The Social Enthusiast

A few short years ago, I was spending most of my days traipsing around the Indiana University campus, making the daily trek to Ernie Pyle Hall, otherwise known as the School of Journalism.  You could often find me there slumped behind a Mac, typing ferociously in order to meet some sort of deadline, with a huge cup of specialty coffee dangerously close to the keyboard. And I was never without two things:  my oversized black Prada tote bag and my dearly loved (though faux) Ugg boots.  

During my senior year at IU, I was introduced to blogging.  I had enrolled in an Online Journalism course (still a very new concept at the time) and one of our assignments for the semester was to create and populate a blog with content.  I enjoyed writing and reporting, so I eagerly approached this task. We were required to have a theme and a name for our blog.  “Deconstructing Pretty” followed current fashion trends with a focus on the business aspect of the industry.  I’ll never forget my first post—I wrote about Sarah Jessica Parker’s commercials for The Gap and how much of a financial impact the ads could have on the struggling store chain. 

Needless to say, I never imagined how much that assignment would shape my professional life. Coming from a journalistic background, blogging was an entirely new world to me.  I found myself asking questions like, “What do you mean I don’t need to quote three sources?” and “Is someone really going to care what my opinion is?”  I had spent years perfecting my style of writing, which obviously did not include my personal feelings on the subjects I was reporting on. 

The famed Ernie Pyle Hall on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Indiana. Image by the IU School of Journalism News Department.

When the semester was over, I continued working on “Deconstructing Pretty” and did so even after graduation.  I didn’t have a ton of readers, but a nice comment here and there was enough to encourage me to keep writing.  Eventually though, my life started to get busier and blogging wasn’t as much of a priority as it once was.

About a year after I was hired at Doe-Anderson, I started contributing to the company’s blog and discovered how much I had missed blogging.  It was a welcome addition to my other duties at the agency and I saw it as an opportunity to improve my online writing skills.  Working on the Doe-Anderson blog  and The Social Enthusiast has pushed me to keep up with the latest trends in social media and how I might be able to use these strategies for my public relations clients.  It has challenged me to strive harder to write interesting posts that will be entertaining as well as helpful to those who read them.

I’ve come a long way from the halls at Ernie Pyle.  Not only do I not wear fake Ugg boots anymore, I also don’t question my writing abilities as much as I used to and blogging is a big reason for that.

Faux Uggs, or "Fluggs" as they're often called.