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Showing posts from January, 2024

Keeping it Dark

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Big/Little Reveal Maddy's Bid Day “We have to keep the fam dark,” these words were spoken by none other than Girard — soon to be my g-big. Running home to Alpha Xi, I knew it was where I belonged, having committed to the sorority through a suicide bid. Sorority people understand the gravity of a suicide bid, and others simply know the risk of not being placed in a sorority at all. The connections I had already made with the AXID girls were undeniable. On bid day, I sprinted straight to Polina; she and I had become very close during recruitment. So I already knew I wanted her to be my big. Taking loads of pictures — as one does on bid day — Girard mentioned to my ginger friend that they liked her, however, they had to keep the farm dark, as she looked at Polina and me taking pictures. Keeping the fam dark refers to dark brunette hair color, as Polina, Girad and I all shared. Unknowingly at the time, I became more and more nervous as the big little reveal was nearing. I knew I wanted

Viral Vlogging

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I am no stranger to social media. Spending large amounts of my day on different platforms, I had no idea the potential social media offers the average person. In chapter 12, section five, which discusses vlogs, the book mentions a popular vlogger, Neistat. Neistat caught the attention of Nike and was given a large sum of money to create a video. The video was a success, attracting even more brands to his page. He has since created content for Vogee, Mercades-Benz and J. Crew — all long-standing, extremely successful companies. While reading about Neistat and his journey, I began to think about how such iconic companies have embraced not just social media, but vlogging, into their marketing strategies. This concept intrigued me, as it seems many historic companies tend to shy away from overusing social media. While obviously all brands have some sort of presence, companies like Kendra Scott and Nike have a huge social media following. Interestingly, I had actually searched for internshi

We Are Social.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Social Media Marketing  Starting this Social Media journey off, Chapter 1 explores social media marketing. Social media marketing is how brands and companies use social media as a free marketing tool. This is a process that has swept the world off its feet, attracting us even more so to our phones. Upon further reading, it is brought to the attention of the readers that the average person spends one entire day a week on the Internet. This equates to around six hours a day on the web and around two and a half hours on social media platforms.  I found this particularly interesting because I currently run four social media accounts. The majority of these accounts are volunteer work, however, one social media page I run is a part-time job. So that statistic made me think about how I potentially compare to the average person. Typically spending around five hours a day on my phone in “creativity” or “entertainment” apps, I am spending approximately double the amoun

Internships vs. Free Labor

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  I have embarked on the challenging journey of searching for internships across various platforms, and the process has proven to be exceptionally difficult. Internships are seen as a stepping stone to employment and are supposed to expose students to the realities of their future profession. However, there are remarkably few internships that truly serve the mutual interests of both the student and the employer. With only a handful of prerequisites in mind — namely, a paid position, a collaborative work environment, and a full-time commitment — I began my internship quest on LinkedIn. What I discovered was a startling pattern within graphic design internship opportunities. While some meet all my criteria, offering full-time positions with compensation and a collaborative setting, a significant majority tend to be unpaid and part-time. This not only raises concerns for graphic designers but also casts a shadow over the creative community as a whole. Exploiting the creativity community a