Hello fellow classmates:

My name is Belinda Morin and I am a product manager for gaming products for the Province of Alberta.  I embarked on this social media citation to gain a better understanding of how social media is impacting marketing of gaming products to my target audiences.  In marketing, having the right product available at the right time is paramount to the success of any marketing campaign. I need to be where my audience is at the right time in a medium that they are accustomed to.  I have no formal training in communications, nor do I have any requirement of me to communicate in a formal way; as would a social media communication specialist be required to do.

I read and viewed the required content for this first module and found them to be very interesting.  Surprisingly, I feel a sense of excitement.  Social Media feels familiar because “connecting” and “friendship” is very primal for human beings.  The Masullo Chen (2011) project tried to prove this.  At a very base level I can relate to this.  It’s an analogy to when my grandmother immigrated to Canada over 100 years ago.  She came to this county, a foreigner with different cultures and a different language.  What kept her going was her community, mainly through her church.  This was her support group and where she made friends.  Similar people with similar needs. The need for human connection and belonging, I believe is deep rooted in human evolution.  It was no different then, as to now, except we form communities, connect and make friends in a digital realm.  Twitter is interesting because you can engage with your own community and your friends, from your mobile device.  It’s not the same medium as the face to face connections from generations before but it has the same effect…satisfying the feeling of belonging and connection.

I look forward to meeting you all on Oct. 16/14.  I already think this blog brings us closer together.