Social Media Portfolio Amanda Vo
integrating social media into my personal & professional lifestyle
table of contents executive summary 1 social media platforms 3 facebook 4 twitter 6 foursquare 9 blogs: tumblr 11 blogs: wordpress 13 networked grading 14 other important platforms 16 useful tools tweetdeck 17 mashable 18 google analytics 19 klout 20 case studies ‘decor my eyes’ 21 microsoft & blogging 22 con bro chill 23 enterprise 2.0 24 technology 25 is this it? 26 acknolwedgements 28
executive summary who am i and, more importantly, why should you read this? Meet Amanda The self-proclaimed social media and technology geek Oh hi! I would like to formally introduce myself. I am Amanda Vo, a 2011 Chapman University graduate and social media veteran. I created my first website in 2001; wrote my first blog in 2004; joined Facebook in 2005 and...well, the rest is history. My current daily regimen consists of checking Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and websites such as Mashable, Reddit and CNN, and occassionally checking in on Foursquare. I hope to obtain a position in public relations and advertising, specializing in social media and promotional marketing strategies.
What is Internet Communications? Internet Communications was a class I took in the Spring of 2011, taught by Cory O’Connor. As a previous Vice President for The Disney Channel, Cory provided insight and knowledge regarding social media and networking in an engaging and unorthodox classroom setting. Through exercises such as blog assignments, networked grading, case studies and this portfolio, I have fostered a holistic understanding of social media and learned more about building relationships via the Internet.
What is the intent of this portfolio? Simply put, this is a social media portfolio. In other words, this book is meant to showcase my knowledge and understanding of the different aspects of social media to future employers. In addition to my personal website, resume and writing/design portfolio, this portfolio will visually describe what I have to offer in the world of social media. This portfolio will incorporate many elements obtained from my Internet Communications class. The knowledge from this class, in addition to my personal and professional experience with social media, will all be happily laid out in this document. Thank you & enjoy!
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Welcome to the world of
Social Media 2
social media platforms tools to help you easily navigate through the internet
Whether we like it or not, social media has become prevalent in our everyday lives. Within every social media platform, there are tools and features embedded, and these tools can be integrated between multiple platforms. The following pages will explain the uses, features and benefits of different social media platforms.
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facebook a tool so useful, a movie was made about it
This is what most people are used to seeing on Facebook: the homepage that also acts as a news feed. Here, I can connect with many of my friends and colleagues in one seamless, easy-to-navigate location. Any friend requests, private messages, public notifications and event invitations are also accessible on the homepage.
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facebook pages & events: how do you reach your audience? A Facebook Page acts as a public profile for organizations. It allows users to communicate with any public figure or brand. Pledge to Exist was the brand my PRSSA Bateman team and I created to connect with Chapman students. Through our campaign, we: • encouraged students to take the 2010 US Census and “pledge to exist” on our Facebook wall • motivated students to become “fans” to win prizes such as tickets to the Super Mash Bros concert • obtained 342 fans and over 50 wall pledges
Facebook Events help organize and plan gatherings with friends, as well as inform your connections about upcoming events. Pledge to Exist, in association with Chapman’s Associated Students and Chapman Radio, organized the Super Mash Bros Concert. We informed the Chapman student body by creating a Facebook event and ensuring that we maintained communication with the attendees. This event encouraged 644 students to mark their status as “attending,” while 383 said they were “maybe attending,” making it one of Chapman’s biggest on-campus events to date.
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twitter influencing the world, 140 characters at a time
This is the profile page for my personal twitter, @AmandaVo. I use it to quickly communicate with my peers and talk about what I find interesting in the social media, entertainment or technology world. Every so often I will also sync my Twitter feed with some other social media platforms I use (such as Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare, etc.)
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twitter what does that number sign even mean?
# A hashtag is a navigational tool in Twitter. By hashtagging something, you are instantly adding to a global conversation that is accessible to anyone. Two notable hashtags Chapman’s public relations and advertising department uses are #intcom and #chapmanpra. Students and professors alike will often times hashtag these keywords to alert users about something interesting regarding the topic.
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twitter blind children’s learning center
As an account executive in Chapman ImPRessions (Chapman’s student-run PR firm) for the Blind Children’s Learning Center, I helped maintain the organization’s Twitter. I would connect with other non-profit organizations, doctors, the center’s students and alumni, and those who are visually impaired to inform them of the center’s services and its upcoming 50th anniversary.
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foursquare happily taking note of your every move since 2009
Foursquare is a location-based service that allows users to check in at various locations with their smart phones and: • create a “To Do” list for personal use at different venues • add “Tips” to locations, which serve as suggestions of things to do that other users can read. Venues may also offer specials to users who check in at their location Something that makes Foursquare unique is the fact that it almost seems like a game. Badges can be earned if a user accomplishes a task (such as checking in more than 10 times a day, going to three different coffee shops, etc.) and mayorship can be earned by frequently checking in to the same location. Furthermore, points are given for every check in. As of April 23, 2011, I have checked in 357 times, earned 18 badges and am the mayor of three locations.
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foursquare points, badges & mayorship galore
These are some screenshots taken from my phone of my check ins, showing how points are earned, the “leaderboard” showing my points in relation to my friends’ points, and two badges I obtained from one check in.
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blogs: tumblr ‘sometimes i like to dream i’m floating through the clouds...’ The way I see it, Tumblr is more of a scrapbook than an online journal. On Amanda Airway, I post a wide variety of things that simply interest me, ranging from social media articles to the latest iPhone news to funny or inspirational pictures. Feel free to browse it at airtrafficamanda.tumblr.com.
On the Tumblr dashboard, a blogger can decide to make many different kinds of posts. The dashboard also shows the feedback I receive from my posts, as well as posts made by the people I follow.
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blogs: tumblr documenting my experience as i ‘earn my ears’
Amanda Earns Her Ears [amandaearnsherears.tumblr.com] is a blog I started shortly after I was accepted to participate in the Disney College Program at the Disneyland Resort. I chronicle my experience in the program, as well as answer questions from fellow bloggers who are interested in my journey. My blog was added in the “Disney Directory,” another blog on Tumblr, and I also obtained an interview with The Examiner about my experience. One of my posts, in which I answered a blogger’s question about the program.
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blogs: wordpress blogging to bring back the music
WordPress is another blogging platform. While it lacks the simplicity and “reblogging� ability of Tumblr, it is much more advanced and allows for commenting, shows statistics on your dashboard, and is more customizable through widgets and CSS editing.
Bring Music Back is a blog created in my Internet Communications class. Throughout my posts, I am an advocate for required music education in the Bellevue School District curriculum (the school district I attended throughout middle and high school), and target BSD superintendent Dr. Amalia Cudeiro as my change agent. In each of my posts, I incorporate audio, images and links to make for a thorough argument. Visit bringmusicback.wordpress.com to view this blog.
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networked grading from a top-down society to a networked society Name
Blog
Gavin Burns
http://creativetakeover.wordpress.com
Alix Camp
http://thepaingame.wordpress.com
Jocelyn Choi
Grade Distribution As
5
http://easywheeling.wordpress.com
Bs
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Christina Corbin
http://christinacorbin.wordpress.com
Cs
5
Dani Davis
http://iammuslimerican.wordpress.com
Jamie Donovan
http://jamienicoledonovan.wordpress.com
The best blog was written by:
Stephanie Roy
Kate Eglen
http://spraypaintthistown.wordpress.com
Noelle Freeman
http://kiismeryan.wordpress.com
Sean Funkhouser
http://ilikelabels.wordpress.com
Kaitlyn Halamuda
http://thefightagainstms.wordpress.com
Monika Hathaway
http://hatha102.wordpress.com
Molly Hersh
http://stopthecasino.wordpress.com
Jessica Kelly
http://makeemlaugh.wordpress.com
Taryn Langton
http://tarynreneelangton.wordpress.com
James Leslie
http://jamleslie.wordpress.com
Lauren Lindstrom
http://abortthebill.wordpress.com
Laura Myers
http://homeschoolingfordummies.wordpress.com
Natalie Midlock
http://bettertobesafethansorry.wordpress.com
Erin Miller
http://vegetariandangers.wordpress.com
Maddison Paton
http://dearjohn0.wordpress.com
Katie Reynolds
http://katie4sheen.wordpress.com
Stephanie Roy
http://ocsupportsustainability.wordpress.com
Sarah Shulman
http://thatssoogay.wordpress.com
Selena Slavenburg
http://selenaslavenburg.wordpress.com
Amanda Vo
http://bringmusicback.wordpress.com
An interesting aspect taken from Internet Communications was the idea of networked grading. Instead of having the professor grade our blog assignments, we, as students, would grade each other’s. We looked at every blog in a holistic manner, analyzing content, style, design and integration of media. In the end, we gave each other grades based on our personal standards. This then allowed us to assume the role of evaluator and evaluated.
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networked grading commenting with purpose
Commenting on blogs allowed us to have a real discussion with each student about his or her blog. In both the comments and the final evaluations, we as students gave each other critiques, recommendations and praise for the work presented. Through this assignment, I was able to assess not only my classmates’ work, but my own as well.
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other important platforms you mean there’s even more? LinkedIn is a professional social media service that allows me to stay connected with anyone I have worked with, wish to work with or networked with in the past. Users can upload resumes and job search on this platform.
YouTube is a website on which people or organizations can upload videos to connect with their audiences. My videos range from footage of my family to updates about my Disney College Program.
Blogger is another blogging platform that is associated with Google. Blogger can be linked to Google Analytics and has a very customizable CSS interface. I would often times add widgets and reformat the layout on my previous blogspot.
StumbleUpon is a collaborative discovery engine that recommends web content to a user based on predefined interests. I will often use StumbleUpon to find social media or technology articles.
Flickr is a photo hosting website where both professional and amateur photographers can upload their images for easy viewing and storage. I have used Flickr to organize a large number of photos in one easily accessible location.
Reddit is a social news website where users can upload content, and others will “upvote” or “downvote” the content based on their personal preference. It is one of the fastest ways I receive my news, and a great example of a networked society (versus a top-down society.)
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useful tools: tweetdeck integrating everything into one seamless feed Tweetdeck is a real-time social media browser that can link Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz and more into one easy-to-navigate application.
I use Tweetdeck to easily navigate through Twitter and keep track of my lists and searched hashtags in one location. I will also sometimes update my Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare simultaneously by using Tweetdeck.
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useful tools: mashable the ultimate source for social media news Mashable is a social media and technology news website. Many articles are posted daily that pertain to many different aspects of web 2.0, as well as job openings in the field. I visit this website frequently in order to stay informed about the ever-changing world of social media.
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useful tools: google analytics tracking your traffic
Google Analytics is one of the most widely used services that generates statistics about visitors to a website. I use Google Analytics for my personal tumblr, my Disney tumblr and my website in order to keep track of visits, bounce rate and traffic sources. All of the information regarding website traffic is clearly laid out in a graphical manner, and I can get an even more detailed report of each statistic by clicking on its respective link.
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useful tools: klout measuring your influence in social media
Klout is a free online service that allows people on Twitter and/or Facebook to measure his or her influence in social media. By looking at over 35 variables such as followers, retweets, mentions, likes and more, Klout calculates a score analysis between 1 and 100. Achievements are badges that appear on one’s Klout profile when he or she reaches certain milestones in regards to Twitter or Facebook activity. As of May 2011, I have a Klout score of 45, and I am labeled an “explorer”--I understand social media and am making it work for me.
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case studies ‘decor my eyes’ - how negative feedback brought positive search results Decor My Eyes is a website that thrives on negative feedback: with every negative review and mention of Decor My Eyes, the more traffic the website receives due to its increased ranking on Google. While not the most ethical business plan, it works--typing sunglasses brands such as “Lafont” or “Ciba Vision” on Google would generate Decor My Eyes as the first search result. This is due to search engine optimization.
Google uses a specific algorithm for search engine optimization. Google search results depend highly on the number of links from credible websites--in other words, the more links a website has from respected and substantial websites, the higher it will show up in search results. Decor My Eyes founder Vitaly Borker does not care about his negative reviews; as long as people are still talking about his website, Decor My Eyes appears at the top of search results. Through this case study, I learned about the importance of SEO and how Google rankings impact a consumer’s opinion of the website. While Decor My Eyes is no longer at the top of search results, its strategy has proven to be successful.
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case studies microsoft shifts from a one-way street to two-way communication
The book Naked Conversations begins with an interesting story about Microsoft employee Joshua Allen and his blog. In 2000, Microsoft was under flame as accusations were made against the company regarding digital rights management. While the company was afraid to speak with people in fear of bad publicity, Allen took to his blog: ”I wanted to say that I am a Microsoft person and you can talk with me,” he recalls. He felt that if he started blogging, his fellow employees would follow suit and “we’d show that we were real people.” Customers visiting Allen’s blog were more interested in the two-way conversation than how it was happening: they were glad a real person from Microsoft was talking to them. This case study taught me a valuable lesson in communication. By engaging with your customers, you are showing that you are an actual human responding to feedback, thus showing the company’s dedication to its consumers. Furthermore, this has reaffirmed the fact that blogs are extremely important to a corporation to continue this two-way conversation.
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case studies branding yourself: con bro chill
Con Bro Chill is a brand created by Chapman University PR/Advertising alum Connor Martin. Martin created a website to host videos depicting an over-the-top character [Con Bro Chilll] doing wild and wacky stunts. Con Bro Chill generated such a large Internet following that Martin began connecting with his audience via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Eventually, Martin’s brand became so famous that he started selling merchandise of his character, and has been offered many deals and partnerships with corporations such as Flow Society. Hearing Connor Martin speak in my Internet Communications class was eye-opening and taught me about personal branding and the importance of two-way communication with your audience.
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case studies using social media & enterprise 2.0 in the workplace
In Andrew McAfee’s book Enterprise 2.0, he speaks about the benefits of integrating social media and web 2.0 technologies into the workplace. By using collaborative communication technologies, culture and relationships in the work environment can be amplified and productivity can improve. While many may argue that using social media in the workplace is detrimental to productivity, McAfee believes that by using collaborative tools such as Wikis and Twitter feeds, ambiguity in projects can be resolved simply by strengthening relationships with potential ties and weak ties [people we are not strongly associated with in the workplace.] This book reassured me that social media is truly an emergent tool and can improve the work environment through communication and collaboration.
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technology a conversation about devices: iPad versus flip video
In order to use social media to its full potential, we must understand how to use the technology that supports it. In Internet Communications, we had a discussion about devices and which ones will stay versus which ones will [or have become] obsolete. The iPad tablet has been optimized for nearly universal performance regarding social media and services that other products, such as the Flip Video, were solely based upon. While the iPad is continually growing and adapting to the ever-changing world of technology, the Flip Video has become dated and is no longer in production. With products like the iPad that can do everything the Flip Video can do [and more,] how could the Flip compete? Our conversation in Internet Communications showed me that not only do we need to continually adapt to the latest social media platforms; we need to be readily prepared to use the technology that will help us use such platforms.
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is this it? the end’s not here...
There is so much to learn about the constantly growing world of social media, and I hope you got a glimpse of my passion for the field. Please feel free to contact me on any of my [many] social media websites--I promise, I check them all! This isn’t the end of my social media journey--if anything, this is just beginning.
Twitter: @AmandaVo Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmandaVo1 Tumblr: http://airtrafficamanda.tumblr.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/amandavo Foursquare: www.foursquare.com/amandavo Website: Email: Phone:
www.amandavo.weebly.com amanda.vo710@gmail.com vo106@mail.chapman.edu 206.697.6508
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acknowledgements many thanks to all who contributed to my love of social media! Cory O’Connor Spring 2011 #intcom class Chapman PRSSA PRSA Janell Shearer Joan Gladstone Amy Chase Connor “Con Bro Chill” Martin Loren Nason The Walt Disney Company Brian, Jayleen & Amie Vo
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