social ROI???

the whole ROI concept only works if you have metrics set up to track and quantify what it is that you want to measure a gain (or loss) on. it would only be fitting if social ROI was conducted in the same way. there are many ways you can assign metrics to- webhits, unique url clicks, number of downloads..the list really could go on forever. it is very easy to see that if you know what it is that you want to measure then getting the correct metrics set up isn't difficult; it's when you don't know what it is you are looking for in the numbers that calculating social ROI can be challenging..

HOWEVER, you do realize that you are talking about calculating the return on investment of social media. how do you really quantify this? it's almost as if i was going to track the number of people that i spoke with during the day to see over time how this number changed. but it wouldn't account for the quality of the conversation or whether the conversation was about business or pleasure.

the numbers don't feel the smile during and after laughter..they don't feel the satisfaction after a well done deal..and they certainly can't taste the tea during a quick meeting with a client..this is why in my mind there won't be ways to fully quantify social anything.

it's social- it's not supposed to be quantified, that's the point of the whole concept of being socially active.

a dabble into everything

on the topic of the futuristic social media, i think there will be more conflicts than there are now with the virtual life/reality balance. the number of generations brought up with these new technologies that are making social media so handy 24/7 is naturally going to grow; so much so that our generation will be considered to have grown up in an out-dated technology era- it's only inevitable that way because of how rapidly technology changes. hopefully we will be able to stop it before the line between the virtual world and that of reality get too blurreddddd.

although the biggest difference between now and then is that there are going to be more access points and opportunities to expand yourself online (believe it or not). if anyone thinks that this whole developing your online image cleanly is going away, man are they wrong. everything will affect a person's online image. this could be absolutely amazing from a business standpoint though- could you imagine the financial benefits from actually being able to market 100% successfully because you know what's on your consumers' minds consistently??

a marketing evolution

marketing is forever changing with the developing industry of technology; this is easy to see. however, their companies that are not changing their strategies to adapt to this virtual world and are not going to see profits from it. it's ashame because it doesn't seem that difficult to do. using google analytics for example is something we have done in class, for the IT department of a company to set this up for the marketing executives is not something that would be out of the question, especially if the webpage is already set up (which i am assuming here that most are).

the area that i think is being left out is the analysis of redirections from other pages such as blogs that would be mentioning a certain company. this is where tracking your online image becomes important. if a company searches for their name on google or a part of their business, then they can see who is mentioning them in news articles, etc. everywhere on the internet. so if they were to track how many times a web user sees these "mentionings" and then googles the company or clicks on the link for the news article from the blog, they could track a potential new market. this might take some time to discuss the metrics and how to track these items but it seems like a good place to start customizing a company's analytic strategy from the rest of their competitors.

10 tips for the every day job searcher

1. clean up your internet image (recruiters will be researching you..this means no drugs, no drunken pictures of you exposing yourself, and no posts saying 'omgod i got super wasted last night and hooked up with XXX number of people' no, just no)

2. informational interviews (if you don't know what you want, go out there and look for it)

3. research for potential interviews (most bullshitting ends at college graduation, this isn't getting through an english 101 paper. if you're making things up they will know)

4. be social! (there is no excuse for sitting behind the computer and hoping for something good to happen, go out there and get it)

5. dress the part (if you want to be professional the first step is appearing professional)

6. utilize all network outlets (linked in, professional associations, and yes that great uncle you almost never see, who has a great job at a corporation, he might be able to help you so talk to him)

7. follow up (without further contacting the firm you sent your resume to you are just another piece of paper in the pile)

8. be yourself (let your personality shine through, a touch of flare will set you apart from the rest of the potential candidates)

9. relax!! (the more you worry about not having a job or wanting a new one, the less you are going to accomplish. don't risk overlooking some opportunity because you were stuck in bed crying and applying to everything possible)

10. be passionate!

..i cannot stress the last one enough, if you're not passionate about what you are doing or want to be doing there is less incentive for that person to hire you. a little enthusiasm goes a long way!

a minor change to traditional standards

while every woman wants nothing more than to pick up the children on her way home from work, make dinner and help them with their homework, while greeting her husband as he walks in the door with his favorite drink and dinner on the table, the odds are just somehow not in our favor..

however with the support of an online collaboration corporate culture the probability of a woman being able to get out of work early in the afternoon to be able to pick up her children is more possible now than ever- if she decides to do more work after the kids go to bed after all of their needs are taken care of. for example in the publishing industry and especially in market research, I've noticed that schedules are way more flexible than in the past due to collaboration tools like SharePoint, and Remote Access Networking as long as you, yourself are willing to be flexible..

so watch out chickadees- make sure to take a minute, have a beer and relax for yourself; your health (and sanity) might depend on it

being a maverickkk

developing a business team is like developing a team to carry out some undercover operation in a movie. some could even compare it to xmen; everyone has their own individualized powers to contribute to the big finish.

contributing online is more difficult however. each teammate's specialties have to be brought forth from the start to eliminate the confusion of responsiblities later on. the person who initially takes action to designate those roles will usually be the leader of the group, looking forward to the big picture.

the biggest problem that i see with collectively contributing online is that some people aren't honest with others about their capabilities let alone themselves. when this happens it creates a disconnect within the group and all trust is lost.

oh hey..just like in-person group projects in collegeeeee!

???

i'm confused...with the increase in the virtual worlds and online gaming why is anyone surprised that obesity in children has also gone up? (i'm not even going to discuss the obesity in adults caused by this subject because they should know better..)

with children, because they have access to online games where they can make themselves into whatever they want to be, it's no wonder their determination to be successful and do what they want to do is gone. say i can be a decorated diver online where the number of successful dives i have earns my girl coins that i can use to buy new skins. why the hell would i then go to a pool and throw myself off a high dive doing as many flips and spins possible? i am just not that good and my drive to become better isn't worth the struggle of improving my physical condition and air sensibility. i would most likely fall on the water and hurt myself a bunch of times before i got a simple dive worth noticing. RIGHT?

NO! while i am certainly not saying that online games are stupid and unnecessary; i am simply stating they are just games. there's nothing than can replace the way you do feel overcoming physical challenges and being successful at something you're passionate about.

branding

the most important aspect i've learned about writing a resume and even a cover letter for a potential job is to seem as genuine about yourself as possible. i was always told that you want them to want you even if you're not so sure you want them. i feel like some people either take this to the extreme or don't follow it at all.

i know a few people that are so worried about how they are portrayed on the internet that they detag almost all photos on facebook, just in case a professional contact happens to stumble upon their profile. they are so worried that they don't even let their personality show through in the interests and activities section where they are the only ones in control of what is written. no matter how much i think about it i cannot relate to these people, so much so that i've questioned a hundred times over what the difference is between professional and personal contacts. obviously there has been a difference, but in my reality i believe anyone can become a professional contact in some way or another. because of the evolution of social media and websites such as LinkedIn, it has become so much easier to advance your career through family and friends (which to my understanding are traditionally classified as personal contacts) than in the past.

but then there are the ones that don't hold any standards on the internet at all. in my experience i've noticed that younger generations more so than older ones, are those with no sense of professional behavior. my brother is 18 and some of the girls he has gone to high school with have posted many blogs and pictures that i would never even want family and friends who have known my personality for years to see. posting these types of things dilutes the actual personality that these people might have and leaves little up to the imagination.

branding yourself through social media can be difficult for some and requires a bit of work for others but i think that if you try too hard to control things you seem too clean and disingenuous. but on the other hand if you need some type of control and act otherwise there are obviously going to be consequences.

..and just for fun i'd love to be around when those kids try to get jobs in the real world

run awayyy

these new mobile technologies, as many have commented, have pros and cons. it seems as though the more revolutionary the technologies get the harder it is to keep them secure. but another thing that i almost have more of a problem with is how addicting some of these new technologies become. things like facebook and twitter and texts from last night occupy college students' minds for hours while they procrastinate from doing their real work. which okay, you're in college procrastination becomes a part of life sometimes...

however, when technology that involves your mobile phone is discovered by older generations it becomes a little bit of a liability. with tracking technologies they can know where you are at all times, it starts to get difficult to lie about your "sick" day...or with SMS technology which obvs has been used for awhile now, your boss can send you a message where you are expected to respond within a certain timeframe because they know growing up with technology like this, your cell is always with you.

mobile email is another issue that i've personally run into in the past. i only very recently started receiving email alerts to my cell and my experience with it is definitely up and down. but for work and even quite a bit with the university many exepct you to have 24/7 access to your email so that you know the latest about class and work schedules. so if you're on your way and the office is closed you won't have traveled all the way there and are disappointed showing up alone.

so close your eyes, turn around and run awayyyy (while you still have the chance since they haven't implanted a tracking chip underneath your skin...yet)

je ne sais quoi

i think that a huge problem that we have with the internet is that no one really knows what they sign up for.. match.com, e-harmony, and internet chat rooms make it easy for users to stretch the truth and manipulate the reality of themselves to impress and entice each other.

corporate blogs sort of have the same problem. most try and make their company look perfected and flawless, but in all realities there are problems that go on. by portraying false appearances through blogs it taints the reputations of the companies thus destroying the attempts for successful up-to-date technological social medias (which also helps aid the generational disconnect on the level of involvement technology can have to improve the company)...

...stop frontin'

accessible knowledge or wisdom?

web 2.0 critics are usually part of older generations but commonly they relate the idea that developing technology is causing younger generations to become less intelligent and less directly connected to their networks. the internet and other media technologies have allowed information to become accessible constantly without a lot of effort. but there's a difference between accessing the information and actually using it. this is what i would define as wisdom and it touches on what the older generations believe is being lost.

everyday experiences and using information that someone has come in contact with is actually learning the material. obviously depending on the situation, this knowledge can be applied in a variety of different ways once it is learned. older generations partly due to their lack of experience with the developed technologies don't realize the opportunities that web 2.0 applications create for all kinds of learning and grow. information that wasn't once available to many is now broadcasted publicly and though this comes with responsiblity the benefits of these new technologies provide a bigger chance for personal intellectual development than society's older ways.

what's the diagnosis?

Crowdsourcing is a neologistic compound of Crowd and a short for Outsourcing, for the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an "open call" to a large group of people (a crowd) asking for contributions.

i saw a House episode one time where this idea came into play. one of the patients put his symptoms on an internet medical forum to see if anyone would respond with a diagnosis. now originally he did it without a monetary reward to which he received few responses, however he smartened up and offered $10,000 for the correct diagnosis.

until now i hadn't really thought about it in a business like environment but it's true. there has been an evolution of this type of community that promotes ideas and allows almost anyone participate. i have to say that i can see both sides of the argument about whether or not crowdsourcing really develops the smartest ideas because of the group.

i think that the community environment aids the people who need more information about the topic the most rather than solving the actual problem. individuals are the ones that have the ideas and promote more conversation separately, and the final result is from each person's effort. there are some people that don't aid to the positive development of a conversation so it's not possible to say that as a group we promote the smarter and more developed ideas compared to each individual input.

Untapped

after doing some reading it seems as though informal social networks are considered bad things in the workplace. few if any have set out to embrace the newest of technologies that support this more comfortable environment and it just seems to me that ignoring this type of evolution is not the way to go.

just because the elderly white-haired man (who is your boss) has never had a chance to experience this new outlet before does not always mean that he is not willing to try something new, especially now. although most are not open to technology as much as the younger generations are, there are few that fall in this category that recognize that to move forward changes must be made.

advertising...promotional items...penetration of markets...these are all things that have been shown to have benefited by the communication through informal social networks...this shows that there is no reason why a business that is has had a rep for being conservative or old-fashioned cant create a linkedin group page so that it compliments the individual pages of employees from their company on linkedin already...

it all comes fullcircle

every legend has their first..

"i will never blog"

...yet here i am, my name is rebecca wisely and i am an undergraduate student at american university in washington, d.c.

i am starting this for an itec class i am taking in my final semester and "on my honor, all posts on this blog are my own"