What a week!
This week, I had the opportunity to present and be part of the AEJMC conference in Washington D.C. This is one of my main academic conferences, and marks the start of my busy (yet fun!) fall conference season! There were many highlights from the conference, and here are some of the things I experienced and wanted to share with you all!
Official launching of my book. After a two-year journey that began at AEJMC 2016 in Minneapolis, my new solo social media textbook officially was available. This was the first time I was able to see my book in print, and I felt like it was my academic baby! I had a lot of emotions when I first saw my book (my good friend and collaborator Carolyn got me into the exhibit hall early so I could see it in person!). Pride, happiness, and even a few tears were shared during this moment – it was really amazing to truly see it in print – it made my realize – WOW! This is REAL!
One of the things I wanted to do was give out some book swag at the conference. Everyone loves swag, and what better way to do this by creating mousepads. Well, as I have shared with others – they are “Karen sized coffee coasters!” People got a kick out of this! If you are interested in getting one – let me know and I’d be more than happy to send one to you!
Major Props to Sage!: I have to give a major S/O to Sage (and the great team of Terri, Anna, Staci, and all!) for their great marketing and team efforts for the AEJMC conference. It was certainly the place to be in DC for the conference – I spent some time making sure to chat with other professors about the book while I was at the Sage Booth, which was a lot of fun! It was also very cool to see the Hollywood themed reception for new authors as well (felt like I had to thank the academy!).
I had the opportunity to chat with the Sage team about my book, and they mentioned to me it was “the book” for the conference! They had a lot of people coming in and signing up for adoptions, expressed their enthusiasm for the companion site (which has testbanks, Powerpoints, resources, etc) and the portfolio workbook (assignments that could be used and integrated into the class), and how people were trying to get the few hard copies on hand. I am absolutely thrilled the book has gotten such a positive response!
One of the things that was very cool to see here at AEJMC was the book raffle at the social. Each year, the PR Division hosts a social, and one of the things that happens is a book raffle. People are able to put forth their name into a drawing to win a book. My book was one of the many books offered off to the raffle, and I was excited to see who would end up getting my book! I was very pleased to see a graduate student I met while I was at the University of Oregon win my book! Meredith was thrilled (she’s getting more involved in social media) and I made sure to sign her book as well! What a fun experience!
Feedback on Presentations.This AEJMC was probably the busiest I have ever had. Not only was I launching my new book (YAY!), but I was actively engaged with presentations. I was able to do three (yes – three!) panel presentations and two paper presentations while I was at AEJMC.
I was able to do a Teaching Digital Analytics presentation (thanks for the invitation, Todd!) and a talk on influencer marketing (related to fake influencers and when influencers get into crisis). I also had the chance to present with some amazing professors on a few other projects related to social media education. Carolyn Kim (who is a rockstar at Biola) and I presented a study looking at online education perceptions among students and faculty. I also had a chance to present on the Twitter chat project focusing on social media students #SMstudentChat with Amanda Weed, Amber Hutchins, and Emily Kinsky. These ladies are so innovative and hard working – and our project won top GIFT (great ideas for teaching) here at AEJMC! Congrats ladies!
Realizing the power of the #SMprofs community. I manage a social media professors group on Facebook, and we had our second meet up at AEJMC. This group has grown substantially over the past year and a half (over 830+ members), and we all realized a few things here in DC.
First, we are all coming in from different perspectives, and we are also very appreciative of the fact this community shares and helps each other. Not all communities do this, and many professors mentioned how they feel this is a group where they can come together and be with “their people.” We had several meetings where we had some brainstorming sessions and ideas for what we want to do next.
Second, it allowed us to meet each other for the very first time! There were some members of the community I have never officially met in person, but it was such a highlight for me at the conference! Like Michelle – who is a great PR professor at in Texas, who is interested in crisis and social media. We actually met on our way down to the PRD social, which was awesome! Thanks for the selfie, Michelle! It was truly awesome finally meeting you in person!
Third, you never know the type of impact you have until you meet up in person. This was what I got to see a lot of at AEJMC. It was fun to see how other professors were thanking each other for the work and impact they have had on each other. For example, Matt Kushin (who in my opinion is one of the best professors out there) really made an impact with many professors who are looking for innovative ideas for assignments. It was fun to see everyone thanking Matt for sharing his ideas, assignments, and perspectives on his website. I know wherever I go – I make sure to let others know they must follow Matt.
Overall, it is really exciting to see the #SMprofs community continue to grow. We have many plans in place to continue moving the #SMprofs community forward within AEJMC and beyond. I am thrilled – these professors are the real deal and it is a true honor to be able to know them. Which actually leads to my next point.
Understanding who are the “real” professors. In the social media community, there are the speakers and the doers in the industry. There are people who go around and “say” they are experts in social media, and there are others who are busy in the trenches actually doing the work in social media. This was one point I know my food friend and colleague Jason Falls mentioned to my class in #FrebergSM earlier this year.
Unfortunately, the same is applied in academics. I had chats with several professors who are actually doing the work, coming up with the innovative ideas for research and teaching, and who are innovative in their classes, but are not getting the press for their work.
In fact, there are some cases where other professors are taking credit for their work online outside of the academic community, which is unfortunate and unprofessional. I have seen this happen to other professors in our community, and I have even seen it happen to myself. Having your ideas and work stolen by someone else is not fun – and it’s unethical behavior.
What the industry and those outside of academia need to realize is that it is very easy to create the illusion of being a social media professor online (taking credit for ideas other than your own, saying they are teaching classes when in fact they are not, sharing other professor’s student stories and ideas, paying for press coverage, etc). This happens in the professional industry, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that this happens in academia. Yet, we need to be more aware of this and educate others about these particular incidents. However, at the end of the day, people will be asking for evidence and impact of your work.
This is what I have shared w/ these professors who expressed these concerns to me during the conference – and I have reassured them they are in a much better situation in the long run. These professors are the real deal – they have the student stories, research, innovative teaching content, and respect both in academia and the profession. These are the professors who have nothing to worry about because they actually have the evidence of their work, impact, and knowledge. We all know who are the professors actually doing the work, and the ones who are faking it until they make it.
In other words:
Doers > Speakers
Summary
Overall, AEJMC this year was one of the best conferences I have been to. There were a lot of exciting events happening throughout the conference, and it was really wonderful meeting everyone again. It truly felt like a family reunion – and I am inspired by the great research, teaching, and professional work my colleagues are doing at their respective schools. It was a pleasure seeing you all again, and I look forward to meeting up at future conferences in the future!
For those of you who have adopted my book – thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly appreciate your continued support and friendship. I would truly love to hear what you think of the book and any recommendations and suggestions you have!
Have a great day!
Best Wishes,
