By: Riley Davies
Over the last semester, I have learned a lot and had the opportunity to research many different social media topics.
Two of the most important skills that I learned are how to use Google to my advantage as a communications professional and to understand that with different cultures, ages and beliefs that it is hard to make an overarching assumption for the entire population. Google provides a plethora of features that can not only help the efficiency of my work but confirm the validity of my work. We were able to learn these skills through the GNI reading that we did. Through our readings and class lectures about cultures, ages and beliefs I began to understand how different the world is. This is a skill that will help me in research and when choosing a target audience.
The two most important lessons I learned were that social media can have a positive and negative impact and that everyone values their privacy differently for a multitude of reasons. I think the lesson on social media having a positive and negative impact further opened my eyes to the fact that a single app can have a positive and negative outcome. Something such as a walking app can encourage someone to go out and reach their step goal however, it can also encourage unhealthy behavior that leads to eating disorders. The lesson on privacy was important because it is a topic that we will run into for the rest of our lives. Privacy concerns are not necessarily based on gender or age more so on assets and what someone has.
I envision this course’s impact on my career to be something that makes me think in a different light. As I step into the professional world of public relations I will be able to see social media campaigns and public relations initiatives in a new light with the important skills and lessons I learned in this class.
This course as a whole helped me step away from my own opinions on social media and look at it from a factual standpoint, business standpoint, and cultural standpoint. Essentially, through this course I gained a much more rounded understanding and view of social media.