Overview of Social Media Principles (CAMS 1401)

This semester we were required to read two books pertaining to the social media industry. The first book we read was “The Art of Social Media” by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzgerald. The second book we were required to read was “Social Media for Strategic Communication” by Karen Freberg. “The Art of Social Media” was more in the format of a chapter book and we read this book over the course of the first few weeks of class. This book was a compilation of more than 100 tips to treat your social media presence as a business and use a bottom-up approach to get the attention your brand, product or business deserves. “The Art of Social Media” was a great introduction into the industry of social media and gave me a good idea of what I was getting myself into. The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the very strong opinions of Kawasaki and Fitzgerald throughout the text. When I’m reading a book in school I would prefer the text to be more informational and less opinionated. Despite these strong opinions, this book was very interesting and I would recommend it to anyone looking to improve their overall social media presence or interested in entering the social media industry.

Once we finished reading “The Art of Social Media” we immediately moved on to reading “Social Media for Strategic Communication”. This book was in the format of a true textbook and the material we covered from the book spanned the majority of the semester. This book provided an in-depth look at many of the aspects involved with social media as a profession and everything involved to create a powerful social media presence. Because this book was more along the lines of a traditional textbook, it was much more information oriented and had fewer personal opinions from the author. I enjoyed how in-depth this book was, as it provided me with almost all of the information I needed to know about creating effective social media communications. Besides the fact that “Social Media for Strategic Communications” was a lengthy textbook, there wasn’t much I didn’t like about the textbook. The chapters were all a good length and provided all of the important information and nothing more. I also enjoyed the chapter introductions and the brief interviews with professionals in the social media field because they provided me with insights for what to expect in the social media industry.

My favorite assignment this semester was actually the blog assignment we have been working on all semester. This gave me the opportunity to further develop my writing skills while also learning a lot about the various social media platforms and their uses. My least favorite assignment this semester was the social media listening assignment. This assignment not only fried my brain, but it also fried my computer. Literally. Halfway through completing the assignment, my computer screen turned black and no matter what I tried I could not get it to turn back on. A quick trip to the Geek Squad revealed that I needed a new battery for my laptop. Hurray for me. Aside from my computer crashing, I was not prepared for the sheer amount of research I needed to complete before I could write the assignment. My favorite thing about the class was the pace in which we covered material. Most days we only covered half a chapter at a time and when we made it through the material for that day, we were allowed to leave class early. My least favorite thing about this class was the AP quizzes we took every Thursday. These quizzes have kept my grade on the borderline between an A and a B all semester and it was driving me insane. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this class and it solidified my interest in Social Media as a minor.