Genuine

I had the privilege this week of being a guest speaker in the class of Stacey Sharpe, PhD at California State University, Los Angeles. I was discussing Social Media Marketing and what goes into building a campaign that can withstand the tug of war between what a client expects and what the AI algorithms that power social platforms want to do. I really enjoyed my speaking experience, and I’m grateful to Dr. Sharpe, the students of her class, and #LearnWithAEF for making the visit possible. It’s been 16 years since I started as an undergraduate, so I appreciate the opportunity that AEF gives me to connect with a younger generation and learn about who they are. Here are some nuggets: 💡 They engage differently. When I was an undergrad, some lecturers were still using overhead projectors. This week, I was presenting over Zoom, and the majority of students did not have cameras on. Importantly, this didn’t mean they weren’t paying attention - they were participating in exercises and asking questions. Younger people show they care in different ways, and older folks should bear that in mind. 💡 They’re invested. The questions they were asking were smart, and they were pointed. When we ran through an exercise together they were coming up with answers that even I, who set the challenge, hadn’t considered. It makes me want to to constantly improve so I can keep up when they enter the job market. 💡 They’re proactive. A couple of them have reached out to me here (hello if you’re seeing this!), and I so admire that ability to make connections. For many years I was too anxious to send those kind of requests, and I regret that now I’m constantly being inspired by the connections that I do have. And here’s another nugget for people who are speaking in virtual guest lectures: don’t play with the beautifying settings on Zoom while you’re sat in a waiting room unless you’re happy for that setting to stay on as you start your class 😀