Introduction: Abigail Fisher

Hello J676 colleagues, my name is Abigail Fisher. I spent the summer working in the Marketing Operations department for CUNA Mutual, specifically for their direct to consumer product TruStage Insurance. This internship exposed me to some rudimentary programming used for direct mail operations. I am hoping this course will help me to frame these skills for use in journalism and strategic communication.

The summer of 2013 I worked for Startup Milwaukee, an incubator and resource center for startups in the greater Milwaukee area. This internship was really the genesis of my interest in the role technology plays in our daily lives. I also wanted to capitalize on the edge technological literacy gives candidates in the search for entry level positions.

Some more general facts about myself, I am a junior majoring in Journalism and English with a certificate in Digital Studies. I am a supervisor for the event staff at Memorial Union and Union South, and I am hiring! Send me an email or talk to me in class if you need a job. This semester I am also interning for the Madison Public Libraries’ Book Festival. The Book Fest is a four day series of events featuring prominent authors from around the country, check out our website for a full schedule (shameless plug). I always spread myself incredibly thin, but I do my best work academically and otherwise when I am busy.

One of the questions I have about this course is what will be expected of the writing style for our individual papers. I am not sure how to approach such theoretical topics or what basic structure (if one exists) to follow. I am definitely not afraid of taking stylistic risks in an academic setting, but I would like to have a general discussion about parameters.

Design fiction was another element of the syllabus that was a fuzzy to me. I’m sure everything will become clear through an in person explanation. I’m mostly excited about finding out more because it sounds like an excellent way to cultivate new ideas and solutions. Throughout this summer, I was part of an initiative to streamline the direct mail process at CUNA Mutual. I feel that from what I currently understand about design fiction, it may be applicable to solving efficiency problems.

My final question would be what other media outlets should we be monitoring regularly throughout this class? Are there specific online publications that tie into what we will be learning throughout the semester? I am always looking for new techniques/channels to help balance my media diet.

The selected readings are probably what I am most excited about for this course. Thumbing through the titles I can already tell that the articles all surround subjects I have an interest in but maybe have not explored fully on my own. I am especially excited for the week where we discuss surveillance and privacy, and hopefully I can choose that week to be the discuss leader.

I am least excited for the group project and public speaking elements of the class. I made it my personal goal for the summer to get through my fear of public speaking, so I forced myself to make a presentation for the end of my internship. I hated it, but I felt better about myself when it was over. Hopefully I will feel the same way after I present in this class. Regarding my apprehension about the group project, I simply work better alone.

Looking forward to a great semester with all of you!