Chapter 4

     Chapter four is exactly as the title suggests, a chapter on building a collaborative culture. The first part of the chapter talks about relationships within an organization and how building different relationships is vital in a collaborative environment. It seems to go without saying that relationships matter but the chapter describes different types of relationships. The first being Congeniality relationships. The chapter describes them as "polite, friendly relationships." Any and every work environment I have ever worked in is filled with these types of relationships. The second type of relationship talked about is Collegiality relationships. The chapter describes this type of relationship as "a shared belief that none of us is as good as all of us." This means that everybody has to recognize that a team is what makes an environment successful not just one person. I have learned that this type of relationship is not always included in work environments. There are always people who think they are better than everyone else, that is just a part of life.

                                   

     The next part of the chapter talks about people's needs and how to deal with them in a collaborative and supportive way. The author talks about grieving and how it is usually viewed as only being relevant with the passing of a loved one. The author then goes on to explain how this is false and that there are levels to grief and many different events can trigger it. In order to make sure team members are listened to and appreciated the author suggests that group work in a professional environment can help those grieving for whatever reason.

                         

     I think the first part of this chapter and its information would help me the most in my future career as a marketer and really anybody's career in any field. In order for a team to truly function and be successful there can be no sort of Collegiality relationships. I also think that the relationships need to go beyond Congeniality relationships because people can not just be friendly with each other they should feel more of a bond. Team building exercises and even going out for drinks as a group after work or other things like that could help build relationships a lot I believe. 

Chapter 5

     The Connected Educator has taught us multiple ways in which we can improve on the building of our own personal network. Chapter 5 details the various technical tools we can use to further help us. It outlines how to connect online and utilize archiving websites and also how social media can play an integral part in our own personal networks. The chapter specifically talks about Twitter, a well known social media platform. It refers to Twitter in a way I had never even thought about, they call it a website for miniblogs. I suppose tweets are indeed just mini blogs but it is interesting to think of Twitter as a blog site after using it for a few years now and never viewing it in that sense. The chapter talks of the Twitterverse and the importance of connecting with others (after all connecting is what this book is all about). I was happy to read the social media aspect of this chapter because I, along with many others, have stressed how important social media is to businesses nowadays.

                                   

     The chapter is filled with different websites that can aid in a person's quest to expand their connection. It has multiple blog websites, social media websites, and even podcasts. I can say that I have heard of a number of the websites that were laid out but also have never heard of the others. The chapter closes by talking about an extremely important aspect of technology, and that aspect is your online reputation. Your online posts never disappear so the author cautions people on what they post. The author also tells how to build online portfolios. This chapter has proven to be extremely insightful and maybe the most useful chapter we have read yet.

     Now how does this chapter apply to my future career? As I have said, I am a marketing major here at Stockton. This chapter outlines the importance of social media and I have said before how important social media can be to a marketer. Social media is a platform that can serve marketers as a free measure to post advertisements. Also, building portfolios is important to not just marketers, but to everyone professional person.

                                    

Now I have a question for the readers: What do you think was the most useful and important technological tool that chapter 5 laid out for us and why?

Smackdown 1

Hello everybody.

For my first smackdown video I chose the app Buffer: Social Media Manager. My major here at Stockton University is business with a concentration in marketing. This app is a great tool for marketers in an age where a large portion of marketing and advertising are done over the internet, specifically social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.). We have all been on social media and have seen various ad campaigns. This app makes it easy to post a wide variety of posts on these social media platforms. It allows users to post on all platforms at the same time instead of having to surf from platform to platform and create different posts.

The user can create a schedule for when and where they want their ads to be posted. They can even create the ads ahead of time and the app will post days later for them. This is great for organized people because they can create and set up their posts in the beginning of the week for the whole week and not have to worry about constantly posting advertisements. As a future marketer this app is something that I will surely use and recommend to others. People respond more to visual campaigns than written ones so this app simplifies an important aspect of marketing for them. 

Link to my virtual presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6cJPohm_7g&t=1s

Connected Educator #2

     The second part of connected educator talks about the importance of networking. The textbook says that growing a personal network is key in any field and it is in fact essential. A personal network can help advance any person's position in a field in a comfortable way. An individual can create their network in any way that they want. They can add people they meet as well as people they are referred to. A personal network is both a great way to advance in your career as well as a proven strategy to gain information about a field. 

  

                         

     As I have mentioned in my previous post my future career choice is business marketing. Just like with any other profession, networking can help in marketing as well. People in my network could potentially refer me to open positions and put in a good word. As with any other profession, personal networks also can provide insight on the specific field and give a person like me inside knowledge that I would have not been able to figure out on my own. 

     I recently had a job interview and the hiring manager who interviewed me explained to me the importance of a personal network and how his has helped him. That information made it very clear the importance of a personal network along with the countless classes that have told me the same information. A personal network can not get stressed enough and it truly is important to teach to new graduates as much as possible.