Finding My Voice-Final Blog

When your a 30 year TV news veteran, you think your writing don't stink. Boy, was I wrong. The lessons learned during this summer session will stay with me for a long time. Hopefully, not only will my writing improve, but so will all my communication skills. So as I reflect, I look ahead, and look forward to future endeavors.

THE VOICE

This has been the hardest piece of the puzzle for me to figure out. What exactly is an on line persona ? How do you achieve consistency with who you are throughout all the social media platforms ? And, for me, given my experience, expectations have already been formed by those who know me. I think that is why I chose to write about sports so much. There was a comfort level in meeting people's expectations about me. I also think that part of that comfort level came from my knowledge and passion for the subject as well.

I think that once I started to gain a little confidence and switched subjects concentrating on my capstone, I realized that my knowledge and passion extended outside the sports world. The subject of Jewish humor has opened me up to explore other sides of my personality. It began with my blog about growing up Jewish in Queens and the impact comedians had on me. As the semester progressed, and I admit it took awhile, I began to get more and more comfortable questioning the genesis of Jewish humor. I think my midterm proposal and my power point presentation best represented the transformation my voice is beginning to take.

Is the search for my on line persona complete ? Hardly. But, the groundwork has been laid and it is now up to me to continue the process beyond graduate school.

ON LINE PRESENCE

If I looked at it honestly, I'm still not sure what my on line presence will be or should be. I do know that I plan to continue striving to figure it out. The idea of blogging as part of my capstone project is one I will continue to explore. My initial thought is to use the blog form as a way to transition my documentary from subject to subject. I also want it to serve as a journal of my research and experiences. My plan would be to post my blogs on my Face Book, Twitter and Linked-In profiles to start a discussion on what I am writing about. The feedback and experience gained in this course should give me the confidence and motivation to get this going.

LESSONS LEARNED

The most important lesson I learned was to think outside of the box. I think that thought process started taking shape after the devil's advocate module. Questioning one's belief and then writing a coherent argument on that thesis has really allowed me to think from a different point of view.
It has made my writing more abstract and more creative.

But, it all still comes back to what my old News Editor used to say to me when I was writing news. Always look for ways to improve your writing. Simplify what you write and always re-write. Those words were re-enforced during the course of this summer and I thank Professor Kalm for taking the time to work with me.