Week 15 - Wrapping It Up and Looking Ahead

The world of Social Media is constantly changing. So many platforms and so many ways to connect with family, friends, and complete strangers with similar and common interests. There is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, and so many more that keep popping up at a blink of an eye. One of the trends, cultural I guess, is the need to develop an online persona that is an extension of one's self and provides an online connections with others whether it be work, leisure, or research. The need to connect has evolved from that of a physical connection, which is attainable, to one that consists of constant online "surveillance" to catch up and see what is going on with our friends/family and the world. I we are a society that is constantly connected to the web and technologically focused. Nothing wrong with that!

As a young Latino male this course has been quite an experience and one that has taught me SO much! Being born in the late 80s, and growing up in the 90s, I grew up at the precipice of the technological revolution. First, being of Mexican descent my culture has been a great part of my life which includes the constant verbal communication and the occasional physical contact such as kissing my parents or having my mom "bless me" whenever I set foot out the door. However, assimilating to the culture here in the U.S., I've also been bilingual which has allowed me to balance both my American side and the Mexican side of my culture. Similarly, I feel that's how I've had to balance my technological knowledge/savvy-ness in my life between relying on technology to do my daily work or choosing to do my work long-hand, the "old" fashion way.

Having taken this class, what does technology mean to me? I've been able to progress and follow the trends yet remain loyal to the way I was taught to do things. Compared to my nieces and nephews if we were both at the library I'm 95% sure that I could easily navigate the public library and finds books using the library catalog (the index cards with the book info) while they would go straight to the computer. How many people actually know what the Dewey Decimal system is, nowadays?! I digress a bit, I may not know every little slang/popular language used by the current generations but I think since growing up we didn't rely so much on technology I'm able to adapt the technological way of doing things as well as see things form the perspective of "back when computers weren't so popular" which benefits me because I can attract and relate to many other people that way.

SO I've probably ranted but I what I'm trying to say is that growing up in the 90s there are skills that  have learned/gained that don't rely on technology solely. I always try to stay in the know of the advancements in technology and what programs, apps, mediums are being used on a daily basis for employment and essential in daily life. FYI, my family didn't have a computer until 1997 and it wasn't until 1998 when my teachers expected homework to be typed from that point on! Yet I keep a balance and try not to let technology consume every aspect of my life...I still enjoy having a face-to-face conversation even though, personally, I feel that keeping eye contact is a little awkward.

As this week's lecture mentions, you can't side idly by on the sidelines. You do need to keep up on changes, to keep your marketing fresh. Some of this is determined by the type of business you run, some is determined by the type of clientele or customers you are searching for. For me, despite the way I've been raised, I understand the need to keep up with technology. My mother taught I was just wasting time every time I was on Instagram or posting a tweet until I showed her my business page on Facebook. Since then she know understand what it is I'm doing and it has become easier for her to know what each platform as I explain what I do as she watches me do my stuff. Keeping the lines of communication is very important whether it be online or physically/verbally.

I was afraid of having an online persona back in January before the beginning of the semester. Now that this course has taught me what I know I am able to see what it is I want to share with my friends, family and the world. I know how to integrate useful content between multiple platforms and how each one has a specific niche so that my "marketing" isn't the same thing across the multiple platforms/mediums that I choose to use. For business it's all about the image you set up and how to keep your audience interested. Be constant interactions or the sporadic post here and there, it all helps and it's what makes one's audience keep coming back and making one's business more successful. I've learned a lot and very useful for my personal and future business social media tasks/jobs.