Blog Group 1: Blog Post 1-The Communications Professional

Can we all agree? Technology is amazing. We have smartphones, smartphones, and smart houses. Despite what the technology luddites may say, technology has helped us become more productive and more connected. The age of digital technology has allowed globalization to occur on a grander scale than ever before. Our once vast planet has grown smaller. A business woman no longer has to travel 12+ hours on a flight to conduct international operations. Important meetings can take place over Skype or other video conferencing technology. Families once separated by oceans can upload videos to YouTube to keep their international family in the loop about their lives. When major events like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti or the uprising in Ferguson, Missouri take place we have the ability to Tweet or Facebook the events as they happening to everyone on a global scale.

            What does this all mean for the communications professional? The opportunities to forge a promising career as a professional communicator are boundless. The introduction of social media as made all of us, on some level, social media managers. We are responsible for the information we share on our various platforms. The average user of social media is not likely interested in growing a brand or creating a career out of communicating information. They just want to share videos of cute puppies, countless selfies, and pictures of their lunch. That’s fine. Part of what make social media fun is the mundane or trivial aspects we like to share with each other.

            It is the professional who understands the power of social media and uses this knowledge to grow an audience and create a trusted brand. With so much information being shared on a daily basis, there is a growing need for professional social media managers. Professional social media managers are charged with making sure the information shared online is in line with a brand, company, or public personas image and message. This requires the social media manager to be able to survey the landscape (Bensen, 2011) and cull the information that most reflects and supports their organization.

Social Media Manager Infographic

            Whether one calls herself a communications professional or social media manager, she is always learning not only the art of effective communication, but also the news tools that have made communications a 24/7 event. Our computers are now reduced to the size of a book or the palm of our hand. Creating websites are no longer complicated projects requiring high high technical knowledge. The communications professional never stops learning her craft and how to improve the art of communications.

References:

Bensen, C. (2011, March). Online community manager: A new communication role and its
             challenges. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive   
             /2011/0311/Bensen.htm
The New York Times. (2014, August 25). The New York Times. Retrieved September 26, 2014, 
            from http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/12/us/13police-shooting-of-black-teenager-
            michael-brown.html#/#time348_10369
Parr, B. (2010, January 12). Haiti earthquake: Twitter pictures sweep across the web.
           Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://mashable.com/2010/01/12/haiti-earthquake-
           pictures/Social media manager-What I think I do [photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from
           http://theaublog.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/social-media-manager-what-i-think-i-do.jpg