Reading Reflection No. 2

1) I chose to read The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki. Kawasaki is a social media influencer and brand evangelist for Canva, an easy-to-use graphic design program. The overall theme of the book is social media best practices, tips and hacks for people that are trying to use social media to either promote themselves or their brand. Tips range from the more technical, like embedding social posts within your blog to very basic, like picking a neutral screen name or take a good profile picture.

2) Social media is one of the most powerful tools a business/brand can use to promote themselves. It can be free, though Kawasaki says that, "paying to promote posts on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter can work"(63). The book connects with ENT3003 because it adds a toolbox that entrepreneurs can use to promote and grown their business.  

3) Since this class already uses a blog, I might add a social media component to it. Maybe the students could create a professional social media page and intertwine their blogging with a social platform. The book has a whole section (Chapter 5: How to Integrate Social Media and Blogging) on how these two tools work together to help you reach a bigger audience and have more impact.

4) I picked this book because I am already familiar with Guy Kawasaki, and I knew that the information would be beneficial to me with my own brand and business. The book met my overall expectations, but I think maybe the most surprising or "aha" part for me was the focus on positivity. Tip #45 is "Assume People Are Good Until Proven Bad." Tip #35 is "Be a Mensch." Kawasaki says to, "Share other people's posts, make positive and intelligent comments, suggest resources and solution, and rack up points on the karmic scoreboard in the clouds" (62). This resonated with me because it seemed like a genuine and holistic approach to the social media/Internet promotion game. This was refreshing because so much of the content on social media results in hostility (including political articles I've seen Kawasaki share on Facebook, for example). The book was really informative and provided a lot of tips and foundation to build a social media brand.