Assignment 21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

For this assignment, I read The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki. The book really only had one theme or argument, and that was about social media optimization. It read like a technical manual on “how-to” leverage different social media platforms, a book broken into 123 different quick tips, grouped into categories by chapter.

My biggest surprise in the book was frankly that it was not at all what I was expecting. It was a list of “Do’s” and “Do not’s”, when leveraging social media for personal and business purposes. I ordered the hardcover book from Amazon and, to my surprise, it was riddled with what were clearly “hyperlinks” to click and see examples for further explanation or elaboration on an idea from a linked webpage. The book was clearly intended to be read as an e-copy, with access to the internet for linking to other websites, so I am completely confused as to why they could publish this book in regular print. All that being said, I was expecting suggestions for practical application of social media and how to use it to further a business, with “real life” scenarios as examples. To think about which social media to use and how, based on your business goals, and how other businesses have similarly used it to maximize results. This book had none of that, to my extreme disappointment. It did, however, accomplish the goal of suggesting how to maximize views and interactions with your social media profiles. However, simple use and interaction does not necessarily translate to business results or achieving your desired outcomes.

I believe the main connection this book had to ENT3003 thus far is twofold. The first is continuous exposure to social media resources that I am either not familiar with, or how I can leverage them further as a more advanced user. A great example is that this class was the first time I have ever created a blog. Second, it provided the technical framework for how to set up social profiles to ultimately connect with others for furthering business ideas, finding investors, and creating networks for mutual benefit.

If I had to create an exercise for this class based on the reading, it would be one that had practical application, especially given the blogs we are creating this semester. On pages 82-85, the “tips” were Add Share Buttons and Entice People to Follow You, and the exercise would be to have the class add these to their blog page. It shows you how to add share buttons to other social media sites. This can be used either to have people easily share your blog content through their social media profiles, or allow for viewers to easily follow you on your other social media sites.