Past, Present, and Future...

The content of our class is starting to get "real"... the reality of finding jobs is upon many of you, or thinking about what your future career is becoming more and more of a reality, even if graduation isn't looming in the not so distant future.

If you don't have ideas for a post for this week that aligns with what we've talked about so far in class, here are some thoughts to inspire you.

What do you want to be when you grow up? That may seem like a silly, even juvenile question to consider give that you're all young adults in college, but it's something I still ponder even in a career line today. So I challenge you to think through it: What do you want to do?

Illustration by Raj Verma. Courtesy of Business Today.

Beyond thinking about your future career, also think about how social media can impact your future line of work. This takes us to reflecting on the past a little bit too. Maybe you won't be pursuing jobs in social media management and maybe you don't aspire to be a director of communication or a content strategist, but it is very likely that social media will have some impact on your career, both positively and negatively. Begin to think through this and explain what you think in this week's post.

Another option is to make it a little less personal to your specific career and think about how social media is being used in the industry you want to go into: For example, if you're interested in food or sports or event planning, how can someone in those industries leverage social media?

You could also reflect a little on your new media journaling that you've been doing for the past few days. There's a whole paper coming on it after Fall Break, but you could think about it here too.

As always, posts are due on Fridays. Happy Blogging!

Is that on brand?

This week we will focus a good bit on representing ourselves professionally in online spaces which has really been an ongoing theme so far this semester. As always, if you've been inspired by something we talk about in class this week and have a topic in mind to blog about, go for it! However, if you're struggling this week, here are a couple ideas to consider: 

What would you call your top 10 tips for presenting a professional image online, especially as college students? (Think Letterman's top 10 style!) 

Courtesy of Wikipedia

We've talked about personal and professional branding and how important it is to maintain a positive impression online. However, sometimes we say and do things that end up getting us into trouble. In light of this, how important do you think it is to be authentic and true to yourself online? Had you ever considered the importance of a personal brand being about both your online and offline selves? Some would say that your online reputation is your most valued possession. Do you agree or disagree with that? Why is maintaining an online reputation important?

This is Stan from the Old Disney show, Dog with a Blog. Because, you know, online no one knows that you're a dog. Unless you tell them and have your own blog called Dog with a Blog.

Include at least one photo along with your blog post this week. And, as always, blogs are due on Fridays.

"I always feel like somebody's watching me...."

Have you thought about the information you share online? What does it say about you? Is your secure information protected?

Photo Courtesy of Online Gladiators

Our topics for this week are Ethics and Legal Considerations of Social Media. There are so many ways that hackers, scammers, and phishers can access our information. Is any of it actually private?

One option for blogging this week is for you to tell me what you think about privacy. Are you being proactive about protecting your identity and information online? Explain what you do to keep yourself safe online.

Another option for blogging is related to privacy. Oftentimes, we don't think about how our content might come off before we post it, which can lead to instances where we might be publicly shamed online. It's happening more and more, where social media users highlight what other users say and do as an almost modern day witch-hunt - with the oft tweeted hashtag, "Twitter do your thing." Cancel culture is here for better or for worse. So what do you think about shaming? What about the notion of cancel culture? How are these things related to impression management?

As a part of your response (regardless of which angle you take), come up with a set of guidelines (a list of 3-5 governing ideas/techniques) that you would give a high school senior in terms of online protection (that might also have to do with keeping themselves safe from being the target of public shaming) as they begin thinking about an adult life away from home for the first time.

If these aren't up your alley, you can of course talk about something else (like the deadly sins of social media or when expectations were violated)... just make sure you bring your post back to topics we've discussed this week in some way. Add a photo and make sure your writing is broken up into readable (or snackable, as Freberg likes to say) chunks. 

Blog posts are due by the end of day on Fridays. 

Managing Impressions and Thinking about Why We Post What We Post

 You'll note that in class we've begun talking about the many selves we have to maintain in our daily lives, and social media can further exacerbate the need to keep up with multiple identities.

Impression management is all about putting our best face out there for audiences to see as they encounter us in social media spaces or even in real life. We also talked about the performance of self, and how it relates to impression management.

Some questions to ponder as you think about your blogs and your themes as they relate to this week's topic:

• How many selves do you feel like you project on your social media profiles? 
• What is/where is truth and why do we choose certain features to promote in online settings?  
• What do you think some of the ethical considerations should be as we decide which face to present to people online? 
• What do you think are some of the pitfalls/dark sides to impression management? 

Even if your class blog is geared to something very specific, impression management still matters. Why is understanding impression management in this digital age so important?

Courtesy of Mastering the Dynamics of Communication Technology Blog

Another option for this week's blog post is to reflect on what you've posted on your social media platforms recently. What did you post? Where did you post it? Who did you want to see it? What were you motivations behind posting? Did you get the response you were hoping to get?

Whatever you decide to blog about this week, include at least one photo in your post! Posts are due by end of day Friday. Happy blogging!