Writers on Writing: Social Media

Based on her article, “Writers on Writing: Family Ghosts Hoard Secrets That Bewitch the Living,” Amy Tan and I share a similar outlook writing. Sometimes it takes a sucker punch, like grief, to bring new light to what may already lay in front of us. Grief, or other revelations can help writers to approach their thoughts and ideas from new directions. The beauty of writing is it always starts from within, so much like the evolution and development that a human being goes through; our internal writing processes do much the same thing. The words can take a darker turn, or bring to light new meaning in a person’s life.

Since taking this course, my perception of a social media writer’s perspective has changed somewhat. Initially, I envisioned them all as blood thirsty and looking to take any sort of action to gain publicity and quick money, much like the tabloids. In actuality, social media are different outlets that welcome a variety of writers, for better or worse. For the writers that want to get right to the point or don’t have much to say, there’s Twitter. For those who prefer to tell stories through pictures, there’s Instagram. For those who could just share every waking moment with the world and not care, there’s Facebook. Material can be just as factually based, or not, as that in other forms, like books and magazines. I guess social media just make it that much easier for a writer to find their genre and thusly, their audience.

Graphic to Accompany Press Release

The objective of my visual was to relay to potential viewers what they could expect from Channel 16. Channel 16 will have one, live anchor to introduce topics and announcements as featured above, unlike most local neighborhood channels that use Powerpoint-created graphics to briefly flash as introductions before recorded public meetings or other information. 

I chose to use the Bitstrips app to create a visual for the press release. Bitstrips is a popular application that allows users to feature themselves in comic-book-like situations. "Since January, the Toronto-based app has acquired 7.5 million Facebook users with 300,000 new comics being shared every day," and most users are between the ages of 18 and 24 (Lefavor, 2013). This is an important age group in the Nashua area since the City is looking to retain younger residents and get them more involved in the community.

This Bitstrips comic enhances the message of the press release by creating a news-like visual that emulates the channel's purpose. The mission of Channel 16 is also in the speaking bubble. Overall, the information is clean and simple and conveys the purpose of the community channel.

References

Lefavor, L. (2013). "Bitstrips comics explode onto Facebook." Retrieved from http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-04-29/entertainment/bs-ae-bitstrips-20130426_1_comics-app-facebook. 

Best Practices for a Blog

One of my absolute favorite blogs to follow is The Small Things Blog. It's written by a woman named, Kate, who loves everything hair, makeup, fashion, beauty products, etc. I originally stumbled on the blog through Pinterest; one of her hair tutorials was featured. I decided to actually try it, and by Jove! It worked!

For those who know me well enough, they'll agree when I say that I am challenged when it comes to styling my hair. I've mastered blow drying, and that's about it. Stick a curling iron in my hand, and I do a better job at covering my neck and forehead in burns than I do putting a perfect curlycue in my hair. 

Anyway, with the success of one tutorial, I decided to hunt for the blog from whence it came and try a few more. They weren't as successful, but I have been able to find some pretty solid advice on hair products and the like.

Kate's blog is very successful and has been featured in Real Simple and Carry magazines. She is also a contributor for Latest Hairstyles and has been featured on the Birchbox blog.

I think there are several factors that have contributed to her success--her passion for her craft for starters. However, the social media site, Pinterest, helped her reach more people and earn nearly 14,000 followers in just a few months. 

Think of Pinterest as a virtual bulletin board. "Based on the idea that many people have magazine clippings of their dream vacations, weight loss goals, or perfect weddings, Pinterest allows users to create "boards" and share content by uploading images, "pin" from other sites, or "re-pin" from other user boards (Schaefer, 2013). Pinterest has been the biggest contributor to her social media success, but Kate also incorporates widgets from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Kate is also careful about her self-promotion. Unlike some bloggers who will also repost all of their blog content somewhere else on the Internet, Kate will only post two hair pictures a week to her own boards on Pinterest. 

Something else that makes Kate so successful is that she posts new content frequently--almost everyday--and she talks about several of her interests and the big-to-do in her life right now, (she gives birth in about five weeks), not just about hair and beauty products.

Overall, Kate has a very successful blog, especially for someone who's interest isn't entirely in social media. She delivers a variety of information in a clear, easy-to-read format, and readers can follow her on several social media platforms. Kate has also been able to add to her credibility by being featured in some big-name magazines and on other popular blogs as a contributor.

References

Bryan, Kate. (2013). The Small Things Blog. Retrieved from http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/.

Schaefer, L. (2013). "Pinterest drives enormous blog and business success." Grow. Retrieved from http://www.businessesgrow.com/2012/01/23/pinterest-drives-enormous-blog-and-business-success/.

City of Nashua Announces New Channel 16 NASHUA, Nov. 11, 2013/Division of Public Works/- In an effort to better connect with residents, the City of Nashua is going to be utilizing local broadcast channel 16 to disseminate messages and announcements of varying importance. Channel 16 will be used as a means of daily communication with the residents of Nashua. Messages and announcements will be updated twice daily by the Division of Public Works' Citizen Services Coordinator, who will also act as an authenticator, ensuring message accuracy. The Citizen Services Coordinator will also help citizens to make sense of the information and how it may affect them. The City of Nashua is not the first municipality to pursue such a venture. Neighboring communities Merrimack, Milford and Manchester have been communicating to local residents through a local broadcast channel for several years with great success. Many of the residents in these communities have applauded the speed in which information is updated and the level of accuracy that accompanies it. What they have also come to appreciate is that the information is available on the town/city website, as well, not simply restricted to just the local channel. About Division of Public Works The Division of Public Works Administration Department supports the implementation of Nashua’s Public Works’ vision by ensuring each department is performing its required functions within its allocated budget. The Department collaborates to verify that the division is providing the best service to the taxpayers at the lowest possible cost. The main functions of this department are setting division direction and goals, payroll, insurance, workers compensation claims, pension, purchasing, improved business technologies and the overall budget. Contact: Allison Cote, Citizen Services Coordinator Division of Public Works Phone: 123-456-7890 cotea@cityofnashua.gov www.channel16.gov

New Social Media Tools

I’m a creature of habit, and that even applies to the social media sites I use. Typically, I bounce back and forth between Facebook and Pinterest, so I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something completely new. Reddit was the first app that popped into my head to try.

Up until now, I had heard of Reddit, but its name was the extent of my knowledge on it. According to the site’s FAQ page, “reddit is a source for what's new and popular on the web,” and through a voting system, readers can determine the quality of content, “what’s good and what’s junk” (2013). This voting system is what propels a submission to the top spot and keeps the reddit page constantly changing.

What I really liked about the Reddit site is that it encourages users to just be good people, not to post just for the sake of posting or to gain attention, but rather to share ideas and respond to other users by voting on their content.

There isn't really anything complicated about the app, which makes it really easy to use. There is a row of different categories on the top of the home page to choose from, so readers who are looking for just funny links to read can click on, "funny," (see how this works?). Content can also be created and shared with ease as long as the user has an account.

Reddit is a great app for people who have time to kill or enjoy reading articles and looking at jpegs and gifs.

Now, there are plenty of media users out there who would much rather play a video game versus scrolling through hundreds of links. I, on the other hand, am not much of a gamer, but I reminded myself I was trying to break out of my comfort zone, so I started scrolling through the App Store on my iPad.

To my amazement, I found Risk, which is one of my favorite, although very time consuming, board games. So, although it's not technically a video game, I was still interested in playing the classic game in a newer format. Suffice it to say, I'm addicted. The dice roll can be fast-forwarded, so the player isn't stuck waiting for each die to be matched up. You can also skip over the computer's turn and just see the end result. So, a game of Risk that normally would take eight hours to play with just one person can be completed in under half an hour on the iPad. My life is forever changed!

These two apps are unique in their own way and will appeal to different audiences. Again, Reddit is for those who don't mind scrolling and reading through a ton of links and who are interested in sharing content. Games on any platform, however, will attract a much more specific audience. I took the easy way out by playing a digital version of a classic board game I loved growing up, but there are certainly more interactive video games that require users to tilt, swipe, and practically stand on their head's just the same. What's pretty cool is that playing video games can have a wide range of benefits from improved vision to better decision making (Spector, 2013). Ultimately, audience appeal will boil down to those who prefer to be more hands-on and interactive than those who do not.

References

Reddit. (2013). "Frequently asked questions." Reddit. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 from http://www.reddit.com/wiki/faq.

Spector, D. (2013). "11 ways playing video games makes you smarter and healthier." Business Insider. Retrieved on October 30, 2013 from http://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/14/11-ways-playing-video-games-makes-you-smarter-and-healthier/. 

Credibility of WWW Resources

The article that I chose to evaluate for this week’s assignment relating to credibile sources was “Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe, Could Face 2 Years In Jail For Taj Mahal Photo Shoot,” from The Huffington Post.

First and foremost, The Huffington Post is described as a news aggregator and a blog. The definition of an aggregator is a “Web-based or installed application that [collects] frequently updated content from various Internet sources and consolidates it in one place for viewing” (Dictionary.com). Based on that definition alone, readers should be critical about what they read because it isn’t necessarily coming from the original source.

Next, bi-line given about HuffPost writer’ Cavan Sieczkowski is not terribly enlightening. According to HuffPost Sieczkowski, “is an Associate Trends Editor with the Traffic and Trends section…she is a graduate of Fairfield University, where she majored in Communication” (The Huffington Post, 2013). So, she’s qualified to write, but is she qualified to write about what she’s writing about? There is room for speculation since the “Traffic and Trends section” isn’t clearly defined anywhere on the site, and there is no indication whether or not she has anything peer-reviewed in her portfolio. Doubtful.

Based on the remaining Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources, the article is iffy in terms of credibility. Although the HuffPost has several links to emails to get in touch with a variety of departments, there is no link for just general questions to confirm the validity of a post. The article is current and the links it references are also current. Sieczkowski shows no signs of bias. It’s actually a bit difficult to discern any sort of writer’s voice from her.

Finally, the article has no sort of works cited page to verify the information she provided, other than the other links that were cited throughout the work.

Overall, The Huffington Post is not a source I would use when researching for a term paper. Like Wikipedia, it’s great for cursory information to gain a sense of direction of where continued research should lead, but not a great academic source on it’s own.

Works Citied

Aggregator. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved October 13, 2013, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aggregator

Sieczkowski, C. (2013). “Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe, Could Face 2 Years In Jail For Taj Mahal Photo Shoot.” The Huffington Post. Retrieved October 13, 2013, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/11/olivia-culpo-miss-universe-taj-mahal-_n_4083919.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular.

Knowing What I Know

“How do I know what I know?”

Well, I know that I know a lot of stuff. After all, I’m working on my Master’s degree. So, I can’t be that dim of a bulb, right? My education spans the last 19 years, which is by far the longest amount of time I’ve committed to anything, other than existing. The long and short of it is I know what I know because people have told me what I know. People whom I’ve viewed superior to me in experience and knowledge taught me everything I’ve learned so far from using sheetrock mud to calculating probability. Outside of my formal education, I know most of what I know about pop culture, trends, and current events through the social media I use, like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

There wasn’t a whole lot going on on my feeds this dreary Sunday morning. A few friends were running in 5Ks, there was the occasional motivational quote or picture to get to the gym even with it being Sunday, and the government is in a partial shut down, so the tweeting interns were probably sent home without pay untill further notice and left the Democratic and Republicans to their own devices. However, there was one voice this morning that was louder than all the rest, and that was simply because the person it was attached to was pissed. Naturally, Facebook became their soapbox.  

This person had bought a fridge from a supposedly reputible appliance retailer—Sears—only a few months ago and woke up this morning to find that it had crapped out over night. A less than helpful call to customer service revealed it would be 10 days before service would arrive because well, there just wasn’t a high demand for a service tech in their area. Apparently, nobody else bought their fridge from Sears.

Scrolling to the end of the post, there were already several comments about poor customer service from Sears and similar experiences with other appliances from the retailer:

“We bought a matching front-loading washer/dryer in red from Sears. They delievered a red dryer and a white washer!”

 “I will never buy appliances from Sears again. Three of the four appliances I bought from Sears have had problems.”

Other users said that it took similar wait times, (10 days), or longer to get a service tech out to their homes to try and repair an appliance.

Normally, I would take what I read on social media sites with a grain of salt, but social media is known for being a sounding board for consumers. What friends and other users write and post on Facebook and other social media sites influences other friends’ and users’ purchasing decisions. A bad review from anyone on Facebook can spread like wildfire; case and point. So, let it be known that I will not be making any major appliance purchases from Sears either.