Have you ever heard of the bikini rule for teens using social media? In this interesting New York Times article, Devorah Heitner explains how youths police each other via social media with their unwritten rules. This begs the questions, "What are you 'allowed' to post, and what seems to be off-limits? Are the rules the same for boys and girls? Why or why not? Can you show me an example of a 'good' post, or a 'bad' one? Does social media ever stress you out (and can you give yourself a break)? How can kids in your group make group texts or social media nicer for everyone?" According to Heitner, "in a study published last summer, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the pleasure centers in teenagers’ brains respond to the reward of getting 'likes' on Instagram exactly as they do to thoughts of sex or money. And just as parents try to teach children self-control around those enticements, they must also talk to them about not falling victim to behavior they will regret when craving those 'likes.'"

With all the hype about fake news in the media today, do you wonder how extensive the problem is? To stay accurately informed as a citizen, which news sources and platforms should you use? This important analysis article by Columbia Journalism Review tests out this question by examining the reach and impact of Fake News on audiences. Read here to learn more about how fake news fits into a person's overall news diet, and to see if accurate and reliable news helps to balance out the scope of the problem.

Hello Everyone, It was a pleasure meeting all of you in class last week. We will be discussing the shifting paradigm of knowledge, information sharing, and power in the digital age at our next class. I thought you would find this timely Washington Post article interesting, as it relates to our lesson. It involves a Badlands National Park Twitter Account that shared information directly to the public rather than through PR channels. See you in class!

Hello Everyone, Welcome to our course, Social Media Marketing & Communication. I created this course several years ago based on the ever-changing landscape of digital media as it has grown to include a variety of social media applications that impact public relations and marketing. I look forward to working with you to create a dynamic learning community where we all contribute equally to learning more about the impact of social media in our professional lives. Our first class is on Wed. Jan. 18th 6:30-9:30pm in Jonas Hall (room TBA--look for the list of classrooms on the COPACE door). I look forward to meeting you in class! Sincerely, Dr. Julie Frechette