Ways to Learn More About Media Analytics

By: Grace Hallowell

Where to learn more about analytics outside the classroom.

Media analytics is a wide-ranging topic, that covers many aspects of our modern media landscape as well as more traditional data analytics. If you are exploring this major or the Elon University School of Communications, or you are currently majoring in media analytics and wish to expand your knowledge in certain areas or of specific topics, there are a number of ways to learn more about media analytics. Below, we will cover various ways to educate yourself about media analytics, such as TED Talks that cover data applications in society, online courses from LinkedIn and Google, as well as other forms of media, such as documentaries and books about data science or media analytics.

Ted Talks
TED Talks are a great way to learn more about an industry, as well as advances within an industry. If you are looking at exploring the media analytics major at Elon, or you are looking at exploring the job or internship market, TED Talks can be a great resource. Many questions that media analysts are asking are discussed in TED Talks, such as how to visualize data for context, and how to bring a human context to our current data environment. ​

Online Courses
Google Analytics Training is a free online course offered by Google that offers both beginner and advanced courses. This is a highly comprehensive online course that shows how to use Google Analytics and the basic data tracking that websites use to understand their consumers. Google offers a certification in Google Analytics after the Google Analytics Individual Qualification exam that lasts for a year. Utilizing this resource will help you understand real-world software, data, and applications of that data that will really help in any future pursuits of media analytics. You can also post the aforementioned certificates of completion on your LinkedIn page, which could be beneficial for future job or internship opportunities.

LinkedIn Learning offers many courses in Excel and other Microsoft programs, and all Elon University students are offered LinkedIn Learning for free. If you plan on majoring in media analytics and you want to learn more about what you might be doing in the major, or if you want to see if you would like the work in the media analytics field, doing an Excel lesson or two on LinkedIn Learning would be really beneficial. You can also show a certificate of completion on your LinkedIn page, which could be beneficial for future job or internship opportunities.

Other Media
If you want to explore more about media analytics, there are a multitude of other media sources to learn from. Streaming services offer documentaries about the media industry and data analytics, such as Netflix’s The Great Hack. In addition, keeping up with news regarding the media analytics industry is another way to both be informed as a media analytics student, as a person who is looking at the media analytics major, or as someone looking for a job in media analytics. Another great resource for understanding the applications of data in the real world, which is very useful in the media analytics major, is books. In recent years, several books about the applications of data in the modern world have been published. These books are fantastic ways to learn directly from data scientists about how they apply their data to the real world.

There are many resources open to people who wish to learn or explore more about media analytics. I have included some of the most easily accessible sources of knowledge. Media analytics is a diverse field that covers many topics, including data analysis, data visualization, and media theory. Whether you are exploring the major or wanting to learn more about the field, the sources provided above can help enhance your knowledge and open you up to new questions about media analytics.