This past week marked our last Emerging Media class and my last fall semester at Marquette University. (I graduate with a Masters degree in May, which I can't believe.)
Throughout the semester, we worked on a final project of our choice. I chose to do a "personal branding" Web site in which I will use to market myself for a future job. Visit mbrittany.com to see it. Let me know what you think on here, or through the contact form on the site.
I didn't exactly know what to expect when I started this class. I knew, knowing our professor, Linda Menck, who I'd had before, that it would be project-based, and that we'd have a few good guest speakers and some interesting conversation. Well, it was all that plus some. The main concept I learned during this class is to not be afraid to put yourself out there, especially on the Web. What's the worst that could happen? You get a job because of it? Oh no... While I am still a little skittish toward Twitter, I have become more willing to display myself professionally online. Especially if it means landing a job because I know how tough and discouraging finding a job can be. I've learned to find a personal "brand" and run with it. Brag about yourself if you need to and tell others what you're good at. It can't hurt in the online world, at least I don't think it can.
The speaker I enjoyed the most throughout the semester was Laura Gainor. She put herself out there and she got a job. She's one of the most energetic, knowledgeable people when it comes to social media. Her passion and excitement seemed to rub off on people. It was very, very enjoyable listening to her.
I do have a couple gripes about this course, however. The first is that it must have been so hard to teach a class on emerging media. Media and technology is changing so rapidly every single day it's hard to keep up with. And what exactly is emerging media anyway? I think everyone has their own definition and there's so much to cover in only one semester it's hard to get to it all. I commend Linda for even trying to teach an emerging media class.
My other gripe is that although at times topics and discussions challenged me, it was rare. I have grown up with computers and the Internet most of my life so a lot of the concepts we talked about I already knew. What was challenging however, is trying to figure out a way to keep up with it all, and to try to be innovators in maybe a not-so-innovative workplace. I think to make this class more challenging (and I can't believe I'm saying this) is to add a few more assignments in to it. One might be to come up with a way to implement social media Web sites into the workplace, or to brainstorm branding slogans for our own personal brand. Or maybe to even take a concept a guest speaker talked about and make a very small micro site out of it. Something to make us think more and put what we discussed into practice a bit more.
The part of class I enjoyed the most is class discussion. We had some very talented people with tons of different ideas. It was very interesting listening to different perspectives and opinions. It was also very fascinating watching and listening to all of the presentations. Everyone had a different approach and a different perspective.
Despite my gripes, I am glad I enrolled in this class. Media and the way it's changing is very interesting to me and I think it always will be.
Throughout the semester, we worked on a final project of our choice. I chose to do a "personal branding" Web site in which I will use to market myself for a future job. Visit mbrittany.com to see it. Let me know what you think on here, or through the contact form on the site.
I didn't exactly know what to expect when I started this class. I knew, knowing our professor, Linda Menck, who I'd had before, that it would be project-based, and that we'd have a few good guest speakers and some interesting conversation. Well, it was all that plus some. The main concept I learned during this class is to not be afraid to put yourself out there, especially on the Web. What's the worst that could happen? You get a job because of it? Oh no... While I am still a little skittish toward Twitter, I have become more willing to display myself professionally online. Especially if it means landing a job because I know how tough and discouraging finding a job can be. I've learned to find a personal "brand" and run with it. Brag about yourself if you need to and tell others what you're good at. It can't hurt in the online world, at least I don't think it can.
The speaker I enjoyed the most throughout the semester was Laura Gainor. She put herself out there and she got a job. She's one of the most energetic, knowledgeable people when it comes to social media. Her passion and excitement seemed to rub off on people. It was very, very enjoyable listening to her.
I do have a couple gripes about this course, however. The first is that it must have been so hard to teach a class on emerging media. Media and technology is changing so rapidly every single day it's hard to keep up with. And what exactly is emerging media anyway? I think everyone has their own definition and there's so much to cover in only one semester it's hard to get to it all. I commend Linda for even trying to teach an emerging media class.
My other gripe is that although at times topics and discussions challenged me, it was rare. I have grown up with computers and the Internet most of my life so a lot of the concepts we talked about I already knew. What was challenging however, is trying to figure out a way to keep up with it all, and to try to be innovators in maybe a not-so-innovative workplace. I think to make this class more challenging (and I can't believe I'm saying this) is to add a few more assignments in to it. One might be to come up with a way to implement social media Web sites into the workplace, or to brainstorm branding slogans for our own personal brand. Or maybe to even take a concept a guest speaker talked about and make a very small micro site out of it. Something to make us think more and put what we discussed into practice a bit more.
The part of class I enjoyed the most is class discussion. We had some very talented people with tons of different ideas. It was very interesting listening to different perspectives and opinions. It was also very fascinating watching and listening to all of the presentations. Everyone had a different approach and a different perspective.
Despite my gripes, I am glad I enrolled in this class. Media and the way it's changing is very interesting to me and I think it always will be.
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