Social media has quickly become one of the ways individuals communicate with each other. Cell phones have swiftly taken over a major part of our day. Technology is where our future is headed, and I personally believe that social media is where everyone is introduced to new ideas, places, cultures, and events. Social media is where I learn about projects around me, or where I am informed of subjects that intrigue me.
Before I had registered to be a part of this project I had only heard about it through a colleague who was currently taking the course, and through Dr. Rowe who was my professor for Intro to Archaeology. I had not seen anything regarding to this project through social media. I believe an idea or project will  flourish even more and gain support through social media if promoted enough. For example, I am a frequent user of social media! I use most of the mainstream forums of social media, and I have posted pictures and photos regarding to this project on my social media as well. I share anything regarding this project actually. Now, my followers are informed about this project and are aware as to what it is all about.
I believe the best forum for this project would possibly be via Twitter and Instagram. Many individuals use these platforms on a daily basis, and this is even where many hear about major events. These platforms are on the palm of their hands throughout the day, and they are constantly checking them. If we were to post about the Hidalgo County Public Cemetery Project via Twitter many individuals from the Hidalgo area would take a major interest. Rapidly, I predict that a Twitter account for this project would go viral within our community, and that is more than enough. What we are doing is for the community, and through Twitter we could get the community to engage with it as well! Possibly for connecting families to their loved ones, or just to see what UTRGV and the county are working on together.
If we were to promote the project via Instagram it would be more of a visual approach. As Instagram is mostly use for images followed by captions. If the community were to visually see what we are doing a major interest would spark! I myself have posted on my Instagram regarding the equipment we use, and even students in action. I have received many comments taking an interest as to what we are doing.
I firmly believe if we were to promote our project more via Twitter and Instagram the community engagement we will receive is huge! Through this platform we will also be able to have information regarding the project available to anyone interested. We will be more available to reach as well as the community could send us their comments, questions or concerns.
Yes! I agree with you, I had never heard about this project until my cultural anthropology professor mentioned the class and then Professor Rowe came and talked to the class about the project and immediately I was intrigued. During this time I was also having a hard time choosing a career path ,but once I had decided with Anthropology, I knew that this project would be a great opportunity to be apart of . Social media would’ve been helpful during this time also ,because since I am an avid user of social media and If I would seen this class on the Anthropology Facebook page I would’ve been very interested about it. So i think social media would be a great advantage to this project in order to get peoples attention about the class.
The use and growth of social media is definitely important. Personally, I don’t often use Twitter but do get on to read on current events that are readily accessible. It’s as you described, they are in the palm of our hands and the best we can do is incorporate into the change of technology for the benefit of the project. I also was not aware of this course or any other service learning opportunities offered by the university until this semester and I really would have liked to see more marketing from that aspect. As a senior, it’s a little too late to take on more experiences but this would have been more beneficial to me and to others if it is introduced on a broader level. Social media is a great medium to showcase these type of community engagements.
I completely agree that the public’s involvement can be better encouraged through the means of visuals. Social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter are definitely ideal for the job. I feel like we can reach an audience that we may not reach via TV news outlets or newspapers. If we pair this with our blog and websites, we can definitely get some more traffic for the project and perhaps lighten the load of the data collection work. I have a feeling this could also lead to great success for the future Dia de los Muertos events that we hope to host and perhaps foster a spirit of community that sees to better maintenance, care of and engagement with the cemetery and the undergoing archaeological investigations.