Facebook as my Social Media Resume

Facebook was created in 2004, originally founded by Mark Zuckerberg. The website isn't even a decade old and has already attained global status with over 800 million users. Time Magazine named Zuckerberg Person of the Year in 2010.

If that fun fact wasn't enough to convince you that Facebook has changed the world, I'll continue: Everybody has a Facebook account - it's rare to meet someone who hasn't created one. Aunts, uncles, grandmothers, and acquaintances all fall into that dreaded (and usually massive) "friends list." A friend of mine went so far as to create a Facebook profile page for her dog. Facebook is an attractive way to re-create ourselves over the internet as we please through profile pictures, photo albums, and status updates. However, Facebook isn't as materialistic as it appears. The website allows us to keep in constant communication with friends and family worldwide. My aunt, uncle, and cousin all live in the Cayman Islands and we use Facebook to share photos and send messages, because we only get to visit with each other once a year, if we're lucky.

The connections that we create with others through social media are substantial and life-long, or as long as Facebook remains on the web. Today in ALES 204, we learned how to use social media as a professional tool - through the creation of a Facebook page, which is essentially a resume for the public to see. Facebook pages show up when people type a person's name in the Facebook search tab, which may become a tactic for future employers to take an online peek at who they may be hiring. In the future, I hope to pursue a job in the health sector. If I chose to create a Facebook page for my business, it would allow me to advertise to potential clientele for services such as nutritional counselling or personal training. When more people "like" a Facebook Page, it improves the odds of that Facebook Page to appear higher up in the search results.

Figure 1: Screenshot of professional Facebook page

From Lindsay Gervais (2012), Location [digital image]

Retrieved January 24 2012 from http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lindsay-Gervais/334939086538086?sk=info

A company that caught my eye for their effective internet marketing is HolisFit. Located in Kelowna, British Columbia, HolisFit is a small business run by two women who strive to inform others of holistic nutrition, while offering nutritional consulting and personal training. The homepage of their website even includes a blog, which is updated daily to inform their clients about new holistic nutrition information! They also created a HolisFit Facebook Page which allows people to connect with them through social media, with links to their daily blog posts on the "Wall" of their Facebook Page. This is an example of how social media is intertwined and connected - the Facebook page connects to their website, which also contains a blog.

Check out Courtney's blog post about her new Facebook Page! She's another student in our ALES204 interested in pursuing a career specializing in Human Nutrition.

Self-Intro

Hi, I'm Lindsay Gervais and this is my first blog post for my ALES204 "Communication Theory and Practise" class, which should be interesting considering how our world revolves around social media! I'm your average nineteen-year-old with a huge obsession with nutrition, enrolled in my second year at the University of Alberta, majoring in Nutrition and Food Sciences with a Phys Ed minor. I moved to Edmonton from Calgary in September of 2010, solely due to the fact that the UofC lacks a Nutrition program. I'm hoping to transfer into the Nutrition major after this semester, aiming to pursue a career related to sports nutrition, leaning more towards a holistic perspective.

I've always believed that life should be full of balance - I know that sounds cliché, but it's true! In order to fully experience all aspects of life, including travel, cooking, recreation (and many more) we must take care of ourselves first and foremost. Taking care of ourselves requires a combination of proper nutrition and physical activity. With those simple aspects under control, I have noticed that I've become more self-confident, less stressed out (Bikram yoga works wonders), and am generally more satisfied with life. My interest in holistic nutrition stems from our society's obvious dependence on prescription medications, which often mask symptoms as opposed to discovering the root cause of the illness.

Outside of school, I'm currently employed part-time at the gym on campus at the UofA. I love my job, because it has considerably helped to improve my communication skills by spending entire shifts talking to other students who also love to exercise. Complete strangers have become new friends that I always run into on campus and around Edmonton. I'm a huge fan of the great outdoors, and love to spend my summers hiking, boating, and camping. In the past few years, I've even developed an appreciation for the freezing Edmonton air, and its ability to wake me up on my way to school (literally don't even need coffee on those days). Last summer, I ran along the river valley almost every day with my friend Julie, who's also taking ALES204 this semester! In my spare time I also love to snowboard - a perk of living so close to the Rockies my whole life. All of my extra spending money in the winter months seems to go straight towards lift tickets, but it's honestly so worth it to stand up and feel as if I'm on top of the world. Some of my favorite memories come from piling a bunch of friends into a vehicle for a day of nothing but powder.

 Here's a photo from a gorgeous day of spring boarding that I took in May 2011:

Figure 1: Sunshine Village Mountain

Taken by Lindsay Gervais (2011), Location [digital image]

Retrieved January 7 2012 from Lindsay's digital camera

Although social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook are mostly used to keep in touch with friends and family, this class has already helped me to realize that social media is a multi-dimensional force, opening doors in all aspects of life. Even ski resorts such as Sunshine Village and Kimberley have their Twitter accounts to update skiiers on the snow conditions. I don't believe our generation realizes the full impact social media has on us, so hopefully this class helps to open our eyes a bit.