If you are in a position or career that networking and marketing a product are of the utmost importance there are many reasons why you should create a professional online portfolio, perhaps too many reasons to talk about. First things first, someone who is marketing a product absolutely needs to create a website that promotes that product and gives specific details about that product and what potential it has. As a personal trainer, my product is myself and my ability to help others achieve their fitness goals and desired body composition, therefore, it is imperative that I create a website for myself that displays what I have achieved as a fitness professional and what I can do for others. One way that I do this is through the use of this blog, it allows me to reach out to others and give out free helpful information to people, it is also useful for displaying my knowledge and reaching out to people for networking purposes. I also have several social media accounts that I use as networking and marketing tools; these include Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and a few others. I honestly cannot think of any negative reason for a person to have a online professional portfolio. The only thing would be people posting negative things that reflect poorly on themselves. Another very important online tool that any professional should use is LinkedIn. This tool allows people to network and is a useful tool to meet people in professional industries that are related to one's interests. People can use LinkedIn to show off their resume, skills, pictures, and a few other important things, not to mention useful in getting hired for a desired job.
The tool I decided to profile for this assignment was YouTube Analytics. As a "YouTuber" myself I use the YouTube Analytics to check on videos that I upload to my channel and see how they are doing (in terms of views, subscribers, minutes watched, etc.). This resource allows people with their own channels, companies, organizations, and whatever and whoever else to get a detailed statistical analysis of who and where their viewers are watching their videos from. This resource also allows people to see what percentage of their viewers are male and female. Basically, YouTube Analytics shows you exactly what statistics you need to see in order to target the appropriate audience and how you can do a better job with future videos. There are also multiple ways to make money if you have a YouTube channel. Likes, views, comments, duration of time people watch your videos, and a few other things all determine how much money a potential video can make. With this resource users can see exactly where all the money is coming from and can determine where they need to improve to make more money.
In order to be successful in your profession it is EXTREMELY important to know the "in's and out's" to networking and marketing. I'll use myself as the example. As a personal trainer it is imperative to meet people and get my message out there. The perfect way to do this is through social media and other networking online tools like LinkedIn. These sites allow people that are in your "circle" or people interested in what you do, to see what your mission is and how you might be able to help them or contribute to their mission. I also use YouTube to promote myself and what I have to offer. By making YouTube videos I can get my message across visually, this is a very effective strategy because people have to opportunity to not only hear what I know, but see what I know through my actions. Through technology I can market myself and my business in the most effective way. It is still important to network and market your business in more physical ways, but in today's world I believe it is more effective to do your network and marketing on the internet. Almost everyday people use the internet, they won't always see your poster stapled to the telephone pole.
Before this class (KIN 710: Tech in Kines.) the only Wiki I had used (to my knowledge) is Wikipedia and Wookipedia (I'm a Star Wars nerd ha!). Although I have used these sites to look at various bits of information, I have never contributed to the content that are written in them. It wasn't until the Wiki document on "PWP content" posted on Moodle have I looked at another Wiki outside of the two that I previously stated. Based on the "PWP" Wiki, I can see how Wiki's can be useful in education. Educators can use these things to provide information to the class or group, and the people within those groups can edit, add, or change any bit of that information if necessary. Furthermore, Wiki's are useful in an educational setting because of the collaborative qualities they provide for students or groups to create a document or webpage.
Although Facebook and LinkedIn have a few similarities, they appear to have some fundamental differences. On both networks people can interact, socialize, and communicate with each other, but LinkedIn serves more for business/work purposes. On linkedIn people's pages revolve more around their work experience, education, and their careers. With linkedIn, people can share their resumes with people in similar fields of expertise or they can use it as a way to showcase themselves when looking for job opportunities. Facebook has expanded by allowing people to make "Fan Pages" which enables people to showcase their business or interests. Although this is a useful tool on FB, I feel like people don't really get on FB in search of business or work related things. FB is used mostly as a social network for entertainment and for people to connect with their friends and family on a more personal level. All in all, both of these online networks are extremely useful tools when it comes to expanding one's Personal Web Presence (PWP).
If you have an iPhone or an Android you should, or soon will be, very accustomed to using apps or finding new apps in the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android). These apps, or applications, are essential when using cell phones or tablets. I can't remember the last person I talked to who didn't own one of the two. Anyway, these apps are very useful when it comes to education and entertainment. Apps such Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are some of the top program used for social media and are actually becoming very useful in education. Educators (teachers, professors) are using social media to communicate with students and even give out assignments. Students can access this information on their laptops, tablets, and cell phones wherever they are and at their own convenience. Another app that is useful for communication is Skype. With Skype people can speak to others through live feed video. People are using Skype in education and even use it for job interviews. As a personal trainer I use various apps for exercise and nutrition. One very useful app I use is called the "Nutritionist". This app is used to calculate BMR (basal metabolic rate) and then applies the appropriate amount of macronutrients (protein,carbs, and fats) a person should consume based on their fitness and body composition goals. This app is also only used on a phone or a tablet, it's very convenient and helpful. Anyway, that is just a little bit about applications that can be used in education and for entertainment.
After reviewing the "Top 100 Tools For Learning" I have realized that I have been using some of these "tools" for a few years already, and because of KIN 710, I am now using a few other tools for communication with my peers and classmates in education, for entertainment, and now for my personal training business. I have found these tools to be very useful for all the things mentioned above. I was mostly surprised by how efficient tools such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and a few other social medias are in regards to my business. I can see these tools being very useful in my future and my success in the fitness industry.