Lately I have been trying to get entrenched in the Social Media scene.  I constantly check and update my Twitter feed, that goes to my Facebook status, and now I am blogging again.

I don’t think I am on the right track.  Even though I am on Twitter and Facebook, my community is still limited.  FB is a majority of people I went to school with (High School and College), and my Twitter followers are mainly in the Brazen Community.  Don’t get me wrong, this is great, but it is an updating and staying in touch relationship, not necessarily a branding myself and building a new network plan.

I want to get out there, I want to meet the world, I want to have something great to say…

So time to start a new plan.  I am going to do more reading, more commenting, and try to have something important to say.

Look out world, here I come!

No…  I don’t think they do.  Yea, you can make the argument that every college student is on Facebook or Myspace, and they are constantly networking with one and other whether they know it or not.  But I really don’t think that matters, instead of an introduction to social media, Facebook and Myspace are just a necessary tool if you want to have any sort of social life.

So what is social media??  That is a good question, one that people outside of “the industry” might not understand.  Simply, social media is a collection of blogging, micro blogging, networking, or vlogging sites (I realize I may have left some out, but I think you get the point).  I am talking about sites like Twitter , Tumblr, or even Youtube.  Do college students use these?  If they do, it is only to watch some crazy shit on Youtube.

How can we fix this problem?  And it is a problem because there are so many opportunities for college students if they would take the time to learn about it.  I think I found a potential solution…  Or at least a step in the right direction.  I had a chat with Theresa Toste from Yoono the other day, and she told me about some of the cool things they are up to.

Yoono is holding Social Media Camp(u)s around the country.  They have already done SMC at MIT and UT, both of which were very succesful and got great feedback.  The idea is to use Social Media resources like Facebook to promote the events, and then get a conversation started both online and in person about the other sites that are out there, and what they can do for you.

They are hiring interns at universities across the country that are required to start a blog, plan and hold at least two events a semester, and promote social media news and current events online.  I wish I had the opportunity to do this in college, but I guess I am doing it now and I haven’t been out of school that long.

Why is it important for college students to be utilizing these tools?  Theresa made some great points in my conversation with her.  She talked about how important someone can be to a company if they are able to start, or maintain a blog.  Also, she talked about how twitter has become a marketing tool for many companies and if a employee is comfortable with the site, and is capable of launching a marketing campaign through twitter then they are a step ahead.

Schools also need to step up…  College students should get an introduction from career centers or professors about how to use social media to further their careers.  Social media sites can open their mind to education outside of the classroom, and is not just for pictures of their friends drunken weekend excursions (even though those are fun to look at sometimes!).

When I got to college I was introduced to Facebook.  I thought it was cool, it felt like a community within itself because of how specific it was to each university.  It opened many doors in terms of meeting people, and allowed me to find friends from high school and stay in touch.

This was my introduction into the world of social media.  I never would have thought that 4 years later my job and my life would be all about social media.  This is the case however, and everyday I am amazed at how much of my life revolves around it.

I do work at Brazen Careerist, so I am sure that is one reason I am so consumed by this world, but it’s not like I am alone paving the social media path.  There are people at every job, from secretary to police officer using social media to introduce themselves, their thoughts, and essentially their life to the entire world.

Some people think it is dangerous, and worry that in the future someone will look back at something they said, and hold it against them.  In the words of Ryan Paugh, “so what”?  He is right to say that, so what??  Everyone was a twenty something at somepoint, and things change over time, so do your opinions, your values, and your experience.

I am happy to be part of this social media world, and I am going to continue to expose myself to the world, build my brand, and push others to do the same.  That is one reason I am back in the blogosphere!