new media drivers license

Social License?

In my four years of college, this may have been one of the best classes I have ever taken. I was able to learn a lot of useful information, and brush up on my online communication skills. This course was also very flexible and enjoyable, allowing me to use everyday social networks to complete assignments and communicate with my professor. With assignments due at the end of each week, this course introduces new and exciting topics geared toward online social mediums and how to use them effectively.

I have created a short presentation that takes a walk through my new media drivers training! Here is a brief outline:

Why I enrolled in the course. What I expected. Beginning thoughts, etc..
Getting started. Blog. Facebook. Twitter. Google. The New Media Drivers License course. Etc.
How Ive managed to use my blog for more than classwork.
Closing remarks. Etc.

LOL…so of course my presentation will be a little more structured…but you get the drift! This course was definitely worth the time and the money (credits cost loads of MULA!), so hopefully this post will encourage other students to sign up!

Kind of a BIG Read…

Like any other college level course, you are asked to read a few books, write a few blog posts (sike), give a few educated guesses to some question, and much more.

OK…well unlike any other college course, in New Media Driver’s License, you are asked to read David Meerman Scott’s “New Rules of Marketing & PR”, write a press release promoting his book, make a blog post (seriously now), and much more!

But the cool part is that this book is actually interesting, and very non-textbook-ish 🙂 It’s actually a well written guide to online marketing! It offers incite to setting up blogs, podcast’s, social bookmarking, affordable and effective ways to reach target audiences, and much more.

So if you are interested in pursuing a career under the communications umbrella, then I would definitely recommend you read The New Rules of Marketing and PR. The skills you will acquire, and information you will receive are becoming a necessity in today’s job market.

I chose to get free press for this book by visiting PR.com. Although not completely satisfied with the site as a whole (kind of difficult to navigate), I was able to submit the press release I wrote discussing the book:

EAST LANSING, MI – Offered through Michigan State University, The New Media Driver’s License course is host to a new type of learning. Trashing the conventional textbook/lecture type of class setting, this course offers hands-on activities using social networking websites, and a single, very non-textbook styled reading about Marketing and Public Relations.

Led by digital marketer and CEO of Ann Arbor-based Ingenex Digital Marketing, Derek Mehraban, this course is structured around David Meerman Scott’s book “The New Rules of Marketing & PR”. This book introduces topics such as how to use news releases, blogs and podcasting, viral marketing, and online media to reach buyers directly.

Certainly a great read, this book provides readers with useful tips and tools to make an impact on the rapidly growing information age. Scott, a very intuitive and stimulating author, discuss the major aspects of media marketing and social networking. He breaks down the components of blogs, search engine optimization, podcasts, social bookmarking site, and much more. Easy to understand and interesting enough to dive into, it provides necessary and detailed solutions to almost any problem you may incur dealing with online media.

These new rules mentioned in Scott’s book show developed strategies on how to save money on advertising, not have to beg for mainstream media attention, and also market directly to your target audience.

Be a few steps ahead of your closest competitor, and implement Scott’s new rules today!

For more information on David Meerman Scott’s New Rules of Marketing & PR, visit www.davidmeermanscott.com. For additional information about MSU and the New Media Drivers License course visit www.msu.edu and www.thedigitalbus.com/new-media-drivers-license.

I also promoted Scott’s book on Digg.com!

Check him out! Great Read!

All the COOL kids are doing it…

So I mentioned under my “Meet Taylor” page, that this blog was created for my New Media Driver’s License class. This class is beyond AMAZING so far, and I am very pleased with all the information I have been receiving. With that said, YOU should register for this course.

WHY? Ok here are a few reasons:

If you are reading this blog, then you obviously have some knowledge of the technological advances in communication, or you’re pretty swift at navigating the internet in general. You probably are also pretty jealous you don’t have a blog of your own, or if you do have one, it’s not as COOL AS MINE, and it wasn’t for HOMEWORK!

This class teaches you how to navigate through various digital media communication tools such as Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. It also teaches you how to explore various web bookmarking sites (so…who knew what that was before this course? Not me. LOL) like Delicious.com and Digg.com.

If you’re creative, open to learning new technology, socially blessed, and familiar with the rapid change of communication objectives around the world, then you probably want to take this class. Make one of our friends take this course with you! It will be fun, and only meets TWICE a semester!!!! Yeah, you’ll have weekly work, but nothing compared to the crap you do in regular classes with text books and lectures.

Seriously, if you are looking for a few extra college credits, or just want to be a few steps ahead of the folks in competition for your next job (LOL), this class would definitely benefit you. This may be the only class in the world that involves Facebook as homework!

The Professor pretty cool too; Derek Mehraban.

Informative, useful and fun…can’t get any better huh? Join today (ADV492 section 701)

Cool SEO Tools

How cool is this? We had to write a post about exactly what SEO’s are and our experiences with them. If you are anything like me, you probably want to read about them yourself. No problem, click HERE.

For everyone else, SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. SEO’s work to improve website performance when being searched on Google.com. Its basically like a guide to effective internet advertising that helps you set your page up to be search friendly.

There are plenty FREE online SEO tools that can help you get your page up and runing as effectively as possible. For example, SEOmoz.org is home to over twenty free SEO tools such as on-page targeting, and keyword difficulty.

So yeah, this was a pretty cool topic this week because it teaches a bunch of stuff, mostly organization. SEO’s are very helpful and effective in making your website easy to find, navigate, and explore!

We also looked into two social bookmarking sites; Digg.com and Delcious.com. Check them out to find popular websites about anything!

Not your typical drivers license

New Media Drivers license is a course designed to teach people about internet media and useful communication tools. Introducing a multitude of potential free advertising and networking websites, this course can be used for both business and pleasure.

This class uses online communities such as Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and Linkedin (to name a few) to help people explore the internet and various business markets. These online mediums also help people make connections with other people all over the world, and strengthen their network.

OK…so enough boring disclaimer stuff. This class is pretty amazing thus far. Any class where you are required to use social realms like facebook, can be nothing more than the greatest.

No exams, minimal homework, and lots of interaction!

Personally I wish this class had separate tiers and concentrations, like a series, so that I could take this course each year. I definitely recommend this course for students and business men/women, especially given the new demand of internet savvy individuals in the job market.

Another cool aspect is that upon successful (yes, you have to do your work, and do it well) completion of the course you get a Media Drivers License. SO…that means tell all your potential employers you are licensed to drive media…LOL…no seriously!