Blog Post #2

Topic 1:

Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, there are numerous people and groups I keep up with. On Facebook, for example, I follow Lecrae because he is a brilliant rap/hip hop artist. On Instagram, I continue to look for posts by @wakeupandmakeup for inspiration on cosmetics. On Pinterest, I can find “Writing Prompts” has innovative posts every day, and can be helpful in introducing new ideas for creating stories. In addition to keeping up with friends, these social media sites are useful for news, how-to’s, and other’s creations. As shocking as it may be, I am not always solely interested in the things I am doing, but also what others are producing.

Initially, as I scrolled down my twitter timeline tonight, nothing caught my eye, until a post from @tinatbh popped up, and I nearly choked on my double chocolate mocha. “IF YOU CAN’T HANDLE ME AT MY FINALS WEEK YOU DON’T DESERVE ME AT MY SYLLABUS WEEK”. Tina is my absolute favorite character from a show that is nothing but pure brilliance: “Bob’s Burgers.” Someone made a twitter for her, and the deadpan, sarcastic tone in her tweets never fail to make me smile. Although it’s nothing vital like the news, alas, she is all too relatable.

As for social media enhancing your ability to be involved in a democracy, I think Clay Shirky is correct in his argument on “How Social Media Can Make History”. This kind of openness and connection is something that gives the community a voice, and could possibly change the way the government works. Media not only allows one to be more informed, but also brings people together in a way that is not oppressive or confining. Clay talked about how the news is available in such variety now, it essentially cannot be contained. The entire community does the reporting and the feedback – that is, if they choose to. There are hundreds of amateur videos being uploaded about events taking place right now – stories that news channels will pick up later. I believe it is empowering: your perspective matters.

Topic 2:

“Enabling customers to collaborate with you-in creating, distributing, marketing, and supporting products–is what creates a premium in today’s market.”

That is the single most compelling idea that has come from WWGD so far. It brings me back to the topic of involvement in democracy; in both instances, it is apparent that this sort of open communication is crucial to success. The customer’s voice must be heard. As time goes by, the priority needs to be wholly focused on what your followers or buyers are saying. The people will have a voice whether you create the platform or not, but by welcoming them to speak, you obtain a front-row seat for information that will undoubtedly aid in your continuous growth.

Jarvis brings up the point that companies spend time and resources collecting data about how successful they are at any given time, but alas! Customers are relentlessly providing feedback free of charge and in many different ways – the companies just haven’t been looking.  

In so many instances, companies try to control the customers and make the people put forth the effort to come to them. Xbox has an invite only Preview Program in which a limited number of gamers can speak their mind pertaining to any new releases, and I know several gamers who participate in this. While providing members with perks like early updates and rewards, if this were the only criticism, it would not be as entirely beneficial as it could be. Xbox would only hear from a select few, and from those with an overall positive bias, as well. These would not be the actions of a company that really desired to understand what their customers need. However, they have also opened public forums in which customers can submit their feedback, and vote on the most important of other’s submissions. This concept eliminates the irritation of an unheard customer, as their comments might otherwise waft away into obscurity.

Lastly, switching topics, one of the statements that Jeff Jarvis responds to is the accusation that there are mistakes on the internet. And anyone with eyes can see that this declaration is true. But the point that Jarvis makes in return is that the net (in addition to making it easy to post information riddled with inaccuracies) also provides a simple way to correct those same mistakes.  

Even in using this blog, if I notice an atrocious misspelling or a well-hidden punctuation error after publishing, I can choose to edit it without further ado and correct my mistakes!

As Jeff Jarvis says, pertaining to the internet: “Look for the good stuff, not the bad stuff”.