The Student Network

Should You Consider a Social Media Degree?

2012-03-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

When I was in college, social media didn’t exist. Wow; that really makes me sound old. But, it’s true. Social media wasn’t a thing. There was no Facebook and Myspace wasn’t even around yet. To be honest, I’m kind of glad that my life back then wasn’t documented online. There are some things I’d rather not have out there for the world to see. In that way, I kind of feel bad for the kids in school today; but on the other hand, there are so many more ways to network and connect with other students and influential people that the tradeoff might just be worthwhile.

In the past few years, social media has emerged as not only a way to connect with friends, but as a viable career option. Still, the question remains: Is it worthy of a dedicated degree? To really answer that question, you have to ask yourself a few more questions, and you have to understand that any answers are based in speculation. It’s not like becoming an accountant where you know there will be demand for your specialty for years to come. Because of that, those who decide to major in social media are taking a risk.

On the plus side, they will graduate as one of the very few “experts” in social media marketing. On the minus side, they won’t really know whether their education will be relevant in ten or even five years to come. That’s why many students are shying away from social media degrees. They’ll gladly take social media classes as part of their marketing or business admin majors, but most students feel that a degree dedicated to social media is too risky. I have to say, I don’t disagree. Education is too expensive to gamble your future on a concentration that may or may not help land you a job in the future. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think social media is going anywhere, but I do think things are changing so rapidly that your four year degree may become obsolete way too soon.

Anyhow, as I’ve said, it’s all speculation. If you’re thinking about a social media degree, I’m not trying to sway your opinion. I just think you need to carefully weigh your options.

Don't Engage in Online Bullying

2012-02-26T12:49:00.001-08:00

According to a recent survey, nearly half of all Wisconsin students think that bullying is a problem. I don’t that’s much of a secret, but with every new advance in technology comes a new opportunity for students to bully each other. There is a very fine line between free speech and slander, and it’s wise to stay away from the latter. But bullying isn’t just a problem for young kids; college students and even adults have been known to bully their peers. So, here are a few tips for keeping things from getting personal with others online.

1. If someone has done something to upset or offend you, the internet isn’t the place to air your grievance. For one, it doesn’t have to be public. But, when you write something about someone else online, you’re inviting others to chime in, which can lead to some really hard feelings, and things can easily get out of hand.

2. If someone writes something about you online, don’t retaliate. It’s okay to clear up any misconceptions and try to clear your good name, but don’t get into an online brawl; no one wins in that situation. On the other hand, things could get very ugly.

3. Just because you don’t mention someone by name doesn’t mean that everyone doesn’t know who you’re talking about. I see this a lot. Someone will post a “cryptic” message about someone else on their friend feed, and others will chime in with their own cryptic messages about that same person. No one has said a name, but everyone knows who they’re talking about – including the victim of this slander. This kind of behavior is extremely immature (although, I’m always surprised at how often adults are the culprits) and should be avoided at all costs.

4. Block anyone who you think is bullying you online. If you can’t see their nonsense, you’re less likely to chime in with your own.

Rutgers Now Offers Social Networking Classes

2012-02-18T09:54:00.000-08:00

Contrary to the belief that American schools are falling behind (gasp!), Rutgers is among the many universities that are showing that there really is no need to be worried. Rutgers has begun to offer social networking classes as part of the standard curriculum inside their hallowed halls, showing an ability to keep up with the times and to give students the skills that they will need in order to succeed in the workplace of tomorrow.

There is actually not much that’s more important these days, whether branding a business or an individual, than to make sure that your online presence is complete and professional. You might think that these classes are only for marketing majors, but that’s just not true. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a personal trainer or a software developer, learning to network online can help you advance in your career and form lasting relationships.

Today, many more people find jobs online than ever before. Also, employers have stated in many articles that they regularly peruse the social media platforms in order to weed out the candidates who lack professionalism.

But, there is more to social networking than simply finding a job. It is, for all intents and purposes, how most young people actually communicate these days. Many people find activity partners and even dates by using the Internet, and more and more people are moving away from real life communication. Although there are benefits to online interactions, this fact is kind of sad.

The bottom line is that social networking classes are the communications classes of today, and Rutgers is setting a shining example for many of the other elite universities around the nation. Regardless of your major, you should seriously consider adding a social networking course to your agenda. You may find a job, a mentor, or you might just find out more than you knew before about your industry. Either way, it's a win-win.

Do You Have A Social Media Addiction?

2012-02-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

Social media has become a trend that almost everyone participates in. But how easy is it to get sucked into social media to the point where you are actually addicted? Probably easier than you would think.

For centuries, some people have been addicted to alcohol and cigarettes. But, studies show that it is actually easier to become addicted to social media than to the cigarettes and alcohol. The School of Business at the University of Chicago studied social media addiction in people between the ages of 18 and 85. They did the study in Germany and determined that people are more likely to give in to their social media craving than any other craving they might have.

The study involved polling 10,558 Blackberry users seven times per day for 14 hours every day. The poll went on for a week, and the Blackberry users were asked if they had felt any desires in the previous half an hour. They also had to state whether or not they gave into their desire and how strong the desire was on a scale of mild to irresistible. Over 7,000 desires were reported and of all the desires people had, the desire to use social media was the one that people failed to resist. The social media sites that proved the most irresistible were Google+, Groupon, Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.

The man who led the team that ran this study said that people have a harder time resisting social media because there are no consequences to using it, as opposed to the consequences of smoking and drinking. The study found that social media has a much higher addiction rate than alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, sports, spending money or even sexual activity.

This research led me to wonder whether I have a social media addiction. Oh, heck; I probably do. Maybe I should start a support group. Would you join?

How to Connect with Influential People on Twitter

2012-02-04T07:35:00.000-08:00

If you want to be important, you have to hang out with important people. The same holds true online. If you want to have a good reputation on Twitter, you have to get “in” with the people who are most influential. Once you find yourself in their good graces, others will start listening to what you have to say.

The first thing you should do is identify the influential people in your industry. This is crucial. Just because someone has a high Klout score doesn’t mean they’re a good match for you. Someone may be highly influential about knitting, but you want to influence others about scholarships and grants. That person who is influential about knitting is about as useful to you as someone who doesn’t even use Twitter at all. Choose your connections wisely.

It is true that you reap what you sew. You can’t just start out by asking for favors or expecting influential people to interact with you. You need to prove your value to them first. Start by searching through their tweets. Reply, favorite and retweet things that you find interesting. Eventually, this interaction will pay off – trust me. Just remember that there is a fine line between engagement and stalking, so don’t be weird about it, and don’t dedicate every single one of your tweets to one person.

Now that you have spent some time engaging them, they have had the opportunity to learn more about you and recognize that you are both real and engaged. You can now create a specific tweet that is addressed directly to them. In doing so, indicate that you have read their tweets, bio and blog. Also make sure that you are posting something that will be of interest to them. If you don’t receive a reply, spend some more time engaging them before reaching out to them on Twitter once again.

Beginner's Guide to Google Plus

2012-01-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about Google Plus? It’s a newbie on the social networking scene, but it has come a long way in a short time. It’s going to take quite a juggernaut to take Facebook’s spot as the top social networking site – and Google might just be that juggernaut. It’s too early to tell for sure, but the new network does show some promise.

There are a couple of things that make Google Plus unique. Its “circles” feature is something that people really seem to like. With this feature, you can write a post and decide who you want to share it with. Sound pointless? Think about this: You just roll out of bed at 2 p.m. after a big night out. You’re hung over. You have the urge to remark how you’re not as young as you used to be, but last night was worth the pain. This might get an interesting convo going between you and your friends about the antics of the previous night – but, does your boss really need to see it? Oh, no. With Google Plus, you can choose to share that status with only your friends.

Another thing that people seem to love about Google Plus is its “hangout” feature. It allows you to create a virtual hangout and talk to your friends face to face (through video) in your own online video chat room. You can even all watch the same YouTube video at the same time and talk and laugh about it too. As good as this feature is for fun, it’s even better for business: you can easily hold quick, impromptu meetings in your hangout.

One feature that I’m personally still on the fence about is the post editing feature. Once you’ve posted something, you can go ahead and edit it. It seems like a good thing on the surface, but I think it may allow for some people to change their story to suit themselves. Time will only tell.

Unlike other social networking sites, Google Plus seems to care about a user's confidentiality. There are many privacy features that are able to be included in a Google Plus profile, allowing people to choose who sees what and how.

Joining the Google Plus community is extremely easy. On the front page of the website there is a section where new users can enter tidbits of information, include a photo and create their profile. You can even edit what you see (or don’t see) in your feed.

Once you get settled on Google Plus, you may find the “What’s Hot” feature to be compelling. It’ll show you what topics are trending on this social network (similar to what Twitter does). The thing that sets Google Plus apart here is the ability for a user to customize the topic in the “What’s Hot” area, so you can see what people are talking about within your own area of interest.

As with any new social network, there will be a short period of adjustment when you first start using Google Plus (think about when you first started with Facebook, or when you switched to the new timeline), but it’s relatively easy once you get the hang of it. This may just be your new social network of choice.

Introduction to Pinterest

2012-01-19T12:17:00.000-08:00

After posting last week’s guide to getting the most out of Pinterest, I realized that some of you may not really be familiar with the new social network just yet. So, here is a beginner’s guide to Pinterest.

Pinterest is a combination of a virtual bulletin board and social networking site. All they ask is that you be nice to others in your postings, and be sure to give credit to your sources when using pictures and images.

Pinterest can be used to show off ideas that you find interesting, things you want to buy and items that others may enjoy. You can share things like diet tips, fashion tips, recipes, home decorating ideas or hair styling ideas. It can be used for anything you'd like to share in a blog-type forum, with pictures pinned there for extra illustrative effect. Although, I have to say, there isn’t much room for text. You can tag and comment on your photos, but that’s the extent of it.

One thing Pinterest is often used for is posting about travel. Review places you have been, places you want to go, and still more places with breathtaking views.

You can also find creative ways to use Pinterest to create boards for your job or business. For example, if you have a teaching career, you can pin ideas for lesson plans to your boards. Or, if you’re a tattoo artist, you can pin artwork to later turn into tattoos.

Once you have pinned some interesting content on Pinterest, you can look to see who is following your pins, and check out the pins they've created. You can virtually "meet" and get to know others who share your interests, making it similar to the other social networking sites. Think of it as a new way to make friends that share in your interests, and to learn new things in the process.

One of the best pieces of advice when beginning to use Pinterest is to take some time to view the things people already have pinned. This will give you a good idea of how it's done, the types of things people find interesting there, and maybe even give you the inspiration you need to create your first board. Then, get ready to have some fun and share your findings with the world.

3 Tips for Using Pinterest to its Fullest

2012-01-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

I’m a fairly new Pinterest user and I have to say – I’m hooked. I simply love online shopping and I find that Pinterest offers me a way to tag and save things that I want to buy. Sure, it may not still be available by the time I’m ready to make that purchase, but at least I can remember the style and start a hunt to find it elsewhere.

Part of the fun with Pinterest is to see what other people think. I have board that is completely filled with clothing and accessories. If something I pin there gets a lot of repins, I know it’s a hot item and I’ll seriously consider adding it to my wardrobe. I find, it’s kind of like asking a bunch of friends for their opinion. They’re not always going to answer the way you want them to, and you might not even care what they say, but they’ll tell you one way or another.

I know I’m not the only one with Pinterest obsession. In a very short time, this site has emerged on the top 10 lists of social networks, which is amazing when you consider that it’s still technically an invite-only service. So, here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your pins.

1. Always tag an image with a descriptive phrase. Don’t just say “This is cool!.” Say, “This blue velvet clutch is cool!” Descriptive names help your tags show up in search results, which means more exposure.

2. Create themed boards. If you have enough time, create boards with very specific niches. For example, instead of creating a general “wedding ideas” boards, create different boards for each of your ideas. One might be a black and white wedding and other might be Asian themed. People are more likely to follow boards that cater to their very specific area of interest.

3. Follow other people’s boards. Remember, this is a social network. Be social. Follow people who like the same things as you and comment on the things you like. Getting to know people always helps boost your online reputation.

What Not To Say on Social Networks

2012-01-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

I’m sort of amazed that I keep hearing about people getting in trouble at work because of things they’ve posted on social networks. Actually, I’m equally amazed that some of my friends and family members post discipline-worthy things on their pages – all the time. Maybe they have private pages and don’t have co-workers or bosses as friends, but in my opinion, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. With the new Facebook timeline coming up, your boss can easily see what you posted before you were even friends. That’s sort of a recipe for disaster if you aren’t careful, but that’s another story entirely. My point here today is that you should exhibit some self control and avoid posting things that could get you in trouble at work. It’s just not worth it. Even if you don’t care about your current job, future employers definitely don’t want to see that sort of stuff either.

Here are a few posts that could get you into some hot water at work:

“Omg, I’m sooo bored.” -- Posting this during work hours? Not a good idea. If you’re bored, maybe you need more work. Or, maybe you just need a new job. A boss who sees this post might help nudge you in that direction – with a pink slip.

“People around here need an attitude adjustment.” – Again, if you’re posting stuff like this during work hours, everyone knows you’re complaining about your job. They probably even know exactly who you’re complaining about. I’d love to shout this one from the rooftops: Your “cryptic” messages aren’t so cryptic; everyone knows exactly what you’re talking about – and it doesn’t make you look good.

“We just crushed {competitor} in sales this month, yet again” – It’s great to have some “team spirit,” really. Just be careful about what you say about the competition. For one, you might be eating your words when you see they're looking for a senior software engineer and paying much more than you're making, but it also makes your current company look a little petty. Instead, just talk about how great your company is without mentioning the competition.

“Check out this picture of my new [inappropriate] tattoo” – If you don’t want people at work seeing something, don’t post it on the internet. It’s as simple as that.

"This is the best concert I have ever seen in my life!" -- Don't post anything like this after calling in sick to work. It's not very bright and it can get you fired almost immediately.

What's the Deal with Pinterest?

2011-12-31T08:51:00.000-08:00

Although I’ve been spending a lot of time mulling over the pros and cons of jumping on the Google+ bandwagon, Pinterest is another social networking site that I’ve been watching closely. In the new year, I might just add both sites to my social networking repertoire. One thing that’s cool about Pinterest upfront is that you have to be invited – so, it’s kind of like an exclusive club. You can also request an invitation directly on the site, but that’ll take longer (and be less fun).

So what’s the deal with Pinterest?
You can think of Pinterest as an online cork board or idea book. It’s essentially a place where you can gather a bunch of pictures that inspire you in one way or another. Why would that be valuable? Well, think of how women plan weddings. They might clip pictures of dresses, hairstyles and venues, and keep them all neatly tucked away in an idea book. With Pinterest, you can “pin” any picture from the web and neatly tuck it away into a category of your choosing. Because others can see your boards, you can get feedback, and maybe even connect with other people who have similar taste as you. But Pinterest isn’t just for weddings, by far. You can pin anything and create any category your heart desires. I was just browsing the site and stumbled upon a category labeled “boys.” And, you guessed it, there were pictures of many, many boys. From Johnny Dep to Ryan Renynolds – everyone was in attendance. I doubt this was among the most popular boards, but you get the picture. It’s not always about pleasing others. Sometimes you just need a wall full of boys (apparently). Pin what you like.

If you really get into pinning things, you can download the mobile app and browser extension, which both make it easy to create boards on-the-go. See an outfit you love? Pin it to your fashion board. Maybe later you’ll go back and buy it. For the ultimate fashion and social media geek out, create a custom outfit on Polyvore, get some feedback there, and then pin it to a Pinterest board where it can be shared amongst your fashionable followers.

Breaking in to a Social Media Career

2011-12-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

Eversince MySpace and Facebook emerged onto the scene, it’s become very apparentthat social media is a force to be reckoned with. But unlike in the early daysof social media, you’ll find that more companies, from large brands to smallbusinesses, are making their presence felt in this arena. What does that meanfor you? Well, it could potentially mean a career. If you searched for the term“social media” on Monster.com five years ago, you wouldn’t have seen many jobs.Do the same thing today and you’ll see that you’ve got a lot of options. So,how do you position yourself as an expert in this field? Be prepared to showthe fruits of your labor.

It’snot enough to say “I have Facebook and Twitter accounts.” Um yeah, who doesn’t?Do a Google search for your name and see what comes up. Your Facebook andTwitter (and Google + and LinkedIn and any other social networking sites youmay frequent) pages should be on the first page of search results. For mostpeople, this will happen pretty naturally. You just need to setup the accountswith your name and use them. For those with common names or celebrity names,this might be a little challenging. Forexample, if your name happens to be Barack Obama, well, you might have to findanother way to show results.

Makesure your social networking accounts are impressive. It’s okay if you useFacebook for personal interactions. You don’t have to include it as long as youhave other social networking sites that are impressive. If you want a career insocial networking, you should have a Twitter account with at least one thousandfollowers. More is better, but quality counts too. You should also tweet dailyand interact with your followers. This will give you a Klout or Kred score to beproud of. Feel free to mention your score to potential employers, but they’llprobably check anyway. Just keep in mind that this advice works best when you’relooking for a career in social media or marketing. If you’re looking for a jobas a tattoo artist, your employer will care more about your work portfolio thanyour Kred score.

Shareyour social media stats with any potential employer. There are apps that willmonitor your accounts and present you with charts that detail how influentialyou really are online (in greater detail than Klout or Kred). Most apps tracktwitter, but there are some that will track your other interactions too. Suchan app might tell you how likely your tweets are to be retweeted or replied to.They might also tell you how often people click on links that you’ve posted.Your potential employer will want to know that you are actually influencingothers online about topics related to their company. Treat this like any otherjob application and show them what they want to see. The greater your onlinepresence, the greater chance you’ll have of being hired.

Job Hunting? Create a Twesume

2011-12-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

Most students rely on social media for nothing more than to catch up with friends and family – and that’s fine – but they aren’t exactly using these sites to their fullest potential. You can usually get someone’s attention much easier through a social network, like Twitter, than you can through a phone call. Brands are listening to our conversations, and they’re responding at record speed. Especially if you’re applying for a job in social media, you should consider creating a twesume. What’s a twesume? Glad you asked.

What we’re talking about here is a 140 character summary of your qualifications that you can send out on Twitter (aka Twitter resume). Here’s an example:

Social media strategist with 2 years of experience interning with a Fortune 500 company. Looking for a position in the NY area. #job

Once you’ve crafted your very own twesume, you can tweet it out to all your followers (and ask for them to retweet it to their followers) or you can send a direct message to a company that you’re really interested in working for. To go the extra mile, include a link to a .pdf of your full resume.

Of course, this isn’t the best idea if you’re currently working for an employer and you plan to leave. In this case, it’s ok to send it as a direct message, but don’t tweet it out to your followers. I know, that seems like common sense, but I just had to get it out there. I don’t want people blaming me if they lose their jobs over irresponsible tweeting. If you’re sending a direct message, leave out hash tags, like #job. They only serve a purpose when you’re tweeting to the masses.

I’ve mentioned that a twesume might work well for social media jobs, but there are other jobs that you might be able to get this way. If you’re looking for employment in marketing or technology, a twesume would probably be helpful. Also, if you’d like to work in retail or for an entrepreneur, e.g., event planner, DJ, florist, a twesume might help you here too. However, if you’re looking for a job in a field that isn’t really represented well on Twitter, you may as well forgo the twesume. For example, if you’re looking for forensic psychology jobs, Twitter may not be the best place to start your job search. In this case, it wouldn’t hurt to send out a twesume, but there are probably better uses for your time.

Google+ Do You Recognize My Face?

2011-12-08T13:51:00.001-08:00

As a college student, you wear many hats (so-to-speak, and maybe literally too). You have your social life which involves going out and party on the weekends among other things, your school life, which revolves around studies, and your family life, which is pretty tame. On the web, those three worlds can often collide. Mom friends you on Facebook, your friends tag you in embarrassing photos and you post interesting tidbits that you’ve learned while doing a research paper. Most people are pretty good at managing these parts of their lives without any security breaches. But, what happens when they release facial recognition software onto the interwebs? My guess is, all hell will break loose.

The folks at Google have that technology down, but for the moment (fortunately for us), they are using it responsibly. If you’re a member of Google+, you can decide if you want to enable facial recognition software for your account. If you decide to enable it, Google will scour your friends’ accounts for pictures of you. When it finds them, you’ll automatically be tagged. I can’t imagine it’s always perfect, but it’s a pretty intriguing concept. Actually, I can’t wait to try it. Unfortunately, my friends haven’t made their way to Google+ just yet.

Interestingly, Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google disclosed during an interview that the facial recognition software is the first software Google ever held back from release for fear of misuse. It’s a really interesting concept. I don’t doubt that they can scour the entire web for pictures of me if they can find them in the Google+ userbase. I’m just intrigued to see what’s out there. But, like most people, I’ll probably want to recover any old pictures that are dug up. I have to say, though, I just glad this wasn’t around when I was in college. Not to make myself sound too old, but most cell phones didn’t even have cameras back then, so I should be pretty safe.

It’s an interesting time that we live in. It all just makes you realize that anything you do can end up on a social network like Google+ or Facebook, and there are more and more ways that it can be associated back to you. I guess that old advice “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” has a little more meaning these days. But on the other hand, I can really see the benefit to this facial recognition software for anyone who is currently in college learning how to become a CIA agent. It will be really hard for criminals to hide from the law with so much technology around.

Facebooking with Mom

2011-12-02T12:59:00.001-08:00

Ever since your mom set up that Facebook profile, she has been friend requesting you, am I right? Who wants their mom to see the truth about what they did last night, really? Some kids actually do, and I think that’s rather cool, but sharing your online life with the parents isn’t for everyone. So, you have two options. One, you can keep ignoring it and hoping it’ll go away. Two, you can share only the parts of your profile that you want her to see. Problem solved? Let’s take a closer look.

1. You can ignore your mom’s Facebook requests, but that will only make her more intrigued by what she’s missing. You know the drill; if you act like you’ve got something to hide, people are going to start thinking you have something to hide. According to a recent survey, 73 percent of moms who aren’t friends with their children on Facebook view their profiles from someone else’s account. That’s right; while you think your mom is at work taking care of her ever-important administrative assistant duties, she’s actually spying on your Facebook account. Oh yeah; you can run, but you can’t hide. Does it make sense now how your mom seems to know everything about your life?

2. If you share only the parts of your profile you’d like her to see, you may appease the situation somewhat. But, be careful not to overdo it. Hiding everything but your name and contact info sends the same message as ignoring her friend requests. So, you might want to share your pictures, but not give her access to other people’s pictures that you’re tagged in. That just means you can’t post anything that you don’t want her to see, but it’s ok if other people do (as long as she’s not Facebook friends with them too).

3. Now, here’s the third super-stealthy option that I didn’t mention upfront: Start asking mom questions about her profile. You probably didn’t think much about what’s happening on mom’s page, but there may be a thing or two that she’s hiding from you. According to that same study (mentioned above) 46 percent of moms hide all or part of their profiles from their children. Say what? Time to turn the tables, my friend. Ask her to give you full access to her profile before you give her access to yours.

Effective Communication Mediums Available on The Internet

2011-11-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

While the oldest form of effective communication – the one face-to-face, will never disappear from our lives, there seems to be a clear tendency towards the online effective communication.

Everything seems to move slowly from the real life to the pages of the internet. Even the online universities are getting more and more popular. Yesterday, we were looking for the best universities in the USA, but today, we are looking for the best online universities in usa and wanting to find out more about the online degree programs. People embraced the internet because of its practicability. It’s easy to use, it’s fast and it’s efficient. It just does the job well. There are many effective communication mediums on the Internet and it’s a challenge to establish which one is better.

The first and the most obvious one is of course the e-mail. I remember sending my first e-mail about 10 years ago and I didn’t really know how to do it. I knew I had to sign up and such, but when it came to actually sending my e-mail, I know that for some reason, I had written the entire body of my e-mail in the subject box. Then, I was wondering how come it didn’t allow me to write more and I reluctantly sent it. Now, the e-mail has no more mysteries to me. At first, the e-mail was seen as some sort of an electronic (love) letter, which needed no stamp or envelope to arrive at its destination – only a good internet connection. But in time, people seemed to want even more effective ways of communicating one with another and so the instant messaging appeared. At first, you were able just to text. Then, you were also able to speak through a microphone. Then, you were able to see each other and text at the same time, thanks to the possibility of the video calls. We have conversations and video chats on Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger – we just can’t stay away from them.

Even the popular social network Facebook has its own chat and Twitter is just like a modern, public telegram – short thoughts, short questions, short answers. We can effectively communicate over the internet, because we can do it so incredibly fast. You’re getting in touch with someone who is even from a different continent and thanks to the webcams, you can feel him near you. Whatever you want, the Internet successfully satisfies your needs and offers you modern ways of getting in touch with the world.

How did the Modern Media Interfere With the Effective Communication Skills?

2011-11-06T01:07:00.000-07:00

By now, it’s no longer a secret that the modern media, or in a word, the Internet, is considered to be such a good alternative to the face-to-face communication, which used to being an effective one. As a matter of fact, it's even more of a replacement than an alternative. While the Internet is a free world, except if you’re surfing from China, it can be both a blessing and a curse. There are these great social networks like Facebook or Twitter or the hardly-breathing “my|_____|”, whose popularity has severely decreased lately. If you have trouble identifying that space, it’s actually just that: space. My Space. Got it?

These social networks represent the globalization, the exchange of ideas, thoughts, data, between people who could be far away from each other. Thanks to the internet, we can constantly stay in touch with people who live at world's end.

The first thing you'll be told when asking for tips on how to choose a career will be to look after the highest paying jobs which are hot on the market. There are chances that at some point, you'll meet someone who will tell you that the computer engineering salary is pretty high. They would be right, because the computers play such a big part in our daily activities, that they have become something indispensible, affecting even the way we communicate between each other. The jobs requiring public speaking are becoming less and less popular, while the jobs behind a computer seem to receive the opposite treatment. It’s no surprise though, since the communication through the Internet proves to be a lot easier. You can express your thoughts in an articulate manner without the risk of having a stammer, like you could have in a face-to-face conversation and there are no 'aaaa's or 'uhmmmm's in an online chat, unless the person really wants to say that. Many people have a problem with speaking in public. Their voices tremble and the things they have in their minds don't always come out through their mouths.

On the Internet, you have more time to think before writing something. If you’re about to say something out of place, you can backspace and delete the entire text before the other one reads it, while in face-to-face interactions, if you say something stupid, you won’t be able to rewind back and erase it.

However, the Internet has its disadvantages. Even though the rules of effective communication are pretty much the same on the Internet, you’ll notice that the Internet is a more vicious battlefield, dominated by hate speech, flaming and spamming. Also, there is this tendency to make opinions pass as facts, which is impossible, otherwise they wouldn’t be considered opinions in the first place. There are no right or wrong opinions; there are only opinions you agree or disagree with. The Internet is also considered an alienation tool – it distances us more and more from the ‘real world’ and it even threatens our communication skills, sucking us into its slang world so much, that after we turn off out computers, we might not be able to hold normal conversations with the people surrounding us, using only words like OMG or LOL to express our thoughts and feelings.

While the social networks & Co. are effective communication platforms, the face-to-face way of communication and the modern media shouldn’t eliminate each another; they should co-exist peacefully, because without effective communication, we would be sleepwalking through life like robots.