Over the semester, this class has taught me so many things about media. I learned about different types of legacy media and how that media has evolved into the media we use today. I learned about media ecology and how to “brand” my social media. The two most interesting/important things I learned from this course are how much media I use on any given day and how media is used in my future profession. These are things I will continue to think about in the future. I now have  better understanding of all types of media and realize how important media is in people’s everyday lives.

This course wasn’t what I expected it to be, but I enjoyed it a lot. The discussions were always interesting and the blogs were always thought provoking. I used to look at media on a very surface level, but this class challenged me to look at it in a whole new way. I would definitely recommend others to take this class!

I am currently double majoring in Interior Design and Landscape Architecture, so I decided to look up how media has changed and is used with Interior Design. I first found an article by Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2016/01/15/social-media-marketing-for-interior-designers-how-to-do-it-right/#2d5808c938ef, on how interior designers can market themselves on social media. It goes through important steps when trying to brand oneself on social media. It starts with making sure to have a purpose when using social media, like trying to increase brand awareness or establishing credibility or connecting with your audience. The second step talks about picking a platform and realizing what each platform with do for the brand. It says Facebook is the widest used media platform, so it’s a safe bet for any business. It talks about Pinterest being good for sharing visual content and Twitter being a good platform to connect with other designers. The third step explains how to create image-centric content because visuals and photos are essential to any designers social media strategy. The article goes on to talk about various ways and places to get inspiration to help designers start their media brand.

The second article I found is about the five major ways technology has impacted the interior and home design profession, http://www.psfk.com/2014/09/5-ways-technology-impacts-home-interior-design.html. The article first talks about the way technology has bridged the gap between people who could and couldn’t afford a professional interior designer with the creation of online interior design websites. These websites allow people to communicate with designers and are sent links to merchandise that the designer picks out for them. It is all done over the internet using pictures and preference quizzes. The second topic the article covers is the media changed the search and discovery patterns. 40% of consumers look online to find merchandise and the creation on platforms like Pinterest make it easier now than ever before. The third impact of technology is the creation of e-commerce cites. The formation of e-commerce cites has allowed consumers to narrow down products using parameters, such as “fabric” or “price” or “color,” to find the exact product they are looking for. Popular cites like this include, Wayfair, Joss and Main, and “Hayneedle.” The fourth topic is the way technology has improved the shopping experience. It is proven that online catalogs and apps produce purchases that match and exceed those of in-store purchases. The use of new digital features, like 3D overlay and computer generated designs, and the collection of data allows companies to create websites and catalogs that make it fun and more efficient for shoppers to shop online. The fifth impacted talked about is the bridging of online and offline purchases. Companies realized where their customers were looking first and created platforms to make shopping easier for them. It demonstrates the adaptability retailers must have to appeal to the consumers. Apps like Houzz and To The Trade have allowed consumers to find one-of-a-kind items and unique products online while still having a design collaboration with a  professional interior designer.

With wanting to be an interior designer, these articles have opened my eyes to the importance media plays on this profession and how crucial it is to stay relevant with evolving technology.

I chose to do another day of the week where I monitored my media. I chose to do it on a Wednesday because I’m done with class at 11:00. I conducted it the same way I did before, but this time I was more aware of the facts that I was monitoring my media usage. The major thing I noticed was that my Netflix time went down A LOT, but my school related media went up a lot. This was due to the fact that I had a psych test, a math test, a basic skills test, and an essay due the next day, so I was basically holed-up in my dorm and studied. I still watched some Netflix, but it was mostly during meal times (the only breaks from studying I took that day) and before I went to bed. The school related media I used was mostly email, word, various school websites, and my online textbooks. I had like 12 tabs open on my computer at one time. My time spent on Instagram and Snapchat didn’t change much. I still did little, periodical checks during my studying. Because I did have so much due the next day, it made me wish I had picked a different day because that’s not how my normal day goes, but it was interesting to see how much media I used when I did have a lot going on.

I decided to log Friday and Saturday because those were the two days I thought I would use media the most, so I was interested to see how much media I used on the days I used it the most. I thought I would use it more on Saturday than on Friday, but I was surprised to find out it was the opposite.

I used social media for the first time at 9:00 am when I woke up and scrolled through Instagram, pretty much the first thing I do every morning. I continued to use media throughout the day, like listening to music while walking from class to chilling in my dorm watching Netflix. I had a lot of homework to due this weekend, so naturally I procrastinated and watched a lot of Netflix. That was pretty much all I did Friday because I’m done with class at 12:00. I periodically checked my various social media accounts throughout the day, mostly just Instagram and Snapchat. I went to dinner and hung out with friends Friday night, so I really wasn’t on social media too much after 7:00 except to take a snapchat or two with one of my friends.

On Saturday, I continued to put off homework by watching Netflix and online shopping. I got on Instagram when I woke up like usual, but I didn’t check it again until around mid-afternoon. When I did get on it again, I (regretfully) spent about 15 minutes scrolling through the explore page looking at random accounts. I started to do some homework, so I made sure to put my phone away for a while. I got dinner with my sister, and then went to my friend’s dorm beside me to paint and relax with a couple of friends from our hall. I used social media occasionally to snap what I was doing to some of my friends and family back home. I got on social media and watched a little bit of Netflix before I went to bed.

This blog assignment was really interesting because I was able to see how much time I spent on media. It also opened my eyes to what could be considered media. I realized that I waste a lot of my time on media, whether it be Instagram, Snapchat, Netflix, or Youtube. I also noticed I used media more when I had homework to do and I didn’t feel like doing it. I did pretty well with making sure to put away when I was with friends, which surprised me. I didn’t use social media as much as I thought I did; my media time was mostly spent watching Netflix. All in all, this was a pretty cool “experiment” and opened my eyes to things I wasn’t aware of before. I will definitely be monitoring my time on Netflix thanks to this!

After reading the three articles about social media branding, I felt like a social media loser because I basically don’t do anything that they were saying. I don’t “Google” myself, I don’t care enough to delete my ugly middle school Facebook pictures, and I’m pretty sure I have a different user name for all of my social media accounts. The main reason I’m so behind in my social media branding is because I don’t really look at my social media as a brand. Do I want people to get a good impression of me from my social media? Sure, but that doesn’t mean I sit there and obsess over the way it looks. There’s nothing wrong with that because the first article was right about our online voices weighing heavily these days, but I look at social media as a fun platform to share cool pictures and funny posts with people. I don’t have a huge social media following, so it isn’t really necessary for me to try and brand myself. I also don’t post frequently enough for my posts to be anything more than just a snapshot of a fun experience I had at some random time.  I’m still cautious of what I put on social media because I’ve learned the hard way (aka middle school pictures on Facebook) that what you put on social media never really goes away, but I don’t really look so deep into social media as to try and have a personal brand. I honestly wouldn’t know where to begin and am too lazy for that 🙂

This article  opened my eyes to how addicting technology can be and how I fall for it. When I read the statistic that smartphone owners check their device about 150 times a day, it made me reflect on how many times I use my phone and realize how much unproductive time I waste throughout the day being on my phone. This makes sense, though, because according to the article, creators purposefully create ways to make the user want to check his device and apps. That kind of blew my mind because I’ve never really thought about social media and technology that deeply. While this is a great business strategy, it makes me want to use their “products” less because I don’t want to play into their hands. I don’t see a real solution to this problem because so many people are already addicted to technology (including me), but I think it is important to realize when too much is too much. The concept of apps and media as being “junk food” is incredibly accurate because at a point it becomes unhealthy and addictive. While I don’t think I would pay for an app to control my usage, I do think it would be beneficial for something to be done. Harris’s envision for more user-controlled tech is a step in the right direction.

I decided to interview my sister because she is similar in age to me but we have totally different personalities, so I was curious to see if that could cause us to have different social media habits.

She started off by telling me her favorite social media platforms are Instagram and Snapchat which is very similar to me, as those are the only two I use daily. I soon realized that we have similarities and differences in our social media habits. For example, we both check Instagram daily but rarely post. However, my idea of rarely posting is once a month and her’s is about four times a year. We both use Snapchat to keep in contact with people, but I use it more for friends and she uses it more for family. We both agreed that we find ourselves using social media more when we’re bored.

We differ mostly in that she is willing to give up social media and I am not. For Lent, she gives up social media and will randomly decide to get off social media for a time. I, however, really wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t have social media to turn to during my times of boredom.  She is also very picky about who she lets follow her, where as I will let someone follow me as long as I have heard of them or they are a friend of a friend.

This probe was an interesting one because it was cool to look at someone else’s social media habits and compare them to your’s. It gave me a chance to reflect on my habits and see if I could improve or change the way I use social media in any way.

I’ve had a love hate relationship with social media over the years. My first introduction to social media was Facebook, like many people my age. I was somewhat late to joining Facebook because my dad wouldn’t let me, so I went behind his back and did it anyway. I was never super active on Facebook, but I would occasionally post a picture or leave a comment, which after going back and reading them I really regret. Facebook got me familiar with social media, so when I got Instagram I knew the deal. Instagram is my favorite social media “platform.” If you see me on my phone chances are I’m scrolling through Instagram.

Social media, for the most part, is helpful and useful, but it definitely causes false pretenses and “addiction” if you will. I don’t really have a problem with the first one. I don’t post often, so when I do it’s usually a picture that means something and not just a ploy for “likes” or “followers.” Of course I want people to like what I post, but I’m not the kind of person to let it dictate what I do. I do, however, suffer from social media addiction. It’s not so much that I’m posting a lot, it’s more of me just scrolling through my feed or looking on Instagram’s explore page or reading funny tweets on twitter.  I’m constantly getting in trouble for going over my data limit because I’m usually on my phone looking at social media.

I don’t think social media was created with the thoughts in mind. I think it was created to make the modern world more accessible and have a fun way to communicate with others, but overtime it has turned into something that needs to be managed. I think as long as you realize it is a virtual world and doesn’t define you or your time then it is something that can be enjoyed and used properly.

Media ecology is defined as the study of media as environments, and the media ecology of UGA and my high school differ greatly. I think it’s mainly because the drastic size difference. I graduated in a class of 89 people. The small class size made it easier for students to communicate with their teachers personally and rendered websites like eLC and Emma practically useless. If you needed to talk to a teacher or do an assignment, it was much easier to doit in personally or over email than use some special website.

The main similarity in my high school and UGA’s media ecology is the use of email. I talked about this in my last blog, but if I had to communicate with my teachers outside of school or turn in an assignment, it was usually via email. One reason being that this was the fastest form of communication, and another being that my high school wasn’t very technologically advanced to where we had various websites to use. I also used GroupMe now similarly to the way I did in high school. It was mostly for clubs or a group project.

I went to a public high school, so I think it was important to the teachers that every student have equal opportunity and making something be turned in electronically wasn’t always fair to every student. Some didn’t have computers or wifi at home, and I think that was a major factor in choosing to not have a lot of media used at my high school. You were able to use the technology if you had it though, which is similar to here. Not every teacher allowed technology, but most tried to be as modern as possible and allow it.

When I first came here and tried to grasp the multiple websites I had to use, I was overwhelmed, and I’ve grown up using technology my whole life! I mean seriously, I’ve never had a phone with buttons on it, just touch screens. After getting used to it, it’s not that bad, but I wouldn’t mind if all my classes used to same website. Not the five different ones I have to check daily.

I struggle with considering email a “legacy medium.” On one hand, I rarely use email as a form of communication but on the other, I still receive a ton of emails. Email definitely hit its peak of popularity about 20 years ago, but it is still a favored way for professors and students to communicate. The article was helpful to me because I seriously struggle with email etiquette.

It’s rare that I use email to communicate with anyone other than my professors, so I’m not super practiced with it. For me, I wouldn’t say writing the email itself is the hard part, it’s more about how to address the recipient. I don’t want to be too formal, but I also don’t want to be too informal. Besides that fact, I really don’t mind email as a way of communication.

In a sense email could be considered a legacy medium. I mean it has been replaced with faster communication (texting/calling), but I also think that email allows us to communicate in a way that texting or calling doesn’t. Email has evolved to stay relevant in this day and age by allowing us to share documents or pictures. I can’t count how many times in high school I would just email my teacher my assignments instead of printing them out or saving them on a flash drive. In a way, email has made flash drives a thing of the past.

All in all, I think email is still a useful tool that has just been downgraded to a specific set of uses.