Module 1
Introduction & Twitter Part 1
|
Activities/Assignments
1) Join Twitter
|
Monday, 6 October 2014
Module 1: Introduction and Twitter
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Module 1
Introduction & Twitter Part 1
|
Activities/Assignments
1) Join Twitter
|
Good afternoon! My name is Sabina Eng and I'm a Communications and Events Manager at the ICAA. So far, the readings and videos from Module 1 have been interesting. Dr. Masullo’s main findings on Twitter resonated with me. My friends use it to communicate and reach out to others. It’s quick and easy. We’re always able to find the whereabouts of our favorite local food trucks. The Common craft video was a stellar resource for basic information about Twitter. I will be passing this along to friends who want to know more about the social media channel. Did you know provided some facts and stats that were new to me. I was pleased to read that the mobile device would be the “world’s primary connection tool”; since my phone is like one of my besties. The Machine is Us made some thought-provoking points. Information is available in abundance at an accelerated rate. It’s challenging, exciting and overwhelming!
ReplyDeleteHello, my name is Jennifer and I am an Event Manager at the MS Society of Canada. Specifically, I organize the MS Walk in Edmonton. Because working in non-profit means you must be dynamic, I am hoping to learn some new social media skills to apply to my work life.
ReplyDeleteHighlights from my initial thoughts on the readings to-date include: Michael Jackson and the history of Twitter. In 2009 I was working in a clothing store when a co-worker mentioned Michael’s death. We didn’t have a TV, radio or newspaper in the store to reference, but the news still spread. That was the first time I realized how fast and easy information sharing can be when you have a phone and an internet connection.
I remember first hearing about Twitter as an exclusive online space for journalists to share news stories. The clip on the history of twitter dispelled that notion right away. Today, Twitter seems to be for anyone and everyone.
Picturing Dr. Masullo’s history of the beginning of “online” communication/connections is super interesting. I can’t believe how small and efficient technology has become. People are holding their phones in their hands all-the-time. It won’t be long until those phones are built-in to us. Hence, “The machine is us”. Look forward to more readings!
Hello, my name is Sarah Arkison and I am a recruiter and advisor for the Alberta School of Business at the U of A. We connect with both our prospective and current undergraduate students via various social media platforms (FB, Twitter & Instagram) and I am thrilled to be able to take a course when I can learn how to better engage with our audiences.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the article on Twitter and felt like it brought me back to some of the psychology courses I took in my undergraduate studies! The idea that the more time people spend on Twitter being active users, the greater their potential to gratify their need to connect to other people on Twitter, is not surprising. “The more frequently persons interact with one another, the stronger their sentiments of friendship for one another are apt to be." People who seek it out can really find community anywhere and it made me stop and think about the SM accounts we use at work and how we can work on creating online communities for our students. I wonder if this kind of research has focused on other SM platforms as well? I would assume so but would be interested in reading more articles along these lines.
Hi everyone! This is Brandie, and I run Social Communications for a few charities. I'm enjoying the readings so far, and found the above video (Did You Know 4.0) fascinating, especially the part about how newspaper subscriptions have decreased by 7 million over the past 25 years. I am one of those people that don't read a physical paper (I don't even remember the last paper I bought), and I PVR all my tv shows so I can skip all the ads. I've never really thought that hard about the impact this shift in information seeking/sharing has had on traditional media; I knew it was different than before, but I didn't realize it was that dramatic.
ReplyDeleteGood evening everyone. My name is Dawn Horne and I also work for a not for profit organization. We're finding that Social Media is an increasingly important way to communicate with our members. I'm hoping to learn new skills on how to effectively create dialogue with our members and increase interest. I enjoyed the video - I had no idea that there were 2 million televisions in bathrooms! Who would have thought that?
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, my name is Sandra; I’m a Marketing and Sales advisor at Shift Management. Also, I’m a board member of an NGO.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy this week readings and videos. With “The Machine is Us/ing Us” video I can notice that the possibilities with the digital-writing are endless. Nowadays we are more connected than ever; every word connects with another world, people connect through different devices with their own interests (e.g. people, information, products, and brands) and the knowledge becomes endless. Every word in the digital-writing opens a new door.
Regarding the “Did you know” video I agree with it because these days there are lots of new channels that fight for our attention all the time. The new challenge for a marketer is to induce their audience interactions, so we need to be open to new channels and evolve at the same rhythm with the people.
Speaking of the “Twitter in plain English” video I don’t have any doubt that it is true, Twitter is a very useful social media tool where people keep updated their media/friendships/companies choices on real time and in a fast way.
Finally, I agree with the Dr. Masullo’s article, although we need to consider that relationships between brands and people are changing. In the past it was only in one way, now the relationships are in both ways and people can interact with companies and products, so Twitter is helping with that relation.
Hello, my name is Christa Winsnes. My husband and I own the family farm where we raise and sell purebred cattle and commercial cows. I also raise, train and race barrel racing horses. We rely on marketing and advertising to sell our calf crop and horses. We have relied on traditional marketing technique such as print and ads to generate our sales. I am learning that social media is an effective cost efficient tool.
ReplyDeleteI am also looking to join the work force and return to my marketing background. The world of connecting, networking and marketing sure changed while I was building a farm business and I am excited to catch up.
The U-Tube videos "Did You Know" and "The Machine is Us/ing Us" highlighted how far we have come in terms of the way we consume our information and connect with each other. Traditional news sources are becoming obsolete. News is being shared instantly thanks to twitter, Facebook and the web. Each social media platform vies for our attention offering social connection and community. It is a little scary that technologies is becoming so integrated in our life that it could soon become part of our being.
I watched "Twitter in plain English" a few times. Twitter was once this "What are you doing" platform and has since its inception transformed into a news source, marketing tool and connection tool. It has changed the way we communicate with our friends, families, strangers and businesses. My example is that last night my friend and I were tweeting about dinner plans and she tagged the Bistro we are meeting at. They read the tweets and reserved us a table. Gone are the days of using a phone to make a reservation.
Lastly, Dr. Masullo's study about Twitter and our need for gratification through connections got me thinking about how I feel when I tweet and why I tweet. I concluded for me it is not always about the content but about reaching out to connect to my "community". With Twitter and other social media we are possibly moving towards individuals who go online to connect instead of face to face conversation. I am concerned about this from a professional standpoint. Are we creating a generation of people who do not know how to have face to face conversations? How will we ever make it through a gruelling job interview?
Hi Everyone!
ReplyDeleteMy name is Breanne Fisher and I am a Marketing Coordinator at Canadian Western Bank.
All of the materials from Module 1 resonated with me for different reasons:
From Gina Masullo Chen's article, it was interesting to read how Twitter is growing faster than either Facebook or Myspace. It seems that while Facebook's presence is beginning to waver, Twitter's is getting stronger. Fascinating that Twitter has a larger appeal—probably because it's a more 'universal' space.
'Did You Know 4.0' was my favourite resource from Module 1. The video really illustrated the strong influence 'new media' is having, as compared to traditional media. The statistic comparing the 'unique views' of well-established television networks to digital platforms was staggering. This demonstrates where the public is, and how they now consume content.
'The Machine is Us/ing Us' provided a great overview of how we now use online platforms to consolidate all of the content out there. Today, it is so easy to share, network and collaborate –no matter where you are. It's amazing how quickly the world has changed and how globally connected we are, thanks to eCommerce.
'Twitter is Plain English' is something I'd like to show a few people in my life who "just don't get it." From the outside, it's easy to just brush away Twitter as a "narcissistic pastime", but in reality, Twitter has become a very powerful tool. Connecting with others—even if it’s only through bite-sized updates—allows us to feel connected to something greater than ourselves.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi I'm Raina Mithrush and I work as a Marketing Communications officer at Campbell Scientific Canada.
ReplyDeleteThe article by Gina Masullo Chen was interesting because I can see how people who are really into Twitter can sometimes get REALLY into Twitter. And I wonder why? So perhaps Twitter is something that enables them to feel connected to others. However, I wonder is it enough to feel a deep connection? Happiness research indicates that people are happier when they are not alone and when they have deep and meaningful relationships in their lives. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1015832-4,00.html
For the amount of time some people spend on Twitter and the amount of time spent on these weak relationships, a person might not ever feel fully satisfied because the connections are not deep and meaningful enough. I would argue that if much of your time is spent on Twitter, is it really leaving you satisfied with your connection to others, or does it just leave you grasping for more? Either way, I suppose Twitter can satisfy some level need to feel connected.
The Machine video points out some ideas that I've considered a few times. Every time you read FBs privacy agreements you start to wonder how much your sharing is going into some grander picture of how everything and everyone on the planet is connected. It raises so many questions about what our future will look like! The machine is connecting everyone and everything digitally. With everything being tagged and categorized in a massive, world-wide, digital database, it's like reality is living itself out on the internet for everyone to see. This of course brings up some privacy implications... how far can categorizing and tagging go. Will you as a person be categorized and tagged by various people and corporations around the globe? You certainly already are. FB categorizes you using your posts, contacts and everything else. That info ends up in advertisers hands and who knows where else. Apparently if it finds out you're pregnant you will be barraged with baby, toddler, child, teen, etc. ads for the next twenty years. Google keeps logs of your searches and even if you misspell things or use bad grammar, Google starts to believe you are a certain type of individual. So yeah, I find it crazy interesting that everything we do, say, post, tag is going into a huge online database. Very interesting indeed...
Hi Everyone! My name is Jen Baker and I am a Consultation Advisor at ATCO Electric. Although my company has twitter and Facebook, we don’t utilize it for communicating project specific information. A well rounded consultation program incorporates multiple ways for stakeholders to connect – including twitter and Facebook. By taking this course I hope to learn how to communicate effectively with others through social media and give people an opportunity to exchange information in a method of their choice.
ReplyDeleteI found the article by Chen (2011) especially interesting. Before starting taking this course, I mainly focused on content gratification and how we weren’t meeting people’s need for information. However after reading the course material I realized it was more complex than just providing information, but also forming a connection with others.
I use twitter mainly to seek out information and rarely feel the need to tweet myself (unless to complain about something). Since I am content focused, using twitter to gratify the need to connect with others is a little foreign to me. If we were to start using twitter as a way to communicate information, I would need to understand process gratification better to properly communicate with people in a meaningful way and form relationships. I have more to learn than I thought.
Hello fellow classmates:
ReplyDeleteMy 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.
Hello everyone.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Megan Phan. I own and operate two dental practices, one in Edmonton and one in Fort McMurray. I am also currently working on our newest clinic that a is opening in Windermere this March 2015. I have a strong interest in social media, from a business perspective I see huge potential for our business to grow and reach more people. The fact that there are little to no dental offices in Edmonton consistently creating and putting out new quality content on all platforms on a daily basis makes me excited that our office could be one of the first ones. One of my goals for this new practice is to use social media this way along with strategically analyzing the data collected.
In this class I am excited to gain more knowledge on any of the social media platforms. The blogging component of the course intrigues me because this is not something I am familiar with.
I enjoyed the material we have read and watched. For a long time I have believed that social media will be the main platform for marketing, leads and connecting. Social media has the ability to reach and connect with people in a way that traditional marketing did not. I loved the 'Tweet This' by Gina Masullo Chen. I find it especially interesting that the research found the more people used Twitter the greater their gratification for a need to connect with other is. I have strongly believed this for a long time and it is fun to read research papers on the topic. I am extremely fascinated by human behaviour on the social media platforms and from a marketing perspective.
I am excited and looking forward to meet everyone in person next week!
Hi everyone, my name is Meredith Holroyd and I am the Integrated Marketing and Media Coordinator for The Brick. I think anyone who works in retail understands the constant need for quick adaptation to changing consumers needs. And that is why I am taking this course and the Social Media Strategic Marketing citation at the U of A - to learn how to connect with our customers changing communication preferences.
ReplyDeleteThe "Did You Know 4.0" YouTube video I found quite interesting. Not because the video was telling us something I think we all already know - that the internet is taking over the world - but the extreme nature it is doing so. However, one thing I did not agree with is it's interpretation of traditional media. I cannot comment on the effectiveness of digital advertising for my company because I mainly work with traditional mediums, but I do know that when we do not drop a flyer or do not run television that week will fail for us. What I DO think is important is integrations of media. How can a company take different media's and create a campaign that communicates effectively with their target market. The medium(s) that work for one company may not work for another, and understanding that is crucial in communication.
The "Tweet this" article by Chen (2011), made a lot of interesting points about human nature and the need to connect. The article argues that "Twitter gratifies their intrinsic need to form relationships" which to me makes sense...somewhat. If I post something to Facebook, or Twitter or Instagram, and someone - could be a complete stranger - likes or retweets or favourites a post I automatically feel connected. I have even "creeped" a person before meeting them, and when I do finally meet that person I feel as though I already know them. However, to me connecting to someone online does not beat face to face interactions. I don't think I could spend all my time on the computer and not feel unhappy and lonely. When I spend an entire day in the house and do not go out I get stir crazy. Therefore, I do not necessarily believe Twitter or other Social Media's can completely fulfill an individuals need for connection.
See you all in class in next week!
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ryan Stephens and my interest in social media comes from my work as both a freelance writer and in Communications with the Edmonton Heritage Council.
Chen's work on the uses and gratifications perspective of Twitter struck a few chord with me. First, when she argues that "people today must be even choosier than in the past to select a medium that meets their needs because they have more media choices," I felt myself thinking of how steadily and naturally I've shifted away from Facebook towards Twitter in recent years. When it comes to meeting my information needs, both Facebook and Twitter bombard me with options of something to read or discuss, but Twitter seems to do so more efficiently and with less irrelevant nonsense. Twitter takes headlines, opinions, and links and displays them on an even playing field, allowing me to pick and choose what appeals to me. To me, its 140-character limitation is not a limitation at all, but more of an opportunity. It keeps arguments short and to the point and conversation flowing.
With leads me to the second struck chord, which is this tension between "content gratification" and "process gratification". I initially grew to love Twitter for the former, obsessed with the convenience of gathering my favourite websites and publications into a single place and easily cycling through their headlines. But lately, and especially as I eased into a role in Communications, I began to see its strengths from the other end. I've been a part of awesome conversations about local heritage through EHC social media that have extended into real-life conversations and led to new collaborations, and it was really only then that I realized the power of the medium over the content. And now, I'm trying to harness that same gratification through my personal Twitter account for my personal goals.
On that note, I'll see you all in class next Thursday!
Good morning everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Holly, and I am a Social Media Specialist at a non-profit organization called DECSA. The agency has only been on social media since March, so I have my hands full playing "catch up". It is a lot of fun, though.
I found myself nodding my head in agreement a lot while reading Chen's article. I often hear people say that technology is alienating us from one another, and that social media has had a huge role to play in that shift. As an introvert, I find that many social situations are awkward for me, and I tend to avoid certain face to face interactions. Social media seems to be a safe place for me to communicate and participate, and for the first time in my life, I actually feel like I am engaged, and am part of conversations. Yesterday, while driving to heard, I heard something on the radio, and my first instinct was to grab my phone, and begin tweeting. Thankfully, I realised that tweeting and driving is not a safe thing to do, and I put down my phone. That nagging urge to connect stayed with me though, until I was able to pull into my work's parking lot and "get my fix.". The question I am wondering now, though, is am I too connected?
I guess only time will tell!
Thought I posted this earlier, but it may have disappeared. Here goes again! Apologies if this post is late - am having difficulty syncing syllabus timelines with the blog. I'm the Communications Officer for the MD of Greenview. I have my hands full managing the basic communications requirements for an organization of 100 staff, while determining what priorities exist for social media engagement. My Twitter use to date has been primarily professional (content focused as Jen mentioned) and research based. In my social group, we typically use Facebook or texting rather than Twitter for general updates. “Twitter in Plain English” shows how far this is from what was originally intended for the medium. “The Machine is Us/ing Us” demonstrates the dynamic nature of Web 2.0. I am still adapting as the machine, medium, and methods change and grow. I worked in privacy policy and recognize there is a need for higher level security protection and privacy as we engage in the newly forming digital world. At the same time, I have seen the great possibilities that exist for global connection and engagement that would be impossible without the web.
ReplyDeleteRe: “Did you know” Twitter was not in existence I was in university, Facebook was only beginning. The world I trained for doesn’t exist in the same way and will not return. If we blink, we may miss the most effective tools out there. This often reaches into my personal life as there isn’t time professionally to learn how to do something new. It’s expected that I will already know how to use the tools, recommend the best avenues of engagement and motivate others to join me.
Chen (2011) raises important questions regarding why Twitter use is an effective means of social interaction and gratification for some, but not others. I was surprised the average Twitter use within the sample was 12 hours per week. Given the article is dated 2010 it's possible that this number would increase by 2014 as Twitter becomes more integrated in society, or it could be we have reached a saturation point that an average social media user won't surpass. I think that's an interesting area of discussion and hope we look into research on the matter.
Part of the challenge is meeting our stakeholders and ratepayers where they are. I echo the concerns raised by Raina’s comment that the quality of interaction in social media isn't on the same level. The other challenge this presents as a provider of "essential services" is managing expectations. When an individual uses social media in a context of instant gratification it is impossible for governments or small organizations to keep up unless there are staff dedicated 24/7 to social media. Some organizations choose to actively step away from the conversation because they simply can't keep up with the demand and don't want to deal with the liability of an unanswered tweet that actually was emergent and hasn't been dealt with in a timely manner. There is a burgeoning tendency to tweet and expect that the powers that be will pick up on an issue because it is on social media which makes me very uncomfortable as a service provider.
This summer we issued a state of local emergency. My cell number was on all official communications. Reporters contacted me by cell mostly, while many members of the public expressed their concerns on Twitter and Facebook at all hours and a smaller group called into our office during business hours.
Deciphering who are legitimate clients requiring timely access to information, and who are engaging voyeuristically is another challenge. If I’m approached with something serious via social media I always private message direct contact information to the individual so that we can look into any issues beyond 140 characters. This differentiates between those who are just venting, and those who are actively seeking resolution. Just as I wouldn’t have a conversation with someone in an open public place regarding deeply contentious personal issues, I won’t do the same on social media.
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Billy and I'm the Communications Coordinator at a small non-profit organization in Edmonton that supports healthy behaviour change in elementary schools. It's a new position within the organization and I'm the lone wolf left to be the "Communications Department". haha.
I liked the "did you know 4.0" video. I thought the stats around declining newspaper circulation ("newspaper circulation is down 7 million over the last 25 years"), and increasing online readers ("...in the last 5 years unique readers of online newspapers are up 30 million") were particularly interesting. If there's more readership than there's been in the past 25 years, it seems like that should be BETTER for the newspaper industry, not worse. Sure, the industry would require a shift in the advertising medium (online vs paper), but ad revenues should be increasing along with readership. My hope is that newspapers will experience the same renaissance that the music industry is finally having, thanks to innovators such iTunes and Songza, after resisting change for nearly two decades - that resistance to change lead to the music industry's freefall, as well as newspapers’ decline and amalgamation. Something needs to come along for the newspaper industry so it can capitalize on the new world we call the interwebs.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Tara and I'm the Internal Communications Manager for a large global company based here in Edmonton. We design, engineer, build, install and operate workforce accommodations for the resources industry - mainly oil and gas. It is a brand new position within the organization and much like Billy, I too am the "lone wolf" in the "Communications Department". I develop and manage the communications for over 3,500 employees across Canada and the US and I lead the HR Recruiting teams in the use of social media for employer branding and recruitment purposes.
I graduated from the U of A way back in 2003 (major in Marketing) well before social took a stronghold (don't I feel old!). An early-adopter by no means, my own introduction to social media didn't happen until 2007 when I (finally) jumped onto the Facebook bandwagon. What I found particularly interesting in Module 1 was the "Did You Know 4.0" video. The answer to the question was a startling, "no!" I had no idea. I mean sure, the overall theme of the message was by no means surprising, however the sheer degree and speed at which all of these changes are happening was enough to make my head spin! I still refuse to put a television in my bedroom, never-mind in my bathroom.
As a marketer the fact that 47% of viewers would pay for ad-less viewing is a most definite challenge and one that we have been fighting for quite some time now.
Although Chen's article, Tweet this, was most interesting to me. Twitter is certainly my weakest social media link and I started really thinking about the comment: “The more frequently persons interact with one another, the stronger their sentiments of friendship for one another are apt to be." I wholeheartedly believe this to be true. Whether or not I believe Twitter is a medium which adequately allows us to "connect" with one another is another thing entirely - time will tell on that one. I remain cautiously optimistic and can't wait to see what else the course reveals in the coming days and weeks.
Hi everyone,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I want to apologize because my post is late but I just signed in this course yesterday, so I am doing my best to be updated ASAP.
My name is Nanjai Alvarado, I am from Venezuela. I arrived to Canada just 3 months ago. I graduated in Communication Studies in Venezuela and also I finished a MBA with a specialization in Marketing Management the last june. Regarding my work experience, I have worked in Marketing for the last ten years. My last job was as Marketing Coordinator in DIRECTV which is one of the world's leading providers of satellite television entertainment services in the U.S. and Latin America.
In DIRECTV I collaborated in the develop and implementation of several social media campaigns but during my MBA, I did my Final Project about Strategic Social Media Plan for the company where I was working and from this moment I realized how complex is the online world, how much I like it and how much there is to discover and learn about it. So I am taking this citation because I want to be prepared in a formal way about Social Media and I would like to know best practices in this field.
About the readings, in Chen´s article what I think was really interesting it was that everything is about people more than about the media. It´s about the human need to socialize and I think that is the source of the explosion of social media. As asked in the text "what people do with media, not what media do to people". Also, it´s interesting to see how they assume that media have little or no impact on those who do not use media, but gratifies one or more needs in people who select a particular medium. At the end, the importance is about people and their needs and how to connect them.
In the other hand, the video that I enjoyed more was "Did you know 4.0" which demonstrate how crowded are the social media and how easy is to reach to our audience in these days, but the difficult part is how to get a real connection with them. The media are evolving and we as communicators should also evolve and there is the key. It is really important our ability of adaptation in these days, because our goals are almost the same. All of us need to know how to reach to our audience but in these days that happens in different ways and there is the big change.
Likewise, during the video "The Machine is Us/ing Us" was interesting for me to realized that we must recognize the accelerated growth of online´s world, which could surpassing us and for that reason we need to learn how to protect us or be prepare for it.
Looking back on this post, I realized that my comment was never published. Thankfully, I had it saved, so here it is:
ReplyDeleteHello everyone,
My name is Amanda Martin and I work for the University of Alberta International Department, as the Marketing & Communications Coordinator for the Education Abroad Program. This role is well suited to me, as my greatest passion is travelling and I love being able to inspire students to get out and explore the world every day.
While I currently use Social Media for my position, I am looking forward to enhancing my skills in this area through the ESMC course and have certainly found the first few readings/videos to be interesting. "The Machine is Us/ing Us" made some interesting points about how the internet and therefore social media, is both created and 'used' by the user. We are responsible for this content, and it has totally changed the way we communicate.
It's helpful that the first module focuses on Twitter, because it's the platform that I feel I have the least experience with. Both Chen's article and the Commoncraft video really break down this platform to it's most basic state, and I also learned that Twitter started off by asking "What are you doing?" It sure has evolved since then!
I am looking forward to the in-class portions of this course, and to meeting you all soon.