Understanding Group Processes and Social Media Week

          Anyone else feel like they haven't blogged in FOREVER? Sorry if I run a little long this week, there's just so much to talk about!
          First, I figured I would reflect on Kira and Angie's lesson about group processes. I loved the activity that they choose to do with the Legos. It was interesting to see the people in my group take on roles that maybe they weren't used to, myself included. I was assigned the Encourager role and while I know I am always a positive person and try to motive others in my group, I like to do the work too. It was difficult just having to sit back and cheer on my groups members when I just wanted to get my hands in there and build too. The activity was also beneficial in seeing how one person won't always play just one role. Knowing these new types of group members will be helpful next fall so that we can identify what roles each one of our students will play in our section. Then, throughout the semester we can challenge them break out of their comfort zone and take on a role they aren't used to.
          Now onto social media, which I will admit, I am sort of an addict. I've had Twitter since the summer before my senior year of high school and was one of the first, if not the first, out of my friends to get Twitter. It hadn't really hit my high school yet, but friends of mine that I had met at a leadership conference had encouraged me to get it. Now, almost everyone I know has a Twitter and has had it for a long time now. This is a good and a bad thing.
          Unfortunately, I don't think many people understand how much their Twitter account, or any other social media site for that matter, can have an impact on their future. My favorite tweet that I found last week was "Even though we may use Twitter as our diary, others are looking at it as our resume." It's important to remember that everything you post has your name attached to it and it represents you and the organizations that you are a part of. There really would be nothing to argue if a potential employer pulled up your account and said this is why we aren't hiring you. On the other hand of that, I liked when someone in class mentioned how it could be used positively so that employers want you even more because of it. You can use your Twitter account for all professional things and find great information out there. I choose to follow the Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition account as well as many other practice groups in the dietetic field and I read a lot of great articles that normally I wouldn't have seen. I will definitely continue to follow these groups after social media week.
          Finally, I think it is important that we stress the importance of clean social media accounts to our freshmen next fall. I'm glad I got the lesson early on in my college career. Not that I had been posting inappropriate or offensive things before, it was just a good reminder and now makes me think twice before I post. Because like Zach McCabe learned last week, just because you delete a post doesn't mean it is gone forever.