Blog #3 - Stay at home...

... Mom, Wife, Dog Breeder, Business Owner, Student, Cook, Maid, Nurse, Taxi, Accountant, Artist and so much more!  

Typically when someone asks about my schedule I respond “I’m home most of the week”.  So most people assume I’m a stay at home mom; in a sense I am.  Unfortunately most people think housewives or stay at home moms don't do much. 

Every day I get up early and go to bed late, first one up and last one down!  I essentially do everything, not saying my husband and children don’t help – because they do, but still.  My job as a mother never ends, especially for mom who works from home, because there is no reprieve; and I actually enjoy that.  Breakfast, getting ready for school, bringing them to school, picking them up, dinner, showers, bed, and all the other things in between.  When my kids grow up they will want to go off and do their own thing and I am lucky to have so much time with them. 

I also breed Great Danes, I am currently caring for a litter of 6.  So much goes into breeding it would take forever for me to list it all, but I will say it is a very rewarding, tiring adventure.  We have 3 Great Danes of our own, and a Shar-Pei rescue; to say the very least my house is never quiet or boring.  

I am fortunate to own my own business, which allows me to work from home; but I still work.  When I first opened my business I was offering website and logo design, after about a year I decided it just wasn’t for me.  I loved owning my own business, I loved designing and I loved coding; but I wasn’t a fan of dealing with certain types of people.  I started to scale back and one day shared a couple face paintings I had done on my children for fun; my Facebook starting dinging with messages from friends asking if I could paint at their kid’s parties.  I agreed to do a couple and when I was there the guests loved my work and I was being asked for business cards – which I didn’t have.  So I decided to take a chance and run with it. Three years later I have expanded my business to offer more services and had to hire people to help me. People always look at me confused, like oh I didn’t know that was a real business – it is. I make good money, only have to work a few hours a week, and most importantly I enjoy it!  

I enjoy school too, I love to learn, but I am looking forward to completing my degree and having a little less to do during the week.  I love everything about my crazy days and I wouldn’t change it for anything.  Being a “stay at home mom” is not easy, not that being a working mom is either (I have done that too); they both have pros and cons.  

Yes, I am home with my kids... Yes, I work…  Yes, Face Painting is a real job… Yes, I spend most of my days in yoga pants… and that’s just fine with me.

Blog #2 - Facebook and Society

The use of the internet and the popularity of social media has affected how the majority of people live day to day.  The rising popularity of Facebook over the years has had both positive and negative effects on society.  Facebook launched in 2004 by Harvard students and was originally limited to allow only users from their school, it later expanded to other colleges, and then eventually it was open to the public.  At the end of 2015 (Statistica, n.d.) recorded that Facebook had over 1.59 billion active users.  Facebook has become an integrated part of many websites, one major way is by allowing users to sign up to websites by linking their Facebook account instead of having to register all their information.

While people online are able to connect with anyone around the world at any time, that sometimes leaves less time for ones in their personal lives.  People have become accustomed to sharing everything with everyone, and being constantly connected.  In 2015 Francesca Di Meglio interviewed a couple’s therapist to find out about personal situations in where Facebook caused a relationship to end.  She wrote for (Newlyweds, 2015) about a man who rekindled with an ex-girlfriend after reconnecting on Facebook, which ended up destroying his marriage.  There have been many reports that relationship failures have been linked to Facebook use.  (CP U.S., 2014) found that numerous studies showed a direct link between heavy Facebook use and divorce/relationship failure.  One of their sources noted that 80% of divorce attorneys have seen an increase where divorces listed social media as a factor.

Unfortunately, Facebook is also a popular platform for cyber-bullying.  (Cyberbullying Statistics, 2014) compared different surveys taken in 2013-2014 to show trends of cyberbullying.  In 2014 Ditch the Label polled over 10,000 youths and found that young people were twice more likely to be bullied on Facebook than on other social networks.  Their study also showed that 75% of the participants used Facebook, and of that 54% experienced cyber-bullying.  In 2008, an 18 year old girl named Jessica Logan committed suicide following cyberbullying attacks on Facebook and other social media.  (NoBullying.com, 2015) reported that she had sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend and it ended up being spread to hundreds of students.  Obviously Facebook would not condone bullying, they are simply one of the most popular platforms; which is why they are often associated with cyberbullying.

The widespread use of Facebook is also very beneficial for the entertainment industry.  Embedding videos of trailers and sneak peeks, constant sharing lets people know when new music and movies are coming out.  Celebrities also benefit from using social media to communicate with their fans, or even just having a page set up and run by a special team; any fan interacting drives engagement.  According to (Celebrities Social Media, 2014) Kevin Hart’s use of social media helped increase the success of the movie Ride Along.  Kevin Hart, along with many other celebrities, run their own accounts to engage with fans directly and that has more of a positive impact on their success.

With the rising use of Facebook, businesses also benefit from being able to engage with their customers.  Sending out mail advertisements or emailing flyers may not make it to all the expected customers.  Mail often is lost or tossed out and emails can be overlooked or filtered to spam.  In 2012, (Social Media Strategies, 2013) reported that Nike gained over 160 thousand Facebook fans with a social media campaign that featured average athletes rather than the high profile ones.  When a business posts or advertises on Facebook it is almost guaranteed that their customers will see it, along with thousands of other users.  Every time a user engages with a post (whether they like, comment, or share), everyone on their friends list will see; which in turn gives all other users the option to engage as well. 

Other than the spread of misinformation, I think that Facebook is a useful tool for people. We are able to keep in touch with friends and loved ones, meet new people, increase businesses and more.  As with most things in life, I believe it is not necessarily the tool that has pros or cons, but how we choose to use it. 

References

(2013, April 13). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from Social Media Strategies: http://socialmediastrategiessummit.com/blog/top-10-companies-with-successful-social-media-marketing-campaigns-on-facebook/

(2015, December 22). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from NoBullying.com: http://nobullying.com/six-unforgettable-cyber-bullying-cases/

Celebrities Social Media. (2014, April 21). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from Deadline: http://deadline.com/2014/04/celebrities-social-media-hollywood-marketing-vin-diesel-jimmy-fallon-714091/

CP U.S. (2014, July 18). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from Christian Post: http://www.christianpost.com/news/facebook-users-are-more-likely-to-divorce-study-finds-123523/

Cyberbullying Statistics. (2014). Retrieved February 20, 2016, from NoBullying.com: http://nobullying.com/cyberbullying-bullying-statistics-2014-finally/

Newlyweds. (2015, August). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from About: http://newlyweds.about.com/od/gettingalong/a/How-Facebook-Ruined-One-Couples-Marriage.htm

Statistica. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2016, from statistica.com: http://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

Blog #1 - The Internet & Society

The internet has had a major impact on society and has become the main source for information and communication.  The possibilities created by the use of the internet evolve each day and provide new opportunities for everyone.  The most gratifying part of being able to use the internet is that it is instantaneous; no waiting for information.  Thanks to technology you don’t need to be hardwired to a computer and desk anymore, we have access in our hands.  There are often debates on whether the internet is beneficial or harmful to us. 

One of the best features of the internet is the availability of information and what it can do for our education.  Children and students having access to information to help them study and learn is phenomenal.  Many children struggle with homework and they don’t always have someone there to help them.  You can now attend kindergarten through college online; it brings education to many people that wouldn’t be able to get it otherwise.  I suffer from social anxiety and if I weren’t able to take classes online I would have never applied to college.

Many of the features the internet offers can be viewed as a double edge sword.  Electronic publishing offers instant access to readers, saves the company money on printing and helps the environment cut back on tree consumption.  However those same benefits to the businesses that utilize online publishing put other companies at risk of loss or even to go out of business.  Less items are printed which affects jobs in many sectors; printers, suppliers, delivery etc. 

The internet sharing and streaming capabilities has led to digital downloads, streaming radio stations, and free video viewing; and unfortunately pirating copy-written materials.  These services and illegal activities has majorly affected the sales for movies and cd purchases.  According to (Statistica, n.d.) annual music sales have dropped more than 50% since 2007.  While the streaming services and digital media is good for consumers it also affects artists and jobs in the related fields.

While most people enjoy the internet because there are no restrictions or filters, that also poses threats and harm to others.  Without governing of the internet, it is often used for illegal and inappropriate reasons.  It allows illegal activities and information as well as wrong information to be shared with anyone anytime.  With the help of Google, you can find anything, even things you aren’t looking for often pop up as results.  Overall, it is not the internet that is harmful, it is people and what they choose to use it for.

References

Statistica. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2016, from statistica.com: http://www.statista.com/statistics/273308/music-album-sales-in-the-us/

Mini Assignment #1

I started a blog for my small business last year but I haven't kept up with it. I am looking forward to learning more about blogging and how it helps drive social media and traffic to my website.