Yesterday, as I was randomly browsing the Internet, I came across a quick blurb article titled “A Social Media Major? At One College, It’s Real.” Immediately when I saw this article I clicked on it and started to read it.
Yes, that’s right, you saw and heard it correctly, there is a widespread chance that Social Media might actually become a recognized mainstream college major. According to Fast Company, “South Carolina’s Newberry College is about to launch a program that will allow students to major in social media and related technology.”
Many business owners and companies are starting to recognize social media as an extremely useful marketing tool (now becoming more effective than traditional advertising). The problem is that most companies are in the beginning stages of adopting it into their business practice, and they do not have knowledge of how to utilize it effectively.
According to an article by Yahoo News, “the demand for social media marketing professionals has rocketed by 112% over the last six months.” If that figure isn’t alarming I don’t know what is. Businesses, both large and small are in huge need of people who know how to utilize social media websites as an effective marketing tool.
Currently, as a recent college graduate proactive in the job search community, I’m starting to see more and more job positions opening that deal with social media. This increased numbers of social media jobs is a perfect reason as to why more colleges should adopt a social media program of study. The need for social media savvy people is growing and will allow a student to perhaps gain a job directly out of college, rather than having to wait a few months or even a year.
Unfortunately, there are some people, such as Amora McDaniel, who see this Social Media program as a waste, and somewhat infantile. They look past the fact that this specific field of expertise is needed, and just picture college teens on these social media websites for personal use rather than classroom use.
I myself was a marketing major, and to be honest, my college program focused more on sales rather than covering the many fields of marketing. I feel that a marketing program should focus on the many aspects of marketing rather than just the general sales field.
The addition of a specialized social media field of study is an excellent idea; it will only help students gain a specialized skill that not many individuals or companies have. Social Media is proven to be a constantly growing field, so why not provide a program that gives students an advantage over others and allows them to become an expert in it?
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[...] the Soshable article here: There’s a New Type of College Major in the Making, We Call it Social Media. Tell me your thoughts on this new college [...]