Crystal Amberlyn

This year, I added a social media minor. Whether it was a mistake or not, I am still unsure. Social media principles is a required course for the minor. During this course, I have worked a lot, learned a lot and cried a lot. Overall, the class was enjoyable, but I do have some suggestions. Entering this course, I heard it required a lot of work, but I was up for the challenge. I admit I became very stressed hearing I would have to blog three times a week as well as learn and use The Associated Press writing style. In the end, I actually found this to be an enjoyable challenge. Through this course, I was expecting to learn the many different social media platforms as well as how to best use them for business purposes. This was successfully taught, but it went a little further than expected. The content of the last book, “Measure What Matters,” went far above my head. Personally, I felt it went too far toward marketing and public relations than social media. As a graphic design...

My mother and I are Christians. Through the years, my mother has told me of times she had seen angels or other signs of God.   Some may think they are only stories or exaggerations. Honestly, I cannot say whether they are or not, but I trust my mother to be true. Now, I understand and respect not everyone is Christian, and this blog does not intend to change anyone’s religious beliefs. I only wish to share my mother’s spiritual encounters I have grown up hearing so much about. The first spiritual encounter my mother had was shortly before the birth of my brother Jacob in 1985. She said, “ A beautiful angel appeared to me in my sleep, and I was amazed at her presence. She told me she had come to give me a message. The message was, ‘Blessed is Jacob.’” My mother could not believe what she saw. She is not sure why it happened or why her baby was blessed. It never happened with her other two children. I have personally heard this story many times, but she is hesitant to tell othe...

When you think you have found the one, it is common to want to let everyone know. Therefore, you spread the word through social media. You change your relationship status on Facebook, and you put your anniversary date in your bio on Instagram. Is this wrong? Not exactly, but Andrew Arnold explains in his article social media can have a negative impact on your relationship if you let it. Some may think this is another hoax to get people off social media, but Havas Media conducted a study which shows the true impact social media has on people. Their survey found nearly one-third of participants exaggerate on social media, including about their relationships. Also, 68% said they have used social media to check on ex-partners, and 75% said they feel social media can destroy or harm relationships. Why is this? Well, Arnold explains, “this is most likely because social media has a way of creating insecurities and frictions, and young people find a need to present themselves and th...

People have reputations and so do companies. In both situations, they mean a lot. The main difference is a person will survive if he or she has a bad reputation, but a company may not. In “Measure What Matters,” Katie Paine explains how your company’s reputation can have large effects on its success. Through my experience as a consumer, I have noticed once a company’s reputation turns negative in my mind, it can be hard to turn it around. Therefore, it is important to pay close attention to your reputation and be prepared when a threat to your reputation arrives. Paine explains “crises occur when events threaten your reputation.” Some crises are bound to occur, but they can possibly be avoided. First, listen carefully to your audience. Notice how Paine adds “carefully.” What are their complaints? What do they value about your company? If your customers value your products are made in America, odds are it is not best to move your production to China. Also, it is really important...

In Katie Paine’s “Measure What Matters,” she highlights an interesting dilemma many people may not think of. In order to grow your company, you might expand it overseas or through franchises. This is great, but you may encounter some issues. You might be at risk of losing control of communication and consistency. Paine particularly highlights franchises. Separate franchises seem to be given more freedom. Therefore, it is highly likely for inconsistencies to form between franchises and the corporation. Some may not see the importance of this, but it can have some harmful effects. What if a franchise harms the company’s image? I can imagine this happening with fast-food franchises. Pretend one McDonald’s franchise does not follow proper food preparation procedures. Someone sees the issue, shares their findings on the media and the McDonald’s image is damaged. Although it was only one franchise, the whole corporation takes a hit. Paine also explains by having these franchises or exp...

In 2015, the inclusive emoji was introduced. This is where people can select the skin stone of the emoji they choose.   Once the emoji was revealed, people worried what outcomes would result. It was an understandable concern it would be used inappropriately. There was also a possibility it could case racial tensions.   According to this article , the University of Edinburgh has found the result to be quite opposite. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh looked at a billion tweets to collect their data. What they have found through their research is rather interesting. Despite what some people may think, most people who personalized the skin tone did so to match their own. Also, if a skin tone chosen did not match the user, responses were mostly positive. Personally, I think this is good to see the option is not being abused. It is also good to see it is not causing racial drama on social media. Overall, the study found the inclusive emoji fulfilled its purpose...

As you might have learned in my previous blog , I work at McDonald’s. I have work at the McDonald’s in Ada, Ohio for nearly three years. In my time working there, I have seen a lot and therefore, I have learned a lot. My McDonald’s, as well as many other fast-food restaurants, has had many customer complaints. Some customers have even gone as far to yell at me with foul language. Through my experience, I found there is a main cause for why these issues occur and many simple solutions. Overall, there are some aspects to fast food which customers are unaware of which can affect the service given to them. Therefore, I wish to shed light on some causes of common issues and provide simple solutions to aid them. Issue 1: The service is too slow. Possible Causes: ·        The restaurant may be busy or short staffed . It is difficult to perform fast service when there are not enough people working at the given time. This can cause the team to fall behi...

Consumers are always the primary focus when marketing. You want to learn as much as you can about what they think and what they do. It turns out, we are forgetting a different audience. We forget about our own employees. In “Measure What Matters,” Katie Paine explains the importance of communication with your employees and how to do so. Employees are just like any other consumer. They have their own opinions, and they choose which products they wish to purchase. Although your business is where they are getting their paycheck, this does not mean they will automatically become advocates for your company. Therefore, it is important to reach your employees and learn what they think, say and do as well. Since we know the importance of communication with our employees, how do we do it? Luckily, Paine provides a plan. 1.        First, understand where your employees truly get their information. Learn what messages your employees are receiving and how th...

It is almost a natural instinct for parents to share their children on social media. According to this article , many parents may not know they could be putting their children in danger. Hashtags are great in many ways for social media. Overall, they make posts easier to find. This is great for helping a company look for posts about their event or even helping someone find posts about corgis. On the other hand, this can also help a pedophile find images of children. That is correct.   Pretend you are a parent giving your child a bath. You snap a picture because you think your child looks cute. You post the picture on social media with the caption, “Splash, splash. Just taking a bath! #bathtime.” All a pedophile has to do is search #bathtime, and the photo of your child could come to view. The Child Rescue Coalition seeks to educate parents about overexposing their children on social media. To do so, the coalition started the Kids for Privacy Campaign. Through this campaig...

Recently, I had my first big interview experience. I have interviewed for jobs before, but those required little thought or preparation.   This position, on the other hand, required much more time and effort. I ran for the graphic design intern position at Thirty-One Gifts in Columbus, Ohio. I originally found the position online and applied. To my surprise, they set up a phone interview with me. Of course, I was nervous for the phone interview, but I was not too nervous. For a phone interview, you can wear what you want and stare at the ground as much as you want without the interviewer knowing! I did research on the company to prepare. I guess my joyful voice and charming personality won over the recruiter because they invited me to their headquarters for an on-site interview. The moment I was told they wanted to interview, my mind started rolling. I truly love the Thirty-One brand, so I wanted to make sure I did the best I possibly could. Therefore, I had to do some work...

In “Measure What Matters” by Katie Paine, Paine mentions a subject which caught my attention. The subject is quantifying the authority of a writer or poster on social media. Paine provides a list of ways to determine the influence or authority of the writer. Some of the list items seem quite obvious, but one surprises me. The more obvious list items used to determine authority on social media include: ·        The number of followers the user has. ·        The number of special references and citations the user has on Twitter. ·        The frequency at which the user is uniquely retweeted. ·        The frequency at which the user is uniquely retweeting other people. ·        The frequency at which the user posts updates. Clearly, a user can be seen to have more authority when he or she has more followers and is more act...