Social Media Internships: What’s on the other side of the digital-generational divide by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor and University of Rhode Island
1) Suzanne McDonald is a content and social media strategist who has noticed challenges that exist across the digital generational divide between digital natives and non-natives.
2) Both digital natives and non-natives face assumptions from each other - natives are assumed to be able to figure things out easily while non-natives are assumed to not understand tools and limitations.
3) Employers expect interns and new hires to have skills in areas like social media, mobile, and video, and to pick things up quickly, but warn against assuming interns can handle major responsibilities or fully understand their business without proper training.
Similar to Social Media Internships: What’s on the other side of the digital-generational divide by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor and University of Rhode Island
Similar to Social Media Internships: What’s on the other side of the digital-generational divide by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor and University of Rhode Island (20)
Social Media Internships: What’s on the other side of the digital-generational divide by Suzanne McDonald of Designated Editor and University of Rhode Island
9. www.designatededitor.com 9 quick to skill up Susan Payton President, Egg Marketing & Communications: The Marketing Eggspert, Internet Marketing firm Be quick to pick up new skills & take on more than their job description. For marketing, certainly a solid grasp of social media is necessary.
10. larger issues at hand www.designatededitor.com 10 Lionel Sim Director of Sales at TravelClick hotel e-commerce The problem often lies with the senior management who may not be that tech-savvy or inclined toward social media. These gaps and expectations will be a conflict source, especially with social media campaigns.
11. it's not all about Facebook www.designatededitor.com 11 Dave Delage Senior Web Marketing Manager, Ottawa, Canada I find most Gen Y hires coming in are very in tune with the latest technology, and are eager to apply it to any situation, without performing the due diligence... I think they need to spend more time thinking through why an idea will work.
12. don’t overlook little things www.designatededitor.com 12 Graham Clarke founder, Dealicio.com, web service for web publishers We want people that can learn, solve problems and be responsible for what they do. Good communication skills are also important. Constantly amazed by grammar and spelling errors.
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14. tools can be taught www.designatededitor.com 14 Douglas Haslam Client Services Supervisor, Voce Communications My fear is that people will say "fluent in social media" or some such nonsense. Tools can be taught. I would look for good writing skills, the ability to work quickly and creatively, and, I know this is a vague word, courage.
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16. be smarter but ... www.designatededitor.com 16 Be smarter than me when it comes to technology. It's a different world ... and anyone coming out of college knows the ins and outs way more than I do. Anyone 5 yrs younger than me knows 10x what I know about technology. I'm actually okay with it; you should learn something new everyday. AnnMarie Grohs Sales & Marketing Manager at Morton's The Steakhouse
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21. final thoughts for interns & brands www.designatededitor.com 21 For social media, you need to understand SEO, PR, writing , and have a head for quickly adopting technology and metrics. – John Cass Bring passion and intellectual curiosity, and enough confidence in your creativity that you know you can find a way to meet the task at hand. – David Berkowitz
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Editor's Notes
Thanks to Kari & Public Relations club I’m fortunate to have a unique perspective: from teaching here at URI, owning my own business, and working with a lot of businesses
Great turnout from Newport Interactive Marketers & students! NIM = networking, learning, collaborating = creating opportunities to our backyard Specialize in web 2.0, hail from the print media world
What is a digital native? People who learned to use a computer when they were 3, and the non-native learned when they were 23 or 33 Bosses, not as comfortable with tech Lack of experience, Work ethic variations: Meeting deadlines a big concern
This is the taught to test generation. Need to be patient that they expect everything to be spelled out They won’t know your business & if you don’t know your business, no tool or intern is a magic bullet Social media takes lots of time, don’t underestimate the funds it’ll take to do social well, too
Uri students De staff Gen x Social media books LinkedIn survey to crowdsource answers
You both need to be willing to figure it out. Non-natives: do a demo. Natives: work though the problem, write down questions. Both parties: meet to solve problems together
I don’t necessarily believe this, but this is feeding stereotypes and both side should be aware.
What are your assets and how do you present them? My URI Social Media Strategies students have from 500-800 Facebook friends EACH. What does that say about reach? They all carry smartphones or at least plan to by graduation Panelists confirm: Your profiles should be professional, including your friends’ comments, but not boring. If you want to work in social, plan to have a voice and be transparent.
This field is so new and everything changes so quickly, we’re all learning together. Everyone needs to adapt and learn quickly.
Dunkin Brands’ Kevin Vine echoed this during the panel discussion: “reverse mentoring” where digital natives are working with senior vice presidents to help them adapt to better meet publics’ needs.
The biggest problem I see: Social media takes time. You can’t expect the first idea to fly. And you need to be thinking beyond you. You are not the audience you want to relate to. This problem is becoming increasingly obvious across all industries … although I suspect really successful salespeople have long ago figured this out.
Again, a big problem I see in class and internships. A spelling/grammar problem is only magnified via Twitter. If you use it’s instead of its, you could completely change your meaning. And if I have to the time to edit your work before it’s published/handed off, what value are you brining anyway?
There are plenty of “social media experts” out there. Digital natives should turn the tables on their employers and do your due diligence. Make sure the internship that’s offered is going to be worth your time.
A tweet went out that echoed Doug’s thought. Voice and clear communications are not skills to be acquired during an internship. That’s what school is for. Again, we’re all trailblazing here, so be sure to have some courage. Whether digital native or emigrant, we need to drink the Kool-Aid to do meaningful work.
These skills are in demand globally, as Amy reports from the UK via my LinkedIn question. This is a very meaningful combination of skills.
Be smarter but don't make me feel stupid … love it!
Some great tips here for anyone of any age. It’s a new world out there folks.
I’m finding this is not obvious to a lot of students. I’ve had debates with several students who don’t see how social media will effect them. Heresy from comm majors, I think!
Blogging will be part of your job: cuts across industries, ages, and all aspects of your career. If you’re doing work of meaning, your employer wants you to share it. There’ll be no hiding. Let’s take accounting for example. Hearing why you need to fill out your timesheet on time is far more meaningful coming from the person who’s life becomes hell when colleagues don’t.
A point raised in a discussion group with high-level Naval officers: maybe digital natives don’t see the value because they don’t feel they have any meaningful experience to add to the conversation? Therein lies the trick: how do you apply your success in retail to the job you really want?
Social media is so new, and it didn’t come out of the blue. Understand the fundamentals. And be curious enough and care enough to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. If you can do this, you can master social media and nearly anything you apply yourself to.
Thanks for having me & hope to see you in Twitter! @Sue_DesigEditor