Before this
Ales 204 class, the extent of my social media usage went as far as Facebook. The
thought of utilizing social media in a professional way as a tool had never
really crossed my mind. I mean really, I use Facebook as a way to see pictures
from a party last weekend so how could it be used for anything that’s not on a
personal level? Well, this communication class has definitely opened my eyes
and broadened my perspective on this issue and not just with regards to professionalism
– I didn’t realize how many social media sites there actually were out there. I
knew of Twitter and swore to myself I would never get it; to me it was simply a
rehash of Facebook status updates and I certainly don’t need to know the little
mundane things going on in people’s lives that they for some reason want to
talk about. However, if I think back of my thoughts and opinions of social
media the very first day of class and consider where those opinions are today,
I am surprised to say how much they have grown and have come to appreciate
social media not just as a way of personal communication but as a tool ready
and able to be used in the professional world.
Throughout
the term we were introduced to various topics on social media and the Internet,
and were exposed to different social media sites. We learned of Flickr as a great way of sharing
pictures and gained some insight on various copyright laws. We discovered LinkedIn, where we could network and
display ourselves in a professional way. Facebook
was introduced in a new light as we were shown how it could be used professionally
and as a way to put ourselves out there in a way suitable to the working world.
The biggest one though was of course Twitter.
From day one it was used as participation and to keep updated with others in
the class. This idea of using Twitter in class had never been brought up in any
other one of my classrooms but it certainly had a huge impact in this one. As I
said before, I was dead against Twitter. Almost four months later, my opinion
has done a complete turn around and I actually now quite enjoy it as it’s not
just simply useless updates about things I don’t need to know. I can connect
with experts in my field of interest, use hashtags to find common ground with
others, and can even follow along with the news. This is a tool that goes
beyond this class and is something that I will definitely keep using. Wordle is another site introduced, one
that creates a word cloud from whatever you put in and the more a word is
mentioned, the bigger it is. Using this professionally could prove very useful,
as it could help one to understand what it is that an employer, for example, is
looking for or what kind of message a resume is giving. I even used this on my
own blog posts. Between my thoughts on social media in my very first
introductory post to those of this post, the word clouds show very different
messages and are a very visual way of showing just how my thoughts on social
media and communication have changed.
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| Word cloud of my first introductory post. Screen shot taken by Hillary Banack of word cloud, created from http://www.wordle.net/ |
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| Word cloud of this final post. Screen shot taken by Hillary Banack of word cloud, created from http://www.wordle.net/ |
Social
media wasn’t the only thing discussed in this course. Different aspects of the
academic and professional world were introduced. Public speaking is a major
part of pretty much anything nowadays and tips were discussed which will be
very helpful for other classes and life beyond university. Pecha Kucha for example is great new way of doing presentations. Resumes and CV building
provided important skills that I will use later on. Learning about Wikipedia
and its unreliability definitely showed me how what is written on the Internet
cannot always be taken for truth. Searching out peer reviewed articles, how to
effectively read an academic paper, and proper referencing were a few aspects
pertaining to our academics that was well applied to assignments in this class
as well as others. The ability to be critically literate, as Javsveer discussed in her blog, is very
important and something I hadn’t really considered before. And of course,
various aspects of professionalism and how to use this in the working world as
well as personally will probably save me from making quite a few mistakes in
the future.
This blog
and blogging itself is also a social media tool and is one that has become part
of my life. I had never really considered myself ever becoming a blogger; I
mean, I’m not really all that great at writing and what do I have to say about
anything anyways? Well as it turns out, a lot actually. I find it to be a great
way to give my thoughts on a particular subject or share new things going on
with myself. It is not just a place where I can write and people can read; it
is interactive. People can read and comment back; I can click on their link and
be introduced to new thoughts and ideas. From there, I can click a link to
another blog or site mentioned. It is an endless way of connecting with
other individuals. I can even comment and share my own thoughts, just as I have
done on Meaghan’s, Sara’s, Nicole’s, Rosie’s, and Becky’s blogs. If it wasn’t for this
class, I would have never created a blog or come to see the great benefits of
not only writing a blog, but reading other blogs out there. Although I may not
always be able to make a new post every week, I know that this blog of mine
will not end with this class.
