collegemama11

[collegemama11]

Social Media Consulting Must Haves...

The most important qualities for a social media consultant to have would be active listening skills and problem-solving skills. A social media consultant must first understand exactly what their client is looking to convey to their target audience. By understanding the clients’ exact goals, they will be able to help guide the client in a direction that is most appropriate to achieve the desired outcome. Then they must have the ability to think and act fast to find solutions to problems that arise. The ability to problem-solve will help any social media consultant provide the highest level of service to all clients.

If I were consulting for myself professionally, I would first plan to obtain more social media accounts. I have a Facebook, and that is something that I rarely even use. I would then create a strategy that allowed me to advertise my professional strengths. So far I have not taken any steps to professionally market myself on social media but I the future I definitely plan to have multiple avenues of social media that will allow me the best opportunity to gain professional exposure.  

[collegemama11]

A True Dilemma

After watching “The Social Dilemma” and seeing how big tech company’s use algorithms that track our data, I feel like everyone should be made aware of this.  They can predict what things they can retain our attention with, and what we would be most interested in all with these algorithms. This can and is being used to not only retain our attention and to keep us using social media and apps longer, but it could also play on our feelings in a way. As stated in the documentary, for example, someone who is prone to believing in conspiracy theories can easily be made to feel there are more hidden things out there by way of suggesting to them another type of theory. The most alarming thing to me though was how everyone sees their own things based on their data. People are almost being made to disagree and fight over things like politics for example because they are individually being shown their side of things. Of course, the other side will not agree because they are being suggested two contradictory views.

On all levels, personal, professional, and societal, I think the use of our data and such mind controlling tactics, so to say, should not only be common knowledge to everyone but should also be openly consented to. I know that we all consent when checking the box that says our data will be collected but there should be a way for everyone to have the option to use social media without a program dictating what we will see and inevitably watch or be subjected to. All of use would then have a level playing field and have true freedom of choice as to what we see and believe verse being persuaded to see and believe what is deemed most likely to keep us online longer.

[collegemama11]

Turning the phone off...

For my experiment I decided to completely turn my phone off for 4 hours. I would have liked it to be longer but having children, specifically teenagers, makes that a little tricky to do for contacting reasons. I decided to do this because just eliminating social media I didn't think would have much of an impact on me because I rarely use it in the first place.

I started by letting everyone know what I was doing so they didn't worry just in case they happen to call or message. I turned off my phone and put it in a drawer so that it was out of sight out of mind.

There were several times even in just those 4 hours that I went to look for my phone to check something online and then remembered I couldn't use it. Although I do not use social media much I do find myself googling or researching many things throughout the day. That was the hardest part for me, to not be able to have instant information or answers to things.

On the other hand, I found it very peaceful to not have to stop and cater to my phone when it rang or if the notification alert went off. It helped me to be more productive because I wasn't becoming side tracked or distracted. Another thing I enjoyed was that my older children actually had to come talk to me, they couldn't just send a message about whatever questions they had. I think they were bothered by it more than me, hehe!

Overall, I enjoyed taking a break from my phone, even if just for a few hours. This is something that I will most likely do again and I think next time I will have my family join me. It will be much harder for them I'm sure, but I will be curious to see what their opinion is after. 🤔

[collegemama11]

Both sides of the fence...

After watching Max Stossel’s talk “We’ve Been Sneaking Into Your Brains”, I think that social media has a much bigger influence in our lives than we ever could have imagined. What I found most interesting was the fact that technology and social media are designed to catch and keep your attention, so much so that it makes it very challenging to not engage every day, if not every hour.

Having internet constantly available is convenient yes, but at the same time it can be a source of distraction or even annoyance. For example, when I am trying to do homework, almost every time I sit down my phone becomes a distraction to me in one way or another. From notifications to text messages or phone calls something is always happening in my phone’s world. I can see how leaving your phone outside of the room you are studying in can help you to be more productive and retain more information. This is something that I will be doing moving forward for sure.

I related to Emma Rathbone’s article as well having been born in the early 80’s. I grew up in that generation where we started out having little to no technology, let alone internet, and as a late teen / young adult this new world began to emerge. Growing up without internet and social media was a very different time than it is for children today. As an adult there have been times where I have not had access to my phone or internet due to forgetfulness to pay the bill or a broken device, but I feel like it only affects me to a certain degree. To not have access to a phone to make a call stands out to me and worries me more than the ability to have access to the internet or social media. Its not like I have a landline at home, or a payphone at the corner, like we once had, that I could make an emergency call with. So, to me the ability to make a phone call has been narrowed to your personal cell phone, and without it your options to do so are very limited. To not have a device with that ability, even for a short period of time can give a person some anxiety.

Overall, having experienced life from both points of view, I do think that it was a much easier and less stressful time before technology and internet ruled the world. Moving forward, I am going to start implementing a day per month, if not more, where my family puts away all devices and turn off the internet for a tech free day. I do want them to know what it is like to be fully present in the moment and the day. I think that is something that everyone should experience in life.

[collegemama11]

The Start of Something Big!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! My name is Jennifer, and I am a wife, mother of 4 boys, and career changing college student. I previously worked as a licensed massage therapist and esthetician for the last decade. After many changes in life, since 2020, I decided that it was time to pivot and embark on a new professional journey. At the start of 2021, right before my youngest son was born, I enrolled back into college to pursue my degrees in both Psychology and Entrepreneurship. I love to learn and am hoping to learn many new things with Tumblr and this blog!

When thinking about companies that utilize social media well, Taco Bell keeps ringing a bell! Pun intended, hehe! I always see them popping up on twitter, for example, with clever tweets that engage users. They also have a well designed and catchy website that use bright colors that catch people’s eye, not to mention the food pictures that not only catch people’s eyes but call to there stomach as well! Here is the twitter link to check it out: https://twitter.com/tacobell

Hope you enjoyed my first blog! Check back next week when I will touch on more topics related to social media and business technologies, see you soon!