Throughout the Social Media campaigning course I was introduced to new practical fields of the digital environment and acquired valuable knowledge. Being different in its practical essence compared to other Goldsmiths College modules, I think that the Social Media Campaigning module stands out by providing insights that students can apply not only to academic essays but to real life as well.
The frequent blog posts were also an interesting approach that provoked my thinking within all sorts of contexts – from recent protest activity, to the way I use an online platform for video editing.
As a person who works in the music industry, I was very excited to find out that, for the purpose of the blog rubric, students can choose their are of interest. The assumption that I will have to write about classical music in my established Classical Music blog was very pleasing. However, soon after that I realized that some of the topics couldn’t be related to classical music. This was the case with my first blog post but shortly before posting it I thought that music is universal and can find its place in all sorts of contexts.
What I found most motivating in the module was the fact that opportunities in the digital space are limitless. The Internet could provide amazing tips and ways to manage a problem so people should take advantage of this feature instead of using it to search for pictures of cats. This takes me to my main point in this reflective post and that is Crowd-funding. If I was asked which of the covered topic was most interesting, I would point Crowd-Funding without hesitation. Not only because it is perfectly applicable to my area of interest but also because it provided me with insights about my profession in the music industry, where this sort of funding is considered as ‘the next big thing’. After a research, I discovered that this has been a successful approach, adapted by many classical musicians and makes me believe that in a century when less and less people buy CDs paying for a product before its release is becoming more and more adequate. This knowledge was very applicable to my profession and even started a discussion at my office about should this approach be adapted for some projects next year.
The course and the frequent blog-posting provoked me to think further about how to improve my Internet marketing skills. The variety of exercises during classes thought me that there is always something more to learn and that even if I feel that I have a skill it can always be improved and enriched by extending my knowledge. This was the exact case with my Social Media project, where I applied a new targeting technique which was quite successful. In that case, I can assume that the Social Media Course made me escape my ‘comfort zone’ and search for new ideas.
Applying module topics to classical music also provided me with a wider understanding of this particular industry. It showed my area of interest as an evolving industry that is still way behind the ‘digital age’ but, however, is investing a lot of efforts to get closer to the modern consumer.
Applying everything discussed in class to my passion for classical music and writing blog posts about it also helped me understand and remember the material. It seems that passion is the easiest way to acquire knowledge.