Web & Social Media
Early on in my career as a student journalist, I concluded that creating social media content was quite enjoyable. In some of my first social media assignments, I attended water polo games and took an array of photos. At night, I edited them and sent them to the social media editor at the time along with a caption. It was then rewarding to see my work on Imua’s Instagram the next day! Soon enough, the social media editor told me that I needed to explore more angles to take photos from—and so I did. I became quite experienced with creating content for our social media in just one year.
Once I became an editor, I focused my work on connecting our different platforms—print, online, and social media. Although they are unique in their ways, these platforms come together when it comes to our mission of always being a voice for students. As a result, I was the first to suggest adding a connection to our Instagram Feed on our website. Later, in my work as Online Editor-in-Chief, I found a way to integrate a crossword onto our website which was made from terms in our print issue. The idea was that people would read the issue, and then play the crossword on our website afterward.
This year, I added the Acast widget on our website to draw viewers to our newly formed Imua podcast. I also maintain our poll section and update our countdown to break timer, which are elements of our website that are both engaging and informative. Developing our Imua website and toggling with our widgets has always been intriguing to me, but I never lose focus of my goal: to connect our platforms. Currently, our quick, go-to method for this connection is the use of QR codes in print, but we are continually exploring other ways to bridge our platforms.
When deciding what media forms to use for a pitch or story, I consider what is most easily digestible by the audience. If it is a performance, I encourage my staffers to utilize photo essays to showcase far more emotion than words describing the performance. If a reporter did a large amount of research for their topic, I am now in a position to offer them the option of creating a podcast. Podcasts, I believe, do an amazing job of letting the audience hear a plethora of different voices. If we need to communicate the story of something that is important to see in action, videos are always great. I brainstorm the platform choice along with the students working on the specific assignment to help them get the best outcome and a great viewership/readership.
Uniquely, I have also published the work of student researchers who reached out to me with interest in publishing an article on Imua online. I worked with them to edit their pieces and create web elements for their supporting figures to make their articles as interactive as possible. Additionally, I was able to post a student filmmaker’s feature film about a student surfer which won a Best of SNO award. I persuaded her that we could make her film part of our website and we surely did. From student researchers to passionate filmmakers, a diverse set of individuals are behind the content of our growing web presence. I am here to support all of them.
