Social Needia

Social media has become the number one resource for networking today. The importance of networking in the classroom has expanded to websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, and the likes. Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan, not only has an official Facebook page but professors in specific majors have created pages for these areas of study.

I am studying Television & Digital Media Production, constantly working with social media. Although I do not use Twitter, I am a regular on Facebook and YouTube. Websites that stream a multitude of video have proven very helpful to me in my Major. Most professors prefer we submit our work through an application called Blackboard which acts as one of the oldest social media tools to date: e-mail.

We cannot forget about e-mail. This tool for quick messaging is still used in an abundance of classrooms. This could be considered more private than social but almost all e-mail services offer instant messaging as well. Social media, in its most complex form, may not exist today without these stepping stones.

To elaborate on Facebook a bit, Ferris State University has a policy that says professors cannot add students as friends and vice versa. Some professors still do, however, and this is an incredible use of social media. The remaining websites such as Twitter, Youtube, and even Associated Content, can all be linked to your Facebook. I have also come across more professional mirrors to Facebook; LinkedIn, for example, calls itself “The Largest Professional Network”. Regardless of the fact that LinkedIn has not been discussed in class at all, I have received e-mail notifications for invitations to connect. LinkedIn could quite possibly be the ticket to a professional career and should be discussed during syllabus week.

So now we understand the complexity and importance of social media, but not many people realize the problems that can arise. Almost everything is online now, submitted through a computer system that could easily crash. When that paper is due or you are expecting an important message, the Internet is what we depend on most. To dig deeper, online applications can crash just as easily. Those who are constantly networking realize this but also know the chances of these crashes are minimal. I would highly recommend using social media despite what profession you pursue. Just do not throw your computer out the window if it crashes on you.


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