I decided to be gutsy one last time and do my research project on something I’m sure nobody else has done in this class before: I’m going to use my own personal website as a model to try to explain the things I’ve learned through self-promotion and different forms of advertising over the years. As you read this, keep in mind that it’s difficult to formulate your own theory of advertising with only two semesters of advertising knowledge under your feet. In a pinch, I could have always simply taken one of the many theories I’d read about this semester and do some cheap spin on it, adding, removing, or altering some element to it to make it “my own”. In the end though, I decided to do what I usually do, and that’s take a risk. Once again, I can GUARANTEE that nobody in this class has done what I’m doing, and that’s somewhat thrilling for me.

Those of you who have seen my website at Doubleparker.com already understand that one of its main attractions comes from it being a completely over-the-top showcase for my weird sense of humor and website skills. It’s what I’ve used as my creative outlet all these past few years, and its existence has proved so incredibly valuable in helping market myself for all sorts of different positions. For the most part, that’s exactly what it serves as – a marketing tool. It’s how I advertise myself to the real world. When I applied to the UT Masters Program, I had no former advertising classes or experience to help me out. But I was able to use my website as an example of what I could do creatively, and it showed that there was one form of advertising that I was skilled in: self-promotion.

Now, I realize that by choosing this particular topic for my research, I run the risk of being labeled a whole slew of negative terms associated with self-promotion: conceited, show-off, braggart, arrogant, egotistical. A lot of these negative connotations typically come to mind when dealing with self-promotion, which makes it hard to remain comfortable and confident when talking about yourself. Yet if you’re not comfortable promoting yourself, your abilities, and claiming your achievements, getting ahead in your career is going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Advertising yourself is a crucial element in networking, which in turn is a crucial element in a job search later on. Later it can be used to negotiate a raise, and steadily move up the ladder of success. Admittedly, I may have a lot to learn about advertising, but I can certainly say I’ve picked up on a few valuable tidbits of experience through my website over the years.