Social Media Project

Social Media Project

Photo By: Leonid Mamchenkov

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamchenkov/219534465/

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

My group reviewed McDonald's for our report for the Social Media project for ISM3004.

Our full report on McDonald's and their social media usage can be found here: https://ism3004.wikispaces.com/McDonald%27s

Working with my group was difficult at first, but it turned out to be quite beneficial in the end when everyone started contributing. We used McDonald's as our company for the Social Media Project. I started off searching Google and Bing for McDonald's, returning almost 75 million results.  The ads on the side of Google aren't very interesting and don't influence the user to click on anything, and no social media is involved there.

On the other hand, McDonald's is huge on Facebook, with  11 million likes on their Facebook Page. I learned that McDonald's offers small incentives via social media such as Facebook and Twitter to keep their fans interested. These specials include free VIP access to the Grammy Awards, free fries, and more. I believe that McDonald's and companies like it are getting much more exposure through social media because Twitrratr showed me the tweets trending on McDonald's, and just one keyword "McDonald's" brought back over 1200 tweets. I didn't think anyone would tweet about McDonald's, but instead their daily lives. Again, that is just one keyword. Once people tweet about free fries or access to the grammy awards, i'm sure that many more will become involved.

Additionally, fans play interactive games on Facebook in order to win prizes and reap the rewards. This interactive area on their page seems to be extremely attractive and interesting, therefore generating large amounts of traffic and "likes". Although McDonald's is a very well known brand that is known world wide, I believe that there is still work to be done on the social media aspect of their company.

In the end, McDonald's is a huge company worldwide, but lacks regular benefits to fans. I believe that companies such as Starbucks contain a much stronger social media base that McDonald's should mirror in their business. Outside of television and advertisements, social media is a huge base for McDonald's to advertise to, and I believe that they should focus more on reaching out to their customers through social media. In conclusion, McDonald's does a good job advertising through social media, but they are not up to par, in my opinion, with how they should be. They are one of the number one fast food companies in the world and I believe that can do much more to reach out to the public through social media. I learned this all by researching McDonald's and their social media usage!b

Week 13: Clear on Social Media Use in Business

Social Media in the Business World

"Social Media Buzz" by Widjaya Ivan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28288673@N07/4847679257/

Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Why is Social Media so Important in Business?

Social media is so extremely important to us because it allows us to market our products and our ideas. Your company will be left behind if you don't learn to use the new social media type websites like blogging, video sharing websites, and social networking websites.  Today, marketers are so involved in using these social media websites, helping their business reach a large audience quicker and effectively. Social Media allows businesses to communicate with their consumers to hear their experiences with their products. 

What can businesses do to start using Social Media?

Businesses need to create a firm plan before jumping into social media:

• Who do they want their audience to be? Who do they want to market to?
• What is the goal that they would like to accomplish with social networking?
• How are they going to get people to become involved in their social media, and what techniques will they use?
• What is their plan to put into action so that they will be successful?

What are some examples of social media websites?

Numerous social media websites include: 

Digg, StumbleUpon, Youtube, Squidoo, Foursqure, Facebook, Twitter, Del.icio.us,  LinkedIn

And MANY MORE!

How does Social Media Influence us in the Business World?

Social Media influences the business world because it helps businesses but can also harm them. A bad presence or presentation on a social media website can do harm to a company's reputation. A company's image after a tragedy can be seen on their social media websites immediately after an incident because that is where the consumers will be looking. 

Social Media also hurts individuals because businesses use social media hubs to collect information on you when they are looking to hire you. Pictures of "a night out with the guys", showing you with a beer bottle in hand, and also under the age of 21, will cost you when applying for a job.

In the end, social media is huge in the business world and many businesses are making the shift to FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter, and much more. Companies are making it easy to receive coupons online, and market their products efficiently with these methods. It is a hub for companies to reach millions of people with the click of a button!

That's all for this week. Thanks for reading!

Week 12: Clear on Online Gaming

Online Gaming Today

"Angry Birds" by Denis Dervisevic

http://www.flickr.com/photos/denisdervisevic/5327974794/

Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

As college students' free time increases, the use of games and other online resources increase as well. Online Gaming is a social issue discussed this week. The amount of time spent playing games is outrageous. Although I am guilty for having had played Angry Birds and other addictive computer games like "The World's Hardest Game", I do realize and understand that doing so is detrimental to my progress in my school work.

Why is so much time spent playing games?

1. A research article by Nick Wingfield explains that players have significant improvements in their overall mood and reductions in stress levels. 
2. Games like angry birds are addicting by using positive reinforcement to make players feel good when they succeed in a certain part of the game. 
3. Addicting games have so many levels and upgrades that it is difficult to stop playing once you have succeeded.

Once you start playing these games, it is difficult to stop! These games are very popular for wasting time and being known as "mindless games". Games like angry birds could be so much more effective if they had incorporated some type of "fun" education to educate users while they "waste their time playing games". Internet users claim to take a "mental break" from what they are doing when they play online games.

Some of the most popular online games for PC include:

• WarCraft
• StarCraft
• Diablo
• Call of Duty

Some of the most popular online games for your Mobile Device Include:

• Angry Birds
• Fruit Ninja
• PapiJump
• Uno

What do these games have in common? 

They all have some type of upgrading system or reward system that will keep the player interested. This is where the addicting factor comes in and keeps players hooked on the gameplay instead of doing their school work!

Why is online gaming important in business?

Online gaming is extremely important in business because it is a factor that fuels sales in the business world. Many industries rely solely on gamers who enjoy wasting their time and playing games. Coding businesses code small game applications and sell them on App Stores looking to make potential profits. Online gaming will always remain a part of the business world because businesses profit off of gaming and also get their business out by using games as an avenue for advertising.

The resource that I found particularly interesting this week is actually a PDF File hosted on a website found here:

http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/imc/pdf/xs-audio-interview-online-gaming.pdf

This is an article from IBM explaining how the gaming industry is spreading to more than just kids! It is a great article to grasp how the gaming industry is really growing!

Thanks for reading! See you next week!

Database Project

ISM3004 Database Project

"Microsoft sign outside building 99" by Robert Scobie

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/2264763977/

Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Upon completing the database project, I was able to successfully create queries, reports and forms for a database full of members. I learned and implemented how to create new tables and set a primary key. I also learned how to add new members to the table, form or report. I am now comfortable with using queries to return only certain information and certain fields. I am able to sort by specific groups and how to sort by specific fields and to have them not show in the Form. Your report not fitting onto your page correctly? No problem! I've learned to adjust a report and adjust it to use landscape orientation, so that it will fit on a single page easily! Databases are a great way to keep a business organized and to quickly look up specific information if needed!

If I was to improve the functionality of this database I would create validation text for whenever someone tries to change the MemberID field. It is read only but the project doesn't require it to display a validation text that prohibits the user from trying to enter a value. The only other thing that I would do was create a custom form of the data instead of a simple form that we have created in the database. I believe that I could have possibly made something better looking and more user friendly if I was to create the form by myself with the other options in Access.

Extra Credit: Google+

My Experiences with Google + 

"Google plus logo " by Bruce Clay

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruceclay/5935522390/

Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

I was able to ioin Google Plus without an invite because an invite is no longer required to join. My e-mail is mbalmaceda@ufl.edu for my account. I will not be using Google + because I am not interested in it. In my opinion, Facebook is better. Surprisingly, I don't have many friends  that have joined Google +.  Upon creating the Google Plus account, and added a few friends and was able to experience what Google Plus is all about. The circles on Google Plus are similar to the Facebook "Lists" that they have recently created. In my opinion, I believe that Facebook made the "Lists" feature in order to compete with Google + and to keep the users that wanted to switch over.

I was able to try out the Google + Hang Out option. Basically, you can do exactly what the name depicts, hang out. You can pick a circle of friends or multiple friends and hang out with them through video chat. I think that this is the only thing that Google Plus has over Facebook. I also believe that it may be too easy for you to add people to your Circle, when they may not want you to be in your circle.

In regards to the article, as I have said before, I believe that Facebook has a huge advantage over Google Plus. Facebook has much more "followers" and it will be difficult for people to translate from Facebook to Google Plus. After Facebook has implemented the Lists feature, I haven't seen many people talk about Google +. When Google + was released, everyone was extremely interested in it, but in the end, they have returned to Facebook. Facebook has numerous updates which may be annoying, but I believe that they will be the more popular choice every time.

Extra Credit: VoIP

My VoIP Call

"Skype " by Jhon Alexander Calderon Sanmartin
Jhon Alexander Calderon Sanmartin

Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

This was not the first time that I have used VoIP software to call friends.  I called up my friend Kevin in the video and put in a little shout out to Dr. Means and Professor Olson! VoIP software is very easy to use. All you need to do is add the contact to your contact list then double click their name. You can text chat the contact if you'd like or just call them. Skype to Skype calls are free! If you want to video call your friends that is also an option, as you will see in my recording of my video call.

Skype is not the only VoIP software available. ooVoo is also a very popular option to video chat multiple people at one time. In the end, Skype is great to use if you are over seas. My girlfriend that went to Argentina over the summer used Skype on her cellphone to call me for free. It was clear and it was very easy to contact her or text her whenever I wanted.

I know you must be waiting to hear the shout out, so here is a recording of my call using Jing:

http://screencast.com/t/hhhj63W5

On a side note, Jing was very easy to use also. Once signed up, you just select what part of the screen you want to highlight, then boom, finished. You can upload straight to screencast. It's extremely simple, and I WILL be using this software again.

Thanks for the extra credit opportunity!

Extra Credit: Avatar

My Experience with FaceYourManga

"Mike's Avatar" by Michael Balmaceda

After using FaceYourManga.com, I was able to create an avatar or myself that can be found above. I am a boxer, and it was awesome to be able to put boxing gloves on my avatar. I've made the avatar look almost exactly like me. I couldn't find a better representation of my spikey hair, so that was the closest I could find. I couldn't have made the Avatar without including my Aviators and looking as if I was going to knock someone out!

Using the FaceYourManga website was extremely easy. I've never been to the site and it was extremely simple to go through part of the avatar and click which option I would like to have.

The avatar options include (but are not limited to): 

• Clothing
• Accessories
• Hair
• Facial hair
• Eyes
• Eyebrows
• Background and themes
• Weather
• And much more! 

If you haven't created an avatar, go ahead and create one! It's super easy!