Why I Love Tumblr

I absolutely love Tumblr! It is the only social media platform that I became obsessed with after I made my account. The creative aspect of Tumblr completely sucks you in. Well, at least it did for me.

Tumblr is a cross between a social network and a micro blogging platform. I like to think of Tumblr as a community. The site is filled with people who aren’t really interested in things that are mainstream.

Tumblr is very easy to use. Pretty much everything can be accessed from your dashboard. It is also very easy to customize your profile on Tumblr. I used to spend hours changing my layouts. There are tons of free themes that you can apply to your profile. WordPress needs a little help in the free theme department (no shade).

You can even have a music playlist on your profile. I think that music is a great way to add a personal touch to your profile. Your taste in music says a lot about you. Customizing my profile and adding music reminded me of my Myspace days.

I like how the site does not lean towards a specific type of post. Instagram is primarily for pictures and videos. Twitter is better for concise text posts (although you can also post photos and videos). Unlike these social media platforms, Tumblr refrains from putting its users in a box.

You can post text, photos, gifs, quotes, links, chats, audio, and video on Tumblr. Users can also reply to questions from other users. Questions can be answered publicly or privately. The question feature creates a personal connection between users. If somebody wants to know something specific about you, they can simply ask.

Unfortunately, porn can’t be avoided anywhere on the Internet and Tumblr is no different. I don’t recommend using Tumblr at work or around young children because your dashboard can go from something innocent to porn fairly quickly.

My favorite thing about Tumblr is that it is primarily used by a younger audience. It’s refreshing to not have to avoid certain posts because your family members follow you. I stopped using Facebook because my timeline was filled with family members. I love my family, but the generational gap makes it hard for them to understand and relate to my posts.

I also enjoy not having creepy old men lurking interacting with my profile. People that are older don’t “get” Tumblr and that’s fine with me.

Instagram Isn’t for Everyone, But It Can Be

Contrary to popular belief, everyone isn’t crazy about Instagram. I am one of those people. I have an account, but I don’t use it very much.

I am always a little embarrassed when someone asks me what’s my Instagram or tells me to follow them. I am then forced to explain that I don’t use the app very much and that I don’t have many followers. My 12-year-old little sister has more followers than me.

 

Instagram has become a staple in pop culture and it is time for me to follow the trend. Being that I am an Aquarius, I am naturally rebellious and I would much rather refrain from using the app. I can do without seeing twerk videos, obnoxious Lomotif videos of couples, and celebrity gossip.

However, the app has become a vital part of everyday life. Even employers ask for your Instagram these days.

My failure to use Instagram properly is the main reason why my account hasn’t been very successful.

There are a few simple things you can do to increase your amount of followers on Instagram. Firstly, you need to build your feed. Make sure that your profile is public and build relevant content on your feed. Your profile should be a reflection of your interests and you should follow your intended audience.

Also, don’t shy away from posting videos. Videos can give your followers a perspective they can’t get from a picture.

Secondly, you should get your posts noticed. You can do this by using hashtags and geotags that are relevant to your post. Make sure not to overdo the usage of hashtags. It makes your post quite tacky.

Lastly, be sure to engage with your followers. This is probably the most important thing to do not just on Instagram, but on every social media platform. The whole point of social media is to be social. Post regularly so that your followers don’t forget about your feed and respond to comments that are left on your post.

I don’t do any of these things and that explains why I only have 350 followers. I don’t post much and I definitely don’t follow people. I thought that if people were interested they would follow me on their own. This is not the case.

Being active is the only way you will be successful on Instagram.

 

We Should All Be LinkedIn

Linkedin is a social media platform that is specifically for professionals. The site allows its users to advance their career by doing things like contacting colleagues, discovering new business opportunities, networking, and finding a job.

Linkedin was created in 2003 by employees from Paylpal and Social Net. Users between the ages of 18-19 only make up 15% of the site’s traffic. This is interesting because this is the age group that is going to make up the work force. I would expect more young professionals to be on the website.

I think that a lot of young people have a hard time seperating our professional and personal social media accounts. I have a Linkedin account but I don’t use it very much. As my college career comes to a close, I am realizing the importance of branding yourself. Using Linkedin could help me maximize my professional presence.

Showcasing your work on Linkedin is a great way to show potential employers what you are capable of. It will also help you to build new connections. Someone who comes across your page could end up being your next boss.

Professionals like students, entrepreneurs, and CEO’s find Linkedin useful. However, creative people from all different industries have profiles on Linkedin. But simply having a Linkedin profile is not enough. It is important to make sure that you are using your profile efficiently.

There a lot of steps you can take to ensure that your Linkedin profile will be successful. You should use an open profile. This significantly increases your profile viewership. Sending messages to people you are not connected to also helps you connect with more people.

Checking who viewed your profile regularly lets you stay on top of who is interacting with your profile. Sharing your Linkedin posts to Twitter could bring even more people your profile.

It is important to remember to be identifiable on your profile. You want your viewers to have pretty good idea about who you are. Linkedin is changing the workforce by making it easier to establish business connections. These connections are very valuable and can lead to several other opportunities.

I did not realize how useful Linkedin actually is. This website could help me secure a job after I graduate from college. Your online presence is beginning to have a major impact on your career. Many people have lost their jobs due to unprofessional use of their social media accounts.

Linkedin allows users to communicate simply and professionally. In 2016 we should all be linked in. The site is currently the world’s largest professional network.

The Audience Is More Important Than Ever

While I was reading this chapter I realized that I was already familiar with most of these concepts. I just wasn’t aware of the correct technological terms used to describe these concepts. In my media industries class we talked about whether or not the scheduling of television programs still mattered.

I do not think the scheduling of the programs is important to the viewers anymore. There are several different platforms that allow us to watch television programs when it is convenient for us. But I do think that the scheduling of television programs was important to the producers of the programs. In my response paper I talked about how viewers discussed their opinions on  social media during a show and how this allowed the producers to receive feedback in real time.

This concept is related to why crowdsourcing is important to journalism. The audience is more knowledgeable about the shows because they watch them and interpret them differently than the people that make those shows. Their input should be taken into consideration as well.

This is why crowdsourcing benefits both the audience and journalists. The audience gets to have an effect on the content they watch. I spoke specifically about Twitter in my response, because in my opinion that is the best social media app to use to have conversations about things. Comments on Twitter are an example of how news has become a conversation.

These are all things that were covered in chapter 3 of the text. I like how I can always find ways to relate what I experience in my everyday life to the readings. I would also complain about learning things I didn’t think were relevant to my life in grade school.

As usual I was also introduced to concepts I was not familiar with in the reading as well. I did not know that pro-am journalism was a thing in the journalism field. I knew that in today’s society anyone can be a journalist. But I didn’t know that these people could actually get their content published directly to a professional platform.

I was not aware that CNN created iReport back in 2006. Pro-am journalism allows the greatest amount of audience participation. It also expands the content that is classified as news. There are a lot of different things that are happening every day and what appears on the news should reflect that. Pro-am journalism is a step in that direction. It keeps the people that create the news from being the only voice that is heard.

Neighborsgo is another great tool that allows the community to act as reporters. I had never heard of neighborsgo either. This part of The Dallas Morning News allows the newspaper to interact daily with readers. These concepts are fairly new to journalism. They are also making to tougher to be a professional. We have to be able to do more.

The Phil Meyer quote in the beginning of the chapter is very true. It explains exactly why I wanted my concentration to be multimedia reporting. I know I am going to have to be proficient in everything if I want to be a successful, professional journalist.

Social Media Can’t be Avoided Any Longer

I really enjoyed the video of the Meredith Artley interview. When I first clicked on the video and saw how long it was I assumed that it would be redundant and drawn out. However, I felt that everything she had to say was valuable.

I had a little bit of a girl power moment while I was watching the video. I loved the way Artley carried herself throughout the video. It was obvious that she was well informed on how journalism has changed over time and what it is today. I also liked how she politely corrected Josh Kranzberg when he spoke about CNN’s analytical data and competition. She stated the data that she had and informed him that Fox was not one of CNN’s top competitors.

Often times it is easy for a journalist to manipulate the way a question may be answered by framing it a certain way. She could have chosen to simply respond to the date that Kranzberg gave her. However, she defended CNN and her competitors. This shows that she is passionate about her work and she follows ethical principles.

I also thought that Kranzberg was a little biased when he asked Artley if CNN even took BuzzFeed seriously. He even said that they mostly showed cat videos. Artley again defended her competitors by saying that BuzzFeed is a credible news source and is serious competition. It isn’t very often that people, even professionals, are not bashing each other in the media to make themselves look better. That is mostly what has been going on during this year’s presidential campaign. Instead Artley chose to focus on what CNN has that other news sources do not. I aspire to be this kind of journalist. One who knows her stuff but is also humble.

How social media has changed journalism has been a major topic of discussion recently. I have been discussing social media in all of my classes and I didn’t realize it until now.  This was the major topic of the interview. Social media has opened a whole new platform for news and journalists are taking advantage of it. Artley discusses how CNN frames their stories differently for social media.

I began to think about the things I do in my everyday life. I use social media just about every day. Even if I don’t post anything I make check it to read up on the latest news. It makes sense for news sources to be present on social media. News spreads much more quickly on social media. It is much easier and faster to check. It is also much easier to find people who share your same ideas on social media. Readers are able to directly contact news companies and give them feedback.

I think that feedback is the most important part of social media. Because journalists have a duty to inform the public, they should be aware of how the public feels about what they are publishing. Social media allows journalists to collect this information very quickly. This connection between journalists and readers is great. It makes the audience feel closer to the news.  I feel as if I am apart of global news when I can leave a comment on a news source’s social media post.