Social media is a great way to connect, whether is it personally or professionally. Just remember that posting personally CAN affect you professionally. With Facebook recently celebrating its 10th anniversary, most people are fully aware how to avoid a social media faux pas. As long as you can avoid posting drunk selfies or complaining about your awful boss, it is easy to enjoy social media in both aspects of your life.

Social media can be used academically to stay connected with college events and classmates. I have also had to blog for classes in the past. Personally, I am almost always connected to some type of social media. I am most frequently on reddit, which is a social news and entertainment website. I am also on Facebook and Twitter, just not as frequently. Often, people who view social media sites but never contribute are called "lurkers" and I most certainly spend most of my time lurking on Facebook.

Professionally, social media can be a great way to connect with companies you may be interested in working for. Watch for companies expanding or moving locations to find out when a good time to apply might be. You also can often get a feel for the company's atmosphere. You might even end up getting paid to use social media for a company. At the newspaper I work at, we specifically have a social media correspondent. Many companies are connected to their customers through Facebook and Twitter, which helps establish positive relationships. I know I have become more brand loyal to some of my favorite companies just because of their relationship with their followers.

Before next class I will finish updating my LinkedIn profile and prepare for a profession photo to be taken. I will also have to finish updating my OneNote notebook to include information on social networking.