As always, Mass Communication Week at Texas State came and went in a blur of fantastic panels and speakers. Many panels on the schedule focused on digital media and I had no trouble attending talks that peaked my interest. The annual event featured a host of amazing speakers from leading digital media companies and organizations including National Geographic, Tumblr, The Texas Tribune and Volusion.

One of my favorite panels, Social media strategies that work, featured guest speakers George Kiel from NiceKicks.com, Annie Werner from Tumblr and Meg Turney from Rooster Teeth. These media professionals shared great insight into producing authentic content for the Internet and further connecting with audiences.

Another recurring piece of advice from this panel was understanding the value of analytics. All three agreed that it’s not enough to post great content. Having an understanding and awareness of audience engagement with that content is crucial.

Like many of my peers in this Online Media Design course, I was very excited to attend the Careers in Web Development panel discussion, featuring Josue Plaza from Bravelets, Ashley Hebler from Volusion and Glynn Jordan from Clearhead.

If I doubted the viability of a career in web development for a mass comm student before, this panel put those doubts to bed. We know that there’s a huge need for women in tech and for web developers in general, but by far the best news for me came from Glynn Jordan:

It was fantastic to see the panelists exuding so much passion for their careers. They offered tons of encouragement for students just starting to learn how to code. Ashley Hebler even started out exactly where I am now.

There’s nothing like feeling revitalized and inspired after hearing from young media professionals thriving in the industry. Mass Comm Week, you’ve done it again.

Check out the video recording of Social media strategies that work here and Careers in Web Development here.

 

Mass Comm Week: A Love Story