Central Michigan University Alumni Association

Over the course of the past month, I worked closely with the Central Michigan University Alumni Association (CMUAA) and it’s social media efforts. Through this experience I gained much insight on what it takes for an organization to build a successful online presence. I feel more confident going into the “real-world” having this first hand experience.

The CMUAA already had a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest account. Bryan Griffin, Director of Annual Giving, and Eric Clark, Web and Media Services Coordinator control all of these social platforms.  Although all of these networks existed, with the amount of alumni Central has, there could be much more traffic. I was able to help them out in their efforts to increase interaction and followers on their Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

CMUAA is fairly new to Pinterest, but they see great potential in the site. To help the CMUAA Pinterest capture more views, pins and followers I assisted in two strategies. The search and analytics of the site are not quite worked out yet so we chose to promote the page with Facebook ads. CMUAA previously tried this, targeting females between the ages of 20 and 55 and it was fairly successful. The ad we created targeted males 20-55. We generated new traffic to the page, increasing the number of followers as a whole, as well as per board. The analytics proved that the ads gained 316 clicks and recruited 32 new people to join various boards. This means 10% of those who clicked actually joined a board.

To increase interest in the page I added more pins that were relatable to the boards that CMUAA previously created. These pins captured many new “likes” and “re-pins”, directing more attention to the CMUAA’s other boards as well.

To increase engagement and friends on Facebook, I took part in the beginning part of an awesome project CMUAA is taking on. It is working with a company to make ten of CMU’s yearbooks digital and accessible through Facebook. This would allow those who “like” the CMUAA page to scroll through the pages, tag, comment and interact with the yearbooks. They got this idea from Tulane who started this at their University and had great success. My job in this was to help pick out the yearbooks that would be used. It was an important decision because the yearbooks go all the way back to the early 1900s.

I selected books that would be appealing and relate well with those who could see them. Bryan had previously chosen 1957, 1974 and 1979 for various reasons. I selected 1900, 1965, 1985, 1990, 1994, 2000 and 2002. The decision was based off time (which were the first and last yearbooks printed?, what eras are on Facebook?), events that occurred that year (Such as 1965 when George Romney spoke at CMU) or quality (Lots of pictures, fun text, etc.) Bryan submitted the ideas and the interactive yearbooks should be added to the Facebook page this summer. They are a great way to retrieve more likes, friends and involvement on the page.

Lastly, I worked with Bryan and Eric to reach 2,000 followers on Twitter before the end of the spring 2012 semester. The two had tried different tactics to increase their follower number but were finding it to be a more difficult task than they believed. I helped them to craft an e-blast to send to their alumni database. This encouraged them to add CMUAA on Twitter and in return be entered to win a CMU prize.

However, Brian and Eric decided not to send out the e-mail and just promote the prize and the Twitter account through Facebook and word of mouth. We also put an announcement on the CMU Alumni connection page, pushing alumni to help us reach the 2,000 mark. I pitched in by promoting the page to my friends, many of which are about to be alums, through my own Facebook and Twitter. I retweeted, tagged and created my own posts to encourage others to follow and stay in touch with their fellow alumni. This was successful, giving out two CMU prizes and earning the page 2,021 followers and counting.

Working with Bryan and Eric proved to me how crucial social media is in the work place. They were very willing to help and were open to any suggestions I had to help me learn the process of how they keep all of their social platforms in line. All of the projects I worked on with them proved to be productive and successful. I realized how important analytics are to social media campaigns, proving what works, what doesn’t and what can be changed. I took a lot of new ideas, skills and work tactics away from this experience, which I cannot wait to apply to a real career in public relations and social media.

 

The World Around You

This week I tested out the app “Wikitude“. It was so crazy to me how it could read tweets, see photos on flickr, find buildings and businesses and provide all their information. According to the app store’s website, Wikitude was voted “Best Augmented Reality browser” the past three years in a row.

Since my Twitter is private I was unable to find any of my own tweets, but from my bedroom I was able to read many public twitters that were around me. Many of which that should probably have been private. From my room I was able to see Robaires Bakery on Google, almost all of the restaurants and fast food joints on Mission and even locate Soaring Eagle.

Throughout this class I have realized how powerful technology is and all that is capable of. I don’t know if I like all the power that comes along with it. I find the app very creepy. I had never heard of this app before and after asking my friends neither had they. If people were aware this app may catch on because many are curious by nature. I think the ability to locate surrounding buildings is handy but being able to view others social outlets seems a little extreme. I hope that not too many catch on to the app or the world will be budding in to others business way too often. If we do not even know a person, why do we need to view their information. It seems intruding and a waste of time. 

The capability of “Wikitude” is impressive, but it should stop at public businesses. From going from promotional to personal, in my opinion, the app goes to far.

Social Network: Facebook

The movie “Social Network” was an interesting look into the largest social media site and the youngest billionaire in the world. To think the whole idea came about after a bitter break up and a little alcohol is mind boggling. Mark Zuckerberg not only changed social media, but he also challenged how the game is played.

After learning more about remixing and copyright I have mixed emotions on what Mark Zuckerberg did to the Winklevoss twins. Zuckerberg did have the beginning of the idea already brewing before even meeting with Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, the brothers who became Olympic rowers. Once they presented the “Harvard Connection” to him though he took off with it. Everything is built off of an existing idea so in that sense I understand why he did it. However, how he did it is what gets me. Blatantly ignoring the twins,  giving them no credit or warning seems as if he knew he was doing something wrong but choose to be selfish anyways. I believe they deserved a portion of the money. I don’t know if the $65 million that was decided on in the non-disclosure settlement was too much, but I’m sure that was nothing for a company that worth $25 billion in 2010.

According to Reuters, after the movie the Winklevoss brothers wanted to undo the settlement based off fraudulent charges on Facebook’s behalf. They believed they should have been awarded more money, but ended up backing down after “careful consideration”. They were going to have the case presented for Supreme Court review.

I also did not like the way Zuckerberg treated Eduardo. The power and possibility that transpired from Facebook made Zuckerberg out to be selfish. The movie portrayed Zuckerberg as secretive and shady by the way he rarely informed Eduardo of things, such as when the trouble with the Winklevoss brothers started or when Parker got involved in the company.  To drop your best friends percentage of the company from 34.4% to .03% after he provided all the start up funds is unreal. Eduardo only worked to better the company and once Parker got in the picture jealousy, power shifts and irresponsibility started to play big part in the downfall of their friendship and partnership at the time. It was good to see that after the trouble Parker got in and the lawsuits against Zuckerberg, Eduardo did become co-founder again.

In the beginning, I do not think Zuckerberg had any idea how much Facebook would be worth. Parker believed it could reach one billion dollars, but in 2012 the company is reaching a historic IPO that could value the social network between $75 billion and $100 billion (Wall Street Journal). Zuckerberg had been hesitant on letting Facebook be open to the public earlier on. He said he wanted employees to concentrate on products rather than stock price.

From an algorithm on a window to the largest social media website in history, Facebook has come along way. It has pushed through everything that stood in it’s way, survived and conquered. The future is intriguing for a company that consistently develops new ideas and possibilities for the site.

Today’s Open Culture Dates Back In History

Until watching Kirby Furgeson’s videos titled “Everything is a Remix“, I never realized how often media and even inventors and theorists take past ideas and build them into something else. It seems that everything is based off an idea that someone came up with in the past, that was necessary to create things for the future. I think that it is okay to build on ideas because that is how we got to where we are today. I do not necessarily think that taking someone’s piece of work directly is okay but taking the idea and making it your own is different.

I think it is amazing that although one person has been credited for a major invention, there are always others right on the edge of creating the same thing. I don’t understand how these creations come to inventors but I’m thankful they do.

Jaron Lanier‘s idea that Web 2.0 is slowing down innovation and destroying intellectual property. He fears that all of this technology is bad for humanity and changes people. The digital collectivism he speaks of does have faults. The way the internet takes information and software and distributes it freely and allows it to be crowd sourced can discourage people from being as creative or release their thoughts and information online. The impersonal ways of the internet, he believes, has harmed real interaction.

Lanier says, “We make up extensions to your being like remote eyes and ears (web-cams and mobile phones) and expanded memory (the world of details you can search for online). These become the structures  by which you connect to the world and other people.”

He claims to have optimistic views, with thoughts of a better future. I think there are valid points to Lanier’s book, however I do think that the history of remixes, showed in Kirby’s film, proved that this would eventually happen to technology. The freedom of the web, in my opinion, only makes people more involved and innovative.

I think his concerns are valid that

Oh, the places you will go: LinkedIn

I first joined LinkedIn thinking it was just another social media fad. I never really developed my profile, just used it to look around and see what others were doing with theirs. I found the site interesting and saw its perks, but not until recently have I started realizing the potential LinkedIn has to offer.

John Hill had a great story of how he got to where he is today. I was automatically able to connect with him since I work at Phonathon here at Central, connecting with Central alums, and he worked in alumni career services. It was wonderful how he was able to take his work in alumni services and turn it into a vital virtual job tool. The website was designed with people’s best intentions in mind and it really adds a whole new persona to getting a job. Employers are now able to not just see who you are on paper, but how you represent yourself online.

I love seeing how a few simple connections can lead you to your next potential career. Building a brand and presence online is so important to the job process. I was very impressed that 32,000 global institutions are involved. Three pieces of advice he offered stuck in my mind and seem very beneficial to everyone:

1. Learn to build network before you need it so its there when you do. Quality > Quantity
2. Even when you are employed, people will still help
3. The best affiliations to make: friends, family, university (other chips), shared work experience, volunteerism (public service) and student groups

John offered some great knowledge. I never updated my status before on LinkedIn, but now I see how doing that could show I have insight into the public relations world and write things that I could never put on a resume. It gives employers a more accurate reflection of the person they are looking to hire. I also love that he pointed out that for once I am able to look at the person who is interviewing me resume and information. Thirty initial connections on LinkedIn does seem like a good number to start branching out with.

The alumni tool is an awesome tool as well. I had no idea you could connect so specifically to fellow alumni that have things in common with you. There are so many people I  want to network with that I otherwise, may have never spoke with or even knew they were in the field. It is also very cool that they offer a tool that you can see how many people graduated from Central Michigan University at each company in every state. I have seen first hand how much a common school can connect people and I now know how valuable LinkedIn really is.

After hearing John’s advice there are many new connections and steps I want to take to better my profile, but here is what I have so far!

Beoga Concert

My first experience with Storify and Irish music! Enjoy!

http://storify.com/ssteele/my-title

The Apps That Make Life More Simple

In this day in age, apps for Macs and mobile devices can do just about anything. After downloading the news app, Pulse News, and the Location app, iWant, I too have joined the world where apps play a major part of my daily consumption whether it be news, food or entertainment.

Pulse News is a free app for either the iPad or iPhone. It is one of 50 apps in the App Store Hall of Fame. It is an interactive app where you can get news stories from various sources. You can scroll through the stories of the select news outlets as well as pick which outlets you want to view stories from. I currently have been reading stories posted by AP Politics, MTV News and USA Today. You can use various sources and get all different aspects on the news. I find this a very convenient app to have. I am more likely to read up on current events if I have them all right after each other. The font is large and easy to read and the to get to the next story all you have to do is slide the screen. My favorite part of the app is that there is a convenient search bar and all kinds of genres to retrieve information and stories from.

The other new app I tried out was iWant. This app locates banks, restaurants, clothing stores, gas stations etc. around you using The Yellow Pages, Movie Times and Restaurant Reviews. This kind of app is great, especially if you’re out of town. I am going to Nashville this weekend and am looking forward to trying it out there. You are able to change the location and how far of a radius you want the locations to be. You can change this by using the map or typing in what location you want it to use. Just using it in Mt. Pleasant, it is found most of the main restaurants and gas stations I expected it to. You also have the ability to search for a location even if it does not fall under a certain category. So far, I have had a fun time playing around with the app and haven’t run into many difficulties. We will see once I put it to the test in a city i’m unfamiliar with.

 

software review on a news app of choice and location awareness (News Pulse and iWant)

The Power of the Crowd

Until speaking with David Cohn, I was never fully aware of the power of crowd sourcing/crowdfunding. It is a truly powerful tool to help get your mission or goal accomplished. All the different websites that feature people promoting their ideas is empowering and you become a community fighting for a common goal. I think it is a really cool outlook.

Two of the sites I found particularly interesting were Agent Anything and Rocket Hub.

Agent Anything was created for hardworking people who need extra help and are short on time to collaborate with college students who could use some extra money. This was an example of crowd sourcing. All the college student needs is to provide an active e-mail address. Many of the examples of work needed to be done were errands run or packages to be delivered. If the student is interested in doing this, they can bid on a reward they find suitable, typically of monetary value. Depending on the complexity of the job, the student can earn a good chunk of change.

Rocket Hub on the other hand is a crowd funding website. It is a launchpad for independent artists and entrepreneurs. They have tangible opportunities to take to the next level. “Creatives” on the site launch products and “Fuelers” support them through votes, money and word of mouth. One individual who was featured on the site really stuck out to me. Geoff’s father was diagnosed with cancer of the theiroid in 2006, and it eventually took his life in October of 2011. His father was a professor at Eastern University in Pennsylvania. For a class project, Geoff is trying to raise $20,000 to create a scholarship at the school in his father’s honor. If he raises this, the university promised that at a 5% interest rate they would fund the scholarship indefinitely. As of now, he is 58% of the way there, with $11,404 raised and 21 days left. This is just one of the many causes anyone can go on the site and donate to. This is another great way to get the community involved in a cause together and really feel they had something to do with the accomplishment.

Friend Request PENDING

Creating a presence on social media comes along with both many positives and negatives. After listening in to the Facebook Show, I got a little more insight on everything Facebook comes along with. I knew information could be fairly easy to be viewed, but I never realized how big of a hold Facebook has on your information, both on, and off the site. It makes me uncomfortable, but even if I were to delete my account it would all still be there. It would also be very hard to delete because of how dependent I have become to the site.

The story that specifically stood out to me was Friend Request. For a young woman to be confronted by her rapist via a social media site that initially appeared to be non-threatening would really take a person by surprise. Emily McCombs was so brave to not only accept the man who hurt her so badly, but reach out and message him as well. I don’t think I would have the strength, especially not to pick up the phone and call.

If not for Facebook, she would have gone through her whole life thinking about him and the situation. She seemed thankful she had the opportunity to take to him and clear some things up.

In Emily’s case it was a good thing that he contacted her, but for others, this could really break a person down. Social media networks can make a person so vulnerable to strangers or people that you never hope to speak to. Even if your account security is at it’s highest, if someone really wants to find you, there is always a way. At the same time you do not always want to make your account impossible to find so family and long lost friends can contact you. That puts people in a very tough position. I suppose these are the risks that come with putting yourself out in the social media world.

http://www.onthemedia.org/2012/feb/03/friend-request/#commentlist

https://twitter.com/#!/favorites

YouTube and the Social Web

It was funny when they began with the Numa, Numa video because I remember in eighth grade my friends and I loved that video and made up our own dances to it. Although, we did not upload those to YouTube.

I never had analyzed YouTube for what it was. When I visit the site I go to listen to a song, catch the newest video sensation that has spread across all the social networks or try to find the best how-to video to help me figure something out. I have never uploaded my own video or known of any of my friends doing so either. If they have it’s not one just reaching out to the internet to talk, it’s of a funny moment they were lucky enough to catch on tape and upload to embarrass whoever it’s about.

It is a very strange phenomenon that people create these videos to unleash whatever is going on in their lives to anyone who wants to click on their link. I was surprised to see how upset people got about the “emo couple” that faked their relationship. All of the video replies and comments they got expressing how they brought fraud and drama to YouTube shocked me. Tons of people put on fronts in their videos. I never took many videos seriously. For example, JennaMarbles is a YouTube sensation for putting on fronts as different types of people and mocking the way they act.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jenna+marbles&oq=jennas+marb&aq=0s&aqi=g-s10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=142l834l0l2848l4l4l0l0l0l0l226l533l0.2.1l3l0

This authenticity crisis is one that in my opinion, should not be in issue. The web is another form of free speech where we should be able to act as we want, taking on a new persona or being ourselves. Although it caused people to question the sincerity of those posting, it is normally fairly obvious when people are being themselves or putting on a show.

I think people seem to use other social media sites as a place to let out their emotions or pretend to be something as well. People will make up fake accounts or act completely different for the world on the web. I think this trend came from the videos on YouTube.