Getting Started on Your Tweets

By April 17th, I would like for my COM 130 students to have a Twitter account, and be familiar with how it works. On that day, the Keyword Search Assignment will be about social media. As a media professor, I feel I would be doing you a disservice if you did not understand Twitter by the end of the semester.

I'm giving you some lead time, because, unlike Facebook or Myspace, Twitter takes some time to really get involved with and understand. You'll need to check in on the "tweets" from the folks you've chosen to follow for a while. You'll need to understand "replies", and ways to "brand" your tweets.

Here's a short video featuring Twitter creator Evan Williams on how Twitter evolved. It's from TedTalks (one of my favorite websites, by the way):



While there's no shortage of Twitter information available online, I've selected a few websites and articles I think you'll find helpful. I hope they help you get started on your Twitter journey:

PCMag's Top 10 Twitter Tips for Beginners

Twitip - a blog dedicated to using Twitter

Problogger's 35 Twitter Tips from 35 Twitter Users

Once you set up your account, look for me @jillfalk. Then, check out who my followers are and start adding familiar names. Good luck my Tweeps!

Your Personal Brand

Today in COM 130 we discussed the concept of "personal branding". While there's no shortage of information available via a Google search, I thought I'd leave a few links for you, should you be curious to learn more.

Here is the Slideshare presentation we used in class today from personal branding guru Dan Schawbel. What did you take away from this discussion?

View Upload your own

For a good laugh, check out this SNL skit the blog Sheer Brandage wrote about. On a more serious note, see how these journalists are prepping for a job by developing their personal brand using these kick-butt websites. Also, here's the link to Doug Kamm's website, the Lindenwood University student who has created an easy online portfolio.

I’ll leave you with three key ideas from my very good friend and former colleague, Kammie Kobyleski, who is a strong believer in personal branding (follow her on Twitter @KammieK):

"My biggest advice would be to keep 3 things in mind:

Authenticity - Be who YOU are and be it LOUD and proud (focus on your strengths).

Clarity - Be crystal clear who YOU are, "niche thyself"...don't try to be everything to everyone...Guy Kawasaki says "polarize people"...some will love you some will
not, it's OK...build your tribe and leave the rest.

Consistency - Once you've identified your strengths and values, be it over and over...the way you dress, write emails, correspond by phone, in person is ALL a reflection of brand YOU."

I believe the key idea for college students like you to keep in mind is...DON'T WAIT! I swear I feel like your mother, er, I mean big sister, repeating this caveat of knowledge constantly - DON'T WAIT! In other words, define and design your personal brand now.

The walls between the college classroom and the real world are imaginary. You are already in the real world.

Creating Your Personal Brand

Today in COM 130 we discussed the concept of "personal branding". While there's no shortage of information available via a Google search, I thought I'd leave a few links for you, should you be curious to learn more.

Here is the Slideshare presentation we used in class today from personal branding guru Dan Schawbel. What did you take away from this discussion?

View Upload your own

I’ll leave you with three key ideas from my very good friend and former colleague, Kammie Kobyleski, who is a strong believer in personal branding:

"My biggest advice would be to keep 3 things in mind:

Authenticity - Be who YOU are and be it LOUD and proud (focus on your strengths).

Clarity - Be crystal clear who YOU are, "niche thyself"...don't try to be everything to everyone...Guy Kawasaki says "polarize people"...some will love you some will
not, it's OK...build your tribe and leave the rest.

Consistency - Once you've identified your strengths and values, be it over and over...the way you dress, write emails, correspond by phone, in person is ALL a reflection of brand YOU."

I believe the key idea for college students like you to keep in mind is...DON'T WAIT! I swear I feel like your mother, er, I mean big sister, repeating this caveat of knowledge constantly - DON'T WAIT! In other words, define and design your personal brand now.

The walls between the college classroom and the real world are imaginary. You are already in the real world.

COM 130: Student Guinea Pigs Needed

COM 130 students, I need some volunteers to test two new social media outlets for me:

Twitter

BlogTalkRadio

On Twitter, sign up and follow "lusurvey". That's me, and I've created it for COM 130. For BlogTalkRadio, visit the link above, sign-up for an account and test it by posting your voice on your blog. Just talk for about a minute or so about whatever you want that has to do with our course material.

You have until Thursday afternoon at 3:00 to complete this. E-mail me when you've completed one or both. Ten extra credit points are possible for the BlogTalkRadio experiment.

Good luck!

COM 130's LTTGYE Links

Hey, I'm just trying to be like you with the acronyms...

Anyhow, here are the links to today's COM 130 articles. We used these as material for our mini-speed presentations for Let's Talk Tech and the Gen Y Effect. All five are fab and all five are from AdAge.com.

Surprise! You text more than you talk!

Does the iPhone have competition now?

Shia's new movie, follow on your phone

KFC monitors 90210

Better late than never in the social networking world, MTV

So, tell me, did you like this second installment better than the last time? I think we were talking about SpinSpotter and campaign ads then. I tried to keep a marketing to Gen Y theme today. You tell me...what kinds of topics to you enjoy debating the most?

Dancing Lizards and Herding Cats

In case you'd like to see these again (and just for fun)...here are the links from today's media literacy discussion about production values.

Ads:
Gatorade 2008
SoBe Lifewater
Budweiser Clydesdale
Herding Cats

Movie Clip:
A Few Good Men

Just because you made me click on this:
The Angriest Cat

See? Now you'll never watch ANYTHING the same again! Glad I could ruin things for you. Now get off the couch and jump up and down...

Have favorites you didn't see today? Leave me the links below!

Media Talk #2 Links - COM 327

Another great job today by my Media Literacy students! Here are the links to our stories and videos from today. Again, students in my other classes, feel free to check out what we were up to and share your thoughts on these media issues.

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on SNL
Campaign ads turn ugly, Obama and sex education, McCain and computers, Karl Rove says McCain ad goes too far
Photographer Jill Greenberg doesn't like McCain, Today's update on the issue - editor apologizes
YouTube bans violent videos
Reporters blown away, is this necessary? Weather Channel, Al Roker, Canoeing in shallow waters
Obama's cold - old Jeanne Moos story

Texts, Tiger, Teachers and More - COM 327 Media Talk Links

Great job, Media Literacy students! Below are the links I used while researching today's presentation. Be sure to drop me a line and let me know what you thought about today's Media Talk!

For students in my other classes, feel free to check out these links, and I look forward to any comments you may have as well...

Obama's Text Message
McCain's "Celebrity" Negative Ad
Paris Hilton's Response Ad
Should Teachers Have a Facebook Page?
Tiger Woods' Jesus Shot (Original Video) (Professional Ad)
Ad Age: Are Marketers Responsible for Obesity in the African-American Community?