6-2 Blog: Social Media Tools

This blog assignment is perfect because my position as Communications Coordinator at work is to think of ways to bring the association into the present by means of social media and more web-based communications. We are a state employees association - not a union, but a non-profit, member-run association that lobbies for state employees with the legislature, represents them in work disputes and disciplinary appeals, offers benefit assistance and retirement counseling, and works directly with the legislature and Governor's administration to keep the best interests of state employees in their minds. It's not an easy gig, and we're not always successful given the current political climate in Tennessee, but someone has to stand up for them.

We're in a unique time now where almost one-third of our state's workforce will be retiring in the next 5 years. While the administration has taken steps to change the laws regarding hiring and firing employees in order to have more flexibility in recruiting and retaining employees to take the place of those retiring, as an employee's association we now have to figure out how to not only maintain those retiring employees as active retiree members, but also how to attract newer, younger employees to keep the association going.

As the youngest member of the staff and the most experienced with social media, that's where I come in. My job has been largely focused on growing our social media presence and engaging our membership through the use of tools like Facebook and Twitter - but more needs to be done. So I hope that it is okay that I am drawing upon my own experience as well as my own experimentation for this assignment.

1. Come up with a group/company or non-profit you wish to represent: Tennessee State Employees Association

2. Come up with a target audience for that organization: Young (under 35 years of age) state employees

3. Come up with a message for that audience: Your Job, Your Life, Your Association

4. Select 3 social media tools that would be the most effective to deliver that message to the target audience:
    a. Facebook
    b. Flickr
    c. Podcasts

5. Explain why those social media tools are the most effective.
    a. Facebook - Facebook works to our advantage for both our existing, predominantly older membership base because they've taken to FB to catch up with old friends and keep in touch with extended families. Our FB page showing up in their news feed brings the information to them each day. For our younger, potential members, it taps in to their already developed expectations regarding information and convenience. They're able to log onto FB and see what their friends are doing, catch trending headlines from news media they may be following, and see a post from TSEA regarding an upcoming chapter meeting in their area, giving them the opportunity to attend and be an active participant in their organization. By posting stories from our bi-monthly newspaper (hosted on our website), potential members will have free access to some of the valuable information that had previously only been available to dues paying members, are directed to our website, and presented more reasons to be a member.
    b. Flickr - We've been posting photos from association events on Flickr, as well as meetings with higher-profile state government officials and legislators, and photos submitted by members of their local, chapter meetings and social gatherings. By using this tool, we are able to help build the sense of community and ownership in the association among all of our members. Having photos available online for our younger members gives them the freedom to share the photos on their own social networking sites and reach young co-workers who may not be members. They will be able to see all the events and access being a member to TSEA allows, such as our annual Lobby Day where the association pays for members to come to Nashville and meet with their legislators at important times during Session to discuss bills that will affect their jobs.
    c. Podcasts - This is a venue we have not yet explored, but one that I feel would be a great asset to growing our membership and appealing to younger members because of the convenience factor associated with podcasts. Information delivered while you can do other things - my generation loves to multi-task, so it would be a perfect vehicle for marketing ourselves. If we have a weekly podcast with our Employee Rights representative, they could give advice to new employees/members on how to navigate the appeals process when faced with a disciplinary action. Or our Executive Director could discuss the impact of the latest changes in policy and how TSEA is working with the Administration to make sure no employees are hurt by the changes. The convenience of having that type of information at your disposal while stuck in traffic to and from work, or to be able to listen to it while running on a treadmill is valuable and will only improve our image.

3-2 Blog: Unrestricted Web Publishing

I happen to love Huffington Post (unapologetic liberal, here, but I try to be moderate about it), so it was easy to jump on the website for this week's blog assignment.

And maybe this is just my brain having a difficult time switching gears from our readings (which is a good thing), but I've never noticed just how superficial HuffPo can be. Headlines like "RiRi's Beach Body" and "Gaga Drops $$$" occupy the same space as "John Kerry's Wife Hospitalized" and "Crew Tried to Abort Landing Seconds Before Crash," which makes my head a little spiny. When did we as a society decide Kanye West's activities are on par with the Government Protests in Egypt and that we're okay with that?

My cynical side immediately begins to whisper "Breads and Circuses," but I digress. My selection for the assignment? A short article with four citations:

Armed Protesters Rally in Texas, Denied Entry into State Capitol Building

Armed demonstrators gathered outside the Texas capitol building in Austin on Wednesday, seeking to highlight the state's right to openly carry rifles. While some were unsettled by the display, the protesters said the event was designed to get people accustomed to the weapons and show that those carrying them were normal citizens. 

"That's why we're here. Trying to make people feel more at ease, so they don't feel that way," said Scott Smith, a member of the group Open Carry Texas, which organized the event. 

Spectators weren't the only ones made uneasy by the firearms. Members of the group came with their guns loaded, according to KEYE-TV, which at one point prompted troopers stationed at the capitol to ask the protesters to consider removing the magazines from their rifles. They declined, noting that they were within their rights to have live rounds in their weapons. 

Later in the day, demonstrators attempted to enter the state capitol building with their guns out. They were turned away by a trooper, who told them that while concealed handguns were permitted inside, their semi-automatic assault rifles weren't. 

In Colorado, other gun rights activists used Independence Day to rally for their cause. Members of a local tea party group brought their weapons to a parade in Custer County, Colo. on Thursday, though theirs were reportedly not loaded.

The sources cited in the article were as follows (listed in order of appearance, as hyperlinked in the article & text above):

Protesters Openly Carry Guns during Texas Capitol Rally
Protesters Confront Troopers at Texas State Capitol

An Entry Reserved for Those With Guns

Hundreds bear arms in Westcliffe parade

The article was written by HuffingtonPost staffer Nick Wing, who has a mix of straight-forward news articles (AJ Marin, Pennsylvania Activist, Arrested for Writing Pro-Healthcare Message in Chalk) and opinion articles (A Year after Supreme Court Ruling, Obamacare is Still Constitutional, Nation Still hasn't Imploded) in his publishing history with the website. Beyond that, no further information is given about Mr. Wing, including his background, education, or training, or publications of the scholarly or otherwise professional persuasion.

Seeing as this is a straightforward report on an event which occurred at the Texas State Capitol, the use of local news outlets (75% of his source material) and the New York Times to round out his source material is encouraging, and there is an absence of personal bias in the article. Each source falls under the category of News and Journalistic Sites, according to the Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources in our Module 3 assignment resources.

Mr. Wing covers the 5 W's and H in this article, making it informative and concise:

Who: Demonstrators, Gun Enthusiasts, and members of Open Carry Texas
What: The demonstrators made passersby and members of the Texas State Police uneasy by assembling with a large cache of loaded weapons, and were denied entry to the Capitol due to safety concerns
Where: Texas State Capitol - Austin, Texas
When: July 3, 2013
Why: "...the protesters said the event was designed to get people accustomed to the weapons and show that those carrying them were normal citizens."
How: Second Amendement Right to Bear Arms, First Amendement Right to Assemble

All source material is current, with the exception of the New York Times Article, An Entry Reserved for Those With Guns. However, this article (published in March 2013) was used as background for the group's attempt at entry into the Capitol: A majority of Texas Legislators have concealed carry permits and exercise their right to carry firearms with them while within the walls of the Capitol, and it has been stated numerous times that there is an ease within the Capitol regarding the presence of firearms. This sentiment reflects the desires of the group, Open Carry Texas, and thought it would be enough to permit entry.

The article is overall well rounded, objective, and informative, making it a great source of information. But there was a lot of research necessary to make that determination, and that is far more than most people are willing to do when reading the news themselves. This makes the role of the responsible journalist all the more important.