Management Platforms and Tools

I want to start out by sharing a quick definition of a word that is going to be very meaningful in this post, but many of us have probably never heard it before. The term is aggregators, which Wikipedia defines as, “…a web site or computer software that totals a specific type of information from multiple online sources.” As social media began to boom, it became a little too overwhelming for one individual to manage all social media platforms for an individual or an organization. This is where aggregators came in to play. The specific aggregator I would like to discuss right now is Sprout Social. According to their website at http://sproutsocial.com/about their goal is to make the communication between big companies and their customers simple. They do this by really just doing it for you. There are many different companies that provide similar services, but Sprout works with well-known companies such as Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.


According to http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/78473-Pros-and-Cons-of-Sprout-Social-for-Social-Media-Management there are far more pros to using Sprout Social than there are cons. Although some of these cons do include things such as “limited number of social networks” and “higher costs.” In the early stages of social media I can see how companies like Sprout Social or Hoot Suite were very beneficial to many large growing companies, but now it appears that there are far more social media experts. Every company that plays any role with the internet seems to have a team of these experts working fervently on their social media correspondences with the public. I am not sure that these additional, costly services are still as imperative to have. Don’t get me wrong, sites such as these have incredible programs and tools to offer and are helping countries all across the world. My fear for them, is how much longer will they be relevant? Or what will be next? Nonetheless, social media management is extremely important, especially in our ever expanding world of the internet. I am interested to see what the future holds, and what companies will use in the not so distant future.

Organization Uses: Politics and Attacks

I found the topic of this week’s blog post and discussion to be very fitting with events that have occurred in the world today. This morning, Tuesday March 22, 2016, there were terrorist bomb attacks in Brussels, Belgium. According to http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/22/471391497/what-we-know-terrorist-bombing-at-brussels-airport there were three major bomb that went off killing approximately thirty people, and injuring hundreds of others. Although these attacks are completely horrific, I am amazed at the part that social media plays in situations such as this one. I originally read about the incident on Facebook and quickly googled “Belgium bombings” to find out more information. The first link that popped up was http://www.cnet.com/news/belgian-capital-locks-down-after-explosions-at-airport-subwayfacebook-activates-safety-check-tool/. This articled discusses the activation of a Facebook safety tool that allows people in a disaster such as this one to communicate with people that they are okay. Facebook activated this tool after the bombings this morning, and it also played a huge role after the attacks on Paris, France just a couple of months ago. The article shares that Facebook is not the only company or tool like this, as the Red Cross also has an app with similar functions. We also had someone share in our class after the attacks that hashtags became very important and influential after the attacks in Paris. Another platform at https://www.reddit.com/r/belgium/comments/4bgowb/brussel_attacks_megathread/ provided a live stream that was an ongoing thread of updates as to what was happening in Brussels. With this feed people all across the world could be informed with what was actually happening and the steps that were being taken to assist. This feed also included what several world leaders were saying about the attacks and sharing their words of support. This is truly incredible to me. With the development of social media we have so many ways of contacting those we love, and getting involved in situations where we just want to show love. I say this over and over in my blog posts, but social media does make our world a much smaller place. From sharing insignificant, funny images to saving lives, social media seems to cover just about every sphere of communication.

Social Media Case Reflection 2

"Stay out a trouble, listen to your parents, respect your elders, and you can be anything you want to be,'' are the words the former NBA super star Shaquille O’Neal according to, http://www.today.com/news/florida-basketball-cop-brings-shaquille-o-neal-backup-game-local-t68806 left with a group of teenagers a few weeks ago after playing with them and a group of police officers in a pickup game of basketball. This game came about in response to an officer who was called on a noise complaint, reacting by joining in and playing with the kids. As he was leaving the officer told the kids that he would be back and that he would bring back up the next time. The original video that was taken from the dashboard camera in the officer’s car was posted on Facebook, and almost immediately went viral. That is when Shaq saw the video and decided to get involved. He quickly contacted the Gainesville Police Department and flew in to meet the special officer and play with the kids. I have watched several video clips and read many articles about this situation, but the quote that stands out to me personally the very most, is that of the opening statement I shared. As they were finishing up their game of basketball, Shaq brought the kids around him and told them to stay out of trouble, as well as those other powerful things. 

I thought about this for a minute. How often do we see videos become viral just because of someone’s great intentions? Maybe those kids would have never heard a statement like that if Shaq hadn’t said it. Shaq would never have been able to be a part and touch the lives of those kids, had the video not been posted. And none of this would have happened if that officer didn’t react to the situation the way he did. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/newsletter/os-gainesville-cop-shaq-mike-bianchi-0128-20160127-column.html quoted Officer Bobby White saying, "I'm really having a hard time understanding why this video has gotten so big; it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. What I did is nothing extraordinary or innovative. It was ordinary, everyday police work that's happening all over the world." When he pulled up to the kids in the street that day, I don’t think it ever crossed his mind that anyone other than those kids and himself would know what he had done. He was just handling the situation the best way he knew how. Most viral videos that we see are hilarious or off the wall strange. I’m not saying that they all are, but I know in my own personal life it seems this way. How incredible would it be if everything that ever went viral had a positive message like this video does? How different do you think our world would be? With the technology that is available to every one of us, communication has become instantaneous. How many video clips or footage from racial issues have we seen recently? We have seen far more negative than we have seen positive. I believe that this video clip, and the action of the officer sets a very important example on many different levels. First, in a day when race is still a daunting issue, the white officer shows that there can be peace between himself and the black kids. Second, I think this video proves that we as a nation need to promote kids being kids. Although technology is so very important, it does effect the amount of time children spend outside being active. This video is a promotion of peace and wellbeing.

I think it also speaks volumes that an important role-model and icon like Shaquille O’Neal would choose to get involved. Celebrities like himself can be and are very influential. In my opinion most of the stars that seem to be getting involved in huge issues like race and/or families stir the pot even more. Their words are much more powerful than just a normal citizens. Shaq didn’t say anything too powerful other than the words of advice he shared with these kids, he simply reacted and continued to make a difference like Officer Bobby White had. Without the technology that we have today, this officer’s act of kindness may have gone unknown. His example of character would have only lived on with those kids that he stopped to play with that afternoon. Now his example has become a legacy as it has effected the lives of people everywhere. I wish we could fill the realm of viral videos with videos such as this one of the Basketball Cop.

Class Cloud

Our class on the cloud time that we as a class took part in two weeks ago was definitely the most unique class experience I have ever had. For those of you reading this that were not part of the class, I’ll explain the situation a little more. Before class we were asked to tweet two things, one was a question to anyone in the world by tagging someone or just leaving it up to our followers. The second thing was we had to tweet at someone else like a celebrity or athlete. Here are the two tweets that I initially shared: 

This initial question has been on my mind a lot lately, as I have talked about in the past, I work in social media marketing and I really wanted to know. The second tweet I tweeted at Tim Tebow about his incredible fundraiser he recently put on. I am a huge Tim Tebow fan, and I think that this would be an incredible night to be a part of.  Although neither of my questions we answered I learned several things.

During class we tweeted back and forth with each other in the class and even those outside our classroom joined in. There were two situations that occurred during this experience that I thought were just mind blowing. The first was that there was a girl missing from our class because she was out of town. Although she was not present in the class room she joined in for the tweeting discussions. This really got me thinking. How incredible is that, that she could be hundreds of miles from our classroom and still participate in the experience. I know that broadcasted classes are becoming part of the norm, and making the education world so much smaller, but I had never thought about it being expanded over social media.

The second situation that was really eye opening for me was when Sam Askerland tweeted at Al Fox and she tweeted back. Sam asked her a question about her speaking formats and within a few minutes Al had given her a response. I also tweeted at Al which you can see below, but did not receive an answer. Social media, and twitter specifically has completely changed communication. I thought it was very fitting for Al Fox to have responded, and gotten involved with our class discussion, as she has gained much of her fame over social media platforms. I really would like to someday be able to ask her or another person that has used social media platforms to be influential my question. Social media at times limits the word count we can share, but the crowd count is innumerable. I really enjoyed being part of our Class on the Cloud day.