Happy New Year and welcome to 2019! WOW – I can’t believe it is already 2019 – it seems like yesterday we were just here welcoming 2018. Time has certainly moved fast (this seems to be the case each year I get older!), and many experiences have happened to me these past 365 days that have made an impact on me as a person and professional.
2018, to summarize for me, was all about change. Change can come in many different forms and circumstances. I had a lot of changes happen to me this year – some were more prominent in my professional career, and others happened in my personal life.
Together as a family. We started last year off with a big bang with Dad’s surgery. My dad had heart surgery on January 4th (he had seven bypasses!). It was a time where we all came together and helped Dad with his recovery, and he’s doing tremendous. A year later, we are here to celebrate his journey and looking forward to next steps!
Became an aunt. I gained a new title this year and became an aunt to my sweet nephew, Marcus.
He is such a sweetie and I have already told Kristin and Scott 1) He and I will be like Edna Mode and Jack-Jack from The Incredibles (already embracing “Auntie Karen!”(, and 2) He will definitely be one spoiled baby as I have discovered the lovely land of baby and toddler clothes! 🙂
Announced new partnerships. I’ve always had a goal in mind to create not just academic partnerships, but to work with brands and professionals in the industry. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to do this with some of my favorite brands (ex. Adidas, Adobe, HubSpot, and Hootsuite to name a few), and my goal has always been to foster and continue to grow these relationships.
This one happened again later this year, but we are working on the Cannes Lions Educator Summit, which will launch this year in Cannes. This was something I had wanted to do ever since I went to Cannes Lions in 2017, and now we are moving forward to creating a great event for educators around the world. Stay tuned for more information on this!
Traveled a BUNCH. I didn’t realize how many flights I had taken until I got a note from United saying I took 44 flights with them this year. These were not all the flights I took (took several with Delta), but still!! These were for mostly travel trips for conferences, which was amazing to me!
I was able to travel to many different states for conferences and invited talks, like Oregon, Utah, Washington D.C., California, Texas, and more!
Grew as a professor. I think this year was definitely a growing year for me in many ways as a professor. I was able to work with three clients for my classes this year (Louisville Bats, Louisville City FC, and The Breeders’ Cup.
The Breeders’ Cup client experience was the biggest and largest I have ever done as a professor. Looking back at the work and dedication my students displayed this past fall still amazes me. We also had the chance to partner and work with Adobe (love this company!) on being a pilot class for Adobe Rush. These partnerships really flourished this year for my classes, and I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store!
Became a solo author. I had three books out this year (one with TopHat and two with SAGE), and I couldn’t be prouder of them. It was something I had always wanted to do, but was not sure when this would happen. It did this year, and the response has been tremendous. I am super excited to see the books being adopted and used around the world in classes!
These are just some of the things I experienced this past year. Of course, everyone has been asking – Karen, what’s going to happen next year? What are your resolutions or goals for 2019? Where do you see social media going? What will be your word for the year?
I see a lot of things in the future, and it’s really exciting. That’s great about looking towards a new year – it’s a fresh start and new beginning for many people. It’s all about exploring and taking advantage of the possibilities.
We have already seen a lot of articles and reports out about what to expect for 2019, but I’d recommend you all check out what Jess Smith has written for the #SMSports community. This is a must read here for all social media and digital professionals.
Some of the things I hope to see in social media this year includes:
More focus on quality versus quantity in content, relationships, and conversations. We need to go back to the basics and realize more is not always better. Invest the time and energy into training and education to make sure we are creating meaningful exchanges and stories, rather than just noise.
Call out the fakeness out in social media. This is something our field needs to do more of. There are a lot of people who are doing things to create the illusion of being prominent, but in fact, it is not always the case. We have all seen it, and this will be the year where we all want authentic professionals and “real” influencers who can make a difference. We have seen this being discussed already in professional circles, and even more brands are recognizing they need tools to really be able to identify who is real, and who is not. 2019 will be the year for authenticity.
More exploring, less jumping. I think we see many people talk about the “next shiny object” when it comes to social media – whether it is TikTok or any other platform rising up in the ranks. We need to do more exploring and collaborating on what are some of the similarities and differences between these channels, rather than jumping 100% and investing everything you got. That’s why when I see people hone in on one platform or say – LinkedIn is the next big thing, etc. – that puts you in a box that is hard to get out of.
Time to stop the social media education bashing. I am *hopeful* that 2019 will be the year where industry recognizes the fact that universities and educators are trying to offer and teach classes to prepare our students, and we want to work together. I know GaryVee has been on this point for years, and this is one of the biggest points I have disagreed with him on (would love to chat w/ him about this!). We are all trying to make a difference and offer our students the experiences, skills and knowledge they need to be successful once they graduate. We are all in the same boat and we need to work together. I think we are all moving in the right direction, and I am excited to see where 2019 goes with this.
Last, but not least, my word for the year is simple: impact. Life is too short, and we want to make each day count for everyone we are around. I want to continue to make an impact and difference in my field, for academics, students, and professionals. I hope to continue to foster and grow the #SMprofs community (we are now well over 1k members!) to share and contribute to how to teach and practice social media in and out of our classrooms.
I wish you all a wonderful and Happy New Year! Let’s make 2019 the best one yet!
Best Wishes,
