The social media assignment for Journalism 443 at the University of Nevada, Reno.

1. Social Media

2. WHY SOCIAL MEDIA? We need to know things. We like to feel like we’re part of a group. We have very specific interests. We have very specific needs.We want others to like us. We like having networks.We like to brag. We like to watch others. We like to comment. We like to search. We like to ask questions.We like to have sex. We like to learn. We like to answer questions. We like to buy things. We like to share our opinions. We like to hear what other people think. We like to make money. We like to believe in things. We like a deal. We like to anticipate. We like to forget. We like to be reminded. We like being social. We like tools that make being social easier. We like having friends.

4. Social Media: Categories: 1. Forums and message boards: old newsgroups (questions to get opinions). Can happen through e-mail and be private or public. Companies often host their own to closely monitor the conversation.

5. Social Media: Categories: 2. Review and opinion sites. Amazon has allowed customers to comment on books and goods for years. Epinions.com; Syndication services like www.bazaarvoice.com have given most ecommerce sites a place for the voice of the customer.

6. Social Media: Categories: 3. Social networks: Facebook, LinkedIn are semi-open communities for connecting online. Sites like Ning allow anybody to create an open or closed group.

7. Social Media: Six Categories: 4. Blogging. Blogs made posting your opinion to the world so easy that everybody can publish their opinion. Organizations can promote talk about themselves while others talk about the organization. It’s a split between what you’re saying and what others are saying about you.

8. Social Media: Categories: 5. Microblogging. Twitter. Everything frm love testimonials 2 divorce announcements in 140 characters or less – even frm yr phone.

9. Social Media: Categories: 6. Bookmarking. Digg, Delicious, and Stumbleupon let individuals tell the world what they think is cool, important, useful, interesting, etc. Showing up on the home page of these can skyrocket your traffic.

10. Social Media: Categories: 7. Media Sharing. Flickr puts all our photos a click away and YouTube hosts all our videos. Online media sharing isn’t about showing your dinner party your snapshots; it’s about showing the world your snaps and videos and allowing the world to comment.

11. Social Media Assignment in 6 StepsMUST INCLUDE: 1. Your message. The most important thing you intend on communicating. HUBS and SPOKES Approach. The message may have three or four points (the hubs) and how you communicate the hubs is (the spokes). You must have a MOTHER SHIP from which all communication comes. 2. Create a NEW discussion: You must outline a strategy involving 2 or more social media tools. 3. Join an EXISTING discussion. You must outline a strategy involving one existing conversation.

12. 4. Create the link among your new social media tools and the existing discussion. 5. An example of one engagement tactic to make people want to follow, find, friend, or forward your message. Creating a Facebook page or Twitter hashtag is NOT a tactic. 6. A description of how you will know if 2-5 worked. Be specific.