Matthew A. Gilbert, MBA Presents "Doctorious: My Adventures in Education"

On December 1, 2008 I publicly committed myself to furthering my pursuit of a doctorate by declaring December 1, 2009 as my “PhD-Day.” Therefore I have created this page to do just that and, as time permits andideas abound I will add updates and objectives right here.  Certain updates will begin with the date on which they occurredor, for future events, the date on which they will (should?) occur. Keep in mind this is a work in progress.

November 2008

• 24th: Launched a thread on the Chronicle of Higher Education forum in which I posted a thread with the question “I need “Discipline” — Where to Study “Social Media?” to help me refine my research interests and better understand my academic options. I periodically post updates to this thread.

December 2008

• 1st: Declared December 1, 2009 as my “PhD-Day.”
• Refined my main area of research interest and revised how I write it.
• Identified possible schools and programs I was interested in attending.

January 2009

• 7th:Had a great phone conversation with Bill Sodeman, PhD (who I met on Twitter) about doctoral program applications and our shared interests. What a great guy — which he had been a professor of mine!
• 16th:Connected with recent USC Communication PhD graduate, Rebecca Herr-Stephenson, PhD, by a friend from the EdD program in which I was enrolled at Pepperdine University. Coordinating a time when we can meet to discuss her experience in the program and my options as an applicant.
• 24th: Meeting with S. Courtney Walton, a first year PhD student in Organizational Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara,  after my UCSB Extension class.
• Explore bios of faculty members in possible schools to determine which have shared interests.
• Continued to refine my research statement in an attempt to standardize it.

February 2009

• 1st: Met with former Pepperdine colleague Melinda Valente andher friend Rebecca Herr Stephenson, PhD (who recently received her doctorate in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at USC).
• 22nd:Turned 35 and took a Practice GRE test through Kaplan at Cal State Northridge.
• 24th: Sent a message to Geneva Overholser — director of the School of Journalism at the Annenberg School for Communication at USC — on Twitterafter seeing her interviewed in a piece on CBS News about the demise of newspapers and the challenges ”only online” news poses to those who can’t afford Internet access. This initiated a positive online relationship that has yielded some compelling and engaging discussions relevant to my research interests
• 25th: Attended Gravity Summit at UCLA to expand my knowledge of social media and make connections.
• 27th:Visit family friend and Soka University of America faculty member Jim Merod, PhD to discuss doctoral ideas and options.
• Narrowed possible programs, began to identify faculty with similar interests.

March 2009

• 1st: Following a series of additional discussions on Twitter following my inaugural message on February 24, Genevah Overholser graciously invited me to contact her directlyto further my interest in the PhD program in Communication at USC. This felt like an especially auspicious development considering it occurred exactly three months after I declared December 1, 2009 as my “PhD-Day.”
• 2nd: I e-mailed my vita, teaching philosophy and a short bio to Geneva Overholserwho then connected me with Larry Gross, PhD, the Director of the Annenberg School for Communication.
• 3rd: Clarified my research interests and identified potential faculty members with whom I would like to conduct research to Larry Gross, PhD. Dr. Gross then recommended I consider Dr. Janet Fulk, an inspired choice considering Rebecca Herr Stephenson, PhD had also indicated Dr. Fulk might be a good fit. I have since downloaded several of her papers and have begun reviewing them with the intent of reaching out to her within a few months (once I have a better mastery of her work).
• 9th: Recognized as one of 29 educators by Online Degree World in its ”Top 100 Edu Tweeters“ list (#84 overall).
  • Schools on this prestigious list include Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, University of Maryland, University of Texas at Austin, The Ohio State University, University of Miami, Auburn University, and the University of Southern California (USC).
  • Other educators on the list include Bill Sodeman, PhD, Dean Terry, Kent Gustavson, PhD, Barbara Nixon, Alec Couros, Jay Rosen, Patrick Strother,  Bill Genereux, Rebecca MacKinnon, Paul Bradshaw, Alfred Hermida, and Jim MacMillan.
• 31st:Met with A. Todd Jones, Department Chair and Professor of Communication — note: note Communications – at Bakersfield College, regarding Communication as a discipline and possible adjunct opportunities at the school. Also developed a clearer understanding of the two main sides of Communication as a discipline: personal and mediated.

April 2009

• 1st: Inspired by my meeting with A. Todd Jones, I sought out and engaged Dr. Dawn Gilpin, Assistant Professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication at Arizona State University, on Twitterto better understand the division within the Communication discipline.
  • Realized that my interest in online communication and social media more specifically falls within the “mediated” area of Communication — which is most often studied in a Mass Communication or Journalism PhD program.
• 1st: Referred by Dr. Gilpin to an intriguing article in the October 2008 (Volume 10, No. 5)  issue of “New Media & Society” by Marika Lüders titled “Conceptualizing personal media.” Per Dr. Gilpin, Luders argues we can no longer classify communication by medium (personal v. mediated), but that we have to see how the medium is used and make the call based on that.
• 2nd: Referred to another journal article relevant to my interests and explain the use of the term “newer media” instead of “new media” by Dr. Serena Carpenter, also a professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication at Arizona State University, via Twitter:  “New Communication Technologies, Old Questions” by Marco C. Yzer and Brian G. Southwell, as published in Vol. 52, No. 1, of American Behavioral Scientist.
• 12th: After reconsidering how to define my PhD interests, I explained to Frankie De Soto (@franklogic) on Twitter that “For my PhD I want to research how people & orgs generate knowledge by using social media to create & distribute information.”
• 15th: While using Twitter, asked the question “Could ‘citizen journalism’ exist as it does now w/o the infrastructure & technology developed by large media companies?” and quickly realized it could very well evolve into the subject of my eventual PhD dissertation. The idea behind my question was that, without the existing broadband and mobile phone infrastructure, individuals would be unable to access and share content available online — and that access is the key to “citizen” journalism.
  • This invokes concerns over digital divide and information ownership issues. Additionally, a great deal of what constitutes “citizen journalism” involves re-purposing content produced by the large media outlets (e.g. blog responses to articles and embedded media from YouTube — which is, of course, owned by Google). What’s more, user created content is a plus for publishers as they can generate material for which there is no compensation beyond giving the “citizen journalist” exposure and perceived credibility.

May 2009

• 17th: PhD-Day indefinitely (and unfortunately) put on hold due to my having to deal with a significant personal matter. This is a dream deferred, not a dream defeated. Look for updates once I am able to resume my pursuit of a PhD!

Revised: July 24, 2011