A Google Search and The World To Come: Final Thoughts

Paul Acosta? It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. One of these days though..

  A google search of my name a few months ago led me to some generic images of people I don't know but share my name and some even more search results of various social media accounts of people who share my name. I didn't really know what to expect out this time around..actually I was kind of expecting to see the same old weird faces and accounts as I did last time.  I didn't suddenly go viral from a Youtube video, win the lottery or anything cool that would land my name some hits and recognition. I think the only real gem I got from the last google search was some nostalgic (also hilarious) articles of our bear attack in the spring of 2008. However, I did notice some changes with this round of searches.

JOBS!

 The first thing that stood out to me was an old but familiar resume I made when I first moved to Chicago on Indeed.com. I remember when I got here and the job search struggle was real. A lot has changed since than, but I definitely thought that this got lost somewhere on the internet. Even though, my name is super common and there are hundreds of Paul Acostas that appear on the first page of the google search, my profile is the first one to pop up for Facebook, which is surprising.I do however, suffer from "Entirely Too Common Name" syndrome, so much of the google searches were just other people with my name....still.

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I really hope to have all my pages in the future connect to one another. We covered the major social media applications this semester but I plan on expanding to other sites like Flickr, where I can post some of the photography that I do. I'll probably continue the ongoing series of ridiculous 6 second Vines that I've made as I've gotten some feedback on those.  I have plans to make a
professional looking website with some of my own videos and photographs and well as  more candid writing about other topics that I think would add on to the persona I'd like to portray outside of the professional accounts that I already have. I learned how important your point of view is on the web. I'm going to try to stand out and carve my own little niche on here.  I would also like to have a much bigger presence on Twitter, Youtube, and especially Linkedin.

Go Tweet Yourself! Creating a Professional Twitter Profile!

Twitter is probably one of my favorite social media outlets next to Instagram and Snapchat. I get about 90% of my news and cultural information from my Twitter feed and I think it is a great way to data-dump whatever random thoughts, articles, and pictures that might run through your mind at  any moment in time. The hashtag function is truly one of the most powerful ways to narrow your curiosity for niche topics, which is a very powerful tool for marketing virtually whatever you want if done effectively.
 
 Having said that, my current Twitter profile is 100%, the exact opposite of what it means to have a profesional Twitter profile, to be perfectly honest. It is crass and mostly silly useless thoughts that I jot down as they come to me, usually at the moment. Twitter, in addition to my recently refurbished Linkedin account, needed an overhaul. I needed an account that I could share my career accomplishments on, profesional networking connections, and goals. Creating a seperate account was vital, and as I continue to progress in school and other avenues that are worth letting potential employers and corporations know, maintaining, and staying active on this seperate, profesional account is crucial, much like my LinkedIn account.

There are a few things I have planned for this new account that I hope to publish as soon as they come into fruition, provided I stay on the ball. I plan on doing some volunteer work for certain functions, and I think it would look good to post some thoughts and pictures of me doing volunteer service and helping out.

I also plan on getting some tech certifications. In this digital age, I think it is vital to have some coding knowledge, computer networking, internet security training, and Big-Data proficiency. As dense as these subjects might be, I think it is doubly important to have a good understanding of technology, and I plan on tweeting topics related to these subjects.

Lastly, I am learning in my Media Studies (as well as my social media class) how important it is to have a thorough understanding of Public Relations, Advertising, and Branding, as it all ties in to how powerful social media is in regards to these topics. Twitter is a powerful marketing/branding tool, and we are essentially our own advertising agents when it comes to how we want to be percieved on the internet. I definately want to portray myself as an informed, knowledgeable, and articulate person on Twitter. So follow my new Twitter account @acosta7285 and watch me progress!

Improvements on my Linkedin Account: A Vital Update

 My Linkedin account has always been around, but I never really took it seriously until recently so I'm glad to have taken the time to actually work on it and clear some of the cob-webs that have collected on my out-dated account. It's becoming more and more clear how vital it is to have a professional looking Linkedin account as it is an excellent way for employers to gauge your skills, work/life experience and to market yourself as your own brand for potential employers.

 Before this class all I really had on there was 3 connections (on the rise, hopefully), a summary of my past job experiences, the bulk of which was in The Navy.  I'm trying to learn how to use the expereince I got working on a submarine as leverage to seem more marketable. It was definately one of the hardest and most fulfilling experiences of my life and I can't stress enough how much it has shaped me as a person to this day.

As far as recent profile improvements are concerned, I finally got around to updating my summary with some specific accomplishments that I'm proud of as well as touching base and connecting with all of my new co-workers over at Shoreline Sightseeing here in Chicago while working on tour boats aboard our 50/100 ton passenger vessels, which I find to be very rewarding as the networking and connections I have made there have proven to be very valuable in my 3 years of living here in the Midwest! I even put up a picture of me in a tie. Definately made some progress.

Looking at all my accomplishemnts over the past 5 years, I plan on getting more certifications to help improve my resume and make my Linkedin profile seem more marketable. Hopefully I can get around to finding out how to work endorsements a little better and have more tech-based certifications as well as life experiences that would be relevant to my major in Intergrated Marketing Communications. I just have to keep the snowball rolling, hopefully this momentum of productivity just keeps going as well. Self-improvement is always on my mind and I firmly believe that you should never stop learning!