| A Class on the Impact of Online Media |
The music management program of University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music collaborated with the communication department recently to offer a one-unit weekend course called The Impact of Online Media. The class was conceived by Music Management Program Director Keith Hatschek and Communication Chair, Qingwen Dong. Practitioner instructors were alumni Erin O’Harra from Linked In and Will Crew of the online advertising firm Kenshoo. This class helped teach music management, business administration and communication majors alike how to use platforms such as Google and Facebook to create an online advertising campaign. The real challenge happened when the students made actual online advertisements firsthand for the Brubeck Festival, a local clothes screening company, a local spa, and others. Results of the reach and the success of these projects will be gathered and reported by each group in the coming weeks. One of the most educational parts of the class was outside of the classroom in a Q&A career panel facilitated by Hatschek. The panel included Crew, O’Harra, independent social media strategist Graham Howes (also a Pacific alum) and online community manager for KQED-TV, Ian Hill. Student’s varied questions resulted in the panel sharing a range of insightful tips and advice, the moral of each being start now and work hard. "The panel portion of the social media class was extremely exciting and inspiring from the perspective of a soon-to-be graduate," said senior Nicole Sternagel. "I was looking into options for getting into the social media business when I graduate, and listening to Graham Howes speak about his experiences and career in social media really inspired me to invest more of my time and efforts into breaking into that part of the music industry." Students judged the class a success, and hopefully it will be a reoccurring one. Within the online world, many new occupations and opportunities have opened up, and this class taught by alumni paved the way for students to become a part of that growing world. Thanks go to Professors Hatschek and Dong for organizing the Impact of Online Media class.
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