Reflection!

It is amazing how fast this past semester has gone! I have had a lot of fun in ALES 204, and learning about social media, and different online tools to communicate better! I enjoyed the informality of the lessons and how the participation required us to tweet about interesting things that we learned in the class, and with extra material that we had to look through. It made it feel less like work and more like fun web browsing. I enjoyed looking through others’ blogs such as Alana’s and Jessie’s and being able to comment and share my ideas with them, even when we were not together. Working in collaboration with others in the class gave a great opportunity to meet new people and develop friendships that will most likely go beyond ALES 204.

 photo credits: Kelsey Rutar

Photo of Alana Soderberg and Kelsey Rutar in ALES 204, taken on: February 29, 2012 at 11:19am

I only had Facebook coming into this class and the best thing that I have taken from ALES 204 is learning about and using Twitter. To be honest I had full intention of deleting my new Twitter account after the semester was done. I was awed in the fact that people would want to update every little thought they have and tell the world, or their “followers” what they were doing. It turned out to be more interesting that I expected.  Twitter is so much more than just a site to randomly talk about unimportant stuff, and because of this class is why I know that now. My thoughts were shared with many in this class and I commented on a blog post about my common thoughts of Twitter and how they have changed. In Christie’s blog she has also mentioned that another person in our class has shared the same thoughts as well! This is in her internal link on the blog post that I have commented on.

We are not the only ones that had skeptical thoughts about Twitter, Robyn Twomey a writer for TIME magazine wrote an article of How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live. I found reading this to be very interesting! Twitter gives those not around you, a sense that they are. Everything can be a Tweet, and to me now, most interesting information pieces that I find usually are. There are the occasional uninteresting items I post as well.

With Twitter I have been able to follow local news stations and get updates about what is going on in the city that I live. I have been able to follow favorite fashion designers that I have and even see when new fashion clothing lines are coming out before magazines are even printed! I have been able to follow and connect with individuals in the marketing and advertising industry, which is the path that I want to take for my career. Twitter is good for networking and meeting new people and Rosie is a perfect example of that! In her blog, she has shared with us that she is moving to a new school in the fall, and when she went to visit it during reading week she was able to meet up with people she has been communicating with on Twitter. I found that really interesting because it would be more comfortable and make you feel like you know the person a little more already before actually meeting in person! I think that Twitter is better at networking than Facebook is. Twitter gets the point across in a short way, and allows you to hashtag your thoughts to group it with others that have similar opinions as you do. I will not just give up on Facebook though, I have learned in this class how to prepare a Facebook page, which can also help network and allow employers to find talent that we may have. Laura shared her Facebook page on her blog and her ideas about finding employment based on keeping information simple and to the point.