Case Study 3: Applebee's

        “Hell hath no fury like a Facebook scorned.” I had to laugh when I read this shockingly accurate statement at the beginning of the Overturning Tables by R.L. Stollar column on the social media crisis that the restraint chain Applebee’s faced in January of 2013. The story starts when Alois Bell, a pastor at the World Deliverance Ministries Truth Church in St. Louis, took eight of her fellow churchgoers to dinner. Applebee’s, like many other restaurants add an 18% tip automatically to any table which has eight people or more seated at it. Apparently Pastor Bell didn’t think that the 18% tip was appropriate, crossing out the tip and proceeding to write “I give god 10%, why should I give you 18%.” It wasn’t Pastor Bell’s waitress that took the receipt viral but one of her fellow waitresses at the restaurant. The waitress snapped an image of the receipt and placed it on reddit saying “hopefully Jesus will pay for my rent and groceries too.” Once the image went viral, both Applebee’s and Pastor Bell faced some serious social media attention. Applebee’s fired the waitress and Pastor Bell apologized. This caused even more outrage, specifically against Applebee’s which states that they had every right to fire the waitress because she violated the rules on social media concerning employees and customer rights.

            I think that in this situation I have to completely side with Applebee’s. If any company has specific rules against how their employees are to use social media and if one of their employees violates these rules then they are one hundred percent liable for it. What always surprises me is how little people know what the First Amendment actually protects you from. People believe that they can just say whatever they want and won’t have to face any consequences which is completely wrong. You are only protected from government regulation but as far as your employer goes, they can create restrictions that you have to follow. I know that with every job that I have held I have signed a very extensive set of rules when it comes to social media and public relations and it is very clearly stated that if I violate the rules I will be let go. I actually think the waitress got off lucky, while Pastor Bell did write the offensive comment, she did nothing legally wrong, and the waitress however placed private financial information on line which Pastor Bell could have sued her for doing so and her problems could have gone from just not having a job to much worse.

            In this case I think that both parties did what they needed to do; Applebee’s stuck behind their policies, accepted that they might lose some customers but hey kept the damage to a minimum. Pastor Bell owned up to her actions and applogized when she could have really done nothing. Sometimes with social media cases like this one, the parties involved have to accept that they can’t make everyone happy so they have to do what is necessary to keep the damage to a minimum, which is exactly what happened. 

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/applebees-waitress-fired-for-posting-customer-comment-online/

http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/Applebees_CEO_weighs_in_on_PR_crisis_over_receipt_13738.aspx

http://rlstollar.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/applebees-overnight-social-media-meltdown-a-photo-essay/

There is an App for that..

In the old days when the dinosaurs roamed the earth (o.k. mayabe not that long ago) there was some sort of product that could solve any problem, like duct tape or Crisco! Nowadays, there is an app for everything you could ever dream of!

Getting my first iPhone was the best day ever! My first android smart phone just wasn't cutting it (sorry dad I know you hate apple products) and I was tired of all of the glitches it had! Although I will say I don't hate androids, to me a phone is a phone! Once I received my iPhone I spent quite a bit of time searching through that app store finding the ones I wanted to install! I'm not much of a gamer so I don't have any games on my phone, most of my apps are ones that help me manage my everyday life as well as all of my social media sites! I can also proudly say that I have never paid for an app on my phone or iPad!

As of today Apple has 1 million apps in the app store and over 60 billion apps have been downloaded from the at the Apple Inc. App Store!

The Top Charts section of the Apple App Store is split into three sections; Paid, Free, and Top Grossing. In the Paid, and Free categories the top three apps are games and in Top Grossing the top two are games with Pandora coming in 3rd! The list of the top apps is constantly changing and you will often see trends in apps downloaded as apps become popular or go out of style! For instance the game 2048 is one of the top downloaded games for smart phones!

You can organize your apps in any way that you would like on your iPhone or other smart phone. I have mine all located on the first page of my home screen since I am not a fan of swiping between pages and it makes them easier to locate!

So pretty much no matter what you need you can probably bet "there is an app for that!"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_application_software 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391521,00.asp

Social Media Management

Have you ever felt that social media is running out of control anymore? Maybe for those of you who only have one or two social media platforms but for those of us who have over ten different sites it can get a little hectic! Especially if you actively use every single one of them! I can't even imagine the stress major companies feel when it comes to keeping track of their social media!

This is why it is important for those of us who use Social Media quite regularly to understand the tools that exist to help us manage social media! The first thing that you need to understand is that it is impossible to totally control social media.. The second thing you need to know is that is while social media is impossible to totally control it is very much possible to manage to your benefit!

So say that you are a small company that is just getting started and you sell some sort of product. Now as part of your marketing strategy you set up a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram account. Well maybe as the CEO or marketing director of your company you can link all of these sites to your phone or tablet and easily update and monitor each one! Suddenly though a much larger company with the same product has come in and offered to absorb you as a branch and they want you to take part in a social media marketing campaign to broadcast your new partnership and they want you to use lets say eight different accounts! That's a lot of social media platforms! Well tweeting, posting, etc is easy, but what about when it comes to responding, monitoring, seeing who is sharing your social media! Which tweets should I respond too which don't need a response, what are our competing companies sharing in return?? Stop, take a deep breath and know that the force is with you..

The force of social media management that is! When you reach this big stage in social media then it is time for you to invest resources such as HootSuite, NUVI, and many other companies that specialize in social media management! They can set up a single website that aggregates (collects and compiles) all sorts of media that you mark as relevant to what you do! These websites can analyze the media that is coming in and going out and help you to make informed decisions on how to best respond to the social media. All major companies have round the clock staff that monitor these websites which is why you can tweet @TacoBell at 2am and they will respond!

I HIGHLY recommend investing in a resource such as HootSuite or NUVI (which has a really awesome web site by the way) when it comes to managing your social media and since we live in a world where social media rules it is critical you don't screw it up!

http://blog.hootsuite.com/

http://www.nuviapp.com/

Search Engine Optimization

SEO

No it doesn't stand for Senior Executive Operator and certainly not for Slowly Eating Oreo's (which is my favorite past time). It stands for Search Engine Optimization! I get the feeling that many of you are still confused..

It's ok! I was too but I am here to walk you through search engine optimization!

Search engine optimization is the process of affecting the visibility if a website or web page in the a search engines natural or unpaid results. Also known as organic results. If you think about it the higher that a website or searchable item sits in the results the more visitors it gets. So SEO's looks at how a search engines works and takes into consideration what keywords are being used, and what services like Google and Yahoo are most popular. They determine that best way that websites, images, videos, etc make it to the top of the results page! 

SEO's look for how easy it is to use your page and how much authority, or how many links it has out to other credible sites! Utilizing Search Engine Optimization is critical from a marketing standpoint seeing as having an internet presence is essential how companies communicate to the public anymore! 

There are definitely many tactics and rules when it comes to Search Engine Optimization and before you start a website I recommend that you do some research and consult with a professional!

I still have a lot to learn about SEO but here are some webpages that may help you understand SEO even more!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2259693/SEO-Basics-8-Essentials-When-Optimizing-Your-Site

Organizations and Social Media

It seems as though these days every one has some sort of social media platform for personal use be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr etc. Even my 75 year old grandmother has a Facebook, with which she uses to keep an eye on my social life and give some, dare I say, interesting, advice!

 (Love you Grandma!)

But what about groups of people? Organizations, clubs, businesses, news corporations, the government? Anymore if a group or organization doesn't have some sort of social media they are outdated or old fashioned. Of course there are a few exceptions, I doubt't the CIA is going to be live tweeting much of their business! On my personal twitter I follow all of the major news corporations such as CNN and The New York Times as well as the SCOTUS (Supreme Court Of The United States). I follow every major airline, as well as the National Inter Fraternal Council. My Fraternity Delta Sigma Phi has it's own Twitter and 

Facebook page both on a national and chapter level. You could find almost any group on social media and follow their activities, so take a minute to look up your favorite band or clothing company!

But what do they use these social media sites for? Some mostly for the public benefit, press releases, breaking news, and such. Social media now though is taking an internal pathway and is being used for inter organization communication. For some, gone are the days of paper and email memo's, now some simply use a tweet or a Facebook messages to inform the staff or members needed. It's actually a great idea if you think about it. I have every social media platform linked to my iPhone and when I am message, tweeted at, tagged, or an update is posted to any of my accounts or accounts that I follow, I get a notification and since my iPhone is basically always by my side, I usually don't miss it!

The possibilities for the uses of social media with organizations is a rather long list! With this wide spread use of social media in organizations it is important though for them to learn how to appropriately use social media and to remember that it is really easy for one person to make a mistake that the whole world can see via social media! 

#Socmeddiscuss … I am sure that you are wondering what on earth this hashtag means and when on earth you have been seeing it so much on my twitter lately! If you noticed that on Tuesday this particular hashtag seemed to be appearing much more in my tweets and hopefully you took some time to check in on #socmeddiscuss

On Tuesday my social media class had what we called “the class cloud” where we essentially spent the entire class tweeting with the hashtag #socmeddiscuss in the hopes that we would be able to get the hashtag to trend in the Greater Salt Lake Area! (I live in Logan, Utah by the) Before and during the class we were sending tweets to our friends and to class mates as well as public figures like Ellen Degeneres and Rihanna seeing if maybe we could get others outside the classroom to join in!

My favorite moment was when we decided that we wanted to take a group selfie shot like Ellen did at the Oscars!

-That's me on the right!

I then tweeted at Ellen asking is she could deliver us some pizza because we were all really hungry!

I found that it was very interesting to be conversing with people in the same room as me over twitter rather than just talking face to face! IT was sort of like when people in the same room text each other, like my mom, except that our conversations where public instead of private!

We tweeted the hashtag enough the get it to appear on the map but not enough to have it trend in the Greater Salt Lake Area! I was curious to know how many people even just at USU could see out conversations and where wondering what on earth was going on! I believe that we tried to get the Aggie Life twitter in on it but no one responded! I would love to try this again but with more people so that we can maybe get whatever it is we are tweeting about trending! I am guessing that we would need to have a topic that is probably more widely understood than #socmeddiscuss which really would only make sense to people in my class!

So next time you see my twitter feed blow up with tweets that have random hashtags in them be sure to check it out! Who knows maybe next time we will get it trending!

Online Reputation Assignment - Megan Goettsche

If you are reading this blog post, or are looking over my shoulder (you creep) while I type this, you might think that I have some sort of obsession with Miss. Megan Goettsche. Don’t worry I promise I am not some sort of creepy internet stalker, well maybe a little but the reason for this stalking type blog post is our Online Reputation Assignment for my Social Media Class! So God forbid whoever was assigned to stalk me!

Megan Goettsche was born on August 6, 1992 (go 92!) to Don and Marie Goettsche. She graduated from Murray High School in 2010. She currently lives in Logan, Utah and is attending Utah State University. Her family lives in Murray, Utah.

Megan worked at AAA Restoration as a Secretary since 2008 in which she handled the social media for the company and performed duties such as filing paperwork, handling the accounts receivable, and making the daily bank deposits! From what I can tell AAA restoration is a family business which her parents may own?

Megan also currently works at the Logan, Utah Bed, Bath, and Beyond as a customer service specialist. Her Linkedin profile states that she is highly motivated, outgoing, great at public speaking, and a social media expert! She is looking for non profit – pro bono volunteer work experiences.

Megan volunteers with Best Buddies International which is an organization that creates opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disorders. Megan states that she has very much enjoyed working with Best Buddies International!

Besides having a great work ethic, Megan is a very social person who seems to enjoy spending time with her friends and family! I can tell that she is a die hard Utah Jazz fan as well as an Aggies fan!

Megan has her own personal blog where she often discusses topics that are related to social media. Megan has multiple social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Instagram. On her twitter she has over ten thousand tweets and over 700 followers! She is an all star member of Linkedin with 163 professional connections.

From reading through her tweets and Facebook posts I was sad to discover that she has recently lost and Uncle. It is clear that like me, Megan is very close to her family. I can tell that Megan has many good friends who have sent her much support during this difficult time. I lost my grandfather last semester and losing a family member during the stressful months of school can be difficult. Megan, I am sorry for your loss, may your uncle rest in peace!

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/megan-goettsche/51/492/7b2

https://twitter.com/megangoettsche

https://www.facebook.com/meggyg6?fref=ts

Ethics, Legality, and Policy's OH MY!

I find it incredibly interesting that there are so many people that I know who seem to think that they can do and post WHATEVER they want on social media sites and that they can do so without any sort of consequence whatsoever! If you are one of those persons then I would like to inform you that you are..

WRONG!!!

What social media users (and yes even if you only use Facebook once a month you are a social media user) don't seem to understand is that in today's world what you post online is just as powerful as if you where to appear on national television and say what you feel out loud! Whats even worse is that what you post NEVER GOES AWAY!! Even if you delete it from your platform the vast depths of the World Wide Web has already sucked it up and stored it elsewhere! 

I am sure you have all heard of cyber bullying and that you have heard of a legal case where someone was convicted of a cyber bullying crime. So if you still think you can't get in trouble for what you post online then think again, you can get in trouble if you abuse your social media rights.

Sure there is such a thing as freedom of speech but remember that the first amendment only protects you from government control, everything else is on you.. Remember when Phil from Duck Dynasty went on his anti-gay rant on television? When he was suspended from the T.V. show everyone screamed that his first amendment right had been violated! Well no they weren't, the production company has every right control what their employee's (technically t.v stars are employees, they are on the pay roll) say and do publicly. If you sign an agreement that has any sort of rules on social media or public relations you are no bound to follow them!

For those of you who want a career or even a hobby in blogging or online journalism, you have responsibilities too. Take the time to read up on topics such as defamation, clear and present danger, and other journalism regulation related topics. Understand cultural and social ethics and maybe create your own code of ethics as well!

Check out these following sites for suggestions and more resources on social media related regulations and ethics!

https://fromtheleft.wordpress.com/bloggers-code-of-ethics/

https://www.eff.org/issues/bloggers/legal

Location Based Platforms

Everyone knows that when it comes to Real Estate, locations is everything. But is the same true for social media? Who doesn't love to brag about all of the cool places that they are traveling too! If you would like, Facebook will tell people where you are posting from in the world. Twitter has similar functions for its users as well. But what about platforms like Foursquare which are for the sole purpose of bragging about your daily movements?

Back in 2009 when Google Latitudes was launched and other programs such as Gowalla (which was later purchased by Facebook) and Foursquare became prevalent the idea was that life would become more and more social if we could broadcast our location to our friends and even to strangers. 

Today though a much smaller number of users than anticipated are finding the need to broadcast their locations along with their social life. Facebook found that it's check in function or "Places" was not receiving the attention that they wanted and in 2011 they quietly retired the function. Their goal now is that location should be a side feature and not the focus. 

I personally enjoy checking into locations be it just at the library on campus or at various cities and airports as I travel. It isn't that I feel the need to brag about where I am or what I am doing, I just enjoy doing it! I also like using foursquare because you can actually benefit from checking in at a location, often people leave tips and you can even get discounts somewhere! For instance I lived near a 7Eleven over the summer and we could get free Slurpees on certain days if we checked in at the store! I usually try be cautious at the same time, obviously it isn't a smart idea to broadcast to the world that you are going to be leaving your house unattended for a period of time but hey I am a broke college student, good luck finding anything of value in my apartment! 

Social Media Platforms

By now it is clear that our social media outlets in a way define who we are to those who may not have the convenience of knowing us in person. The same way we choose what to wear in the mornings, we choose which platforms best represent us and tailor them over time to make us look good.

Top 5 Social Media Sites

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Other sites in the top 15 include Tumblr, Instagram, Flickr, and even ClassMates.

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites

Of those top five I use the first four sites regularly and I am a very avid Tumblr user as well! When I first started using social media sites I kept them fairly basic, using the standard or default templates. However over time I have worked on making my platforms unique by implementing different templates and adding pictures and art. Some sites such as Pinterest are not very customizable in layout terms but honestly in my opinion they don't need to be, especially with Pinterest since you have custom boards!

With over 370 different sites (although some are not available in the USA) the options for social media platforms are almost endless! I highly recommend checking several out before you decide what platform to use and keep in mind you can most certainly have more than one!

Check out more social media platform statistics and facts here!

http://www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/

Blogging and why we do it.

Blogging, what is it and why do people do it? A blog is defined as "a website containing a writer's or group of writer's own experiences, opinions, etc. and often having links to other websites" (Dictionary.com). As of today there are 152 million blogs online and that number is ever growing! The subjects of blogs vary greatly and it is most likely that you will be able to find a blog that covers a topic of interest to you.

I first started a blog my freshman year here at Utah State with the intention of really just having a place that I could share my ideas and thoughts. The blog didn't last very long and I ended up removing it simply because I never updated it. Many people start blogs for other reasons such as travel documentation or a place to share professional tips. My fraternity big brother is currently serving a two year deployment for the Peace Corps in the African country of Mozambique and every week he updates us on his adventures!

Blogs also are used by companies to promote their label and to provide a way to keep their customers coming. In fact studies have shown that business with blogs have 55% more website visitors, and these visitors are more likely to purchase an item or service if there is a blog post about it. 40% of businesses in America use blogs for marketing purposes and two out of three marketing groups state that their blogs are critical to business.

The top five reasons that people blog are for; 1. Entertainment and Fun, 2. Networking and Exposure, 3. For Business or a Cause, 4. Journalism and, 5. Education.

If you are thinking about starting a blog, here are a few nuggets of information that can help you to create a successful blogging experience.

1. Morning is the most popular for blogging.

2. Most people read their blogs before 10 am.

3. Commenting on blogs peaks around 8 am.

4. Identify and understand your audience.

5. Be consistent (don't post sporadically, organize your topics)

6. Build a call to action, this is the reason people read your blog, influence your readers.

If you would like more information about blogging or want more tips for successful blogs please visit the following links!

http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/tp/Top-5-Reasons-Why-People-Blog.htm

http://www.myprconnection.com/blog/prsa/22-blogging-facts-that-will-blow-your-mind/

http://blog.bufferapp.com/blogging-advice-for-beginners-from-16-experts

Nokia's MORPH Nanotechnology

In doing some further research into the future of communications technology I stumbled across this awesome concept from the Nokia Research Center! I highly recommend checking it out! Click on the link below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQOyxAsGFAA#action=share

How Has Social Media Changed Communication

From the time that I was born in the early nineties to about age 10 I can remember that the fastest way for people to communicate was by phone call and that my parents and their families and friends used letters and phone calls for their main form of communication. My mom would have my sisters and I write letters to our relatives and friends who lived further away and they would write letters back. Personal emails where in their adolescence and I think that I was 10 when my dad signed me up for my first email account which is the one that I still use today! I remember thinking that email was great because of how quick my friends and I could communicate between each other. Later on MSN, my email provider, added instant messaging and you could create a little profile with your picture and some personal information. Often times I got in trouble with my parents because I would spend way too much time instant messaging and emailing my friends! Then when I was in the sixth grade I believe, Myspace became a huge hit, especially with my generation. Every single one of my friends had a Myspace and it was very clear that if you didn’t have one you weren’t cool. Unfortunately my parents made it very clear that I was not allowed to have a Myspace and they even went as far as blocking it on the computer! This was when I noticed a change in the way my friends communicated, suddenly the gossip was about what another kid posted on their page and what music they listened to and the pictures they shared. Very quickly various social trends emerged with Myspace, cliques where formed online and people began to get mean via the internet. Internet bullying became rampant in my school and sometimes the fight moved from the internet to behind the cafeteria. Since I was not allowed the privilege of a Myspace it seemed crazy to me what was going on. I felt like my generation were no longer innocent and free spirited kids.

I was a freshman in high school when Facebook pushed Myspace out of the limelight and even though my parents still forbade me to have one, I got one anyway. Soon after I was caught on Facebook my parents had them too. Needless to say I was pretty much hooked on Facebook from the beginning. I consider myself to be a social person and this social platform made it even easier to be social. However after a while I realized that I was starting to become careless about what I posted on Facebook and there times that I posted some damaging words. It was the same for everyone else, people who would not ever have said something to another person’s face was suddenly writing about it on Facebook. This is true today with any social media platform, when you post something negative on social media there isn’t an instant retaliation and even when retaliation occurs there is no face to face communication and the intimidation of argument is non-existent. While social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are often used for the spreading of comedy, ideas, information and more it seems like there are also what I like to call social battles that occur every day and many people feed off of the negativity. While I enjoy using Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr I think they have caused people to lose touch with genuine interpersonal communication and we are quickly losing the ability to create beneficial meaning from communication.