12.10.07
Oh No You Didn’t…
Our blog experiment has come to an end. The semester is over, and our blog is up for review. Don’t panic, Amanda and I aren’t going anywhere. We will continue to write this blog. But the era as students is coming to an end. Amanda graduates in exactly one week. And I graduate in one semester and two days.
As part of our final project (this blog) we also had to write a paper (sooo old media *wink*) explaining various aspects of the blog: subject matter, voice, style, reader persona, seo, and such. The last question was regarding ethical dilemmas. This took Amanda and I a minute to figure out. We are such ethical beings that figuring out dilemmas was difficult!
We finally settled on a few to write about, and I thought that I would post one of them up here for all of you to comment on. We would love to hear your perspective on the dilemma and any further advice you have on how we can be more ethical.
Over and out. (for now at least).
“The most (seemingly) straightforward ethical issues is that of giving due credit. Throughout college we are warned against plagiarism, but there are few plagiarism laws on the internet, especially when it comes to the intellectual property of blogs. We have tried to be vigilant in linking content within the blog to its thought author. In many ways, giving due credit is more difficult online than in a scholastic paper. We all know the rules for footnotes and bibliography, but online, the rules are different. We are still learning what they are, and luckily seasoned pros have been kind enough to gently clue us in when we stumble (if this was a blog post I would hyperlink “seasoned pros” to Steve Garfield). When a name is mentioned — hyperlink. When a site, book, article is mentioned — hyperlink. If a picture is posted, don’t just give photo-credit, but hyperlink to the source of the photo. And this is just the beginning. Every piece of a blog post has to be multidimensional to make sure that everyone can find the source of what you are saying.
In order to adhere to the standard of being ethical, we try to remember to link everything and welcome with open arms, any suggestions of how we can give even better link-love. The ethical students that we are, we will not fail to give credit when we know that credit is due, and as much as we can, we will spread the link-love.”
12.03.07
Four Degrees of Separation
Last year I attended a PRSSA meeting at BU. One of the many things the speaker talked about that night really stuck with me — you never know when you are going to meet your next boss. Amanda’s recent post College Kids Party; I Network reminded me of this. I don’t mean this in the swarmy way like Chris Brogan mentioned in his comments on Amanda’s post. What I took this piece of advice to mean is that jobs don’t just happen by submitting a resume and going on an interview. ‘It isn’t what you know, but who you know’ wouldn’t be a cliche if there wasn’t some truth to it.
In this new age of building relationships, knowing people is what it is all about. And not just collecting business cards, actually getting to know people. Pose in pictures as Amanda suggests. One link leads to another to another and so on. Which brings in the whole concept of six degrees of separation. More like four. I can get to almost anyone in four steps or less. The more people I meet, the fewer the degrees separate me from the rest of the world.
Take this semester for example: Last spring I needed a fourth class to add to my schedule. I had had Professor Quigley for my intro to PR class and had loved him so I looked to see if he was teaching any other classes. He was – Special Topics: Interactive PR. Translation = new media. One of the first classes, Amanda mentioned PodCamp. She then told the class about Twitter. It took her a while to convince me that it wasn’t stalkerish, but I finally decided to give it a whirl. And what a reception! By the time PodCamp rolled around, meeting people like Bryan Person and Laura Fitton aka Pistachio in person for the first time, was like reuniting with an old friend. Through them I have met others; I’ve gotten advice from new grads like Yianni Garcia, guidance from Len Edgerly, had my eyes opened to a whole new world of possibilities by Jeff Pulver, and have had a whole lot of laughs with Steve Garfield.
I recent wrote a post on my personal blog Thru My Green Eyes about my New Media Friends and how they are the strongest community in my life. I didn’t “network” in order to get a job, but to make friends. And I have. I’ve also made some great job related connections through those friends.
So, “networking” may have a bad rap, but getting out there, and getting to know people is the best thing you can do. Even though I am always one of the youngest people in the room, I have been greeted with arms wide open.
So. Party, give book suggestions, ask questions, have dinner, tweet, link, and everything else in between.
11.28.07
How am I dealing with it? Trials, Tribulations and Advice
I am the CEO of me. Chris Brogan told me that. Many others have asked me “what’s your brand?” What are the three or four word that synthesize “you”? When Googled, do you know what comes up about you? When I asked the group attending the new media job search session at PodCamp Boston 2 what advice they had for me as I begin my hunt for life-after-school, I was told to create a marketing campaign — with ME as the product.
I knew that a cover letter is supposed to “sell” you, but is a marketing campaign a little over-kill? In the world of new media — the answer is unequivocally no. But making a campaign about yourself is much easier said than done (to be cliche). During a traditional job hunt, you figure out what you might be interested in doing, find a position that offers that, then try to figure out what the employer wants from you and you try to package yourself in a way to make yourself look like you fit the part regardless of whether you actually do or not. That seems so easy compared to what it seems I’m up against now. I actually have to know who I am. Three or four little words that synthesize the essence that is me.
I attended Jeff Pulver’s Real time social media breakfast this morning. I knew in advance that upon arriving at S&S Restaurant and Deli in Cambridge I would have to fill out a name tag. Normally this would not be cause for panic. I have long known what my name is and even how to spell it. But this name tag required an extra piece of info: a tag-line. I needed a tag-line for myself. The horror. I fretted over this for hours last night and it finally came to me while my Herbal Essences Defunkify Shampoo tingled my scalp (it is really quite an amazing feeling. you should try it): Maria Thurrell. SuperGeek – Here to save the world. A little cheeky (like me), geeky (also like me) and six words long (verbose – just like me). While I think that this fits me rather to the T, is this an image I want to present to possible future bosses? What does SuperGeek say to people who don’t know me?
Jeff Pulver told me this morning that I need to figure out what it is that I am passionate about. But I already know, I exclaimed! New Media. Public Relations. Social Activism. Way too vague was his response. Uh oh. I thought I was doing pretty good. I have to narrow it down even further?! Maybe I don’t want to grow up after all…
So, with all of this swimming around in my brain I am going to write the case study for my Organizational Structure class that is due at 6pm tonight and hope that somewhere between asleep and awake the answer will come. Or perhaps someone will clue me in.
If you know me, how would you describe me in 4 words or less (ok, I’ll give you 6)?
