The past, is the past, is the past.

The past is just that... past. But sometimes, revisiting some of those lessons refreshes in our minds that we have overcome things, that we have learned life lessons, and that we should pay attention to our PRESENT so that we do not keep repeating those lessons. 

Following is a poem I wrote 10 years ago. I was divorced, pretending that life was great and that the future was bright. I was sleep-walking through my days, trying to remain busy, trying to convince myself that the decision to end my marriage was a good one. In the end, the loss was a lot greater than even I knew at the time. I did not mourn the end of that time until over 1 year later. Then, it just seemed to hit me out of the blue. It took a few days for me to even realize WHY I was so sad. 

Effective use of Twitter to promote business

I follow an Independent Travel Writer on Twitter. Her name is Terri Marshall and her Twitter handle is @trippingwterri. I follow her to read about all her travels and because I would love to live that kind of life. She posts regularly and has a huge following of over 5,000. She not only posts about her travels but will sometimes include links to the articles that are published with her writing. The types of messages she posts are informative, but also personal as she includes information about her grandchildren and her home life.

In my college class textbook, Social Corp, it talks about using social media to reach the right people. Specifically, it states that “reaching the right people means being prepared to engage in conversations where people ‘live’ on the web” (Ch 5). I feel that she uses Twitter effectively and has built a reputable brand for herself which not only helps her to obtain new writing assignments but also informs people, like me, that would love to write about traveling. I have learned so much about the places that she visits. She would not need to use Twitter to “change” any of her brandings, but if she needed to, she could focus on specific types of writing assignments in order to gain more job offers about that specific type of assignment. In other words, she can “steer” the attention towards the types of jobs that she would be most interested in pursuing. 

She is also NOT afraid to call out businesses that have done her wrong and I feel she has had success with overcoming billing errors and bad service with her use of Twitter. If anyone is interested in traveling or in travel writing, I would suggest you take a look at her Tweets.

Netflix has you covered...from head... to TOE!

You wouldn’t think Netflix, the world’s leading internet entertainment service would need to even use social media to be relevant, but this streaming giant doesn’t just stream; they tweet, hashtag, bump, lurk, troll, RT, & DM. In fact, they host 19 Facebook pages, have 20 Twitter handles, 18 Instagram accounts, and 17 YouTube channels! (Unmetric, n.d.) Unmetric says that “Netflix and chill” have now become an inescapable part of pop culture” and there isn’t a young person today that has not heard that term. Netflix even has a TUMBLR account for the older web surfers that are still using that platform.

I would say that Netflix is “at the top of their game” when it comes to effective use of their many social media channels and not much could be improved upon. An overview of Netflix’s metrics can be found on the Unmetric site here: https://unmetric.com/brands/netflix

One great example of how good Netflix is at social media marketing; The Netflix Sock Project! Netflix thought up a campaign that would help the TV watcher to control their shows in a unique way. The project consisted of an innovative DIY project involving socks, various electronics, a YouTube video and a website with published instructions. Without any paid advertising the campaign went viral and got over a billion media impressions. The campaign received hundreds of mentions in various press outlets and was even mentioned on Good Morning America!

References:

http://makeit.netflix.com/projects/socks

https://www.jocelynmccanles.work/music

Unmetric. A deep dive into the social media habits and performance of Netflix.  Retrieved from https://unmetric.com/brands/netflix

Does Regularly Mean Every Day?

I am taking a class online at Walden University called Communicating Through Media and Technology. Since I have been in the marketing field for many years, developed a couple of web pages, and used past and current technology on a regular basis, I was given the choice to replace this class with what is called a “Learning Portfolio”. I am also taking a grueling Algebra class through home study and since Math is not my strong suit, I really need to put more effort into passing that class. So, I wanted a “familiar topic” class to take concurrently with Algebra.

I created this blog page about 15 years ago, but I have not been posting regularly at all. According to Safko (2012), posting often will give your blog more visibility and increase the chances of your readers returning to your page. I would say that I normally use my Facebook page as a mini-blog and I do regularly post there, though not in paragraphs, per se. Memes and images of my new puppy have populated my profile, as of late, but a few years ago, Facebook had a tab called “Notes”, and I did write and publish there on occasion. 

One persons’ definition of regularly would be daily but another’s interpretation could be to post bi-weekly. How about you? If you currently have a blog, do you find that you post more on your social media than you do on your blog? What does “regularly” mean to you?

 Reference: Safko, L. (2012). The social media bible: Tactics, tools, and strategies for business success (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.