Social Media

This past Wednesday, Dec. 8th, I attended the Social Media and Communication Symposium at RIT. The keynote speakers of the event were Jeff Jarvis (author of What Would Do? and an Associate Professor of Journalism at the City University of New York) and Deirdre Breakenridge (President of Mango! Creative Juice, a New York-area public relations and marketing company, and the author of four books on public relations, including the best-selling PR 2.0 and Putting the Public Back in Public Relations). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to listen to Deidre Breakenridge speak, but from what I heard and what I read on twitter, I knew she did a fantastic job. I was happy to listen to the address given by Jeff Jarvis. He was great! Not only was he interesting, but quite funny. One thing I will never forget from the presentation was "Content is everywhere." We no longer have to wait to read the daily newspapers to stay aware of what's going on, we are apart of the content. We blog, we tweet, we're apart of the news.
At of the end of Mr. Jarvis's presentation, he showed all of us "A Bill of Rights in Cyberspace."

A Bill of Rights in Cyberspace

I. We have the right to connect.

II. We have the right to speak.

III. We have the right to assemble

IV. We have the right to act. 

V. We have the right to control our data.

VI. We have the right to control our identity.

VII. What is public is public good.

VIII. All bits are created equal.

IX. The internet shall be operated openly.

Another session I attended at the symposium was by Professor Jonathan Schroeder, from Department of Communications in the College of Liberal Arts at RIT. His presentation was on "How Social Media Changed Marketing."He did a good job as well as he talked about good marketing and how social media empowers consumers. 

At the end of the day as I reflected on the event, I realized that the internet has changed a lot of ways we communicate and advertise. All of us as bloggers are now apart of the conversation.
We are all connected. 

My Visual Memoir

This is my visual memoir project I submitted for my Digital Design class. There's a lot of things I would change in the photo, but overall it represents me and where I want to be. :-) 

**This was created using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator**

Feeling Lost

Lately, I've been feeling lost. I don't know what I'm going to do after I graduate. A lot of people may be feeling the same way and think everything is going to work out. I'm trying to stay optimistic but I'm freakin' out! Usually I'm always someone with a plan. Everything may not go according to that plan, but at least I have a good outline.

I know I want to be in media in some way. I've always been interested. I read articles, watch clips, think about how I would do things. That's why I got into communications. This is what I do. I just need to find my way.

Probably, I'm not that lost after all. I just need to work harder.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.4

Remaining Golden Assignments - 2/5

Looking at the rest of the golden assignments I had left, I saw I still had to:

Practice listening

• Make a vow to listen as much as you talk 
• Attempt to spend 2/3 of the time listening to people, 1/3 of the time talking to people 

At the end of each day, tell yourself something you did today of which you are proud.

I thought that the assignment to practice listening would be a challenge for me because I'm a person that loves to talk. I don't know if I like hearing my own voice, but I'm so focused on what I'm about to say next, I may block out what another person is saying. I know... that's not good, but it's a process. I'm still working on it and I think this is something I have to continue practicing. I've realized that by listening more and talking less helped a lot of conversations I would have. I ask better questions, showed more interest in what somebody is saying. Not that I was never interested in what people have to say, but I tend to get to excited to share my opinion especially if the topic make me hype.

The last assignment I had to do was tell myself something I did today of which I'm proud of. Well, I didn't exactly record everything I was proud of every single day, I was proud to finish up my day at work each day. I was proud of thinking about my future goals and what I want to do. Today, I'm proud of finishing up all of my assignments I had left for this summer quarter.

This was the first time I've taken any classes during the summer. I really had to get it together, because usually summer mode means hardly doing anything for the day. This summer I decided to work full time and still be a full time student. I commend all of the students that usually do this every day. It's not easy, but you have to do it.

Right now I just appreciate being a college student.

2nd Golden Assignment - 2/5

 As part of my Golden Assignments, it states that I must tell someone you love that you love them. This must be someone you actually love and say the words "I love you". This is something I believe I say almost everyday. I know every time I speak to my parents we always say "I love you" before getting off the phone. You never know when you get off the phone with someone if that's going to be the last time you'll hear them. So you have to make sure they know how you feel, just in case. Life is just too short.

Another assignment is to say something nice to at least one person a day - "AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY". This is another thing I also do everyday. If I see something nice or someone is dressed nicely that day, I make sure to give them a compliment. For example during the week, a lady at my job at these beautiful high-heel shoes. I had to tell her I loved her shoes which she was happy about by smiling and thanking me. When you genuinely say something nice to someone they will know and truly appreciate the compliment they're receiving.

Five Golden Assignments - 1/5

For my Professional Selling class we have to complete Five Golden Assignments.

The Five Golden Assignments, shouldn't just be for class, but something we have to have set for our everyday lives. The assignments are:

1. Set Goals

• Short-term goals
• Long-term goals 
• Professional goals 
• Personal goals 
• Share them, if you like

2. Practice listening

• Make a vow to listen as much as you talk 
• Attempt to spend 2/3 of the time listening to people, 1/3 of the time talking to people 

3. Say something nice to at least one person a day - "AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY"

4. Tell someone you love that you love them.

• You actualy have to love the person 
• Say the words "I love you"

5. At the end of each day, tell yourself something you did today of which you are proud.

The assignments would be something to use to self reflect. I know I may want to practice #2 more because to be a great orator, you have to be a great listener. So hopefully, following these five golden assignments would help in the long run in life.

So to start off with my first assignments, I need to set goals for myself.

• My short term goal is to complete my work and survive for the rest of this summer quarter. I thought everything was going to be a breeze when I decided to take classes, but I really had to watch myself and be on top of my work. I have come to realize that if I don't write anything down, it will not be done. So, I try to keep a planner with things to do.  I use it for school and work. 
• My long term goal is after I complete my undergraduate degree, I want to continue and pursue a master's degree. Get a master's degree is something that I always find to be a necessity, not an option. I feel it's important for me to continue with my education, and learn more everyday.
• My professional goal is to keep on moving up the ladder wherever I decide to work. I feel that I wouldn't be satisfied until I've reached to a position where I could say "I've made it." I would love to be the Public Relations Director at a great company in New York City (my hometown) and live in a fabulous apartment or brownstone in Brooklyn, or a condominium in Midtown Manhattan. I know to attain those things, I have to work hard.
• My personal goal is to get up and start running again. I've always been a person involved in some time of physical training and fitness. Ever since I've been in college, I feel that I've been slacking on that, which has affected the way I function. I need to get back on track, literally.

I know my goals are attainable, but it's for me to go out and do it. I hope you go out and achieve your goals. Inspire others.

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else."

Albert Einstein 

 "Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there."

Bo Jackson

Cyberstalking Pt. 2

How often do you tweet? Or update your status on Facebook? Honestly, I don't do it often, many of my friends do. I know where they go, what they do, sometimes who they're with. It's still funny to read some of the comments that are online, but who else is watching. Sometimes we forget what is online that portrays us to other people. Last week, I was reading a very good article from the New York Times talking about some of the consequences of having "inappropriate" photos online. Though it may not be our behavior during work hours, companies take it very seriously when evaluating candidates for certain positions. Not just that, even when you have the job, is it smart to befriend your boss or higher rank people on Facebook? Personally, I don't think so. If you do, make sure to check what you say and what photos are uploaded. Don't talk about your job. Unfortunately, there have been times when people's profiles makes them look questionable. So, my advice is to be careful and watch out. Though the internet helps us to express ourselves, we have to remember who is watching and how much that may affect us.

Here's the link to the NY Times article: The Web Means the End of Forgetting