Self Evaluation

There are a lot of different criteria I could judge myself on concerning my facebook page. The most important to me is the impact the experience had on me, and the drive I have to continue expanding my page and company. Ultimately, this is the ideal outcome of any academic environment, and is exactly what I learned form this class.

People always hope for bigger numbers and faster growth, and those will come with time and experience. I could have been more timely on uploading new content, and I plan to find and maintain a regular interval for uploading. As a very routine-oriented person it will be easiest to have a particular time every few days when I upload. Furthermore, when something like new content is on a predictable interval, users will connect more, and have details to pass along to friends.

Finally, I plan to continue talking to people I shoot for and for friends and will direct them to my page a often as possible without being a nuisance. As a passion and future career, I need to exercise a serious effort to expand my audience. And facebook doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

There is no one trick to expansion. No golden ticket. But there is hard work, persistence, and dedication to a goal. Sometimes it feels that there is going to be one miracle post that will bump numbers and gain viral status, but this isn't the case. Future plans for my page consist of a continuous flow of new media, more event coverage, and individual connections being directed to a central point.

I learned a lot of technical concepts of how to build a page, how to look up numbers, and how the mechanics function. But the most important part is the understanding of how people work, what drives them, and the methods of controlling these trends.

Metrics

Main contributing factors to increase in numbers were personally talking to people face-to-face and asking them to support me and my company through liking my page. As I reached out to key people, and will continue to reach out to similar people, I found that I am able to tap into their friend population, and reach an even larger pool of people. Boosts like this is what will continue to add to my "fans".

Additionally, the female demographic is considerably larger, and can mostly be attributed to general friend demographic trends, as well as the gender distribution of my relatives, who have a higher propensity to liking my page.

Page views can be enhanced by adding my facebook url to my other sites, and to my business cards. This way, traffic will be driven through the site, rather than just through email. In this manner I will be able to increase business and the popularity of my page.

As far as media consumption, it is usually people my age that I hope to drive to my page. There will usually be more girls than guys who are excited to see pictures of events, family, and in general, but it should be simple enough to provide a product that both genders can enjoy and continue to use.

Overall, I feel good about the progress my page has made and am excited to continue with the development of it. There are a lot of assignments that students do simply to get through a class, but it is comforting to know that with this assignment it is not the case. Things are off to a good start, and I have the tools to expand, all I need to do is to keep working and the numbers will keep going up.

The Integration of Social Media Through Mobility: Technology Flourishes at the Cost of Dying Etiquette and Ethics

A close friend of our family's is about as resistant to change as they come. Although he is known for having a life almost completely free of technology, his most notorious moment was the time he visited his brother and family, and they had the opportunity to experience just how much he hates technology. While the relatives were all together in the living room catching up with each other, his niece and nephew proceeded to text friends, check their email, and keep up on social networking via their smart phones. Appalled by their misinterpreted disregard for what he was saying, he got up and walked right out the door. When questioned later about the event, he expressed his concern for the lack of respect, and claimed technology was destroying communication and family.

Although his actions seem slightly overdone, he does bring up an interesting question. What is social networking, and the mobility and accessibility of such, doing to our communication skills. Is it for the better? And what is the best way for older generations to react to these worldwide changes? It is easy to see that communication in general is increased with technology, but it can be argued that the quality diminishes with the increased ease, as well as our ability to communicate in traditional methods diminish.

This seems to be most apparent in younger generations. There are people from all demographics who accept change, and there are ones who resist it; but in the baby boomer generation there seems to be a higher contrast of these two types when compared to other groups.

This trend is not a single event, but a general movement in society that has a direct connection to social media. Alone, an idea is somewhat powerful. But a movement has a momentum and power that has the potential to grow and build, and become far more effective than any single event.

Often times we are so caught up with our technology and all the things we can do with it, that we overlook the negative effects. The inclination for so many people to resist these trends has only been exacerbated by the adoption of infinite ways to connect in social media environments. Don't take me wrong, I'm all for the swift implementation of all things social media, but in the same breath I insist that we all develop and maintain traditional communication skill; writing, grammar, etiquette, etc. With these as a foundation we will be prepared to add contemporary communication skills to our abilities.

Communication has changed so much that the rules are completely different, and the rate of change is increasing constantly. Like many forms of communication, it takes proper technique and method from all parties. So although there should be a certain level of tolerance and understanding form those who do not quite understand this social networking trend, those of us who are somewhat quicker in adopting these new methods should still remember the basics of proper communication, elderly respect, and general communication structure.

There is a fine balance between adopting new media, and the retaining of “old-fashion” means of communication. Although abstract to comprehend, this trend is far more powerful than any one single event. A through comprehension of this technology will prepare students of social media to anticipate upcoming changes and trends in social media.

Mission

The mission of Chris Caldwell Photography is three-fold. To create a solid and expanding client base, provide access to portfolio examples, and to provide a resource for up and coming photographers to get advice.

As a business it is critical to tap into the social media realm and develop a client base that will drive business, and spread the word about my work. In photography a lot of the clientel comes from word of mouth, so this is an essential part to the industry, and the primary function of this page.

Secondly, with as many people that are on social media, it is a great way to connect with clients and give them access to their photographs in an environment that is familiar to them. This will make it easy for them to view and share pics, and it will make it easy for me to upload more photos.

Finally, after gaining some momentum, I want to be a resource for up and coming photographers. From students that need photo help, to experienced photographers that want to polish their skills, the site will be a resource for them as well.

This three-fold mission will serve as a good starting point, but also be open for adjustment in the future as the company develops and finds the need for different angles.

Profiles

1- A "soccer mom" looking for a photographer that is more dynamic than simply a wedding photographer, than can cover her children's games. She want's to stay involved with the team, and cheer for her kids, so she doesn't want to be hauling a camera around. Also, when the game is over, she doesn't have time to go home and sort/ edit pictures, she rather wait a day or two and look them up online, have them emailed to her, or have a CD sent to her in the mail. With a per game charge, and a rainout refund warranty, this becomes an attractive solution to her life.

2-The up and coming model that is looking to expand their portfolio with additional images of themselves. One that is looking for compelling images that drive attention or recruiters, and from a photographer that has experience in the industry. Additionally, this client might not be able to travel, have shows in particular locations, or is interested in a specific venue; with the mobile studio option this client can have the studio come to them, saving them time, traveling, and location limitations.

3-The sports enthusiast or extreme sports athlete that is in search of non-traditional photography of his hobby and skills. Climbers, cyclists, boarders, trail runners, dirt bikers, and many other extreme athletes would be interested in photos of themselves doing what they are good at. However, at times they are limited by venue, early races, or other dynamics that would impede other photographers, but Chris Caldwell Photography is ready and willing to follow them wherever their activity takes them, and provide quality images for these clients.