The future of social media….. that is a good question.  As I think about where it has come from it makes me wonder if Facebook is going to turn into a MYspace, where there is a really high rate of predator and stalking.  As I steer away from my facebook towards my twitter it makes me wonder if the facebook will be left behind.  I have been receiving random friend requests from people I don’t know or recognize and in college I thought that would be normal, but then they say we went to the same high school on their page which makes me turn away and let the request just sit in my inbox.  Which is even funnier is that the same request a few weeks later disappeared for a day then I received a new request from a male this time, the previous one was female, and as I explored his page all the information was the same except he was “male”not “female”.  We had the same two mutual friends, who I assume just accept any request they receive.  And the picture of the girl from my first request was still in his profile picture album!  It was a joke seriously, so this is making me think that it could be going down hill….. and all the games clogging up the news feed make it difficult for people to keep up with those that they have a relationship with through the site.

The only place I receive any type of mobile marketing from is champs sporting goods store.  Whenever I signed up for something a vip card or whatever I must have provided my cell phone number.  Champs uses it very well as I only get a text around my birthday and particular shopping seasons, such as holiday.  It doesn’t make me like them less or more, but I do tend not to go to their store when I’m working at home in my mall but that is only because finish line is two stores away from me and champs is at the other end.  I also know more people that work at the finish line which draws me in more.

well we didnt have a guest speaker but I think one of the major cons of mobile marketing is that if companies abuse it, it will just get thrown to the wasteside like telemarketers.  People will see texts messages as spam which already see happening with BBM.  When people add excessive BBM  users to their phone they begin getting mass BBMS creating a spam like and get ignored or blocked. 

Seeing these ads on websites and browsers just reminds me of Nick’s CDDM class.  The class basically took really bad websites for companies ranging from boutiques, grocery stores, to restaurants.  The only catch was they had to be “environmentally friendly companies”  which also fits right into your, Anne’s, blog.  Not only did we redesign the layout of a website with photoshop skills we had to make three sets of ad campaigns consisting of a small rectangle, big rectangle, skyscraper, button, and leaderboard.  There were three groups and each had to have a certain theme to them.  Each size and shape to the ad had specific placement on browser sites and where ever else advertising would be show.  I ended up using my theme into my website with the black and white coloring and the simplicity of the geometric straight lines.

I thought it was hilarious that we are in a class called Merchandising through Technology and for our in class debate a student who couldn’t be present was going to present her topic over a cell phone on speaker phone.  It almost seemed that it was set up for the class specifically.  I also wondered if it would have been easier to do another wimba classroom for her.  I don’t know what her situation was but that would have fit right in also or even skype to bring another media to our class.  Just thought it was funny and interesting.

The most I learned about the debate was linkedin.  I was not very familiar with the site at all but with co-op applications beginning and beginning to gain such a wide network I think it is a site that I should be apart of.  In class the team that was against it mostly talked about the privacy issues, as did every other site, but for linkedin I really don’t think it is something that is vital.  Everyone knows what you are on there for and its not a “social site” but literally a “business network”.  I don’t think that I would solely depend on the site for a network.  Candice’s group also mentioned how in creating this network you can see, on paper, who would be ideal for a job but at the same time they could be a completely different person in person.  This does occur in real life when a company may receive a resume and they have to decide if they would like to interview someone.  But if you are introduced to a person in real life they can have their first impression of you and feel your vibe before even deciding if they would like to continue to have an interview or not. 

The interactive/online advertising I found was actually on a social networking site.  Xanga is most similar to tumblr in my opinion and I used to have a million when I was in middle school.  Mine was more about the content and what happened during my day in the oh so exciting life of a 13 year old girl.  But now I am a member of the site for photography and quotes mostly.  When on their home page it does seem to be very cluttered but a lot has to do with advertising certain products and other sites.  Along with those ads LaSalle University has actually covered the home page on this log in, where they have a “big rectangle” and “skyscraper” and “leadboard” ad for their university on the home page.

OH and something else I noticed was on Hulu watching shows, when they have the ANNOYING commercials throughout the show theres a tool bar that pops up across the top and you can check the box yes or no if the ad applies or relates to you and your life. 

As coop search beings this weekend, I’m in the debate of to freeze my facebook account or not.  I have my security settings at its highest most private options everyone says companies have certain ways to see ANYTHING.  Although I’m not that girl is laying on the bathroom floor with drawings all over me, there are some things I don’t think would be appropriate for my employer to see. 

Also I can’t control what people post onto my wall.  Although I have the option and power of untagging myself in pictures,  I can delete wall posts but if I don’t see them soon enough they are up there. 

My other option is to change my name.  For the time period when I’m on interviews and applying if i change my name to something else when employers search I shouldn’t come up.

Guess I better make up my mind soon…

• Myspace has a great user interface. It is user friendly, open for changes and also allows for great creativity.

• Myspace has great entertainment options. They allow for videos, music, games and pictures galore.

• Myspace is one of the most widely used online communities. If you are looking for friends, dating, or a great way to communicate  with family, this is the way to go. Most everyone who has email has Myspace.

• though myspaces security options seemed very vague and slim when the page was first created updates have been added to create better more secure options

Overall the new image of myspaces seems to be music.  It’s very music based and it could be a good or bad thing for the artists because its free, but also good because new and upcoming artists will get recognition.