3, etc.

I remember a time when not everyone had a phone and all phones were still bulky and flip phones. It's so strange to see how much the phones have changed and condensed in size. The kids I babysit, at the time, were one and three-years-old. Clearly I knew how to use an iPad, but the little girl (3) insisted on teaching me how to use the iPad- access and open the apps, how to download new ones, how to play each game, etc. That is mind blowing to me. What happened to hard back books and playing outside? We had a television when I was growing up, but I didn't care to watch it because I was so fascinated with being outside. It's sad to watch how quickly technology is advancing and how much impact it has on generations after mine.

To be honest, I wish the growth of technology would slow down or stop for a while. Just let us relax and catch up on the simple things in life.

September 10, 2012 assignment

In Squirrel Inc., I am not comfortable with its formatting quite yet. To me, it is a little odd to be reading a story about a character who is teaching another character how to tell a story, but I do think the formatting will grow on me because it is a creative and ironic way to learn. With this formatting, it is more hidden that the reader is actually learning something versus just reading something.

The tip that says "Link the story to the change idea with phrases such as "Think..." and "What if..." and "Just imagine..." seems sort of like a cheesy lead-in in a bad middle school-written paper. When I was younger that is how I usually started stories or made a transition between paragraphs. In my opinion, it's an easy out and has no depth or thought put into it.

In chapter two, I liked that fact that said "In performing the story, the storyteller relieves the story and makes it fresh." For me, when listening to someone tell a story who has actually lived the story, I find myself more intrigued then if the person was just telling about a story they heard. Also, I know when I tell a story, I am a much better storyteller if I am telling about my own, personal experience.

In Made to Stick, Heath and Heath discussed the "SUCCES" principles: simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, stories. These six principles all bring up questions that need to be considered before telling a story to a big audience. When considering these principles, all need to be included to create or tell a compelling story. With one or more of the principles left out, the audience may become distracted or uninterested in the storyteller. For me, I think I struggle most with choosing details to include and not include. I want everyone to know exactly what happened, what I witnessed, and want them to be able to walk through the memory step by step with me, but I tend to get lost in details versus keeping it simple.

September 3, 2012 assignment

In chapter three of Design to Thrive, by Tharon Howard, different reasons as to why companies should build social networks and communities are discussed.  I found this section to be interesting because when I was reading the list on reasons I noticed that I recognize those characteristics from sites that I visit. For example, “providing a higher quality interaction with your organization” and “identifying customer needs and new product opportunities” are both things that I am aware of. 

Considering the reason “providing a higher quality interaction with your organization,” to me, this means that through a social network or community a company, who is ‘higher’ than the public, can come down to their level and better understand and communicate with them to get to know their hopes and wants for the community. Through interacting on a social network, the company seems more personable and less authoritative. When reading the point “identifying customer needs and new product opportunities,” I think of times when I am online and there are places you can write your opinions about a companies product and they will ‘reward’ you with something or if you ‘like’ their Facebook page, when the company post new products and you share them, the company gives you opportunities to win things, which makes their new product spread faster.

In Secrets of Social Media Marketing, Gillin discusses in the first few paragraphs a day in the life of Greg Peverill-Conti, a public relation professional, and briefly compares that to a life of someone who worked in public relations a few years ago.  This was a really interesting part to me because though I know that there has been an extremely dramatic change in media over the years, it is actually interesting to sit down and think about it.  Routinely, public relations professionals get paid to scan and rescan social media sites for new news because it, most often, hits those sites before other sites. I found it interesting that there are websites and search engines that are devoted to only sorting through blogs or Twitter. I thought the fact that was listed on page 42 about Google was incredible. It indexes so much when I think about it, but in reality, the fact says it only documents 20%. 

August 27, 2012 assignment

In chapter 2 of Secrets of Social Media Marketing, the author presents a section called "Not Right for Every Job." In this section, Gillin illustrates, using a chart, uses for appropriate social media tools and then goes on to discuss different communication styles to conduct different types of business (i.e. by using branding, direct marketing, etc). Knowing the different approaches to the public, concerning both social media and communication styles, will help when targeting different demographics of customers and, hopefully, help the business expand its networks.

The biggest thing I took away from this chapter was talked about on page 36.  Gillin said, “Think of social media as an evolution of the company suggestion box, only the suggestions are now contributed to the public.”  This statement weighs heavily on the communication field, which is what I am looking to go in.  Companies need to learn to use the Internet to their advantage when creating and selling products. Customers are the people who actually use the company’s products, so therefore their opinion should matter the most.  If customers are freely writing their opinions or complaints about products, companies should jump on the opportunity to enhance not only their product, but also their company name.

Also in Secrets of Social Media Marketing, chapter 6 talks more in depth about different social media sites and how they are characterized based on their categories and commonalities. The book talks about how each social network has similar, but also different features that reach out and grab consumers. These unique features are what marketers are using to engage the public. The chart that is presented on page 102 is interesting because it shows primary reasons as to why people have joined a social networking site.  This survey is an important factor to consider for companies creating and utilizing social networks to promote their businesses.

In Howard’s Design to Thrive, chapter one first discusses the differences between online communities and social networks.  The differences were found to be primarily relating to the individual that was a part of the social network or the online community.

Howard then discussed the four core principles for a long-term successful online communities and social networks.  These principles are referred to by the acronym RIBS (R- remuneration, I- influence, B-belonging, S- significance). These components all work together to create a strong interior for the online communities and serve to help the users feel like they are contributing to and are a part of something bigger than themselves, or that they will receive something in response to their contributions.