Class Reflection

Looking back now I appreciate this class even more now that I've learned about the different job opportunities available such as social media consulting. I have learned different business techniques through the different readings we had and really enjoyed some of the abstract ideas presented such as the science fiction scenarios that are now turning into possibilities. Some future goals created by this class involve learning how to better use social media platforms and analyze data provided such as numbers of hits or traffic in a day. I plan to learn more about the consulting world as well and explore new technologies or sites that may be the next big trend and could gain an advantage for those interested in consulting. It's always important to keep up with trends and stay ahead of the curve if possible.

Final Project Video

http://youtu.be/7It9m9a04dk Here's my video on Social Media Consulting, Enjoy!

Final Post on Technology Dependence

All semester I've discussed the dependence my generation has on technology. All day, every day is spent staring at screens for a typical teenager or college student. The sad part about technology is that its only expanding and becoming an even bigger part of our lives, with things like Google Glasses and Samsung Galaxy Gear Watch being developed. Don't get me wrong, these gadgets seem pretty cool to me as well, however I can't help but take a step away from all the technology and really realize how much of our days are spent wasted on these gadgets. People no longer have real life conversations because its easier to just text or instant message them, children are growing up with Iphones by the age of 5 so their social skills are nonexistent, but hey, they'll be able to use Facebook and Instagram in no time so isn't it worth it? For those that didn't pick up on my sarcasm, I really don't like how the future looks with so much tech around, sometimes it honestly worries me. Science fiction scenarios where robotics soon control the world are honestly a real possibility with the way things are going along with the lazy mindset we live in that would rather a gadget or device as long as it simplifies their life. Everyone is in search of these helpful gadgets but they don't realize what they are giving up to acquire them and I fear they won't until it is too late. Its just became easier to accept the device dependent world than it is to try and make a change, which is rather unfortunate.

Final Consulting Project

As I have an interest in consulting and different aspects of building a social media strategy I decided to focus my final project presentation on the different aspects of social media consulting. The recent work with the CMMA really made me notice how important social media platforms can be and how useful it is to have a general understanding of social medias. Utilizing different analytics and statistics that sites such as Facebook offers on traffic and user interaction can be very useful to not only understand how many people are looking at your pages, but also be able to then make changes and adjust postings based on research from the data. Being able to understand different markets and then being able to consult on different topics such as marketing, research & development, or social media can be the important deciding factor that determines if a business chooses you over another consultant. This seems like a possible job opportunity that I would enjoy especially starting off out of college so I plan to research more on consulting jobs  thanks in part to this project for expanding my thinking and maybe further down the line i would even acquire a consulting internship.

Final CMMA Presentation

So our group recently completed our Social Media analysis of the CMMA and gave our final presentation on Tuesday, December 2nd to the board members of the Central Michigan Manufacturers Association and I feel it went great. They really seemed to appreciate our input and were open to any suggestions we had for them such as how to improve their different social media platforms or changes that could be made to their website to increase traffic and interested users. My sub-groups main focus was the website, which we then broke down into the 3 most important parts that the CMMA could improve. Adding an updating the calendar page on their website is a real simple step to increasing traffic to the site just based on people wanting to know upcoming events of the CMMA. The next improvement suggested was getting more exposure or search engine optimization through putting more links on different social medias and having more click-able links that link the CMMA to their actual website. The main suggestion I researched involved implementing a blog or newsletter to reach a younger generation that wants to read a different aspect of the CMMA whether that be from one of the board members each week or even CEO's of different CMMA corporations that may not be board members themselves. Together these suggestions, along with Facebook and LinkedIn suggestions, led to a great presentation that I feel like will really make an impact now on how the CMMA goes about creating a social media strategy.

Tracking Use of Social Media

You never really notice the impact something has until its removed completely. This goes the same with social media, especially in our lives where it seems social media is now the easiest way to communicate and stay in touch with friends and family. I decided to try my social media reprieve over thanksgiving break as I figured it wouldn't interfere with my schoolwork. It really becomes apparent how dependent people are to their devices when you take a minute to notice. Thankfully I was around family for the first part of the day which I miss by being away at college so it wasn't hard at all to just unplug from technology and social media but I did notice everyone else always having to check their phones or refresh their screens for the latest updates. I feel like social media almost dehumanizes people from actually experiencing emotions; instead they would rather Facebook status or tweet it. The second half of my day I spent with my friends which is when I really started to notice differences in time spent checking phones instead of actually communicating. It really opened my eyes to do this social media experiment and made me realize how much extra time I would have.

Social Media in my Career Interest

Social Media is expanding into almost all aspects of our lives nowadays and seems to be more important than reality for some people. This relates to my career interest because Entrepreneurship is expanding in our world as well and becoming a bigger part in both the business and consulting markets. This is important because it creates new opportunities and jobs because of social media such as having a social media consultant for digital and marketing within the business. Also, companies have designated employees whose sole jobs are to be in charge of and monitor social media platforms for that company. Entrepreneurs are now taking advantage of more use of social media by creating businesses that solely depend on social media like facebook and twitter to gain customers and keep them satisfied by answering questions and requests. Food truck entrepreneurs are also now using social media to their advantage by finding and posting the best locations on any given night for their food trucks to gain more customers as well as letting them then suggest the best spots around town for a food truck. These are just a few examples of the opportunities social media offers due to society's increasing dependence on it.

Newsletters and Blogs Reach

As I dive farther into my research on social media use within the CMMA it becomes more and more clearer that a Newsletter or Blog would be the best way to enhance the website as well as bring in a younger crowd by giving a different perspective. I understand that an internal newsletter probably already exists, which could make creating an external one even easier because some of that info could be shared between the newsletters. To me, the best way to contribute to the website would be a blog that was done at least once or twice a month by either the board members together or switching between each member for each different weekly blog. That way if there was a special focus that member was looking at informing the public on they would have full freedom to do so however they planned. For example, lets say it was getting towards the end of the academic school year and that board member wanted to let potential interns and graduates know of alternatives to college than for that blog post they could focus on recruiting and educating students on different options offered by the CMMA for those that don't know the opportunities offered in manufacturing. I feel a newsletter is a little too impersonal but could still work if done correctly and the required effort was put in.

Morbark, Inc.

This past week we had the opportunity to go on a field visit to Morbark Incorporated to learn more about both their company and their association with the Central Michigan Manufacturers Association. We first started with a power point presentation by Mr. Schumaker which had some interesting aspects to it that the average person doesn't get access to but instead it seemed like we got a look into the boardroom and how business is actually conducted. I enjoyed the different parts of business discussed and how he explained to us as I now feel like I know more about the forestry, recycling, and bio-energy markets that Morbark is a part of. An interesting example was the one discussing the opportunities through bio-energy from chicken and turkey litter and how the farmers used to have to pay to have their litter removed and destroyed but with the technology available today they now are able to expand their business and even create renewable resources that they then sell electricity to their neighbors. I just found that so cool that they've changed their business practices based on technology available to both better the environment as well as their business. After the power point we took a tour of the 1 million square foot factory that included all different sorts of machinery and vehicles that traveled the shop floor to make it easier for employees to get around. Schumaker gave us a tour and bits of Morbarks history on the different aspects of the company and how it has changed over the years. Overall I thought it was a great experience that could benefit us later on in life while still being fun and getting us out of the classroom which is always nice every once in a while.

More on Who Owns the Future

Chapter 2 of Who Owns the Future brings up key points that are often overlooked in our society because of our dependence on technology. Almost everything in our lives nowadays has something to do with an aspect of technology whether its saving data to the Cloud service or updating your latest status on Facebook. The Aristotle quote involving enslaving people to get things done is necessary even though it isn't always fair, someone has to do each job and this really relates to our society. In our times people are encouraged to do what they enjoy and get a career, not a job. However, this strategy can't be for everyone as there are jobs out are necessary to keeping things running smoothly. They also bring up a good point about musicians and how their roles have changed from just trying to make a living off of their music to becoming symbols of a culture or a counterculture that fans really support and get behind.

CMMA Social Organization

I believe there are plenty of opportunities in social media for the Central Michigan Manufacturers Association to take advantage of in order to bring in interested high school graduates as well as reaching a college age group that wants to learn more about manufacturing. The social media plan we are trying to develop with them involves getting high schools and more specifically counselors and teachers motivated to basically scout students that may not go to college but would be a good fit for a manufacturing internship. To me, the easiest way for this to happen is to build a better digital presence for the CMMA on both their own website and other social media tools such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Creating page groups on these social medias for different high schools would make it easier to linkup with students interested in an internship. Each couple of page groups should have a leader or Manufacturing Executive in the CMMA available for any questions or concerns students or parents would have. They have to understand that there are other options out there for those who college might not be the best option, and the CMMA is one of those. With a little bit more exposure in the digital world, the CMMA could really benefit and spread their message at the same time.

Education in Entrepreneurship

My education in Entrepreneurship can be adapted to fit the new social media saturated environment by creating new forms of business such as social media consultants or an employee being in charge of  a social media plan for a company. Through this class I have learned different social media techniques to keep customers returning satisfied such as being open and engaging with them to make sure any issues are corrected or at least acknowledged. Another technique is to make sure there is dedication towards the social media plan and the content is quality and relate able for those customers. These techniques would help a company sustain a social media life but then it is up to that user how much work they put into running that businesses social media campaign. To me, the easiest way social media plans fail is because the company loses interest after the first couple weeks and they no longer have the motivation to stay connected with their customers. The main thing is commitment and dedication to sticking with that social media plan.

Selected Readings

The beginning of chapter 3 in Who Owns The Future begins with a very interesting point on money and how even in ancient times it was necessary to create some sort of concrete counter or storage asset. Nowadays money takes on a different use or purpose, especially with no need to carry it around anymore with plastic credit cards or cell phone apps that can make payments through banks. This is why it is possible for banks to fall apart when people don't pay their mortgages back. Banks are selling assets that are partially made of the future intents of borrowers. When borrowers do something other than promised, those assets no longer exist. The problem with this is that it affects a lot more people than those borrowers think by not paying back loans. I really enjoyed the economy cosmology comparison and how an expanding market is just like an expanding universe. The author notes that growth is necessary in any healthy market and that it doesn't have to come at the expense of the environment.

Mobile Device's Effects

I believe mobile devices align with the CMMA's purpose by allowing easy access to social media no matter where that user is and letting them gain info on the association and their purpose. With an expanded social media plan put into action by the CMMA, this would allow those who don't have a general understanding of a manufacturing association to gain knowledge. They still haven't technically adapted to this generation of technology and social media and that is why we are working with them at this point. It can adapt in the future by sharing the different opportunities with a younger generation that manufacturing can offer. They can be able to do this by having a strong social media platform on many different sites as to reach all interested in manufacturing and any possible opportunities or apprenticeships available. I believe they can accomplish this as well as reach a younger crowd if they stay dedicated to a plan and show commitment on their end of it.

Ch. 3 The New Digital Age

This chapter focused more on the internet and how everything revolves around it. How different countries censor or filter content so those under their service provider can be controlled. To me this doesn't seem right as the Internet isn't being used to its full potential when you censor different parts of the country so they are enclosed in their own digital world. The whole idea of massive collaboration is to have all willing contributors contributing content, which isn't possible from those in a censoring area such as they do in China. Even though there are ways around these censorship walls, it still hurts the chances of full cooperation and collaboration between users online. This chapter focuses more on the future of our digital age and I hope it involves less censorship from dictator like countries to allow any and all collaboration when possible no matter what part of the world you live in.

Social Organization Ch. 7 & 8

This chapter really focused on community and how to involve them in different aspects of the business such as how to get them involved and to participate. They suggest doing this by determining what participants want and value so that it is meaningful to them and they will actually want to contribute for their own benefit. It's a sad truth but nowadays we live in a "what do i get out of this" mindset that keeps people to themselves and doesn't really allow group collaborations. The main idea is to find these meaningful aspects and then define the core participants actions needed to help them realize that meaning. I enjoyed the example the authors used from the Acosta firm and how they decided to change their in-store buying experience for the customers. Becoming more social media based allows customers to personalize their choices and feel more informed from the business on what choices they offer.

Chapter 2 Who Owns the Future

The chapter begins with the author discussing how sometimes people over complicate things and ideas and that it is just better to blurt the idea out to get the creative process started. Digital technology changes the the way things are looked at or the steps taken because technology for the most part makes things easier. I enjoyed the use of Aristotle's quote and how it relates to problems going on in our society as well as the one that happened many years ago. The point I drew from this quote was that he predicted the takeover or transfer of power to technology and machines from humans because of the massive dependence we have on technology and that our lives couldn't go on without the use of different technologies.

The Social Organization Chapters 5 & 6

Bradley and McDonald bring up a few key points in these chapters on how to work smarter, not harder involving social media and mass collaboration. People are already using social media, yet it isn't successful for just everyone. Building the correct strategy when it comes to employees and others online is the key to successful community collaboration. As the motivator you need to be able to compel people or give them a cause to help contribute, otherwise most wouldn't want to exert any effort and would stay in "The No Stage". To make it to "The Go Stage" the community has to be supported by an organization to provide and allow access to social media technology. Creating a purpose roadmap to determine what the social media goals are and how to guide and refine the purpose help users narrow down their mission. After, a business justification is developed to identify the communities tangible business benefits and costs. These are all tools to help an organization expand their social media community to lead to mass collaboration.

Born in the Wrong Generation

Sometimes I honestly feel like I don't belong in this technology-filled generation and that I would live a happier life in a simpler time where peoples lives didn't revolve around the newest gadget or what is new online. Most people really don't realize how dependent they all are on technology; for example, take a walk around campus and you notice countless students with their faces buried in a screen too busy for any human interaction as they text message and tweet every detail of their life. Things become insignificant if they can't fit into 140 characters on Twitter, as we all just sit around waiting for the next popular social media platform to be released and control peoples lives. Chapter 2 of The New Digital Age reinforces this idea, telling how in the next decade, "The world's virtual population will outnumber the population of Earth". Schmidt and Cohen support this immersion through social media, stating that it will create massive amounts of data or a data revolution. My issue with this is the fact that half, if not most, of this data will be useless information created by users who don't realize they are trading away their privacy for social interactions online that could easily happen in real life. While i do enjoy using social media occasionally myself, its mostly just to keep in touch with friends and family who i don't get to see as much, yet others seem to live through social media, posting every superficial detail of their lives for all the world to see.

Central Michigan Manufacturers Association

As I learn more and more about the CMMA and their different duties and goals, I start to notice both areas in need of improvement as well as things that could be easily fixed with some thoughtful solutions. For example, the CMMA website lacks information on the Association and could use some more input from the Board Members to make the website more interesting. A blog perhaps, even done once a month, that informs the viewers what exactly is going on at these board meetings. The CMMA is really lacking in its transparency to anyone who is not currently a member, which doesn't enhance the likelihood of success at all. I believe the CMMA would benefit greatly from mass collaboration, allowing others to state their opinions on what needs to be changed as well as how to change it. Understanding how to listen and control community collaborations so that all opinions can be heard at least if they are not put in use. While I haven't really noticed too many Meshy characteristics, I do believe the CMMA has the potential to be meshy I just need more time and information as well as meeting those in charge of the CMMA before I can personally judge the characteristics of this association.

Who Does Own the Future?

Jaron Lanier's Who Owns the Future brings up some interesting points in the Prelude alone, mentioning the many different ways people now pirate or illegally download even books now. Lanier explains the factors that go into transactions and the effects even from those that don't purchase but promote through word of mouth. Lanier brings up an interesting point in which he believes everyone deserves compensation for contributions that they post online. This scenario is possible, however I don't see it as a viable option because of the amount of free information available online, companies won't want to pay users for their contributions. Another interesting point brought up by Lanier is that models and profiles are being constructed by companies based on internet history and search information and these profiles are valuable to other businesses and companies trying to reach certain customers. This invasion of privacy has become second nature to basically everyone, with those in favor of giving up more information if it means personalized ads and emails. Maybe I am the only skeptical one, but in a society that already revolves around technology, why not be skeptical?

Change in Organization- CMMA

I've decided to change the organization in which i am focusing on Social Media wise, as I would rather be able to really dive into focusing on strictly the Central Michigan Manufacturers Association.  The CMMA is interesting to me because I believe they help out a lot of struggling entrepreneurs starting their own businesses by connecting them with experienced manufacturers. Now not being a member myself, at this point I'm not sure the full benefits offered or the level of mass collaboration but i can still compare the six principles of mass collaboration. The CMMA uses both participation and collective by having a community of manufacturers and a special members section on http://www.centralmichiganmanufacturers.org/1/342/index.asp. The transparency is evident through their use of LinkedIn and Facebook. Emergence and Independence could use a bit of work in differentiating themselves from other manufacturing organizations. With a little persistence and more contributions, this organization could really take advantage of social media and mass collaboration.

Reading Responses

The New Digital Age by Schmidt and Cohen starts off with a thought provoking introduction that focuses on how technology will improve literally all aspects of life and change how things are performed due to creative technology. Also discussed is the potential for mass contributions from those all around the world due to everybody being connected through the internet. They mention the benefits of complete connectivity and how processor chips have the capability to double in speed every 18 months leading to many different possibilities. The scenarios presented by Schmidt and Cohen are fascinating yet make me feel skeptical. The fact that every aspect of society would revolve around technology is a scary thought, living completely different lives compared to those in the past where living in a technology based world wasn't possible. The next reading contrasted Schmidt and Cohen, where Jaron Lanier fully supports the technological takeover in his book You are Not a Gadget. I understand the titles meaning in that us as humans are not physically gadgets, yet I feel like people grow more and more each day to depending on technology to live. Having peoples lives revolve around electronics and other devices just doesn't seem right, yet it seems almost a guarantee which leads to my optimistic feelings on the future.

Social Media Based Organization

 Tappsi