Social Media Project

When I think social media, the first company that came to my mind was Old Spice. Old Spice is currently trying to rebrand their image and target a different audience. The brand was known as an "old man's" product, but now with the help of social media and alternative marketing strategies it has reformed itself as a must-have for a young man's "swagger." They have successfully done this through their use of social media.

Through this project, I  realized how much social media the Old Spice company really uses to promote their products. The research part of this project is what really spiked my interest. At first, I had only known of their viral videos on YouTube with "the Old Spice guy," who's real name is apparently Isaiah Mustafa. What I didn't know was how often they used Twitter and Facebook to not only promote this marketing strategy, but also to interact with consumers and fans for feedback. I love how they use comedy from almost every standpoint on social media, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and even iTunes. Overall, I found them to have a really great social media campaign and policy. Despite having little critiques here and there to perhaps improve what they're currently doing, my group and I failed to find anything drastic.

Check out our wiki page here: http://ism3004.wikispaces.com/Old+Spice

Not only did I learn about Old Spice's social media policy, but I also learned how to accomplish group work via the internet and social media. After a general introduction, the first thing my group did was direct it to a source of universal social media and create a Facebook group page. How appropriate! I am proud to say that everyone in my group attributed to the final product of our wiki and it came out great.

Week 13: Clear on Social Media

This week's lesson was pretty simple to grasp because it's something that almost everyone utilizes on a daily basis: social media. Take this blog, for example. It is a form of social media, specifically a part of web 2.0, and it is specifically used for a class on a weekly basis. In addition, more and more classes are being taught online, like ISM 3004, and thus social media has become a must in some instances concerning certain classes.

My favorite part of this week's lesson the impact of social media and how it "changes everything." It really is true that social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter, have become my main source of news. It was not surprising to see that the results of the poll supported the fact that most people get their information from Facebook and Twitter as well. Social media has become such a large impact on daily life that there are careers that focus specifically on social media. There is definitely a new era of internet usage, and social media is dominating.

Social media is all connected in some way or another. Check out the social media landscape by Fred Cacazza: http://socialmedialandscape.com/cms/social-media-landscape-by-fred-cacazza/

Photo: Public Domain: http://www.4socialmediaconsulting.com/sm/Social-Media-Collage.jpg

Week 12: Clear on the Internet

This week's lesson covered one of the most important aspects of today's society: the Internet. Today's generation not only uses the internet ubiquitously, but many people depend on it to function. I, for one, know that this is true for myself. The Internet is no longer just a source for one use or another, but rather it has become a necessity. My favorite part of this lesson were the categories of network use. You can use the Internet for interactions between a person and remote database information, person-to-person, e-commerce, entertainment, and like I previously stated, ubiquitous computing.


Moreover, the internet (with a lowercase I) and the Internet (with an uppercase I) are not the same thing. The Internet refers to the global internet that we use everyday whereas the internet refers to any internet system on any layer. No one owner owns the Internet even though people own parts of it. It's amazing to think that massive, global conceptual network of systems that basically controls peoples' lives is not owned by one person, but rather it stands on its own. The internet is astounding!

Photo: Public Domain: http://www.skuggen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/how-to-use-the-internet.jpg

FileMaker Pro Database Project

Considering the fact that I never even knew that databases could be created from scratch  by the common computer user, it's safe to say that I started at ground zero with this project. What did I learn from this project? Everything I now know about creating and utilizing databases. It's great how you can take an Excel spreadsheet, export it into FileMaker Pro, and then create a database that you can tweak and organize for the highest possible convenience. The uses of finds, forms, and reports are great tools and very easy to use. This project kind of reminded me of the Excel project, but for me this program was less complex and more user friendly.

A business owner should definitely take advantage of the "sort" and "find" tools. These tools are, in my opinion, the most useful in creating an organized database. I really like the sort tool because the database user/creator can organize the database how they want it to be organized. For example, on the database project, the raw information needed to be sorted by city and then, within the city field, by their leave date in descending order. With the sort tool, all of the options necessary to make this happen are only a few clicks away and then - TADA! You got a sorted database. In addition, the find tool is just as useful because it helps you find what you need without even sorting the information. All you need to do is fill in what you're searching for in the specific fields and then everything you're searching for is there.

Week 11: Clear on Data vs. Information

This week I was actually shocked at how easily I understood the information in comparison to past weeks. The lecture I found most interesting and easy to understand was the Data vs. Information lecture. In the past, I have used the terms data and information interchangeably, but after reading and watching this lecture, I'll most likely never catching myself making that mistake again. In fact, I may even correct other people when using the two terms incorrectly because if this lesson has taught me anything, it is that they are not the same.

Data and information go hand-in-hand, but they are not interchangeable. Data is raw facts and figures while information is data in context. In other words, data creates information. Data is raw. When the data is transformed from a raw state into context, it can be used to answer questions and support decision making, which is information!

The example used in lecture illustrated this concept perfectly. Take a scatter spot of raw data. Alone, they are just clusters of data, but the data becomes information when a correlation in the scattered dots is recognized and formed. I like to think as the transformation of data into information as a growth, in which the data is young and the information is mature. And like any other kind of growth, there is always more room to mature.

Photo 1: Public Domain: http://www.infogineering.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/model.jpg

Photo 2: Public Domain: http://allpsych.com/researchmethods/images/scatterplot.gif

Week 10: Database Scavenger Hunt

Creating databases was something completely new to me, so this scavenger hunt was definitely very helpful and will hopefully facilitate me with next week's database assignment. I thought it was awesome how each lecture covered a different aspect of how to create databases - definitely helpful.

My favorite aspect of databases are queries. They are so convenient! A query is like one big "find" button. It can help you find almost anything you're looking for whether it be broad or narrow as long as the specified fields are present. The fact that you can also save past queries as well as sort multiple fields makes databases a lot more convenient and a lot easier to maneuver.

Forms and reports are also very helpful and very convenient. Both of which are really great organizational tools. Whether it be creating a header or grouping data by fields, both forms and reports are the solutions.

Overall, I find creating databases to be very interesting, and definitely helpful when organizing information or trying to output information in an easy and understandable way. I'm anticipating next week's project to see how I can put my newly learned database skills to work.

Photo: Public Domain: http://russia-ic.com/img/education_science/05.03.2008%20Computer.jpg

Excel Project

There's only one word to describe this assignment: frustrating. This assignment was simple once the proper tools were used, but the search in finding the necessary tools to complete the specific instructions was my downfall. However, this project definitely got me more familiar with the Excel program. I learned a lot more than I initially thought I would, and I am definitely going to use some of the features I learned through this project in the future.

I am a pretty avid excel user, but because I never had such large amounts of data, I never utilized any of the data analysis tools or shortcuts taught via this project. The best thing I learned from this project was definitely pivot tables. Pivot tables are convenience at its best. The raw data sheet took me a while to do, but the pivot tables were quick, easy, and accurate. Simplicity and accuracy were equally as perfect, and therefore I found the pivot tables to be an awesome new addition to my excel knowledge.

The one thing that really irked me were the formulas. There are so many of them! I find them confusing, but like anything else, it takes practice to become better acquainted with them. I still can't efficiently use the functions because I get confused on which ones to use. However, once I become familiar with the functions after continuously using them, it will definitely increase my efficiency when using and/or creating excel documents.