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Class Reflection

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                                            Digital Media & Society topic

Every commercial and Ad that is made is made to appeal to viewers attentions. Businesses and individuals market themselves in a way to appeal to specific types of customers that they are trying to sell to. Businesses and individuals use social media to market themselves because that is a source that almost all types and ages of people use.

 Social media isn’t only there to market businesses products, it’s also a way to find ways to promote and find people to work for them. For example there’s the social media site called LinkedIn, and this site allows you to find groups and people related to your major and find potential jobs in your career. Being on social media sites like this allows the word of your business or practice to spread.

 We had to look at a website and critique what we saw. This website was an interactive website where to look through the site you played a little game controlling a character that navigated you through the site. This site brought you through the ways to create your best resume and what to add to each subject. I thought this sight was a good one to look at because it’s very important to have a strong resume, and it made it 10 times better that it had a creative twist to look through the site.

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LinkedIn Reflection

LinkedIn Self-Reflection

I started off my LinkedIn assignment with an assortment of questions building up my profile. I filled out what I’m looking for in a future career, a little background history about myself, and talked about strengths I felt to possess. After I finished creating my profile I went along to find and follow accounts that had to do with my criminal justice major

What I enjoyed the most with this project is that this social media form is a great way to connect with future employers and give you great contacts in the future. If I keep up this profile I think I can keep finding good contacts and help myself find a good career path.

One of the things I found difficult with LinkedIn was that when you wanted to follow a person, or group, you had to first request them and sometimes it takes a while for them to accept your requests. So that was the only thing that got a little complicated.

Not long after I created my profile and asked to follow some people I already had people looking over my profile. So if I keep up with this assignment I think I can really put myself out there and find some good opportunities. That was something that was going very well with my profile.

Next time I would start the project earlier to give me a longer time period to follow and connect with certain people and groups. Once people accepted me into their groups I could connect and talk to people to see if there are any opportunities for myself in my intended career.

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                                        Twitter Reflection

At the beginning of the semester we had to start a project where we had to create a professional twitter and use it throughout the semester. So throughout the semester I tweeted professional tweets, tweeted stuff about the topic of my major, and kept up with the 30 tweets having to do with my class that I am doing the assignment for, using the hashtag #IM260. Then once my twitter account was created I went and followed over 5 different people and accounts that were related to my major.

What I enjoyed the most with this project was being able to see all the different people and groups related to my intended major and be able to see how each one is unique. Even with just following a certain counties twitter you can keep up on current and local events.

The thing I found the most difficult with this assignment would probably be remembering to stay consistently tweeting throughout the semester. I didn’t tweet much before so trying to remember to keep it up sometimes was difficult because I would forgot about it. Also I didn’t know always what to tweet about besides my homework but I think if I keep up with currents events it’ll be easier to find stuff to talk about.

Most of my blogs were based off of mainly my everyday life with homework and assignments. That was the easiest way to tweet a lot because I always had a lot of homework things to tweet about, and around 30 of the blogs had to be class based anyways. So that was probably the easiest part of the assignment.

Next time is more of a what will I continue on with my twitter, because I already have an account and instead of starting a new one I can just continue forward on my current one. So what I will do with my twitter is to keep up my professional twitter on this account and keep up with important accounts that I follow. By continuously staying connected I can be aware of opportunities and events happening in areas around me. Since I didn’t tweet a lot about much other than school this time, as I continue on, I will stay more involved with current events and that will give me a lot of more material to talk and tweet about.

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Website Self-Reflection

To complete the website project I took previous research from my research paper and stats from my survey and infographic and incorporated it into my website.  Once I had all my information I was able to put it into my website and focus on the designing of my site.

I think the thing I enjoyed the most was designing the website. It was fun to try and navigate through all the formats and add-ons to see what you could add to your website to make it unique and your own style. So once I got all my information on the site I just played around with different colors pictures and designs to see what I liked the best.

When I first started trying to make my website I had issues navigating the wix site that I was using to create my website. It took me awhile to see how all the bells and whistles worked. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn’t that bad.

What really worked with creating my website was designing the site itself, it was fun to do so it was easy to get the hang of it and find it fun to see what you could make. Also since I already had all the information I needed it was easy just to place it throughout the website and create the sections I needed.

Originally starting off making my website I didn’t use a template and tried designing an entire website on my own. So later on I ended up starting over and creating a new website but actually using a template that made things 100x’s easier. So next time if I were to create another website I would make sure to use a template in the first place and save a lot of time.

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Web Site Initial Blog

My initial thoughts on this assignment were that this assignment wouldn’t be that bad. Since this website is based off our research paper topic and survey and infographic assignment it’ll be easy for me to create a website on that topic. Considering I already have the majority of information that I need.

The concern that I have for this assignment is having to do actually creating and designing the website since I’m not always the best at working with new sites. So hopefully I will be able to figure out all the tools for creating my website.

The thing I’m most excited for though is actually making a website. Even though it’ll be interesting to see if I can actually figure out it’ll be cool to have a website of my own. While also having another way besides my survey and research paper that I can spread the word around about the issues of cyber bullying.

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Survey and Infographic Reflection

For this project I started off by posting my survey questions to three different social media sites. Then after I got all the results I needed I was able to go through the information received and summarize each of my questions explaining my thoughts on each question and if I agreed with the results I got. Once I figured out all my information I was able to take that and make an infographic with some of the more important parts

I think the part I enjoyed the most was creating the infographic. It was cool to design something while also having important information to share with people. It was fun to try new websites and see what you can do with them.

I think the most difficult part of the entire assignment was making the summaries out of each survey question. It just took a lot of time and it was sometimes hard for certain questions to know how to analyze the data as to which parts were the most important.

What really worked was the survey in general. I thought it was going to be difficult to get people to respond to my survey but it went very smoothly. I had more responses then I needed in less than 24 hours the first day I posted it.

Next time if I were to do this project again it would be interesting to ask the age of the survey takers to see if their answers differentiate between the different age groups. To see if they have different stances on issues or think about certain issues differently.

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Technology Disconnect Self-Reflection

What I had to do for the Technology Disconnect assignment was to stay disconnected from any of my electronic devices for a full 24 hours. This disconnect was a really great way to allow me to connect with others around me and be more aware of everyday life around me.

The technology disconnect was pretty difficult. I’m so accustomed to having all the technology I need at my disposal 24/7, and then having that all taken away from me was very difficult. The worst item that I couldn’t use during the exercise was my cell phone. I always have my cell phone with me everywhere I go and it never leaves my hand, and so not being able to just physically have it on me was a very uncomfortable feeling. The rest of the technology that I wasn’t able to use for the day wasn’t as hard to let go of. As long as I kept myself somewhat busy it was easy to forget about not being able to use technology. I tried reading, homework, exercising, and hanging out with friends. So the hardest part for me was any down time I had throughout the day. For example when I was sitting in my apartment doing homework I got really fidgety not being able to have something else going on, like to be able to look at my phone or watch TV. It did make me focus more on my homework though.

We don’t really seem to notice how much of a distraction our technology is, or if we do, we don’t really seem to care that it may be causing a distraction. This is why I enjoyed the technology disconnect, it made me put down my devices and really pay attention to what is going on around me. It allowed me to put my full attention towards others talking to me. Also even though it was annoying to have to sit and do my homework without anything to distract me by not having my phone or TV privileges, it forced me and allowed me to stay more focused on my school work.

So for this assignment what really worked for me was when I was with other people, when you’re with other people like a group of friends it so much easier to forget about your technology devices. That then allows you and your friends to actually hangout with each other rather than hangout with your phones.

If I were ever to do this assignment again the only think I would change is I would plan more things for my day of disconnecting. Like I said earlier the down time I had to myself was the most difficult part. Those were the times when I really felt the “pain” of not having my phone or other technologies. So I would just plan a full day of friends and activities to make the disconnect go a lot smoother.

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Mind Tools

A new way of intellectual thinking that I think should be promoted is to have more hands on activities in learning environments. I know personally for me just listening to lectures and taking notes doesn’t always allow me to remember the information being provided, but if I am doing something hands on where I can learn how to do something I have a lot easier of a time knowing and remembering the information. I am more of a kinesthetic learner where I prefer using my body, hands and touch to learn, and there are a lot of other students who are like that so it will give them an easier way to learn.

I think the best and most beneficial tool for students to learn easier would be that the teachers use a more kinesthetic way of teaching. The tools to accomplish this would be to have more lab or hands on activities in all class rooms. From going on field trips to doing more labs or activities in class that will help to learn the curriculum. By doing certain activities students can also use some muscle memory to apply to their test and exams.

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Google Wisdom:

Google is a system in which we can find almost any information you want or need to know. You can google anything imaginable and it will be on the internet. You also have Google earth which allows you to look all around the world and find ways to travel all around the world.

Over the years Google has become even more intense with more information to look up and discover. Google is a main starting point for almost every website in the world. As a college student I’m using the Google search engine to help look up information for papers and to help with homework. People use the internet for everyday life and google is the most common search engine used. The internet is not only a ton faster but also so many more options to look up and search.

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Professional Twitter Organizations

For one of our projects for my exploring digital media class we have to do a survey based off our research paper topic, mine being cyberbullying’s impact on Social Media. To accomplish this assignment I will come up with questions, like should parents be held responsible for what their kids post and share on social media?, that help get peoples view points on my topic.

My initial ideas are just to ask questions that peak my survey takers interest. And help people think about the issue at hand. Also I believe by hearing my survey takers input it can allow me to write a better research paper and have clearer ideas on people’s ideas on cyberbullying on social media.

Overall for this whole project I feel pretty good. I think it will be pretty interesting to see people’s ideas on social media through the survey questions I will ask. I also think it will be fun just to make a survey and send it out for friends and family to do.

 I started following the Minneapolis Police twitter account @MinneapolisPD. This is an account that talks about local events and police incidents. This allows the public to be able to help police in missing person or person of interest cases. With the twitter account, it is allowing for people to be able to feel more connected to their local police. An account that is also like @MinneapolisPD, is the lino lakes police department or @linolakesPD. This account will help me stay connected to local events at my hometown.

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By following professional organizations on twitter we we can allow our selves to further ourselves in our professional careers. This link will show you how to reach your career goals.

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Survey Ideas

For one of our projects for my exploring digital media class we have to do a survey based off our research paper topic, mine being cyberbullying’s impact on Social Media. To accomplish this assignment I will come up with questions, like should parents be held responsible for what their kids post and share on social media?, that help get peoples view points on my topic.

My initial ideas are just to ask questions that peak my survey takers interest. And help people think about the issue at hand. Also I believe by hearing my survey takers input it can allow me to write a better research paper and have clearer ideas on people’s ideas on cyberbullying on social media.

Overall for this whole project I feel pretty good. I think it will be pretty interesting to see people’s ideas on social media through the survey questions I will ask. I also think it will be fun just to make a survey and send it out for friends and family to do.

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I’m not the most excited for this assignment due to the fact that I will have to go 24 hours without my phone. Though I do think it will be good for me to go a whole 24 hours without having my face shoved in some screen and to be 100% in the actual reality going on around me. It will be good to hang out with friends and have no distraction of some technology.

To prepare for my 24 hour disconnect I am making sure my day of disconnecting will be somewhat busy. I’m making plans with friends and making sure I have activities that I can do like read my book and go to the gym.  Having a whole day with no technology just sounds impossible to do so I’m planning all the things I can fill my day with.

I think the most challenging part of the disconnect will be when I have my down periods. Basically, our whole lives all day everyday have something to do with some sort of technology. So going from all the time accessibility to technology to nothing will be difficult. If I have nothing else to do I will want to watch TV or go on my phone but won’t be able to. I think I’ll have a lot of phantom vibration syndrome. The easiest part will be the full ability to pay attention to the stuff going on around you and really being able to give your full attention to the people and friends around you.                                                                                                                                                  The most difficult piece of technology I will have to give up will be my phone. I am constantly on my phone talking to people, on social media, and playing games. I know I’ll go through some sort of withdrawals without it because I’m so used to having it with me 24/7. Like earlier I mentioned phantom vibration syndrome, I will most definitely go through that forgetting that I don’t have my phone on me for the entire day. The easiest piece of technology to give up will be my lap top. The only reason I’m really ever on my laptop is to do my homework and the occasional late night Netflix in my room.

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Initial Twitter Assignment Thoughts

One of our assignments for my Exploring Digital Media class is to create a professional twitter. Which over the course I will tweet a number of tweets. My initial thoughts on this project were a little skeptical. I have never got into the tweeting trend, so when hearing I would have to start I got a little nervous. One reason being I never knew what to say, and now that it had to be a professional account I didn’t know what that all entailed and now really didn’t know what I should be saying.  

To accomplish this assignment, I will post professional tweets throughout the semester. Since I don’t particularly like posting out my thoughts in front of anyone to see I will push myself to keep up with the tweeting.

So far my initial ideas are to tweet about my school and course work. My idea of a professional twitter is to just be tweeting things that have to do with school, classes, or work.  Maybe as I go on In the course I can find other things that I can talk about that fit in under the professional twitter category.

So far with this project I don’t see how having a professional twitter could help me in the long run. The only two benefits that I could see coming from it would be in the future if employers actually go look at potential employee’s social media accounts before making a hire. Then when they are looking at my stuff and come across my twitter they could see that all my stuff is appropriate and professional. The second benefit being you can follow other professional organizations that have twitters, and you can somewhat keep up with their organization. Other than that, I really don’t know how a professional twitter account can help you that much. Yet I cannot really have a full opinion on it yet because I haven’t completed the assignment yet and maybe at the end I can have a better judgement if having a professional twitter is beneficial or not.