Social Media Dating

In my last post, I created a timeline of a day in my life with social media. I think an interesting topic that I have not covered yet is online dating. Even dating, finding an interpersonal connection and attraction to someone, has made its way to the web.

Online Dating is nothing new, but I think it’s an interesting topic because it seems like more college students are starting to try it. Rowan is a campus with 10,000 students, and it is very likely that there is a perfect match for everyone with that many people in the pool, however, meeting that person is an overwhelming task.

Facebook has a personals application that allows you to use Facebook to connect with other singles ready to mingle on the site.

YouTube users can even search the site for user personal ads.

Here is a list of some of the most popular online dating sites.

Ok Cupid

It is a free dating site that is popular among the college age group. It has the option to connect with Facebook, and then it will take information from your profile and match you with someone with similar interests.

EHarmony
Eharmony matches couples based on a compatibility test developed from information the user enters. You can also choose different demographics based on your dating preferences. These preferences include, but are not limited to Christian Dating, Black Dating, Jewish Dating, Hispanic Dating, Senior Dating, and Local Dating.

Dating OnDemand
Comcast will send a camera crew out to bars and other local hang outs, and ask singles to answer a few questions to create a video profile. The profile is available on their site as well as on demand. Users can aslo create their own profile with a webcam or personal camcorder, and upload it to the site.

Match.com
Match.com allows users to upload 26 photos, and has free writing spaces. When perusing a profile you can see pictures as well as responses to various questions that allow you to get to know someone online. All communication occurs with an anonymous e-mail address — name and contact information are withheld until the users decide they want to share. Match.com also allows for demographic preferences.

Timeline

Social media runs my life, and everything that I need to do on a given day from school work to entertainment depends on it.

Unfortunately, Dipity was not working properly, and I decided to use Slide for the timeline. It displays the information in the best way for what I am trying to accomplish.

 

Timeline Preview

One of the most interesting things about social media, which originally attracted me to the topic is how much I use it in my daily life. Almost everything I do from homework, projects, to keeping up with friends involves being in constant communication via different types of social media.

In an upcoming post, I will include a link for a timeline created via Dipity that follows a day in my life with social media including pictures and explanations.

Dipity is a site that allows users to create interactive web timelines that include video, photos, and text to track essentially whatever the user wishes.

In order to upload photos or video, source material must be hosted on another website like Flickr or  YouTube.

Look for this timeline over the weekend.

Twitter Lists

Twitter has a new feature recently called Lists. It allows users to compile a list of twitter profiles they think are worth being followed. For example, you can make a list for the funniest twitters, college athletes, cast of Twilight, etc.

Users can subscribe to lists, and then they will be able to see all of the updates of every user on the list.

Here is a Mashable.com article all about Twitter Lists.

I created this list for Rowan twitters.

I’m on Twitter (again)!

“Tweet,” said the Prof now has its own twitter. Follow @TweetsaidProf for post updates and social media links, ideas, etc.

I’m also following all the Rowan tweets which I listed in a previous post, as well as Mashable.com, social media guide.

You can also check out my personal twitter if you are interested follow @jesslandolfi.

RTF Students Using YouTube

Radio/TV/Film (R/T/F)  majors are encouraged by professors to post their work on Youtube for the world to see. I thought about this as I read an article by Dan Schawbel, a frequent Mashable poster, about using YouTube to market yourself.

Schawbel recommends YouTube because of the effectiveness of video. He explains that you can get a great sense of who a person is by watching their videos. I agree completely. I think the same way you can tell a lot about a person from their writing, you can tell a lot about them from videos that they make.

Schawbel’s post served as inspiration for me when I decided to ask  some R/T/F majors how they feel about posting their work on YouTube and if they received any recognition or feedback from posting.

Chris Sandas of Pompton Plains,  graduated from Rowan last year. He has been posting his work to YouTube since high school. Sandas agrees that branding yourself is a vital step in getting started.”There are a handful of video and photo sites where people can show their work, and while a lot of them seem to be getting more and more popular, YouTube still seems to be one of the largest and most recognizable.”

Sandas has received some attention for his YouTube, and explained that it’s all about promoting what you’ve done. He recommends using Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media communication to promote your videos.”Every time you work on something new you’ll already have a relatively large fan base that will grow with each new project.”

Sandas also recommends deciding the purpose for your YouTube posts ahead of time. “If you’d like to mix your professional works with funny personal videos or home movies, stick to one or the other.”  “I would recommend students push themselves to attempt more and more quality videos,” said Sandas, “Consistency with the amount of work you’ve done online will be looked highly by potential employers.

Charles Ackerman of Paramus, is also Rowan Alumnus, and he said that while YouTube is a good place to start students should be careful that their work isn’t overlooked because of the quantity of videos on the site. “If you make a short film about a man who slips on a banana peel,” said Ackerman, “the only people who will find your video when first upload it are those who are either looking specifically for the video you made or are are the 190th page of search results when they do a keyword search for ‘banana’.” Ackerman explained, the more views you get will boost your video to higher on the search list, but you have to figure out how to get more views in the first place.

“YouTube has become the “America’s Funniest Home Videos” of the internet,” said Ackerman, “While everyone can enjoy a cheap laugh with ‘Tourettes Guy’ or a certain Rick Astley song, it may not be the most vibrant community for high quality, original content.”  Ackerman argued that websites like Hulu.com or Vimeo.com are better for attracting the a filmmaker-oriented community because of they allow the user to upload videos in higher quality, and have more original content.

Ackerman agreed that YouTube is good for a beginner looking to distribute their work, but he recommended also using vimeo.com as well as marketing your work using social networking sites.

Kevin McTigue is a Junior at Rowan who is currently producing his own show for the Rowan Television Network called Squirrel Man. Most episodes of Squirrel Man run under 10 minutes and will air on the network. McTigue has also chosen to put them on YouTube. “We wanted a quick, easy way for us to send the episodes to our friends and family,” said McTigue,”We want them to be seen by as many people as possible as easily as possible.”

McTigue’s post views average around 100 for each Squirrel Man episode, and all of his feedback has been positive. McTigue likes putting his work on YouTube because it becomes easily accessible. “There’s the chance that the show will develop a fanbase outside of just people we know.”

R U LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals — all business, no flare version of Facebook. Users are asked to add contacts via e-mail as a way to network.

In college, faculty and staff are always preaching to students to network, in other words, get contact information and hold onto that information from everyone you meet. The job market is rough, and when you are finally out there looking for work; knowing someone wouldn’t hurt.

Users can also upload their resume, business and contact information.

Ivan Kowalenko is a senior who has a LinkedIn profile. “I’m just maintaining an account so I have a professional ID,” said Kowenlenko. He explained that having a LinkedIn profile may help him get a job.

Katie Hipshman is a Rowan alumnus working in the Public Relations field. She regularly uses social networking sites with her job, and has a LinkedIn profile. “I think it’s a very dynamic networking tool,” said Hipshman, “It provides students access to an unlimited amount of resources that more student should take advantage of.”

Dislike option on Facebook

Rowan students rejoice! Facebook now has a dislike button coming to you via Firefox plug-in. I have received many, many invitations for groups “4 million to get a dislike button,” “we demand a dislike button” etc.

Well,  our wish was Facebook’s command.

For more information check out the Mashable.com article.

Click this link to download the plug-in https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/47023

Minutes, Minutes

Having trouble with getting your club to keep up on the minutes? Student University Programmers‘ Special Events committee has the answer.

The secretary of this committee posts all the minutes on pages within the Facebook group page. She also sends a message to everyone when it has been updated.

Sometimes college students don’t check their e-mail because they don’t get a lot of it or they forget, but Facebook is never neglected.

This is an excellent example of keeping your audience in mind.  Props to the Special Events committee.

Rowan’s Got Talent

The Rowan Television Network is working on putting together an event called Rowan’s Got Talent. The event will be a mix between American Idol and America’s Got Talent starring Rowan students.

RTN will have a casting call asking for Rowan students with talent to perform. Judges will narrow down the 20 or so who audition to five. The top five will be given the opportunity to participate in a live show where Rowan students will be voting for the winner. The show will not only be a live event, but also will be broadcast live on TV.

RTN would like to optimize social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google Forms, as well as text messages for voting. They are not sure how well this is going to go.

RTN President Adam Bradshaw thinks that it will depend on how many people are watching, and how well it is advertised.

Advertising via social media might draw that audience in, and make them more likely to participate.