The Power of Social Media

I recently attended a Social Media and Communication Symposium at the Rochester Institute of Technology that included some great panels and amazing keynote speakers about the use of social media in journalism, marketing, advertising, and public relatioins. It was an eye opening experience for me personally, and it definitely brought out the entrepreneur in me. I've had a business idea in my head for awhile, and now I want nothing more than to make that idea a reality.

The first keynote speakers were two professors at RIT, one whom I had last quarter for Internet Marketing. Vic Perotti and Neil Hair talked about "Social Media Ubiquity". We are reaching a point where the majority of people are hitting social media saturation, and the time has come to decide which network works best and how to filter through the hundreds of messages we receive daily. We also have to learn to manage multiple identities across several networks, and have a contingency plan as back up, just in case. Dr. Neil Hair would be proud of me for developing my own contingency plan.

One of the other keynote speakers was Jeff Jarvis, who is a founder of Entertainment Weekly and who has authored several books about the use of social media and how the Internet has changed things. Some of his keypoints piggybacked the message from Dr. Hair and Dr. Perotti and echoed the overall message of the day. He discussed that anything published on the Internet is not a product, but rather a process. Articles and such on the Internet are transparent and at any stage can experience outside input and collaboration. Another major point of Jeff Jarvis' keynote speech was that we, as users of the Internet, need to be involved in creating a "Bill of Rights of Cyberspace" now, rather than wait for the government to get involved. We need to decide how the Internet is to be used. You can view Jeff Jarvis' proposed "Bill of Rights of Cyberspace" here. You can also follow @jeffjarvis on Twitter for continuous, and sometimes amusing, thoughts on the use of social media and the Internet.

There were two different tracks at the SMACS; one about the role of journalism in social media, and the other for marketing, advertising, and public relations. Being an APR Major, I attended the second track. All of the panels had different angles, but they all had a resounding message that was clear all day. Social media is the future for any and all businesses. I took way too many notes to describe in detail everything that I learned at the symposium, and this blog post would be way too long if I did. Maybe that is something that will be talked about at a later time as I begin my quest to develop my own brand and continue to open up my entrepreneur side.

The only thing I missed at SMACS was the keynote speech by Deirdre Breakenridge, due to an Arabic class that I couldn't miss at the same time. I was looking forward to hearing her speak because I am currently reading one of her books; "Putting the Public Back in Public Relations", but I did have the chance to meet her during the networking session after the conclusion of the symposium. That was awesome, and I also follow her on Twitter @dbreakenridge. She is another good person to learn tips and advice about using social media in PR. I am glad that I attended SMACS, I learned a lot, and I look forward to the next big event at RIT and continuing to learn more ways to develop my brand and build my future with each class I take.

Also, if you search (hashtag) #smacsRIT on Twitter, you will find many tweets from people that were posted all day throughout the event as we listened to the panels and keynote speeaches. It was fun to participate in, and even more to re-read.

End of my first quarter

Well, as my first quarter at RIT comes to an end and I make my first blog post here on blogspot, a lot of thoughts have been running through my mind lately. Today is November 23, 2010. I have officially been on my own for three months and two days. Other than Basic Training and AIT, which I don't count because so many others were in the same boat as me and we weren't really free. Our every move was governed by Drill Sergeants. However, now I am responsible for everything and everything I do is based on my own decision. I've got bills; car payment, car insurance, rent, cell phone, credit card. I have to work a lot to make ends meet. School takes up all of my time. Sometimes I wonder how I am going to make it to payday to get food or to pay the next bill. But I always do, and that's the important thing. Despite all of my financial worries, I have never felt happier to be where I am at. I finally feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I have the best of friends that I keep in touch with, though not nearly as often as I should. I have made some great friends at RIT and at work. I am a working college student who absolutely loves her job. How many other college students can say that? Yes, I am going to school to get myself a better job in the future, but damn I enjoy my current job. I couldn't ask for better coworkers than the ones I have now. It really is amaazing the difference between my old store and my current store, both the same company.

Now I am at Thanksgiving break and working overtime this week. Next week starts my second quarter at RIT, and I can't wait to get started. It promises to be another challenge with 20 credits and Arabic, but as always I am up for the challenge. I can't wait to get started and continue this ride. I am enjoying life to the fullest, even if I do work all the time, and I look forward to seeing where I am headed on this ride called life.

Side note: That last sentence was so cliche, but I guess it works. I have taken a new perspective for life, and I am jsut going to roll with it and let it go where it wants to take me. I may help it along some paths, but I am going to make sure that I enjoy every day and live life to the fullest.