Sunday, July 21, 2013

My Attempts at Social Media Tools
Smart Phone - When first purchased, I was clueless on how smart this phone was.  Believe it or not, it took my 11-year old niece to teach me the 'tools of the trade' on this one.  Once mastered, I wondered how I have lived without it.  It really is a Smart Phone.  For instance, not only can I use it as a phone but I can always have my email up and Facebook.  It is great to have my email right there so that I can see as soon as a message comes in.  I love this feature on this phone.  Having Facebook open for me allows me to always comment on my friends and my family's posts.  I have no need for a computer when I am home in the USA, as I just always use my Smart Phone.  I have the Samsung Galaxy S4 and I really like it.  See link below:

http://www.samsung.com/us/guide-to-galaxy-smart-devices/galaxy-s-4-smartphone.html

Blogs - According to www.time.com, (When it comes to political blogs, the Huffington Post is in a class by itself" (McNichol, T., 2009). Huffington Post has one of the most popular blogs out there...who knew?  I am not much of a Huffington Post fan but felt I should give it a try, since I am checking out Social Media Tools here.  The one thing I am not fond of is having to create an account in order to post on this site.  I do not like having to create accounts.  I like that The Huffington Post has a lot of stories on the blog.  They have a lot of stories I was not even aware of.  For instance, a story on the worst company to work for.  1,071 comments were posted for that story.  DISH Network was voted the worst company to work for, according to the firm Wall St. 24/7, who did the story.  I think the blog is a pretty good Social Media Tool, however, who could possibly read 1,071 comments?  Too many to dig through, in my opinion.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

Webcasts - The Library of Congress actually has webcasts.  I am impressed to know this.  I would have never known had I not done a search for webcasts.  That being the case, I doubt many people search out webcasts and I don't think webcasts are the most popular Social Media Tool, either.  I decide to check out the "Talking Science with Congress" webcast.  The speaker is Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.  Unfortunately, when I click on the webcast I receive a pop up message that I must download Real Player.  Not doing it.  I really do not want to take the time involved to download the Real Player to my computer.  I might have enjoyed this webcast but it just is not as efficient as I would like.  If this is how the webcasts work, I am not a fan.

http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5790

According to Twitter, "Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest stories, ideas, opinions and news about what you find interesting. Simply find the accounts you find most compelling and follow the conversations" (Twitter, 2013).  I have to agree.  Twitter is the winner in my book.  With just a 'tweet' the information gets out to the world.  Doesn't take much, maybe a sentence but it seems to be the best way to reach audiences most effectively. The Society of Professonal Journalist's has a website called Journalist's Toolbox.  There it lists Twitter and Social Media Resources for Journalists to follow Tweetsin the news room.

Sources: McNichol.Tom. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1879276_1879279_1879212,00.html

https://twitter.com/about

http://www.journaliststoolbox.org/archive/twitter-resources/
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4 comments:

  1. Sue RyanJuly 27, 2013 at 6:07 AM

    Hi Suzanne,
    I have converted from calling my iPhone a smartphone to a computer that has a phone in it. I've found I use it more for other things than for talking on the phone and now that so many members of our family have switched to texting (not my favorite, but I'm the Gumby of flexibility), I find I am using other features more than the phone.

    Thanks for letting us know about the Huffington Post Blogs. I have clicked on links to Huffington Post articles, but I've never really checked out their website. I have created several alias emails for sites I want to use but don't want to have my regular email address have access to, but there are times when I don't like having to give even an alias. I wonder if it's to help cut down on anonymous comments?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Suzanne QuickJuly 27, 2013 at 10:28 PM

    Hi Sue -
    I am not sure about the anonymous posts. I subscribe to different posts, etc. but try to be careful about putting my real email out to the world, too. I just cleared out my email and it was unreal the amount of emails in there that I will NEVER read - - - so I deleted everything just to clear out the inbox. Just a bunch of junk mail in there. Crazy.

    Thanks for your Comment, Sue.

    Regards,
    Suzanne

    ReplyDelete
  3. Susan Ellison-McGeeJuly 28, 2013 at 5:15 PM

    Hi Suzanne,

    First, I absolutely love my Samsung smartphone too! It really has just about everything I need at my fingertips. As you've noticed some of the interfaces for accessing webcasts or other applications are not consistent. I find it a little frustrating and don't want to download too many other utilities - first because of the clutter, too many programs that do the same thing and second because it uses up memory. I have found that I'm using Twitter more and more as a source to guide me to more information. It's quick, easy and timely and so far not too distracting. I'll be interested to hear about any new apps that you find useful for your
    Galaxy IV.

    Cheers,
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  4. EileenJuly 30, 2013 at 7:27 PM

    Hi Suzanne,

    There has been discussion about whether it makes sense to require a valid email address for people to comment on all sites. Some feel that this might cut down on some of the bullying, racist, sexist and just plain mean and disgusting comments.

    Good post. Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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