Week #10: The Final Post.

Well, I must admit I thought the day would NEVER come and now it’s here at last! Our last day of class and my last blog post for BLSinDC. It has been a wild and crazy trip. I remember coming into this class so excited to begin. I have always loved Social Media and figured this class would be a piece of cake.

BOY was I wrong!

This class has taught me that there is way more to Social Media than meets the eye. It takes countless hours of work and planning. At the start of the semester, I definitely didn’t realize how much time and dedication would go into updating and maintaining this blog. I also didn’t realize how hard it would be to keep thinking of fresh material, and making sure I kept consistently writing about topics that were relevant and interesting to my readers.

Not only is it hard work, you have to be very focused. I sometimes found it difficult to find topics that were inline with my blog’s theme while meeting our class subject requirements.

I also discovered that no matter how hard you try, sometimes you just can’t fake it. The best blogs out there are written by people who are passionate about what they write about. Their passion comes through in their work, that’s why readers go to their sites and follow their posts.

For me, that post was Week #6: Is ‘niche’ just another word for obsessed?

Throughout this semester, I’ve been keeping track of my blog’s daily page views with the WordPress “Site Stats” feature. Usually, my blog will get more views after I post a link to a new post on Twitter, or on my GChat status.

In addition to just counting page views, this WordPress feature also shows me how many users are finding my blog via search engines, along with the terms they used to find it.

Week after week, my blog post on deadmau5 has received hits without my promotion. People are finding my blog on their own, just by searching for the terms “deadmau5” or “deadmau5 girlfriend” HA!

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that this post has been so popular. My friends all make fun of me for being so obsessed with deadmau5. Ok, so I’ve actually had dreams (yes, plural) that Joel and I were friends. And one time I dreamt that I was introducing him to my friend’s Mom.. But regardless, my deadmau5 post is bringing joy to fans, all over the internets!

Anyway, what does it all mean??! The heck if I know. Maybe it means I should start a deadmau5 blog? Or maybe it means that I should sign myself up for some serious deadmau5 shock aversion therapy. Whatever it means, it makes me happy!

The final conclusion? EPIC WIN!

Read Full Post »

Week #7: Social Media, Spring Break, Winning?

This week marks the beginning of the second half of our semester. Thus far, I’ve learned more about the Internet and social media than I’ve learned in my entire life. I’ve realized there is much more to social media than what meets the eye, and it takes a lot of time and energy to master such a complex topic. While taking in all this new information at such a rapid pace has been exhausting, it continues to intrigue and fascinate me.

However, I must admit I was pretty excited when I heard we would be a having short break from classes this past week (a Spring Break if you will?)

Over the break I took a weekend adventure back to my hometown, followed by a road trip to the Poconos in Central Pennsylvania, with some of my close DC friends. Talk about two very different places! My weekend in Miami consisted of running around town, fitting in as many activities with friends and family as humanly possible, all while trying desperately lay out in the sun and attempt to get a tan.

Highlight of my weekend in Miami, this little Asian girl practicing golf with her Mother!

The Poconos, on the other hand, was cold as ever. It started snowing half way through our drive up and the lake outside our house was still frozen. Nevertheless, the scenery was beautiful and Central PA’s rolling hills did not disappoint. Highlight?  I got to exercise my second amendment right and shot a gun for the first time!

 

As a result, I can't stop listening to country music or wearing flannel shirts.

Last class we reviewed different search engines, looking a little closer into not just how they function, but their significance in the corporate world. To be successful, companies must strategically position their website’s content in order to increase visibility on search engines and reach target audiences. As we learned in class, businesses sometimes go to great lengths to achieve this. The ultimate goal? Be the first search result on Google, of course.

After class, I decided it might be a good idea to go through my own blog and tag each of my entries, using keywords that might direct someone to my site. I didn’t think much of it at the time. To be completely honest, I did it mostly because blogging is a part of our grade and hey, I want to get an A! 🙂 So you can imagine my surprise after checking my blog’s stats today, only to find that people had been actually visiting my blog, on their own, just by searching for the terms I has tagged under my post! I was a little shocked, but mostly excited. I never thought doing something so simple would have such a large impact. The Internet is truly amazing, let me tell you!

Haha- In conclusion, as we enter into part two of the semester, I am definitely feeling more confident about this whole “blogging” thing. Now that I’ve tagged all my entries, it might be time kick things up a notch. Ultimately, my goal is to keep on blogging, post about cool things, and kick some serious social media ass!

Read Full Post »