Reading the Digital Future in Focus article I learned that there are many people online and that many of them still use desktop computers, in many cases more so than they use their cell phones. I believed that people used their phones more because they are always on them. Some of the information in this article surprised me, for example I was surprised that 85% of Canadians are online, using their desktop and/or mobile device while only 6% of Canadians are using mobile devices exclusively (Comscore, 2016). I was surprised that 33% of people age 35-54 are a bigger digital population than 18-34 years old who are 28% and people under 18 who are only 18% (Comscore, 2016). It’s interesting that the older someone is the more they exclusively use desktops. Is that just because millennial’s are more tech savvy when it comes to cell phones? I was surprised that almost a quarter of digital media time is spent on social media (Comscore, 2016). When looking at the stats on page 39 I think that it is accurate when considering the people that I know in that age group. My brother is under 18 and used Snapchat far more than anything else and my older family are all on Facebook not Snapchat. – http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Data-Usage-Policy.

The article “15 Ways To Use Facebook Pages for Business” was all about how social media, specifically Facebook, can be used for business. It listed fifteen different ways that this form of social media can be used. Of the fifteen different ones there were two that I found to be the most useful: customer service and business information. The reason that I think customer service is one of the most important is because the better customer service you have the better business you have. Using Facebook for customer service allows the customers to post their questions and concerns on your wall. You can then take your time to answer them in the best way. Instead of trying to do it in person on the spot you have the luxury of taking your time and finding the perfect answer. This is also showing your other customers that you are in fact interested in their well-being and you will take the time to answer all their questions to the best of your abilities. The reason that I think using Facebook to post business information is important is because it is more convenient for your customers to find out the information about your business there than come to the store, because the information is at their fingertips.

LinkedIn is a comparable to a social media, but it is for professionals. It is for anyone who is interested in taking their professional life more seriously. It helps people to look for new opportunities that will grow their careers and connect with other professional people. Instead of physically going and meeting a group of professionals you can instead go to LinkedIn. It allows you to discuss what you do and even exchange business cards with other professional people. Linked in has an entire section that shows you job listings by everyday employers. LinkedIn is very helpful because it will recommend jobs to you based on your profile so if you add that you worked as an administration assistant it will recommend jobs in that field. Just like other social media sites there is a news feed that shows you recent posts from professionals you follow, you can send messages to other people, and you can invite them to different things as well. Linked in is great for getting in touch with old colleagues, using your profile as a resume, finding jobs, participating in groups, and blogging about things that you know so that others can see more about your professional experience.

The blog that I was the most interested in was the blog about knowing when its time to move on. This blog was about knowing the right time to leave your job. It talks about an administration assistant that was struggling to find interest in her job and having issues with relationships with her colleagues. It then talked about the fact that you know when to leave when you don’t feel any joy towards your job anymore. When you feel satisfied with the jobs you do then you’re not ready to leave but as soon as you no longer feel that sense of accomplishment that’s a red flag that maybe its time to change things up.

This article caught my eye because I have had situations like that in the past where I’m just “going through the motions” and that is usually when I realize that something must change. She also mentioned the fear of not finding another job holding some people back and I related very much to that thought because it has held me back before. I have had to make changes in my career choices before to keep myself happy in my job and while it is scary sometimes it is usually worth it in the end.