This year, graduation season isn’t what any of us expected. The COVID-19 crisis replaced stadiums full of graduates and their families with Zoom-based ceremonies, parades of decorated cars, and lawn signs congratulating the class of 2020. With no clear end to the pandemic in sight, many of those graduates have not only completed their degrees in isolation but will also be embarking on their careers without ever setting foot in a formal workplace.
For some, this will fit perfectly. But what of those students who wanted the campus experience and couldn’t wait to go to their first office? Students in Loyola’s Master of Arts in Emerging Media program are communicators and connectors who often thrive on contact with others. It’s challenging enough to take your first steps into a career and a new job; without the in-person social contact of a workplace, it can feel even lonelier.
Fortunately, there are many ways that you can set yourself up for success if you’re interviewing for jobs and working remotely, and many resources available to help you navigate this pivotal point in your life.
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There has never been a period in our lifetimes where swift, clear communication has been so vital to saving countless lives worldwide. The COVID-19 crisis challenged governments and healthcare organizations everywhere with the need to keep the world’s population up to the minute with rapidly-evolving news and directives for personal and public safety, not just over the initial days, but over months.
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I earned my undergraduate degree in journalism because I loved to write, and I loved to talk to people—to connect with them, to find out what makes them tick. Almost 30 years later, that hasn’t changed. It’s still the essence of who I am.
I’m also a mission-driven head communicator for a nonprofit organization. I’m the Vice President of External Affairs for the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), and I truly believe in Catholic education, that it makes people’s lives better to have access to quality, faith-based education.
Marrying those two interests—my love of journalism and the mission of Catholic education—meant I’d found the perfect job when I started this position in 2011.
So why earn a degree in emerging media? Because I also realized that things were changing in the field of communication, and I needed to build my education and knowledge. Also, working in the field of higher education, an advanced degree was really valuable as a direct path in advancing my career.
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I still remember driving back from Miami on September 11, 2001, when I tuned into the radio and I heard that the Twin Towers in Manhattan had collapsed. Without a visual reference, I could not fathom the scale of the disaster. But later I remained paralyzed in front of the TV screen as the media replayed the images of the towers collapsing and people jumping from the top floors. Back before Facebook and Twitter, all these emotions were pent up inside of me, but I had no place to release them. I stayed up several nights, staring at the night sky, and for several days walked around in a constant state of anxiety and fear. I - we - needed some form of communal catharsis.
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In the 1980s, when the New York-based consumer electronics retailer Crazy Eddie was shouting at late night television viewers that his prices were “insane,” nobody thought of brands as their “friends.” Advertising was loud, brash and often in your face. The goal was to get your attention and make an impression.
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On a recent Sunday morning, we received a call from my husband’s sister. She reported that their father had had a massive stroke and had been taken to the Mayo Clinic. It is difficult hearing this news under any circumstances, but it was particularly challenging since we live nearly 1000 miles away in Baltimore. With the help of technology, we sprang into action and made plans.
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If just one more cashier, clerk, store associate or representative asks me to complete yet another online survey or “tweet”, “share” and “like” my retail experience – I will, literally, scream.
Merchandisers are increasingly tracking consumer purchasing behaviors through social media platforms to analyze whether certain business practices are yielding a profitable return on their investment (ROI). However, determining ROI based solely on a ratio of gain over costs is not as easily measured in today’s tech-driven economy. In addition to determining ROI for practical aspects of business such as overhead, labor, training, and development, merchandisers are more and more frequently employing digital strategies to gather empirical data. They want information about more obscure forces impacting their markets like the best way to generate leads; brand awareness and perception; customer experience; or, security and risk mitigation.
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For over a year now, we’ve been inundated with news on how the Russians used social media to ‘influence’ American voters in the 2016 Presidential election. Now, with recent indictments brought by the justice department, it appears that meddling from outside actors is undeniable. In his Fortune article ‘How Russians Used Social Media to Boost the Trump Campaign, According to Robert Mueller's Indictment’, David Z Morris writes “the Mueller indictment echoes subsequent findings that masses of false or misleading social media activity was engineered by Russia’s Internet Research Agency, as part of a plan to “defraud the United States by impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the government through fraud and deceit” beginning as early as 2014.” (Fortune, February 17, 2018)
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Recently, Snapchat came out with an update that redesigned the platform. In this announcement on November 29, it seems like Snapchat would be a more user friendly platform.
The update moved your friends' stories to your main feed and had the Discover page be the only thing you see when you swipe left. Many users have found that this update ruined the platform for them. Snapchat users even signed a petition on Change.org in order to try and get the platform back to what it used to be.
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Up until the market’s correction in early February, the world economy was experiencing one of the longest bull markets on record. For all intents and purposes, the past few years have been as good a time as any to invest in the stock market. Yet, only 54% of American households own stocks.
The percentage, down 12% from before the 2008 financial crisis according to a recent Gallup poll, indicates that more wealth is in fewer hands. Sure, the stock market has been strong, but the number of participants is dwindling.
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When thinking about all the different things that the cosmetic industry does to get their consumers to buy their products, the first thing that came to mind was social media. For instance, cosmetic companies have begun to strategically use social media influencers or YouTubers to promote and review their products out to their hundreds and millions of followers.
Personally, I am an avid beauty guru watcher. I am subscribed to a plethora of YouTube channels and I have my favorites that I trust and love watching. So when they go on their channel and talk about/review a product I will likely base my opinion off their thoughts when thinking about if I actually want to buy that item.
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If you think the only way to improve the healthcare industry is through better doctors, better hospitals, innovative drugs, and better medical technology, think again. Better communication is a vital part of the prescription for better health, and emerging communication technology can make a significant difference in the way that care is provided and in the roles that patients, practitioners and the community play to help us live longer, healthier lives.
Programs such as Loyola’s emerging media program, in which students learn from faculty and study a curriculum that allow them to harness the power of emerging media, can help students master communication strategies that will improve the population health and health outcomes. Here are five ways emerging media is revolutionizing the field.
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Racism is woven into the fabric of America's society. It's as ingrained in the minds and hearts of many as high school Friday night football is ingrained as a tradition in the South. But let me be very clear, there is a significant number of Americans that are immune to this disease. And for those, I applaud you for standing up and resisting the ignorance that continuously plagues our society. Where is this blog post going? Some American’s disdain for diversity and their racist nature has created a weapon against the very ground this country is supposed to symbolize - freedom, freedom of speech, and more importantly, liberty and justice for all.
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Social media has become a major part in the way we live our lives today. Whether it is being used to keep up with the news, your friends or family, social media has proven its ability to connect us more easily and efficiently. With its advancements however, has social media has invaded our privacy as a way to keep us connected? Within this blog, we will explore the ways social media has used users personal data to create digitalized personalities of its users.
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Despite the potential benefits of emerging media platforms for growth and information dissemination, many consumers are alarmed. This issue is due in large part to lack of privacy while using the Internet. Privacy laws must monitor who receives the data collected on the Internet and how they use it. Tracking consumers on the Internet has affected privacy in the age of digital technology.
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Ask any teenager and they will tell you that privacy is an important and vital part of life. Reach for any unattended smart phone and you’ll probably be prompted to enter a password or verify with a fingerprint. Our culture loves privacy. Privacy is considered as necessary as food yet taken for granted by many like the air we breathe. Rarely do we even acknowledge our privacy until someone begins to infringe upon it. Then suddenly we’re willing to protest in the streets to fight for the privacy we believe should naturally belong to us. In the Emerging Media program at Loyola, my classmates and I spend a lot of time discussing topics such as privacy and how our culture’s dependence on digital communication plays a role in that. Furthermore, we tore down the illusions to discuss how private our lives actually are. One of the topics we’ve come to discuss is privacy online. Do we as Americans have the right to privacy or do we have to fight for it?
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So today I learned some very interesting things from an 11-year-old about social media. For some background, I now make it a habit to strike up conversations with young people (let me be specific – those about 13 and under) because I want them to teach me about the future of social media. This might seem like a strange proposition, since many of them are not even “allowed” to have a Facebook page yet, let alone want one (like the 11-year-old in question). But an article I came across a few years ago really stuck with me, and I realized that the future of social media, or at least the future popularity of social media platforms, is not all that difficult to see. Just see what young people are using today, and project that forward (with a slight amount of error, anyway).
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If you’re considering an online degree program, you’re probably excited to achieve a stellar education in your own home, on your own schedule. But learning online is different than the way you’re used to going to school, and requires different skills to succeed.
Fortunately, there are some tried-and-true ways to thrive in an online education program. Done right, the learning experience can even be better than the face-to-face classroom. Here are eight tips to help you rock your online learning.
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All too often I read about cyberbullying, low self-esteem issues associated with social media, vanity, and even anxiety and depression that can come from being too hyper-focused on the posts that others make on various digital platforms.
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Fake news has been the topic of discussion over the course of 2016-2017. Fake news is the spread of misinformation, often through social media platforms to drive users to a certain website and increase traffic.
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In his book “Where Good Ideas Come From – The Natural History of Innovation,” Steven Johnson provides a historical glance showing that contrary to the oft-cited “Eureka!” moments of discovery, most innovation comes from networks of innovative possibilities.
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Not long after I celebrated my 29th birthday, Snapchat celebrated a big day as well; on March 2nd 2017 Snapchat became a publicly owned company, Snap Inc. And for just $17 you could own a share in the newly public “camera” company. Each of those $17 shares created an initial public offering of $3.4 billion dollars.
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With the continuing advancement in technology, minorities are using smartphones as an alternative way other than home broadband to connect with the online world - with African American millennials leading the pack.
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Social Media has played a major impact on how we receive our daily news. Many people decide to get the news from apps that are on their phone because it is convenient to read. With this increase in the use of digital media as a news source, it is interesting to consider whether print media will become extinct.
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We are familiar with the success stories of Snapchat, Instagram, and others. They start with an idea amongst friends and end with a billion dollar valuation. When Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion investors began looking for the next big thing. Did you think, I have a life changing idea and can do this also?
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