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

Measure What Matters Chapter 11

I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 8. The book is titled "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine. Chapter 11 is titled "Threats To Your Reputation: How To Measure Crises."

While reading through this chapter one section stood out to me. The section is titled "Trust is the Key to Building and Defending Your Reputation." Trust to me is the most important part in relationship, whether it is with co-workers, consumers or viewers. In the book it says that there are three parts to trust competence, integrity and dependability. Out of these three I find that competence is most important, because if you do not have the ability to do something you said you can do then you do not deserve to be trusted in my opinion. I also found that competence and dependability are similar but at the same time completely different. They both have to do with doing what they say they will, but the big difference is in ability versus actually doing it. Competence is the belief that an organization has the ability to do what it says it will do. Dependability is the belief that an organization will do what it says it will do.

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

Book Project

For a little over a week now, my design class has been working on a book project. The project was to go out and find letters, numbers, or punctuations in either nature or architecture. I chose to do nature because I love being outside and I have also done a similar project to this in high school. For the photography portion of this project, I actually went back home to take the pictures. I did this because back home we have a lot of parks and wildlife trails. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the project.

  

After we were done taking photos we needed to find out what letter could go with the picture. For the flower on the left, I chose to match it with the period to represent the dots on the flower. For the rose, I chose the letter o to represent the water droplets. For the mums, I chose the letter c to represent the petals. Then we had to create a way for them to come together and work cohesively. Here are the photos with their letters.

I titled the book Quiet Zone because the feeling of the book is supposed to be peaceful, calming, and quiet. Though I only showed three there were twelve pictures in total for this book. I hope you guys liked my photos, please let me know in the comments.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Facebook Revamp

Facebook is revamping the way their stories tool functions. They are doing this by getting rid of Messenger Day and replacing it with cross-posted Facebook Stories. According to Facebook, there was a lot of confusion on how the tool worked. The new that they are replacing it with will allow you to cross-post, meaning that any story you post on Facebook or Messenger will now be viewable on both apps. They have also announced that you will soon be able to post from Facebook or Messenger to Instagram, but not the other way around.

I will be completely honest when I learned that Facebook was getting rid of messenger day I honestly had no idea what they were talking about. When I finally found out what it was, and it did not intrigue me in the least. Tough now that I know about this I have to say that I am excited to see what Facebook will be coming out with. I also really enjoyed that fact that we can soon share from Facebook or Messenger to Instagram. I think it will be really cool seeing all three apps connected like that. Though I am a bit disappointed that you cannot share from Instagram to Facebook and Messenger.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Measure What Matters Chapter 8

I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 8. The book is titled "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine. Chapter 8 is titled "How To Measure Influencers And Thought Leadership."

For the most part this chapter talks about how important relationships are with influencers and how you can measure your relationship with them. What I considered to be the most important and informative part of this chapter was the section titled " How to Build a Custom List of the Top 100 Influencers in Your Marketplace." An influencer can be anyone who knows something about your product, your market, or your business. For you to find the correct influencers you need you first need to understand that who and what matters to your target audience is very important. Another important thing to do is to search for blogs that already mention your product or business. After you have found those you can get a better idea of what your target audience likes and then go from there.

Once you have found your 100 blogs and bloggers figure out which of them is most important and then rank them. A good way to rank them is by ranking them in terms of numbers of mentions, for example who ever mentions you the most should be ranked number one. It is important to know who your best influencers are because those are the people who are helping your business the most.

I thought that this chapter was helpful, and 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

Facebook Polls

Facebook is now also adding a new poll option, with all profiles and Pages now able to add GIFs and images in their polls to generate more interest. This is giving individuals and brand pages a way to attract more attention to their polls in the News Feed. Lately, as a way to tally voting and using pictures, they asked viewers to use reactions as a way to vote. This tactic was especially used during live streaming. But with this new update, it is much easier to vote without having to use reactions. Facebook often advised against using reactions to vote, most likely because there are only so many reactions and some of them can be quite insulting or mean.

With the new updated version of the polls, it is quite easy to start one. When you go to compose a status update, you will see a new poll option, with the ability to attach a relevant image or GIF. You can even set your own time limit of a day, a week, or just leave it running indefinitely. Though if you do set a time limit your viewers will be able to see it, that way they know exactly how much time they have left to vote.

This new feature seems very interesting, I cannot wait to try it out for myself. If you guys test out be sure to comment down below what you would want to take a poll of.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

My Weekend Home

This past weekend I decided to make the 4-hour drive back home. I was really happy to be having a nice home cooked meal for a change. Saturday morning my grandfather took me and my dog to McDonough Park to take pictures for one of my classes. After we left the park we went to Scotts Landscaping to take a few more photos, and I was really happy with the way one of my photos turned out. Then he took me to Holl's Chocolate, you have not lived until you have eaten Holl's Chocolate. He got me a giant caramel chocolate apple and a box of chocolates. Later on, my mom and grandmother took me shopping for clothes. Sunday was probably the best day of all. My mom ordered my favorite pizza from Pizza Hut and my family came over to have lunch with me before I left to go back to school. The drive home was probably the worst part of my weekend. Not only did I miss my family, but I drove through a huge storm. Honestly, it was nothing I could not handle I have driven through far worse conditions. What really freaked me out was the fact that there was apparently a tornado touchdown while I was driving through the storm. But I never once heard an alert on my radio.

Overall, I had a really great weekend at home. I still miss my family terribly, but I know that they will always be there to support me.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Measure What Matters Chapter 3

I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 3. The book is titled "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine. Chapter 3 is titled "Seven Steps To The Perfect Measurement Program: How To Prove Your Results And Use Your Results To Improve."

I find the title to be a mouth full but the chapter itself was very straightforward. The steps were easy to follow and understand, and it also did not take very long to read. The step that to me is the most important is step one "Define Your Goals And Objectives: Why Are You Launching This Plan Or Pursuing This Strategy? What Is The "R" In The ROI That You Are Seeking To Measure?" If you do not know what your goals are then you will never get anywhere in any situation, not just marketing. You need to make sure you have a good reason for pursuing or launching anything, you need to make that it connects back to your goal or objective. Do not go pursuing something that will not help you with your goal, in the end, it is only a waste time, energy and resources.

I thought that this chapter was very insightful, and I encourage you guys to definitely check out this book. Especially if you are interested in learning about the marketing side of social media.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Go Live With a Friend

Instagram has added a new feature called go live with a friend. It is easy to use and fun. The first thing you want to do is open the camera on the upper left-hand side of your Instagram home screen and then you want to select the Live option, as you normally would. After that tap the two happy face icon on the bottom right and then just tap the “Add” button to invite anyone who is currently watching your Live Story. They must be watching your Live Story to be added to the feed. Once they join, the screen is split into two, and your guest will pop up right below you on the video feed. If you want, you can even switch out the person you are talking with. Just close out the person you are currently talking with, or they can just close themselves out, and then just add a new person to talk with.

I think this is a really cool new feature and I cannot wait to try it out for myself. I hope you guys will check out this new feature and tell me about it. I really want to hear your guys opinions so do not be shy and comment down below.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Another Family Weekend

This weekend my family came to visit me again. But first I want to congratulate my brother on his cross-country race he ran this weekend. He ran a three-mile race in 19 minutes and 19 seconds, and the weather was horrible it rained, sleeted, snowed, and was at freezing temperatures. I was told that the rest of the team did a great job as well. A big congratulation to Eli Flowers who is also a freshman for qualifying for state, I wish him the best of luck. Later, after the race, they came up here to Ohio Northern University (ONU) to visit me. When they finally got here all of us were very hungry, so we headed out to dinner. We ate dinner at Red Lobster where my little brother and I both got chocolate lava cookies. After we went back to the hotel where we crashed because everyone was exhausted. The next morning, we ate at IHOP after we loaded up on breakfast foods we went shopping. We went to Sam's Club to shop for me and load up on snacks and food. After we finished there they took me back to the dorms and we said our goodbyes. Though we did not do too much this weekend I was happy enough just seeing them.


Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Measure What Matters

Recently my class just started a new book "Measure What Matters," by Katie Paine. This book tells the readers all about online tools for understanding customers, social media and engagement. The book also talks about Social Media Measurement. This book talks about what this is and goes beyond looking at how many likes or shares something has. I have no doubt that as I continue to read this book I will understand what social media measurement really is.

I hope you guys will consider checking out this book, so far it has been really helpful. Here is a link to her website.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Design Week at ONU

Today Design Week begins at Ohio Northern University(ONU). Design week is where ONU and AIGA partner up for a week-long event of art, games and fun. This is the schedule so far for Design Week:

• Monday, Oct. 23: Greeting Cards with a Cause
• Tuesday, Oct. 24: Design Trivia Night
• Wednesday, Oct. 25: Abstract: The Art of Design (Paula Scher)
• Thursday, Oct. 26: Design Thinking Workshop (A&D students only)
• Thursday, Oct. 26: Myda Iamiceli Lecture & Presentation
• Friday, Oct. 27: Design Thinking Workshop (open to all students)

The only event that is mandatory for all Art and Design majors is this Fridays Design Thinking Workshop. This workshop will be led by Prof. Myda Iamiceli. All they ask you to bring is an open mind.

I for one am getting really excited for my first design week here at ONU.

Until next time,

Kaitlyn

Facebook Takes on LinkedIn

Facebook is adding yet another new feature. Though still in the testing phase this new feature allows users to upload a virtual resume, similar to LinkedIn. It is similar to the already existing work history feature on your personal page, but this enables you to add more specific career detail. This is a clear sign that Facebook is now taking on LinkedIn. It has been obvious that Facebook has been trying to takedown Snapchat by adding features such as their new camera features. Facebook is looking to become the biggest social media platform, running down and challenging nearly all other social media platforms. Now it seems that LinkedIn is their next target.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

What To Do

There are many things to do in and around Ada, but my favorite is going to Ottawa Metro Park. I chose this because I find the park to be incredibly relaxing. Please watch and enjoy this short video I put together about the park.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Social Media Marketing Chapter 8

I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 8. The book is titled "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald. Chapter 8 is titled "Pinterest." Just to clarify I am using the 2017 version of this book.

Pinterest has become a popular source of social media over the years. Here are some tips and tricks for Pinterest users. Use your boards wisely, boards are collections of pins on certain topics that you may find interesting. A collaboration is a very useful tool when working with others. You can invite others to comment on your boards, pins and even allow them to pin items to your board. This a very handy tool when working on group projects, whether for school or work. You can also follow other people's boards to see what new and interesting ideas they may have found.

I found these tips to be interesting, especially the one about collaboration because I never knew you could do that on Pinterest. If you want to learn more about Pinterest than go check out this book.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

My Weekend

This weekend I did absolutely nothing and I loved it. There is something nice about sleeping in and relaxing. I like to relax by watching a movie or taking a nap. This weekend I watched the entire "Jaws" series. I noticed that as the movies progressed the special effects got worse and worse to a point where I was laughing at them. I found this weekend to be very relaxing and much needed, mostly because I really needed to catch up on my sleep.

So, what do you guys like to do over the weekends? What do you do to try and relax?

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Snapchat Context Cards

Snapchat has truly stepped up its game by adding their new feature "Context Cards." With these cards, you will be able to find things or events you like, check out the details and book a cab to take you to it, right from within the app. You can do this all on Snap Maps, you will be able to see all these locations. Though Context Cards won’t be available on every Snap, they will only be available on Snaps which have been tagged with the company’s venue-specific Geofilter, or on any Snap that’s been submitted to the public ‘Our Story’ feed. This will prevent your personal Snaps from being tagged and people showing up at your location.

I have seen this new feature and it is unbelievably cool if you have Snapchat you need to check it out.

Until next time,

Kaitlyn

Facebook Facial Recognition

Facebook is currently working on a new security application for its user's accounts. Though this new application is still in the testing phase. Many are excited about this new feature that is soon coming out. Given that Facebook already has advanced image recognition systems capable of picking out specific people in photos, it seems well within their capacity to add this in.

I cannot wait to test out this new feature myself, hopefully this new feature will be able to keep my friends from getting onto my account.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

My Weekend Home

I had an amazing extended weekend at home with my family. My weekend officially started on Friday when I went to my Uncle's house in Cincinnati. While there I visited my cousin Adam at University of Cincinnati, we hung out and he showed me around some of the campus. On Saturday we had a birthday party for my little cousin Jake, and later that night I headed back home to Belpre. On Sunday I got to hang out with my best friend Monique, while there we watched movies and talked about what was currently going on with school. Monday, I spent the entire day with my mom, we spent the day lying around and watching Hallmark movies. I know it does not sound like a very exciting weekend but I loved every minute of it because I got to spend it with my friends and family.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Social Media Marketing Chapter 7

I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 7. The book is titled "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald. Chapter 7 is titled "YouTube." Just to clarify I am using the 2017 version of this book.

This chapter gives several tips on how to properly use YouTube. One of these tips is how to setup a YouTube channel. The following are the steps to setting up a YouTube channel:

1. You need to first login to your Google account. If you do not have a Google account you will need to set one up.
2. Next go to YouTubes website.
3. Then go to your channel list.
4. Finally click on create a new channel.

After you have done this you will want to upload your first video. You can upload a video by doing the following:

1. First click on your YouTube profile picture.
2. Then select "Creator Studio."
3. Next on the right-hand side select "Upload."
4. Finally, you select the video you wish to upload, and start uploading.

Until next time,

Kaitlyn

Social Media Marketing Chapter 5

I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 5. The book is titled "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald. Chapter 5 is titled "Twitter." Just to clarify I am using the 2017 version of this book.

Twitter is like most other social media platforms, especially Facebook. The difference though between Twitter and Facebook, is that Twitter is shorter, faster and noisier than Facebook.  Though there are a few things that set Twitter apart from the rest. For example, in Facebook you can write a lengthy post with almost no character limitation, but with Twitter you can only write tweet that is up to 140 characters long. What really makes Twitter unique is that it is more open than any other social media platform. Anyone can make a Twitter account in a matter of minutes and start tweeting, and there is no authentication check. Also, everyone can see your posts and anyone can message you, no friending required.

If you want to learn more about Twitter and how to properly use it, than go check out this book.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Art Gallery

This past Friday, my design class went to the Stambaugh Art Gallery in the Freed Center and there we hung up our most recent project. This project was to create environmental-themed posters for each letter of the alphabet. The two letters I received were A and R, and the subjects I chose for those two letters were agal blooms and rainforest logging.

An agal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. Agal blooms have severe impacts on human health, aquatic ecosystems and the economy.

Rainforest logging is the process of cutting down hundreds and thousands of trees that are essential to the rainforest. Trees provide oxygen and are part of the water cycle. Without trees, the forest would become a dry wasteland leaving hundreds of species without homes and oxygen.

Be sure to go and check out the exhibit!

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Snapchat Sky Filter

Everyone is excited over Snapchat's new feature, the sky filter. This new filter enables you to change the look of the sky in your picture. To apply the new sky filter, take your photo and make sure the sky is visible in your scene. Then simply swipe as you normally would to apply a filter. This is one of the new features that are marking the sixth birthday of Snapchat.

I have tried this new feature and it is extremely freaky but at the same time it is really cool. If have Snapchat then I suggest that you try this new feature I believe you will enjoy it.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Scholarship Brunch Live Tweet

As some of you may know I recently went to the scholarship brunch. During this event I was live tweeting, and you can see those tweets here on my storify. Please be sure and check it out.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Social Media Marketing Chapter 2

Today I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 2. The book is titled "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald. Chapter 2 is titled "Content Marketing."

With content marketing, your primary focus should be on your content. The first step you can take is identifying content that you can easily produce. To accomplish this, you must first inventory you and your company's skill set. Then you must ask yourself, "What type of content is easy for you, your company, and your customers to produce?" Will this be a short written post, a picture or maybe a video? This is for you and your consumers to decide.

To find out the rest of the steps you can take to improve your content marketing, be sure to check out Jason McDonald's book.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Homecoming Weekend

This weekend at Ohio Northern University (ONU) was homecoming weekend. So many events took place this weekend, some being the football game, homecoming dance, the parade and the scholarship brunch. My favorite part though had to have been the scholarship brunch. This is partially because they had orange bread there and that got me excited. But the most important part of this morning was getting to meet the couple that is supporting my journey here at ONU. I was the first recipient of the Toby Ratliff Baker Scholarship. Mrs. Baker is the former first lady of the university. I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. & Dr. Baker at the scholarship brunch. Mrs. Baker is one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Before I left she and Dr. Baker told me that they wanted to keep in touch and updates on my journey here at ONU, and they said if I was ever having trouble I could contact them. I happily told them that I would love to keep in touch with them. Overall this was an amazing weekend and I cannot wait for next year.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Facebooks New Update

Facebook just got another new update! The new update is called the Reactions Store. This is a new update on Facebooks 'reactions', a tool that allows you to react to other people's posts using different emoji's. This feature has been playing a big role in Facebook since it came out nearly two years ago. With the new update, you can now select your reaction emoji's, some different types of reactions are baseball reactions, mustache reactions, Halloween reactions, and even various skin tone reactions.

Sadly, this new feature is not out yet, it is currently still in the testing stage. Also, it is unknown whether this will be a paid or free feature. Personally, I cannot wait for this new feature to arrive, though I will be very disappointed if I have to pay for it.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Social Media Marketing Chapter 1

Today I would like to discuss the new book we are reading in class, specifically Chapter 1. The book is titled "Social Media Marketing Workbook" by Jason McDonald. Chapter 1 is titled "Party On." The chapter is about how social media marketing is like throwing a party.

Invitations are like promotions. For a party you need to create an attendee list, and then send out invitations to your guest. In social media marketing, you must find your target audience and figure out how to get them to "attend" your social media page.

Entertainment is like content. When it comes to a party you need to know what your entertainment will be. Will you have a band, a magician, or just music? For social media marketing, you need to know why people will "hangout" on your page. Will your content be funny, fun, or informative?

Hosting is like on-going management. As the host of a party your job is to meet, greet, and make sure everything is okay. In social media marketing, you also need to be doing these tasks. You should be interacting with your guest and "kicking out" any rude guests. Your social media needs constant behind-the-scenes management, this is to ensure that everything is running smoothly.

So far, I have really enjoyed reading this book. If you want to learn more about how to improve your social media marketing skills, then this is the book for you.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Snapchat and Bitmojis

Last year Snapchat bought Bitmoji for $64 million. Since then, Bitmoji has become a huge part of what Snapchat is today. Just recently Snapchat has updated Bitmoji to where you can now interact with your Bitmoji as well as make them 3D. You can do this by first updating your Snapchat, then opening the app and turning it to the rear-facing camera. Next bring up your lenses menu; you will then see your 3D Bitmoji options pop up. After picking one, place it wherever you want. You can also walk alongside your Bitmoji.

Personally, I think this is cool because I love using Bitmoji when I am on Snapchat. I tried this new feature myself and I enjoyed it. I hope you will try it as well and enjoy it as much as I do.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Siblings Weekend

This weekend was Ohio Northern University's (ONU) "Siblings Weekend." My brother, mother and  best friend all made the four-hour drive to come see me. I was especially happy to see my best friend Monique; I have not seen her since the day before I left for ONU. She stayed the night in my room and we sat and talked until midnight. Nearly two hours after we went to bed, the fire alarm sounded. If I had not woken Monique up, she more than likely would have slept through the alarm. Luckily it was just a false alarm and we soon went back into the dorms.

While my brother was here, he was constantly mistaken for a college student, even though he is a freshman in high school. While at the Harvest and Herb Festival in Ada, Ohio, military recruiters thought he was a college student and tried to recruit him. He also met one of my professors who also thought he was a student here at ONU. It was a fun and interesting weekend with him here. Sadly the fun could not last forever; after we ate brunch on Affinity Lawn, they headed home. I cannot wait to see my family again when I head home in a few weeks for fall break.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

The Interview

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing my uncle about his job. His name is Ian Brown, he is a chief creative officer at 500 Degrees Studio. I asked him the following questions:

1. Where do you work, and what is your position?
2. What do you consider to be the most important part of your job?
3. What is the story behind you choosing this career?
4. What social media platform does your job use the most, if any?
5. What social media platform do you use the most?
6. What do you use that platform for?
7. What medium does your company use the most? (Paint, Pencil, graphic design)
8. What app or software do you use the most?
9. What do you look for when you hire people?
10. What problem in social media are you coming across the most?
11. What would you suggest to people wanting to go into this career?

Here is the link to the podcast so you can hear his answers. https://kleach1.podbean.com/e/interview-1505230817/

Snapchat and Colleges

Snapchat is teaming up with college newspapers, at first Snapchat was against this move but now they have come around to the idea. They have officially announced that they will be expanding their Publisher Stories to include school publications. So far, they have only teamed up with the 4 following schools:

• ‘The Daily Californian’ from UC Berkeley
•  ‘The Battalion’ from Texas A&M
• ‘The Daily Orange’ from Syracuse
• ‘The Badger Herald’ from Wisconsin

Snapchat is distributing these stories through geofencing, that way only students physically located on campus can see the stories. Personally, I think this is a smart move for Snapchat, because I think this will get the college demographic to participate even more in Snapchat. I also think this will be great for the students at the college newspapers because they will be getting a lot of experience by doing these sorts of things. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

Until next time, 

Kaitlyn

My Weekend Home

This weekend I made the 4-hour drive back home. While I was there, I attended the Sternwheel Festival, where I was a contestant of the Queen Genevieve Pageant. Sadly, I did not win, though I do plan to try again next year. I had a great time at the festival with all the other contestants. I enjoyed touring all the boats and helping with the Little Miss and Mr. Pageant. My favorite part about this weekend was seeing my family and my dog. Before I left, I got to eat my favorite pizza with my grandmother for lunch. On the way back to Ohio Northern University (ONU), I stopped to interview my uncle for an assignment. Afterwards, I finally made it back to ONU.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Chapters 11&12

Today I would like to discuss Chapters 11 and 12 of the book we are reading in class. The book is titled "The Art of Social Media" by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick.

Chapter 11 was titled "How to Optimize for Individual Platforms." This chapter gives several tips for different social media platforms. The following are subsections and their summaries for this chapter:

• "Tips for Facebook": Be sure to use Facebook's Page Insights. This provides you statistics to help you determine what is working for your account.
• "Tips for Google+": Your Google+ profile badge can be embedded into your blog or website. This can convince people to read your Google+ page.
• "Tips for Instagram": Use filters as much as possible to enhance images.
• "Tips for LinkedIn": Be sure to focus on core topics to establish thought leadership.
• "Tips for Pinterest": Use secret boards to collaborate with others on private projects.
• "Tips for SlideShare": This platform does not use audio, so others must interpret the message from the slides.
• "Tips for Twitter": Repeating tweets can increase the amount of clicks your tweets receive.
• "Tips for YouTube": Be sure to remind your audience of your posting schedule.

I found this chapter to be extremely helpful because it had so many tips for different social media platforms.

Chapter 12 was titled "How to Put Everything Together." This is the last chapter of the book, and only has three subsections. The following are the subsections and their summaries for this chapter:

• "Build the Foundation": Be sure to refresh all profiles, avatars and email signatures to make sure they all match.
• "Amass Your Digital Assets": Create an intro/outro clip that is 3 to 4 seconds long of the book cover to use with all other videos.
• "Go to Market": Be sure to share two curated posts, as opposed to created, per day per platform.

I deeply enjoyed reading this book throughout my class. If you want to learn the art of social media, be sure to check out this book.

Until next time,

Kaitlyn

My Gandparents Visit

This past weekend my grandparents came to visit me here on campus. They arrived here on campus Saturday evening and left on Sunday around 1. The first thing we did after they came in and saw my dorm room, was go out to eat. We ate at Red Lobster, there we ate good food and talked about all the things I missed at home. After we ate my grandmother took me shopping, she got me two pairs of pants and took me to get my nails done. After all that I took my grandmother back to her hotel and told them I would see them tomorrow.

The next day they came around noon to pick me up for lunch. We went to eat at I Hop, I was extremely happy because I love I Hop but we don't have one where I am from. After lunch they took me back to campus and we had to say our goodbyes. I was extremely sad to see them go, I love my grandparents so much and they have been with me my entire life helping every step of the way. I can't wait until I get to see them again.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

YouTube's New Look

Some of you may have noticed that YouTube got a new look. The first change you probably noticed was the change in the layout. The iconic red and white layout has now changed to just white. The biggest change to me though is in their logo. Their logo has changed from the iconic YouTube, to now feature the YouTube play button. But YouTube has done more than just change their look, they have added various updates in hopes to please their users. For example they have added various playback speeds, improved functionality, faster content and a new feature called dark theme. Dark theme is a new feature only available on the desktop version of YouTube. Dark theme is where the background is completely black, this is to offer a better viewing experience in low-light situations.

Personally, I am excited to explore these new changes that were much needed. I hope you guys will also check out all these new and interesting features.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Chapters 5&6

Today I would like to again discuss the book we are reading in class, and this time I would like to discuss Chapters 5 and 6. The book is titled "The Art of Social Media" by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick.

Chapter 5 is titled "How to Integrate Social Media and Blogging." This chapter talks about all the ways you can use social media to promote your blog and vice versa. This chapter tells you how to add social media buttons for sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. One of the most important things I believe this blog talks about is creating an email list. In the section titled "Start an E-mail List," it gives tips an steps on how to do this. Here are the following tips it provides:

• Create a custom graphic
• Perfect the subject line
• Keep it short
• Provide a complete signature
• Cut the quotations
• Don't spam people

These tips will help you create "a powerful marketing tool," as the author said. This is because people are more likely to read an email than to read a social media post.

Chapter 6 is titled "How to Get More Followers." This chapter was extremely short with only two tips on how to get more followers, share good stuff and jump on new platforms. If you jump on a new platform as soon as it opens, it is easier to get more followers since there are fewer people on that platform. In the book, the author has this to say about new platforms: "A new platform is a landgrab: if you want to have a lot of followers on it, you have to move rapidly, where 'rapidly' means before it's clear that the platform will succeed."

If you are interested in learning more about the art of social media, then get this book. This book is a great tool for anyone interested in taking their blogging and social media a step further.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Snap Map

For those that love to use Snapchat you probably already know about its new feature Snap Map. When I updated my Snapchat and saw this new feature I became both excited and concerned. Excited because I know can see where my friends are and where events are taking place. But the reason it concerns me is that others can track me, and I don't know how I feel about that. To me privacy is a really big deal, I really enjoy my privacy. So having someone know where I am at all the time is kind of spooky.

That's why I went to the settings of Snap Map to see if I could turn it off or even just adjust it. As it turns out you can turn off the location settings or even make it to where only a few certain people see your location. I changed the settings to where only my brother, my cousin, and my best friend could see my location. This made me a bit happier after I had learned this. If you have Snapchat and have yet to look at this new feature I definitely suggest you take a look at it.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

Chapters 3&4

Today I would like to discuss the book we are reading in class, specifically chapters 3 and 4. The book is titled "The Art of Social Media" by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick.

Chapter 3 is titled "How to Perfect Your Posts." In this chapter they talk about how to make your post more interesting, bold, organized, and much more. One of my favorite quotes in this chapter is under the section titled "Be Bold" it says "My theory is that if you're not pissing people off on social media, you're not using it right." I really liked this because I understood what he was saying, if you are trying to please everyone then more than likely your posts will be pretty boring but if you state your opinion loud and clear no matter what others may think then you should have more interesting blog posts.

Chapter 4 is titled "How to Respond to Comments." I found this chapter to be very interesting, it talks about how to properly respond to comments so that way other viewers won't think you're crazy. The one thing that really stuck with me is when the author says "You can never go wrong by taking the high road, because winning the war for class and credibility is more important than winning the battle with one commenter." I find this to be a very important lesson, because even if one commenter is getting on your nerves you cannot lose your cool and attack them. Approach the subject calmly and if that still doesn't work then take the high road and stop communicating with them, just drop the subject.

I have truly enjoyed reading this and if you enjoyed listening to me talk about it and want to learn how to learn the art of social, then I suggest that you buy this book it is an extremely useful tool.

Until next time,
Kaitlyn

My move to ONU

Hi, my name is Kaitlyn. Recently I just made the move to Ohio Northern University, and to be honest it was the best move I have ever made. I am an Advertising Design major with a minor in Social Media. Though this is my first year here at ONU I am actually a sophomore, because when I graduated from high school I also graduated with an associates degree from the local community college. So for the next three years I plan to work hard and enjoy life here at ONU.
                                                                                             
Until next time,
Kaitlyn