Benefits of Social Media and Blogging

Throughout the past four months I have been keeping up with multiple blogs for multiple classes. I have found that not only has this been challenging, but rewarding as well. As technology is advancing, so is the work-place I will soon be entering. Having an online blog allows students, and anyone interested, to put themselves onto a much larger platform where they can showcase their work freely. I have uploaded content I have created and received feedback, I have learned how to embed items into my blogs and posts and have overall launched myself into the online world.

Older generations talk about putting too much information onto the Internet; it is easy to go overboard and cross the line. But, because technology and social media have become so predominant in society today, it seems as if blogging and posting content online is the only way to put yourself out there in order to create a career for yourself.

Content With Meaning

Generating content is fairly simple; the Internet allows us to create anything and post it onto the web, but what makes great content is the effort put into it. After doing research, and weekly assignments for my Understanding Emerging Media class, I was able to see how effective meaningful content is.

Bloggers have become fairly popular within the past 5 years, with new ones popping up each month. People who blog are great examples of successful content -- they have analyzed and researched their audience, they understand what to post and how to post it to directly cater to their readers. Popular content is produced when a story can be found within it; stories are what ties everything together. Being able to make a post about a restaurant is great, but posting about your entire experience is what readers want -- they want to imagine themselves there and stories are how bloggers create that. By creating relatable content bloggers can create an experience for their audience.

The Benefits of Social Media

Social Media has made a splash in the past years, with new applications and updates becoming available in a matter of months, it seems as if social media is here to stay.

Although there are many people, myself included, who are weary of social media and all its perks, it is inevitable to say that philanthropic events and causes have benefitted tremendously from social media. The power of a share or like has the ability to generate a ripple effect, allowing content to reach thousands of people within hours. Twitter and Facebook seem to be the most popular for this trend; these sites allow users to launch their content, information, etc. into an audience filled with thousands of peers wanting to contribute.

A clear representation of the power of social media was the ALS Ice Bucket challenge that surfaced in August 2014. It was a challenge to raise awareness and money for Lou Gehrig's disease. Participants were required to donate within 24 hours of being nominated for the challenge, by social media friends, or they must pour ice water over their heads -- most participants did both. Not only did it raise over $115 million dollars since July 2015, but it generated a huge awareness for a cause that many people may have not known about. Overall, as social media has progressed over the years it is hard to see all the good that has come from it, but in retrospect social media has given the people in need a voice.

Generation Likes

This week I watched a documentary about the current effects social media has on this younger generation, known as Generation Likes. It was extremely eye-opening, and alarming, to see how dependent young teenagers are on their social media success.

While watching this video I saw how driven teenagers were to create the best content possible to achieve the highest level of success. They base their worth on how many views or likes they receive and hope that by creating the best content they will be perceived worthy by society. Although social media has become a huge success for companies, the dangers are becoming more apparent. Children are born into media, where-as older generations had to conform and learn it. Today, we are seeing how dangerous the media can be -- children are committing suicide from cyber bullying.

In the documentary, it will give you a better understanding to what the dangers of abusing social media are and shows a clear insight into how young adults perceive themselves through it.

Vanity Analysis

When searching my name into Google I was surprised at what had popped up: the Internet saves everything. My search pages consisted of old photos of me and my friends, my old web pages and documents that I have been mentioned in. It is surprising to see everything, in one place, that your name is attached to. I was excited to see what I would find and was happy to see some of my accomplishments put up onto the Internet. Although some items may have been squirm-ish, old photos from 10 years ago, it was nice to see that I have maintained my composure even when not knowing what affects it would have on me in the future.

Google Maps and Its Benefits

Google Maps can be used to create a large audience. At my internship I was required to make a Tumblr site for one of our clients. The site was required to have an embedded Google Map into it, at first I was curious as to why an address wouldn't suffice, but after embedding it I understood why it is so beneficial; it creates demand.

When looking up places to stay for a weekend, guests aren't just interested in the hotel they are staying at. Google Maps can allow companies to showcase an entire town, pinpoint their hotel and add in other attractions near by. Users can put in local restaurants, bars, clubs, shopping centers and much more. It allows companies, especially places like hotels, to sell their location and allows guests to experience more during their stay. Overall, Google Maps is the best way to generate a large audience and extremely beneficial when it comes down to entertainment purposes. 

JaxParks Public Pools

Jacksonville's Hidden Gems

New Media

This semester I have been given the opportunity to intern at DiscoverTec – a Jacksonville-based web design and SEO firm. As their social media intern for the Fall 2015 semester, I have been in charge of not only making substantial posts on all of their social media platforms but I have also been researching new media sites to utilize for our company and clients.

To me, new media research has been the most beneficial. I have found amazing media sites that not only help DiscoverTec, but these sites are valuable for all communication students – one in particular is Shocase. As an advertising student, I am extremely interested in the design aspect. I love creating and coming up with new ideas, learning from others and being able to create awesome graphics using Adobe Creative Cloud. Because of that, I decided to utilize Shocase for my own work.  It is a site that is fostered on creativity and community involvement – you upload your work to your profile, can tag companies and add contributors and the site also allows you to leave feedback on other users work. Sites like Shocase are pertinent in getting work seen and having a large online platform with an audience of hundreds-of-thousands of people is something that all creative designers should look into.

Everyday Findings

It is amazing to see all the places we can pull inspiration from – driving to work, being on campus, grabbing dinner with friends. We constantly see media content all around us – it is thrown at us. Although exhausting at times, other times it can give us dozens of ideas we never thought we had. I have seen images, both printed and created from visuals, and it surprises me when weeks later I use them as a basis for my next project.

The image below is an exact example of finding inspiration from your surroundings. It is the mural on the patio of the local Taco Lu in Jacksonville, Florida. Not only is this mural impressive, but also the rest of the space is encompassed with intricate and unique art. Hand panted, one side is a sugar skull portrait and the other a mural of roses – complimentary to one-another. 

My Blogger Inspiration

I am constantly finding inspiration online from bloggers – my favorite would have to be Jacey Duprie of Damsel in Dior. It is inspiring to see everyday people achieve amazing goals and watch women make a career and a brand all by using their passion. I’ve followed her on social sites for a few months and it has almost felt like I was on this journey as well. Bloggers are the people who give the honest truth, they tell you the truth about brands and products because they do not want to stump their readers. Having a following is how you create a successful brand and I think Jacey has succeeded that and more.

Throughout the week I was assigned to log three days of media usage. I found that I use media sites throughout my entire day – from my internship to hanging out at home and all the in-betweens. The media has become a platform in this new trend agency and it is inspiring to see bloggers use it to benefit their peers and themselves.

"Fall," © 2015 Jacey Dupri, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

My Weekend Inspiration

This past week I was able to spend my time working, interning and going to class. I chose this image as a representation because it was taken at a store that is apart of the company I work for, URBN Inc. I love being apart of a company that values creativity -- all displays are created in-house using common items you can find at any craft store. Our mannequins focus on creating inspiration and all our pieces can be styled multiple ways. Each store fosters individuality and is encompassed in an environment that focuses on inspiring women and men to express themselves through their clothing. 

Free People by Jesse Schob is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Beginner's Guide to Blog Headers

This is a video to help users create blog headers. The Blog Beautician gives a step-by-step tutorial to create a blog header for any type of blog -- she shows you the process as she goes which becomes extremely helpful with a visual. 

 

About Me

Originally from West Palm Beach, FL, I am currently a senior at the University of North Florida majoring in communication with a focus in advertising. This semester I am interning at a web design and SEO firm where I run all their social media accounts. Throughout this internship I hope to learn much more about web design, SEO and what it takes to be a creative designer. 

Once I graduate this coming May, I hope to further my career in the fashion and trend agency. I've always been driven by creativity. I was fortunate enough to work at two great companies that foster an environment based on fashion, individuality and spontaneity: Anthropologie and Nordstrom. Both jobs allowed me to further my knowledge and have drove my passions to become well-rounded in all aspects in not only fashion but design. Being able to work with such great companies focused on empowering people through clothing and interning at a web design firm has really allowed me to experience the best of both worlds.