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Emerging Media – In and Out of the Classroom

12/15/2010

11 Comments

 
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So it only seems fair that Mark Zuckerberg is TIME's 2010 Person of the Year. He earned the distinction, the magazine says, because he has connected more than 500,000,000 people and mapped the social relations among them (interested to reading more about what that means); created a new system of exchanging information (no argument there) and for changing how we all live our lives (again, no argument).

Facebook – and social media, for that matter – certainly has impacted my life. I went from wanting nothing to do with Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn on April 1, 2009, to now having more than 1,100 FB friends, more than 900 LinkedIn connections and, well, I'm really, really trying to become a more consistent tweeter. Nobody's perfect. Anyway, today is quite an emerging media day for my household. Last night, Richard Prince reported that my wife, Mira, is leaving her job as editor in chief of JET magazine to pursue new opportunities. So, of course, being the dutiful husband, I shared the link on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and then spent more time than I should responding to related FB messages and reading the comments, and then getting caught up in everybody else's business on Facebook. Whew! Love sharing news about Mira and reading all the love sent her/our way. But it can blow up a fellow's day.

Zuckerberg, that is, Facebook, that is, social media, that is emerging media has certainly been a key focus for me these past 16 weeks. I have enjoyed Professor Linda Menck's graduate-level course Emerging Media. I knew it was be interesting and different when she offered the class its syllabus not on paper but online via Weebly.com. We had two interesting books, "Open Leadership" and "Trust Agents," as well as more than a few related PDFs.

I won't mention how I missed Roy Halladay throw a no-hitter for my Phillies in the playoffs. I will say that I enjoyed all of our guest speakers this semester. From Philip Nowak to Laura Gainor to Justin Beck, we learned plenty from those who have been there and done that. How can you not enjoy a course when the professor tells you to skip a week's session and instead go see "The Social Network" – about, guess who, yes, Zuckerberg – so it can be discussed in the next class? Our frank class discussion about the movie was among my highlights of the course.

Of course, there was this weekly blog assignment. Proved to be more work than I thought, but I enjoyed it immensely and once I got into a groove I found it hard choosing which subject to write about a given week. I often opted to write about our guest speakers because wanted to review and internalize what they had to offer. I hope to continue this blog as I move onto my other courses for the Digital Storytelling Certificate program, and then, hopefully, en route to a master's degree, here at Marquette.

In addition to the blog and going to see the movie, my two favorite assignments of the course was studying the Top Social Brands of 2009 and helping Michele Tapp Roseman expand and enlarge her "Business Briefs" brand. I hope to produce a new personal brand website of my own for my certificate-program capstone next summer. Professor Menck will also teach that course and I know I'll learn a great deal more as I have learned much this semester.

We had to write down those things we hoped to learn in this course this semester. I have forgotten what I wrote. But I can say I have learned to master a new online-based web design program (Weebly) and more about things that would have otherwise never gained my attention (foursquare, scvngr, SoundCloud, mind maps, Groupon, etc.).

Cannot forget about my classmates. Learned much from – and enjoyed spending time with – them each Wednesday, and in some cases, each Thursday, as several of us also had Professor Menck's graduate-level Craft of Digital Storytelling course. Amazed at how well some of them have taken to using Prezi for their presentations. I hope our blog sites will be up for awhile so I can read those entries that I missed. 

One last thing: I enjoyed this course so much I hope to teach it one day! We'll see.
11 Comments
Mark Strotman
1/20/2011 10:11:31 am

Good call on being able to teach the class one day! I agree that social media has changed everyone's lives (who use them), but can there ever be too much of a good thing? When is so much information too much information? Do I really need to know one of my friends is at the Wendy's at Bayshore Mall when they post it on FourSquare? Do I need to read that one of my friends is having a bad day? How personal can something be if it is sent out to hundreds, sometimes, thousands of people. I love social media and use it multiple times every day, but when is enough, enough?

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Joshua Arter
1/23/2011 07:24:52 am

I didn't see the movie The Social Network. I want to, but I am hesitant. I have heard that it is good, and I have read reviews that said the movie was totally off. Anyone that has seen it have any comments?

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Elizabeth Heebink link
1/24/2011 08:56:57 am

I would love to discuss The Social Network in class sometime! However, to be quite honest, the movie made me question if Facebook is really that "amazing" after all. I mean it's great for connecting with long lost friends and chatting in up on the web, but was all the legal drama really worth it in the grand scheme of things? Facebook has more recently become an outlet for people to avoid school, work, or required obligations. For myself and probably most of the world, Facebook is an obsession. Some people might say, "If you don't have a Facebook, you must not be cool." You're only "cool" if you have a Facebook? Come on. It's nice to see what all your friends are doing, but at the end of the day who really cares?! Facebook is almost like the plague-once you your infected there's no turning back. Checking my Facebook is the first thing I do when I wake up and it's the last thing I do before I go to sleep. Well anyways, sorry for rambling/going off topic. Sometimes I get very frustrated with Facebook, especially when it becomes a distraction from studying. Basically my point is that you can't live with it (Facebook) and can't live without it.

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Jodi Denk
1/24/2011 10:40:26 am

I feel like I'm at the same starting point as you were. All this social media is new to me and I hope to be able to master these skills as well as you did! I look forward to the rest of this semester!

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Ashley De La Torre
1/24/2011 01:58:23 pm

It is funny to me how Zuckerberg is the creator of Facebook an amazing and innovative social networking site, but he so socially awkward. I have seen interviews with him and it's sometimes uncomfortable to watch.

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Kyle
8/31/2011 06:38:36 am

I enjoyed the transition you took from your anti-Facebook ideology to wanting to teach a class on Emerging Media. This post was thoughtful and serves as a intelligent reflection for a seemingly phenomenal class. I don't use use Facebook, Twitter, etc. so I couldn't fully grasp some of the social media anecdotes but this was an entertaining read nonetheless.

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Allison Kruschke
8/31/2011 06:40:00 am

As I mentioned in one of my earlier comments, I too was resistant to the social media movement. Glad to see that I wasn't the only one - hopefully I can make as much progress as you have. On a different note, I have yet to see The Social Network. I should be ashamed of myself, I know!

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Eric
8/31/2011 07:38:06 am

I throughly enjoyed The Social Network, and the Time magazine feature on Zuckerberg was quite interesting. I am also frankly shocked that you missed Roy Halladay's no hitter especially in the playoffs.

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Liz McGovern
9/1/2011 04:06:36 am

Facebook definitely changes the way we interact with each other. Thanks to Facebook, I am able to keep in touch with people I most likely would not have remained in contact with, prior to the social media outburst. I was even able to find my roommates on the Marquette Class of 2014 group last year as an incoming freshmen, instead of going random.

I am interested in the growth of social media. I assume it will start effecting my life on a more professional level as I learn how to utilize networking tools.

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Sarah Hauer
9/1/2011 06:14:19 am

I found it interesting that you were boasting about how many friends you have on Facebook. Currently students my age have been deleting friends to decrease the number of people with access to their profile. I am curious how you feel about this and weather you would recommend deleting friends.

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Carlie Campbell
1/18/2012 04:48:27 am

It's good to hear that our teachers at the university level are just as dedicated to learning about new technology as we are. I think the idea that you should always be learning new things, no matter what stage of life you find yourself in, rings true.

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    My journalism DNA remains strong as I learn and teach new ways to tell and present stories, especially via digital and social media. This blog is where I share what happens in my classroom and my life and, from time to time, offer my views on current events. I appreciate your feedback – either as comments herein or in an email to herbert.lowe [at] marquette [dot] edu.

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