Hi All,
So I'm starting my third month of my PhD and so far I've not really made any friends in my office. I'm a very sociable person but I just don't seem to have clicked with any of my 'roomies'. I don't think it's my fault - I think it's just that they are all so busy with their own work that making sure the newbie was feeling welcome and loved was at the very, very bottom of their list of priorities :-) I can already tell that the life of solitude is going to be my biggest challenge. I feel like Tom Hanks in Cast Away most of the time. Maybe I need to get me my own personal Wilson lol
So I just wanted to meet fellow PhD students - especially within the field of marketing. It would be great to have some online contacts to help discuss issues, ideas, good days, bad days, conferences, papers etc with. Also I've been told that networking is invaluable in the world of academia.
So I'll start off with a bit about me and hopefully some more of you Marketing guys will get in touch:
I've just finished a taught masters in Marketing in September last. I got my place on the PhD scholarship programme and originally proposed looking at how Web 2.0 technology can be used to influence brand perceptions among consumers. My research has changed somewhat since then and now I'm looking that the role of social media in the development of virtual brand communities and subcultures of consumption. This will probably change again as I discovered a new area last week that I need to tease out a bit.
So would love to hear from other marketing phd students and what sort of stuff you guys are looking at - and of course feel free to share any stories about your whole experience that you think I should know!