This whole facebook page assignment showed me a lot about the capabilities facebook has on affecting business.  The thing I took away the most is the fact that nothing grabs more attention than posts that include some kind of giveaway or discount.  The views and were more than 4x that if the post involved some kind of discount or something associated with it.  

If i were to go back and change one thing, I would have started off the campaign with some kind of promotion to really grab the attention of the followers and also gain more "likers" of the page.  I would make the promotion somewhat engaging so that the people feel as if they are being rewarded for coming to the page.  That is what I found going to other competitive pages is that they use rewards and engaging posts rather than just informative posts.  I would for sure mix these kind of posts with informative so that people know what is going on with the business but also keep them coming back through the use of these kinds of posts.

Since this campaign started, we have gotten a surprisingly high amount of facebook reviews and visits.  This is because of the influx of posts to keep the company in the back of peoples minds.  If you can just remind them that the company is there, they are often times much more likely to return just because its really easy to forget about the company with everything else going on in their lives.  I think that we can use this information to capitalize on the upcoming Christmas holiday.  We will do this by creating a facebook post for some kind of christmas discount assosciated with likes and shares so that we can get exposure to more people than we already are.

Overall, I am happy with the campaign.  The ratings and reviews have gone up by about .6 points and the reviews have flooded in.  Along with that, there has been increased flow to the page than there previously was.  I learned a lot from this that I am going to tweak to make the posts that much more engaging.

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Recognizing Default Responses

Regarding any idea that we hear, we have an automatic default response.  There are certain words or triggers that we may hear that make our minds automatically react in a certain way.  This is not a positive nor a negative thing, but it is something that is very important to keep in mind.  Say, for instance, that you are having a conversation about the current presidential election.  Politics is one aspect of the world that people previously have and always will have a very strong default response.  Especially this election in particular.  We already have a default response to presidential elections based off of  factors such as party affiliation, past actions, gender, and as much as we hate to admit it, race.  When we hear people call Hillary a crook or Trump a racist, there are certain responses that we all automatically go to.  Lots of times we will go to these default responses not because of our deep knowledge of the subject, but because of past happenings that have shaped our thinking.  This is impossible to avoid, but it is something we must keep it in mind moving forward.

We usually have our mind made up before we even know it.  When an idea is introduced to us, there are certain key words that will trigger a certain response from each of us.  Each of our responses will be just a little bit different based off of what has happened to us.  I am personally pro-choice and this affects the way that I respond to a lot of different situations.  As I stated earlier, it decides where I side with the election.  It also shapes how I respond to anyone when they bring up the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate.  One thing I think that we all make these responses towards hundreds of times per day is clothing.  When people are wearing a shirt and tie, I automatically assume they have a very nice job, often times from 9-5.  In contrast, when I see people wearing a pair of Nike shorts, a t-shirt and tennis shoes, I automatically assume that they are an athletically inclined and that we would have lots in common.

These responses are actually somewhat cool when you step back to think about.  There are certain key words or actions that automatically make us react a certain way to almost everything.  It is somewhat mind-boggling that our decisions can often times be made by little experiences or beliefs that we have come to follow.  We have learned through previous experiences what we like and what we dislike and we have learned to automatically associate these likes and dislikes with certain keys which are very easy to pull out.  These shape the way that we think and the way that we view many aspects of our life.  We need to make an effort in our day-to-day lives to recognize when we have these default responses.  Once we are able to recognize this, we are able to open our mind to other ideas because we are not as close-minded as we were before.  We then know when there is something that we are reacting to based off of these responses and are able to step back and actually evaluate the situation and what other evidence is being presented to us rather than what we automatically think of the certain situation.

OTM-Race, Class, And The United States Of Anxiety

The on the media post that I listened to was titled "Race, Class, And The United States of Anxiety. "  The title of this podcast is what drew me to listen to this. The basis of this podcast was being white, male and in the working class and how this is effecting the 2016 presidential election. In the show, they talk about how these males are feeling emasculated by what is going on with economics and politics and how that is driving these people to be such strong supporters of trump. 

I can see how these feelings are coming about. People now-a-days have a lot less power than they once did because our society has recently been moving towards a more socialistic society. As our society becomes more socialistic, certain people suddenly have a lot less power than they previously did because of the power being spread out amongst the people. As the power of money is being spread out, this means that the physical power of the people is also being spread out. Money gives people power through status and also physically because people will do almost anything when they are in need of cash. 

Also, historically, the power has been with the white males in the upper and middle classes. As the power is slowly being taken away, there is a sudden fear being thrown upon them because of the sudden change. We as humans do not like change in the slightest no matter what it is about. This fact is especially true when we feel as if the power is being taken away from us. I believe this is why Trump supporters are so serious about getting him in office, is because his theories are an attempt to return the United States to how it used to be, which was with the power in the hands of the white male upper and middle class. 

While some of the things that Trump says may be very disturbing, many people can look past it because of the thought of the return to power. Power can drive people to do things which they normally wouldn't and I believe that this is a perfect example. As the economy is being promise to rise back to power through "making America great again" it gives people a thought of how America used to be and a lot of people would enjoy nothing more than a return to that power. 

Well Informed-Radicalization and Religion

Within the past couple of years, I have noticed radicalization in a much larger population that ever before.  Within the United States, there have been multiple threats made to us which has escalated this even more than I believe would have occurred naturally.  These days, we as a people tend to react to situations much quicker and much harsher than usual.  We are so worried about protecting ourselves and our lands that we believe we should do the most that is possible to ensure our safety.  We believe so strongly in our views that we will go to any extent to protect what we view as important to us.

This is shown greatly through religion.  Religion has always played a large role in history.  Not only in the United States, which was founded for religious freedom, but throughout the world.  Many of the world's conflicts and wars have been because of religious disputes.  It is something that will always be harshly criticized because of the strong feelings that most people have towards their beliefs and their desire for people to see things in the same light which they see it.

A major problem can arise when radicalization and religion become one in the same.  People will always have their strong feelings towards certain subjects, but since it is often split up between populations, it usually keeps us clear of any major conflicts which may arise.  But, as of lately, radicalization and religion have been merging themselves into one.  People are feeling stronger than ever about their religion and wanting to force their beliefs on other.  This is a major problem because as humans, we do not like to be told what to think or believe.  As people become more radical about religion there becomes much more tension throughout the world about beliefs which is where these conflicts come from.  The stronger these feelings become, the more likely it is that people will go to the extreme to preach what they believe is right which often times, causes much more harm than good.

OTM-After 9/11, Nothing Was Funny

The attack on 9/11 is something that has always somewhat drawn my interest.  Not just because of the tragedy that it was for our country, but because of the astounding effect it had throughout the entire nation.  These attacks, without a doubt, brought our country closer together as a whole like we had not seen in quite some time.  But, it also brought some separation within the country and I think that this OTM illustrates that perfectly through the example of comedy.  There was a dark gloom in everyone's attitude during the days following the attack.  We really had to be careful about every word spoken and action taken because everything was being judged so harshly because of this tragedy.

It creates a hard situation for the nation because you are fighting with yourself about how long to mourn the attack.  You know that there must be time given to grieve for the attack and life cannot return to normal until this period of time is over.  But the problem comes in figuring out how long that time is going to be and how it will be handled.  Everyone handles these tragedies a lot different, and it affects them mentally a lot different as well.  How do you draw the line of when enough time is enough?  You may try to force people to come to terms with it right away but that is running a huge risk of being seen as very insensitive.  If you do not get back to how your life was before the attacks, then it becomes much harder to recover because no one is moving on emotionally and nothing is being repaired.

This is what was illustrated through the OTM interview with Will Ferrell.  He was not quite sure how to attack his comedy bits following the attack because what people usually viewed as funny, was not seen as that anymore.  You had to be careful about everything you said because you did not want to offend anyone in their already vulnerable state.  His dilemma was figuring out when his comedy could move back to what he had been doing prior to the attack.  Marc Maron had a completely different view on this situation than Will Ferrell.  Maron took very little time after the attack to change his comedy.  He gave it a very brief breathing period but then returned to his normal routines.  He even ran the risk of humor that dealt with pain applicable to the 9/11 attacks.  He did this because he noticed at his shows that people were longing for something to take their mind off of what they were going through.

I think that a combination of these two tactics worked perfectly.  It allowed people to mourn the tragedy but it also provided some comic relief to those who were seeking.  In a broader sense, this worked as well because people that were living their day to day life were able to live their lives how they normally would but they were acknowledging that a horrific event had occurred.  We are all different and how these events such as 9/11 are handled perfectly illustrate this fact.

Hashtagging The Debate

Me and a couple of my roommates actually got together and watched the debate.  It was kind of nice to see that Millenials are interested in politics rather than just voting for a candidate because of what they hear or what their party affiliation is.  As we were watching it, I compared my twitter and what was being shown to what was being shown on their account and I was shocked.  I never really realized how tailored my twitter was to show me what they thought that I wanted to see.

My views and the views that I express on my twitter are more aligned with the Democratic party so I thought it would be interesting to compare my feed to my roommates who is much more on the Republican side.  I was shocked by how much hate there was on both of our feeds.  But, it was usually just hate on one person.  When I looked at my feed and my trending hashtags, it showed people bashing on Donald Trump.  But, when I switched to my friends account, it was just an overload of hate on Hillary.  The thing that surprised me the most is the fact that neither of the accounts showed much positive on the candidate which twitter thought was being supported.  I thought it would show a lot of support and positive materials about the said candidate, but it just showed more hate towards the candidate which the algorithms figured that you didn't like.

Until now, I had not realized that twitter was like this.  I thought it just showed the most current and relevant trends and fed them to you.  This was interesting to really show how something as national as a presidential debate can still be tailored to show you exactly what you want.  It makes you realize how hard you really have to look to get the whole picture of a story from the media.  Every outlet is going to be bias to show you either what you want to see or what they want you to see.  With the increase in media availability, it is still just as hard to get the whole picture of a story.

Well Informed "Race Baiting"

The whole argument with race baiting and police brutality is a very hard topic to discuss because so often we believe that you cannot stand with both sides.  You are either with the police or you are against it.  That does not always have to be the case.  I believe that the police, when they do their job correctly, can be a huge positive in our society.  It is hard because a new or uneducated officer makes a major mistake and that mistake is broadcast nationally and that sets back all of the efforts that the police do to protect us.  They put their lives on the line every day to attempt to ensure safety for all of us.

To fix a problem the first step is to recognize the existence of the problem.  And there most definitely is a problem with our police system.  No one wants to be a police officer right now because of all the negative thoughts about them so there is a shortage of qualified applicants.  They also are not paid very well so people may not want this as a long term career because there is not a lot of money in the profession over time.  The solution to this is to get people through the police training academy as quickly as possible so that they may get out into the workforce so that they can fill up these understaffed units.  The problem with this is these new officers lack real training because they were being rushed.  Because of this they do not know how to correctly handle a delicate situation so they are often times trigger happy when they shouldn't be.  This then creates a larger divide because it continues to happen more and more.

We must get officers the training that they need so that they may handle these hard situations correctly.  As we do this we must also get these officers in the community away from their job so that when they are sent to handle a situation, they are comfortable around the people they are around.  The people will then be comfortable with them because they recognize them as a part of the community.  This has to be more desirable of a job so that people who truly want to be there are there.

Kids These Days

I chose to listen to "Kids These Days" and i'm very glad I did.  The main part of the podcast that really struck me was the talk about how kids these days are being coddled and protected from anything that we might find offensive.  While I do not believe you should be introduced to anything that could be very harmful in class, I do believe that you must get into sometimes uncomfortable discussions to learn.  I think that it can be a good idea to make students aware of what the topic will be that is going to be discussed in class.  This can help students to fully gather their thoughts so that they do not misspeak when they are talking about a topic that is already hard to discuss.  But, I do not believe that students should be offended by anything discussed in class because this is a place of academia.  An environment that preaches questioning of everything so that there can be as much learning as possible.  We should cater to our students to let them know what will be coming but we should not coddle them and make them feel as if everything that is ever discussed has to be completely comfortable.  The most growth comes when we are uncomfortable.

I don't believe that polls should be relied on as heavily as they currently are in our society.  Especially in politics, they are way too easy to manipulate to show the data that you want.  There are certain techniques that these poll makers can do to have the poll show the outcome which they desire or is desired by the source requesting the poll.  I think that a big problem with these polls is that the public is not very knowledgeable about the sources which these polls come from, which means they are being taken for what is shown rather than taking into account the other things such as biases that go into these polls.

Facebook Page

The facebook page that I will be helping to manage is “Entice Lashes & Brows”.  This is an eyelash extension salon in Salt Lake City.  My sister is the owner of this business so I will be working in conjunction with her to create more traffic to this page.  Through this I want to generate customers to the business saying they heard about the business through the facebook page.  I am building this page mainly for women since they are about 95-99% of the customers for this type of product in most areas.  I will still market it to the men because they will often be the ones buying it for their wife or someone significant in their lives.  I will try to make this for anyone over the age of 18 with no upper age limit because there is still a great number of senior citizens who enjoy this service.  Lastly, this page will be geared to people who live near the greater Salt Lake City area stretching to cities such as Ogden and cities more southern such as Lehi and Provo.  Any distance farther than this, and the customers will often try to find another salon and settle for less quality of the product due to the distance.

                My plan to do this will be to take advantage of the different demographic filters that facebook allows you to use which my sister does not know how to utilize yet.  I will also try to get the word to all of my friends on facebook to see if they have not yet been introduced to this product and hopefully they will become customers to the salon.  Then from there we can make a deal where if you were referred by someone through facebook, you both receive a discount to encourage the current members of the page to share this to their friends who may currently not know about the services of the salon.

www.facebook.com/EnticeLashes

Facebook Page

The facebook page that I will be helping to manage is “Entice Lashes & Brows”.  This is an eyelash extension salon in Salt Lake City.  My sister is the owner of this business so I will be working in conjunction with her to create more traffic to this page.  Through this I want to generate customers to the business saying they heard about the business through the facebook page.  I am building this page mainly for women since they are about 95-99% of the customers for this type of product in most areas.  I will still market it to the men because they will often be the ones buying it for their wife or someone significant in their lives.  I will try to make this for anyone over the age of 18 with no upper age limit because there is still a great number of senior citizens who enjoy this service.  Lastly, this page will be geared to people who live near the greater Salt Lake City area stretching to cities such as Ogden and cities more southern such as Lehi and Provo.  Any distance farther than this, and the customers will often try to find another salon and settle for less quality of the product due to the distance.

                My plan to do this will be to take advantage of the different demographic filters that facebook allows you to use which my sister does not know how to utilize yet.  I will also try to get the word to all of my friends on facebook to see if they have not yet been introduced to this product and hopefully they will become customers to the salon.  Then from there we can make a deal where if you were referred by someone through facebook, you both receive a discount to encourage the current members of the page to share this to their friends who may currently not know about the services of the salon.

www.facebook.com/EnticeLashes