The Last Post (for Spring 2020)

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 summer break, and hopefully some relief in the social distancing we've been practicing for half of this semester.

Courtesy of The Matridox and Disney of course

Your last blog post, then, should be a review of the course. In the spirit of David Letterman's famous Top 10 lists, tell me ten things that you learned or liked about this course. Be thoughtful; be creative. Include pictures where appropriate, and have fun with it!

Courtesy of Elegant Themes

After you do your top 10 list, ponder these questions briefly as well: Was there anything you did not like about class? Was there something you were hoping to learn about that we didn't quite get to? Be constructive in your feedback - you have the ability to help make this course stronger for future students!

Posts are due by end of day Friday.
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That said, I encourage you to keep blogging either here or somewhere else. Delve further into social media... different apps, different platforms... find what works for you! 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!

Choose Your Own Adventure

Our time in COMM 373 is coming to a close over the next couple of weeks. Since it was so popular a few weeks back... 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

Here are some thoughts to guide you if choosing your own adventure isn't your thing:

• We've covered alot so far this semester, so what have you learned? Do you still have any questions about any of the topics we've covered?
• How is week 5 million and 1 of social distancing going? 
• How's your analysis project going? Who was your client and what have you learned about them so far? How are the creative suggestions coming along?

Really you can talk about anything this week; just make sure it relates to your theme and/or something having to do with social media. 

Have fun; post something interesting. Be you and be authentic. Posts are due by end of day Friday. Remember, next week is your last (required) post!

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 Privacy Online and Public Shaming. 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." What do you think about shaming? How is it 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.

YouTube and TikTok

This week we are talking about YouTube. One of the interesting things we've seen with YouTube and other platforms that support video service (like TikTok and, before it, Vine) is videos going viral. What is it that makes them go viral? Do you think you can set out to make a viral video?

Courtesy of Wikimedia

YouTube has especially become ultra important in the age of coronavirus. I've resurrected my YouTube account to be able to post our class recordings to my channel in hopes that it doesn't overload Canvas. Churches scrambled to make channels and have the ability to "go live" so they could broadcast their Holy Week and Easter Masses/services to their communities (and beyond). YouTube might be one of those sites where you questioned whether it is actually a social networking site, but I think within these last few weeks, we've seen it come into its own in ways we've never considered.

Your blog post this week should be about the communal nature of video content. If you're not into YouTube, you can focus on TikTok instead. Why should we consider YouTube and TikTok social media platforms, based on the definition of social media we've discussed all semester? How can one creatively use these platforms to reach their intended audiences?

Blog posts are due by Friday.

Coronavirus, Instagram, & Living our Best Life

This week in class we'll have our Instagram Resident Expert group give their presentation privately via Zoom with a follow-up discussion about Instagram and the VanDijck reading on Flickr on Wednesday.

Oh Instagram. 

We're also still in the thick of social distancing, where life isn't really all too Instagramable....

This seems to beg the question: How did we get to this point, where a whole generation seems to "do it for the 'gram" or needs to apply several filters to photos to show how they're living their best life? This isn't meant to be a knock against Gen Z and Millennials - it's just an observation that many of us have made over the past several years. Now that things have slowed down, we're forced to be #TogetherApart, how has the way you post about your life changed? What other things have changed?

Courtesy of Giphy

This week, you can still talk about our new normal of social distancing related to the Coronavirus, but try to incorporate some reflections on the questions above.

Blog posts are due by Friday.

Remote Learning and Graphic Design

Wow... we're really seeing the power of new media at work right now, having had our first remote learning session via Zoom on Monday. Save for the power outage and maybe a little boring content from yours truly, I think it went okay!

This week, your blog post can be about anything you want... the only catch is, you should include a graphic that you've made using Canva or another design platform you have at your disposal. Please don't spend any money to do this! BUT be mindful of what the free options are on Canva. Don't download anything with a watermark because that just looks weird.

Visit Canva to try your hand at basic graphic design!

You might also want to provide brief rationale for why your graphic goes with your post. Maybe it's a logo for your blog. Maybe you designed something specific to go along with whatever you're inspired to talk about this week. Maybe you have big ideas to use Canva professionally in the future and are just getting some practice now. Whatever it is... offer a slight explanation!

Blog posts are due by 5:00 p.m. on Fridays.

Catching up and moving on...

Wow! What a week it's been! I miss you guys. Hope you're all safe at home or wherever you went leaving campus. As always, reach out to me if you experience any trouble during this time we are not meeting face-to-face.

Remember you had a blog post due on Friday that was extended to 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 18. The prompt for that post can be found here. It should have been an opportunity for you to do a Midterm Review.

When even is midterm week anymore?

Your post this week can be anything COVID-19 related you want. Where did you end up? If you write it by the time you have a couple class sessions, how'd they go? In what ways are you experiencing new media through this crisis pandemic?

Just kidding... I hope everything works for us!

These posts should be posted no later than 11:59 p.m. this Friday, March 20. Please let me know if you have any questions.