The Twitterverse:
Twitter? What the heck is that? Twitter lingo has become a second language to thousands of teens, adults, celebrities, businesses and beyond. Here’s the breakdown:
Tweet: A tweet is a post or status update on Twitter, a microblogging service. Because Twitter only allows messages of 140 characters or less, "tweet" is as much a play on the size of the message as it is on the audible similarity to Twitter.
At Reply: A direct message donated with @ before a specific user name that is sent only to the Tweeter that was mentioned.
Direct Message: DM is used to send a private message to someone that the rest of the Twitterverse cannot see.
TwitPic: A Web site for users to post pictures to the Twitter service via tweet by uploading pics from mobile devices onto the site. Primarily used to capture moments as they are taking place in real-time.
Blog: A blog is a form of online writing, picture-taking, journaling, etc. for people to implement as a means of expressing thoughts, ideas, job opening, whatever! While a blog is not exclusive to Twitter, many users will add links to blogs as a means of sharing and distributing information to followers.
So that’s it! There are hundreds of other definitions within the social media world but these are a few you will hear the most of within this article and when first starting out with Twitter. If you don’t have a Twitter account already, jump on the Twitter bandwagon and go set one up at twitter.com!
Showing posts with label technology - social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology - social media. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Alternate Story Text
Q: Who are some prominent Democrats using social media?
A: President Barack Obama is on Facebook and Twitter. Links to information and ways to participate in the political process are posted on both of the Web sites. On Facebook, President Obama has over 6.8 million supporters. On Twitter, under the username BarackObama, he has over 2.4 million followers.
Sen. Claire McCaskill is a prominent Twitter user with over 33,000 followers. Her page, claircmc, features updates about her political activities and ideas, and her personal life. She also responds to many ‘tweets’ she receives from other users.
Sen. Chris Dodd’s office maintains a Twitter page, under the username SenChrisDodd, with updates about the Senator’s activities as well as linking to political videos and articles. Sen. Dodd has over 9,000 followers. On Faecbook, he has over 3,000 supporters.
Q: Who are some prominent Republicans using social media?
A: Sen. John McCain has a Twitter and Facebook account. On Twitter, at SenJohnMcCain, where he has over 1.5 million followers, he posts information about his activities, links to articles, and political thoughts. He also holds conversations with his daughter Meghan McCain through her Twitter. His Facebook account, where he has over 500,000 supporters, is updated similarly.
Rep. John Boehner is the Minority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has over 11,000 followers on Twitter, account name GOPLeader, and over 18,000 supporters on Facebook. He updates with links to political articles and videos.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of Calif. has over 1.3 million followers on Twitter, under the name Schwarzenegger. He updates with information about his activities, photos, and links to articles.
A: President Barack Obama is on Facebook and Twitter. Links to information and ways to participate in the political process are posted on both of the Web sites. On Facebook, President Obama has over 6.8 million supporters. On Twitter, under the username BarackObama, he has over 2.4 million followers.
Sen. Claire McCaskill is a prominent Twitter user with over 33,000 followers. Her page, claircmc, features updates about her political activities and ideas, and her personal life. She also responds to many ‘tweets’ she receives from other users.
Sen. Chris Dodd’s office maintains a Twitter page, under the username SenChrisDodd, with updates about the Senator’s activities as well as linking to political videos and articles. Sen. Dodd has over 9,000 followers. On Faecbook, he has over 3,000 supporters.
Q: Who are some prominent Republicans using social media?
A: Sen. John McCain has a Twitter and Facebook account. On Twitter, at SenJohnMcCain, where he has over 1.5 million followers, he posts information about his activities, links to articles, and political thoughts. He also holds conversations with his daughter Meghan McCain through her Twitter. His Facebook account, where he has over 500,000 supporters, is updated similarly.
Rep. John Boehner is the Minority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has over 11,000 followers on Twitter, account name GOPLeader, and over 18,000 supporters on Facebook. He updates with links to political articles and videos.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of Calif. has over 1.3 million followers on Twitter, under the name Schwarzenegger. He updates with information about his activities, photos, and links to articles.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
No-Fi, Wavves Hit it Big through Social Media
A New Kind of Rockstar
by Christopher Joshua Benton
Popular indie rock website Gorilla v. Bear, in addition to a few to other blogs, have become the penultimate tastemakers for the no-fi genre
Photo: Christopher Joshua Benton
Athens, Ga--Watching Nathan Williams in his music video for “No Hope Kids,” filmed during his world tour, it is easy to imagine him a picaresque hero, getting wasted and playing shows, unwittingly implicated in the machinations of blog hype and Internet coolhunting. In less than two years, he’s released two albums, a bevy of cassettes, and has endured the hype and backlash waves of fickle music listeners. Already, he’s in the redemption phase. Wavves is the paradigm for a new kind of alternative band made on the Internet and in bedrooms, and promoted via social media tools.
Wavves was the bedroom pop project of one Nathan Williams (age 23); now, the epitome of “Gorilla v. Bear” blog hype, don’t-take-too-much-X-before-playing-stadiums advice from your mom, and the poster boy for the n of genre. Wavves also now includes the hardest working drummer in showbiz, Zach Hill.
His music probably hinges on an impossibility: if you ever tried playing a scratched Smiley Smile bootleg LP on blown-out speakers, so you used the line-out; instead, connecting the vinyl to that amp that’s been stuck in overdrive since you found it at some garage sale, the output would sound awful, but it’d also, maybe, reach that equilibrium of vaguely tuneful/ groggy pixilation/ distortion noise that Wavves has adopted as his own. His lo-fi noise music (no-fi) buries melody behind a heavy level of grit.
He’s not the only one: Why is everyone and their mom in a lo/no-fi band these days?
“I don’t know, Williams said laughing in a phone interview. "Maybe because it’s easy to do, it’s easy to record, and it doesn’t really cost money. But I’m not sure. I wouldn’t say I’m any scene in particular, I’m just labeled that."
"No-fi's really popular with these blogger guys," Williams said later, outside the 40 Watt Club after his performance.
At 21, after quitting his day job, Nathan Williams spent a month making ramshackle home recordings in GarageBand that would become his first two albums. Through the course of those two D.I.Y. albums, titled Wavves and Wavvves.
Simple and wide-eyed, it’s his pseudo-adolescent, bratty Brian Wilsonisms and up-Beat-Happening-floor-tom pop that transforms such drab subject matter into optimistic stoner anthems.
It wouldn’t be reductive to say Wavves has tapped into the cool zeitgeist where everyone has a fuzzy bedroom pet project, where everyone has a little too much consonance in their name (see UUVVWWZ, Lovvers, Nodzzz), and where no one can really play their instruments.
It is arguable that without the power of the blogging community and other social media like Hypemachine (a blog aggregation tool that collects MP3s from various weblog platform), Wavves and bands like him would still be very obscure.
"I think the first place that gave me press was that blog Gorilla v. Bear," Williams said.
"Gorilla v. Bear" is a popular web destination for indie music. With over 3 million visitors a week, it has become a forum for heralding what will become the next big thing in independent rock music.
"I never heard of the genre no-fi until I started going to Gorilla v. Bear, and there's this new genre 'chillwave' that Carles from that 'Hipster Runoff' website made up. It's like their inventing genres…," Andrew Dykes said, a local musician who hopes to get involved in the blog machine.
Ryan Grub, lead singer of another up-and-coming no-fi band Ganglians, currently on tour with Wavves, is convinced of the power of blogs. "We're not one of those Internet guys, but it's hard to imagine who would know about us without blogs and stuff."
Perhaps most significant of this new rockist narrative is that “overnight success” is literal—relative popularity is instantaneous and measured by a new temporality called “blog years,” an ADD blank (screen) generation eye-blink test, akin to a “light year.”
The short incubation period from obscurity, to hypeblogged, to Pitchfork Best New Music wunderkind, to backlash, only magnifies that most of these bands can’t perform live. When Williams first started playing live shows last spring, he was terrible. His inexperience reached a tipping point during his so-called “meltdown” at the Primavera Sound Festival in May where he took a cocktail of ecstasy, Valium, and Xanax, harassed the audience and was booed off stage.
“When I first started playing, the first couple of shows were with 500 people, so I just got thrown into it and I didn’t have any time to work the set out with somebody and practice and play smaller shows for a while. It just kinda blew up so quickly and I was playing for tons of people right away so it wasn’t necessarily very good in the very beginning. There was stuff to work out and its just like with anything, you do it enough and you get better at it,” he said.
Since then, Wavves has played to glowing live reviews and plenty of redemption feature stories. And with a new album already recorded, it seems he’s about go through it all over again. Whether Wavves or Ganglians are still around after the hype, is anyone's guess.
Kyle Hoover, Ganglians guitarist seems hopeful, talking out of a sinus infection. "It's tough on tour, but I want to do this forever."
Forever and anon, with a little blog love, it seems like any musician with a dream and recording equipment can be propelled from anonymity to fame.
Edited by Ali Rosenberger
The New Political Wheel
Kristen Luca
Politics and political campaigning may be developing a new face on the Internet with the expansion of online social media.
Social media services like Twitter and Facebook allow users to quickly get messages out to large groups of people. According to a recent New York Times article, the tracking firm comScore has measured Twitter’s traffic at 54 million visitors a month. For politicians and political candidates who are committed to getting their names and messages out to their constituents, these Web sites might hold potential.
Samantha Jose, communications director for the Young Democrats at the University of Georgia, said that the Democratic Party has already taken advantage of social media. She referenced President Obama’s 2008 campaign, and his use of Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about his platforms on issues and updates about events.
Jose also thought the Democratic Party takes more advantage of social media services than the Republican Party does. “I’d like to think we’re a little bit quicker on the uptake,” she said.
Matthew Ralston, PR Director for UGA’s College Republicans, said that he thought the Republican Party as a whole was not using social media as much as the Democratic Party. Ralston said at the moment few Republicans were utilizing the services.
“It’s like the wheel has just come out of the sky for them,” Ralston said.
However, he also thought that in the future more Republicans would come to use the services. He pointed to the low cost of social media and their ability to reach many people in just a few clicks.
But social media is not useful only to campaigning politicians. In June, Reuters reported that the U.S. State Department asked Twitter to delay an upgrade that would have shut the service down during the day in Iran. Iranians protesting the presidential election results were using Twitter to speak with each other and get past communication blocks set up by the Iranian government.
Private citizens like the Iranians, more traditionally associated with the expansion of social media, have the opportunity to use social technology not only as an audience but as active participants.
Samantha Jose, of the Young Democrats, thinks that the greatest advantage in using social media to spread political ideas is that citizens are more informed. “Social media allows for debate to be way more instantaneous,” Jose said.
She added that on the Internet, there is no filter for information. Access to publishing software on the Web is cheap and often free, allowing anyone with a connection to upload their thoughts and hold a conversation. However, Jose thinks that the benefits of using social media outweigh the risk of encountering less substantial or non-credible information.
Users can find other benefits to having politicians on Facebook and Twitter, too. Allison Clark, an Advertising major, used social media to find out what political ideas and beliefs her friends and acquaintances held. She looked on Facebook to see what politicians her friends had become ‘fans’ of, and even became a fan of a politician herself.
Allison Clark said that she also believed Democrats used social media “better” than Republicans. “Democrats target a younger audience, so they have to be more knowledgeable” about social media, Allison Clark said. She added, however, “Republicans are getting there.”
People using social media for political purposes can also send messages to their online network in the process. Ben Clark, a UGA student and member of the Young Democrats, says that he ‘friended’ several politicians on Facebook during the 2008 election season. He follows President Barack Obama, Sen. Chris Dodd and former Sen. John Edwards on Facebook.
Having his Facebook accounts associated with the politicians’ is not entirely to read through their updates and messages, though. “During the election,” Ben Clark said, “I wanted everyone to know who I supported.”
Edited by: Megan Niager
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Twitter Establishes Presence in the Hunt for Jobs
Megan Niager
“There are a lot of Twitter naysayers out there. Until you start playing with Twitter, it’s hard to understand the value of it,” said Sloane Kelly, content developer for BFG Communications in Savannah, Ga., who used this social media tool to invite job seekers to post their application for a recent job opening at the company.
Kelly works in the content department at BFG, “a nationally ranked, brand building creative solutions machine,” according to their Web site. Kelly arrived at the company roughly three years ago and while BFG already had blog as a means to get their feet wet, there needed to be more of a social media presence, she said.
BFG has several social media accounts, including Facebook, Flickr and MySpace and while the content department works as a collaborative force to update their social media, Kelly maintains the Twitter account. “Twitter is the world that I like to play in,” she said.
Twitter is a social media networking site that gives users the opportunity to post “tweets” about whatever they wish in 140 characters or less. In the words of the service, “It is what you make of it.”
BFG had previously mentioned job openings via Twitter, but this was the first time they specifically asked for interested parties to apply for a position as Assistant Content Manager without the traditional cover letter and resume, she said.
After posting the opening via Twitter, BFG Communications wrote on their blog, “We decided to do things differently this time around with the application process… The job requires a great deal of social media savvy. So the hope is applicants will not only show us why they’re perfect for the job but also their understanding of Twitter and the social web.”
“It’s been awesome and an interesting way to get to know people,” she said. There was a lot of creativity in the way that people respond, Kelly said.
BFG received highly positive response from an impressive group of people, she said. There have been several applicants who stood out creatively and made good use of the social media space, which is exactly what they’re looking for, Kelly said.
Nicole Galletta, 27, saw the tweet posted by BFG inviting job seekers to apply for their opening via Twitter. Galletta had been recently laid off from Sojo, Inc, a branding and marketing firm in Atlanta, Ga., and used the social networking resources she was already a part of to find a new job.
Galletta replied to the BFG tweet by posting a link to a blog she wrote as a means to sell herself to the company. Her tweet was public, meaning it could be seen by all users on Twitter. “It was pretty bold,” Galletta said. She said she's never put a job out there like that before.
Galletta said she’s definitely benefited from using social media, especially Twitter. Just as in real life, people benefit from the connections they have with people, she said. “With Twitter, you establish a connection and reap the benefits,” Galletta said.
“Twitter is the place to be,” she said. She explained a lot of people are still confused about Twitter, thinking, “it’s like just updating your Facebook status a bunch of times.”
Janet Fouts is an expert in the field of social media. As a "social media enabler", she defines her job as helping people understand what social media is and figure out what their goals are within the social media world. She then helps them implement those goals.
From an article on her Web site entitled “Job Hunting with Social Media”, Fouts pointed out that “everything that is written on Twitter is archived in just a few minutes by the search engines.” Fouts encourages her clients to perform a Google search on themselves and analyze the message and perception they are delivering to the virtual world.
Many people are adopting social media already in job searches, she said. “Pretty soon, you’re not going to be able to ignore it because it’s going to become the norm,” Fouts said. Fouts said to use Twitter to let your loyal followers know that you’re looking for a job, and be specific about what you’re looking for.
Heather Huhman is the founder and President of Come Recommended, which is an online community that connects the best entry level candidates with the best employer, she said. Huhman also tweets and post public relations related job openings on Twitter.
Huhman said she has heard from 100 new hires this year who said they obtained a job through a tweet or link that she posted. "I need people to tell me," she said. She said that there's really no way to track the success rate if she doesn't hear from applicants.
Sloane Kelly of BFG Communications doesn’t know if this form of job application will become a trend for everyone but it has worked for them. "We’re always trying to push the envelope and break the typical mold by thinking outside of the box," she said. "That’s what we’re all about."
Edited by: Kristen Luca
“There are a lot of Twitter naysayers out there. Until you start playing with Twitter, it’s hard to understand the value of it,” said Sloane Kelly, content developer for BFG Communications in Savannah, Ga., who used this social media tool to invite job seekers to post their application for a recent job opening at the company.
Kelly works in the content department at BFG, “a nationally ranked, brand building creative solutions machine,” according to their Web site. Kelly arrived at the company roughly three years ago and while BFG already had blog as a means to get their feet wet, there needed to be more of a social media presence, she said.
BFG has several social media accounts, including Facebook, Flickr and MySpace and while the content department works as a collaborative force to update their social media, Kelly maintains the Twitter account. “Twitter is the world that I like to play in,” she said.
Twitter is a social media networking site that gives users the opportunity to post “tweets” about whatever they wish in 140 characters or less. In the words of the service, “It is what you make of it.”
BFG had previously mentioned job openings via Twitter, but this was the first time they specifically asked for interested parties to apply for a position as Assistant Content Manager without the traditional cover letter and resume, she said.
After posting the opening via Twitter, BFG Communications wrote on their blog, “We decided to do things differently this time around with the application process… The job requires a great deal of social media savvy. So the hope is applicants will not only show us why they’re perfect for the job but also their understanding of Twitter and the social web.”
“It’s been awesome and an interesting way to get to know people,” she said. There was a lot of creativity in the way that people respond, Kelly said.
BFG received highly positive response from an impressive group of people, she said. There have been several applicants who stood out creatively and made good use of the social media space, which is exactly what they’re looking for, Kelly said.
Nicole Galletta, 27, saw the tweet posted by BFG inviting job seekers to apply for their opening via Twitter. Galletta had been recently laid off from Sojo, Inc, a branding and marketing firm in Atlanta, Ga., and used the social networking resources she was already a part of to find a new job.
Galletta replied to the BFG tweet by posting a link to a blog she wrote as a means to sell herself to the company. Her tweet was public, meaning it could be seen by all users on Twitter. “It was pretty bold,” Galletta said. She said she's never put a job out there like that before.
Galletta said she’s definitely benefited from using social media, especially Twitter. Just as in real life, people benefit from the connections they have with people, she said. “With Twitter, you establish a connection and reap the benefits,” Galletta said.
“Twitter is the place to be,” she said. She explained a lot of people are still confused about Twitter, thinking, “it’s like just updating your Facebook status a bunch of times.”
Janet Fouts is an expert in the field of social media. As a "social media enabler", she defines her job as helping people understand what social media is and figure out what their goals are within the social media world. She then helps them implement those goals.
From an article on her Web site entitled “Job Hunting with Social Media”, Fouts pointed out that “everything that is written on Twitter is archived in just a few minutes by the search engines.” Fouts encourages her clients to perform a Google search on themselves and analyze the message and perception they are delivering to the virtual world.
Many people are adopting social media already in job searches, she said. “Pretty soon, you’re not going to be able to ignore it because it’s going to become the norm,” Fouts said. Fouts said to use Twitter to let your loyal followers know that you’re looking for a job, and be specific about what you’re looking for.
Heather Huhman is the founder and President of Come Recommended, which is an online community that connects the best entry level candidates with the best employer, she said. Huhman also tweets and post public relations related job openings on Twitter.
Huhman said she has heard from 100 new hires this year who said they obtained a job through a tweet or link that she posted. "I need people to tell me," she said. She said that there's really no way to track the success rate if she doesn't hear from applicants.
Sloane Kelly of BFG Communications doesn’t know if this form of job application will become a trend for everyone but it has worked for them. "We’re always trying to push the envelope and break the typical mold by thinking outside of the box," she said. "That’s what we’re all about."
Edited by: Kristen Luca
The New Political Wheel
Kristen Luca
With the expansion of online social media, politics and political campaigning may be developing a new face on the Internet.
Social media services like Twitter and Facebook allow users to quickly get messages out to large groups of people, and are quickly gaining in popularity. According to a recent New York Times article, the tracking firm comScore has measured Twitter’s traffic at 54 million visitors a month. For politicians and political candidates who devote much energy to getting their names and messages out to their constituents, these Web sites might hold potential.
Samantha Jose, communications director for the Young Democrats at the University of Georgia, said that the Democratic party has already taken advantage of the possibilities social media offers. She referenced President Obama’s 2008 campaign, and his use of Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about his platforms on issues and updates about events.
Jose also thought the Democratic party takes more advantage of social media services than does the Republican party. “I’d like to think we’re a little bit quicker on the uptake,” she said.
Matthew Ralston, PR Director for UGA’s College Republicans, said that he thought the Republican party as a whole was not using social media as much as the Democratic party. Ralston said he at the moment few Republicans were utilizing the services and others were behind.
“It’s like the wheel has just come out of the sky for them,” Ralston said.
However, he also thought that in the future more in the party would come to use the services to get their messages out. He pointed to the low cost of the services and their ability to reach many people in just a few clicks.
But social media is not useful only to campaigning politicians. In June, Reuters reported that the U.S. State Department had asked Twitter to delay an upgrade that would have shut down the service during the daytime in Iran. Iranians protesting the presidential election results were using Twitter to speak with each other and get past blocks on communication set up by the Iranian government.
At a time when options were severely restricted, Iranians turned to the Internet and social media sites to broadcast their thoughts and political movements. The U.S. government recognized the importance of Twitter to the situation in Iran and interceded with the company to minimize the inconvenience to those in Iran.
Private citizens, more traditionally associated with the expansion of social media, have the opportunity to use the technology not only as an audience but as active participants. Samantha Jose, of the Young Democrats, thinks that the greatest advantage in using social media to spread political ideas is that citizens are more informed.
The nature of the Internet also allows for communication and debate in a way that more traditional forms of media, like print and cable, do not. “Social media allows for debate to be way more instantaneous,” Jose said.
She added that on the Internet, there is no filter for information. Access to publishing software on the Web is cheap and often free, allowing anyone with a connection to upload their thoughts and hold a conversation. However, Jose thinks that the overall benefits of using social media outweigh the risk of encountering less substantial or non-credible information.
Users can find other benefits to having politicians on Facebook and Twitter, too. Ben Clark, a UGA student and member of the Young Democrats, says that he ‘friended’ several politicians on Facebook during the 2008 election season. Including President Barack Obama, he also follows Sen. Chris Dodd and former Sen. John Edwards.
Having his Facebook accounts associated with the politicians’, though, is not entirely to read through their updates and messages. “During the election,” Clark said, “I wanted everyone to know who I supported.”
Politicians are not the only ones who can send political messages through social media.
With the expansion of online social media, politics and political campaigning may be developing a new face on the Internet.
Social media services like Twitter and Facebook allow users to quickly get messages out to large groups of people, and are quickly gaining in popularity. According to a recent New York Times article, the tracking firm comScore has measured Twitter’s traffic at 54 million visitors a month. For politicians and political candidates who devote much energy to getting their names and messages out to their constituents, these Web sites might hold potential.
Samantha Jose, communications director for the Young Democrats at the University of Georgia, said that the Democratic party has already taken advantage of the possibilities social media offers. She referenced President Obama’s 2008 campaign, and his use of Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about his platforms on issues and updates about events.
Jose also thought the Democratic party takes more advantage of social media services than does the Republican party. “I’d like to think we’re a little bit quicker on the uptake,” she said.
Matthew Ralston, PR Director for UGA’s College Republicans, said that he thought the Republican party as a whole was not using social media as much as the Democratic party. Ralston said he at the moment few Republicans were utilizing the services and others were behind.
“It’s like the wheel has just come out of the sky for them,” Ralston said.
However, he also thought that in the future more in the party would come to use the services to get their messages out. He pointed to the low cost of the services and their ability to reach many people in just a few clicks.
But social media is not useful only to campaigning politicians. In June, Reuters reported that the U.S. State Department had asked Twitter to delay an upgrade that would have shut down the service during the daytime in Iran. Iranians protesting the presidential election results were using Twitter to speak with each other and get past blocks on communication set up by the Iranian government.
At a time when options were severely restricted, Iranians turned to the Internet and social media sites to broadcast their thoughts and political movements. The U.S. government recognized the importance of Twitter to the situation in Iran and interceded with the company to minimize the inconvenience to those in Iran.
Private citizens, more traditionally associated with the expansion of social media, have the opportunity to use the technology not only as an audience but as active participants. Samantha Jose, of the Young Democrats, thinks that the greatest advantage in using social media to spread political ideas is that citizens are more informed.
The nature of the Internet also allows for communication and debate in a way that more traditional forms of media, like print and cable, do not. “Social media allows for debate to be way more instantaneous,” Jose said.
She added that on the Internet, there is no filter for information. Access to publishing software on the Web is cheap and often free, allowing anyone with a connection to upload their thoughts and hold a conversation. However, Jose thinks that the overall benefits of using social media outweigh the risk of encountering less substantial or non-credible information.
Users can find other benefits to having politicians on Facebook and Twitter, too. Ben Clark, a UGA student and member of the Young Democrats, says that he ‘friended’ several politicians on Facebook during the 2008 election season. Including President Barack Obama, he also follows Sen. Chris Dodd and former Sen. John Edwards.
Having his Facebook accounts associated with the politicians’, though, is not entirely to read through their updates and messages. “During the election,” Clark said, “I wanted everyone to know who I supported.”
Politicians are not the only ones who can send political messages through social media.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Social Media Goes Academic
By Kristen Luca
Facebook may soon be coming to a classroom near you.
Or at least one of its companions in the social media market may be. Services like Facebook, Twitter, and del.icio.us are not going unnoticed on college campuses. Two University of Georgia professors have decided to work with those services in their classrooms.
Karen Russell, associate professor at Grady College, uses several social media platforms in her courses.
“Since I teach PR and social media is important ... I try to expose them all to social media,” Russell said.
She connects with her students through del.icio.us, a social bookmarking Web site. Russell assigns her course readings through the service, which is a place for Internet users to share and distribute links.
While Russell uses delicious, Scott Shamp, director of the New Media Institute at UGA, utilizes Facebook, a popular social network for college students. Facebook is another popular social networking Web site, which allows users to make profiles and create groups based on interests. Students are required to have a account to join the class Facebook group, which is used to send out readings, answer student questions, and deliver assignments. Shamp could not be reached for comment, but his teaching assistant Cindy Reynolds spoke on the use of Facebook in teaching the “Introduction to New Media” course.
“Some of them didn’t want to join,” Reynolds said, “but we made them. It’s a New Media course and they need to use new media.”
Facebook facilitates class communication for her course. For instance, according to Reynolds, she gets asked the same questions by students repeatedly, and the Facebook group cuts down on the time spent answering them by allowing her to answer the question once.
Facebook is not the only option for classrooms. In addition to del.icio.us, Karen Russell uses Twitter. “My favorite by far is Twitter. [My students] will tell you I’m addicted to it,” she said.
Twitter is a microblogging service allowing users to update their page with messages of 140 characters or less. Users can choose to receive updates, called “tweets,” from other accounts, as well as reply to tweets and hold conversations.
Russell uses Twitter to communicate with her students. “I could do the same thing by e-mail,” she said, “but doing it by Twitter forces them to use it.”
Russell said that social media allows her to connect to students on a more personal level, since her students often use their Twitter accounts to comment on their personal lives. She said that the technology gives her the ability to get to know students in a different way.
However, some are resistant to the idea. Ricky Contes, a third-year English major, said he would be uncomfortable if a professor required him to use social media for class. Even with services like Twitter, which do not offer as many potentially personal details as Facebook, he said he would object to their use in a classroom setting. Contes also said that if social media and academics were combined, “I would never get anything done.”
When Russell first started using Twitter for class, in the summer of 2008, students’ reactions were similar to Contes’s. “Let me tell you,” she said, “at first they hated it.”
This semester, however, her students have been more agreeable. The Web site’s popularity has reached the point where her students already have accounts before coming to class and she has received positive feedback about it. She also uses other Web sites like PROpenMic, an online community for PR students, educators, and professionals.
A student who has not used social media in class before seemed to reflect that attitude. Katie Wyke, a fourth-year English major, said that she would enjoy using social media for coursework.
“It’d be easy to get on it. I’m on it anyway sometimes,” said Wyke.
While social media have become more popular, convenience and a personal quality have now extended that reach to desks in UGA classrooms.
Edited by: Christopher
Facebook may soon be coming to a classroom near you.
Or at least one of its companions in the social media market may be. Services like Facebook, Twitter, and del.icio.us are not going unnoticed on college campuses. Two University of Georgia professors have decided to work with those services in their classrooms.
Karen Russell, associate professor at Grady College, uses several social media platforms in her courses.
“Since I teach PR and social media is important ... I try to expose them all to social media,” Russell said.
She connects with her students through del.icio.us, a social bookmarking Web site. Russell assigns her course readings through the service, which is a place for Internet users to share and distribute links.
While Russell uses delicious, Scott Shamp, director of the New Media Institute at UGA, utilizes Facebook, a popular social network for college students. Facebook is another popular social networking Web site, which allows users to make profiles and create groups based on interests. Students are required to have a account to join the class Facebook group, which is used to send out readings, answer student questions, and deliver assignments. Shamp could not be reached for comment, but his teaching assistant Cindy Reynolds spoke on the use of Facebook in teaching the “Introduction to New Media” course.
“Some of them didn’t want to join,” Reynolds said, “but we made them. It’s a New Media course and they need to use new media.”
Facebook facilitates class communication for her course. For instance, according to Reynolds, she gets asked the same questions by students repeatedly, and the Facebook group cuts down on the time spent answering them by allowing her to answer the question once.
Facebook is not the only option for classrooms. In addition to del.icio.us, Karen Russell uses Twitter. “My favorite by far is Twitter. [My students] will tell you I’m addicted to it,” she said.
Twitter is a microblogging service allowing users to update their page with messages of 140 characters or less. Users can choose to receive updates, called “tweets,” from other accounts, as well as reply to tweets and hold conversations.
Russell uses Twitter to communicate with her students. “I could do the same thing by e-mail,” she said, “but doing it by Twitter forces them to use it.”
Russell said that social media allows her to connect to students on a more personal level, since her students often use their Twitter accounts to comment on their personal lives. She said that the technology gives her the ability to get to know students in a different way.
However, some are resistant to the idea. Ricky Contes, a third-year English major, said he would be uncomfortable if a professor required him to use social media for class. Even with services like Twitter, which do not offer as many potentially personal details as Facebook, he said he would object to their use in a classroom setting. Contes also said that if social media and academics were combined, “I would never get anything done.”
When Russell first started using Twitter for class, in the summer of 2008, students’ reactions were similar to Contes’s. “Let me tell you,” she said, “at first they hated it.”
This semester, however, her students have been more agreeable. The Web site’s popularity has reached the point where her students already have accounts before coming to class and she has received positive feedback about it. She also uses other Web sites like PROpenMic, an online community for PR students, educators, and professionals.
A student who has not used social media in class before seemed to reflect that attitude. Katie Wyke, a fourth-year English major, said that she would enjoy using social media for coursework.
“It’d be easy to get on it. I’m on it anyway sometimes,” said Wyke.
While social media have become more popular, convenience and a personal quality have now extended that reach to desks in UGA classrooms.
Edited by: Christopher
Social Media Goes Academic
Kristen Luca
Facebook may soon be coming to a classroom near you.
Or at least one of its companions in the social media market may be. Services like Facebook, Twitter, and del.icio.us are not going unnoticed on college campuses. Two University of Georgia professors have decided to work with those services in their classrooms.
Karen Russell, associate professor at Grady College, uses several different social media platforms in her courses.
“Since I teach PR and social media is important ... I try to expose them all to social media,” Russell said.
She connects with her students through the Internet is del.icio.us, a social bookmarking Web site. It is a place for Internet users to share and distribute links. Each day of class Russell informs her students where to look on her account for their reading assigments.
Facebook is another popular social networking Web site, which allows users to make accounts and connect with people whom they share history or interests with.
Scott Shamp, director of the New Media Institute at UGA, has set up a Facebook group for his classes to use. Students are required to have a Facebook account to join the group, which is used to send out readings, answer student questions, and deliver assignments. Shamp could not be reached for comment, but his teaching assistant Cindy Reynolds spoke on the use of Facebook in teaching the Intro to New Media course.
“Some of them didn’t want to join,” Reynolds said, “but we made them. It’s a New Media course and they need to use new media.”
Reynolds said that as a TA, she gets asked the same questions by students repeatedly, and the Facebook group cuts down on the time spent answering them by allowing her to answer the question once. It facilitates class communication for her course.
“I don’t really like Facebook,” Karen Russell said. In her public relations classes, she uses a different medium. “My favorite by far is Twitter, [my students] will tell you I’m addicted to it.”
Twitter is a microblogging service allowing users to update their page with messages of 140 characters or less. Users can choose to receive updates, called “tweets,” from other accounts, as well as reply to tweets and hold conversations.
Russell uses Twitter to communicate with her students. “I could do the same thing by e-mail,” she said, “but doing it by Twitter forces them to use it.”
Russell said that social meida allows her to connect to students on a more personal level, since her students often use their Twitter accounts to update about their personal lives. She said that the technology gives her the ability to get to know students in a different way.
Others are resistant to the idea. Ricky Contes, a third-year English major, said he would be uncomfortable if a professor required him to use social media for class. Even with services like Twitter, which do not offer as many potentially personal details as Facebook, he said he would object to their use in a classroom setting.
Contes also said that if social media and academics were combined, “I would never get anything done.”
Russell said that student reaction to her early use of Twitter, in the summer of 2008, was along those lines. “Let me tell you,” she said, “at first they hated it.”
This semester, however, her students have been more agreeable. The Web site’s popularity has reached the point where her students already have accounts before coming to class. She receives positive feedback about it, and the other Web sites she uses, including PROpenMic, a online community for PR students, educators, and professionals.
A student who has not used social media in class before seemed to reflect that attitude. Katie Wyke, a fourth-year English major, said that she would enjoy using social media for coursework.
“It’d be easy to get on it,” Wyke said. “I’m on it anyway sometimes.”
Social media have already proven themselves to be useful and popular across the Internet. Convenience and a personal quality have now extended that reach to desks in UGA classrooms.
Edited by Katie and Christopher
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Social Media Marketing...Here to Stay?
Megan Niager
Social Media Marketing is a collaborative continuum where businesses take advantage of social media to brand themselves and sell products, said University of Georgia professor, Karen Russell.
Russell is an Associate professor, teaching advertising and public relations classes at UGA. She implements the use of social media tools in her classes by requiring that all students create a Twitter account.
Russell doesn’t think companies use social media solely to promote themselves but instead views it as real people who work for companies, becoming a part of the community.
On the future of social media marketing, Russell said, “Everything is blending and changing. It’s not settled.” She believes that the marketing industry is assuming a different role. Businesses themselves are offering content through social media outlets; not just placing ads. “[Social Media Marketing] is here. It’s happening,” she said.
At the very least, companies need to be monitoring social media to see what the public is saying about their company, said Russell. Social media has done nothing but grow and we must adjust to it, she said.
Twitter is very different than traditional online marketing, said Russell. “But it works.” Businesses who utilize social media can connect with the customer on a personal level. If the customer has a concern, there’s an actual person they can tweet their question to, rather than strictly consulting the Web site, said Russell.
“Not everyone knows how to make a Web site,” said Michelle Kim. Kim is a third year advertising student from Lawrenceville, Ga. and the webmaster for UGA’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, in charge of maintaining and updating the club’s social networking pages.
People already know how to use Facebook. By using Facebook and Twitter, it’s easier for Kim to communicate and keep in touch with members of Habitat, especially with the increased use of mobile media.
Kim mentioned the ineffectiveness of only using a listserv for an on-campus organization due to the amount of spam that students are receiving. Kim finds her social networking to be useful and effective. She once received an e-mail from a Habitat member saying, ‘Thanks for keeping me updated.’
“Social media marketing is really important,” Kim said. “How else am I supposed to get in touch with 200 people?” Those who stay updated with Habitat for Humanity through social media are the main ones who are involved with the organization, said Kim.
While Kim said she prefers Facebook to Twitter, she utilizes both for Habitat (as well as a blog) to keep members up to date and informed.
“We’ve seen more success on Facebook rather than Twitter,” said Creative Consultants Cine representative, Amanda Herrington. Through the Public Relations Student Society chapter at UGA, Herrington worked with a team to generate social media feedback for events that were held at Cine throughout the year.
Herrington witnessed first-hand the direct result of social media through the use of Flickr, which promotes itself as a “photo-sharing” outlet. After posting pictures of how the event space at Cine could be utilized, Herrington and the team were contacted by Cartoon Network to book the space for an event. “That was huge,” said Herrington.
Our goal was to get new people to Cine and we were able to see that happen through the use of Facebook and Twitter, Herrington said. We held a wine tasting that sold out and people were able to use Facebook as a way to find tickets to the event, she said. “We were able to have an internal conversation with a new crowd of people,” Herrington said.
Patrick Diebolt, a fourth year psychology major is an avid Twitter and Facebook user. Diebolt defines social media marketing as being companies and businesses using social networks to advertise themselves or a product.
Diebolt has had a personal Twitter account for one year. He recently deleted his account but quickly reactivated it because “I felt out of the loop with my friends,” he said.
Facebook fan pages are another method of social media marketing. Diebolt has created several fan pages to draw attention to a person or product and create publicity, he said. “Fan pages are good because they appear on mini-feeds and reach more people who wouldn’t otherwise be aware.”
Edited by: Ali Rosenberger
Social Media Marketing is a collaborative continuum where businesses take advantage of social media to brand themselves and sell products, said University of Georgia professor, Karen Russell.
Russell is an Associate professor, teaching advertising and public relations classes at UGA. She implements the use of social media tools in her classes by requiring that all students create a Twitter account.
Russell doesn’t think companies use social media solely to promote themselves but instead views it as real people who work for companies, becoming a part of the community.
On the future of social media marketing, Russell said, “Everything is blending and changing. It’s not settled.” She believes that the marketing industry is assuming a different role. Businesses themselves are offering content through social media outlets; not just placing ads. “[Social Media Marketing] is here. It’s happening,” she said.
At the very least, companies need to be monitoring social media to see what the public is saying about their company, said Russell. Social media has done nothing but grow and we must adjust to it, she said.
Twitter is very different than traditional online marketing, said Russell. “But it works.” Businesses who utilize social media can connect with the customer on a personal level. If the customer has a concern, there’s an actual person they can tweet their question to, rather than strictly consulting the Web site, said Russell.
“Not everyone knows how to make a Web site,” said Michelle Kim. Kim is a third year advertising student from Lawrenceville, Ga. and the webmaster for UGA’s Habitat for Humanity chapter, in charge of maintaining and updating the club’s social networking pages.
People already know how to use Facebook. By using Facebook and Twitter, it’s easier for Kim to communicate and keep in touch with members of Habitat, especially with the increased use of mobile media.
Kim mentioned the ineffectiveness of only using a listserv for an on-campus organization due to the amount of spam that students are receiving. Kim finds her social networking to be useful and effective. She once received an e-mail from a Habitat member saying, ‘Thanks for keeping me updated.’
“Social media marketing is really important,” Kim said. “How else am I supposed to get in touch with 200 people?” Those who stay updated with Habitat for Humanity through social media are the main ones who are involved with the organization, said Kim.
While Kim said she prefers Facebook to Twitter, she utilizes both for Habitat (as well as a blog) to keep members up to date and informed.
“We’ve seen more success on Facebook rather than Twitter,” said Creative Consultants Cine representative, Amanda Herrington. Through the Public Relations Student Society chapter at UGA, Herrington worked with a team to generate social media feedback for events that were held at Cine throughout the year.
Herrington witnessed first-hand the direct result of social media through the use of Flickr, which promotes itself as a “photo-sharing” outlet. After posting pictures of how the event space at Cine could be utilized, Herrington and the team were contacted by Cartoon Network to book the space for an event. “That was huge,” said Herrington.
Our goal was to get new people to Cine and we were able to see that happen through the use of Facebook and Twitter, Herrington said. We held a wine tasting that sold out and people were able to use Facebook as a way to find tickets to the event, she said. “We were able to have an internal conversation with a new crowd of people,” Herrington said.
Patrick Diebolt, a fourth year psychology major is an avid Twitter and Facebook user. Diebolt defines social media marketing as being companies and businesses using social networks to advertise themselves or a product.
Diebolt has had a personal Twitter account for one year. He recently deleted his account but quickly reactivated it because “I felt out of the loop with my friends,” he said.
Facebook fan pages are another method of social media marketing. Diebolt has created several fan pages to draw attention to a person or product and create publicity, he said. “Fan pages are good because they appear on mini-feeds and reach more people who wouldn’t otherwise be aware.”
Edited by: Ali Rosenberger
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