How to Pass Sixth Grade

When it comes to Internet literacy, I feel that I am at a sixth grade level. If I want to successfully make the transition from a student to a professional journalist, I need to become more Internet savvy.

I'm just starting middle school, so obviously I can read. But at the same time, I am entering this scary new place full of people who are bigger and smarter than I am. The popular kids don't know my name yet, and I still have to ask people how to get to the cafeteria.

Beginning my career as a photojournalist, I am starting at the bottom, just hoping to pass sixth grade. I dream of the day when big names will recognize mine, and I will be able to find publishing outlets on my own. A major part in being able to accomplish these things is making myself searchable. To be searchable, my name needs to be out there. In today's technological age, out "there" not only applies to word of mouth, but to be present on the Internet. With the Internet becoming a more central part of basically everything, I don't want to find myself out of the loop.

When I searched "Meghan Nolt" in Google, I was both surprised and amused by what popped up. One of the search results was a Myspace account of a young, maybe 13-year-old, girl wearing glasses, whose URL ends in "tubachick77." Definitely not me. The majority of the other things that resulted in searching my own name were my various personal social media sites and photos of mine that have been published in different places over the last couple years.

One of my goals over these coming months is to create my own website where I can market myself professionally. When someone searches my name, I want them to end up somewhere that accurately represents me and who I am as a professional photojournalist. I want my portfolio and information to be organized, but still extend across broader reaches of the Internet. This knowledge of how to create a desired online presence will only come if I put in some serious study time.

If I am going to be taken seriously among the popular kids in the photojournalism world, I need to start reading less Beverly Cleary and more Harper Lee. I need to know where to go in this big scary Internet world if I hope to make it to seventh grade.