As my time and my
classes here at University of Manchester come to an end, I would like to
reflect on what I have learned, specifically in my Digital Society module. This
class provided me with a very unique learning experience combined with
information I believe can really help me to transition into a professional
setting. Living in such a digital world, it is important to understand the
importance of technology and learn how to use it to your best advantage and I
really learned how to do that through this class. I also was able to get some
real world experience, which was a unique experience and something I had never
done in a class before. Overall I am very happy that when I was searching
aimlessly through the modules available for me to enroll in, I scrolled across
this one.
As I mentioned
before I was able to work with an actual client on a brief. A group of other
students and I worked on a project for Ragged University. Ragged University is
a solely volunteer run organization that “provides a platform for the free exchange of knowledge
and skills in social spaces. It is about getting people who love what they do
to share what they have invested their time in an informal setting so we can
all enjoy and learn from it” (Ragged Online). It was a different experience for
me because I had never been in a fairly professional setting like this, where I
had to meet with the client, find out what he wanted, work with the group (who
were essentially like my co-workers), and get the job done. The main goal for
our group was to find and post free events that were happening around
Manchester. By becoming sort of a community message board, more people could
discover and attend these events. Ragged is successful in other parts of the UK
but through sharing these events knowledge of Ragged will hopefully spread in
Manchester and make people more aware of the organization and what they stand
for. This was truly an experience for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with
the other students in my class and Ragged. The organization basically uses
solely media to get the word out there, through Facebook, twitter, and their
blog. Technology is extremely important for the organization to share
information and to successfully run, as it is for many organizations and
businesses.
As technology plays a huge part
in the success of Ragged University it also plays a huge part in other
businesses as well, I learned a lot about the future of the professional world
and how technology is changing the working world. It is true that the work force
is becoming more computerized and more technology driven. Through learning
about technology and how we can use it to benefit us we can successfully become
part of this tech-driven working world. As one of our guest lecturers Paul
Harrison preached, sites like LinkedIn can be hugely beneficial to those
entering the professional world. If I learned anything from this class it is
how important it is to utilize the tools we have available to us. LinkIn
provides an entire network that without technology we would have no access to.
In recent years LinkedIn has “emerged as one of the most powerful business tools on the planet” (Hempel).
It is obvious that sites such as LinkedIn are a result of the changing industry
and a but also are changing the industry themselves. “LinkedIn has already disrupted the traditional recruiting industry”
and we can see that there is a more digital way to go about finding a job,
sharing work that you have done, and gaining credibility (Hempel). Paul taught
our class how exactly to create that perfect profile to gain attention,
positive attention, from employers. Although my LinkedIn profile may not be up
to Paul’s standards yet, I now have knowledge about how to change that and how
to improve my professional digital footprint. As a college student that is
looking to enter the professional workforce in the next few years, specifically
in a media driven field, it is important to understand how workforce is
changing. As a student that has taken this Digital Society class, I can say I believe
I have the upper-hand, because I have become more aware of these changes to the
industry and I have learned how to use these changes to benefit my career. From
improving my online presence for a more professional viewer to understanding
how to create a website and how to legally use copyrighted material, I have a
greater knowledge of how all of these skills will benefit my future in this
digital age.
All of the skills I have mentioned are important in our every day lives as
well. One thing that I learned a lot about is copyrighted material and what
exactly is allowed and what is not. Copyrighting is important because even just
on this personal blog I could unintentionally violate copyright laws. We as
consumers and creators on the internet are constantly posting and sharing and
discovering new things on the web and I can almost guarantee that at some point
in this flurry of internet activity, a copyright law has been violated. Because
we live in such a technology driven world we have access to content that we
have never had before and because of this “Technology and copyright have a
complex relationship. New waves of technology have created novel expressive
opportunities and dramatic improvements in the ability to distribute copyrighted
works. But new technology rarely asks permission, and with each technical
advance, we have seen new opportunities and new clashes” (Picker, 30). As I
learned in lecture the copyright laws are a little old-fashioned and have not
been thoroughly revised for the digital age we are living in. With so many outlets
for content to be shared it is impossible for the outdated laws to catch all of
the violations. But because the laws are outdated they also focus on things
that are not major issues and don’t protect things that they should be
protecting. There are new drafts to these laws that will hopefully bring them
to a more modern and digital era. Until then steer clear of posting any content
that you have any doubts about, no one wants to be fined for sharing a picture
they didn't have the rights to.
Overall this class has taught
me a lot about how to deal with the digital age we live in today. I have a
greater understanding of what it means to live in this digital world and what
kind of digital footprint I am leaving behind. Every skill that I have learned
can be applied to some aspect of my life, I can create a better LinkedIn
profile for my professional life, I know how to create a simple website or blog,
and how to avoid copyright violations when making these websites. We live in a
time when technology is very important and gaining a greater understanding of
what that means can help make the most of it.
Sources:
Picker, Randal C.
"The Yin and Yang of Copyright and Technology." Communications of
the ACM 1 Jan. 2012: 30-32.
"About
Ragged…." The Ragged University Free Learning For All. Web. 17 May
2014.
Hempel, Jessi.
"LinkedIn: How It's Changing Business (AND HOW TO MAKE IT WORK FOR
YOU)." Fortune 1 July 2013: 68. Web.
Harrison, Paul.
"The Future of Work." The Digital Society. University of Manchester,
Manchester. 25 Mar. 2014. Lecture.
