21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

The book I chose for this assignment was The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users, Guy Kawasaki. This book gave a collection of tips, guidelines, and steps on how to develop yourself, your business, or both on social media, and emphasized that social media presence is what allows an entity to grow and be known. Social media profiles, for the most part, are entirely free for the user, and the book urges people to take advantage of social media when developing professionally.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

The book connected to this course because it urged using social media for promotional purposes and gave somewhat of a template for how to utilize social media to the user's benefit. When entrepreneurs create something new and exciting, social media becomes a free advertising platform, and word of mouth about a product is no longer just limited to people who know the entrepreneur and can spread the information for them, rather the entrepreneur can engage with potential customers and spread the knowledge globally. Building a digital presence for a company, in current times, has become more and more imperative to the success of the company, and the reach of markets.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

An exercise for this class that I would design would be with the students' most used social media account (Instagram, facebook, twitter, etc.). I would have the students pick which server they used the most, and then create a new profile of themselves using only the tips on building social media presence in the book. Then I would have them compare it to the profile they use the most and highlight the key differences, similarities, and if they would change anything on their personal profile due to this exercise.

4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your expectations?

My biggest 'aha' moment was in relation to my current social media. The book emphasized running your social media like its a business and creating content for the followers, not yourself. I realized I run my social media how I want to see it and based on what I wanted to create and post rather than creating something unique and attractive to viewers. I also personally just run my Instagram as a total joke and post photos and captions that I think are funny, yet I may be the only one understanding somewhat of an inside joke. I learned I should consider my audience more than just myself, and especially if running social media for a business!