Centrelink Visit

In my journalism degree, I have been taught the skill of observing. Simply looking at your surroundings and taking in what's going on. What better place to observe than a centrelink office. I'm sitting in the front row of a row of four. The rows behind me are filled with many interesting and diverse types. You have the pregnant mother with a fresh baby in a pram. You have the bogan teenage couple wearing gangsta hats with an array of horrible tatoos, complete with the southern cross of course. You have the elderly woman who is sitting there silently pondering deeply about who knows what. Then you have the broke uni students, of which I'm unfortunately a part of. There's nothing about this experience that is slightly enjoyable. The weather is miserable outside, so the building has an aroma of dampness infused with body odour. The unbearable tunes of Shannon Noll on the annoying speaker above my head is the icing on the cake. Current waiting time: 25 minutes. Who knows how long it will take, I don't, the staff who sit there twiddling their thumbs don't, the government has no idea either. I shouldn't complain, as the piddly assistance I do receive from this godforsaken system provides me with the privilege to buy raspberries on the odd occasion, but seriously Australian government, you need to take a long hard look at this so called assistance system you provide. I know I've only mentioned the horrible atmosphere of a centrelink office, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

Luke Royes

ABC Online Journalist, Luke Royes

So I was just about to sit down and write about ABC journalist Luke Royes media conference. I was a bit on the peckish side so I decided to have a snoop around in the fridge in hope of finding a bit of food for thought. Being a broke university student, I had to search the fridge and cupboard, close both, lower expectations and repeat. On my second search, I noticed something I hadn’t the first time. My yoghurt, baked beans, Campbell’s chicken stock and Uncle Toby’s Oats all wanted me to follow them on Facebook. I thought, really? Seriously, there is no escaping this little blue lower case f. This ramble brings me back to the point of this post, Luke Royes's media conference.

Luke gave an insightful and educational conference about the social media phenomenon. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and more recently Pinterest and Instagram have an undeniable presence and influence in the workforce. Social media has the potential to make or break you, so it’s important to know the ins and outs before immersing yourself in its addictive powers. Just remember, any material posted on social media is irreversible and open to millions of people around the globe to criticize and speculate. Whether it’s a nude photo scandal or a snide comment about an influential figure, it could stay with you for the rest of your life. Now sorry I may have scared you there, but in my humble opinion (and Luke’s) social media is something to embrace, not run away and hide from, you just need to be clever and cautious.

From an employment perspective, these days it considered normal for potential bosses to follow your movements via social media platforms. Luke was scouted for a position as an ABC online journalist just through the material he posted on Twitter. In this case, social media had a positive impact however it’s important to note the reverse. Luke shared a personal negative social media experience with us, where a comment he made landed him in a lot of strife. This is a similar situation to when companies experience public relations crisises and damage control needs to take immediate affect. The advice Luke gave for personal damage control, was accept that you were in the wrong, avoid denial and carry on as normal.

At the moment, I’m an active Facebook, Pinterest and Instragram user (I’m working on Twitter). I don’t know whether this is sad to admit or not, but if I forget to bring my iPhone with me, I feel disconnected from the world and not to mention extremely bored. I understand the whole “There’s more to life than the glow of your iPhone screen and the social media obsession that comes with it”, but whether you like it or not, social media is a growing phenomenon that a journalism/communications university student simply must be a part of. We can only expect more of “Follow on Facebook”, “Send us a tweet” and “Check out our blog”. As I say every time the lotto jackpots to an insanely large amount, you gotta be in it to win it! 

Here's some of the links Luke suggested we have a browse of, I found them quite interesting and helpful! 

How to make your twitter profile stand out click here
10 Best Pinterest practices click here
Communication Council: Social Media Code of Conduct Guide click here