Reading Reflection No. 2

For this assignment, I chose to read The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users by Guy Kawasaki. I chose this book because social media is prevalent for the professional workforce, and I honestly believe that there are people even in my generation that underestimate its power. Mr. Kawasaki makes several compelling arguments for how and why social media’s evolution is very fluid, and it is up to us to make sure that we’re in the loop on it.

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

The general theme of the book is to enable us, the users, to know the ins and outs of social media. Just because we’re familiar with making a Facebook post or uploading a picture on Instagram does not make us professional experts on the subject matter. This book gives the reader tips for success that were acquired through experiments with social media and trial and error from Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick. It enhances what we already know about social media, and helps users tell a story on both a professional and personal level using outlets such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter. It even helps users refine their graphics knowledge, which was great for me, as that’s an area that I could have definitely used some assistance in.

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

The book enhanced what I’m learning in this class because it focuses on the importance of social media from a business perspective. Chapter 6, which is titled “How to Get More Followers” was a great read for any entrepreneur – centers on how critical it is to jump on new platforms, which is a big step for any business. It also demonstrated what an “Evergreen” hashtag can do for anyone or business looking to socialize events. These are all important things for a business, especially one that is as small as a start up.

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

If I had to design an exercise for this class, I would have every student build a social-media strategy for their businesses, which will include designing a logo, several profiles on different social-media outlets, and build a campaign around either a new product launch or the launch of their business. It would be an extremely detail-intensive project, so I would actually make it a project, not an assignment. It would give the students a real-life experience on what it would be like to run social media for their business.

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 when reading the book was how much emphasis they placed on blogging. Blogging is an incentive for people to follow you – it gives them a reason to follow you on several different outlets, and the book stresses that giving your followers content that they like will only get you more followers.