Tweet, Tweet! Who's there?

Twitter... Honestly, before studying it in class I thought it was pointless. I tired to get involved before but could never establish why exactly I needed this outlet. I kept thinking, all I have is 140 characters to describe my situation... what's the point? Well, after last week's discussion in class and my research into Twitter, I have determined that Twitter (microblogging) can be benficial to individuals and companies.
First, individuals can benefit from Twitter in that it allows them to keep up with people of their interest. Additionally, people can quickly read news articles and other bits of information quickly. For me, Twitter has become a way to follow certain athletes of my interest to hear their personal perspectives of how things are going with their season. Also, Twitter has allowed me to follow a cousin of mine who recently got back from a European vacation. I was able to go back and look at photos and read accounts of her time in each location. The possibilities are seemingly boundless for personal use of microblogging sites like Twitter.com
For businesses and other organizations, Twitter serves as a trendous avenue to relay needed information to desire publics. Businesses can place any type of link to information they would like that automatically is relayed to those who "follow". It goes without saying that this is a tremendous marketing and public relations tool.

Here is a video that should explain Twitter in plain english......




Also, here is an article that explains 10 ways Twitter will change businesses forever.

Hit me up!

Cellular phones are an integral part of society. I do not think anyone with an observant eye could or would disagree with these facts. I am not going to go into extensively the history of cell phones but want you to understand that various technological advances have been made that has enabled cell phones to grasp society like they do. Additionally, cell phones have become an aesthetic tool serving to enhance someone's street credibility.
The focus of this blog will be to explain some of the current social media outlets available to cell phones and how they can benefit public relations practitioners. First, we all know that cell phones have been created that have features such as full Internet (WiFi) access. These phones allow people to utilize full websites rather than mobile versions. Here are a few images of phones like this.


Phones in the above picture are just a few examples of phones offered by cell phone providers that provide this full Internet services.
Technologies allow for consumers to use social media outlets such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter to send and receive personal and business related communication quickly. Not only can cell phones access these sites to review information posted but other information can be posted from the user as well. One advancement in the technology is that all of the features of the social sites can be accessed from the phone meaning it is possible for more people to one day access the sites more from their phone than from an actual cell phone. Research shows this trend due to cell phones becoming more and more like miniature computers.

This video explains various applications and how they use them to help make people's lives easier.
The major use and advantage of these applications for public relations practitioners is accessibility. These people are able to use these applications to satisfy the needs of each public.
Now to the fun stuff. What do all these applications mean for you and I personally? Well, I must say that now that I have a smart phone I will never go back to another type of phone. I am literally obsessed with checking all of my social media outlets via my cell phone. In fact, I am about to quit blogging right now so i can get my phone from the counter and check it.
Okay, now I am back. I had one wall post and a picture text, in case you were wondering. I just want to conclude by saying that cell phones are an integral part of society. Research shows that this trend will continue as cell phones become more like computers. If you need any research information please let me know by contacting my blog and I will send you the necessary material.

Socialization of the press..... Doesn't that sound like an easy concept?

First, let me tell you about my internship as an undergraduate. I worked for The Mississippi Press and the Press-Register in Mobile as a high school reporter. We would always receive press releases and other forms of communication from organizations in our e-mail. Well, about halfway through the internship my boss came to me about creating a Facebook page for the high school athletics that I covered. I agreed to accept this challenge as I am sure you would guess. Once the page was created I was in charge of maintaining the site which came easy to me considering how often I was on Facebook to begin with. Anyways, the point of the story is that once the friends list grew to a certain amount, most of the press releases and other communication we in the sports department received flowed through the Facebook page. The growth and usage of our page directly affected how high schools used social media. It is important to know we advertised the Facebook page in the newspaper which helped expedite the growth.
It is apparent that the need for companies to use social media as a way to communicate information is important. Society has shown that social media is more than a trend. People across the world use this forum to give and receive information so it only makes since that companies and organizations get involved in releasing information this way. Why ignore something or refuse to use it when it so glaring that this is not a future tool but a current tool?
Another interesting idea behind social press releases is the ability to skip the journalistic step that traditional releases require. Organizations have the ability to release information directly to a selected audience of their choice. Additionally, these organizations will not have to jockey for media attention because of access to their public. For companies an organizations, one effective tool of social releases is their ability to include different types of information presented in different ways. Rather than only being able to send text like traditional releases, video and audio files are easily added to social press releases. This addition helps ensure that people will like your message and cover it in their respective news outlet. Templates can be bought or downloaded for free, depending on the extensiveness, that aid in making social press releases. They can be very simple or extremely detailed if that is what is desired.
So, as I get ready to start my second and final year of graduate school and prepare to enter the "work world" I must stay mindful of the ongoing growth of social media and other forces that are now driving the communication industry. Check out this video from www.youtube.com on social press releases.

YouTubeing it!

Okay, so I think everyone at this point in their life knows what YouTube is. The simple fact that you are online right now reading a blog about social media should indicate your knowledge of the existence of Youtube. Well, in case you have been under a rock for the past few years, here is a brief description. YouTube is a website that allows for user generated video content to be uploaded free of charge for the whole world to see. Additionally, channels can be created that centralize the content for specific audiences looking for content on certain subjects.
My favorite use of YouTube, other than the how-to-videos, is the old sports footage that is there. I am able to get online and watch old games and highlights of my favorite teams free of charge. This has created many issues with copyright infringement over the past couple years. In fact, some television organizations have totally banned any of their footage from being uploaded. I recall about a year ago when I went online to watch some videos and some of the ones I had watched before had been removed.
A section of YouTube that I think it less publicized or marketed than others is the community aspect of YouTube. People have started video blogging and responding to video blogs in a widespread fashion. In fact, I watched a YouTube video the other day that had 21,000 responses to one video blog. Statistics like this help emphasize the cultural impact of YouTube. Being able to see and hear complete strangers has opened avenues of friendship for people that may have struggled for such in other forums. Additionally, communities created on YouTube can look to channels, as I said earlier, to centralize the type of information they want to hear.
I know that a major problem facing Youtube is the pornography industry. I recently read a newspaper article that told the story of an underage girl who was molested by a 30 year old male who watched her "sexy" videos on YouTube. Yes, YouTube does make you establish your age; however, that can easily be bypassed by simply lieing. Also, YouTube does a fairly good job of monitoring the site but due to the immense amount of videos on the site it makes it difficult to govern.
Basically, YouTube has taken over the world of "stream". Celebrities, politicians, average Joe's and even Jon-Marc Larson use YouTube as a means of entertainment, education and sociability. So, all i have left to say is BROADCAST YOURSELF!!!!

I know this is cheesy, but here is a video on YouTube about YouTube........


HERE is a link to YouTube's official channel!!!

Podcasting REALLY can be useful.. I promise

Well, now that we have explained what RSS is we can take it one step further and learn about some of the cool applications people can utilize. On of these is podcasting. People have the ability to subscribe to audio files that are released as episodes. These episodes are downloaded through web syndication, RSS. Basically, once you subscribe you start getting them automatically.

As an avid sports fan, I listen to ESPN broadcasts of podcasts on a regular basis. The interesting thing about them is that their RSS feed is hosted on www.espn.com versus an individual's personal account homepage. Also, these podcasts typically run longer than some that I have listened to recently meaning the listener should have ample time before beginning to listen.
People who are interested in making a podcast must first have access to a program capable of generating MP3 files. Once the podcast has been created you can upload it using HTML onto your designated site. If you have any questions concerning how to HTML then contact me and I will put you in contact with the expert. I am not the expert you should be speaking with.
Here is a video that explains how to use Audacity to create an MP3 file for podcasting. I uploaded two versions so people could see how to change border colors.


I just would like to say again that I am not an expert MP3 generator. For a quick example I am choosing a podcast from www.podbean.com to show you how it works. For more on how to create an MP3 refer to the video above.

Powered by Podbean.com

Forums are_____________________!

As we learned last week, forums are websites designed to promote online discussion. Forums started like bulletin boards but technological advances have made them even better and offer more features than they did in their infancy. Most forums require registration and have people who serve as webmasters that maintain the site. Forums are not limited to certain topics. In fact, my research shows that almost every topic imaginable has a forum where people who are interested in the topic can go and discuss anything about that topic they wish to. A virtual community is created and people feel part of something bigger than themselves. According to my roommate, he finds out about video game codes via internet forums and that online gaming relationships have developed for him simply be using forums. I am not involved in this type of activity but it is interesting to see how forums can create relationships between people even though they have probably never met face to face.


Typically users have to download certain software packages such as Perl, Java or PHP. Some of these packages are free but offer fewer features than their pay-for-use counterparts. These allow users to add video, color text and other things to make their posts more appealing or more detailed. Certain rules exist in forums. As I said earlier, the person or group of people who run forums are those in charge. They form moderator groups that set and enforce rules. This prevents people from abusing their privilege to post. If people act out of line they can be voted "off the island". Sometimes people try to sabotage forums by adding a binch of hate text that includes bad language or racy photography. This would most likely result in being kicked off the forum.
The following video shows the possibilities of forums and how they are global.

Basically, what I want people to know about forums is that they are a good way to involve yourselves in a subject that may have a limited audience. You should check out forums and see if something is out there you want to be a part of. Here is a list of a few forums that I have began to read and post on.
Sports Forum
SEC FOOTBALL WOOOOOO!!!! WAR EAGLE!!!
COLLEGE
I can honestly say that this class at Auburn University has opened my eyes to other avenues of social media. I now am obviously blogging and joining forums. This is awesome! I feel like I have finally caught up with the rest of society.

Social Media For Dummies

I know people who spend up to 8 hours per day on facebook. Actually, I know people who have applications on their cell phones that enable them to check out any of their "social" (Sorry, Dr. Agne.. I hope you do not read this blog.) outlets that they use. Also, I know people who typically do not even call or text anymore. They choose to write on walls, send messages, poke, comment, etc. to find out what they need to know. Is it almost as quick as calling these days? Wow, what an interesting thing to think about. I should add that I, Jon-Marc Larson, am one of these people. Am I addicted? Can you call it an addiction when everyone seems overwhelmed? I do not know the answers to these questions. All I know is that social media is taking over. Does that scare you?

Using the Web (I checked my JRNL 1100 book for capitalization rule) to create networks of people that communicate has become so easily accessible due to the overall increase in Internet usage. Additionally, businesses and other organizations have noticed the trend and have began using social media to benefit their interests. Here is a blog that discusses such activity. I know that I personally get friend invitations from businesses who want me to follow. Other social media outlets such as blogs, like this one, allow people to easily obtain information consistently that they are interested in. Check out this pic of all different social media networks.

I think that in the future social media is going to expand to the young and old crowd. Certain outlets could be safely made that would allow children to utilize social media for educational purposes that could unite students globally and fairly easily. For the older demographic, why not use social media to connect with old friends. These ways need to be explored to a greater extent to see what would happen. Okay, so I am sure this video is going to be on many blogs. I think it is worth seeing so check it out.

You have to check out this link that talks about HOW IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA IS TO BUSINESSES. For anyone out their who may or potentially could be a business owner should know how to use social media. Anyways, happy end of February and beginning of March. Everyone remember to comment on something, either this blog or something else. Just comment!