Comparing entities using social media

There are two main parts of my University Writing course. First, I'll be taking on "the roles of scholar and critic... examining the rhetoric of social media as they are used for selling and promoting products, organizations, people, and causes." Second, I will play a "Social Media Expert/For-Hire Consultant."

In this role, I will maintain this blog and will "analyze and actively engage with social media writing," but will also "choose a related group of individuals, companies, or organizations that are active in social media and track, analyze, and critique their marketing or promotion efforts over the course of the semester."

The three social media accounts I will be tracking include:

1. The official Twitter account of The George Washington University
   (@GWTweets)
2. The official Twitter account of The George Washington University Office of Undergraduate Admissions (@GWAdmissions)
3. The official Twitter account of the Senior Associate Provost and Dean of Student Affairs, Peter Konwerski (@GWPeterK) 

The profile of the official account of The George Washington University.

Questions	GW Tweets	GW Admissions	GW Peter K
How often do they utilize social media?	Every day	Every couple hours	Every 30 minutes
Which venues do they utilize?	Twitter	Twitter	Twitter
What is the field/work/ cause your group supports/ work towards/ showcases/etc?	Higher education - to inform the public and the study body on what is happening around the GW campus.	High education - to connect and engage with prospective students and market GW as a school that high school seniors should apply to.	Higher education - to reply to students and  engage with the study body of GW.
What kind of work is being done?	Higher education - tweets showcasing life on campus.	Higher education - tweets highlighting the GW experience.	Higher education - answering requests and questions.
What are the important long-standing issues in this field?	College life, value of higher education.	Acceptance rate of colleges and the process to apply.	Student-life.
What are the controversies?	Move-in and Welcome Week questions.	Application and decision processes of colleges.	Living environments, package services, etc.
In what ways will these groups lend themselves to furthering the ongoing dialogue about selling with social media in this field?	This account is trying to portray life on the GW campus and to showcase what goes on around campus. It's social media presence has an effect on the reputation of the school and people's perception of the school. In a way, GW is trying to market itself and highlight things that will positively impact its image.	This account is trying to persuade high school seniors to apply to GW. Again, it is marketing GW to highlight what is good about the school and selling a product to consumers (high school students).	This account is trying to do customer service and, sometimes, damage control. Peter Konwerski is a human connection and face to GW and can, at times, be a spokesperson for GW.

Jing Social Media Comparison

FOR UNIVERSITY WRITING: http://screencast.com/t/9EJnaNatk (more info on posts like these)

In this video, I compare my uses of Google+ and Twitter and answer the following questions:

• What do you see in terms of advertisements or branding?
• On Google+: As you can see, there are no paid advertisements in my Stream. Google believes that while you browse updates from people and companies you care about, it is the wrong time to show you an ad, just as if you saw ads at a party or while you were talking with your friend. Instead, advertisements comes in forms of social recommendations, annotated by my friends with Google’s +1 button, when I am searching for a news article, a product, review or app. There is branding though and many pages have a Google+ page where customers can interact with them. Cadbury UK, the chocolate company, among others such as The White House, also invite customers to be in their Hangouts, a 10-person video call, making a more intimate connection between customers and the company.
• On Twitter: As you can see, advertisements are injected into my feed, whether I like the company or not. I have not followed American Express and it looks exactly like any other tweet in my feed, minus the small yellow promoted symbol.
• Which have you "chosen" (liked, become a fan of, followed, or sought out in some other way)?
• On Google+: I follow a wide-range of people on Google+, including my friends, companies I hear or post about often, companies I like and people at Google. I follow both companies I like and dislike. I can separate every single identity in different Circles, and share different things with different Circles and browse the individual feeds of each Circle, just like how in real life you share different things with different groups of people in your life.
• On Twitter: On this twitter account, my personal one, I strictly follow friends and other such people I know. On my other twitter account, my public account, I mainly just follow important news figures and outlets, and other interesting people and companies. They’re mainly companies I like, and so the “Who To Follow” suggestions are very different. 
• Which have found you?
• On Google+: A lot of people and companies have added me back on Google+, including Newt Gingrich, the American Red Cross, the City of Scottsdale, Cathay Pacific Airways, Samsung Mobile, Blackberry, The Home Depot, TED, T-Mobile, American Airlines, Mashable, YouTube and even Google’s Senior Vice President Vic Gundotra.
• On Twitter: MythBusters, USA Today, HTC USA and Mike Allen follow me on Twitter.
• Are they appealing to you?
• On Google+: Many of those that have found me are appealing to me, especially: The City of Scottsdale because that’s where I lived. T-Mobile, Samsung, Blackberry, Mashable and YouTube because I love posting about technology. Vic Gundotra because I am passionate about Google, both their business and what they stand for. I can get official information about new Google announcements and products and see what his thoughts are on a variety of topics.
• On Twitter: MythBusters is kind of random. But I do post a lot about the news and current events on both Google+ and Twitter, so it makes sense as to why USA Today and Mike Allen follow me. I used to have an HTC USA phone and tweeted about HTC a lot, and so that makes sense too.
• Do you click them?
• On Google+: I find myself clicking on a lot of posts, in part because there is also visual imagery, unlike on Twitter. If people post about music or link to an article, there is a snippet of preview for it.
• On Twitter: On Twitter, I find myself not clicking on anything very much, unless I’m super interested. When I’m trying to catch up on a lot of tweets, I tend to skip a lot, just because each tweet is so similar in nature. It’s also very hard to tell if a link in a tweet is legitimate because there is no preview.
• How are they framed (as information? as an outright ad? as a response to an action you took, like searching for a specific product online?)?
• On Google+: Most of the things on Google+ are information or an ad. Motorola, for example, used social media, and the visual imagery of Google+ to create hype for their newest device. Express has been using the visual imagery, but for ads. Furthermore, their activity can result in an action on Google’s Search engine, unlike how other social networks work.
• On Twitter: Many from news figures and outlets are framed as information, though their priority is to get you to click-through to their website. A lot of other companies frame their tweets as advertisements.
• How do these affect you as a consumer (have you purchased from or supported an organization based on a sidebar advertisements or a Tweet, for example)?
• On Google+: When it comes to social annotations, when I see that my friend or people I trust have +1’ed a YouTube video, a website, an app or a restaurant, I am more likely to choose that over ones that have not been +1’ed. It gives me more confidence. But also, posts from companies on social media makes the company stay in the back of my head.
• On Twitter: They have little effect for me as a consumer. Because I have little interest in clicking through every single link on Twitter and because very little sticks out to me on Twitter, I don’t take the time to find out what the companies are talking about. It’s nice to have updates and it’s nice to be able to tweet the company to compliment or complain, as I usually get faster responses from social media than from calling or mailing. They also take it more seriously because it is public.

Bill Gates has gone crazy

Bill Gates, someone who I've been inspired by and respected for years, believes that the moonshots +Google are taking isn't helping to "uplift the poor," namely +Project Loon. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I believe his statements are ridiculous and just part of the ongoing PR stunt where Microsoft attacks everything Google. In fact, Google is doing so much to uplift the entire human population.

In an interview with +Bloomberg News (and as reported by +CNET, see link below), Gates says, "When you're dying of malaria, I suppose you'll look up and see that balloon, and I'm not sure how it'll help you... When a kid gets diarrhea, no, there's no website that relieves that. " REALLY? Or maybe the netizens and victims of the new digital age, with all of its connectivity, will search the Internet to see how to get help. Or how to find a cure. Or how to get to the closest clinic or doctor. Or allow doctors to remotely monitor or help the patient. The possibilities are endless. The part that irks me, especially, is the second part about diarrhea. Seriously. No website that helps relieve it? Maybe on Bing.

Maybe a website doesn't directly relieve diarrhea. But everyone, no matter where they're from, gets the world's knowledge at their fingertips. And even when no one in their family, neighborhood, city, town or village knows how to relieve diarrhea, they can independently find ways to cure the sickness, without waiting for anyone's help. So yes, a website can relieve diarrhea. And can relieve diarrhea of more people.

He continues, "Certainly I'm a huge believer in the digital revolution. And connecting up primary-health-care centers, connecting up schools, those are good things. But no, those are not, for the really low-income countries, unless you directly say we're going to do something about malaria."

Google is a company with limited resources (staff, time) and must focus on the mission they've set out to do. That's why aside from the company, +Sergey Brin and +Anne Wojcicki have directly donated to causes such as related to environmental issues, poverty prevention and Parkinson's disease research ($200 million), the bankroll for the first in-vitro burger ($300,000), which could lead to a sustainable and cheap supply of protein.

I find Gates' statements to be extremely biased and irresponsible. Or maybe he just doesn't understand the power of the open web. I don't think it's the latter. It's sad that Microsoft's attack has come so far and clouded Gates' judgement. Microsoft must paint a cloudy picture for anything Google nowadays.

Certainly, Project Loon may not be saving as many lives as the Gates Foundation, but that's comparing apples to oranges. When Microsoft starts even remotely trying, then let's talk.

But, any effort to promote connectivity and uplift the entire world should be commended, however small. For now, Google is doing so much more to uplift the entire human population and to make the world a better place to live than any other company, especially in the technology industry.

Mr. Gates, I have a question. Amazon. Apple. Facebook. Microsoft. How are they "uplifting the poor?"


CNET
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57597556-93/bill-gates-criticizes-google-for-not-uplifting-the-poor/