Reflection on Social Media Case 2: Ellen Degeneres and most Re-Tweeted Photo

This idea of going viral (if you don’t already have a large fan base) or gaining the most retweets (if you do already have a large fan base) is very interesting. What is clear is that Ellen had a goal and she achieved it.   This Blog   Social Triggers explains the steps to how things go viral. The blog looks into common themes that viral videos and post share. For instance, practicality and usefulness are a big reason on why something might go viral. Humor is also a major component is a post gaining popularity.

This caused me to further reflect why Ellen’s photo went viral. Was this post particularly useful?  Besides the obvious reason being her enormous fan base why did this tweet gain so much attention? It doesn’t seem like the post was providing any particular service.  Was it a positive thing for the post to gain too much attention? For the Oscar’s it was definitely a positive. The tweet gained them so much positive attention and free publicity. Looking to this example as a marketing strategy I believe that they tweet worked so well to gain attention because it wasn’t seen as purposeful marketing.  Social media marketing has an interesting impact on consumers. This case study made me wonder what is different about social media marketing, compared to regular marketing. According to This Article   there are many factors that set the two a part. The one that was most interesting to me was this idea of a one way or two-way conversation. With social media marketing you have the power for a two-way conversation. People can comment and share what you are trying to sell or promote. I believe this was the key in Ellen’s success because these conversations were happening, gaining the article attention.

It is interesting to see the reactions of people now that this photo is not the most retweeted photo. This Article   shares what happened. What will be the next tweet to go viral? And what impact will it have?

Reflection on Social Media Case 1

I was a little late to the hashtag game. I have only ever used hashtags when I was asked to promote a specific event or activity. Hash-taging is a very effective way to conveniently group information. I think using hashtags can be a really effective way of organizing ideas and groups. Out of interest (and a desire to escape the homework from my other classes) I have explored hashtags on Instagram. It is an easy distraction to try #boxerpuppies or #USUSUMMER.

Hash tags also have the potential to be what seems like pointless. Generic hastags do not make sense to me. #Orwhenpeopleusethemtowriteoutasentencetomakeitfarmorecomplicatedthanitneedstobe.

 The classic con to hashtags can be seen in the McDonalds model. When things don’t go as planned. The internet loves to use hashtags to ridicule people and companies. This Article shows how the #MyNYPD hashtag took on a different angle than its original design. The hashtag was supposed to highlight the achievements of the NYPD but instead the hashtag was used to speak out about police brutality.  The hashtag #ILoveWallgreens was made fun of in a similar way when customers made fun of the company’s use of the hashtag to gain attention.

Another Article   explains the issues that came up when Twitter users altered the meaning behind Vodafone’s #MadeMeSmile hashtag. Users used the tag to “publish tax avoidance allegations directly to the company’s website.” This reaction was definitely what they were expecting. Like the marketing team at McDonalds they were only seeing their own perspective of what the hashtag meant to them. They did not see the other means that were going to be brought to the surface.

More recently hashtags have been used to do more than just mess around. Hashtags have been an important component as a social platform for people to band together. Time Magazine      shared an article about the #metoo movement against sexual assault. This hashtag was a way to share with the world people that had been sexually assaulted and to hear others and tell their stories. Worldwide attention was brought to the movement with millions of people using the hashtag to share their stories. It’s stories like the #metoo hashtag that show us how social media can share ideas and how powerful it can be.

#socmeddiscuss

Social Media Change

World Economic Forum explains on April 7^th 2016 that “More people own a mobile device than a toothbrush. Grandparents are the fastest growing users on Twitter.” Social media is rapidly changing the world as we know it.

 The world is changing to accommodate a fast growing new form of communicating. Keeping in contact with friends and loved ones used to be an long process where a letter could take years to arrive with updates. A family could have a new baby and it could be walking and talking before an announcement was received by a distant relative. Now instant communication is right beneath our fingertips.

Social Media is a way for us to read about the world around us, and to maintain relationships near and far. NR Media Group  surveyed over 800 college students in 2014 and found that social media had “created a new avenue for facilitating daily information and communication needs.” What does that really mean? After reading the NR article it was clear that social media changes the way we view our relationships. The article reports that the survey found “39% of survey respondents reported feeling closer to their friends because of social media, while 26% of the sample felt they had more friends because of social media.” Social media is shifting how we perceive and care for our relationships.  

Social Media has not only altered the way we communicate with those we care about; it has also changed communication of healthcare. Distance is no longer a separator between patients and doctors because they can Skype one another to give and receive information. World Economic Forum records that Shannon Dosemagen of Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, and Lee Aase of Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media and its Social Media Health Network. “That it’s also helped groups of people, such as patients suffering from the same condition, stay in touch…” This communication of medical information is making it easier for people to receive better health care. This example shows a change in communication that is definitely for the better.

Social Media has also changed the way we communicate about natural disasters. World Economic Forum documents that Facebook’s Safety check has made it easier for people to communicate to loved ones in mass, that they are alive.

It is evident that there are pros and cons to this change in communication with the addition of social media. The one thing that there can be a consensus on is that change has occurred. We are only in the beginning of this alterations. Social media will continue to change and shape the world around us, for better or for worse.

Articles

https://www.nrmedia.biz/blog/how-is-social-media-affecting-our-communication 

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/6-ways-social-media-is-changing-the-world/