Traysea Gilmore Module 5 Post 1

I saw that someone else did meetup.com but I thought it was an interesting site and that it would be beneficial for my group's NPO. Meetup is a free social media platform with more than 23 million users worldwide. I was surprised to read that there were this many members and I'd never heard of it before. This site makes it easy for people in a community to meet with others that share the same interests. The site is pretty easy to navigate but if someone needs help there is a page with a lot of helpful information. I think this could be a good platform for the Kearney World Theatre to have because there are a lot of people in town that are interested in film and plays but it can be difficult to find and connect with them. The theatre could make a group and get word out about meetings which could lead to more people attending. It isn't well known but I think that this NPO would benefit from getting involved in this platform.

Brady Vieth Post 1 Module 5

I found a very cool social media platform called Flickr. Flickr was founded in 2002 by Ludicorp. Flickr is a way to share pictures with friends and family. This sounds a lot like Instagram to me though, which could be a reason that they aren't as known as other sites. Some basic information that Flickr puts out about itself is that they are a way to organize and share photos with people who matter to that person. I think that this is a cool idea as it just is another way to connect with people.

Logan Yager- Module 5 Post #1

The social media outlet that I have viewed for this post is Tumblr. It has been around since February of 2007 and is mainly used by teenagers aged 13-18 years old. They hold a total user count of 34 million people which makes them quite small in comparison to other outlets. The site allows users to make text posts and include anything from videos, photos, gifs, and web links in them. It also allows users to search for various topics or accounts using key words. The site is rather easy to use, but the setup is a little more confusing then other more popular media sites. A variety of celebrities and companies use Tumblr to connect with fans, but the number isn't nearly as high as counterparts such as Facebook and Twitter. Overall, it seems like an enjoyable site that breaks away from the ordinary sites.

Michael Wiese Module 5-2

The social media network that I will be evaluating is called TOUT.  TOUT is a microblogging service that enables its users to send and view 15 second videos which they call touts.  It gained popularity in 2011 when Shaquille O'Neal used it announce his retirement.  There have been over 12 million visitors since its launch and over 75 million videos have been created and shared.  It is a free to use network.  I find that it is very easy to use too.  It is just like vine just that you can have longer videos. I do not think that my NPO (Arc of Buffalo County)  would find much benefit from TOUT because the videos are not long enough to get information out.

Module 5 Post #2

http://www.yuku.com/#pos-5

Yuku is an online community for people to connect over common interests. It allows users to create boards over their interests and invite other people to be friends. It is similar to Facebook and it allows people to private message them and have conversations privately. This is free to use and makes money through advertising. There are points that a user accumulates and then the profiles of the top users are displayed on the front page of the website.
This would be a good place for our NPO, Classic Car Collection of Kearney to find a page for old, vintage cars and get their name on it. It would be a great way to advertise upcoming events and let the people know about it that would really be the target audience. 

Layne Rogers- Module #5, Blog #2

The second social networking site that I cam across is Ning. This media platform enables people to use tools and gain expertise in connecting with the community. A few features that Ning contains are forums and photos with liking and sharing, unlimited sub-groups, customizable member profiles, member categories, and email broadcast capability. The way people publish on this site is the blog feature, and through the blogs there is social integration through the more popular media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. There are three different levels that can be bought on Ning including basic, performance, and ultimate. With the basic level the monthly price is twenty-five dollars, one-thousand members, two administrators, and email supports. In the performance level the monthly price is forty-nine dollars, with ten-thousand members, five administrators, and email and phone support. Finally, the ultimate level has a monthly price of ninety-nine dollars, one-hundred thousand members, ten administrators, priority email and hotline supports, and APIs. This type of social platform would benefit my NPO. Using Ning would allow for The Arc of Buffalo to create a community and be able to share their content in an effective way.

Module 5 - Article #2

The social website I used for my second article is Meetup. Meetup is a site where users can type in their zip code and find other users in there area to get together for any type of meeting. Meetup is free and very simple to use. When logging on, all the user has to do is type in their zip code and from there the website does the rest! I think that an NPO group could benefit from this site by using it to find other members of their community with the same interests and set up meeting times for anyone who is interested in helping their NPO or learning more about their NPO to get together, whether it be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. Over time their group would grow and it would help get the word out about their organization.

http://www.meetup.com/about/

Chance Bila, Module 5- Post #3

Many of us have heard of and are apart of Pintrest. However, a site similar to it is becoming more popular and that is Polyvore. Polyvore is a website, similar to Pintrest, where you are able to share an post pictures. With that being said, Polyvore is more for current and recent fashion trends. This website not only puts you intouch with todays current trends but also allows you to purchase items at a click of a button. After creating an account it is relatively simple to use Polyvore you simply just scroll through different items click the heart next to those you like or click the URL beneath the item in order to direct you to purchasing options. Overall, Polyvore is Relatively simple webesite that I can see being successful in the future.

http://www.polyvore.com/peep-toe_booties/shop?query=peep-toe+booties

Josh Mooney-Article #1

One new social media platform that I came across was Kenshoo Social. This platform allows users to target social marketing campaigns using data, matrices and algorithms and finds target audiences. This could be very helpful for a lot of businesses that are trying to get a new product on the market and find out what the sales may be.

Module 5 Flickr

The social media site that I am doing is called Flickr.  Flickr is a photo management and sharing application.  The company has two goals.  First one is they want to help people make their photos available to the people who matter to them.  Their second goal is they want to enable new ways of organizing photos and video.  Flickr is like Instagram and Pinterest because you can share pictures with other people.  It also is very good for uploading very well done pictures and keeping them in one spot.  The easy of use seems to be very straight forward to me upload pictures and share them.  There is no coast that I could find.  I think that my NPO (Arc of Buffalo County) could use Flickr because they have many events and they could show the community what they are doing through Flickr.  

Module 5 - Article #1

The site I chose for my first article is Zooppa. Zooppa is a site that brings together people to get together and share creative ideas for advertisements. Users and companies can submit advertisement ideas to the site for other users to review and comment on. They even have contests which involve cash prizes to people who submit the best ads. I think that this site would be very useful for non-profit organizations to get creative on ways to advertise their organization and get the word out in a way that would intrigue everyone in their target audience. They could also get feedback on what works and what doesn't from the other users. Zooppa is free to join, either through your email or Facebook account and is very easy to use. The layout allows the user to simply navigate around the site and know exactly what they are clicking on. On Zooppa you can show off your creativity and share your ideas either as a regular user or a company.

https://zooppa.com/en-us

blog 5 post 2

Sonico/Twoo

                  I found about this platform along time ago when I was in high school. My cousin in Mexico told me about it and said that I should check it out. He and a lot of people from his community in Chihuahua used this platform along with Facebook and others.

                  Sonico or now known as Twoo connects over 10 million active users. It connects people to others within their community. Many say that this social media platform is excellent if you move somewhere over seas. With over 230k downloads for mobile apps it’s very obvious that this social media platform is popular. A lot of the reviews were either bad or really good. My review is that unless someone you know is on it don’t sign up.

Module 5 - Article #2

For my second article I chose to do Zorpia.  Zorpia is a social network that has a large international community. Zorpia’s features include profile customization, networking features and an incredibly detailed search. Zorpia has an impressive music section featuring popular artists like Ashlee Simpson, Vanessa Hudgens, Alanis Morissette and more. You can purchase a Royal Membership for extra networking options such as an ad–free profile, extra profile design features and unlimited messaging.

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/40-most-popular-social-networking-sites-world

Tyler Walker Module 5 Post 2

Tango is a social media application that allows people to message one to one or group chat, video chat, and audio chat. The application download is free and it has game downloads paired with the application that are also free. This application is available for Apple and Android products but only for mobile devises. The ease of use is basic technology skills. The use of Tango for a nonprofit organization would be limited. The only useful way to use Tango for a nonprofit is communicating with other members of the nonprofit organization.

http://www.tango.me/

Chance Bila, Module 5- post #2

Path is a social networking site that is similar to facebook. Like facebook, you can view a time line feature which shows events, birthdays, etc. Where path differs, though, is its inner circle feature. the inner circle feature. the inner circle feature allows you to limit your number of friends in order to keep in touch with, "friends you care about most." This feature allows you to limit your inner circle to 150 friends which allows you eliminate all the random friend requests and notifications from people you do not know.

https://path.com/moments

This---Module 5- Post 1

As I was searching for uncommon social networking platforms, I ran into an article about a new social networking platform called "This". This is currently under testing and is an invite only test. Therefore, I was unable to actually go and explore the platform. The good news is that we should be able to do some poking around here soon, it is said that This may go public by the end of 2015, and we only have two months left in the year. Now, what is This? This is a completely new form of social network, one with less clutter. How long does it take you to go through your feed and how many things do you find that are unimportant or are a waste of your time. Well, This hopes to eliminate all the clutter by letting users only post one link per day. I have no idea if it will have status updates of picture sharing, but I do like what I have heard so far about "This". I look forward to hearing more about This social media platform.

I feel that the Kearney Area Children's Museum could find other resources to better suit their needs. This, would not allow my NPO the publicity that if needs. It would not be able to target families and children, which is the main audience at the Kearney Area Children's Museun.

Post 2

https://www.periscope.tv/

The second social networking website that I found is Periscope. It is actually only offered on android or apple devices at this time, but it is an up and coming social media platform that may eventually be offered on computers as well. I found Periscope to be interesting because it allows you to explore the world by watching and creating live broadcasts.Viewers can also interact with broadcasters in real-time using Hearts and Messages. Periscope is backed by Twitter, so wen you sign in you sign in through your Twitter account which makes the process very easy for users. You do not have to pay to use the app either as it is free in the App Store (I'm not sure if it is for Android devices). For my NPO this could be a useful tool because they can post live videos of what they are doing and how others can get involved. People can also respond and let them know what they think of what they have going on and different ideas that they may have.

Module 5 - Article 1

I found "Classmates.com" when searching for non-popular social media sites.  Classmates.com is different from most social networks, in the sense that most of its features are available to premium member. The price for premium members depends on the length of the agreement – shorter term results in a higher cost per month. Classmates.com is primarily used to reconnect with old classmates. The site features lets you view other people who went to the same school you attended. Creating a basic Classmates.com profile is free and easy. However, most of the advanced features in Classmates.com are only available to paid users.

Module 5 Post 1

BBS

When we think of social media we think about Facebook and Twitter primarily. However just like any evolving idea it must start somewhere. These social media platforms most likely would not exist if it were not for the BBS. This prehistoric platform is known as a Bulletin Board System.

                  As early as the 1980’s people have been using a form of social media. To inform, educate and communicate to users from across the internet, dial-up or Telnet. Basicly the BBS is a computer or applicated that is only designed to share ideas and pictures and such. Sort of like an email system that we have now. The BBS is still used but in more underdeveloped areas with limited internet connection. Once upon a time, in 1078, a BBS was used by the U.S Department of Defense known as the CBBS.

Module 5 Post 1

Reddit is a social media web site that utilizes everything on the Internet from jokes, pictures, and news.  It is like nothing else really on the Internet.  Reddit calls itself the front page of the Internet, because of all of the things that a person can do on it.  What makes Reddit a social media is that people have usernames, friends list, a way to private message other users, and big group discussions.  Reddit has groups that one can join called subreddits,  the subreddits are everything imaginable and then some.  When you first go to Reddit it can be vary hard to figure it out at first there is a lot going on the front page.  Once you get the feel of how it works and you get everything set up Reddit becomes very user friendly.  My NPO is the Arc of Buffalo County, I do not thing that they would get much benefit from using reddit.  The only way they could would be to create a subreddit and have all of their Facebook friends join.

Chris Fakkema: Module 5, Blog 2- Xing

How many of you have heard of the social media site Xing?  Similar to LinkedIn, Xing is a career-oriented social networking site. This social media platform is based out of Hamburg, Germany, and was founded in 2003. Xing claims to be the largest business network in German-speaking countries, but the platform is also available is number of different languages.  Xing is a free social media platform, but also allows members the ability to upgrade, and choose a premium membership. The basic membership package allows users to create a profile page, and send invitations to contacts. The premium membership package features professional networking capabilities, including the ability to keep track of profile visitors, and the option to send messages to anyone on the site. Xing is available with internet access on personal computers, mobile phones, PDA’s, and smart phones. Xing is a relatively easy social media platform to use, and has an array of helpful tips to get started.  However, the Xing social media platform seems to be designated for European clientele, and I do not think that my non-profit organization (The Ark of Buffalo County), would benefit from the platform.

Tyler Walker Module 5 Post 1

Kik is a instant messaging social media platform that allows people to send text, photo, and video. The ease of use is simple for a person with average technology skills. This application can be downloaded to different devices such as; computers, smartphones, and tablet devices. The application lets you create a profile similar to other social media platforms but is not as extensive as Facebook. There are other applications that can be downloaded and paired with Kik. For example, they have a video applications download that allows the user to use Kik to video chat. This would not be a useful social media platform for a nonprofit organization because it is centered on communicating social with other people. There are a few was it could be used but it would be best to find another social media platform.

http://www.kik.com/

David Krumland Module 5 - Post 2 - Yik Yak

"I wonder if there is a way to take all the the crappy things people think and all the terrible things they want to do, and make that public information without consequences."

That was probably the thought process of the inventor of Yik Yak.  In my opinion Yik Yak is one of the worst things this world has come up with. I have only gone on the app two or three times, but I distinctly remember where I was each time because I was in such shock by the nasty things people come up with and that this kind of platform exists. This app is a hub for bullying, racist, sexist, gay, religious, political comments. Yik Yak is a breading ground for bullying because there is seemingly no identity connected with it. Now reality wins on this because to sign up you have to give your phone number which is used to locate you so that the yaks you read are relevant to your area. Yik Yak is very good at finding you location. When I used it on campus, almost every thing I read was about UNK. The other time I used it was when I was visiting the Air Force Academy and everything I read was about the academy. It appeals to a large crowd because realistically people are terrible, and if they can get away with something wrong, they most likely will try. However, IP addresses are also tracked, so if you were to make a threat, say about the UNK library, authorities can just collect the IP address and then bam you are no longer anonymous. I will give credit to the developer because they new how to make something that appeals to a large audience, but its too bad that it became a real platform, because nothing good comes out of it. That being said, I do not think Restore Ministries (my NPO) would benefit at all from being on the site.

Haley Houtwed Module #5 Post 2

Tsu is a very interesting platform. I have never heard of a social media site where you have to be invited in which is what Tsu is. Also, it is almost like YouTube's partnership program where they share 90% of their revenue with their users. They keep track of the users and how much they bring to the site to make them grow. If you invite people that make creative content, you also get some of their revenue. It reminds me of some of the home businesses like Pampered Chef or something. You are limited in the amount of content you put on the site. For example, you can put 45 posts up per day. You can also only follow a 1000 people. To get revenue, the company will send a check if your balance is over $100. This concept of a social media home business is very interesting to me. The exclusiveness is different as many social networking sites are so open to many people. While I think that Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska would greatly benefit from the extra income for their non-profit so they can make more of a difference in our community, I think that Tsu would not be realistic being invited by someone else and then constantly creating new content from their events would be difficult and time consuming. There would have to be a lot of income coming in to make it worth it.

David Krumland Module 5 - Post 1 - PPPHOTO

PPPHOTO is a ppphhhhantastic idea if I ppphhhsssay so my ppphhhself. - Daffy Duck.

Just kidding, that's not a direct Daffy quote, but it is a quote from me. PPPHOTO was introduced to me around march and is a sort of DIY gif maker. It has both a browser page and app but is mostly operational from the app because you can only post from the app. Similar to Instagram it has a scrolling layout and uses hashtags to push your ppphotos out, and is meant to be a quick and easy way to show little bits of your life. PPPHOTO takes a series of 5 pictures and then plays them forward and then backward to get a short choppy motion picture. It allows for more of a story to be told with motion rather then photogenic creativity. It is incredibly simple to use, and most importantly it keeps you coming back because of how easy it makes being creative. It is free to use, so why not!

I can't imagine Restore Ministries going crazy on this platform but I think demolition ppphotos would be really cool to look at and would bring in more recruits. Seeing a broken house getting torn down with chains then going backwards would be awesome! The NPO would benefit if they had their volunteers use the app and post ppphotos with information directing to their Facebook page (their only online webpage), but having its own profile would be good too.

Module 5 Post #1 Haley Houtwed

About.me is a great site that is very interesting. When I first checked out the sight, I was actually very impressed. The site is put up very nice! An article I read described it as a digital business card which I agree with. The company was bought by AOL right after they started, but they recently bought themselves back (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/about-me-buys-itself-back-from-aol/?_r=0). While LinkedIn is more of a personal resume, About.me is a site where people can make a profile that is brief, send people compliments (likes and wall posts equivalent to Facebook), and add people to their collection. I think the idea is great as I feel it is better done artistically than LinkedIn, and it has the business. However, I have looked at profiles, and they seem to be friends with the people they are connecting with in a business setting. While I don't think this would be necessarily good for Community Action Partnership of Mid-Nebraska, I think that this should be what their employees and executives do in order to have their face connected with the organization. It would give a chance to see the people behind the company.

Lindsie Woolley Module 5 blog post 1

Hyper a social media site that utilizes pictures. A lot like Instagram but features an up vote and down vote. Photos that are more popular are featured more often therefore getting more exposure. It also has a place to tag geographically where you are so that you can connect with more users in your vicinity. This sort of app wasn't too hard to use. I downloaded it to my phone and for the most part it didn't take me long to figure out how to use it. However it did have a lot of glitches but I am sure so did Facebook when it first started. For Classic Car Collection this wouldn't be too hard to use. It would be an easy way for them to show pictures of a few cars and then various events that they have. The geo tagging part would be a very great feature as far as Classic Car Collection is concerned because it would make it easy to pin point their location so new customers can find it. 

Post 1

https://about.me/

This social networking site allows users to create a page that allows them to link multiple online identities, relevant external sites, and popular social networking websites. The profiles that users create are only one page that can have an artistic background and a biography about the user. Users are also able to get detailed stats about who has visited their page, what they clicked on, and where they came from. You are also able to search by an interest, place, organization, or name. I had never heard of this social networking website before, so I decided to create a profile to see how complicated it is and was surprised to find it extremely simple and fast. When creating ann account you are able to connect with your Facebook profile and then asks if you want posts to also be posted on your Facebook page. For my NPO I think that this could be beneficial for them because they will be able to create a profile with a basic biography about who they are and what they do. People will then be able to find them and learn about what they do and potentially be interested in also getting involved.

Alex Obermier: Module 5 Post 2

The second social media site that I found,  never have heard of. It is call Pheed. It is supposed to be a young and upcoming social media  site that will bring everything together. This site you can subscribe to channels or special events that are happening. You do have to subscribe to events and channels, so this site is not completely free. It it kinda cool because it brings bits of other sites all together. Such as pictures, videos, shopping, selling, just about anything that you can think of. I think this could end up being a very popular site after a while.

For my groups NPO, which is the humane society in Kearney I believe it could use this site. It would be a good way to possibly sell or buy things for the organization. Also you could post pictures and videos that could show of the organization and what they all have to offer.

Post #1-Ning

http://www.ning.com/

This social media site is one that I had never heard of before. It is a site to create communities around things that interest you. It allows anyone create a social network around whatever subject they want. This website has Java, and also has an app for people to use. To create the social network that the user wants, there are pre-made template for people to customize to their liking. Ning offers a free trial to start, but charges after that. The packages range from $25-99, and offer different features with each.

For our NPO, Classic Car Collection of Kearney, I think that this would be a good way to get their name out there. The fact that classic cars are a hobby for a lot of people, a social network that focuses on old cars would be ideal for CCC of Kearney. All it would take is someone in one of those groups to bring up the collection and the advertising would go from there.

Unmetric-Post #2

For this post, I am going to evaluate Unmetric. This was a social media site that was number one on Forbes 15 Social Media Companies To Watch in 2015. I was immediately interested in the idea behind this social media platform.

Unmetric is a "social media analytics and competitive intelligence platform" that is used to help companies brainstorm. They enter their successful marketing campaigns and the website uses data from those campaigns to show the business which parts are most relevant to a new campaign. This website is very quick and easy to use. It even provides real-time alerts when one's competition is posting more relevant and compelling content than you are.

Unmetric has an unlimited number of users, no audience size restriction, and all major social networks are included. There is one downside though. Unmetric has a huge cost associated. This ranges from $490 a month to $1560 a month. It can be a great tool, but great tools apparently come with a great cost as well.

Although this wouldn't be very useful for the SAFE Center-my NPO, I could see it being very useful for a for-profit business.

Module 5 Post 2

VK is one of Europe's largest social networking sites.  They even claim to be the biggest in Europe.  The site looks remarkably like Facebook.  It has the same blue background and layout, along with many similar features.  Each month over 100 million users log onto VK.  Since this is a newer social media platform, most of the users are younger.  Some big brand names like National Geographic and BBC have all made accounts on here to reach out to younger customers.  The platform is free to use and is very simple to set up.

I think that my NPO, Domesti-PUPS would not get much use out of using this social platform.  Although there is a huge following in Europe, it hasn't caught on in American yet, and shows no signs of do so anytime soon.  I think Domesti-PUPS would be better off using their time and resources on Facebokk than trying to start this new platform.

Chance Bila, Module 5- Blog #1

Say you have just created a highly informative powerpoint for a class that could be useful to not only your classmates to view after your presentation, but for the entire world to see as well. The social media site Slide Share does exactly that. Slide share allows you to post any slide shows youd like as well as view a plethora of other presentations. After creating an account using slide share is rather simple. to share a presentation simply click upload in the top right hand corner of the site and upload your pesentation from your computer, google docs, or dropbox. Also, Viewing slides is incredibly easy. upon opening the website hundreds of slideshows are able to view you can also search specific users and topics to find what you are specifically looking for.

http://www.slideshare.net

Chris Fakkema- Module 5, Blog 1

Yik Yak is a mobile social media application for IOS and Android operating systems. Essentially, it is a local bulletin board for your users to post anonymously. Users are able to see recent posts from other users within a designated area, without having to know them.  However, individuals also have the capability to see what users are posting in other areas of the country. Users vote on posts, known as ‘upvotes’ or ‘downvotes’, within their designated area. Yik Yak is a free mobile social media app, meaning that it can only be used on mobile devices.  I do not foresee my NPO using the Yik Yak application, as it seems to be directed more to high school and college students. As I previously stated, this app is anonymous, so users do not know whose post they are reading (unless they specifically state their name, phone number, etc).  Therefore, it would be even more difficult for the Ark of Buffalo County to gain any sort of benefit from using this social media application.

Module 5, Post 2

http://chirp.io/faq/

Have any of you heard of Chirp?  Or, maybe some of you use it.  This is a quick and easy way to share without having to turn on your Bluetooth.  If you want to send a picture, notes or links,  you just hit the chirp button, the sound is made and anyone using the same app may hear your chirp and receive your picture.  They are possibly looking at being able to select who you want to send your chirp too, but right now, they want to keep it open like it is.  I don't think I would this kind of social media, because what if it gets sent to a stranger?  I haven't read much about how that doesn't happen, so I am a little confused.  I do find this to be an okay platform for my NPO.  As long as others have this, and you need to send out instructions, or directions or any other important information, you can just send it in a chirp and everyone can get it at one time.  I would prefer e-mail or text messaging, but that's my opinion.

Luke Friesen Module 5: Give Me a Hi-5

You've heard of Tinder, eHarmony, Match.com and sites that help you meet people and possibly your "soulmate," but have you heard of or used Hi-5? Hi-5 has previously been a social networking site geared towards gamers, but has transitioned into a dating site. It is free to set up, and you can filter your news feed to a specific group or gender. It is very similar to Facebook as far as what you can do with your profile. It has one unique feature where you can "purchase" friends and be purchased with the result of increased credibility to your profile. You can also use it like Tinder and say yes or no to potential matches for dates if that's what you want to use the site for.

Module 5 Post 1

There is a Chinese social media platform called WeChat (known as Weixin in China) that is growing rapidly.  IT started out as a messaging tool, but has expanded to include features like video calls, photo sharing and status updates as well.  It first came to the Internet in 2001, and has been growing rapidly ever since.  It already has almost as many members as Twitter (190 Million) and is growing at 25 million users per month.  National brands are starting to catch on, and companies like Nike and Starbucks have started using the site as well.  It is free to use for all basic users.

The NPO that my group is covering is DomestiPUPS, an organization that focuses on service, therapy, and adoptable dogs.  I think that as long as WeChat keeps growing at its current growth rate, it will soon be a big platform in the United States as well as world wide.  Once people start using this network it will be a goldmine for new customers, since there won't be many other companies on there.  I think this could offer DomestiPUPS an almost unlimited amount of advertising exposure if the platform is picked up in the United States.

Alex Obermier Module 5 Post 1

My first blog post is over a social media website called Renren. It is a pretty popular site in China. It is a site where you can interact, communicate, and play games with others online. It is a free of use social media site. The ease of use is pretty easy, it labels out almost anything you can think of and can find information easily. This is mainly just a Chinese website, but it is also a great way for people in other countries to connect and make relations with others in China. Renren was developed to change the way Chinese people interacted and shopped. They wanted to make Renren a almost everything website. This is where you can enter this website and do everything you want to just on this one site.
Looking at the site I found out you can contact people for issue with your account or if you have any other problems. Overall for my NPO this site could work if you wanted to sell the animals on the site, but there that would be about all NPO could use for this website.
 

Layne Rogers Module 5, Post 1

Tout is a microblogging, video publishing platform, where you can capture a fifteen second video on your smartphone or tablet and post it on a real-time feed (Marketplace). This social media channel is mainly used for news feed, entertainment and sports brands, to reach their target audience. Those who use Tout are publishers, content creators, and advertisers to generate online video revenue through this platform. For example, news reports or sports journalists use it to capture videos that can greatly impact their audience and can then publish it to their websites. Some features include Smart-Article, Marketplace, Mobile Capture, and Private Network. The Smart-Article is used to analyze a text based article and determine if certain videos are relevant to the content. The Marketplace is another feature where multiple videos can be posted and viewed, while the Mobile Capture feature can capture videos and publish them to the desired website. Finally, the Private Network feature is used to build your own network to achieve certain goals such as controlling and managing campaigns through videos. While this is a valuable social media channel, I do not think this would benefit my NPO. Mostly because those who use Tout use it for entertainment and news purposes, not for non-profit awareness.

Blab-Post #1

Before getting into my review of Blab, I'm going to help you guys understand what it is. I didn't know what Blab was or that it even existed until I looked for new social media platforms for this assignment. Blab is a live streaming platform that allows up to four people at a time to interact through video publicly. I have read that it basically combines Meerkat, Periscope, and Google Hangouts into one. Other people that aren't actively video chatting can log on and off and leave their comments as they see fit. If one of the four seats to video chat are open a viewer can easily request to join the conversation.

Since blab has so many positive aspects, I am going to start this post with one of its negatives (probably the biggest). Blab is still relatively new so it doesn't have a very big user base. However, its numbers are supposed to blow up in 2016 so this problem could be fixing itself.

Some of the positive aspects are that Blab staff are constantly watching the videos of their users and offer helpful comments regularly. They even directly answer your questions. Also, video had huge growth in business-related social media this year so Blab is right on top of that. With their two-four way public interactions they are opening new doors. In order to use Blab, you must use Firefox or Chrome.

Overall, for my NPO (SAFE Center) I don't think this will help get the word out (just yet). However, it could help quite a bit with coming up with marketing strategies or even with the group work in this class. I think that when the user base grows, it will be a great way to get the word out to people that may be struggling with violence in the home or know someone that is. It's also a great way to start conversations about unsafe environments versus lecturing about them.

Alex Schoneman Module 5 Post 2 Athlinks

The social media platform that I am evaluating for my second platform is Athlinks. Athlinks is a social media platform that connects athletes to other athletes. Its primary use is to function as a result board in part for swimming, biking, and running races. It is free of use so it really is useful if you are an athlete looking to track your results or that of a competitors. There are elite professional athletes that use this site as well as the weekend warrior. On their learn more page, it states that if you cross a finish line, you belong on Athlinks. The website can be used in different language so that it becomes easier to use. This site was launched in 2001 and is still common today with over 139,000 registered users with growth but not a large significant growth. This site wouldn’t work for my NPO because it has nothing to do with posting specific content other than athletics and for that reason my NPO wouldn’t be able to use it.