Algorithm and Media

Social media is a huge industry that connects people to one another all over the globe. However, there is an unspoken aspect of social media that everyone interacts with. There are ads all over social media for various products, but the impressive aspect comes from the content of the ads. Due to the algorithm that social media uses they attempt to tailor ads that will fit the person. This seems like it would be an extremely amazing tool that will help people find the products and services they need. However, more often than not these ads can just be annoying and not even relevant.

In the article by Forge and Smith they point out that this algorithm takes into account every single thing you search. For example if I want to buy my sister a nice necklace for her birthday I might spend a couple hour searching. However, I just need the one necklace and then I can move on. The algorithm will send me ads for necklaces for way more then I need and now I’m stuck with these ads that don’t relate to me at all. Which make the whole process a waste of time for both parties. I don’t get relevant ads and the company has failed at attracting another customer.

You want people to come to your social media account and Forge and Smith says in order to keep people only post relevant stuff. That way the algorithm will show people your posts because they are relevant. However, I think the way this algorithm works is way to sensitive even for that. Trying to just limit yourself to posts about a certain topic feels as though your setting yourself behind. You want to be updating about relevant information sure, but you also want to seem like a human and upload something light hearted. Limiting yourself seems like a good way to convince the public that you are all work and nothing else. This algorithm is not perfect, but maybe a funny joke you post draws someone in to be a permanent follower. They come for the joke and stay for the actual content. People want to see personality and I think working your account around this algorithm would kill a personality and that is not what you want. You want people to come to you and the way you do that is you provide them with news and personality.

https://forgeandsmith.com/how-do-social-media-algorithms-affect-you/#The_algorithmic_timeline_in_real_life http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/24/how-social-media-is-reshaping-news/

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/09/24/how-social-media-is-reshaping-news/

https://forgeandsmith.com/how-do-social-media-algorithms-affect-you/#The_algorithmic_timeline_in_real_life

New Tools for Pros

When looking at Twitter it may seem as though it is just a silly social media platform where people can post nonsense that happens to them. While this may have been the case when Twitter has evolved I believe it has become so much more. It has become a powerful resource for PR professionals and journalists to use. We talk about social media and the effects it has on both these fields a lot and perhaps the best example of how effective it is, is Twitter. In 160 characters or less you can reach such a large and wide audience that it is unbelievable. If a journalist needs to take a poll they can upload to Twitter and have such a large variety of people interact with it. As a PR professional you can post about your press releases or any updates you have about your client and instantly millions will see it.

Forbes points out that while Twitter can be useful it can also be difficult to manage. While this statement is not incorrect I do not think it is difficult enough to wave off. Keeping track of a twitter and making sure all the posts are up to date can be time consuming like Forbes says. However, I think the payoff can be huge because of the large number of people you can reach and how quickly it can be done. There is a lot of work to be done around a Twitter account, but it is such a good tool and to write it off the way Forbes does is not giving it enough credit.

A better point I think was had by Columbia Journalism Review in which they say that it can be difficult to write stories without consulting Twitter. There is so much traffic on Twitter that if you want to write an article about pop culture you would almost fail if you did not use Twitter. As a journalist you also need to keep a profile and Columbia says Twitter is a great place to keep that. You show your interests on Twitter and this can be a sign to potential employers. This article really spoke to me because I view Twitter in the same exact light. It can do so many things with such little effort and not using this tool is almost detrimental.

With times changing so does PR and Journalism and in order to keep up professionals must use these new tools, like Twitter, in order to survive.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2014/09/22/twitter-for-public-relations-fact-and-fantasy/#7bc68c7483b3 https://archives.cjr.org/realtalk/journalists_using_twitter.php https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/journalists-on-twitter-study.php

PR and Blogs

Blogs are such a central part of today’s news and it would be absurd to just ignore them as platform for receiving news. They allow a journalist to look for new sources and find stories that have not been made large. They are a good source to use not only to gather information, but also to posts stories. As a PR professional you want your story to reach as many people as possible. The best way to do that use to be through news outlets, but that is no longer the case. Sure news outlets are big and will reach millions, but taking the time to convince people to put your story takes time. It is way easier to just make a blog post on your blog and share it on your social media platforms. No need to wait for the media to maybe pick your story up, you can just make it happen all on your own.

In the seochat article “blogs as an excellent public relations tool” it goes in-depth about the various advantages of using blogs in PR. It is hard to deny how useful they are and what they can truly accomplish. The article does a good job of examine the benefits from various angels. They discuss how it is not only a good way to spread news, but to gather potential clients. Clients will see the work you do and can determine if you are what they need. The works stay there forever and can be accessed at any time for people to look at. Not only are you doing your job you using this blog you are building a portfolio at the same time. Blogs just accomplish so many things a PR person wants get clients, have their stories be seen by millions, and get the story out fast. This tool provides PR people with such an upside that it becomes detrimental to not use.

ProBlogger’s “7 ways to build your bran in the blogosphere” is a great article about how to make your brand be the best it can within blogs. Perhaps the most important point is to allow feedback. People want to say things about what you have posted and in order to build connections you need to let them. The more people talk to you the more you learn so that you can improve or answer questions they may have. PR is all about communications and blogs are an amazing way to do it. http://www.seochat.com/c/a/website-promotion-help/blogs-as-excellent-public-relations-tools/

https://problogger.com/7-ways-to-build-your-brand-in-the-blogosphere/ https://publicrelationssydney.com.au/blogging-and-pr/

Gaming at SHU

Seton Hall has a large student body with people who share many different interests. One of these interests is gaming and everything that it entails. At Seton Hall there is a gaming club that covers everything from board games to video games. They have a sector for every type of club you might need and attendance has never been higher according to Matt McDevvit the sector leader of the Dungeons and Dragons club. “We have had so many people that we are actually running out of space to accommodate everyone at meetings” says McDevvit. The club grows with every meeting and they have resorted to having people take shifts which weeks they get to play. Dungeons and Dragons is a role playing game in which players customize characters and play with a group of paper. This game is kind of like a board game so the more people that show up the more space is needed. McDevvit said that due to the high velocity of people he has needed to recruit extra help to assist in running the biweekly games. “It was just getting to be too much I could not keep track of everything and everyone” says McDevvit. He had to not only split apart the groups to play twice a week he also needed an extra set of hands to run these biweekly meetings.

Due to the number of people playing he also needed to bring extra supplies which meant that his budget increased from the club. “Yeah our budget is usually like five dollars, but since we got so popular they have increased it to 100” says McDevvit. This growth in the gaming club is due to how many interested students are coming to Seton Hall who want to expand their interests. The more people who attend the better it is for the club because they can create more events based on attendance. Matt is already planning several gaming events like a board game night in order to try and get even more people to come. With this his new found numbers Matt wants to do thing he could not do before and says he is already “cooking up” some stuff for everyone to be a part of. Seton Hall has a great community that is interested in a lot and the gaming club just goes to show how wide and diverse these interests are. Anyone who comes to Seton Hall is sure to find a place somewhere among the great students.