What seemed simple, isn't so simple.

After the first reading for class, I came to the conclusion that what appeared to be simple parts of social media, was actually not so simple at all. Social media actually can be a very complicated subject when analyzed appropriately which many millennials should take into consideration as this will heavily impact them today.

Looking through the first chapter solely, I have to the conclusion that I need to go and adjust almost all of my platforms. On the plus side, I realized I am not the only one because almost every other person I follow on my platforms needs to do the same thing. I am going to approach this by “thinking out loud” throughout the first seven steps that may have seemed like a “simple” or “basic” step to the author.

1.      Pick a Neutral Screen Name

Luckily… this is something that I have successfully completed since day one. My name is “Dani Schae” on every platform. Not only is this consistent across all platforms, but it is unique. Since both my first and last name are common, I made the choice to use my middle name which sets me apart from others and is memorable. In addition, this screen name brings no harm to my personal brand or reputation.

2.      Optimize for Five Seconds

Now this description was pretty short and is better defined in the next following steps. But I feel as if I have done all three points discussed (Avatar, Cover, Biographical Text) wrong in way or another.

3.      Focus Your Avatar on Your Face

I feel that most of my avatars in the past and present showed who I was as a person. However, if a stranger were to come across my profile they would have no idea because my avatar usually is not of myself alone. Therefore, I did not allow the audience to make a snap decision about me because there is always more than one picture in my avatar. In addition, as most college students I can admit that not all my avatars in the past have been the best representation for future employers or strangers to see and be able to confidentially make a decision that I am a professional adult. Looking more specifically at the smaller aspects of my avatar the author provided some small tips that make sense to utilize when updating your avatar. He said to make the asymmetrical allowing for your avatar to come across as interesting. He also advised users to take pictures towards the light and not against it to eliminate your face appearing unexposed. Finally he said to think big when you are updating your avatar. With this he means that you should make it a crisp photo that is at least 600 pixels wide. Now, most of those tips may have seemed to be of common knowledge, however taking an asymmetrical picture and making sure it is at least 600 pixels wide would have never crossed my mind when choosing an avatar. Like most individuals I usually just chose a picture that I feel I look presentable in.

4.      Stick with One Picture

Check – I do that with all my platforms (even though I thought I was just being weird… apparently this is supposed to be done).

5.      Craft a Mantra

I have never even heard of the word “Mantra” before reading through chapter one. So this whole step was news to me. Apparently your mantra essentially is your tagline and is only supposed to be two to four words long. As your stereotypical girl however – I have a quote… which obviously is a little excessive. I also do not have a consistent mantra throughout all my platforms because I created them all at different time, this is something that I never reviewed to make sure they all were consistent.

6.      Tell Your Story

Here the author was talking specifically about cover photos. I do know that these exist and I have always had one. I feel it also was a coincident that all my cover photos were consistent and that they were of meaningful things to my life. These pictures have also always told a clean story, one that the professionals and strangers would be able to make a sound judgement on.

7.      Get a Vanity URL

WHAT?!?!? You can do that? This is probably way old news to most people, but this appeared to be one of the most exciting things I have ever had the opportunity to learn! I always get so annoyed with the long 35 numbers at the end of URLs.

After reading the text I realized that I do not even have the basic part of any platform set up correctly, let alone my platforms filled with the correct context. I feel that the main reasoning for this is because I was uneducated about what power social media has and the true purposes of the different platforms. Another reason this may seem so complicated to me is because I was younger when social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and other platforms came out. Since we have had our platforms for so many years we never realized how much it would be utilized throughout the years to adapt to the technological advancements we currently have today.