Week 2: Overview of Social Media

·       Which social media platforms seem geared towards personal use? Why do you think so? 

The social media platforms that I believe are geared more towards personal use are Facebook and Instagram. I believe this because Facebook started off as a place for school peers to connect, then eventually it branched out to the older generation who wanted to join so they can keep in contact with family. Now you are on it, your mom is on it, your grandpa is on it and even your great aunt Kathy was sucked in. Instagram is another platform that I believe was originally geared towards personal use. It was meant mainly for personal photos and video sharing with tags. Many people still use Instagram for personal use and enjoy it as such.

·       Which ones seem to work better for business? What makes them seem more suitable to business use. 

I believe Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are both wonderful platforms for business. The reason being is that a lot of people; as I mentioned previously, use Facebook and Instagram for personal use, so you have the ability to capture those everyday people that spend hours scrolling through these 3 main platforms. I understand there is LinkedIn in all its business glory. LinkedIn is very professional and business oriented; however, I don’t find them to be as effective since you spend a lot of time on those platforms just selling yourself that you have no time to listen to another sales pitch and do carefree searching. On the other hand, LinkedIn has replaced my business card holder with new their new feature that allows you to connect with the person you are standing next to, which really helps at Networking events!

·       Do any seem to work well for both? How are they used differently?

I know I am sounding like a broken record; but I again, I believe that Facebook, Instagram And Twitter can be used for business and personal.

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are great for personal. You can post a thought on Facebook, a photo on Instagram and Hashtag whatever celebrity you want. In the same token you can click on a business link that says “learn SEO in 5 min”, tap on a link to the newest hair bands and #youbusinessher, thus proving that in one sitting, they can be used for personal and business.

Week1B: Blogs I commented on

I commented on the following blogs:

• Christian Dahmann
• Nancy Niepagen
• Matthew Ward

Week 1 Blog - Class Preparation

I decided to go with a basic template because there were too many templates to choose from at 10:00 pm and I know I wouldn't be able to decide if TOO much thought was put into it. So I went with my instinct and went with a simple template.

I dislike social media that is busy and over saturated because I feel it can take away from the message I am trying to get across. When things are simple you can easily focus on what you are reading and not get side tracked by photos or ads. This also means, less work trying to piece together the right photos, format and collage formation. This is important for me, not because I don't like putting in the time but because I am not very creative. Someone creative can bust out a project out in 1 hour and it would take me 5 hours.

My instinct to go towards the basic template was also because I like things to be neat and clean, and for me, less is more. Less make up, less items, less talking, less always seems to be the answer, as long as you're not dating me. In that case, you can buy more flowers and take me to more restaurants and I am ok with "more" in that context. 

And these are Andrea's raw thoughts on why I chose a "Simple" template for my blog.