The Power of My Twitter

When I first started Twitter, I didn’t realize that it would become extremely handy in the future. As Barbara Nixon has shown us, Twitter can help you in life, and get your noticed. In my recent post about AllStar Weekend, I posted a question for their fans with the hashtag “ALLSTARWEEKEND”. I got a  lot of responses back in questions that they wanted me to ask the band. Once the questions were answered and posted on the YouTube channel, I saw that the video was being passed around from fan to fan and is currently at over 1,400 views. The video is now all over Tumblr (Which I am unfamiliar with). I have talked a lot about twitter in this blog, but as I have experienced first hand, the power that twitter has can really get you noticed in whatever you are looking for. From interviews, to tweeting a politician, a celebrity, or about an issue. Twitter has the power to make or break you depending on what you post and how many people are affected by it.

Twitter & Finding a job

Its coming to that time of year where all of us seniors are stressing out. Partially because of the end of college, finals, and other things. But, more so because its time to enter the real worl

d. Many people dont know exactly where they will end up come graduation. I for one, have had a hard time deciding what part of the country to even look at working in. For me, in news, the possibilities are nearly endless. All depending on the market size of the station (Market #1-#210), you could end up in small town Oregon, or even upstate NY. The trick is to find the job that works best for you. While looking at ads/openings that organizations post is a great way to find out what positions are available, sometimes all you need is a good connection.

Personally, Twitter has become one of my best friends. After posted news broadcasts, my reel, and other news packages that I have done, I have attracted dozens of followers who work in the industry. From producers, to anchors, and even some news directors. If you are someone who doesn’t like social media, and doesnt have time for twitter, make time for it! When people get to see you on a personal level, as well as a professional level, I think they are more likely to consider you for a position when they see you as a package deal.

Foursquare–Whats the big deal?

I must admit that when Foursquare first became popular, I was into it. Becoming the mayor of things, and checking in everywhere you go seemed like fun. But, whats the big deal? Many people including myself dont really care where you are checking in at (every 5 minutes). But, most companies are smart, and they are using Foursquare in order to gain business. Social media has become a very big money maker for companies today, so they would be stupid not to use it to their full advantage, including Foursquare. Many companies are using incentives for their users who “Check in” at t heir establishment. For example, many restaurants are offering free appetizers or discounts on drinks if you check in while you’re there. This is great for people who frequent these places, or for new people who find out about it and want to get a deal.

iPhone

At the same time, foursquare can be a downfall to business as well. While the incentives for customers are great and often times turn out to be great offers, many times, people can make fake foursquare accounts for businesses (why? I dont know) and use them to trick people. People will go into the establishment and try to redeem their discount or free product and are unable to. This is only something that looks bad on the company and often times upsets the customers, sometimes enough to make them not come back.

Personally, I dont use foursquare because of the annoying posts that it makes. I dont necessarily need everyone to know where I am at every minute of the day. I do have many friends that do have the app, and often times get free stuff out of it. But, as a time consumer, and a sort of a privacy situation, I dont think I would go back to it.

Social Media: Big Money for BIG business?

I thought that this podcast was a really great idea. Most people dont really understand the though process on both sides of this issue, “Is SM right formy business?”.  They talked about Dell, and how customers can tell Dell how they are doing through social media. I think this is something that every company needs to do in order to have a successful business. 

One thing thats discussed is “What if someone says something bad about my company? I may lose control”. Thats one thing I worried about when putting 96News on YouTube. I worried that if I put myself out there on the news and someone didnt like it, that they would post something that could harm my reputation or the news show itself.

“We might as well get rid of telephones…people are picking up phones and calling and TALKING about things” — This is something that is so true, just because you dont have social media attached to your company, doesnt mean that people arent talking about you, you cant escape it. It would only be something that works in your favor as a business owner or head of a business.

The podcast then begins to discuss people you may not even know who are benefiting from social media. “Joe the maintenance worker” has 500 connections on Linkedin. He uses it to learn from other plumbers and maintenance workers who show him different ways to be better at the job he is at now. The way that the CEO in this podcast was against social media was very surprising to me. If that was me, I would take every opportunity in order to make sure that I am connecting fully with my customers and making the best out of their experience while buying or using my product, and be able to tell me how to make it better.

“Putting The Public Back In Public Relations”

In our social media #comm4633 class, we had to review a book about PR. And as you may have seen from my twitter, the entire class live tweeted during the presentations. My book was very very similar to the groundswell in my opinion. It talked about how people need to be their own PR reps. The public is responsible for how most brands and products excel. If the public hates a brand or product, then it doesnt sell, and therefore doesnt make any money. People tend to trust people over advertisers.

If you tell someone online how much you love a product, you’re most likely going to buy that product because you trust your peers over the brand. I also, of course, talked about Britney Spears and how Perez Hilton, famous celebrity blogger was in her 2009 Circus Tour. Im sure that all the blogging he does about her, boosted ticket sales for her tour and in return, gave him publicity back. This is the NEW era of PR…..or in other words, PR 2.0.

Twitter & The Oscars

I am not a huge award show fan, unless its something exciting such as the VMA’s or the Grammys. So, because I obviously did not watch the Oscars, I had the pleasure of updating my Twitter feed to find that I couldnt escape the Oscars. The only reason I know that “The Artist” was one of the biggest winners was because of Twitter. Almost every trending hashtag was about the red carpet, the movies, the celebrities on the red carpet, or just the awards in general. Ive noticed that this happens often, if there is an event or something going on with celebrities, Twitter is Live-Tweeting the entire thing. Other than watching it on basically every channel, you read about it on your feed. Social Media is more powerful than a lot of people may think.

Comment # 3

 

Adrian Garza

Occupy Movement

Comment: I agree with you. It probably wasn’t the most effective way to gain supporters. I saw the occupy movement at its strongest this past summer in Boston while interning at ABC. We covered it nearly every day and it really was an effective way to gain media attention. Especially in Boston where they were often disrupting the flow of the city.

96News Interviews ALLSTAR WEEKEND

In my most recent episode of the news broadcast that I produce, anchor, and edit, I interviewed the band AllStar Weekend. They started out on Disney Channels “Next Big Thing” and soon landed their own record deal. They were a ton of fun to hang out with and really gave me a look into what artists should be like. They were very down to earth, eager to hear my questions, and even asked about my life. In parts of the interview that didnt make it into the final cut, they told me what a typical day looks like for them. It was really great to have a conversation with them, even when the cameras werent rolling, and having them be genuinely interested in what I had to say.

Nicki Minaj Performance from the Grammys…Too much?

Many people have been outraged and even discusted by the way Nicki Minaj performed on the 2012 Grammy Awards show on CBS. As you can see in the clip posted above, Nicki recreated scenes from the exorcist in which her alter ego “Roman” is exorcised. She has priests, and all sorts of religious symbolism in this performance. Many people were offended and some were just confused on what was happening throughout the entire performance. Nicki Minaj recently spoke out saying that it all part of a movie. The exorcist right? No! A new movie shes writing. She told the Huffington Post that she wanted to give the audience a preview of what was to come, and what she has written so far for her so called feature length film. This definitely was one of those performances at the Grammys that you do not forget.

BUT….Did it top Britney and Madonnas imfamous kiss?

Baby Slinging Grandma — MY FAVORITE

Although I am not much of a sports fan, I had to watch the Super Bowl to support the New England Patriots, whom play just 15 minutes from my house in Massachusetts. As I was watching, I saw this commercial from Doritos. It is probably one of the more clever commercials I have seen. This ad targets so many audiences, which is one of the best things about it. From kids all the way to adults can enjoy the humor that is in this ad. Kids will enjoy the fact that a baby is being sling shotted across the yard to grab Doritos. On the other hand, adults will enjoy it because they will understand how annoying a kid can be. And while you cant always shut a kid up by sling shotting a baby, the idea is hysterical. I think this is something everyone can find some kind of humor in, no matter where you are coming from.