LO1 1.1 What is a personal media profile?

Definitions-

A personal media profile - a portfolio which is made to display content which is personal to the creator, such as a blog.

Introduction

A social media profile is a social platform, such as Snapchat and TikTok, which is designed for communication purposes, mostly. The profile is usually made in order to allow friends or colleagues to be able to see what you do with your personal life.

A digital portfolio is a collection of pieces of work in the digital format, such as a Blogger site, but can be in many different formats.

Why do I need a personal media profile for my coursework?

Having a personal media profile is vital in order to show my knowledge and skill in digital media and also to prove that I am reaching the learning outcomes and excelling in the units. Blogger allows me to share my work with my teachers as well as the examiner, so that it can be marked and reviewed, which helps me improve on topics that I may be struggling with or need to improve on. In addition to this, the visual interface and theme creates a great first impression, professionally, for potential partners that I can work with in the future.

Benefits of a media profile.

CAN PROMOTE A BRAND OR BUSINESS.

CAN CONTAIN MULTIPLE FORMATS OF CONENT (Such as videos, images, text etc.).

IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO PEOPLE WITH AN INTERNET CONNECTION.

Formats of Digital Portfolios and their strengths/weaknesses.

An online blog.

Websites such as Blogger, Wix and others provide a unique, interactive experience which is easy to use, edit and navigate for visitors to view your content. Blogs can be created for either professional or personal use and are usually free to create and manage.

PROS- People can leave comments on your blog, opening the door for improvement and suggestions from the audience. | It is extremely easy to add/edit posts, with the editing options available.

CONS- Can be biased and are extremely opinionated, making them seem less credible for professional usage. | Are online and can easily be accessed by unauthorised users, due to them being publicly visible.

Multimedia/streaming content.

Video On Demand (VoD) services such as YouTube and TikTok are multimedia, which means that they can be used in order to share different formats of content, such as video, audio etc. Also, unlike blogs, multimedia content is designed for specific audiences - YouTube's algorithms will suggest content that the user is more likely to engage in, which creates mutual benefits for both you, the business using YouTube, as well as YouTube itself.

PROS- Can expose you to a huge audience of billions of worldwide users. | Content can become monetized, allowing you earn revenue from viewer traffic.

CONS- YouTube, for instance, has strong community guidelines which can be accidentally breached, causing your business to shut down in the event of this happening. | Video streaming can be inconsistent, if the site's traffic is high at the particular time of usage.

Social media.

Social media can be used in order to utilize business tools, such as promotion and synergy, and also allows you to gain followers and subscribers, helping to grow the business along the way. Social media also gives users the option to comment, like and share content which is vital for growing the audience that your business serves.

PROS- There is a huge potential reach, with the chance for your business to go viral. | It is low cost and effective at gaining an audience.

CONS- Decreases face-to-face communications skills. | Gives people a tool to harm or emotionally hurt/threat you or others.

Examples of popular digital portfolio platforms.

BLOGGER

Blogger is a free to use digital portfolio website, made by Google, and is a good tool for producing a visually appealing blog as well as having the ability to upload an endless stream of work, with the option to embed YouTube videos and other multimedia content.

PROS- Free to use, with all features, unlike many other platforms. | AdSense can be integrated, which lets you earn revenue from site traffic.

CONS- Very basic themes. | Can be complicated to learn and also can be buggy.

WIX.COM

Wix is another free to use, online website, which allows you to upload all of your work, apply themes and has a more productive interface than Blogger. Professionals use Wix to promote their content, such as big YouTubers like iJustine and Good Mythical Morning.

PROS- Has a good reputation for being a reliable portfolio website. | Has a very easy to use, "drag and drop" interface for composing your site.

CONS- In order to be able to use all features, such as a custom address, etc. you have to purchase a plan. | Can be slow, due to high traffic at times.