“Generation Y” Logs On, Tunes Out

The latest DIY tips, celebrity gossip and newest apps are available literally at the fingertips of smart phone users. This is a generation where social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become the source of news for current events both domestic and international. In technology-infused environments from the classroom to the workplace where accessing information is easier than ever, many Americans still are tuning out important information in the media.

Americans now pay less attention to international affairs and consume less foreign news. Domestic news continues to dominate new American media. According to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 59 percent of Americans say they regularly watch the local news in their area. This has decreased significantly from the more than three-quarters of American who regularly watched local news in the early 1990s, but is largely unchanged from 2000.

“Our generation is so used to getting things instantly, everything is available in one click, and I think that makes us less interested in taking time to read and digest a traditional news story when we can get the gist in a 140-character tweet instead,” said Karah Finan, an OU junior studying journalism and political science.

Facebook circulating news poses questions for journalists

Column, Kenneth McNulty

 When Facebook started, it was something that people used to        talk to friends and see what they were up to. Now, Facebook has  evolved into a multimedia tool that can benefit journalists.

After reading the article “With promise of audience growth,  Facebook pulls news organizations within its walls” by Jeff  Sonderman from poynter.org, I gathered some interesting    information and thoughts on the topic.

The social networking site’s rapid growth has gained a number of inquisitive glances from big name businesses and news organizations. The influence Facebook has at its disposal has given the site some major bartering rights with businesses interested in sharing news or even creating their own page on Facebook.

By using Facebook, these publications can circulate their names or stories to anyone online and possibly gain new customers or future employees. News is easily accessible for users, and this method of publicity is an exciting idea for reporters who are just starting off.

Recently, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal have launched their own Facebook apps within their news websites. This shows how major players in the news world already have stakes set in to spread their content via Facebook and opens the door for other publications to join the growing success Facebook seems to be cultivating.

The question that I must ask though is how well will Facebook deliver its services?

Online privacy settings are a concern for anyone, but especially news organizations. Even with Facebook attempting to improve privacy settings, as Sonderman indicated in his article, journalists should always take caution when publishing information.

Another significant issue that I could see arising is the possibility of Facebook ultimately controlling how stories would be displayed. For journalists, this means that the stories you submit will compete with all of the other distractions Facebook has to offer such as their navigation bar, ads streaming off to the side and friends’ updates. Sonderman pointed out in his article that distractions like this could pull readers away from what you posted and ultimately lead them to other publication’s pages.

Sonderman also introduced in his article the possibility that Facebook could charge more for businesses to advertise on their pages. Depending on the amount of attention certain pages are receiving, this could mean that Facebook chooses who gets space and where. If this happens, the influx of corporate attention Facebook will obtain may make the site more impersonal and have it simply go after the wealthiest, big-name news organizations.

Facebook as a new outlet for journalism is a wonderful, yet terrifying idea. It makes publishing easier than ever before and gives you the opportunity to have your work circulated, making it simpler for larger news outlets to find you and possibly hire you.

However, while this is the dream every journalist has, we must question the power Facebook would ultimately have over writers. How much security and control would you really have? This is something that every journalist has to ask before they press that submit button.

Regardless, Facebook is proving to be essential in the journalist’s journey to push forward in the field and the ever-changing climate of social networking.

 

How To: Build Your Resume Over the Summer

Nicole Spears, Reporter

For many of us, the past months have been filled with daydreams of a breezy summer break. It can be a time for yourself, taking a much-needed break from racing around. But, although you may think that a full school year of climbing Jeff Hill was good enough, summer break doesn’t have to mean a stop in your progression.

A little rest and relaxation can do everyone wonders, but taking the summer too easily may guarantee that September will hit you like a freight train. This summer, try to find your own balance of work and play.

Don’t have an internship, or simply looking for more ways to beef up your resume over this break? Getting creative can give you the experience that you don’t even realize you will need someday. You can use this time off to cultivate skills on your own time, while finding new ways to network, and discover your own brand.

With the way our industry is constantly changing, there are endless platforms and programs to familiarize yourself with. Apart from internships, we often overlook the simpler methods of becoming more career-ready. While the list of possibilities is endless, here are a few suggestions that everyone could employ.

1. Build Your Personal Online Presence
This is a word of advice that always seems to be much easier said than done. However, starting up is the hardest part. You’ll find the most success if you can come up with a creative idea that you’re passionate about, and also the right platform to display it. A personal website not only sells your character, but also shows prospective employers that you are comfortable working on the Internet. The more platforms and media that you can incorporate in to a professional matter, the better.

2. Revise Your LinkedIn
Unlike Facebook and Twitter, most of us aren’t keeping up with our LinkedIn accounts daily. Think back through the school year and connect with classmates or professionals that you’ve met. Make sure you have the latest edition of your resume uploaded. Tweak your account so that it better reflects your current experience, as well as your future ambitions.

3. Catch Up With Old Connections
When we think of networking, we often think of opportunities that will allow us to get out there and meet new people. One of the most important things you can do is keep in touch with people that you’ve already become acquainted with throughout your education and job search. Pass on a recent sample of your writing or other work to someone you’ve previously been in contact with. This way, when you need to call on them, they’ll remember your name.

4. Get Ahead on Credit Hours
After walking out of that last final, the feeling of freedom can be overwhelming. No more nagging assignments waiting for your attention–for the next few months at least. For this reason, it can be hard to give summer courses a second thought. The truth is, summer courses are a great way to get non-major classes and prerequisites out of the way. Whether you choose to do online or on-campus classes, they are usually a more manageable, alternative than packing them into your fall quarter schedule.

5.  Follow Your Favorite Writers
Whether it’s your local paper, The New York Times, or a favorite blog, following a preferred writer is a great way to keep your style in tune over the break. We tend to idolize or even relate to our favorite journalists, so following them can spark great ideas for your own work. Though this is a habit that can be applied throughout the school year as well, summer’s extra down time will give the chance to keep up daily or even find new writers to follow.

Journalism wins top spot as most useless degree

Raquel Harrah, Reporter

The  alarm goes off. There is no CNN blaring from the television, no newspaper to accompany the usual morning cup of coffee, no Twitter, no Facebook; the only certainty in this world is uncertainty. Confusion, panic, and ignorance take the place of reliability and accuracy.

This is a day without journalism.  In a recent ranking by The Daily Beast of most useless college majors, journalism placed number one, beating out competitors like horticulture and music for the top spot.

This study leaves readers with one question: “If a journalism major is useless, what if it were to disappear from college programs? What if journalism were left to untrained citizens and ceased to exist in the professional sense?”

“I don’t think it’s possible for a world without journalism to exist. It is very fundamental,” said Elizabeth Sullivan, Opinion Editor for The Plain Dealer.

Could the world truly not function without journalism? After all, journalism has shaped and built this country as far back as the 17th century. When destruction plagues every other entity in this world, journalism remains, and even thrives, from the turmoil.

It is almost difficult to envision journalism being stripped from this world, because citizens are so dependent on it. I tried my best to picture a world without journalism, just for a day; and like a bad dream, this is what I imagined.

1. There would be no newspaper to inform me of the previous day’s events. I turn the television on, and no cheerful man explains the rain cloud coming in from the South, so I walk out in the rain fully unprepared. Tornados could be headed my way, but I would not know.

2. Twitter and Facebook no longer exist. My computer remains idle as I walk aimlessly around with no other procrastination tool at hand. I don’t know what my friends did last night, I don’t know who is dating whom; and on a larger spectrum, I don’t know if China dropped an atomic bomb and wiped out half the country. It could happen.

3. I turn on the television to once again find something to do. There is no Saturday Night Live, no Colbert Report, and no Daily Show for my daily fix of humor. Satire no longer exists since there is no news-providing raw material. Not only do I have no clue what is going on in the world, but I can’t even laugh about the ridiculous circumstances of everyday life.

4. I head outside as I watch a chemical company dump their chemicals into a nearby water source. There are no reporters to report the corruption, no newspapers to turn to, and hundreds of thousands of people could be sick in an instant, with no explanation and no incentive to fix it.

5. Utter chaos ensues. The government embezzles money, people go on murder sprees; but who brings light to these situations? This leads to the next problem.

6. Everyone becomes a journalist. Without training or knowledge of the journalism field, everyone becomes their own journalist. Like a game of telephone, facts are distorted, rumors spread. No one really knows the difference between fact and fiction. This leads us, once again, to utter chaos. And then everyone dies.

Alright, this might be an exaggeration, but it is not impossible. Because of average pay or job availability, a website might label a journalism degree as useless, but this in no way means that professional journalism is not essential. Journalism is the stability of any society. It is a translator between the public and the government. It brings light to injustices and corruption to solve society’s problems. If people are ignorant to the problems, how can they go about solving them?

It is also a falsehood that anyone can be a journalist. Between blogs and modern media conventions, the line between journalism, citizen journalism, and idle gossip is often blurred.

Journalism in the true sense, however, demands accuracy and reliability, and its existence shapes society.

Journalists add new asset to their media toolbox

Story // April Jaynes, Reporter

Last Monday, April 25, Storify opened to public users, providing audiences with more story variety and a chance to tell their own.

“Storify”, a verb meaning, “to form or tell stories of; to narrate or describe in a story,” is an online platform that allows users to combine various types of social media, along with personal text, in a story.

The platform is simple to operate and offers a convenient approach to gathering information from social media sites.

www.storify.com

Users can input links and search Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Flickr and RSS feeds to aid in their storytelling by simply dragging and dropping the items into the story.

Co-founder and former AP reporter Burt Herman said in a New York Times article by Claire Cain Miller, “We’re really trying to put together computer science plus storytelling and journalism to think creatively about how you can blend the two worlds.”

The Storify blog said it was opening its beta to the public “so many more people have the chance to tell stories in this new form and join the future of storytelling online.”

Professor Hans Meyer said he received his private beta invitation the day before the site went public.

While Meyer says he’s not sure how many readers are aware of Storify; he said he thinks one of the reasons the platform exists is “because it recognizes the fact that a lot of people are getting their news from social media and they’re getting it in an unfiltered way.”

Prior to going public, experienced journalists have taken advantage of Storify’s user-friendly platform by providing audiences with reliable social media to aid in creating major news stories.

Andy Carvin, Senior Strategist and Social Media Desk for NPR, uses Storify to report on what’s happening in the Middle East and the crisis in North Africa.

The Storify blog also says that the day of Storify’s most views, consisting of more than half a million, came in March when the tragic earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.

Meyer said that Storify “encourages reporters to do the reporting” and allows journalists to organize information in a way that the average citizen doesn’t.

“We have to stop thinking that we’re the only ones who provide the content,” he said. “There’s lots of people tweeting. There’s lots of information out there, but journalists are the best at, and well trained for, analyzing that information, adapting it to the audience and checking it for accuracy.”

Meyer also said he hopes small news organizations that may not be experienced with social media sites will use Storify to help them integrate social media into their news coverage.

“When you’re using social media, it forces reporters to go beyond their traditional sources and to really look at members of their audience, see what they’re saying and see what value they add to the news story,” Meyer said.

Meyer encourages students to investigate Storify.

“Use it. Collect some tweets, comment on them and pull them together,” he said. “Let’s see what happens.”

ImPRessions team hosts first Social Media Summit

Story // Nicole Spears, Reporter

A lot of hard work goes into each and every Scripps publication. Between delving into fresh and entertaining stories, chasing down that perfect photo, and working on a deadline, not much time or energy is reserved for extra work.

But why put in all this time and effort, only to supply your craft to a limited readership? Along with the evolving technologies of the day has come social media—the solution to this problem. Social media, when in the right hands, allows us to connect and interact in ways previously unimaginable. As a publication’s social media increases, so does its readership and success.

The Social Media Summit, hosted by the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism ImPRessions team aided OU publications with their social media expertise. Their mission was to improve interactivity among Scripps publications in order to attract a larger readership from OU students, as well as prospective students.

“Working primarily with Facebook and Twitter, we wanted to try to get all publications working together, on a cohesive page,” Sam Bartlett, ImPRessions account executive, said.

The ImPRessions J-School account, prior to hosting the Social Media Summit, was already utilizing their newly released Scripps Facebook page to spark up conversation between publications. Bartlett and her team wanted to further engage social media activity among Scripps students. They set out to do this by inviting several campus publications to the event, where they offered an in-depth educational session on the uses of social media.

The Social Media Summit attracted members and writers from The Post, PRSSA, The New Political, the Alumni Association, and Students for Global Media and Diversity, among others. Bartlett, along with other ImPRessions account associates involved in the event, viewed it as a success.

“We got really good feedback, they had a lot of questions that we had good answers for,” Bartlett said. Publications came seeking advice on how to get more interaction from students, along with getting them more members. The team taught attendees to start a conversation with retweets, or by posing a question.

Better use of social media platforms can help promote each organization, while also bringing them together.

“Although we may be competitors, we’re working towards the same goals,” Sarah Maloy, ImPRessions account associate, said. “The heart of Scripps is the organizations, and we wanted to promote that.”

The ImPRessions PR students wanted to spread the word that the benefits of these social media sites reach beyond improving communication within the Scripps community. A bigger Facebook and Twitter presence will help to draw in prospective students, which is a primary focus for the ImPRessions J-School team. In addition, more interactivity will display the diversity of opportunities incoming students will find amongst Scripp’s growing range of publications.

While updating social media outlets may appear as just another thing to get around to, trends around the industry show that being versed in their intricacies can give you a surprising advantage. As titles like “Social Media Specialist” pop-up in well-known corporations, these tools are becoming increasingly important to job seekers.

As for using social media to your current publication’s advantage, look out for the next Social Media Summit, which could be happening as soon as the end of Spring Quarter.

SGMD works to enhance understanding of international media

Story // Sandhya Kambhampati, Contributing Writer

From Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, global media is constantly changing.  Students for Global Media and Diversity (SGMD) focuses on these changes and analyzes the different aspects of media around the globe.

“Knowledge about global media is continually growing in importance, especially with the prominent role that the Internet plays in the distribution of news,” said Andreya Carlson, secretary of SGMD.  Carlson said the news is no longer in the hands of traditional news outlets, so anyone who wants to have their voice heard could contribute to this information transfer.

Director of the Pulitzer Prize Center on Crisis Reporting, Jon Sawyer, chats with IIJ/SGMD.

Nadia Sheng, president of SGMD, said that understanding different viewpoints and why they do what they do is also important. Because of this, Students for Global Media and Diversity focuses on all media groups and calls for the understanding of the history that makes one country’s media different from another.

SGMD has a new focus every meeting, which ties hand-in-hand with the fastpace of global media. In the past, the group has had students present their study abroad experiences, looked at media strategies in different countries, and hosted guests and speakers from various backgrounds. Sheng said the group aims to give an opportunity for members to meet new people and share their experiences in an open and respectful environment.

“SGMD implores its members to ask questions and be active in their pursuit for information and in broadening their world view,” said Sheng.

This, Sheng said, is done through guest speakers, including journalists and other experts in the field from across the country and the world. Speakers also include students and faculty members, such as Scripps Professor Kevin Grieves, who shared stories of his time working at CNN.

SGMD has also co-hosted several major events in collaboration with the International Institute for Journalism (IIJ). Last year, Jon Sawyer, the executive director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting came and spoke to students about the issues faced all around the globe. This year, Rebecca Hamilton, Washington Post special correspondent and author of the book, “Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide” spoke about the current situation in Darfur and the US involvement over the years.

SGMD has also utilized social media tools such as Skype to connect with people. The first Skype chat was with GOOD Community Organizer Hillary Newman who spoke to students about the website and her role. Since then, students have also gotten the chance to chat with UPIU mentors Harumi Gondo and Krista Kapralos.

As for now, the group encourages students to actively participate in discussions.

“Anyone who is at all interested in other cultures, the media, or communication strategies should stop by one of our meetings,” Carlson said.

SGMD meets on Thursdays from 6-7 PM in Baker room 236. On April 7^th, Ros Atkins, from the BBC’s program “World Have Your Say” will Skype chat with members and answer questions on what goes on behind the scenes of the show and what goes into moderating shows.

How to: Effortlessly Generate Story Ideas

Story // April Jaynes, Reporter

In today’s journalism world, it seems as if just about everything has been done. However, I’ve found one of the most challenging practices to be generating my own story ideas.

The fact of the matter is that we all want and need to contribute to our publications (not to mention some that may be our future employers) through more than just our articles, and pitching story ideas is a simple way to do so.  Along my amateur journalistic journey thus far, I’ve developed a few seemingly strange, yet simple techniques to aid me in my constant search for a potential story.

1) People Watch
While this technique could be one step away from acquiring a “creeper” status for yourself, it could also open your eyes to article-worthy topics you wouldn’t have otherwise found. Never underestimate the power of observation.

During my first month’s experience with college journalism, this brainstorming method helped me produce my first published story of which was initially my own idea. This was perhaps due to that fact that I had limited experience with generating story ideas or, even more likely, because it my first quarter in college. I had fallen into the habit of people watching in hopes of learning how to look like I knew what I was doing and to not seem like the ignorant, naive freshman that I was. (Was, being the key word.)

Whatever the excuse, I was pleased that my constant observations of other freshman harping about how dark and creepy it was outside when they had to walk home late at night sparked an idea to look into outside campus lighting. Even if my article didn’t quite turn out as I’d hoped, I’d like to think that it contributed in some way to the eventual new outside lights installed on campus this year.

2) Consult Social Networks
Newspapers, magazines, radio and TV aren’t the only media to provide story inspiration. Twitter and Facebook feeds are practically breeding grounds for countless potential stories. Where else can you find an individual’s ingenious thoughts on current political issues and colorful commentary on Charlie Sheen’s latest exploits in the same place? Without social networking feeds, you simply can’t.

As an added bonus, social networks provide insight into the minds of potential readers. Look at this method as an extension of the people watching you already do. Now you can actually see if the assumptions you’ve made about their thought processes actually coincide with what is, or at the very least, you can develop a dangerously relevant story that will hit home with the people you are so desperately trying to understand.

Even if this technique doesn’t develop into a hard news story, it can certainly generate the perfect topic for that column or blog you plan to start this quarter.

3) Take Advantage of Your Ignorance
The best way to ensure a well-informed story is to start with a completely oblivious reporter. No question seems too moronic to ask, and interviewees, who usually pick up on the reporter’s ignorance, speak in the layman’s terms required for the reporter’s successful understanding of the subject at hand.

The wide-open field is also a chance to expand your own mind and gain the knowledge you need to know about how to write the FOIA requests you may eventually have to file. At least, this is an issue I found myself running into.

Despite the initial intimidation you may feel from a completely foreign topic as a story idea, delve into it anyway. Your readers will appreciate your thorough investigation and you’ll learn something in the process.  Seize your ignorance, investigate your heart out and journal your findings for the readers you creep on for story ideas.

ImPRessions promotes long night to raise money

Story // Alex Felser, Contributing Writer

In its fourth year, Up ‘til Dawn’s annual event, OhioMoves, decided to change the format of their six-hour fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by adding a Battle of the Bands event.

Seven different acts performed during the event on Sunday including three bands, two solo acts, Title IX (Ohio University Women’s Chorale a cappella ensemble) and a rapper, with the winner being determined by the amount of addresses collected from their fan base. The winning band, Flow Town Four, received a cash prize of $175 raised by ImPRessions.

Volunteers stuff envelopes for the letter sending party.

OhioMoves was the unique name conceived by ImPRessions for this year’s Up ‘til Dawn’s annual event in which the organization raises money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through a letter sending party campaign requesting donations.

Up ‘til Dawn is a nonprofit student-run organization located on college campuses all around the country, which raises money for the hospital located in Memphis, Tenn. St. Jude’s relies completely on donations to fund its operations and is known for never declining a patient without health insurance. Brad Jones, the executive director of Up ‘til Dawn on OU’s campus, played a key part in organizing the event with support pro- vided by Account Executives Cori Sherman and Colleen Veeley of OU’s ImPRessions.

“They play a pretty substantial role,” Jones said.

ImPRessions managed the advertising and coordinated sponsorships to help fund the event, Jones said.

Also, they hung banners, advertised through Facebook and Twitter, sent out press releases and visited various student organizations to spread the word of the event.

Planning for the event began in September 2010 and was considered highly successful with roughly 2,300 letters drafted on Sunday, Sherman said.

Admission to the event was a payment of $5, or people could bring in addresses for use in the letter sending party.

As for funding the event, almost everything was donated toward the cause.

To cover the costs of napkins, plates and other necessities, smaller events such as fruit sales on Court Street helped generate the money, Jones said.

Baker supplied free use of facilities while ACRN supplied the sound system. All acts involved in the competition donated their time. And local restaurants, Abrios, Broney’s, GoodFellas and Pita Pit contributed to the food supplied.

As for the reason of format change this year, “It was kind of boring last year,” Sherman said, adding that the decision to have a battle of the bands put a new twist on the event in “hopes people [would] have more fun with it.”

“We [wanted] people to stay for more than an hour like in previous years,” Sherman said.

Although people were able to donate at the event, “the main goal [was] to have people bring in 20 addresses,” Sherman said.

Students and organization that attended the event were able to have it count toward any community service requirements they may have needed fulfilled.

“We want[ed] people to not view the event as community service, but as a battle of the bands and to come out and have lunch and watch bands,” Sherman said.

As for counting the donations, it typically takes two or three weeks for them to start coming in, Sherman said.

A few incentives promoted participation this year as all attendees who provided 20 addresses received a T-shirt, and those who provided 35 addresses were entered in a drawing to win an Apple iPod Touch.

As for everyone else involved, “There’s no incentive for us to perform,” Jones said.

“We expect[ed] people [would] just want to participate because they know it’s going toward a good cause,” Jones said.

Up ‘til Dawn also plans to team up with ImPRessions for a 5K scheduled in the spring.

How To: Reap the Benefits of LinkedIn

Story // Nicole Spears, Reporter

By now, many have learned the hard way that the personal content posted on social networking websites needs to be safeguard­ed. But, while people are busy switching Facebook or Twitter accounts to “private,” one of the more beneficial of the social me­dia sites often goes overlooked — LinkedIn.

The professional voice of the social networking paradigm boasts features that allow users to reconnect with past col­leagues, to find connections in a current or prospective career, and to exchange advice with others in the industry.

Step 1: Join Now
When you’re ready to build a free Linke­dIn account, sit down with an address book inclusive of a few professional contacts and allow about 15 minutes to get through the initial steps of creating an account. Regis­tration is similar to that of any other social networking site, requiring basic personal and contact information.

It’s recommended to use a professional or school e-mail address as a login to secure the LinkedIn requests are sent to the most often check e-mail. Registering as a student allows users to indicate fields of interest as well as year of graduation from his or her respective college.

Step 2: Build Your Profile
If you’re going to put your name in cy­berspace for professionals to find, you will want your LinkedIn profile to be a strong reflection of your personality as well as your capabilities. Uploading a photo will add a personal touch to the profile, but it should be confined to a professional looking shot. A simple headshot is recommended.

The next steps include uploading a résumé, listing references and linking the account to a personal website or to a Twit­ter account. As you continue to personalize your profile, LinkedIn tracks your prog­ress by providing a “profile completeness” percentage and offers further tips along the way.

Step 3: Make Connections
Networking is the main benefit of build­ing a LinkedIn account. You can make connections through your e-mail contacts if you use Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail or select other domains. By entering company names and titles, you can also search for former or current co-workers directly on the site. One of the most relevant features to students is the ability to search for class­mates by name of college and year of graduation.

As you accumulate connections, Linke­dIn will suggest other people you may know. Want to add a past boss or prospective employer? Simply en­ter his or her e-mail address, and LinkedIn will search for the respective account.

Connections on LinkedIn offer a way to maintain communication with past em­ployers for the sake of requesting referrals or future job opportunities. Additionally, connections made within your respec­tive industry demonstrate to prospective employers that you have made the effort connect with industry professionals.

Step 4: Get Recommended
Every connection you make offers an opportunity to gain an endorsement. You can recommend or gain recommendations from colleagues, service providers, business partners or classmates. These recommenda­tions are designed to speak for your talents and accomplishments by getting your name and brand noticed by employers and customers.

More connections lead to more recom­mendations, strengthening your profile. For this reason, it’s important to start early and have a well-rounded LinkedIn account by the time you are in the job or internship market.

While Facebook and Myspace serve personal needs, LinkedIn caters more to the profes­sional. It wouldn’t be a farfetched predic­tion to say that the majority of graduates looking for jobs in coming years will be promoting their per­sonal brand via LinkedIn. Jumpstarting an account sooner rather than later will place you ahead of the game and allow you to utilize this tool to its fullest potential.