Hello from the Hills of West Virginia

Hi everyone, my name is Pam Shriver and I’m currently in my 7th class in the IMC program. It’s my pleasure to be chosen as a student ambassador for the program.

To tell you a little about myself, I grew up in a small town in WV called Wadestown. The town itself has 11 houses in it (10 now because they tore one down!). My family owns a 244 acre farm and after having been gone for 23 years I now own a house on the farm and live there with my 2 dogs — a Great Dane named Diesel and a Yorkie named Bella. My boyfriend lives with us on weekends and is slowly moving in. My mom, brother and his wife and 101 year old grandma all live in their own houses on the farm as well. We raise beef cattle and my brother owns a farm supply business. I have a nephew who is married and has one son.

I graduated from Shepherd University (College back then) in 1997 with a Bachelors in Political Science. I worked in a variety of different jobs and owned a couple businesses during my 20 year marriage. When that ended a few years ago and I needed to go back into the work force, I was honored to work with the Alzheimer’s Association of WV and now with WVU Healthcare. My current position is as a Public Relations Specialist for Rosenbaum Family House (a home-away-from-home for adult patients and their families) and Volunteer Services. I love my job. Every day is different and I get to make a difference in people’s lives which is a great feeling.

I started the IMC program in 2014 and look forward to graduating in May of 2016. I wasn’t sure about the program when I started but the more classes I’ve taken, the more I am enjoying the process. I like that each class is structured the same but also very different. Even though you aren’t able to sit and talk across a table with fellow classmates or your professor the interaction you are able to have with each other is easy, beneficial and makes you feel like you really know each other. Our professors are all “in the business” and are able to help us with whatever we may need. The feedback they give on our assignments is thorough and well thought out which helps making the next assignment easier.

Studying in a totally online course is definitely a challenge but it’s well worth it. The benefits I’ve already seen in my current job are immense. I wouldn’t trade this program for a classroom setting. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have and definitely will help in any way I can. Feel free to contact me here or via my personal email. I look forward to hearing from you!

Pam

Hello from Vegas!

Comfort zones—we all have them. Some of us break out of them more easily than others. For me, this last year has been all about stepping outside my boundaries of comfort—such as deciding to pursue a significant career change and starting the WVU IMC graduate program. Also, becoming a student blogger definitely involved moving beyond my normal level of comfort. I have never blogged before, but I’m excited to write and share some experiences!

So, as one of the new IMC student bloggers, I just wanted to introduce myself to everyone! My name is Breanna, and I am currently working on a career transition out of the Air Force and into the marketing field. While the Air Force has been a great experience (I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Afghanistan, Africa, Kuwait, and multiple states in the U.S.), it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life.

I have always been extremely intrigued by how businesses operate—but more specifically, how businesses develop and implement marketing programs. Every day we come into contact with different marketing programs through various communication tools such as commercials, sales promotions, social media, and advertisements. Each tool is used to send a message. Each marketing message tries to cut through the clutter and competition and attempts to make a connection with consumers. It’s all so very interesting, and I’m extremely glad that I get to develop these marketing communication skills in this IMC program.

I’m currently in my third course, and it has been a great learning experience so far. Despite the fact I have no background in marketing or business, I feel really comfortable with the class materials and assignments. So, for those of you who are interested in pursuing the IMC program, don’t worry if you have limited experience with marketing! Also, for those of you already in the program, I hope you enjoy the blog!

Email: bmschmidt@mix.wvu.edu

Hello from the Mountains of Southwest Virginia!

Hi everyone! My name is Nathan Rasnake and I will be one of your new IMC bloggers. After looking at previous bloggers posts, I’m eager to get started and have a lot to live up to!

Just a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in the small town of Haysi, Virginia (often pronounced as “Hay-Side” or “Hay-See”). I earned my undergraduate degree in Business Administration from The University of Virginia’s College at Wise. During my undergraduate career, I was very involved in student life. I was involved in Greek Life, Student Government, Student Activities, Intramurals, and several other organizations. All of my experiences during my undergraduate career have helped prepare me for my future and the IMC program. I started the IMC program in August of 2014 and plan to graduate in the Summer of 2016. My ultimate goal is to continue working in Higher Education and work my way up the ladder. If you haven’t visited Wise or Southwest Virginia, you’re missing out! Check out these photos of our campus at UVA-WISE (Courtesy of UVA-WISE).

I am also lucky enough to work for my Alma Mater as an Admissions Counselor. My job is a lot of fun and allows me to apply much of what I’ve learned in the IMC program. I get to recruit students from the Roanoke Valley area, run social media channels, assist in planning of events, creation of marketing materials, and I also advise the Student Ambassador program at our college (pretty neat since I’m an ambassador now!). I have found a love of Higher Education and hope to bring new ideas to my job through the IMC program.

Now that I work as an Admissions Counselor, I am able to travel to new places and experience new things. Even though I live in Virginia, I was never able to travel a lot. But now I travel as much as possible with my friends. In the past year, I’ve been able to visit several historic/tourist attractions but  Asheville, NC., and Richmond, Va. are my favorites. These may seem like small trips to many, but they are very special to me. The friends I made in college have become my family and I cherish every moment I get to spend with them.

I also plan to visit Morgantown very soon so I can finally say I’ve stepped foot on the WVU campus. After seeing some of the photos and videos from INTEGRATE, I’m dying to visit!

I chose the IMC program at WVU for several different reasons. The IMC program was brought to my attention by a previous supervisor. She was working on her IMC certificate and while talking about my interest in marketing and public relations, she told me about the IMC program and how she thought it would be great for me. After doing some research and talking to my admissions counselor from UVA-WISE (an alumnus of the IMC program), I decided to apply. The IMC program stuck out from other graduate school programs because it allows students to take classes at their own pace, produce work that can be used in real life scenarios, and is quite unique in that it combines several fields of study into one major. I come from a background in business, but chose to focus my electives on marketing and communications. The IMC program allows me to put my business degree to use and learn more about marketing, public relations, communication studies, analytics, and much more. Being able to get a quality education from some of the top marketing specialists while working a full-time job was also a huge perk to the program!

Well, enough about me. If you have any questions about the program or my experiences, please feel free to contact me through any of my social media accounts or email.

Facebook-Nathan Rasnake

Linked In-Nathan Rasnake

Instagram-@nateraznik

Email-ndrasnake@mix.wvu.edu

I look forward to writing, learning, and sharing my experiences with you all throughout this journey!

How 360-Degree Video Changes The YouTube Experience

It’s the next step to a more immersive video experience.

YouTube now supports 360-degree video, meaning likes and comments aren’t the only way for people to feel connected to the content they’re watching.

The addition enables viewers to explore video content beyond typical limitations of what’s visible in the frame.

With the power of 360, desktop users can use the mouse to navigate a pan button to look right or left, up or down– even behind, putting the viewer in control of what’s in frame.

Mobile users can either touch the screen or simply move their device to change the angle of what’s being viewed. The mobile experience, much more than desktop, is incredibly intuitive.

So who is publishing 360 content?

Musicians:

Vloggers:

Adrenaline junkies:

Dubai360 recently released the world’s first 8k resolution 360 video:

 

How will 360 video influence digital marketing? 

-R