Social Media Resume Assignment :: COMM 4633 and SPC 4350

Image Credit: "Resume T-shirt" by SOCIALisBETTER

One of the ways college grads are helping to market themselves is through creating a social media resume. Dan Schwabel shares some excellent advice on social media resumes in a blog post at Mashable.

Using a free online site like WixWeeblyVisualCV, Google Sites or a new WordPress blog, create a social media resume for yourself.

At a minimum, include/embed the following:

Optional items to enhance your social media resume include:

  • A selection of  photos you have taken, to show your photography skills. (You may wish to put these in a slideshow format using Picasa or PPT/ SlideShare.)
  • Links to client work you have produced
  • Links to the social bookmarks you have created
  • Links to Facebook fan pages or groups that you have created and maintain
  • A Wordle of key words that describe you
  • The “Viral” Video you created for this class (if you chose to do one), or another video you have created
  • A social media monitoring report that you have created (to show your social media research skills)
  • A short video in which you introduce yourself to potential employers
  • A link to your Twitter stream (but only if it’s 100% appropriate for a potential employer to view)

Social Media Paper :: COMM 4633 and SPC 4350

Writing words.. by _StaR_DusT_.

For those students in Social Media for PR who choose not to complete a “Viral” Video as part of a team, there is another option. You can write a short paper on an aspect of social media in public relations. Topics for your paper could include virtually anything we’ve read about as part of our course; look through A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization: Strategies, Tactics, and Tools for Succeeding in the Social Web or Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies for ideas. Consider what’s most interesting to you or what you are most passionate about. Even consider what’s most confusing about social media. You could write a case study or a literature review, if you wish, as your paper.

Guidelines

Podcast Assignment :: COMM 4633 and SPC 4350

Image Credit: "untitled" by Jim Rafferty

Plan, record, edit and create a 5-10 minute podcast about some aspect of the topic of public relations. Students will work either alone or in self-selected teams of two to three each.

If you are working alone, you just need to create this one podcast. If you are working as part of a team, create this one podcast AND provide a plan for creating at least four more podcasts; you’ll only record/create this one, however, for the assignment.

Podcasting Tips

  • Keep the podcast conversational. Use an outline of talking points; do not read from a script. Talk to the audience as “you” – as if you’re having a one-on-one conversation.
  • Establish a regular structure for your podcasts.
  • Unless you can edit your mistakes without the listener noticing, record your podcast in one take.
  • Show your own interest in the topic through your tone and by explaining why the content matters.
  • See Tiffany Gallicano’s additional tips that she provided to her University of Oregon students.

Structure

  • Introduction elements (in various order):
    • Theme music
    • The show’s name (include show number and date for subscribers)
    • The host’s name
    • Sponsors (if applicable)
  • Body of podcast
    • Create your own content. (You may wish to use one of your Topics of the Week or PR Connections as a starting point for ideas.)
    • OR, interview a PR professional
  • Potential close:
    • Respond to listeners’ questions and comments
    • Theme music
    • The show’s name
    • The host’s name
    • Next show
    • Special thanks
    • Farewell

Show Notes
Show notes are like a table of contents & credit for the podcast. Use them to tell listeners what you’re covering and provide time codes so that listeners can jump to a particular section. Show notes also help people find you on search engines. Also, for this assignment, the show notes are how I will know which role each team member performed. Donna Pappacosts provides tips on creating show notes.

NOTE: Many, many thanks to Tiffany Gallicano at University of Oregon, who gave me permission to use her assignment for my class. I have made only minor tweaks to her original assignment (which appears at her The PR Post blog.)

“Viral” Video Assignment :: COMM 4633 and SPC 4350

Objectives

Plan, shoot, edit and create a short video with the potential to “go viral” about the topic of public relations. The client for this project is your Comm Dept (unless otherwise cleared with me), and the video will serve as a recruitment tool for the client. Students will work in self-selected teams of two to four each. Each member in the team receives the same grade earned for the video.

Students choosing not to do a “Viral” Video have the option of writing a traditional paper on some aspect of social media including, but not limited to, viral videos.


Technical Notes

  • Use a Flip video camera or something similar. (You *may* be able to use the video from your digital camera or phone. Send me a sample if you question whether the quality is high enough.)
  • Length must be between 1-4 minutes (no more, no less)
  • Obscene material prohibited – push the envelope but keep in mind the public relations purpose of video
  • Prominently mention/show the client so viewers know what the video is about if unfamiliar with the client
  • Credits somewhere in the video (preferably at the end) must list all the names of the team members
  • Any music or material used must be done so legally (permission from artist) – provide credit for work used
    o Review Creative Commons licenses on images on Flickr or other image sites
    o Find music at http://is.gd/fqaohttp://www.jamendo.com/en/ and http://www.podsafeaudio.com/
  • Write a short description and provide key words to accompany video when it goes on YouTube

Tips

  • Understand the audience – inside jokes are good, but not so much if it leaves majority out
  • Be informational while entertaining, consider a humorous or musical approach
  • Use other videos as inspiration, but do not completely copy content or concept
  • Save and back-up all project files often

Sample Viral Videos

There is no “right way” to do this project. Be creative. Do it well.

Popular viral videos can inspire (not copy):

Bonus Opportunity
Each video will be posted on a YouTube channel.  There will also a class competition, with the winners determined on the last day of class. The video that receives the most views on YouTube by the last day of class will get +2 points of adjustment to the viral video project grade. The video in second place with the second most number of views will get a +1 point adjustment to the viral video project grade.

NOTE: Many, many thanks to Kaye Sweetser at University of Georgia, who gave me permission to use her assignment for my class. I have made only minor tweaks to her original assignment (which appears at her So This is Mass Communication? blog.)