Posts

I Will Now Predict Your Future

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Wow, I wish I could predict the future of social media. That certainly would make my life a lot easier! However, I cannot. And, I hate to break it to you, neither can you. Or the founder of Instagram, or the guy that grew his page overnight, or AI. None of us can predict the future of social media. But how crazy is it that we can influence the future of social media. What's popular on different platforms, or even what platforms are popular, is determined by human behavior. When Gen Z decided short-form videos were what they desired, TikTok rose to the top and left other platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and even Snapchat little time to adjust and provide their own short-form video content. As enough people started deleting apps like BeReal, it becomes less popular. Because the climate of social media is determined by trends in human behavior, I personally think the best place to look for predicting the future of social media is to yourself. If you want to get real fancy,...
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Oops, I shouldn't have posted that.

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 While I love social media for many reasons, not the least of which being the fact that it is my livelihood, it comes with its fair share of dangers as well. After all, a lot's at stake when the things you post stay on the internet forever. I'm sure we've all had the minor slips from time to time. We've liked an old Instagram post on someone's page, sent a snap to the wrong chat, or noticed a silly typo far too late after commenting. But these are the kinds of things that are happening to us as Average Joe's. As people gain importance and platform, the consequences of online mistakes grow exponentially. We might remember Adam Levine cheating scandal after DMs were shared online, or the viral video of French Olympic Pole Vaulter Anthony Ammirati having an unfortunately intimate run-in with the bar during his run. Social media seems to have a way of blowing events out of proportion and running with a fragment of an idea. While we all likely have our own ideas on v...
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The Cost of Progress

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 The future is now. Every day, it seems there are new technological advancements. A device to have, a software update, a beta test. Our world is in a sort of second industrial revolution with technology. It certainly is a digital age. While the idea of a technology-powered future might seem exciting or glamorous, we should consider the other side of the story. If you're anything like me, you might relate to not always having the shiny new technology. My car doesn't have Bluetooth built in, my phone is not the latest model, and my AirPods are an old generation that only work in the right ear. I don't have all the new tech. However, I still have a lot of tech. I use the Apple suite for everything, I have AirPods and not corded headphones, and I have internet access at home.  Yes, I experience some limitations, I'm a college student after all. But there are people all around who are truly living off-grid, and not by choice. The idea of the digital divide is the gap between...
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Knowledge is power?

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 With social media, we have the power to have anything and everything at our fingertips. Likely, whether we've noticed or not, we learn from social media each time we interact with it. We have knowledge at our fingertips at all times. This seems like it would be a good thing, but is it really? As we approach the idea of using social media for learning and training, we must consider all sides of the issue. On one hand, we have the benefit of the network that is the World Wide Web, stretching to all corners of the world, providing more information than one person could hope to accomplish on their own merit. On the other hand, it can be challenging to verify if this information is completely accurate. I look to my personal experience to begin this conversation, and think of the times when I have received extremely valuable information to my learning through social media. For one, I was able to attend free workshops hosted by an influencer I admired, in which she shared tools and strat...
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Brand Building on Social Media—Is it Possible?!

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Anyone who's tried to approach social media to create a brand knows that it is so difficult . For one, the algorithm is constantly changing. And that it is highly unpredictable. Or how attention spans are extremely short. Most of the time, getting off the ground feels more like a marathon than a sprint. Sound familiar? At risk of sounding dramatic, the changing climate of social media has become my life. I first took the plunge into this world when I opened up an online jewelry business during my quarantine days. Before then, I had engaged with social media personally and for clubs. I was a part of the public relations team. Before then, I couldn't care less about how many people were seeing my posts, how my engagement was, or my following. Now, I manage multiple social media accounts for organizations, and it has become part of my livelihood. So when I say I totally get the struggle to build a brand, I totally get the struggle. So how do we do this well? Today, I thought we...
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Let's Get Down To Business

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Social media may have started as a way for Average Joe and Ordinary Jane to share their lives, post pictures of their kids and cats, document family trips, wish grandma a happy birthday, and play words with friends. But now, it is one of the most powerful business tools at a marketing team's fingertips. The reality is that most everyone is on social media. People who businesses want to reach are scrolling on their phones daily. It has become culturally normal: much like reading the paper was once the way to unwind, social media has replaced it as a new leisurely pastime. Tell me—why are businesses still paying for their ad to have a slot in the local paper when they could be reaching a far wider audience for less expense by pushing out the same advertisement on social media? We are in a digital age, and businesses should take advantage of it! In fact, many businesses already are. One account I would like to focus on today is Chipotle's Instagram. In short, they know their audie...
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Politics: Everyone's Favorite Dinner Time Conversation Topic

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 Today, we're talking about politics. If you're like me, you're squirming in your seat right now—possibly hesitant to scroll. You might be wondering if you should be prepared to roll your eyes and quietly find another blog or gear up to defend your opinions. Hopefully, you will be pleasantly surprised that this is the easiest political conversation you've ever had. Today, we're going to discuss social media's impact on political conversations, looking at where we've fallen short and how to improve while moving forward. Like many topics relating to social media, the effect is in the hands of the user. Some use social media to responsibly engage with the political world. Others, however, might be perpetuating and contributing to widespread issues. One issue is bias created by social media engagement. People tend to follow creators they like who produce content they enjoy. This seeps into the way we interact with political content. However, this leads to bias c...
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