? to Guest Blogger Celia
What has your experience with social media been like?
Guest Blogger: Celia, 19, Intern
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Wordpress, MySpace, Photobucket, Livejournal, Delicious, Second Life… at one time or another, I’ve been the proud owner of an account at all of those sites.
It’s impossible not to look back and laugh at my twelve year old self, creating a LiveJournal account with some form of “angelchic” in the title. I was so young—too young, probably—and I had to hide the site from my socially media inept parents. I had to beg them for an AIM screen name, because they just didn’t understand these new forms of communication. But that’s how it all started for me, and probably a lot of Gen-Y kids.
Now, as a college student, I’ve really narrowed down the sites I use. Facebook is my primary tool. I check it compulsively. I look at everyone’s profiles (it’s not stalking, I swear) and read my news feed like it’s my job. It simply keeps me connected.
I also have accounts on LinkedIn, YouTube, Wordpress and Twitter. It may seem excessive, but in reality they all have distinct uses, so it’s hard to give any of them up. LinkedIn is for professional networking. I use YouTube to share the videos I make at school as a communications major, check out my classmates’ videos, and watch the millions of random videos present on the website. I made a Wordpress blog for a class last year, and plan to update it with more work as I continue my college career. Twitter is probably the least relevant of all the social networks for me at this time, but it can be fun and addicting sometimes.
My experience with social media is almost comical. It seems absurd, but it’s such an integral part of my life that I can’t imagine a world without it. But it keeps me connected, it keeps me updated and it keeps me busy. What more could I ask for?
As the “media intern” here at Pannos Winzeler, I’ve had a chance to take the knowledge I have of social media and apply it to a professional situation. In the three short days I’ve been here so far, I’ve been doing a lot of research about how social media affects branding, especially in relation to the financial institutions we work with. It’s amazing to me how many banks are on Facebook and Twitter, and how they are using these free tools to promote their company. It’s so interesting to see how everything ties together and works cohesively to promote a product to so many different groups.
I think social media will continue to change dramatically over the coming years. It’s impossible to predict what turn it will take, or what new website will take over next. I do know, however, that there will always be those awkward dilemmas of dealing with your nosey Aunt adding you on Facebook or whether to untag yourself from pictures with your ex-boyfriend. It will certainly be interesting to see how social media will change—or how social media will change us!
Tags: Facebook, Gen Y, linkedin, Social Media, twitter, wordpress