Creativity and Expression

After reading numerous blogs, everyone has their own opinion on what social networking means for them and how they use it.  Social networking is an incredible tool for an individual to express themselves, and also enables them to connect with their friends instantly.  As the days of printed paper become extinct, social media enables a message to reach a large audience at a few clicks on a computer or mobile device.  Robin Pertusi's blog states that "Facebook’s purpose is to maintain or foster both old and new friendships that are pre-existing to the physical act of 'accepting' a 'friend request' on Facebook. While Twitter’s purpose is to build new relationships with people that you may not even know but are interested in what they have to say."  I completely agree with Robin, and she brought up a great point. Smg314 has dived into her blog and has posted pictures that are incredible.  Kimmy Rae Goldberg in her blog posted that "blogs need character and a voice"and this is necessary for a blog to gain body and truly capture the reader.  Caroline Bucky fully customized her blog with a rain drop background and she raised a great concluding statement that since social media is public and information is released online, to always think prior to posting or releasing information.  Although you can set privacy settings, your posts really aren't that private, and you need to tweet and post on Facebook with the best of intentions and if anyone were to search through your social networking sites, that you have nothing to hide or be ashamed of.  

Twitter vs. Facebook

I have been an avid user of both Twitter and Facebook.  I believe both are great social networking tools and they both provide different ways of communicating to a large audience.  For Twitter, it is more "accepted" to post frequently than Facebook.  People who post in their profile on Facebook is seen by everyone on their newsfeed and people notice this.  However, Twitter is made for tweeting and constantly posting and it is more accepted to tweet frequently.  The user experience of both sites are very different.  With Facebook, there is a much more personal way of expression and communication.  Whereas with Twitter, I feel it is a more open and public form of communication.  For Facebook, the audience and primary consumers are people, but it is a great marketing tool to create a "page" for a company, whereas with Twitter, channels are extremely popular and products, news companies, and brands have accounts and it's just a massive flow of information and primarily text.  Facebook enables a lot of expression through pictures, albums, and statuses, whereas with Twitter you can do text, 1 picture, and location in a tweet.  Twitter is more limited in options and expression than Facebook.  I follow celebrities, news channels, venues, friends, teams, and artists.  I really check my Twitter a lot, as most venues and artists post their first presale ticket dates and links to tickets via twitter.  I really like Twitter as it allows for extremely quick communication to a fan/customer base and between friends.  My concerns with Twitter is that when I originally made a Twitter account, my account was public/unlocked and a lot of random-unknown people/bots would follow me and I had no way of preventing them from seeing my tweets, therefore I made my account locked so that I get to see who wants to follow me first and I get to accept them in order for them to read my tweets.        

I see social media in the news and athletes can respond to phenomena via Twitter or can also get in trouble with using their Twitter accounts and their choice of words.  I know athletes and people like Mark Cuban who have been fined for what they have said through social media and it is important for them to realize that what they say and tweet is seen and heard by everyone.  

Increasing Likes on Zoellner Arts Page

I have some ideas to increase the amount of Facebook Likes on the Zoellner arts page.  My ideas include posting in each of the Lehigh Facebook Classes forums and suggesting to "like" the Zoellner arts page to stay current with information and events.  Also, in the Lehigh Brown and White, having a Zoellner section or advertisement suggesting to "like" Zoellner arts page on Facebook could also increase activity on the page.  Also, being featured in the daily announcements in the chain emails that all students can see can also bring awareness and attention to the Zoellner arts page.

Zoellner Arts Administration Transition

I believe the Zoellner Arts administration transition took place on July 17th.  I saw a change in tone and also noted that prior to this date, most posts containing links did not include a detailed description in the textbook and provoke conversation.  But on July 17th, the texts were longer and the descriptions were more detailed to engage the audience and start up discussion.

Social Media Manager

The reading around the issue of age and social media managers raises the argument that every social media manager should be under the age of 25 and I believe that it is a very extreme argument.  If anything, having a social media manager who witnessed the transition of technology and the use and importance of social media would be an asset to any company or firm.  That someone who is older can be vital and just as up-to-date as one who was born into the generation of cell phones and Twitter and Facebook.  Someone who is competent and capable of being the best social media manager should get the job, and age should have no impact on the employment decision just as race and gender shouldn't either