INTRO
My name is James Gandy and I am an Economics major at the University of Pittsburgh. I work part time at the Apple Store in Shadyside where I serve as a Product Zone Specialist. In my spare time I create music and design stuff from clothing, websites, anything creative is right up my alley. I have a lot of social media experience as I have been apart of the internet era since I was about 9.
I don't know if Neopets counts but I started my social media life there and actually learned how to code on there. I then snuck onto Myspace where I gained even more coding knowledge and began making money from doing Myspace layouts and local rappers mixtape covers. I definitely would say Myspace introduced me to my love for graphic design and also to some of my favorite artist like Drake and Nicki Minaj. I then eventually got older and migrated to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. These sites are not as fun from a design aspect but great for interactions nonetheless.
I feel like social media is so powerful if utilized correctly. People really make their yearly incomes off of social media. I want to explore the choices and strategies they've taken to really capitalize off of this platform known as the internet. From targeting audiences to paying for promotion, what works? What doesn't? I'm hoping to gain a lot of knowledge about social media so I can use it to better brand my online presence.
MIDTERM REFLECTION
My ideas of social media have changed significantly since joining this class. I was unaware of the tactics company use to garner attention from normal consumers like myself. When you are just surfing through your Twitter or browsing on Instagram it never crosses your mind how someone, somewhere has a job to uphold a social media presence. I was unaware of how much social media has flourished into the professional world and really has become a job.
For generation Y, we have been surfing the net and utilizing social media personally for years so to see how much money, and how much big business is in social media is extremely surprising to me and I would not have discovered this had I not been in this class. Professional Uses of Social Media has really made me rethink how I use my social media. Of course, I’m a 21-year-old who uses the internet but I think often times we forget how detrimental a bad social media presence could be for anyone.
In terms of how of using social media, I’ve learned a lot about audiences and targeting primary, secondary and tertiary. I am an artist, in my spare time and audience is KEY to being successful in the industry I’m looking to enter so it was very helpful to learn about this. This course is unique in the since that most of the classes I’ve taken in college only benefit me in my “professional” life so this one really resonates with my personal goals outside of my professional.
I feel like the most developmental task we’ve completed was the interview. Determining what questions to ask the interviewee, setting a time to talk to them, preparing for that really felt like I was hiring agent and it really was a process that was thought provoking. I enjoyed speaking with someone who does social media professionally because for as easy as it seems, it’s extremely hard to garner attention/fanbases online. The online atmosphere is extremely fickle so to be able to grasp attention or having the knack to do it is special. I’m not the biggest fan of reading but these were not overly extensive and I liked the format of the writing like in Shields book with the picture demonstrations and I love how up to date the books were.
I would definitely like to seek more social media professionals in the class to really pick their brain and see why they are successful on social media, and do less reading lol. I feel like this hasn’t been an a difficult course at all, I feel as though Professor Leavens directions are thorough and easy to follow so I haven’t experienced any major difficulties. Overall, I’m extremely satisfied with this class and look forward to learning more about social media.
FINAL
REFLECTION
I am very excited to present my final portfolio for my version of Rent The Runway, but with men’s clothing. To be able to put together a strategy for an affordable, men’s luxury item rental service was really enjoyable and taught me tremendous information about social media strategies.
My inspiration for wanting to create a Rent The Runway for men’s clothing came from me thinking about when I get ready for formal events and never can find anything unique at the mall so I always end up ordering online or making my outfit by hand. I took that creative struggle and turned it into this project I’ve been working so hard on this semester.
In my portfolio, I’m most excited for everyone to see my examples of content on my process doc and my OPED. I feel like the examples I selected are spot on with what I’m trying to promote via social media for my brand. The OPED was really fun because I loved the article I had to analyze. It discusses “Call Out Culture” which is basically about people being brutally honest on the internet and sometimes getting ostracized for it. It explores how free “freedom of speech” is and I really enjoyed putting that together. There are six pages total on my site, a homepage where readers can get to know me by reading my “Intro” or “About Me”. The “Process Doc” page has all the pieces to my final strategy and the next page being where all the pieces were put together to create my “Final Strategy” page. Lastly, my “Story” and “OPED” are pages that showcase my writing ability on various topics.
I’m very grateful to have taken this course because it actually inspired me to change my major from Economics to Professional Communications with a focus on Digital Media. It’s amazing how one class can inspire you to evolve and help you decide your future.