All Freshmen Should Take This Class

Taking TCF155 with Dr. Raimist has been intellectually stimulating, challenging to me personally and provided a basis of study on which I will build in the future. Before taking the class, I was a user of social media both casually and professionally. In this class, I discovered how little I understood about the dark side of all media and the internet’s developing social media communities.  While 98% of college students use Facebook, the percentage who understand how it can be provided without cost is significantly smaller. Not only are the backsides of the Google, Facebook, Yahoo and YouTube tremendously busy tracking our every click online, but smart phones, ipads and digital cameras also feed information back into their developer’s databases.

The exercise of keeping a media diet was enlightening. It was no surprise to me to learn that I was less plugged-in than the younger students in my class, but it was interesting to see exactly how tuned into media I was and how little time I spent in face-to-face conversations with those around me, most especially at work. I value receiving information and in a timely manner, but become disgusted when I hear stories like the one relayed by Gabrielle Giffords’ husband where NPR reported that Mrs. Giffords had died as a result of the gunshot wound she received. Obviously her husband and two children grieved terribly before learning that she had NOT passed. The rush to be first to report often tempts media to report inaccurately. This story has stuck in my mind and reminds me to follow a story longer to be certain that what was originally reported is confirmed by other sources.

Catfish offered a glimpse of what online identity is and how it can easily be dishonestly created to serve a variety of purposes. Whether one believes that this was an elaborate hoax or a true representation of an actual story, it certainly could have taken place just as presented given the powerful platforms available to anyone with internet access.

Copyright Criminals drilled home the point that contemporary artists are master thieves. Exactly how serious their crimes are and what punishment should be levied remains undetermined. When watching the movie and studying the subject I was sympathetic to the original artists, but as I began to prepare my final video for this class found myself to be a remix ripper. When I attempted to upload my video to YouTube, I was immediately flagged for copyrighted content – ironic, isn’t it?

Bling Bling rings in my head to this day. What an amazingly impactful short video! I have read some about the diamond trade in South Africa and watched a movie and documentary on it, but nothing hit me harder than this haunting compilation of image, poem and melody. It causes me pause when I stand gazing at engagement rings, dreaming of the day I will wear one of those gleaming beacons which signifies, in America, my value for all to world see.

TCF 155: Personal Screens: Media and Identity in the Age of YOUtube, ME Media, and MYspace exposed its students to basic, intermediate and advanced concepts. When spending time with young people, who practically live on the internet, I am still aghast at how little they consider their eternal digital footprint. In this social media obsessed age, it would be wise for all freshmen to take this class, even those who think themselves tech natives.

Should Colleges Utilize Facebook?

As colleges face shrinking budgets and increased competition for quality students, they are more likely to consider web-based marketing campaigns. Facebook is a low cost tool that can meet the need to connect, collaborate and communicate with various valued target markets. Forward thinking colleges are embracing this social-network platform to increase their online presence, engage prospective and current students and network with alumni. “Facebook (stylized facebook) is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004… as of January 2011, Facebook has more than 600 million active users” (Wikipedia). Statistics at Insidefacebook.com show in February 2011, “154.9 million Facebook users [are] in the USA” (Insidefacebook.com). Facebook is unrivaled as a virtual marketplace in which to present a product aimed at teens and people under 25 in particular. The “percentage of US users decline[s] after age 25” (Burbary), but still offers a substantial consumer audience at any adult age. National Public Radio’s National Political Correspondent, Mara Liasson refers to facebook as “the biggest town square in history” (Liasson). Digital citizens are incorporating social media into their daily routines.

Facebook has knowingly or unknowingly crafted a masterful tool which can be manipulated by tech savvy marketing professionals to dramatically impact a brand’s value. Lisa Phillips, emarketer.com author reports, “millenials value experiences and engagement with brands, and will talk about those things within their social circles” (Phillips). Academia has been slower to create profiles on facebook than other business genres, but is beginning to acknowledge more widely the value of the medium. Josh Keller at Chronicle.com reports, “Ninety-five percent of respondents [1,000 colleges] agreed that social media have great potential to achieve important goals. But they saw staffing as the biggest barrier: Roughly half reported having the equivalent of one full-time staff member or less working on social media” (Keller). As social-media based marketing gains acceptance in higher education there will be a demand for social media developers, managers and coordinators.

While facebook is currently considered the “beating heart” of social media, the only thing certain about its future, is that it is uncertain. Those committed to this field continually research developing technologies to keep pace with the evolution of the web and its interfaces. Successful, creative interactive technologists must eagerly seek, discover and master new platforms and applications. Social media managers must be comfortable to continually alter tactics in virtual relationship approaches to remain effective. A college succeeds or fails based on its ability to teach and remain relevant. It is time to accept the fact that one “can only offer so much offline” (Meyers and Ward), and meet the online community where it lives – on Facebook!

Works Cited

Burbary, Ken. Web Business by Ken Burbary. 13 January 2010. 12 April 2011 <http://www.kenburbary.com/2010/01/dispelling-the-youth-myth-five-useful-facebook-demographic-statistics/>.

Insidefacebook.com. 1 April 2011. 12 April 2011 <http://gold.insidenetwork.com/facebook/>.

Keller, Josh. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 19 April 2011. 19 April 2011 <http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/social-media-efforts-are-hindered-by-inadequate-staffing-colleges-say/30970>.

Liasson, Mara. NPR National Political Correspondent Michelle Norris. 20 April 2011.

Meyers, Andrew and Brad J Ward. Slideshare.com. 2009. 20 March 2011 <http://www.slideshare.net/bradjward/how-to-recruit-students-using-new-media-outlets>.

Phillips, Lisa. emarketer. September 2010. 12 April 2010 <http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Emarketer_2000700.aspx>.

Wikipedia. 18 April 2011. 19 April 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook>.

Josh Harris...How did you know?

Josh, you were right, we do live in public. 

How could you have known in 1993 that we would so soon be turning to the internet for almost everything including news, relationships, entertainment, education, and even sex?  You somehow knew that many people are voyeuristic and enjoy watching others live their daily lives. There was no reality TV back then, but now it rules prime time programming… and you knew it before the any of us – including the networks! Students now use Ratemyprofessors.com to carefully select which instructor will best meet their specific expectations before signing up for classes. Some people find their mates on dating sites; others simply surf for random sexual gratification on chat roulette. I almost daily discover something that shocks me about the web, but it seems that you could just sit back and say “I told you so.”

As a youngster, I loved the Carousel of Progress at Walt Disney World (an exhibit from the 1964 World’s Fair depicting American lifestyle over the last century). My favorite set was the one that contained animatronic people doing the unimaginable - watching live television from all over the globe, requesting recipes from a “com puuu ter” and playing games on their TV!! These seemed as improbable to me at the time as moving to Mars.

I didn’t log onto the internet until 1997 and then only used it to email my friends back home rather than sending snail mail, and thought myself quite advanced. In 2000, I began some online research of my ancestry and was able to arrange a meeting between a person I had never met and a large group of relatives, and again I thought I was pretty tech savvy. Recently I took an online test to measure my millennialness and found that I was 83% Millennial, a fact that I am quite proud of, even so, I cannot imagine what might be next on the internet horizon. 

Dr. Raimist uses facebook to communicate with innumerable people that either share her past, profession, passion or interests. She works facebook like no one I have ever known, impacting not only her ‘friends’ but actually wielding her tech weapon to defend the persecuted and illuminate social injustices. She seems a Web-based Wonder Woman – and quite frankly I believe she is!

Creative Copyrights

                I again am faced with admitting that I have been exposed to an issue that before taking TCF155, I had never considered. “Sampling” is what I did with my children when walking through Sam’s Wholesale Club. How was I to know that it had something to do with stealing beats or bars from another artist’s music?

 Copyrights, but specifically the current trend to ignore them, were our topic of the day. After watching the movie Copyright Criminals, and chatting with others in class, I discovered that my opinions of the issues presented were in direct opposition to those of my classmates. I polled each person individually for their answer to the question: In your opinion, is sampling a form of copyright infringement? Only one student initially said "yes" and indicated that they believed that an original artist should be compensated when another artist “grabs” something from their work. I was surprised by the pervasive attitude that all art is basically common property. I, at the time, vehemently disagreed with my classmates.

As the discussion went on, a few others eventually agreed that original artists should be paid something, but how much would depend on several factors, with that I agree. The fee could be based on how much content is being copied or possibly the purpose for which it is being used. Another consideration might be the current demand for the original work at the time it is being acquired. It seems that an older selection might actually experience a revival in interest due to the new usage by another artist. I believe that there needs to be a more exact measure of what should be paid, possibly in direct relation to what exactly is being used or the purpose for which it is being used. This would prove tremendously difficult. Who would be charged with setting the exact measure of value? How would the industry ever find someone who would not be partial to a particular artist or genre? If only a beat is used, is it any less valuable than the vocal, beat and accompaniment combined? Regardless of methodology, I believe that an original artist should be paid each and every time that their creation is “grabbed” when someone else makes  money, much like a royalty payment. I would be more willing to wink at the theft if no one stood to gain lucre.

                The previous was my knee-jerk opinion regarding copyright infringement. My perspective shifted a little after reading the assigned article: Confessions of an Intellectual (Property): Danger Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Sonny Bono, and My long and Winding Path as a Copyright Activist-Academic1. My ignorance of music history was painfully apparent to me as I read about the origins of what I considered to be original works that actually were in some ways copied from other previous works unknown to me. I was aghast that anyone would dare to sample The Beatles, but then read in this article how Yoko Ono exposed John Lennon to “magnetic tape sound collage” the then contemporary term for what we now call “sampling!” Revolution #9 is on The White Album and serves as an example of John’s work as a thief by my previously asserted definition. This article reports that much of this compilation was taken from tape loops pillaged from the archives at EMI! So alas, my ignorant opinion appears to have been poorly founded.  I guess I will just have to continue my practice of listening, learning and always being willing to change my mind.

Respect the Rapper

What can I say? I thought I was coming to class to discuss the painful details of my final project for TCF155.

  

I by no means would call myself a rap fan; actually I have been a “hater” for most of my life. While I appreciate artists and their skilled works, I have had a hard time finding the value in the typical rap music song. This music genre has been presented by mainstream media as created “by thugs for thugs.” Many times when I hear the stereotypical driving beat of a rap song I cringe and try to plug my ears so as to avoid being offended by vulgar language and sexist innuendo.  Honestly, I can say that before today I had never experienced a rap artist that I could relate to.

Invincible, was genuine, intelligent, well spoken, resolute, spiritual, civic-minded, and transparent – all the things I respect in another human being. Because Invincible is from Detroit, she has a hint of “gansta” in her voice but it is encapsulated and smoothed by her sincerity. In some ways this rapper fits the mold by leaving home at 15 and having lived the starving artist lifestyle, but in so many other areas, she shatters the model. Invincible has clung tight to her convictions and continues to create music that heals, inspires and ignites her listeners. What more could anyone desire when listening to a song?

Social Media Marketing

Colleges can benefit from creating a Facebook account. There is a great deal of data available to substantiate the fact that most current and prospective college students utilize social media daily. After Facebook began to allow businesses to create profiles, the number of commercial users greatly increased, but colleges have been slower to use this new form of communication. Once the decision is made to create a profile page for business purposes, a college, program or department should spend a great deal of time planning several items before actually setting up an account. “To gain any benefit from the social web, institutional social networks need to build sustainable communities that grow and significantly expand their reach. Simply throwing a page up on Facebook or pulling together your own online network is no guarantee of success. If you build it, they may or may not come.”(MacDonald) One or more individuals should be charged with the job of monitoring the page and creating engaging posts.          

Not only can a Facebook page increase a program’s enrollment, it can also be used to keep track of alumni. In a recent journal article, Fritz MacDonald states:

 “Because of its relationship-building power, social networking could become a brave new tool to help achieve a number of significant goals for a higher ed institution, in particular:

Expanding admissions inquiry pools

* Tracking prospective students as they move through the recruiting funnel

* Improving yield and conversion rates

* Bringing alumni back home and integrating them into recruiting and fundraising

* Expanding potential donor pools, particularly for annual funds

* Broadcasting your brand through "viral word of mouse"

* Expanding the reach and constancy of institutional identity”

As college budgets shrink, utilizing free or low cost online marketing platforms can increase the impact of available funds.

            The way in which a Facebook page is managed can greatly impact participation rates and also impact one’s brand.  A successful page must include intriguing posts that both entertain and inform. In a recent article in the Community College Journal, Sally Chapman Cameron states that “It's important to stay casual and connect with users on a personal level. That means having fun and showcasing activities, events, and students who represent the very best the college has to offer.” Due to the time required for monitoring the posts and promptly responding, many programs choose to assign this task to a young or low level employee, but this author does not recommend this practice. She cautions colleges to not “… be tempted to pass this project on to an intern or junior staffer. Yes, social media is second nature to a lot of younger people, but that doesn't mean they see the big picture as it pertains to the college.”

            A great way to improve the number of visitors or “likers” would be to increase the quality of each post. For inspiration, one might “like” other successful pages, creativity does not always have to be sparked by an original idea. Viewing the pages of businesses which share the same target market should prove helpful.

Works Cited

Cameron, S..  8 Ways to Build Community with Social Media.  Community College Journal  81.1 (2010): 22-26. Research Library, ProQuest. Web.  6 Mar. 2011.

McDonald, Fritz. Five steps to developing a powerful social networking strategy: creating web communities can help you build relationships of value with your most important constituents. Here's how. University Business 12.5 (2009): 43+. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Mar. 2011.

Works to be Cited

Bingham, Tony and Marcia Conner. The New Social Learning. San Fancisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc, 2010.

Evans, Dave Bratton. Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day. Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley & Sons, 2008.

Geyer, Stephanie. Higher Ed Live : Web Content Social Media Mobile Devices. 7 March 2011. 20 March 2011 <http://higheredlive.com/web-content-social-media-mobile-devices/>.

Johnson, Jenna. Live Washington Post: Campus Overload Live with Jenna Johnson: College social media. 20 January 2011. 15 March 2011 <http://live.washingtonpost.com/campus-overload-live-0120.html>.

Powers, Patrick. Patrick Powers. 11 January 2011. 5 March 2011 <http://patrickpowers.net/2011/01/3-ways-higher-education-could-be-using-quora/>.

Staton, Michael. Inigral. 2011. 14 March 2011 <http://www.inigral.com/>.

Watkins, S. Craig. The Young & The Digital. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2009.

Woodruff, Judy. Pew Research. 24 February 2010. 15 March 2011 <http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1516/millennials-panel-two-millennials-media-information>.