That was quick.
Geez, only one more week until this New Media class is over? I feel like my body has been running through it but my head is still stuck in our first week. I guess that’s summer classes for you.
I think the biggest thing I’ve discovered over this course is that I have so much to learn. I’ve never taken a new media class before, but I still considered myself pretty well-versed in the workings of the web. Au contraire. I didn’t even know who Tim Berners-Lee was before this class, and now he’s my hero. From day 1 it was clear that there is so much more out there that I’m quickly becoming aware of. This class reignited my curiosity, and is pushing me to dabble in new areas that will give me an advantage in the workplace.
For example, even though I’m not involved (or even interested really) in journalism, the discussion about how hopeful journalists should have experience with data (HTML, Excel, etc.) really hit home with me. Basically anyone looking for a career involving media should have experience with these programs and with interpreting data, including me. I am excited to start learning new programs and experimenting with new technology (if Foursquare, Gowalla, or other location-based services are the future of social media, you better believe I’ll be signing myself up). I no longer think ‘programming is for programmers’, or that I will be able to focus solely on the areas I have experience in. I need to be exposed to anything and everything related to my field, that way if it’s thrown at me in a job setting I won’t be totally blindsided.
I still feel like my brain is trying to absorb the immense amount of information that has been thrown at it in the past few weeks, but I have really enjoyed every topic we covered in class. The only additional thing I can think of that might be relevant to the course would be comparing technology adoption or dependence in different cultures (ex: U.S. vs China vs Europe’s social media use). But besides that, I’m ready to keep the ball rolling in class next semester.
