podcasting

After being instructed on how to use Audacity and being introduced to the wonder that is podcasting, I must say that I might start downloading them regularly. I know that podcasting isn’t something new, but it was new to me. Podcasting is basically like having your own radio show in which you can talk about absolutely anything you’d like to. Maybe you’re really interested in medical terminology, or knitting, or anything else. Whatever it may be, you can now record yourself and share your knowledge with others.

I went ahead and ran a google search for the benefits of podcasting, and found a couple interesting things. According to socialmediatrader.com, the benefits of podcasting include:

• Reach a new audience
• Build a relationship with your listeners
• Highlight your authority
• Increase advertising potential
• Respond to customer feedback

I think these benefits pertain to someone with an established, popular podcast with a large following. Nonetless, there are also benefits for beginners who just want to get their voices heard (literally). Just as blogging has given anyone the ability to become reporters, podcasting has enabled us to be radio talks show hosts.

Social Media: Responsible for users actions?

Google Case in Italy Has Serious Implications for the Web

This article explains the case in which Google executives are being held responsible for a video posted on GoogleVideo that depicted a group of kids bullying an autistic child

Should these executives be held accountable for postings made on their site? Should Mark Zuckerberg creator of facebook, be held accountable for any facebook stalking that may lead to real like stalking? No! Blaming a company or its executives for the actions of other people that they have had no previous contact with, seems absolutely absurd. Punishing owners for someone else’s content does not make the situation right, nor does it do anything to fix the situation. The article states that the four Google executives “ did not appear in it, film it, upload it or review it. None of them know the people involved or were even aware of the video's existence until after it was removed." If this is the case, then how could they possibly be at fault? Obviously, social media sites cannot control everything posted on their sites. And even though some of them use filters and have certain restrictions, it would be absolutely impossible to review every facebook status, and every video uploaded.

On one hand of this issue, users are fully responsible for their own actions, but on the other hand, site owners should monitor whatever information is uploaded or placed on their sites. But obviously, like I stated before, it would be impossible to monitor each and every post. Just as with any large website that embraces social networking tactics, there is no way to stop the movement or check on it. So executives (especially high ranking ones whose job description does not include filtering content) should not be held responsible.

So, what do you think,
Should Social Media Be Held Accountable for User Actions?

Unveiling the New Influencers

The beginning of Unveiling the New Influencers exerted pretty much the opposite opinion of the other article I just posted. It states that in the past, companies were able to control the content that was available to the public in order to get their advertisements or overall messages out to us. But now, in this new social media era, that’s pretty much over. This new revolution is putting “the customer back in the spotlight” and giving us the upperhand, so to speak. Being able to communicate through social networks about products gives us an authority that was unknown to the general public a couple of years ago. Companies must now be weary of the messages they send, because any of us could tweet, blog, or post an unsettling status about them.

Social Media- Worst Practices

Interestingly, this article negates everything we’ve been taught lately in a lot of our communication classes. Lately, everyone has agreed to the face that social media marketing is the new outlet for most companies. But this article states that the just because facebook announced that their number of worldwide users had reached 200 million in 2009, doesn’t mean we should all jump on the social media bandwagon just yet. It also suggests that you’d have to hire someone manage all of these sites, and that it would be too much of a hassle and not worth the time or money. Considering that a lot of companies DO have someone managing their sites and all the progress they’ve seen because of it, I cant see why this article is so against it. Most companies don’t hire someone primarily to keep their social networking sites going, but rather they let PR assistants or another qualified person handle it. The article goes onto make a couple more points as to why social media marketing is not the way to go, but I found these two to be the most interesting and contradicting of what seems to be happening in the world right now.

After reading this article and getting my own del.icio.us account, I am intrigued. The idea of social bookmarking never seemed appealing or very interesting to me, but it really is convenient! “bookmarking” your interests and getting a peak into others interests (who might share some with you) is a little enlightening I think. Typing in a tag opens a wide assortment of things that can help you explore your interests or find some new ones. At first it is a little overwhelming, but it’s easy to get over the initial shock of having so much relevant information brought directly to you.

Wanted: social networks manager for Obama!

For quite some time now, I’ve known that social media is a growing trend whose invasion seems limitless, so the fact that the president is in need of a “Social Networks Manager” doesn’t seem very extreme. Maybe a couple years ago, this wouldn’t seem like such a necessity, but in times like these, even the democratic party is apparently in need of social network managing. Although the qualifications don’t seem too elite, I’m sure candidates will be put through some sort of real tests to see if they have what it takes to manage the networks of something as important as the democratic party and Organizing for America.