Chicago Adventure

My, oh my.... it's been quite some time since my last post. Been busy! Yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to take the train to Chicago for my internship and witness a presentation of some new creative for a campaign we're working on.

Ah, Chicago, how I've fallen in love with thee.

I haven't been to Chicago in years, which is a darn shame. I just love the looming buildings and bustling streets. It's like New York, but way smaller, and like Milwaukee, but way bigger. So basically it's the perfect size!

Finding a job in Chicago after graduation would make me perfectly content.

But back to my adventure: I traveled to Chicago with my supervisor for this presentation. We took a few minutes to walk around before grabbing a cab to the agency. It was small, but cozy. Crazy artistic items (like light-up masks and a robot made out of recycling) lined the halls.

The presentation went well, and I learned quite a bit from sitting and listening to what everyone had to say. After the presentation, I got a short tour of the agency and met a few of the very nice people working there. Then, it was off to lunch.

This was my favorite part, and not just because the food was very yummy. I had the chance to talk to the three individuals we met with about school and my career, and they offered me some really great advice. We talked about our creative passions and about the advertising world in general.

I know now, more than ever, that I need to work in creative and be a writer.

I've played with the idea of being an account executive (and almost ended up doing that for my internship instead), but I don't think that would be quite the right position for me.

I want to write, to think, to generate ideas, to scribble out my thoughts, to brainstorm. I want to be creative.

I left Chicago feeling inspired, motivated, and determined to find the right job someday soon.

(photo from here)

Classroom Therapy

So I'm going to break away from my typical topics about social media to my life as a student...

I'm taking a senior seminar course this semester in order to complete requirements within the Journalism and Mass Communication department at my college. We took time at the beginning of the class period to go around and say a little bit about ourselves, like our track within the department and what we want to do after graduation.

I was not expecting this to be like a therapy session, but everyone took this as an opportunity to be really honest, and it was both refreshing and scary.

• "I have no idea what I want to do after graduation."
• "I just want a job! I don't really care what it is as long as it pays."
• "I'm doing Broadcast, and I just started an internship at a local TV station. I hate it!"
• "My internship showed me that this might not actually be what I want to do."
• "Hopefully I find a job after graduation. I will have to go back to school if I don't."
• "I'm really worried I won't be able to find a job."
• "I don't even like this major anymore, but I just want to graduate!"

These were the types of comments I heard as we circled the classroom. I'm also worried that finding a job is going to be quite the challenge, so it was comforting in a way to hear that I wasn't alone. I was, however, discouraged to hear so many people unhappy with their major.

Our professor took this as an opportunity to tell his story about finding his passions and making a career out of it. He was a college student and nearly dropped out, then started doing environmental work and paired that with his passion for writing.

I started to think that maybe if things don't work out right away for me, I can always go back to school (even though I'm not fond of that idea) and get a degree in nutrition, then pair my writing experience with my passion for health. Who knows.

Refresh the World

Sometimes I think that because I am a young supporter of social media efforts, people assume I like it just because that's what young people do. Then people automatically assume that all I want to do is post about the delicious Jimmy Johns I had for lunch or how I'm sitting in the library listening to the guy next to me mumble along with his music (which, might I add, is really happening right now. Someone make him stop!).

What I'm trying to say is, I think some people are closed-minded about social media and can't see past the poor uses of it.

Cue: Pepsi Refresh Project.

I really like this idea of social media doing good for the world. This Cherry Coke lover may just need to start an affair with Cherry Pepsi.

The main idea here is that Pepsi is connecting with people to support various organizations and causes. They plans to dedicate at least $20 million this year to good causes that the public votes for.

"Each generation refreshes the world. Now it's your turn."

Talk about good branding. Not only are they making an interactive connection with their audience, but they are also branding themselves as being good guys who are concerned about the well-being of the world. Now who can't support that, right?

The campaign will also include a reality show called "If I Can Dream" on Hulu.com.

Oh, and if you were curious, Coke wants in on this do-good thing, too. They will be doing something similar on Facebook, where if you share a Coke "gift" with your friends on Facebook, they will donate a dollar to the Boys and Girls Club of America. Not bad, but they will cap their donations at $500,000. Psh. Lame.

(cool Pepsi pic from here)

twitter issues

I have this blog set up so that it is connected to my twitter so that you can see those posts, too. However, I've noticed that the tweets that show up on this, uh, well, aren't mine. Working on getting this issues resolved. Thanks, all!

measles or lupus or scurvy, oh my!

So, guess what? I got an internship! I am absolutely excited about it and can't wait to start learning and spending some quality time in the workplace. To keep it simple, I will be doing some copywriting and hopefully taking a peek in other marketing/advertising departments of this business, too.

Don't expect to hear much more from me than this, however, because I plan to learn from the mistakes of others, such as this:

what do you want them to see?

Today I read an article about Facebook and privacy. Well, the lack thereof. Mark Zuckerberg, the guy who invented Facebook, says that people don't expect privacy anymore. Privacy is no longer the "social norm." Things have changed quite a bit in recent years, that's for sure. I remember just a few years ago when a friend introduced me to Myspace, and all I could think of was, "Who is going to want to read about what I have to say?"

The lack of privacy is something that a few professors have absolutely brought up in classes, especially as students search for internships and jobs. We're in the strategic communication field for crying out loud - of course potential employers are going to check us out on Facebook and Twitter. Don't have stuff online that you don't want your future employer to see, its as simple as that. But it is hard to students, who tend to use these social networking sites purely to keep up with friends, to draw the line.

Don't be like the crew members from Virgin Atlantic who got fired for making stupid remarks about the planes and posting insults about the passengers on their Facebook group page. Now that's just plain dumb.

Call me, Tweet me, if you wanna reach me...

Lately, I've been pondering Twitter and if I think it is going to last. During focus groups we conducted for the GM & U Marketing Challenge this past semester, many students mentioned that they think Twitter is a dying fad. Facebook is the winner among college-aged kids with Twitter quickly falling out of interest.

Here is the thing, though: us young folks don't really know what we are doing when it comes to social media, at least not for the most part. We are on our computers and mobile devices constantly on social media sites, staying connected with our friends. Just because we use it all the time doesn't mean we know what we are doing.

I'm guilty of posting Facebook statuses about wanting to sit on the couch in my PJs to eat Christmas cookies all day. Or about going to Wendy's and ordering a bacon cheeseburger, chicken nuggets, fries, and a gigantic soda for lunch. Or about starting a fire in my kitchen the last day at my old apartment (don't worry, nothing was ruined). No one cares about that junk, at least no one that matters to my future!

I thought I was so ahead of the game because I wasn't posting stupid drunk party photos like other college students. But it takes so much more than that to use social networking sites effectively.

Cue my social media makeover.

My days of posting stupid updates on Facebook may not be over, but I've overhauled my presence on Twitter, this blog, and I've branched out to LinkedIn. There's more to come, but I'm taking baby steps. I thought social media was so easy, but there's so much more to it than just posting about what you are doing, and it's taking some time for me to adjust.

I recently tweeted about a Times article by David Carr about whether or not he thinks Twitter will survive. At the beginning, he talks about how Twitter was just "another way to make hours disappear and have nothing to show for it." Um, I could not agree more! That's a huge problem with social media in general - you get so engrossed in it that you completely lose track of what you should be doing instead. But again, that's what happens when you don't use it correctly.

Carr then discusses how it all depends on who you follow on Twitter. You can follow the nonsense, or you can keep tabs on those who have important information (like links) to contribute. If you do it right, you can have all the news and info you want, all in under 140 characters. Now that's the stuff.

My personal goal is to be able to take advice like this and mold my Twitter usage into something more productive. This is a learn-as-you-go kind of adventure, and I am looking forward to making the most of this experience.

Have any advice for me? Please post it below!