How i started on Facebook

In 2006, I decided to finally get a facebook account. This was my first social media site that i ever had, since i never got into the whole myspace concept. When i first started, all i used it for was to check out friend's photo and occasionally post a funny comment on somebody's status. I have never really used facebook for personal branding or anything of that nature, however, i have recently started looking into ways of doing so. I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, and i tend to either spend alot of time on it for a certain period of time, and then won't use it for quite a while. Facebook has so many advantages into the craziness we call social media, that every organization is getting involved with this site as well as other social media sites. My future goal with facebook, is to create a facebook group that i can branch out and get involved on facebook a little more.

Group Post

Click here for our group's recommendations for how to develop the ORCO major/minor presence and community on facebook.

As you may or may not know, our ORCO department has already attempted to connect with their students/faculty through this page.

More about Facebook fan pages

3 Resources for an effective Facebook fan page

1. Become a Resource: Despite the level of connection you think you have with your fans on Facebook, many still express pleasant surprise when you respond to them personally on the social network.Use fan names when you can, and respond one-on-one to the comments they make. This proves to fans you are listening and are receptive to their commentary and feedback, making it more likely that they will post in the future.
2. Offer your services, free: What is your brand known for? What would you like it to be known for? If you provide a product or a particular service like consulting or advisement, consider offering your fans a taste of it every once in a while for free! According to eMarketer, the #1 reason users become fans of a brand on Facebook is to gain access to exclusive content, events or sales. Your brand can capitalize on this desire while leveraging the brand’s capabilities by giving users an occasional exclusive pass to experience the business, free.
3. Make your fan page a complete knowledge hub: When brainstorming how to entice users to join and interact with your brand, the challenge is to come up with ways to encourage them to interact with the page continuously over time and prevent disengagement.For brands that have a rich background or require a fair amount of user education, creating a fan page containing valuable resources and information that benefit the user is essential. The goal is to capture users with an initial promotion, and to keep them returning to your page for information even after the promotion is over

Facebook group vs. Facebook fan page: What's better?

What are the differences?

1. Unlike groups, fan pages are visible to unregistered people and are thus indexed (important for reputation management, for example)
2. Unlike pages, groups allow to send out “bulk invite” (you can easily invite all your friends to join the group while with pages you will be forced to drop some invites manually). Groups are thus better for viral marketing, meaning that any group member can also send bulk invites to the friends of his.

Now, Let's get into some details:

Key Feature	Facebook Page	Facebook Group
“Ugly” URLs	No	Yes
Hosting a discussion	Yes	Yes
Discussion wall, and discussion forum	Yes	Yes
Extra applications added	Yes	No
Messaging to all members	Yes (via updates)	Yes (via PMs)
Visitor statistics	Yes (“Page insights”)	No
Video and photo public exchange	Yes	Yes
“Related” event creation and invitation	Yes	No
Promotion with social ads	Yes (never tried it)	No

TechSoup using Facebook to their advantage

About TechSoup
TechSoup uses facebook to their advantage better than most. TechSoup connects nonprofits and libraries to tech donations and resources. TechSoup, part of TechSoup Global, is a nonprofit with a clear focus: providing other nonprofits and public libraries with technology that empowers them to serve their communities. We provide technology donations and information that address the unique challenges nonprofits and public libraries face. Free learning resources — including articles, blogs, webinars, and forums led by expert hosts — are available to all TechSoup users.

The reason I wanted to share this organization with you is because i thought they ran a great facebook fan page. They have everything laid out for your viewing pleasures and it really catches your eye once you go to the page: Take a look! http://www.facebook.com/TechSoupGlobal#!/TechSoupGlobal?sk=info

Mark Zuckenberg's concept of the "social graph"

What is the "social graph"?
social graph is a term coined by scientists working in the social areas of graph theory. It has been described as "the global mapping of everybody and how they're related". The term was popularized at the Facebook f8 conference on May 24, 2007, when it was used to explain that the Facebook Platform, which was introduced at the same time, would benefit from the social graph by taking advantage of the relationships between individuals, that Facebook provides, to offer a richer online experience. The definition has been expanded to refer to a social graph of all Internet users.

How its changed the way people do business

• It draws an edge between you and the people, places, and things you interact with online
• Businesses need to realize that social is not just changing how you should market, but even how you’ll be doing business in the future if you expect to prosper.
• Let’s face it, people are interested in people. Human interactions of all kinds add context that illuminates, clarifies and cuts through the clutter. There is no question that semantic search will transform our roles as both consumers and business professionals.

About.me Page

I just set up an about.me page. I linked it to my twitter page, so feel free to check it out. The url is http://about.me/jchristo. I just started on it, so give me some time to make it look all nice and stuff.

Twitter followers

Recently, I started following 10 professionals in my field of study, 10 non-mtsu students, 10 ORCO professionals, 10 social media blogs, 10 local entrepreneurs, and 10 MTSU organizations all on twitter. Most of these people are very interesting and have very interesting stuff to read. Go check them out. My twitter name is jec 2012

Local Brand that you might find interesting

HobNobMurfreesboro.com is the fastest growing community portal (interactive community web site) that is waking up Murfreesboro, Tennessee today. According to Dictionary.com the word "HobNob" means to associate on very friendly terms or a friendly, informal chat. That is what their whole business plan is based upon; getting out there and rubbing elbows with the members of the community that are living life to the fullest. They offer community calendars, and free mini-web pages to community organizations such as schools, churches, sports leagues, theater groups and any other non-profit organization. Additionally, they offer free blogs, discussion boards and a Classifieds Ad section for autos or any other item for sale by owner and free job postings. HobNobMurfreesboro.com is "People-Powered" - built by the people, for the people of the Murfreesboro, TN community.See More by clicking on this link

http://www.facebook.com/HobNobMurfreesboro?sk=info

Professional Individual Blog That I Found Interesting

I found this blog to be very interesting. Its well made and you can tell quite a bit of time went into making this blog what it is. I am going to be following this blog for a while to learn some tips and share new creative ways to implement ideas in my blog. Check it out.

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/

ORCO Professionals and how they use SMC in sports management

3 ways ORCO Professionals use SMC in Sports Management

Sports management and the usage of social media has become extremely vital over the past couple years. Team Facebook pages are ubiquitous as are player Tweets.  Sports marketing has embraced social media because of the unprecedented connection it fosters with the fan base.  However, many players are still not cashing in on this opportunity. Here are a few reasons why players should manage their social media well.

1. To increase endorsement opportunities-For professional athletes looking to capitalize on the endorsement market before their playing days are over, social media can help.  Athlete social media usage can monetize their popularity because brands are looking to gain access to their fans.  By building a strong following on social media, an athlete improves his/her marketability to companies looking for ways to spend their sports marketing dollars
2. Develop a personal brand that connects with fans-
   The perfect example of an athlete using social media effectively to build a brand is Shaq.  Shaq’s social media platforms give fans a unique insight into his world that would not otherwise be available.  Thus creating a cult following that is eager to consume and spread his latest content.
3. Preparing for life after the last game-
   Social media is the new chapter in sports marketing and the intelligent athlete will boost his/her potential by engaging with their fan base in this new era.

Sports teams just dont have followers--they have rabid fans. For instance, the Los Angeles Lakers use social media to their advantage than any other organization does in sports. They have over 1.6 million followers on twitter, almost doubling the second best  team with the most followers. I've found this to be very interesting, and will be following and analyzing them through the rest of the semester.