SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM: INSTAGRAM

A little over two years ago I downloaded this app called Instagram.  A friend referred it to me, telling me she used it to edit her photos.  I began using the app just to use the filters for my photos not really realizing the social side of the platform.  I had one follower, and I posted probably ten times a day.  Today that would be pretty much social suicide if you posted that often, unless you are Beyoncé, and can do whatever you want.  Since this time, Instagram has transformed into a huge social media platform.  It has many uses that I believe are pretty awesome to say the least, and I would like to tell you a little bit about them. 

 About one third of the accounts that I follow belong to retail companies, celebrities, restaurants, or even fashion bloggers.  I find out about sales or events through Instagram before any other medium.  I keep up to date on what is going on in other places, what the fashion trends are, when tickets for concerts go on sale all through my Instagram account. 

Marketing through Instagram is the future.  A picture is worth a thousand words and Instagram is the perfect why to show off products.  It is also great for promoting events, sales, connecting with the customers, taking them behind the scenes, showing office area, manufacturing area and introducing employees, or new ideas the company is working on. 

Not only is there the marketing aspect of Instagram, but it also makes it pretty easy for you to track a person.  This very beneficial if you like to "stalk" that one special person in your spare time.  Their Instagram posts can show where and when the photo was taken.  You can learn a ton about a person you follow because as I said previously, A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS.  Instagram also makes it super easy to get a whole collection of pictures of that certain someone, and even if they block you on Instagram you can still look at your collection of screen shots!

One feature that is especially helpful when creeping on someone is called photo map.  This shows where all their photos are taken.  So if you do not know where the person of interest lives, there is a good chance the majority of their photos will be collected around their home or work.

 

Now we know where she works!

At this point you may be wondering where she is going with this.  With Instagram, I encourage you to figure out all of the features, and work them to your advantage.  Whether it is finding out when the sale starts at your favorite store, or just getting more connected to your college campus and their activities.  I also believe you need to be aware of what you are posting, and how much of your personal information or location your followers are able to see, because the danger is real.  Instagram is a great social media platform and if you do not already have one, I highly recommend you download the app today!  Instagram is the future of marketing!


oursocialtimes.com 
huffingtonpost.com
socialmediaexaminer.com
cultureofsafety.com

Blog Post 1: Blog About Blogging

As all of you may have noticed, blogging has become quite popular as of recent.  You see more and more Facebook status updates saying “I updated my blog and here is the link,” or “more of the pictures from our wedding will be up on my blog”.  It seems like everyone has a blog these days.  I am dedicating today’s blog post to help those great souls who many of us would agree are obnoxious bloggers.  I would like to try to help them steer their blogs in better directions before the rest of us get fed up. 

When it comes to blogging the format of the website can be quite annoying sometimes.  Web pages can look different depending on the computer or devices you are using.  It is important to check your blog from another computer or mobile device to make sure it looks the way you would like it to when others view it.  This also helps you see how user friendly it is when a viewer wants to comment or further explore your blog. 

Although the format can be quite annoying sometime, I would also like to talk about the content.  There are those people we all know that like to use their blog as a diary.  This may be appropriate if that is exactly the purpose, but you must be aware this may cause many viewers to be turned off by your blog.  Along with the diary approach, many bloggers will rant, be very negative on their blogs, or worse, a know it all.  The way you present yourself can make or break your blog. 

   

  Other things I PERSONALLY find quite annoying that bloggers will do:

• ·         Those bloggers that if they are promoting products will say they LOVE it.  This would not be bad if they did not say they love EVERYTHING!

• ·         Those bloggers that get offended easily and take everything very personally, but then have to share it with the world.  PLEASE keep it to yourself. 

• ·         Those bloggers that are constantly apologizing for not blogging recently.  This is really irritating, we do not care how busy you are. 

• ·         Worst of all are the bloggers who brag about how FLAWLESS their lives are.  Perfect house, kids, family, clothes, vacations, etc.  I am sure you have all seen more than your fair share of these.  The only person who can brag about how flawless her life is, is Beyoncé.

Blogging is a great way to log what you are doing in your life, keep in contact with others, promote or even build a business.  If you did not get anything out of post, I hope you will at least take into consideration your audience, and the way that you are portraying yourself online.  Blogs can be great, but they can also be very obnoxious.  BE CAREFUL OUT THERE. 

        blogworld.com        pushingsocial.com        momdot.com        socialmediatoday.com

Social Media Change

I sit down at my computer, pull up the canvas login page.  I then open up a few more tabs:  Facebook, Twitter, some of the blogs I follow, my email, and my YouTube account.  I then begin to check my notifications, read posts, and stalk the people on my news feed before finally logging into the canvas page to start on my homework.  Social media has greatly changed the way that we communicate.  It has created a way for us to reach more people in less time.  A way that people can tell their stories whether they are a humble USU student like me, or Beyoncé. 

            Social media has made many positive impacts on communication.  Investigators are able to find criminals through the post they make on their social media bragging about what they have done.  Politicians and businesses are able to advertise and reach many people in no time at all.  Almost everyone can access the internet whether it is from a public library or your IPhone.  It is the most effective way to keep in contact with people who are spread all around the world.  I am able talk to family members that live in Seattle, San Diego, and Denver all at the same time on Facebook.  In the case of an emergency social media makes it extremely easy for you to notify your friends and family that you are alright, and all that is required is a device and internet access.    

Although there are so many great things that social media has done for our communication, it can make it a little less personal.  It can be very distracting from what is going on around you in the moment, and your in person communication can suffer if you are constantly on your phone or computer.  In communication through social media it can also be difficult to express real human emotion.  One way we have adapted to show emotion through social media is using emoji.  Emoji are little images that are often face expressions to help the person you are communicating with understand your feelings just as your face expression would in person. 

One other problem with communication through social media is that lines between work and home life are becoming blurred.  Many employers have banned social media from their office space because people cannot get any work done when they have their social media out.  For an example of this I could use this blog post.  It took me about a half an hour to get started on it after I sat at my computer because I had to get on my Facebook and Twitter before doing anything else.  You could easily make an argument that myself and others of my generation are addicted to social media.  I am not saying social media is good or bad form of communication, but it has a huge impact on our society, and whether you like it or not it’s here to stay.