Week 1: Clear - Necessities for Success in Today's Business World

Social Media and Technological Advancements

For years I had resisted partaking in the obvious integration of Social Media (SM) and all the new Technological Advancements (TA) - some of which seemed to be created just for SM or as a result of SM.  My only indulgences were a laptop, an air card and a cell phone.  And I only had those because at that time I was traveling a lot for my job and I needed access to email.  Until August of last year I had successfully avoided social  media and networking like they were a plague. 

However, Fall Semester 2011, I had to take a Social Networking class which was a requirement for a program I recently completed (Career Ladder AS to BS Degree Program in Business Administration).  And quite frankly, I was a little irritated when I first found out I had to complete assignments that required me to be active on several of the major sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, and Google.  Yes, I am ashamed to say, I did go kicking and screaming but after a couple of weeks in that class I began to see the power and the value of SM and TA.  I was amazed at how much easier it was to stay connected and I was surprised when I realized how businesses were utilizing these necessary tools for their advantage... 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/xlivexalivex/5535537474/

"Photo taken By alexa fades away , 2010.  Permission granted to reuse with attribution."

 

I'm really excited about ISM3004 - and looking over the calendar, I can already see I will be venturing into waters I've yet to charter (like this Blog).  Yeah!!  This is a good thing though and I'm ready to go!  I desire to obtain any knowledge, experience and/or skills that could be a catalyst for my professional success and increased competitiveness and human capital value.  According to Chapter 1 of "Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology" by John Gallaugher, today many businesses realize that SM and TA should be a vital part of their strategy for marketing and they desire to hire Managers and other employees who posses the necessary experience and skills. 

For businesses, social media can be used as one-way and/or two-way communication and marketing tactics which allows companies to send a highly targeted message to a large number of potential customers.  And do it very quickly and at costs extremely lower than traditional advertising.  Technology whether direct or indirect is apart of almost every job function and it's use and reliance upon is also continuing to increase. 

Successful companies are those companies that proactively embrace "Our Forever Changing World of Communication and Technology".  They become a part of the social media community by creating Blogs or Twitter feeds or establishing pages on social networking sites like Facebook, etc.  This helps to set them up to successfully achieve their goal of gaining a sustainable competitive advantage.  This is just one (1) of the many reasons why SM and TA is so vital and necessary to businesses.  For more information and/or to see real-life examples, check out these sites on the Web: 
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.blogtrafficexchange.com/why-big-companies-are-blogging/
http://www.sitepoint.com/15-companies-that-really-get-corporate-blogging/
This is also one (1) of the many reasons why these tools are very important to many business professionals like myself and many of you.  As I stated before, I desire to obtain any knowledge, experience and skills I can to help ensure that I become more competitive and marketable - so I'm sure you can see how it is not only important but very necessary.  By doing this, I hope to gain a sustainable competitive edge over my professional peers and I would imagine that if I were to take a poll, the same would be true for many of you.

The class I mentioned I took last year barely covered Blogs.  It basically just provided their definition without any hands on experience.  I'm glad that this will not be the case with ISM3004.  Also from the readings in Chapter 1 of "Information Systems: A Manager's Guide to Harnessing Technology", I've come to realize that blogging can give anyone a very real and powerful voice and presence in our society.  Many businesses have wised up to this fact and not only do they blog - they also constantly monitor electronic media to ensure that there isn't "anything out there in cyberspace" that could jeopardize their reputation.  The old quote, "The pen is mighter than the sword", can certainly move over and make room for "The keystroke is giving the pen a run for it's money".  With that being said, I found a video on YouTube that gives some pretty good advice on the basics and etiquette of blogging:
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euk1kchfHr8 

"Video Uploaded to YouTube by yourBusinessChannel , 2008. Permission granted to reuse with YouTube Standard License."*             

Now that I've gotten my feet wet regarding blogging, with the help of this class I'm wading out into the deep as fast as I can.  With the information provided by our instructors and another video I found on YouTube, it was easy to create this Blog and I'm loving the hands-on experience.   The video walks you through how to create a Blog on Blogger step-by step.  It will probably answer most, if not all of your questions and it's less than four (4) minutes long - I couldn't believe how easy it was to follow.  So check it out... 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA4s3wN_vK8

"Video Uploaded to YouTube by BloggerHelp  , 2011.  Permission granted to reuse with YouTube Standard License."*       

*For those who are wondering what "YouTube Standard License" means - I found a very informative video - you gussed it, yes on YouTube.  Using simple laymans language it explains the copyright and licensing in regards to YouTube and it briefly mentions Creative Commons.  If this issue was "muddy" for you before, this video will definitely help to make it "clearer" - happy blogging...: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju6COlCeIIU

"Video Uploaded to YouTube by GetThereSocialMedia , 2011.  Permission granted to reuse with YouTube Standard License."