Summary
I found this week’s content really interesting. It covered the importance of social media and different ways to use it as a tool to further your career.
Discussion
There were a few key things that Christy Dena talked about that were remarkable and worthy of noting.
The first was that we need to start with having an objective; that is a reason why you’re using social media. Once you have an objective it would help you choose what site to achieve that objective is best suited for. This encouraged me to think why I really want/need a social network. Apart from promoting my work, what do I hope to gain from it ultimately?
I have only used social media with people that know who I am. The fact that you can create a professional identity this way is really interesting. Using social media as a way to potentially gain employment and not just as a fun social thing.
I think sharing people’s work is crucial. As a musician I often share people’s songs and then they share mine in return and I can see the benefit from this in all industries whether its animation, music or film.
Using social media as a tool means you will potentially have followers all across the world and across a few different networking sites. The different tools that Christy mentions are available to enable you to post on all different sites at once and in different times will be a great tool for promoting your work across the world.
Having a professional voice is important and it is also critical to realise when it becomes important. After watching the documentary on Phil Fish I can understand why he is not very well regarded in the gaming industry. The information about how he became successful and didn't realise his followers became his audience could have been a crucial aspect to why he left all social media with a tarnished reputation. My opinion is that regardless of whether it’s for professional reasons or not you don’t write the things he wrote on a social media website.
Reading the content on how random rewards are more motivating than predictable ones was very enlightening. I will definitely draw upon this knowledge when I rely on crown funding for a project.
Richard Branson, the Virgin Group founder explained in an interview the importance of businesses using social media to connect with their clients/customers. Not just using it as a networking tool or a marketing tool, but as a form of communication with your audience. A place where you can get direct feedback that would otherwise potentially go unnoticed.
Using social media as a tool for networking or communication purposes, I can see how in this day and age and in the creative industry it is extremely important to have..
References
Dena, C. (2015, March 9). Week 6: Social Media and Your Career. Retrieved 14 July 2015, from https://medium.com/self-directed-practitioners/week-6-social-media-and-your-career-21ec52b2b003
Preston, J. (2015, July 13). Richard Branson - the importance of social media. Retrieved 14 July 2015, from http://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/richard-branson-importance-social-media