Your Last Post

Hello bloggers! Well, our time in COMM 373 is coming to an end. It's the last week of class, and most of us are super ready for a break. For your last (required) blog post, tell me how you feel about blogging after having a whole semester of coming up with content (with some hopefully helpful prompts from me). Consider the following:

• Why is blogging part of a class in social media? Isn't it ... old?
• How has this blog contributed to your digital footprint?
• Will you continue your blog and will you move it to some other platform? Or is it not really your thing?

Posts are due by end of day Friday. I hope you've enjoyed the semester and continue to learn more about what platforms are the best for your professional and personal needs!
---
I encourage you to keep blogging either here or somewhere else. Make yourself marketable as you get ready for the future. For many of you, graduation is days away. For others, you're pursuing internships. Be thoughtful of your online presence as you begin/continue on your career paths!

SPARC Festival

Since the Mount cancels classes on Thursday of SPARC week so students can attend presentations and support their peers, this week your blog post is going to be SPARC-related.

There are several presentations that are Communication-related, and those are listed below along with their times, locations, and whether or not there is a virtual option. 

9:00 a.m. - Honors Presentation on Podcasting, Laughlin Auditorium (no virtual option)
9:30 a.m. - Honors Presentation on Instagram, Laughlin Auditorium (no virtual option)
10:00-11:30 a.m. - Panel Presentation on Gender & Stereotypes, AC 220 (no virtual option)
12:30 p.m. - Lighted Corners magazine release, Library Main Floor (no virtual option)
12:30-2:00 p.m. - Poster Session - Find Cara Davis's poster on Instagram, GatherTown - Access online here
2:30-4:00 p.m. - Panel Presentation on Gender & Media Industries, AC 220 (no virtual option)
6:20 p.m. - Lightning Talk (Rhetorical Analysis), Library Main Floor - Access online here
6:40 p.m. - Lightning Talk (Media Criticism), Library Main Floor - Access online here

For more information and to access a full schedule, visit the SPARC page on the Mount's website. Here are a couple of options for how to handle this week's post:

• Attend a presentation. (It would be even better if this presentation was about social media.) Provide the name, title of the presentation, subject area, and a summary of what you learned.
• Go to the Lighted Corners release and look at the publication, stories, and photos. Find their social media presence (they do have one), and evaluate it. (You do not necessarily need to go to this presentation to do this one.)
• Check into how SPARC has been marketed to you. Is there a social media presence? Is it good? Could it be better?

If you were a SPARC participant, you can also talk about the process you went through to submit your work, prepare yourself, and present.

Blog posts are due by end of day Friday. 

Branding and Content Creation

Now that we've had several weeks of learning about content and branding, this week I'd like you to think about your blog presence for our class. 

Image Courtesy of Oktopost

Given our new material on content creation and the intro to Canva we had last week, try your hand at creating a logo for your blog that is consistent with the content you've been sharing this semester. Think about your theme, color scheme, and your overall presence. Share your logo and describe the creative process you underwent in creating it for this week's blog post. 

Happy creating! As always, blogs are due on Fridays.

Writing, Content...Adventure Time!

Recently, our discussions in class have been about Strategic Writing for Social Media, Audience Segmentation, and later this week, Content, so it seems appropriate to make this week's post another choose your own adventure so that you can flex your creative muscles and try your hand at written content creation all on your own! Plus, I really enjoyed what you came up with for your last adventure and want you to feel empowered to talk about the things that matter to you.

 

Meme courtesy of 55 Totally Awesome Travel Memes

So, your post can be about anything this week but make sure that you relate what you write about to the theme you've established and that whatever you write is appropriate, of course.

So have fun! Be interesting, authentic, and you. Make sure to include a photo, gif, or some visual element with your post. Posts are due by end of day on Friday.

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?

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 become an ongoing theme 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! You can approach this as helping to educate high school or middle school students about the importance of presenting a professional image online if that helps.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

We've also 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?

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

Choose Your Own Adventure - Spring 2022

This semester has gotten pretty busy so this week, what you post is up to you! (Yes, you still have to post something...)

Image courtesy of Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

Feel free to post something related to the themes you've already begun. Really you can talk about anything this week; just make sure it relates to your theme and is (obviously) appropriate.

Have fun; post something interesting. Be you and be authentic. Posts are due by end of day Friday. 

Midterm Check-in!

 It's that time of semester... the time that everyone sort of, kind of dreads....

MIDTERMS. THE WEEK AFTER SPRING BREAK. I don't know about you but like... CAN'T WE JUST HAVE ANOTHER WEEK OF BREAK? 

Courtesy of Oracle Charter Schools

So in that spirit, this week's blog post will be more of a reflection of the semester so far. Easy peasy, right? Hopefully it will also get you ready for the Midterm, which will be next Tuesday, March 15.

To that end... tell me what you've learned so far this semester in COMM 373.

• What's been the most interesting concept?
• What's been the most boring concept? Is there anything you could care less about? Be honest.
• How do you think you'll be able to apply what you've been learning so far to the real world? 

Address each of those questions in a separate paragraph with supporting details. Include at least one image to spice things up. Explain why you've chosen this image and how it relates to your entry.

NOTE: Make sure to proofread your posts for grammar and spelling. Points are being deducted for poor grammar, spelling, and typos! Make sure to include a photo if you are not doing a vlog.

Impression Management: Why do we post what we do? What do we want to happen?

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!

More Guests, New Media Journals, and Disinhibition... oh my!

For your blog posts this week, you have some options... but hopefully you won't feel like our friend Elmo here...

Gif courtesy of Tenor

Option 1: Summarize Dr. Lusike Mukhongo's visit to our class from Tuesday. What did she talk about? What stuck out to you or resonated with you in particular? Include a photo in your post.

Option 2: You turned in your New Media Journal this week. What are some of your general take away's from this project so far. How was it to keep a log of your new media use over the course of the week? Include at least one photo in your posts.

Option 3: On Thursday we'll be discussing Online Disinhibition from the Suler reading. Tell me what you think about toxic vs. benign disinhibition. Choose one of the six types of disinhibition to expand on and provide a popular example of it. Include a photo or link of some sort in your post.

Option 4: Sometimes we say and do things online that we would never say or do "in real life." Reflect on a time that you noticed the online disinhibition effect totally happening in one of your online encounters. Do you feel like it was toxic, benign, or a mixture of both? If you had to do it over again, what would you do? Include a photo in your post.

Remember your blog posts should provide details - let me know you're really thinking about the topic(s) you're reflecting on from week to week. Posts are due by end of day on Friday. 

So now what do I do? (Post 2)

By now, all of you are linked to the course blog roll AND you should have posted your first post which was an introduction to you and your space here. So... now what?

In our last class and this week, we will have a series of visiting scholars talking to us about a variety of topics related to social media, activism, and social movements. Choose something that one of these scholars talked about that resonated with you and expand on it here in this space. Here are some ideas to consider:

• Why did it resonate with you? 
• What other information can you share with us? 
• What kind of connection can you make between what resonated with you and the things that interest you or make you tick from last week's blog post?

As a reminder our visiting scholars are: Dr. Rauf Arif (Thursday, January 27), Ms. Christina Riley (Tuesday, February 1), and Dr. Yunkang Yang (Thursday, February 3).

Remember, each week, you'll post at least once, trying to capture the essence of the theme you started out with (which is why I asked you about that in the first post). Most weeks, you should try to relate your post back to something we're talking about in class.

As we continue the semester, one of the things you should consider is giving your blog its own identity or personality. This will take some time to develop; but much like your own identity, your blogs can take on a specific theme and your posts can fit into that theme. Maybe you want to be inspirational. Maybe you want to think about faith. Maybe you want to think about travel. Or sports!

Are you guys too young to remember Disney's Dog with a Blog?

Whatever it is, think about what kind of vibe you want to develop, and try to tailor your posts as much as possible to that and our topics as the semester goes on. This way, you'll have the beginnings of your own space in the digital realm. Who knows where it can take you!

Blogs and vlogs are due by end of day Friday. 

Your First Post - Spring 2022

Welcome to blogging for the Spring 2022 semester! 

I've had a few suggestions that students be allowed to vlog instead of blog for this class. I am open to that, as long as you are able to touch on the required components of each week's post. However, regardless of whether you write or make videos, I still need a common place for you to host whatever content you do produce for this class, and short of me following you on TikTok (which is probably NOT a good idea)... a blog platform seems like a happy medium.  

Now that we've addressed that: This week, your post should be a basic introduction to who you are and what your blog (or vlog) will be about - it's your first post for this class, so you can really carve out your niche in this space. You have to start somewhere, and what better way than to start off with an introductory post! If you already posted something as you created your blog, keep reading and make sure you addressed everything I ask for. I won't read posts for a grade until at least the weekend. 

So to start - introduce yourself. Who are you? That's a loaded question. Unpack it (using as much self-disclosure as you deem fit for an online space). Example things to potentially include: Name and where you are in life right now, what you want to do in life, etc.

Gif courtesy of Steve Litras at Cribl

Now... as you went through the process of creating your blog, you made specific decisions in terms of the theme, background, the images, font, and other things that you selected over something else. Was there a reason for that? Offer some insight into your creative process. Do you have a specific theme you plan to stick to throughout the semester? While you will have some freedom to write about what you want from week to week this semester, remember that you should make an effort to connect what you're writing about to what we talk about in class too. 

Next - what makes you tick? What interests you? This can potentially be a direction for your blog. It doesn't have to be just one thing either. This is your space. Personalize it. Make it your own. Give your reader an idea of what you're planning to write about. If you want to add a picture, feel free but it's not necessary to -- at least not right now.

Your blog post should be a few (short) paragraphs. If you're making a video, you should make sure to include everything I mentioned above. If you're writing: notice how in this post, I have small chunks of writing with space between paragraphs. It makes for a more pleasurable reading experience! Remember, you're writing (or vlogging) for a specific audience (me and anyone else you share this with). I encourage you to share your blogs with others too!

Don't forget, posts should be up by the end of day Friday. In general though, as long as it's there by the time I grade (which is usually over the weekend) you should be fine. Happy blogging/vlogging!

The Last (required) Post

Hello bloggers! Well, our time in COMM 373 is coming to an end. It's the last week of class, and most of us are super ready for a break. For your last (required) blog post, tell me how you feel about blogging after having a whole semester of coming up with content (with some hopefully helpful prompts from me). Consider the following:

• Why is blogging part of a class in social media? Isn't it ... old?
• How has this blog contributed to your digital footprint?
• Will you continue your blog and will you move it to some other platform? Or is it not really your thing?

Posts are due by end of day Friday. I hope you've enjoyed the semester and continue to learn more about what platforms are the best for your professional and personal needs!
---
I encourage you to keep blogging either here or somewhere else. Make yourself marketable as you get ready for the future. For many of you, graduation is on the horizon. For others, you're pursuing internships. Be thoughtful of your online presence as you begin/continue on your career paths!

Your Second to Last Required Post

In class over the past several weeks, we have talked about how being creative on demand is difficult and creating content for a social media account isn't as easy as it seems. A couple weeks ago, you created a branded image for your blog and explained your creative process. 

Gif courtesy of Giphy

We've also begun talking about how social media is used in different industries. So now, we have a pretty complete picture of what professionals in social media do - it's a little bit of writing, it's a little bit of creativity, and it's also a little bit of math (shocking!) For your blog post this week, give me a little bit of feedback (oh hey, it's an evaluation...)

• What have your favorite topics been so far? 
• What's been the most boring topic to cover?
• How do you think you'll be able to apply what you've been learning so far to the real world?
• Is there anything you thought you'd learn in class that we haven't covered yet?

I plan to take tips from your posts this week to help tweak the class for future students, so be honest in your responses. And don't forget: Blog posts are due by end of day Friday.

Gif courtesy of GIPHY Studios

Social Media Analysis Projects

The last assignment of the course is one of my favorites because you can see how all of the things we've talked about all semester come together AND you get to flex some of your creative muscles by making suggestions for a client that you select. You can read all about the Analysis Project on the assignment sheet posted to Canvas. 

For this week's blog post, you're doing the first small part of the Analysis Project, which is to select a local (to you) small business or organization and do a little background research on them. Specifically, the assignment sheet says: 

Choose a small organization or business (non-profits, local/home churches, student organizations, businesses in Emmitsburg/Frederick/Gettysburg with which you have familiarity, or businesses local to you in your hometown). Preview your “client” in your blog post (this will be blog post #10) due on Friday, November 19. Your preview should include basic information about your client and a SWOT Analysis (see handout on Canvas.)

The business can and should be in an area that interests you because you'll probably feel more passionate about completing this last project for an organization or cause that you care about. 

As you begin look into their online presence, complete a SWOT (analyzing their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) and provide a little background information about them. 

Image courtesy of Word Stream

This will help you to start thinking more about the analysis paper you have to write and potentially even give you some inspiration for creative suggestions.

Blog posts are due on Fridays. 

Branding and Content Creation

Now that we've had several weeks of learning about content and branding, this week I'd like you to think about your blog presence for our class. 

Image Courtesy of Oktopost

Given our new material on content creation and the intro to Canva (class on Thursday), try your hand at creating a logo for your blog that is consistent with the content you've been sharing this semester. Think about your theme, color scheme, and your overall presence. Share your logo and describe the creative process you underwent in creating it for this week's blog post. 

Happy creating! Since I'm not talking about Canva until Thursday, blogs should be posted by end of day Sunday, 11/14 this week. 

The Power of Influencers

Our blog post for the week is going to be a little different than what we've done in the past, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same!

Choose your favorite social media influencer and write a profile/review of their social media space. These can be DIYers, YouTubers, even well-known celebrities. 

Graphic Courtesy of Scepter Digital Marketing

In your profile/review, consider: 

• What platforms are they using? 
• Who are their followers? 
• What is their brand voice? 
• Do they support any specific products or causes? How do you know?

 If you've been following them for a while, think about these questions too: 

• How did you find them? 
• Why do you follow them?

If you do not follow a specific influencer or are having trouble thinking of one to review for this week's post, a simple Google search of the most popular influencers will reveal a variety of results. Cole Sprouse is listed as having one of the most influential presences on social media, alongside Selena Gomez and Cristiano Ronaldo. If you choose to review someone who is also a well-known celebrity or athlete, consider the questions above and how they use their platform and fame to highlight causes that are important to them.

As you conclude your post this week, reflect on the overall impact of influencers in today's world. As always, posts are due on Fridays. 

Surprise! It's ANOTHER Choose your own Adventure!

This week our discussion in class is about Strategic Writing for Social Media, so it seems appropriate to make this week's post another choose your own adventure post so that you can flex your creative muscles and try your hand at written content creation! Plus, I really enjoyed what you came up with for your last adventure and want you to feel empowered to talk about the things that matter to you.

 

Meme courtesy of 55 Totally Awesome Travel Memes

So, your post can be about anything this week but make sure that you relate what you write about to the theme you've established and that whatever you write is appropriate, of course.

So have fun! Be interesting, authentic, and you. Posts are due by end of day on Friday.

Choose Your Own Adventure - Fall 2021

This semester has gotten pretty busy so this week, what you post is up to you! (Yes, you still have to post something...)

Image courtesy of Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

Feel free to post something related to the themes you've already begun. But if choosing your own adventure isn't your thing, here are some thoughts to guide you if you'd like more structure:

• We've covered alot already this semester, so what have you learned? Do you still have any questions about any of the topics we've covered?
• How was it keeping your social media log for a week? Did you notice anything in particular emerge from your usage?

Really you can talk about anything this week; just make sure it relates to your theme and is appropriate.

Have fun; post something interesting. Be you and be authentic. Posts are due by end of day Friday. 

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!