Rae-diate

Giving Up Social Media The winter-spring transition season is upon us which means Easter is coming up in about a month. For myself and for many people I know this also means we are in the season of Lent. Lent is the span of about 40 days leading up to Easter which some Christians recognize as a time for extra self-reflection and sacrifice. It can serve as a second new year where people sometimes make resolutions to exercise more, do more service, or give up things like video games, candy or even social media. I’ve seen many of my friends who recognize Lent give up social media entirely for the season of Lent and its always been interesting for me to watch. I have never done it myself because I either didn’t have any social media, I didn’t use it enough where I felt like it was interrupting my life, or I had a reason why I couldn’t give it up (like this class). Last year however, I limited when I could use social media to just at the end of the day when I had already gotte...

Reading along in “The Social Media Marketing Workbook” by Jason McDonald, I came to a section about content. I was certainly interested about what he had to say here because tips and methods to help generate content are always helpful for a social media beginner like me. Amidst all the tips about finding out what your target audiences likes to see and how to post accordingly, I found a quote I liked: “Share your knowledge and your passion. Become a “helpful expert” to your customers.”                                                 (McDonald, pg. 43) Besides this being a quote I think can apply to multiple aspects of a professional life, it gave me some encouragement about posting on social media. With this blog and with my other social media my...

When I was first beginning to drive, I refused to go on the highway because it stressed me out too much. Now I drive up to 8 hours on the highway every other weekend. Between my family living in Pennsylvania, my best friend living in Dayton, Ohio, my grandparents living outside of Columbus and traveling all over the midwest for audition season, I’ve been doing a lot of driving recently.             As an inexperienced driver, I was very anxious whenever I was on the road. I was still in high school and I lived in the suburbs so there wasn’t a need for me to use the highway. Once I got to college and my family moved to Pennsylvania though, I realized I needed to get comfortable driving long distances on the highway. I started off slow, breaking up the hours, staying in the right lane, using very detailed directions and taking country road highways instead of multiple lane highways any chance I could. I can’t say driving still doe...

            Something new and exciting happened in the ONU Theatre Department last weekend. In preparation for the play showing this weekend, “The Wolves” by Sarah DeLappe, the girls in the cast participated in a semi-professional photoshoot! Haley Ward (musical theatre class of 2019) spoke about her experience: “It was really encouraging. Each girl went up one by one…” She explained how each girl had the opportunity to take some solo shots, showing off their personality, but it wasn’t easy for everyone. She went on to point out most women are really insecure about their bodies, however if they feel comfortable and proud, their bodies can be such a source of power. The all-female cast of “The Wolves” portrays a high school women’s soccer team, a group of women that depend on their bodies to play the sport they love. Actors also use their bodies as instruments too, but even so, it is still not easy to be yourself in front of a camer...

We have moved on to a new book in my social media principles class: “Social Media Marketing Workbook” by Jason McDonald. This book focuses on step-by-step ways to best use different social media platforms. Because it’s a “workbook” there are online worksheets and activity ideas to help the reader practice the tips in the book.             In the first chapter, the author insists that managing your social media is like planning and throwing a party. He draws parallels between the key elements of establishing a party and establishing a strong social media presence. You need to invite guests to your party by various methods. Similarly, you must promote your social media and your business on social media to gain followers, listeners, supporters or customers. There has to be entertainment at a party to get people to stay, come back or want to share they had a good time. You have to hone your content on social media to do the same for ...