What Pew Internet Research about Social Media Means for Students

It's official: Women rule teh internets. Photo courtesy of Ray_from_LA. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.According to Pew Internet a non-profit organization that generates reports on the affects of the internet on American life, the "power users" of social media sites are women ages 18-29 years old. This means that "that nearly nine out of 10 (89 percent) women in that age demographic who are online use the [social media] sites overall, and 69 percent are plugged into social media outlets each day. The social media sites that the study looks at include Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. In addition to this statistic, the study also found that "nearly two-thirds of adult Internet users (65 percent) are plugged into at least one social networking site," which is double of what it was in 2008.

Those statistics are pretty awesome and all, but what do they mean to us?

Firstly, it means that college-aged women are kicking butt at social media. However, just because we are using it the most, does that mean that we understand it the most? Hopefully the answer is yes, but I am not convinced. For a college student, using social media means more than just updating your close friends on what you're doing this weekend or what weird thing you just saw happen. It means using it to benefit you the most. It means using social media to brand yourself. Use it to create yourself an online presence. Become an expert on a subject. Become a known persona in those niches that you are especially interested.

Because so many women (89% of women, for god's sake) are using social media, just having a Twitter and LinkedIn no longer sets you apart from the pack. You have to be awesome at your social media management. Consider how you are using your social media. Are you making the most of it? This is a tool that is really starting to change the ways businesses work and how people are hired. It is a way of connecting and a way to make yourself known. However, if handled improperly or lazily, it's a way to just fade back into the crowd.

Now for the boys, this article has impact for you too. Because women have the upperhand in social media, you have an fantastic opportunity to stand out. If you manage your Twitter and LinkedIn accounts well, you will stand out among your male competitors because of your experience in social media. This isn't to say that you don't have to work as hard as your fellow ladybros at managing social media. It just means that you have the chance to really master something that is important in today's society and make yourself stand out more.

Anything that you can bring to the table will help you in the future, even if it's something that seems as frivlous as social media. More and more businesses have Twitter accounts to communicate with their customers to address problems, answer questions, and generate more buzz about their products. If you can bring experience and knowledge on how to manage social media well, you'll at least have your foot in the door.

For more information how to manage your social media life, check out Emily's awesome social media series TweetMemeFace.

To view Pew Internet's full report on their findings, click here.

How do you use social media to brand your image? Has using social media ever helped you get a job or an internship or helped you make a great connection?

[via Maximum PC]

Schooltraq Organizes Your Entire Academic Calendar

Schooltraq is an awesome new way to keep traq (ohsoclever) of all of your assignments.I have featured my way of keeping up with my school assignments on HackCollege before. It involves being incredibly diligent, organized, consistent, and OCD. I happen to be all of those things. However, I would never expect any huge amount of college students to follow my example because of the craziness that it takes to organize a schedule the way I do. Thankfully, there's Schooltraq, which probably understands students' needs because it was actually created by students.

Schooltraq is a new online way to organize your school assignments in a way that is simplistic and doesn't make you want to pull out your hair every time you schedule something in. Essentially, you enter your classes for the semester and color code them (music to my ears). Then, every so often (I would recommend at least every week, but it's probably more effective to do it every month or even to go by the semester), you type in your homework assignments. This is usually when online to do lists and the way I organize my calendar gets extremely tedious. I mean, who wants to type in every freaking assignment you have to do this semester?

One of the really neat features that Schooltraq offers is that you can type in assignments with what the call "Reflex." Instead of typing in an assignment name in one box, the specific class in another, and the due date in another box, you can simply type in "Read Chapter Nine Biology next thursday." Schooltraq uses Reflex as a natural language parser to understand that the assignment is to read chapter nine for biology, and it's due next Thursday. All you have to do is press enter, and bam, it's on your academic calendar. This makes entering homework assignments a lot easier, and the natural language parser works pretty darn well.

You can also check assignments off after you've done them (as you can see above). The website keeps your assignments in order of their due date so you can see which assignment you need to do next. Although that is really important, I still strongly, strongly recommend mapping out really important assignments on a traditional calendar so you can plan out your time to work on major projects and be in the situation where you have two days to write a 20 page research paper.

Whether or not Schooltraq will catch on as a leading way to organize students' lives I think depends on the availablity of it on smartphones. A lot of students use Google Calendar to organize their lives, and so in order to become competitive enough to get a lot of notice depends on its accessability. I'm hopeful and I think that as the site develops, it will be a great tool for students.

If you'd like to check out Schooltraq, head over to their website. Schooltraq is currently in beta mode and invitation only, but Lifehacker offered an invitational code "golifehacker" for you to try it out right now.

What do you think of Schooltraq? What will it take for you to switch to it rather than use your current method of keeping track of your assignments?

[via Lifehacker]

Beer: The Multipurpose Alcoholic Beverage

Beer. Good for more than just drinking. (Wait, what?) Photo courtesy of k.ivoutin. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.So beer is basically pretty awesome. It is typically the drink of choice of college students. But everyone loves beer. Hell, my ancestors were named after beer. And because it is so awesome, beer has actually been put to other uses other than drinking. So read on to discover some new ways you can put your beer to work in your life.

Pest Trap

Just like humans, little pests like slugs, fruit flies, and cockroaches also love beer. For this reason, you can use it to attrack them into a trap to get rid of them around your dorm or apartment. For slugs, place a small saucer or jar of beer ourside where you usually find them. They'll be drawn to it and will have gotten stuck. Do the same thing for fruit flies, but cover the top of the jar with plastic wrap, poking a small hole for the flies to get into. Apparently they won't be able to get out once they get in.

Roaches are nasty, so I was relieved to hear about this tip. If you have a roach problem, put a piece of beer soaked bread in a jar and cover the rim with vaseline. Cockroaches get in, but can't get out because of the vaseline. 

Fertilize Plants

I have a little indoor plant to spruce up my apartment, and using a bit of beer can actually help fertilize it and keep it growing strong. Use a small amount of a flat beer just at the base of the plant. If you have a house with some roommates, and your yard is prone to ugly brown patches, you can pour flat beer on that too. The acids in beer kill off fungi and pests, and the fermented sugars feed the grass.

Stain Removal

If you've just spilt a little bit of coffee on the rug, instead of using chemical cleaners, try a spot of beer first. Let beer sit on the stain for a few minutes, and then dab it up with a cloth. Wash out the spot again with soap and water, and the magicness of beer should have removed the coffee stain.

Have you ever used beer for any of these household jobs? Let us know in the comments!

[via Networx]

Smart Money Moves for College Students

Money. College students never seem to have enough of it. Photo courtesy of superstrikertwo. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.

Need a laptop? We've teamed up with Intel to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Samsung Series 9 Notebook!

Possibly one of the most common things I hear around campus is, "That sounds like fun, but I'm totally broke." College students are notoriously broke, and sometimes even take pride in how we can get around stuff by spending the bare minimum. It's almost like a game. Regardless, we are always looking for ways to save money so we can spend it on more awesome things (read: alcohol). Here are a few quick tips that will help keep more money in your wallet and also will help you become more financially savvy.

Make a Budget

I know, you're already way too busy to add another thing to your to do list. But the reality is that if you just spend an hour or two every month figuring out how you are going to spend and save your money, you might actually figure out a way to save more money. For instance, if you say, "Okay, I'm only going to spend such and such money on eating out this month," then you've set yourself a goal. Once you reach that point, you know you shouldn't spend anymore money on eating out. If you didn't make that plan, you might be spending more money than you realize on certain things.

In addition to saving you money, planning a budger is a great tool that you'll have to do when you get older and get out of college. It's a skill that you should practice while you're still in college and have a little bit more leeway.

Build Up Your Credit

Building up your credit may not necessarily help you save money right now, but it is definitely something you should be doing now as a college student. You'll need credit for loans after college for a car, graduate school, or someday even a house. One of the easiest ways to build up your credit is to get a credit card and pay off your balance every month. Of course, actually getting a credit card as a college student can be difficult. HerCampus wrote an extremely thorough article of what it takes to apply for a credit card and which kind of card you should be looking for. You can read their article here.

There are other ways you can build up your credit. You can take a small loan out from your bank for something like your books, and then pay the loan back quickly with money you already have saved up. For more tips on how to build up your credit without using a credit card, check out this article.

Stop Spending Unnecessary Money

Well, duh. That just seems like a stupid suggestion. However, if you look closely at your spending habits, you might notice that you spend quite a bit on some items that are completely unnecessary. Some of the biggest money wasters, according to CNNMoney, are things like

• ATM Fees - You can easily look up an ATM of your bank that won't charge you that annoying $2 extra fee for using their machine
• Bottled Water - This is my biggest pet peeve. Getting a filtered pitcher for twenty bucks will save you hundreds of dollars a year, not to mention it helps save the environment. It's really a no brainer.
• Brand Name Groceries - I'll admit, I totally spend that extra one or two bucks for brand foods that I know that I love, like my favorite flash-frozen green beans or that specific brand of meatballs. But for the things that don't really matter, there is no shame in buying a generic brand that will end up saving you quite a bit once you get to the check out counter and all of your groceries tally up
• Eating Out - It will almost always cost more per meal to eat out than it will to cook for yourself. Avoid eating out. It's healthier for you and you save money

Cut these unnecessary spending habits out of your life, and you'll be using that money for better purposes. 

What money tips do you have for other college students? Let us know in the comments!

[via Free From Broke, HerCampus, and CNNMoney]

AP-Google Offers $20,000 Scholarship for Digital Journalism Students

If you're a digital journalist student, you can win a $20,000 scholarship. Photo courtesy of Flickr user vancouverfilmschool. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.Digital journalism is a fast growing field that is overtaking traditional journalism more and more. It incorporates new types of media that presents news to the public in new ways. As this field expands, the Associated Press and Google are offering a $20,000 scholarship for digital journalism students to help them in their education.

According to their website, "The AP-Google Journalism and Technology Scholarship program is offering scholarships for the 2012-2013 academic year to six promising undergraduate or graduate students pursuing or planning to pursue degrees at the intersection of journalism, computer science and new media. The program is targeted to individual students creating innovative projects that further the ideals of digital journalism. A key goal is to promote geographic, gender and ethnic diversity, with an empahsis on rural and urban areas."

Applications can be found here. The program is open to college sophomores or higher. Applicants must submit a project or concept that explains how his or her strategy moves digital journalism forward. Recipents will be chosen in Spring 2012.

For more information about the scholarship program and to read more from the creators of the program, read their press release here.

[via Engadget]

Back to School: How to Start Your First Week Off Right

Your first day of school isn't like this anymore. Photo courtesy of Flickr user woodleywonderworks. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.

Need a laptop? Our Back to School series is brought to you this year by Intel. We've teamed up to bring you the HackCollege Laptop Chooser. If you share the Laptop Chooser, you'll be entered to win a Samsung Series 9 Notebook!

Sometimes it's hard to get back into the mentality of going to school again. Your brain is still resisting thinking about those complicated equations and theories, and wishes it was back in bed in summer. In order to get you back into the right mind set, HerCampus wrote a great article about how to start off your first week of college right. These are great tips for freshmen and upperclass students alike because everyone needs a little reminder of what it takes to be awesome your first week. You can check out HerCampus' full article here, and here are several of the tips that I thought are the most helpful.

Map Out Your Schedule

There is nothing worse than having no idea where you're going on your first day of class. I am extremely directionally challenged, and so it makes me incredibly nervous to not know where I'm going. To prevent a panic attack in the ten minutes between classes where I'm supposed to find my next class, I map out my schedule ahead of time so I know exactly where I need to go. I write down exactly when each of my classes are and what room they're in. Obviously, being me, I color coordinate this too.

The next thing you should do is go to every classroom that you'll be in that semester. You may know kind of sort of where the room is in that building that is possibly over there, but in order to make sure you're not late for anything, you're best bet is to actually go to the classroom so you can be absolutely sure you know where you're going on your first day of classes.

Get to Class Early

This may seem like a super nerdy, brown-nosing technique, but it is actually a really good tip. You will make a good impression on your professor if you show up early. Also, you'll be able to settle yourself into your surroundings if you get there earlier. Take out your notebooks, your notes, and maybe your laptop so that you're ready exactly when class starts. It really sucks when you slip in the door at the last minute, and you're still pulling out your belongings as the professor starts his or her lecture.

Getting to class early also ensures that you'll have your ideal pick of seating choices. Sitting in the front is often a good choice because you'll be able to make sure you're not sitting behind a guy on the basketball team who completely blocks your view of the board. Sometimes it also helps to sit at the front because professors can be hard to hear, especially if they have accents or are just soft-spoken. Adjust yourself in the classroom to make sure you are getting everything out of class that you can.

Keep An Eye Out for Potential Study Buddies

It may seem early in the semester to be looking for someone to study with, but it's never too early in fact. You may already have a friend in the class. If you don't, make conversation with the people next to you. Try to gauge what kind of student they are. If you notice them taking extremely detailed notes, be friendly to them and then when it comes time to study, you'll already have a relationship built so that you can form a rocking study connection that will help both of you ace the test.

This is also a really good thing to do even if you don't like studying with people, like me. I like to keep my eyes on who takes good notes in case I fall sick later in the semester. It's good to know who you can trust to take good notes so that you know what was going on in class while you were gone.

Explore Other Buildings on Campus

This is a really great tip that HerCampus gave and that even as a senior I plan on using this semester. Once you know where all your classes are, you might feel that you don't even need to go into the other buildings on campus. For example, as a Communication and Classics major, I don't think I've ever even set foot in the engineering building. But it is actually a good idea to just go explore the other buildings on campus. You'll get a better sense of where everything is and you might even see some really interesting things that will encourage you to try out a class you never though you'd try. You might see an flyer for an event that sounds interesting to you. Get out of your comfort zone and see everything your university has to offer.

What tips do you have for rocking your first week back to class? Let us know in the comments!

[via HerCampus]

Back To School Podcast: Stand Out in Your Department

Getting good grades is only half the battle. You still want to stand out to your professors who can help you score internships, research opportunities, and even jobs after graduation. Today, Laura, Emily, and Shep share some advice on how to stand out in your major.

Note: we're using the html5 <audio>  tag for the media player, and it should work fine in Chrome and Safari. If your browser isn't supported, go ahead and download the .mp3 file here, or subscribe on iTunes.  

Back to School: Great On-The-Go Snacks for Your Busy Schedule

Trail mix is an awesome snack for super busy students. Photo courtesy of Flickr user ilovemypit. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.Sometimes our college class schedules are too busy for us to even just sit down and spare a few minutes for a bite to eat. Or sometimes those lines in the dining hall at lunch time are way too long. At HackCollege, we love on-the-go snacking and have written posts about what the best snacks are. This year, I'll be adding a couple of things to that list so that you have a wider variety of snacks to choose from as you start off your busy year.

Trail Mix

Duh. Trail mix is the most awesomest thing ever when it comes to eating on-the-go. It's salty, it's sweet, and if you make it just right, it's chocolatey. The best part about it is that nuts are a great source of protein, so it won't just give you something to eat, it will actually hold you over until your next meal. College campuses usually have a great selection of trail mixes, or you could make your own by combining your favorite nuts, chocolate pieces, and dried fruit. Or you could check out former HackCollege writer Chris's own trail mix recipe.

Roasted Chickpeas

This is a really great alternative for those who have peanut allergies. Chickpeas are also a great source of fiber and protein, so they're a healthy choice as well. To roast chickpeas, simply rinse and dry them, toss them with olive oil, mix with your choice of seasoning, and bake them in the oven. Check out more about chickpeas here.

Whole Fruit

Fruit is not only good for you, it's a delicious and sweet snack. Pack an apple, banana, or my personal favorites little clemmentines. They're such a fresh break from processed food, and fit perfectly in a bag inside my backpack. The best part about whole fruit is that it takes about two seconds to put in a bag-- no prep time!

Sliced Vegetables

Just as healthy as fruit, we've got your vegetables now. Grab a cucumber and slice it into little chips, and hey,  you've got yourself a delicious, healthy snack to munch on as you hurry between classes. Baby carrots are my personal favorite quick veggie snack, but you could also have some celery, snap peas, and sliced bell peppers. To make the vegetables a little more filling, pack a small jar of peanut butter to add some protein to your snack.

What on-the-go snacks do you eat when you don't have time for a normal lunch? Let us know in the comments!

[via Wise Bread]