Lecture Twelve

I consider myself fairly internet literate. Like millions of other people I have a Facebook account, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Last.fm, Fasterlouder and now thanks to JOUR1111 a blog. My interest and attentiveness to each ebbs and flows all the time, any given week I could be constantly updating one account but completely ignoring another. I'm not entirely sure if I will keep  this blog going after JOUR1111 is over, but I am tempted to start one about music or something. 

The reason I introduced this lecture by reeling off the various ways in which I shove my opinions, posts and photos in people's faces is because our last lecture for JOUR1111 was all about blogging and developing your brand name.

Steve Molk, creator of molkstvtalk.com spoke to us about his venture into the world of blogging and gave us his opinion and advice about the world of practical journalism. 

I found his talks about developing your brand name particularly resonated with me. From early on in my social networking experiences I realised the value of continuity among everything I put my name to. All of my accounts are under the name 'ByClare' and I frequently cross-promote my own writing pieces. 

Steve focused on the importance of social media in today's society. Every single day I am amazed by the way in which social media is used by a whole variety of people. While I sit in my comfortable couch tapping away on my Mac Book, communities in Kenya have begun using Twitter to convey messages regarding safety, crime alerts, weather announcements and important notices. A modern day crime stoppers group! Kony2012 took the world via a viral storm, and rioters in Libya and Egypt were able to instantly update the world on the situation from the ground. Social media, while subject to fashionable trends (see Facebook public offering... awkward), it is also being used as a really important tool.

I found Steve's story about his own TV review website really interesting. I strongly believe that if you want to be a journalist then you have to work to create a name for yourself. This isn't the Devil Wears Prada, normal people don't get magical internships that lead to a desk at the New York Times or Rolling Stone. You have to work for it and that is what I am trying to do. 

Although I have had my ups and downs with JOUR1111 this year, I feel like I am finally getting into the degree that will hopefully land me at a desk at the New York Times, or Rolling Stone (I'm not fussy).