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!