Choose three of the Social Media Tools presented on this website to try. Post links to your attempts. Share your thoughts about which new social media tools will reach audiences most effectively. Explain your rationale.
There are many ways people can reach an audience through social media and I have chosen the three that I use that most. These tools are great sources of information that can reach a large audience quickly and engage people who might not always be engaged to start with. The three social media tools I have chosen are:
Blogs: This class is my first experience with blogging and I have quickly realized that blogging is a great way to share information and to get your ideas and opinions out to a large audience at one time. Blogs differ iin styles and are endless in topics. Blogs can be personal, interactive, informative and even professional as there are no limits and no guidelines to the basis of a blog. Some blogs may have many followers while others may have a limited or select few followers, but either way they still can provide information rapidly to different audiences. One blog I have recently been following is the ESPN Blog page located at http://espn.go.com/espn/blogs. I love reading the weekly blog updates on the current sports season such as the NFL and MLB playoffs. The home page allows for easy access and gives the reader (ME) the choice of what blog to read. Most of the blogs on this page are short, such as the recent one from ESPN.com reporter Mike Reiss, which states that Center Bryan Stork of the New England Patriots has been ruled out of the game for Sunday. You can read this blog at http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/72629/center-bryan-stork-ruled-out-by-patriots. These sports blogs provide instant updates for fans and media members and allow for the reader to be involved on all transactions and rumors that are going on instantly.
Another effective social media tool that, I feel, reaches audiences in the most effective way is any social networking platform such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc. I personally only use Facebook and have seen the impact that it has on people’s everyday life. At Facebook.com, you can create an account, if you don't have one already and then you can search for anyone or any group and quickly be connected and start viewing their information, pictures and in a sense, their blogs. Facebook, as well as, the other social networking sites, are structured much like blogs, however, you have more variety of where to post things and you don't always have to prove what you write about. Facebook allows for opinions and ideas of your own anytime you post something. With Facebook, you can instantly connect with friends, you can follow and read about someone's daily life, you can view photos and videos instantly, and you can spread any amount of information you would like and designate who can see your information. Facebook is a great networking tool as you can chat privately or publically and you can get updates on many of your friends, your networks and your family at anytime. I have yet to get involved in the other social networking sites, but when/if I do, I most likely will start a Twitter account so that I can keep up with what is going on with people and sports instantly like at espn.go.com/mlb.
The third and final social media platform that I feel reaches an audience quickly and effectively is that of video sharing. VIdeo sharing can provide an audience with a view of what is happening. You can show news clips, or comedy sketches, you can show informative, step by step, videos or personal opinion blogs and you can teach someone how to do something by having them watch a video. To me, video sharing has been huge and something that I use frequently, just recently, I needed to attend a wedding and didn't have a clue on how to tie a tie so I went to YouTube and typed in just that. I was presented with 100’s of videos about how to tie a tie in minutes and was successfully able to accomplish the feat. Through YouTube, I not only learned how to tie a tie, but I have been able to view and try to learn other guilty pleasure items such as beatboxing as I have always been interested in beatboxing and would love to really learn someday. Because of my interest in beatboxing, I searched for it on YouTube and came across this site https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNZBSZD16cY which really blew my mind as this guy was simply incredible and he made everything seem so effortless. Video sharing provides opportunities that you may never have in your everyday life and it allows people like me, who have that interest and guilty pleasure in something, to view and try to learn the art of beatboxing. Yes, you can post videos on Facebook and you can post videos in blogs, but they do not have the same effect that video sharing has. WIth sites such as YouTube, when you search for a particular topic, you are presented with multiple pages of videos for your choosing and not just one video that someone suggested on Facebook. As you can see, I am a big fan of video sharing and have thought about possibly creating a video blog where I can give my opinions and ideas on daily topics in sports and where I can reach out and find groups that are interested in video games such as Madden Football. There are many guilty pleasures that I view on a daily basis and without video sharing, I would probably not have that escape to fall back on to experience something that I have an interest in.
It would be really hard to say that a particular social media tool is more effective than another because they all provide what the audience is looking for. If you are looking for updates on restaurants and areas of travel, or updates in sports and recreation, than blogs may provide exactly what you are looking for. If you are just curious in day to day activities and keeping updated on friends and family statuses as well as personal opinions, than social media networks may be your thing. Finally if you are anything like me and want to be able to learn something that you would never sign up for or would never pay to learn, than sites like Youtube, where video sharing is most prominent, will help you learn a new craft and will satisfy that guilty pleasure that you have. All in all, social media tools are used daily and are the lifeline of our existence today. We can find anything we want via social media and it is just a matter of what you are looking for.
ESPN, Espn Blogs. Retrieved from http//www.espn.go.com/espn/blogs
Reiss, Mike, October 11, 2014. Center Bryan Stork rules out by Patriots. Retreived from http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/72629/center-bryan-stork-ruled-out-by-patriots
Thum, Tom, July, 2013, Beatbox brilliance: Tom Thum at TEDxSydney. Video retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNZBSZD16cY
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