Messenger Kids

Facebook has just announced that they will be launching Messenger Kids. This is just like the regular Messenger but for kids the age of 13 and younger. This is great for kids who want to connect with their friends online. On the other hand, this also gives people a new way to stalk kids. Knowing that there will be young kids people can prey upon them by pretending to be another kid.

There is one big difference between Messenger and Messenger Kids. The kid's version will be its own separate app just like Messenger, but when you go in to create an account on the app you will create the account, but this will not create a Facebook account for the child or allow the child to access your Facebook account. The parent can also add a parental control panel so that their child can only talk to approved contacts. This does help minimalize the chance that your child will talk with a stranger.

I honestly have mixed feelings about this app. On one hand, it gives the child a fun way to communicate with their friends. On the other, creeps may still be able to talk to them which scares me. Tell me what you guys think, would you let your child use this app?

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Semester Book Review

In my social media class, we have read three different books. The first one was "The Art of Social Media" by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick. The second one was "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald. Finally, the third book we read was "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine.

My favorite of these books was the social media marketing book. I liked this book the best because of how in depth it went into different social media platforms, such as Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. I would definitely suggest keeping this book for future classes. The book was fun to read and easy to understand.

My least favorite book was "Measure What Matters."  The book was filled with a lot of great information. The reason I did not enjoy that much is that it was boring. Other than that, it was a good book and I would suggest keeping the book in the class.

I have really enjoyed taking this class this semester. When the class first started I thought I would end up hating the class but as it turns out I enjoyed it. I have learned so many new things about social media this past semester. I would definitely suggest this class to other students.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Finals Week

Finals week is fast approaching and so many students are in a frenzy preparing for it. I personally only have one final exam, for my other classes I only have final projects to turn in. The only test I have to take is for my TREX class, and I am praying for an A. For my foundations 1 class I have to turn in a comic strip as well as two other drawings. For visual literacy, I have to turn in my class journal. Lastly, I have to turn in an ad campaign for my design class. All of this may seem like a lot, but we have been working on these projects for the last couple of weeks. The only thing I am really worried about is my exam that I have to take. Frankly, I have never been a very good test taker and this test is making me really nervous.

But I am really excited for this semester to end so I can go back home and spend time with my family. I am also excited for Christmas, I cannot wait to eat Christmas cookies at grandma’s house. Though my favorite part is getting to decorate the Christmas tree.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Thanksgiving Dinner

This Thanksgiving my family and I all went to the Lafayette Hotel in Marietta, Ohio. This is the second year we have had Thanksgiving at the Lafayette and maybe the most interesting. The meals are served buffet style and at the end of the buffet is where the meat carvers stand and serve you either turkey or chicken. There was a slight power surge at the carving station which resulted in a small fire. Our table was seated right next to the carving station, where we watched workers quickly unplug the equipment and stomp out the fire. No one was hurt and there was also no need to evacuate so we went on eating our meal. Other than that, it was great dinner, the food was good, and we got to see friends and family. The only issue is that they are going to have to replace the carpet in the ballroom. 

The Lafayette is a very important building where I am from. It is considered to be one of the crown gems of Marietta. Not only is it important to the city but it is also important to my family. We have attended many events at the Lafayette. I have had pageants there, we have Thanksgiving there, and my uncle even got married there. So I am very happy that the Lafayette did not go up in flames this Thanksgiving.

Until next time,

Kaitlyn

Measure What Matters Chapter 13

I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 13. The book is titled "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine. Chapter 13 is titled "Measurement For Nonprofits."

The thing that I found to be interesting while reading Chapter 13 was a little section titled "Measuring Behavioral Change." There I learned that member behavior can take many forms: renewals, donations, web traffic, e-mail responses, phone calls, attendance, votes, and so on. Though measuring someone's behavioral change is a big job, you have to keep track of them on a monthly basis. After that, you need to compare the data results to your media activity and ideally to the attitude research. You should then be able to see correlations between activities in the media, communications with your membership, and behavioral outcomes. When looking at what metrics to test out I thought that Return on investment of a website was an important one. This is because if you are not making a return on your investment than for the most part it is failing financially.

I found the information in this chapter to be useful and I hope you do as well. I encourage you guys to check out this book. Especially if you are interested in learning about the marketing side of social media.

Until next time,

Kaitlyn

Thanksgiving Break

It is finally Thanksgiving Break! So far, my week has consisted of sleeping and going to the movies. I have thoroughly enjoyed the sleeping part that is for sure. Today I went to see the new Thor movie in theatres with my cousin who came in from Texas for the holidays. The movie was amazing, I was expecting it to be another full-blown action movie, but I would have also considered it a comedy as well. So many of the scenes were just too funny. I do not want to spoil the movie for anyone, if you are into superhero movies this is a must watch.

Out of all superhero franchises, I would have to say that Marvel is my favorite. This is mostly because of how everything ties in together so perfectly. Their live action tv shows tie into the movies, also how they use the same actors throughout the entire series, minus the hulk who was originally played by Edward Norton in the movie The Incredible Hulk. But overall, I really enjoy Marvel and their movies to me they are really fun to watch. My favorite of the Marvel superheroes is Captain America, and my favorite villain is Loki. But after this movie I have a feeling people might just have a different opinion of him.


Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Twitterstorm

Twitter just confirmed that they are working on a new twitterstorm feature. This feature will enable users to create a series of automatically linked tweets. The tweetstorm features provide a new option to add tweets to your composition process, with the tweets in a set then listed on the screen. You can go back to any tweet within the sequence and edit while composing. Once you’ve completed your tweets and are ready to go, you tap the ‘Tweet All’ button, and your Tweetstorm will be posted in order, with numbers automatically added to each to signify their place in the chain. Though there is a concern with the new 280 character tweets. They are afraid that the posts might be too long with the new higher character amount.

Though I am not big on Twitter I cannot wait to see what this new feature is going to be like. Though I too am concerned about the new 280 character tweet and whether the posts will be too long. Frankly, that would defeat the purpose of Twitter which is to have short and to the point tweets. What do you guys think about this feature? Are you excited about it? Or do you think it is going to be lame?

Until next time,

Kaitlyn