I’ve always known that it was a good thing for a company to have their own website. It’s something that would be essential to any company as it is a means of advertising a product, selling a product, giving the history of their company, and basically making their company look as good as it can. Something that I didn’t know was the importance of having a personal website. I thought that it would only be useful for someone who was selling something or trying to do some sort of advertisement, but then I realized something. We are selling and advertising ourselves in this day and age. We are marketing ourselves to future employers and basically the world. Websites may be useful to showcase talent and one’s work and achievements, but it is surely not the only thing a future employer will be looking through when you hand in your resume.
Early on in the semester, we had lectures about the impact of social media in today’s society. It’s literally everywhere we go. In our laps, on our phones, sometimes even on the side of moving vehicles (only in Toronto would you see a video advertisement on the side of a truck).The fact that I can have GO Train notifications sent to my phone telling me the train’s going to be 4 minutes late still boggles my mind. That’s an example of the way social media is affecting everyone and most of us love it. We all realize how much time we spend on Facebook or Twitter reading about other people’s lives yet somehow we can’t stop. It’s become a part of our lives and has greatly influenced how we as a society function. Most of the time, social media is here to help us – whether it’s helping us to spread the word about a product we’re selling, or connecting us to long lost friend. Like I said, most of the time it’s here to help us, but it we’re not careful, it could easily hinder us too. We have to be very conscious of what we are putting on the internet because it is very easy for anyone can see it. This brings me back to my point about future employers researching us online.
A website that we create of ourselves would be a great representation of everything we have to offer – if done correctly. But many are unaware of how easy it is to have your privacy breached. Facebook is changing privacy settings without telling anyone, some things you say on Twitter get posted straight to Google (if you search you’re name), and those embarrassing pictures that were taken of you last weekend, everyone’s already seen them. This is where the “hindering” aspect of social media comes in. If our generation is not conscious of what we are showing on the internet, and how easy it is to search our names and have everything about us known, then we’re going to be in a lot of trouble. Gone are the days where you could hand in a resume, go in for an interview, and get the job- all the while knowing that you have complete control regarding what your boss knows about your personal life. But this is what society has come to. We will get Googled and Facebook’d before we even get a phone call about a potential interview. I’m very fortunate that all this was pointed out to me, and I hope that someone stumbles upon this that hasn’t yet learned the importance of social media in this day and age.
We are lucky to have a world of possibilities at our fingers tips, especially in this generation, and in this program. The things that I’ve learned from my teachers and throughout the early morning lectures have changed my outlook on media a lot, and I am very fortunate for this. Before this program I was unaware of how much social media was used by everyone, and how posting informative tweets and blogs are helping us to create our own social media identity. Truthfully, I probably would have never begun to blog if it wasn’t a part of the curriculum but I’m very glad that I am now. By the end of these four years, I will have a blog filled with interesting concepts and theories, a twitter account to demonstrate that I understand the importance of social media in today’s society, and a lot to offer a business and I am very fortunate for that.
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