Today's IN CLASS Assignment: Linkedin

What's Linked in?

You tell me. 

You've already completed assignments related to Facebook and Twitter. Now you will explore Linkedin, which is similar to other social networking tools, but is designed especially for professionals. In other words, there's not as much senseless chitchat (i.e. omw GUST) among the users of Linkedin. 

Your assignment today is to research Linked in and answer some questions:

1.  Open a Word file. Name it Your First Name_Your 4 Digit ID #_Linked.docx. In the document be sure to include your full name and student number. You can title the assignment: Linked in.

2.  Answer the following questions. Be certain that you give complete answers (not just cryptic responses, or a phrase or two). Be sure you check your Basic English! You can type the questions into the Word doc and then answer the questions. The last question requires some thought and research:

Do your own work. Do not collaborate! This is NOT a team project. This is an IN CLASS assignment; it's due at the end of class today. 

• What is Linked in? Logical places to begin your research: Linked in, YouTube, Google. Do not "lift" information -- write your own thoughts based on the information you collect about Linked in. Write 2-3 sentences to explain Linked in.
• Create your own Linked in profile. It's free. You can include as little or as much info as you would like in your profile. 
• Search for me on Linked in, or any other person you know who is a member of Linked in, and study our profile. What do you notice that's different about the Linked in profile compared to Facebook and Twitter profiles? Point out the differences and explain which profile you prefer (Twitter, FB or Linked in) and why. Write 3-5 sentences of explanation. 
• Why and when would YOU use Linked in? (If you don't think you ever would, explain why). 1-3 sentences. 
• Assume that you work in a marketing department of a business in Kuwait and the boss asks you, "Should we be on Linked in?" . . . how would you answer? Be sure your answer is specific and complete. Explain why or why not! "Yes" and "No" are inadequate answers. 2-3 sentences. Tip: Search for and read (or view) testimonials from Linked in users who explain why/how they used Linked in and use those testimonials as examples in your report. 

3.  Your Word document must be emailed to me (subject line: Linkedin) by the end of today's class.

Check your English please!  

Midterm Deadline Extended to Nov. 4

You can have two additional days to complete your midterm -- deadline is now Wednesday 4 November at 12 noon in Kuwait.

Remember that I told you there will be numerous assignments coming in a short period of time . . . but I also told you that you will get a break nearer the end of the semester when you will not have assignments due! Keep that in mind, please.

Today's Assignment: Utilizing Online Sources

Several online sources provide marketers (including bloggers and journalists) with press releases, photos and videos that can be downloaded (for free) and used in a variety of ways online.

For example, if you were planning to write an article about auto racing, you could find a variety of press releases on any given day that address the topic. You could then utilize the information from the releases to conduct further research, or you could even publish the releases (giving credit to the author/s, of course, and to the source). If you planned to produce a TV program about fashion . . . or write a magazine report about the future of Kuwait . . . you could find valuable information about those topics (and endless other topics) through these sources.

As a marketer (online and off-line) it's important to become familiar with these sources, including Business Wire, PR Newswire and Ezinearticles.com. Keep in mind there are other online sources, but these are three of the most popular.

Your Assignment

Here's your assignment: I urge you to read the directions/requirements carefully (more than once) and follow them exactly.

1.  Visit Ezinearticles.com and either Business Wire or PR Newswire. (Visit two sites).

2.  Select a topic that you would like to know more about. Pretend that you were going to write a blog related to the topic. Select a topic that interests you. Let's just assume you selected "college volleyball."

3.  Now search the two sites for articles, photos, and videos that relate to "college volleyball."

4.  Select 3 articles from two different sites (a total of 3 articles). You can select 1 from Ezinearticles.com, for example, and 2 from the second site you visited. 

5.  Create a Word document. Title it as follows: YourFirstName_Your4DigitGUSTID_Sources.doc. 

6.  Copy into the Word document the headlines of the articles you selected. Include the URLs for the articles so that I can link to them. 

6.  Find 1 video that's related to your topic; include the URL for the video in the Word doc. You can find videos on many online sources -- select one of your choice (you recently did an assignment where you used a major online video site).

7.  Find 2-3 photos or other images that you would use if you were writing about your topic, again, let's say "college volleyball." Include thumbnails (or a small size) of the images in the document that you'll submit to me. That's 2-3 images total. Use any online source of your choice to find photos. 

8.  Email the Word document to me no later than 12:00 p.m. (noon in Kuwait) Friday 30 October. 

Your Assignment for 21 October: Compare Google+ to Facebook

This assignment includes both online and offline requirements. 

For the online assignment, you are required to Comment on the blog. Please go to GUST IT and ask for help if you do not know how to add Comments -- or you can ask a classmate. Do NOT copy another student's comment -- when I see two comments that are essentially the same I will not count either comment.

VERY IMPORTANT: If you want credit for your Comments, please be sure to include your NAME and GUST ID in your Comments on the blog! Otherwise I have no way of knowing who added the Comment and you will not get credit. 

Rescheduled: Service Hero: Nov. 11 in N1-012

Mark your calendar for Wednesday 11 November at 12:30 p.m. in N1-012 when the MRKT 401 Internet Marketing class will meet with guest speaker Faten Abu-Ghazaleh. This is a make-up class session. We will also meet at our regular times on Monday 19 October. 

Ms. Abu-Ghazaleh is president of Service Hero which is Kuwait’s only 100% consumer-driven customer satisfaction index. This means that consumers throughout Kuwait are empowered to rate their service experience at restaurants, airlines and retail stores. By voting, you are helping local companies learn about their customer service strengths and weaknesses and the index shows the businesses how they compare to competitors. Each year, Service Hero sponsors an awards dinner and honors the businesses with the highest customer satisfaction ratings in Kuwait.

Ms. Abu-Ghazaleh holds an MBA from New York University and a BA in political science from Kuwait University. She’s a managing partner of Khayal Consultants where she heads the Marketing and Strategy Consulting team. She spent 17 years with NBK as assistant general manager responsible for the Marketing Division.

You will receive bonus points for attending this session. 

Your Midterm Assessment: Details & Deadline

I have uploaded the Midterm Assessment document here. 

Please access the document and read it carefully. If you have questions, please ask me! The deadline for your Midterm Assessment is noon on Monday, Nov. 2. At that time, your Word document is due via email.

No "Naked" Links

Please note that you are required to use the Link (editing) tool in Blogger to imbed URLs and email addresses in your articles. Do not use a "naked" URL or email address . . . for example, professor@gust.edu.kw is a "naked" email address. The address must be imbedded behind text so it looks like this: Dr. John Hayes. If you don't know how to do this, find out! There are tutorials to help you. The same tool exists in Word.

Write A Persuasive Email To Recruit Students For GUST

Even though email may seem antiquated to you, it's still popularly used in business and e-commerce. Today's assignment emphasises writing persuasive email messages. Click here for the details. 

All Grades Up To Date . . . Check SIS

I have posted grades for all recent assignments . . . please check SIS for your grades and if there are any questions please let me know before the end of the day on Tuesday (Wednesday and Thursday are holidays).

Best wishes! 

Here's an Example of A-Level Work By a GUST Student

To help you better understand the quality of work that I expect from marketing students, here is an example of A work produced by a GUST student.

Note that the student writes in complete sentences.
He uses punctuation properly.
He writes in paragraph format (although bullet format is also acceptable in certain assignments).
He checked spelling (even though there are some English errors).
He answered all the questions.
He gave more than the minimal effort -- he produced more work than I expected.

If you seek an A in Internet Marketing, please know that I expect this quality of work. 

First Four Assignments Graded

Please note that SIS includes grades for all students who turned in assignments 1-4, concluding with the Facebook assignment. I have yet to grade the Youtube and Irby assignments. Please check SIS for your grades. If you believe a grade is wrong, you need to contact me no later than Monday 12 October. After that date, the first 4 grades are final grades. Best wishes! 

Dairy Queen Presentation: Monday 12 October in N1-012

As part of our Internet Marketing guest speaker series, please welcome Dr. Etienne Clement, who will tell us about Dairy Queen's emergence in the Kuwait market. Actually, it's a re-emergence because the franchise existed here some years ago and is now making a return.

Dr. Clement will speak to the Marketing 410 class on Monday 12 October at 12:30 p.m. in N1-012. The presentation is open to other students interested in marketing.

Dr. Etienne will share information about DQ's online marketing plan, including information about strategies and demographics. He has been working with DQ in Kuwait for about a year, but comes to Kuwait from the USA. He holds a Ph.D. in Global Leadership and has more than 25 years' experience in operational leadership, human capital management, resource utilization and organizational development. 

Today's Assignment: Using Youtube.com

Yet another channel for social networking . . . the most visual of all . . . is Youtube.com. As a marketing professional, you'll need to be familiar with Youtube to communicate your messages (either for yourself or a business that you represent). 

Your Assignment

1.  Open a new Word document and name it as follows: YourFirstName_Your4DigitGUSTID_YT.doc.

2.  Before you visit Youtube.com, visit sites about Youtube.com to learn more about this channel. In your own words (do not plagiarize) tell me about Youtube.com in 25-50 words (provide an explanation of what Youtube provides to consumers, how and why it's important). Also explain why you think Youtube.com is important to marketers and business owners. (If you don't think it's important, it's okay to say so, but you must explain why). You can provide the requested information in 2-3 paragraphs using complete sentences. 

3.  Next, tell me how and why marketers would utilize Youtube.com. Give me three examples that demonstrate how/why marketers would use Youtube.com. For each example, write 25 to 50 words. 

4.  Go to Youtube.com and search for videos by Seth Godin. You may want to look at his social networking or marketing videos in particular. Watch two Seth Godin videos of your choice (select two that last no longer than 3 minutes each). Copy the titles of the videos, and their respective URLs, into the Word document. After you watch each video, tell me one lesson that you learned from each video. You will include two lessons total (one lesson from each video). Each lesson requires 25 to 50 words of explanation.

5.  Next, search for a topic of your choice. What's your passion? Fashion? Cooking? Cars? Marketing? Find a video that appeals to your personal passion -- regardless of what it is -- and view it. Be sure the video is no more than 5 minutes long. Copy the title of the video and the URL and include them in the Word document (so that I can find the video). Watch the video. Then "review" the video -- what did you think of it, good or bad (explain why), and explain how you would use the video as a marketer. Again, 25 to 50 words for this explanation. 

6.  Email your completed Word document to me . . . I will give you the deadline when we are in class. 

7.  You must do your own work. Do not collaborate with other class members. Do not plagiarize. If two students write about the same videos and the content of the homework is similar, I will count both as F. Do your own work!