Linda Yang Assignment 7.4

First of all I never really enjoyed blogging or tweeting. I still do not really enjoy doing it but I do know it is a good thing to know how to do it. The only site I really enjoy using is Facebook and even with that I barely use it. I know in today society everything is going world wide and technology is always booming. The past two weeks I learned a lot, I learned to tweet as well as create a blog. I know it is not difficult to do but I just never really made one. My opinion on social media is that it is good for advertising and useful for companies, but I personally myself would not be putting out everything I do on a regular basis on full blast for the world to see.For some reason I don't find a point of having the whole world know that you are eating or now that you are having coffee, but that is just my personal preference. After these two weeks my view on social media did not change and I don't believe it will ever change. I do know that everyone these days tweet and have blogs about their personal life, I just don't think I could ever sit at a computer longer than I have to and write about myself.

Linda Yang week 7.4

Dakota Trammell Assignment 7.4

Over the last few weeks going through the different modules I have learned the importance of using social media outlets. I have personal experience with this through my work with the use of blogs, wiki's, email, and etc., but I had never really considered it anything out of the ordinary. When reading the chapters and doing the homework, especially the assignment on my current employment. I realized that my company is trying to utilize the new business tools such as social media, blogs, wiki's, and etc. to try and expand their business. I think that going forward more businesses will take this approach because it is much more convenient and cost effective than older pen and paper approaches. I did not really consider Twitter in the same category as Facebook or some of the other social media tools. I had never used Twitter and anytime I heard anything about Twitter it was somebody famous either getting their account hacked or posting something they later regretted. After signing up and looking at what all can be posted I realized that it can be a usefull business tool. It gives followers the opportunity to get quick relevant updates including links for more details on certain post. I think that if used correctly this will appeal to a younger generation that is very interested in staying connected at all times. I do not think that I personally will be more active with the social media sites that we have gone over. I am not against the sites, but I just do not find it very interesting to read every detail of casual acquaintances lives. My personal view aside, from a business aspect I do think that it can be very useful. I will continue to use our social media tools that we have available to us at my current job and in my future employment.
Dakota Trammell 7.4

Dakota Trammell Corporate Blog

The Blog that I choose to review was the blog by Randy Tinseth vice president, marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle. His blog ranges from reviewing of company information to quick updates on what is going that day. One of the things that I think makes Randy’s blog really good is that he is very active. He has multiple posts in the last week, including a blog post today. His activity in the blog keeps the information fresh and keeps the reader interested. Two of his most recent post shows the diversity of his post as well. He posted a picture and a short text showing two of the new 787 dreamlifter planes in Wichita. They only have four of these planes so to see two of them at the same place were rare and he showed the picture on his blog. It was not a real long blog just a quick update. His second blog was a review of the events of the last year and what he feels makes the company special. This blog post was more in depth and provided a quick look at the year they just completed. I think it is important that a blogger for a corporation has a good mix of content and not just long drawn out blogs reviewing company information. I think Randy shows how to keep it interesting while also informative. Here is the link for his blog http://boeingblogs.com/randy/. 

Dakota Trammell Corporate Blog

Dakota Trammell Current Employment

I am currently working for Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores. I have been working for them for the last six and half years. In the past two years they have begun to go through a major change as far as technology is concerned. When I first started with Lowe’s everything ran off of an outdated MSDOS style program. There was no access to the internet and we had very little resources to assist in our everyday jobs. Then they started investing in the technology infrastructure of the company in an effort to prepare them for the new customers that we are seeing. They upgraded the equipment, they added Google search to our computers, they invested in programs that made making estimates quicker and easier, and they began to use social media to promote the company. They now have dedicated team members that post on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools, including blogs. This has helped them reach an entire new audience and helped connect to a younger generation that will ultimately be the reason they continue to be one of the top companies in the country in the decades to come. In addition, they have also created an internal website that has blogs, wiki’s, and discussion boards that allows associates at all levels from across the country to connect with each other. This allows a cashier to post directly to CEO if they have questions or concerns, and the CEO usually will take the time to respond to most comments. This has helped keep employees in the loop on the new technology, sales promotions, special events, and other information that sometimes did not make it down the ladder with the old trickle down effect. The other advantage is that if one associate has a question they can post to a blog or wiki and other associates that may have experience in that area can post an answer. This has been helpful in becoming a more efficient company because it makes the people that have knowledge accessible to each other. Overall Lowe’s has made a concerted effort to use blogs and other social media tools to bring the company forward and attract a new generation of customers.