In the world of Likes, Tweets and Instagrams, your life is no longer just the life you live, but it is the life that you choose to present.

Now if you are one of those people who explain’s to your friends “Oh I don’t enjoy facebook, I live real life…” or “Twitter just isn’t for me, I do not need to share everything happening in my life.”

First of all I hope you are not in the Marketing World, second of all This blog post is not for you, so do not bother to read the next four hundred words, it will probably just upset you more.

HOWEVER, if you are an individual in our amazingly creative generation who is looking to not just use social media, but also exploit it, keep reading my friend! Remember when your Mom and Dad lectured you on being careful about whom you friended on Facebook, not to tag that picture of you dominating the keg stand or don’t post that status about your ex that seemed soooo right at the time. How many of you just brushed off their advice and now have a profile picture of you throwing up on a small dog or you planking on a cop car with two thumbs up. Believe it or not, your parents may have been right. It is time you took this advice, and used it to your advantage! Start Branding Yourself for the Future.

You are reading this blog because you are advanced in the age of Social Media and Modern Living. Our next generation of employers will have departments that will analyze our social media activity, and this is something you MUST be aware of. When you post your status, when you update your profile picture, even when you “like” your friends photo of him Canoeing down the Amazon River, do not just do it for the now, do it for the future. Think about the life you want your employers to believe you have lived. Facebook is nothing more then an outlet, an outlet of information that you choose to display to not just your friends, but to your followers.“Feeling blue, going to eat a cupcake” or “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, Life Sucks” are not appropriate status updates anymore. Update in a positive, exciting, informing matter, that will not only make your followers (and ex) jealous of you right now, but will also mold into what your employers will analyze about you in your professional future.

GO AHEAD, put up that picture of you at your favorite music festival with copious amount of beer in your hands, or in Cancun wearing your sexiest, skimpiest swimsuits (if I had a dollar for every speedo picture on my Facebook profile…) But when doing so, make sure to think about what you are posting, what videos you share, what photos you choose to upload, what others think now, but more importantly what others will think in the future. We are competing in a world of creative young professionals, get that upper edge and market the most important brand. YOURSELF!

Xoxo Gossip Silverback

-Written by Jordan @ U of C

What IS the social media hype? Why is it, that as students, it is important that we participate in this online culture? Well, for the most part, it all comes down to professional development, which is especially important for us students who are looking to score a career after graduation. Pretty much, it allows students to develop a great, personal strategy to achieve their goals and objectives. However, we are jumping ahead of ourselves here, so lemme explain!

From a professional standpoint, this is your online identity, and having a strong knowledge of what Social Media is all about is very important.

“It’s like your public listing in the Yellow Pages.”

The more you share and upload, the bigger the listing, which allows other people to easily find you, and try to connect with you. Why is this relevant? Most businesses today have a strong online and social presence. What this means is that they will almost *always* Google search your name, to see what comes up. While we won’t go into why uploading those embarrassing party pics from Last Friday Night is bad for your image, your online presence can definitely help you land a job.

That dream job you always wanted in journalism, marketing, or public relations? Well, having an online presence allows potential employers to see what you have written or shared, and thus judge your writing caliber. In summary, the bigger your knowledge and online presence is, the easier it is for companies and other people to find you, and this could ultimately land you a job.

So, what are some methods that can help bolster your online presence?  These are a few of many online methods that will help develop your professional identity:

• Facebook: If you aren’t on this bandwagon already, you better get on it! What Facebook does is allow you to connect and reconnect with people you encounter in all aspects of life. Whether it be from elementary school, to the people you met at your job, the personal and professional possibilities are endless when you stay in touch with people you know
• Twitter: This one is a tough one to wrap your head around (Google helps!), but briefly, this is a powerful, real-time communication tool. Each Tweet, or post is limited to 140-characters or less, which requires you to transmit as much information in the fewest words possible. Great for companies to see that you are an active participant of Social Media, especially if you interact with their Twitter accounts
• LinkedIn: This is the big one! This site allows you to connect with other people through “friends of friends”, with a very professional and business focus. Make sure you keep this updated with your resume at all times, as potential employers scour your page all the time.

So, in essence, social media is important, especially in your university years, as this is the time to build your online footprint for other companies to take notice, and hopefully, hire you!

Written by Mike @ SFU

Staying up late to finally type out the last 200 words of that essay. Watching television on the internet because cable is just too expensive. Keeping in touch with family via Skype or Facebook. Technology runs alongside us in our everyday life, and as it changes, we are sure to change along with it.

Apple’s new commercial states, “This changes everything.” They are referring to the iPad 2, the second generation of their popular tablet. The question is, are tablets useful to students? Will it change the way we work and play?

It depends.

Tablets are not meant to completely replace a computer. Without a USB port or CD drive, transferring of files needs to be done wirelessly. Additionally, tablets do not come with a physical keyboard, as it has a touch screen keyboard instead. Keyboards can be purchased and a few will work with the iPad, which is a good thing since writing long documents on a touch screen can be tedious. It seems like tablets were made to be the ultimate plaything, but they can also be useful for students.

For one, they are very portable. Tablets are generally lighter than laptops and netbooks, and they’re also quite small. For students, who are bound to be off exploring their campuses or cities or local bars, portability is key. There are also many useful apps available, with more being added everyday. From experiencing other cities on your days off, to reading that new novel everyone is talking on a park bench without having to lug around 300 pages, to watching that new movie on Netflix at Starbucks, to researching your future professors in order to figure out which classes to drop, tablets make life a little more portable.

When it comes to the more academic pursuits of a student’s life, there are also apps for that. For the cost of a latte, you can buy an app that helps manage and organize your crazy schedule. In terms of Internet browsing, one plus is that many campuses are covered by WiFi, allowing browsing on your table all over campus. If you venture beyond your campus, however, WiFi signals can be few and far between, in which case a 3G model could be beneficial if browsing whenever and wherever you want is important.

It’s small, it’s fast and it’s quite, well, smart. It also looks pretty cool. Just like smartphones, tablets are not mandatory for students, they just make life a little more fun, and for students, fun is important.