We’re excited to welcome our first international guest author here on Social @ Edu, Jessica Hurford. Hurford is a Social Media Coordinator and Copywriter at Brighton College in Vancouver, British Columbia. She recently graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Simon Fraser University.
Social Media in Vancouver
For many people, using social media is deeply engrained in their everyday routine. We wake up and the first thing we do is check our mobile which instantly connects us with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you name it. In Vancouver, social media reigns! The city is highly dependent on it to stay connected and up-to-date. Vancouverites use social media for everything from social gatherings (like tweet-ups) to finding romance.
Around the city there are also numerous groups and events that have come to exist solely because of social media. The Social Media Network was designed in reaction to the overwhelming growth of social media world-wide. This network works to provide post-secondary students in Vancouver with the tools to take social media to the next level. The overarching goal here is to “stand out amidst [the] over-saturation”.[1] They feature two collegiate chapters with two of the city’s largest post-secondary institutions, Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia.
Another interesting example of the relevance of social media in Vancouver is the up and coming Social Media Awards, which was created by the Social Media Network. The event aims to not only highlight significant social media efforts within the city, but also to connect students and industry professionals in order to continue the proliferation of the social media community in Vancouver.
Social Media in Higher Education
Social media within post-secondary institutions is becoming more and more prevalent as well. Just about every single institution in the city of Vancouver and surrounding has immersed itself fully in the social media pool.
Many schools now connect with students through social media which helps to encourage a sense of community both on and off campus. Creating community within some Vancouver schools has been an ongoing issue, especially in many of Vancouver’s career colleges.
Social Media at Brighton College
At Brighton College we are currently operating across four main social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Linked In. We feel that each platform benefits the college in a specific way. For example, through Facebook we are able to interact with and answer student inquiries as well as connect directly to potential students who may be interested in certain program information. Via Linked In we have our educational advisors working to help connect students and recent graduates with employers looking to hire.
From this we can see that being knowledgeable about how to use social media is an increasing requirement to stay connected in any city, let a social media heavy city like Vancouver. Emerging are many social media training courses and programs to help facilitate this movement. For example, Brighton College currently offers a Web Marketing Specialist Diploma which instructs students about proper social media etiquette and standards as well as providing a strong marketing background for students to build upon.
When something such as social media actually begins to change the way that people think, act, and conduct business, it’s clear that a social media education is a good education to have.
[1] http://thesocialmedianetwork.ca/collegiate-chapters/