2. Follow, add, friend: I will be your friend, but we better ACTUALLY know each other!

– My policy on friending people and following people is: I am actually pretty harsh when it comes to friending people or accepting friendships. If I don’t know you, if I have never met you, or if we don’t have at least 5 mutual friends, I will more than likely reject your request. On sites like Twitter and PRopenmic, I am much more liberal, but that is mainly because I do not have nearly the same amount of personal information and pictures on those sites as I do on sites such as Facebook.–

3. Privacy, boundaries and safety: Be smart… We all know there are creeps out there.

– With my stance on adding friends and with as high as my security settings on most sites are, I don’t have to be too careful, but at the same time I still try to keep the minimal amount of my personal information on the internet. My thoughts are that if I am friends with a person on these social media sites that I actually pay attention to, then chances are they already have the necessary contact information if they should need to get a hold of me. –

4. Signal to noise: Open to all

– I am pretty loyal with my social media use. I am a HUGE fan of Facebook. I couldn’t even tell you how many times a day I check it. I am members of other networks, such as PRopenmic, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but my activity on those sites is MUCH less than that of Facebook. Part of the reason why I choose to not participate in many of the other sites is, the fact that I get very annoyed, very easily, especially when people insist on continually posting comments or topics that really have nothing to do with anything other than what that person is angry about at the time. –

5. Personal data and sharing: Information, networking and connections, not much more.

– Personally, all of the social media sites that I am a member of serve one main function; networking. I join these sites to keep in touch with friends, make some professional connections and find out more information on specific topics that grab my attention. Anything much beyond that criteria really does not appeal to me that much. –

6. My networking needs and uses: Plain and simple…. FACEBOOK

– When it comes to my personal networking needs and uses I keep it pretty simple. I use Facebook the most out of any of the social media sites that I am a member of. Beyond facebook, I tend to have very limited use or need. I still maintain and check my PRopenmic account, as well as my Twitter, but I have no need or desire to really use anything other than those. At one time I was also a member of MySpace, but as time has gone on and I found Facebook, I eventually deleted my profile due to an extreme lack of use or interest. –

Being a huge car enthusiast I chose General Motors.

Below you will find a table of contents which will direct you to a series of blog posts that I have created in order to showcase and share more information than you would ever want to know pertaining to one of America’s biggest and most successful auto makers.

Table Of Contents

• General Motors Company Overview
• How Did They Get To Where They Are Today: GM Time Line
• Are You My Public?
• Top Challenges Facing General Motors
• And The Winner Is….: Awards Won By General Motors
• My Thoughts & Critique Of The GM On-line Newsroom
• Jump Start Your Career The General Motors Way
• General Motors & Me
• General Motors In A Time Of Crisis
• Ask Not What Your Community Can Do For General Motors,
  Ask What General Motors Can Do For Your Community
• General Motors & The Groundswell
• Which Of Grunig & Hunt’s PR Models Best Fits General Motors
• General Knowledge Of General Motors:
  10 Little Known Facts About GM

Photo Credit:
Photo Provided by Google Images
http://tinyurl.com/55v6yn

The General Motors headquarters is located in Detroit Michigan, which is also home to the largest General Motors assembly plant. GM has well over 27 different assembly plants in North America with a majority in the United States. GM also has a number or assembly plants, parts factories and machining plants throughout Canada and Mexico as well as factories around Europe for the GM companies found over seas.

Currently General Motors has become one of the leading automakers concerned with making more environmentally friendly cars, trucks, vans and SUVs. In addition to designing realistic energy efficient automobiles, GM also prides its self on how eco-friendly all of their plants and factories are. The leaders of General Motors have put forward every effort to ensure that they are not only providing stylish, dependable automobiles but that their cars are also environmentally friendly and responsible as well.

General Motors was also the first auto maker to provide customers with a built in safety feature that monitors all GM cars called OnStar. This state of the art security and safety feature allows for drivers to monitor their vehicle, make hands free calls from inside their car as well as 24\7 monitoring by trained advisors that will be notified in the case of an accident or if your vehicle’s airbags deploy. If these sensors are tripped, an OnStar representative will immediately be patched into your car and is there to call for help in cases where drives may not be able too, provide first aid information, or simply talk with occupants until help can arrive. OnStar is a feature available on many GM models and is an exclusive feature to members of the GM family of cars.

Photo Credit:
Photos applied from Google Images
http://tinyurl.com/5c9zrx
http://tinyurl.com/55v6yn

Information Citation:

Forbes Fortune 500, (2008). Message posted on

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/full_list/

General Motors Corporation, (2008). Message posted to

http://www.gm.com/corporate/about/history/

]]> http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/general-motors-company-overview/feed/ 2 mjung18 gm logo onstar http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/how-did-they-get-to-where-they-are-today-gm-time-line/ http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/how-did-they-get-to-where-they-are-today-gm-time-line/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:25:08 +0000 mjung18 http://mjung18.wordpress.com/?p=71 ]]> Below you will find a time line illustrating the history of General Motors.  Of coarse not EVERY GM milestone will be listed, but many of the major happenings, developments and advances given to the world by the American auto giant are represented.

THE BEGINNING:

1897:

• Randsom Olds and Olds Motor Vehicle Company produce first Oldsmobile.

1899:

• The Opel-Patent-Motorwagen-System Lutzmann becomes the first motor car built by Adam Opel in Germany.

1901:

• The Curved Dash Oldsmobile becomes the first American car produced in large numbers.

1902:

• Henry Leland organizes Cadillac Automobile Company.

1903:

• David Dunbar Buick founds Buick Motor Company.

1904:

• William “Billy” Durant takes control of Buick Motor Company.

1905:

• Cadillac produces a car which is credited as the first step to closed-car designs; the Osceola.

1906:

• Buick makes the 1907 Model D which becomes the first four-cylinder production car.

1907:

• Edward Murphy founds the Oakland Motor Car Company which is today known as Pontiac.

1908:

• William “Billy” Durant founded General Motors on September 16^th.
• Durant incorporated Buick Motor Company.
• Oldsmobile joins the newly formed GM family on November 12^th.

1909:

• GM purchases half interest in the Oakland Motor Car Company on January 20^th.
• GM acquires Cadillac on July 29^th.
• GM purchases Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, which is known today as GMC.

1910:

• Cadillac is the first to offer a closed body style of car as standard. (Seen Below)
  

1911:

• William Durant founds Chevrolet.
• GM Export Company is founded to help with sales outside of North America.

1918:

• GM purchases operating assets of Chevrolet in May.

1919:

• Construction of GM Building begins in Detroit Michigan. (Seen below)

1923:

• Buick introduces 4-wheel breaks.
• Copenhagen Denmark becomes the home of the first GM plant in Europe.
• Ethyl gasoline is introduced by GM Research Company.

1925:

• GM purchases U.K. auto maker Vauxhall.

1926:

• The first Pontiac is introduced; the 6-cylinder “The Chief of the Sixes”.

1929:

• GM acquires majority controlling interest in German auto maker Adam Opel AG.

1930:

• Cadillac introduces the first 16-cylinder engine.

1934:

• GM’s 2-cylinder engine is used in trains.

1935:

• The Opel Olympia becomes the world’s first car with an all steel body and frame.

1937:

• Pontiac is the first to offer a gear shift on the steering column

1938:

• GM sales outside of the US and Canada break the 350,000 mark.

1940:

• GM celebrates the production of its 25-millionth U.S.-made car.

1942:

• GM converts 100% of its productions to the allied war effort.

1948:

• Cadillac and Oldsmobile introduce the first V-8 engine.

1949:

• The first hard-top automobile is introduced by Cadillac; The Coupe de Ville. (Seen Below)

1950:

• The Powerglide Transmission is introduced my Chevrolet.

• Chevrolet becomes the first auto maker to offer an affordable car with a fully automatic transmission.

1952:

• Buick, Cadillac and Oldsmobile become the first to offer power steering.

1953:

• Buick, Cadillac and Oldsmobile become the first to offer power breaks.
• The first production sports car is introduced my Chevrolet; the Corvette. (Seen Below)
  

1954:

• GM offers the first 4-door “pillarless” hardtop automobiles.

1957:

• The Pontiac Bonneville is introduced.
• Pontiac offers the fuel-injected engine in the Bonneville.

1958:

• GM celebrates its 50^th anniversary.

1959:

• Chevrolet introduces the El Camino and the Corvair.

1962:

• GM produces its 75-millionth US-made car.

1963:

• Chevrolet introduces the 1964 Malibu.

1966:

• The Pontiac Firebird and the Chevrolet Camaro are introduced.

1967:

• April 21^st marks the 100-millionth automobile made by GM in the US.

1968:

• The 50 story GM building in New York opens.

1969:

• GM makes the navigation system for the Apollo 11 moon landing.

1970:

• GM introduces no lead or low lead engines for all 1971 models.

1973:

• The first GMC motor home is introduced.

1983:

• Chevrolet makes the first major styling change to the Corvette since its introduction.

1986:

• GM acquires the high-performance auto maker Lotus.

1989:

• GM purchases 50% of Swedish auto maker Saab.

1990:

• GM introduces the Impact, a new totally electric car.
• The first line of Saturn cars rolls off the line on July 30^th.

1992:

• GM celebrates the production of the one-millionth Corvette.

1993:

• GM sells Lotus to European auto maker Bugatti.

1994:

• GM becomes first company to put day-time running lights on all 1995 models.

1996:

• GM announces that a new security feature called OnStar will be an option on 1997 front wheel drive Cadillacs. (Seen Below)

1999:

• GM joins with XM radio to offer satellite radio in their cars.
• Adam Opel celebrates 100 years of production.

2000:

• GM announces plan to eliminate the entire Oldsmobile line of vehicles as well as the company.

2001:

• Cadillac introduces the CTS which is marked as the first major design change away from traditional Cadillac designs.

2002:

• GM acquires majority of Korean auto maker Daewoo.
• Buick Celebrates 100 year anniversary.

2003:

• GM announces that they will offer hybrid engines in several models of cars, trucks and SUVs.

2004:

• The last Oldsmobile rolls off the line.
• GM delivers the first fill-size hybrid truck.
• OnStar reaches 3 Million customers.

2005:

• GM announces the introduction of a smaller Hummer SUV, the H3, after the overwhelming success of the larger H2.
• Pontiac announces a limited pre-order program for the Solstice Roadster and received 1000 orders in the first 41 minutes. (Seen Below)
  

2006:

• The Saturn Aura is named 2007 North American Car of the Year.
• Saturn begins offering the wildly popular VUE with a hybrid engine making it the lowest price hybrid SUV on the market.

2007:

• GM faces largest drop in sales since the Great Depression.

2008:

• GM, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler announce possibility of multi-billion dollar federal bailout due to poor US and world economy.
• The Chevrolet Impala and Chevrolet Silverado are named 2 of the top 10 selling cars in the US.

This brings us to the current day.  As you can see, General Motors has had a long, productive and impressive life, with more to come in the future.

Photo Credit:
Photos applied from Google Images.
http://tinyurl.com/6hrgfm
http://tinyurl.com/6ylywa
http://tinyurl.com/5zs62c
http://tinyurl.com/6fdu6y
http://tinyurl.com/6coxdg
http://tinyurl.com/55v6yn

Information Citation:

General Motors Corporation, (2008). Message posted to

http://www.gm.com/corporate/about/history/

General Motors is one of the few major car companies that has the ability to appeal to almost every segment of car buyers or enthusiasts. The many different companies that make up GM all offer a variety of options and features that has the ability to reach many different customers.

Divisions such as Cadillac, Saab and Hummer appeal to people who desire luxury, status and comfort. These divisions also tend to appeal to customers that have a higher income and can afford to spend more money on a car.

The Chevrolet, Saturn and Pontiac divisions are more aimed at appealing to younger customers that desire cutting edge styling, innovative technology features and a lower price tag.

The wide variety or cars, trucks, vans and SUVs that are produced by GM allow for their overwhelming success in all markets with different kinds of clients and customers.

Photo Credit:
Photo applied from Google Images
http://tinyurl.com/5hfeso

Information Citation:

General Motors Corporation, (2008). Message posted to

http://www.gm.com/vehicles/?evar10=homepage_vehicles_link

Within the last 10 years General Motors has had to face a variety of issues which they have never encountered previously. The first and possibly most prevalent issue facing the American auto maker is the serious drop in sales which continues to plague the company today. This drastic drop has been blamed on a number of things but the 2 biggest causes have been the turbulent economy that is currently in place in the U.S., as well as all over the world.

The second commonly accepted cause of the major decline in GM sales is the simple fact that within recent years people have made a drastic shift to buying foreign made cars. Many consumers feel that the foreign made cars, such as Honda and Toyota, are more reliable, better looking and more worth the money that would have to be spent. Customers have also made the switch towards imports due to dramatically higher resale values as compared to those of American made cars.

Currently GM, Daimler-Chrysler and Ford, which make up the “Big 3” American auto makers, have announced talks trying to secure a multi-billion dollar financial “bail-out” from the federal government. This bailout is looking more and more like it will become a reality, but if for some reason it doesn’t formulate, GM, as well as the other American auto makers stand a very good chance of having to file for bankruptcy and possibly have to shut down operations in certain divisions if not as a whole.

GM has also been the focus of a large amount of negative publicity in the media due to the number of factories and assembly plants that the company is currently having to shut down, or make major down sizes in. This barrage of negative publicity is also linked back to the major economic turmoil surrounding the company and the U.S.

Photo Credit:
Photo applied from Google Images.
http://tinyurl.com/5dgv7v

Information Citation:

Vlasic, B. (2008). Each Player in Big Three Is Devising Its Own Plan. New York Times

]]> http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/top-challenges-facing-general-motors/feed/ 0 mjung18 big-3 http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/and-the-winner-is-awards-won-by-general-motors/ http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/and-the-winner-is-awards-won-by-general-motors/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:23:16 +0000 mjung18 http://mjung18.wordpress.com/?p=112 ]]>

Within the last 10 years GM has received a number of awards. Some of the awards are for specific cars being produces by GM and their different subsidiaries, while others have been for GM continued dedication to helping improve the environment.

Some of these awards include:

• Opel\Vauxhall Insignia named 2009 Car of the Year (in Europe).
• GM’s “Safe Kids Buckle Up” campaign wins top Highway Safety Award in 2007
• OnStar wins 4 honors at Telematics Update Awards in 2007
  • Best Embedded Telematics Award
  • Best Embedded Telematics Navigation Award
  • Best use of Telematics Technology for Safety
  • People’s Choice for Best Telematics Company
• OnStar has also won numerous awards from Telematics in the past, such as:
  • Best Telematics Navigation Product in 2006
  • Best use of Telematics in Automotive Safety and Security in 2005 & 2006
  • Best Embedded/Terminal Product in 2005
  • Best Reseller/Retailer in 2005
  • Leadership Award in 2003 & 2004
  • Telematics in Action Award in 2003 & 2004
  • Heroes Award Nominees – Telematics Service Provider Employee in 2003
• 2006 Award for Corporate Excellence
• 2005 Informs Edelman Award for their “Increasing Production Throughout at General Motors” campaign.
• 2007 Corporate Energy Management Award from American Energy Engineers
• 2007 North American Car of the Year for the Saturn Aura for its class
• 2007 North American Truck of the Year for the Chevrolet Silverado
• 2007 Harbour Report Award for Best Engine Plant
• 2006 Customer Care Award from the auto magazine ‘Automobile’
• Two separate “Boss” Kettering awards in 2007
• 2008 Red Dot Award in Design for the Opel Flextreme
• 2008 & 2009 North American Car of the Year for the redesigned Chevrolet Malibu
• JD Power & Associates Gold Plant Award for Oshawa Assembly Plant in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006
• JD Power & Associate Silver Plant Award for Oshawa Assembly Plant in 2005 & 2007
• IR Magazine’s Best Investor Relations Website Award in 2007

Photo Credit:
Photo applied from Google Images.
http://tinyurl.com/688l3p

Information Citation:

General Motors Corporation, (2008, 2007, 2006). Message posted to

http://www.gm.com/corporate/about/news/index.jsp?deep=press

Aesthetically the page its self is very boring and plain, which is like nothing else on the GM website. The rest of the website provides vivid colors, pictures to attract viewers as well as enough room to view titles and links without losing additional information or pictures.

One, very nice aspect of the GM newsroom is the variety of coverage that all of the stories that are featured. I also have to give a major compliment to General Motors for the simple fact that not all of the stories featured are ones in favor of the company. The newsroom has its fair share of stories that could be seen as negative publicity towards the company, but GM is fair and ethical enough to not only publish the good, but the negative as well.

Information Citation:

General Motors Corporation, (2008). Message posted to

http://www.gm.com/corporate/about/news/index.jsp?deep=press

General Motors obviously does everything that they can to help job seekers launch or further a career with the auto giant. The GM webpage has a special area dedicated to career opportunities.  This area offers links for job seekers to not only see current job postings, but to apply online as well. If you choose to click on this link you are then shown 3 more additional links for “experienced” job seekers, new college graduates as well as those who are still in school and are seeking and internship or co-op opportunities. Job seekers that are also seeking some excitement and a change of scenery also have the option of searching for jobs with GM world wide.

Currently, if a job seeker were to try to search for career openings in the communications sector of General Motors, they will come up empty handed. The same goes for those job seekers who decide to search key word such as:

• Public Relations
• Corporate Communication
• Marketing

The current state of the companies finances could be to blame for the serious lack of jobs that are available, but in a normal economic setting it appears that General Motors would be a great way to launch a career for new graduates, as well as a great way to further a career for people with more experience in the work force.

Photo Credit:
Photo applied from GM.com
http://tinyurl.com/5wq3lg

Information Citation:

General Motors Corporation, (2008). Message posted to

http://www.gm.com/corporate/careers/student_center.jsp?p=scholarships

General Motors Corporation, (2008). Message posted to

http://www.gm.com/corporate/careers/

]]> http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/jump-start-your-career-the-general-motors-way/feed/ 0 mjung18 careershome1 http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/general-motors-me/ http://mjung18.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/general-motors-me/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:21:22 +0000 mjung18 http://mjung18.wordpress.com/?p=127 ]]>

Throughout the semester I have had the opportunity to do more research on General Motors than I ever thought I would do. I have been able to research and learn about many facets pertaining to the company its self including:

• How it got to where it is today.
• History of GM.
• Career Opportunities (or the current lack there of)
• Environmental advances in both GM vehicles and factories.
• Current financial troubles surrounding the company.

Throughout all of this research I have asked myself many time “Can I see myself working for GM?” Simply put, at this point, with the current state of the company I would honestly have to say that I am not as interested in working for General Motors as I would have been 10 years ago or maybe even 10 years from now. I have seen what an amazing company General Motors is and the many things they do for their employees, customers and communities which makes me want to join the GM family, but with the current slump in sales, the pending federal bail-out and some less than ethical activities from the companies current higher ups, I would have to say that I would look else where before I joined with GM.

Personally, my dream job would be to work in Public Relations, Promotions or Marketing\Advertising for a major car company. This dream makes me want to try to pursue a career with GM, but then again I have to look at the company its self and decide whether it is a smart move at this point. As I stated earlier, General Motors would definitely be a company I would be interested in later down the road when and if they can get their act together and become a little more stable than its current state.