Welcome to Germaine Theory

How Effective Is Crowdsourcing Really?                Crowdsourcing is an effective way to get a desired outcome from a collaborative effort. Its approach can look very different, but at its core, it all seeks to achieve the same general result; a better outcome than the individual or organization could have produced on its own. Merriam-Webster defines crowdsourcing as “the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers”. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) There is irony in the concept of crowdsourcing as being positive. Before the internet and the onset of crowdsourcing the idea of an individual soliciting at an establishment was considered a nuisance. Some businesses went as far as placing ‘No Soliciting’ signage at their businesses; the word always carried a negative...

  Do Your Own Due Diligence                ‘Trust me bro’ , is a phrase used in the world of financial vloggers that describes an individual making a claim with no supporting evidence. Now, the fact that this individual does not provide any supporting evidence doesn’t necessarily mean that what he or she is saying is invalid, but it doesn’t help them in the credibility department. There are reasons for sources to not be directly cited. The information may have come from a whistleblower with firsthand knowledge, but this person does not want the organization to know that they are the potential leak; their identity would be considered protected information. There could be an issue of personal safety that calls for discretion but it’s imperative that the news gets out to the public, this could be a reason as well. If there is no official, legitimate reason, and no source is conveyed upon request, it’s highly like...

  The Understated Importance of the Social Media Sensei I am a self-taught social media user. I would rate myself as an intermediate skill level on Facebook and a beginner level in pretty much everything else. I am also a 44-year-old Army Recruiter in the twilight of his military career. I am obligated to use social media for prospecting efforts in recruiting and I do not have a highly successful rate of return from that form of prospecting. Recruiters receive blocks of instruction to show uses and best practices but many of us are stubborn and stuck in our ways. I am among the stubborn, but I am also aware enough to realize that this is the future of business. If I go into marketing, public relations, emergency management or any of many other career paths, they would all involve some form of social media management at the professional level. This is something that is only going to grow and become more of the norm as organizations come to realize the importance of social media ma...

    Mobile First, but Who’s Last? What’s better than best? Digital media has severely altered the course of the newsroom. It made the newspaper, along with other forms of media seem antiquated. It is faster and more efficient than the previous methods. However, digital media is not one giant communication organism; it is comprised of many different facets and actors, all trying to out-do one another. Facebook and Google have seized so much advertising revenue from utilizing content from local media that governments have been forced to step in and create legislation to effectively save the journalism industry in their respective countries. (ACCC, 2021) There are many different online firms and organizations all jockeying for position using consumer centric data. They are looking for anything that can set them apart from their competitors. Organizations that have adopted the mobile first ideology have come to the realization that more people, globally, use their smartphone...