Along with Adrianne, this week I had the chance to be media curator. I really enjoyed it, because I love using social media and found it super fun to keep the class up to date on everything.
I had the most fun with Twitter, because I have not used it since high school, so it was fun figuring out how to use it again. I also found that it should be a way more relevant social media platform for me considering I am a Public Relations major and Twitter is a large communicator of a variety of topics. I was also inspired by Adam to use GIFs in my tweets which made tweeting way more fun and way more distracting.
I also had a lot of fun on Instagram. Instagram is my favorite and most used app on my phone, and it usually takes me hours to post on my personal Instagram because I overthink editing, captions, etc. So, it was nice to just post fun pictures without having to think too much about it. My goal was to post pictures people in the class would want to see on their feed as well as some personal pictures which I felt gave a glimpse into my life in iphoto. I also found myself getting nostalgic when going through my photos, so I had to post pictures from my semester abroad in Florence this past Fall.
As for Spotify, I enjoyed creating a playlist that had a variety of music genres. I never really stick to one genre when I listen to music, so it was fun to combine a bunch of songs into one playlist. I tried to pick songs that “never get old” to me because I find myself going back and listening to those songs when I am working or studying or even walking to class. I also had fun putting in some “throwback” songs because who doesn’t love those?
Overall, I had such a fun experience as media curator!
-Ali Aston
Ali!
I am also a Public Relations major and I totally agree with you about Twitter, I found I should use it more since it’s a very common PR tool. I loved your Spotify playlist! There are so many songs in your playlist I haven’t heard in such a long time and thanks to you I have added to my playlist! I also loved the pictures you posted about your trip to Florence! It looks like it must have been a great experience.
-Ana 🙂
Hey Ali,
I am in the middle of my curator week right now and am very intrigued with your gif idea for tweets. I agree that using Instagram with the Rhetoric of the iPhone account has been so nice not having to worry about likes or how edited the picture looks. Your Spotify playlist is killer, Im a huge fan of the old school Kings of Leon.
– Jack
Ali,
This stuck out to me in your reflection:
“It was nice to just post fun pictures without having to think too much about it.”
That’s an intriguing concept to me. It’s interesting how we, as “authors” of our own content, are socially obligated to put so much thought into our own social media. It’s a way of personal branding, and the idea of not thinking about it is refreshing. It might be why “Finstas” were so popular for a while — they allow people to be themselves!
On another note, I found your playlist refreshing. I’m a rap music lover, but it’s great to see someone emphasize other genres — this has been a very rap-centric class.
Keep up the good work!
Best,
Ezra
Ali,
I share the same sentiments with you in regards to Twitter: I too have not used it since high school and I think I spent a few hours trying to change my Twitter profile picture to not show an egg. As for Instagram, it seems that I had the same train of thought as you. Although I don’t use Instagram and I was still trying to find material to post, I didn’t feel restrained in what I could and could not post. That was one of the reasons why I posted a banana I bought from H-E-B.
Nice Job!
– Shannon
Hey Ali,
I agree that the fact we are able to post GIFs on Twitter makes it so much fun. I am not a big Twitter user but I’ve been trying to get into it these days. Also, I loved your photos of Florence! I enjoy traveling, exploring different cultures, and trying different food. Your spotify playlist was really cool and I definitely enjoyed some of those “throwback” songs.
Great job!
Tiffany
Hi Ali,
Just wanted to say that I also liked your pictures of Florence. It is actually my favorite city in the world and the gelato and rooftops are exactly what I remember the most about there.
Juan
Hi, Ali,
You could tell that Ed Sheeran’s new album had come out around the time of this week–both you and Adrianne put in your playlist, but I agree with Ezra–it’s nice to see some other genres represented, and I think this week inspired some later curators to be more wide-ranging in their tastes.
I also liked hearing about your experience with Instagram and Twitter. Thanks for sharing your unique perspective with the class!
Hey Ali,
I also had to figure out how to use Twitter again. I have an account but I rarely use it other than to see what others post, so it was a different experience to actually be active on Twitter. Instagram is also my favorite app and it was easier for me to use. It’s cool to learn you spent a semester abroad, I am going to Italy after the semester is over..I hope I can take a short trip to Florence. I really enjoyed your Spotify playlist, you have a lot of songs that I like!
-Johana
Ali,
I haven’t used Twitter in ages, it’s just too saturated with weird retweets and uninteresting ads, so using it for my week was pretty strange too. I wish I thought of using GIFs in my tweets as well because I feel like that convey way more emotion than a simple picture or just words.
Michael