VoIP Extra Credit

I enjoyed doing this extra credit assignment as I use Skype to talk to people that I don’t see on an everyday basis. I mostly use Skype to talk with friends and family in New York, my parents in Miami and my Dad when he is traveling overseas. I also spoke frequently to my old college roommate when he was studying abroad in China! I have never before used Jing and found this free software to be quite useful. I liked that I could record conversations and watch them over again or share with others.  It was easy to choose what area of the screen I wanted to record and how to stop the recording. I hope to use this software to record video conferences at business meetings and to chat with friends and family members who live faraway. Before Skype became popular to use, I used a VOIP by the name of oovoo.

Here is a video of my Skype chat with my cousin in Syracuse:

http://www.screencast.com/users/mattth412/folders/Jing/media/cd9626dd-59d3-4708-91a8-28e170a519df

Database Project

The Database Project was the most challenging project I have done in this class. I began using Access at the end of last year because I have been doing a survey conducted with the Veteran’s Administration at work. At first, I found that particular survey to be very difficult because of Access, but after a month I was able to conduct the survey with ease and teach others how to properly conduct the survey.  However, this project was still quite challenging for me but after completing it, I found the skills I have learned to be quite useful.  I found the Wizard for the table, report, query and form to be easy to use and to setup each item. The most difficult part was getting member’s left date to be in descending order while their last names should be in ascending order and formatting the footer correctly.  I also learned how to add new members in the form activity and lock their identification number. Originally, I must have missed the part about how Access was able to choose a primary key for me to use so it took me a while to figure out which data I should set as my primary key.

A way that I would enhance the functionality of the database would be to add more information to the Member’s Table such as a phone number and e-mail address.  By adding phone numbers, you can track down people who have not re-signed and publicize the latest deals to them over the phone in an effort to get them to re-sign. E-mailing members is also an effective way to get them to re-sign if they learn about a great deal. You could also add the reason they left the gym to the table so you know how to improve how the gym operates and so you can add additional members. In addition, you could remove the state that members live in because it would be very unlikely for anyone to join a gym here that does not already live in Florida in order to eliminate redundant values.

I am glad that I was able to learn how to use Access to keep track of a large database and think that it will definitely come in handy. My job as a supervisor at a Survey Center where there are currently hundreds of employees as well as thousands of past employees demands that I keep track of people’s first day of work, their last day of work, what surveys they completed, their professionalism and abilities on each call and if they retrieved any records to call back.  Although I had to start over a few times because I couldn’t find an undo button once I made an error, this project taught me a lot of new tips on managing a large database.

Tutorial Blog 3: Creating a Facebook Fan Page

During my time as an Account Executive with Alpha PRoductions, UF’s student run PR firm, I was asked to help build a social media presence for my client, the Institute for Public Relations. I helped design their Facebook Fan Page, which is currently being followed by 45 people (the number of people following the page has been going up as word gets out about IPR). Go ahead and “Like” it so that IPR can continue to grow its audience.   Since the page has been built, the Institute has shared videos from their annual conference in Coral Gables and posted relevant articles on public relations.

Today, I would like to show you how to build a Facebook Fan Page for your business. It is a great tool for businesses as their latest updates are shown on their follower’s news feeds and they can keep track of upcoming events and watch original videos.

The first step you need to do when creating a Facebook Fan Page is to go to the website, http://www. Facebook.com/pages/create.php. On this page you have the option of choosing Local Business or Place, Company, Organization, or Institution, Brand or Product, Artist, Band or Public Figure, Entertainment, or Cause or Community.

Figure 1

(Facebook Fan Page – Create a Page, http://www.Facebook.com/pages/create.php, Screenshot w/ Snipping Tool by Matt Hersch, Copyright 2011)



Once you agree to the terms, Facebook will allow you to design your page and gives you tips on how to build your fan page. You are now able to add images, invite friends, tell your fans and post status updates. Before you invite people to access your page, you need to add information about your company and give your page its own visual identity. After you are finished adding background information about your company, you should add logos, photos and videos to promote your page.

   Figure 2

(Facebook Page Terms, http://www.facebook.com/terms_pages.php, Screenshot w/ Snipping Tool by Matt Hersch, Copyright 2011)

  
For my client, the Institute for Public Relations, I identified the company as a Company, Organization or Institution. Next, I had to choose a specific type of company from a long list, list the name of the company and check a box to agree to Facebook’s Page Terms. The Page Terms goes over the terms and conditions you must agree to in order to start a Facebook Fan Page and is very similar to the EULA that we learned about earlier in class. By signing the Page Terms, you agree that only an authorized representative of the subject matter may administer the page and agree to prohibit third party advertisements. You must allow all information posted on the Fan Page to be public information and to be made available to everyone.

Figure 3

(Institute for Public Relations Fan Page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage/#!/pages/Institute-for-Public-Relations/148415338553371, Screenshot w/ Snipping Tool by Matt Hersch, Copyright 2011)

People who use Facebook use it mainly for social networking as well as establishing and maintaining relationships. The same rules apply for businesses that create Facebook Fan Pages. In order to get and retain the most followers, companies should invite their Facebook friends, colleagues and those that belong to their target audience to “Like” their page. In order to maintain relationships with their fans, companies need to post frequent and relevant status updates to gain interest from friends of the Institute and keep them informed of all recent activity.

A benefit of building a fan page is that you are able to link your page to other online venues, such as Twitter, your company’s website and RSS feeds by adding widgets. A widget is a mini application embedded within a web page that adds content frequently supplied by a third party. It allows your fans to quickly navigate to your site and to the other social media sites your company actively participates in.

Now you can create your own Facebook Fan Page for your company so that you can interact with your supporters and encourage them to go to events, watch updated videos and visit relevant websites. I really hope you “Like” this tutorial and wish you luck on building your own Facebook Fan Page.



Figure 4

(Institute for Public Relations – Get Started Page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php#!/pages/Institute-for-Public-Relations/175513365829804?created, Screenshot w/ Snipping Tool by Matt Hersch, Copyright 2011)