Assignment 8: Commercial Report and Assignment 9: Community Report are of your own design with the following limited guidelines:
The area is the greater Harrisburg-Lancaster area. Length 400-500 words. Must include hyperlinks and images. Must employ the inverted pyramid. Reveal something interesting, little known, or unusual about the business/person.
Assignment 8 and Assignment 9 are due by 11:59 p.m. on March 5, 2010.
Hello all who may find themselves here (former students, fellow teachers, random Googlers),
The course is not currently being taught this semester (Fall 2010), but I will leave the blog up as a “completed” virtual document of the Spring 2010 version of the course including assignments, student work, notes, tutorials, etc. Please feel free to use any and all material (it is all protected under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License).
Future occurrences of this course will appear here.
Current (Fall 2010) courses I teach with blogs are:
As I started this class, I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew it would be about writing for the internet, but I had no idea what that meant. When we started talking about facebook the first day of class, I knew I would like it. Like most college students, I’ve been addicted to facebook and twitter for a while now. I got my twitter last year, and I am always updating my status. This class really made me understand the principles behind the website, and also how media is using twitter. it opened my eyes to a lot, and now I follow some really cool people!
The biggest thing that I learned from this class was how to blog. I already had a sports blog that I updated, but this class taught be how to use a blog as a resume. I was able to create my own website and it is something that I now share with everybody I know. I’m proud of what I accomplished, and it is something that I will consistently edit as I add more to my resume.
I was really hesitant to get a LinkedIn account when this class started. I didn’t understand the concept, and I still think it is a little interesting. I did “connect” with some of my former supervisors and will ask them for a recommendation, however I don’t think I’ll be using the website until I graduate and are actually looking for a job. As a student I don’t think there is much to offer.
As a whole, this class really helped me get a look at where media is going and what to expect when looking for a job. I knew social networking was a big thing right now, but this helped me see how it is affecting society. After creating a fan page for my mom’s business, Sheep’s in the Meadow, she now has more support for her business and she uses it to connect to people about upcoming events. She is so excited about the new possibilities, and it is all because I had to create a fan site for our class project. Seeing the success in her page was the turning point when I really saw how the internet has affected everyone.
After taking this class, I look forward to continuing what I learned in class and applying it to my life and my future career. I will admit, I’ll miss seeing #etown315 in my twitter feed, too.
So starting off in this class I didn’t have a clue what to expect. Sitting there the first day I thought who is this crazy teacher and what did I get myself into (no offense Dr. Helb). But after having gone through an entire semester of this class I have to say that it was one of the classes that I most appreciated.
Designing a website has opened me up to a whole new world. I had never heard of wordpress let alone even thought of desiging a web page. After redesigning ECTV’s website, I have a new found love for wordpress. It has inspired me to keep a blog about my summer internship and adventures in NYC. I had changed pictures and added things and did whatever I wanted to my blog.
I knew about facebook and linkedin, but when I heard I had to get a twitter for this class, I knew that I would become instantly addicted. My predictions came true when Dr. Helb asked how we were doing with twitter and he said it was scary how fast I picked it up. I think that just goes to show how technologically savvy our generation is. We grew up with this stuff and even though we have never touched a program or a website or social networking site before, we can figure it out no problem. That brings up the question…how does our knowledge and comfortableness with technology affect the ways we interact face-to-face? I often think about that question.
Viral marketing scares me! Just the thought of how many people are looking at 1 thing because of 1 link or 1 person is outrageous. It’s scary how fast people pick up on this stuff and how fast word goes around about a certain video or organization. It’s a very scary thought to me…
Although I feel that the internet and the blogosphere and “all of this” is a wonderful idea/concept for the future because that is the direction in which our society is going, I think it is somewhat deteriorating to our bonds and personal face-to-face connections with each other. People (including myself) are becoming obsessed with the internet world and not really taking as big a role in the actual world as they probably should…
Some of the applications that we used in this class we very new to me as I was not taught how to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop in any previous Communication course. This seems a little odd being a Communication major and using the MAC computers all day. However, for the entire semester I learned how to use these applications-with the help of Dr. Helb and some fellow classmates! It was so amazing to see how far I had advanced with using these tools throughout the entire semester! I enjoyed every aspect of the Communication 315 course. I feel that using these applications, updating blogs and designing my own website has helped me learn more about the social media and networking. This will help me after I graduate to stay in tune with the social media!
Speaking of social networking, I am very familiar with Twitter and had set up a Twitter account over a year ago. I am still not sure the point of updating your status every so often, however, it is the latest social media website and I need to be familiar with how to use it. I am not so much a fan of this website only because I do not like to let the world know what I am doing every second. The only entertainment I get out of this is stalking the celebrities. It is very amusing! I will continue explore Twitter more and figure out how to post comments on other peoples accounts-surprisingly I am not sure how to do this!
Oh, Facebook. For the past five years I have had my Facebook account and I am pretty experienced with using it and being able to update statuses. I think Facebook is my favorite social networking website. During this semester I used Facebook as my viral marketing tool to launch my campaign. It worked perfectly! I raised a great amount of money for the M.S. Society by using this website!
I have also had a Linkedin account for a couple years now and I was one of the few students who had already had an account prior to the class. I am not really a fan of Linkedin only because when you “friend request” people you have to say where you have met this person or how you know this person, completely different from Facebook! It is a good aspect in regards to avoiding stalkers. The only reason I have created this account was for future employees to view my resume online. It does help to have your professional experience on your own social media website!
Lastly, my website. Now it took me the longest time to figure out how to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop for my website. But as I mentioned before, with the help of the professor and some friends I managed to figure it out and successfully publish my own website! I will be sure to use this website forever and update it with my most recent experiences. I chose not to put my own samples of work on the website because I feel it will look sloppy and not professional–since most of it is writing samples.
From the beginning of the semester until now, I have learned so much from this class. I feel Dr. Helb helped me out so much to work towards finishing my website! Many of the social networking websites are familiar to me from previous classes. It was amazing to launch my own campaign on Facebook and watch how many people donate money towards a cause! I will be sure to use this information throughout my experience in the real world!!!
When I started this class I was not totally sure what we were going to learn about. But I have to say I am quite impressed with all of the skills that I have learned in this class.
Twitter. Ok so it is no secret that in the beginning I totally despised Twitter. I still am a little unsure why it is necessary to share your every movement or thought on a site such as this. I must say however that for organizations or store or businesses Twitter is an excellent tool. Personally, I think I will probably cease to use Twitter now that I am out of class. I will keep it however for when I get my first reporting job because I feel that it will be more useful at that time.
Facebook. This is a website that I have always been a part of and enjoyed learning other ways of using it besides keeping up with friends and the occasional game application. Through this class, I realized that this website is really a handy tool to have. You can use it to network, promote viral campaigns and just raise the level of awareness about a group or organization. I think that this is particularly important to businesses who are trying to attract younger customers.
LinkedIn. I find this website to be very helpful. Admittedly I have not used it since I created it but I do plan on doing more work on it as I come closer to graduation in December. .
Viral Marketing. This assignment proved to me the power of Facebook and Twitter. I really was surprised by how quickly my Facebook group grew. I am happy to report that the US Coast Guard Aux. now has two additional members just because of my group.
Website. I decided that I was going to build my website through webs.com. I really wanted my website to look as professional as possible. I am very happy with the results of my website and actually received several internship opportunities through the site. I am going to continue to make this site better as I add more and more things. By the end of the summer I hope to add an amazing resume tape that I am currently working on.
In the end I found this class to be very helpful. I look forward to converging media next semester!
For your viewing enjoyment:
When I started this class I was skeptical on all things “virtual.” I proudly decided that if it wasn’t in print, some sort of writing I could hold in my hands, then it wasn’t relevant. Although I still hold a personal reverence for print media, my opinion has changed on the very real virtual rality.
Twitter. My opninons on this form of social media are still mixed. When I first started the class I thought Twitter was a completely irrelevant excuse for people to tell me what soap they used in the shower this morning. However, I do now realize it is a very effective and useful professional networking tool. I do have a twitter (because this class made me get one) and I don’t use it much, however, I have decided to keep it, because I see it’s worth when I start looking for jobs and trying to make connections.
Facebook. I was into facebook before I started this class, and despite my usual wariness when it comes to social media cites, I really enjoy this one. It helps me keep in contact with friends from home, friends I met while abroad, friends who are abroad, etc. I don’t find it a useful networking tool professionally, and so I put no real relevant information on there, although I am very careful of what pictures are posted of me, because I do have employers who friend me (and what am I supposed to do, say no??) However, I will say that facebook is probably the only social media cite that I have lost repsect for as a result of this class. The more I see the professional, real-world usage of cites like Twitter, and LinkedIn, the creepier I think facebook is. And with all the random updates, strange advertising privacy loop holes, and general stalking creepiness, facebook has lost some points in my book. I’m going to keep it, obviously, who doesn’t have a facebook anymore, but I’m appraoching it with a bit more wisdom.
LinkedIn. I enjoy LinkedIn, and find it a very useful and interesting personal marketing tool, and although I have not done much with it yet since creating it, I plan to keep it and use it more in the future. I think it’s like an online professional portfolio, possibly even more useful then Twitter for making professional connections, and I plant o keep it updated.
As for viral marketing and social networking, it wasn’t that I was skeptical of them when I started, it was that I thought I knew what they were, when in actuality, I had no idea. I never thought viral marketing would be effective, but, if a person is on the computer more then they watch TV, and they are bombarded with adds, eventually something is going to hit home. And really good viral marketing campaigns are effective to gain interest when none previously existed. (The E*Trade Baby?? Elf Yourself?? Genius.)
Finally, the grand finale… my website. I’ll be honest, for a while I hated this thing. I didn’t understand how to work Dreamweaver, I wanted to tear my hair out. But as I got used to it, I found it easier to navigate, and with the final project finished, I’m pleased with the end result. I feel it accurately represents my accomplishments and professional goals, while also showing who I am. I think it’s simple, and aesthetically pleasing. And I have a better sense of what type of persona I can put forth on the internet, and the kind of information that requires.
Overall I found this class to be enjoyable, informative, and never boring. Not bad for the first (and probably last….no offense) communications class I will ever take.
For my viral marketing project, I helped my roommate with a class project. She had to create a survey for Learning Services and get students from every single class at the college to take it. The goal was to get 80 people to take it.
To spread the survey around, I created a Facebook event with her. By combining the amount of people that we “know” via Facebook, we were able to reach out to a lot of different classes. We also talked to our friends to put it out there and have them tell people to take it. Since the survey was only only a few questions long, it was easy to get people to take it.
Unfortunately only 65 people took the survey. While we did not get as many people to take it as we wanted to, it was still a success because through the Facebook page and word of mouth, a lot more people took it than without all of it.
As president of the K9 Club, one of my most important tasks is to plan Pup-E-Palooza. This event is a big annual fundraiser to benefit animal rescue groups and related organizations. At the time the viral marketing project was assigned, I had already created a Facebook event page for Pup-E-Palooza. I invited all my friends.
Within a few days after I made the page, the number of confirmed guests had hit 40 and stagnated. Of course I was pleased to have 40 people who had committed to come, but I wanted more (with no specific numeric goal in mind). So when the viral marketing campaign was assigned, I sent out a message to everyone who was attending and maybe attending, asking them to invite their friends.
The number quickly jumped to 60 and then 70, and stagnated again at 77. Then, I wrote on the wall of the event to keep people interested. I also looked through my friends’ friends and requested a number of other people I know from Etown to be my friend too. I added them for the exclusive purpose of inviting them to Pup-E-Palooza. As of right now, 101 people are confirmed guests on Facebook. I increased my guest list by 250% as a result of the viral marketing campaign.
The ultimate test of whether it is “successful,” however, will be at the event itself. There is an 80% chance of rain on Sunday. I sent out a message to all the confirmed guests saying that Pup-E-Palooza is still on, and still outside on Brinser Field no matter what. I will update this post on Sunday to let you all know about how many people attended, and how much money we raised for the rescue groups. Thank you to all of you in COM315 for your support!
Update: Pup-E-Palooza went fairly well, considering the weather. I think the Facebook event page really helped to raise awareness for the event; however, it was terribly cold and windy, and not a lot of people came. I know there were many people who committed to come via Facebook and did not come. But the viral marketing campaign was worthwhile, and I would definitely do it again.
As mentioned, because the hard drives are “wiped clean” after you sign off, you will need to “remind” Dreamweaver of your site each time you sign on. If you save your site to a removable storage device (like a thumb drive), all your work will save (pages, images, content, etc.) and as long as you set your site up the same each time (the same folder), your site should show up after you do the following steps.
Afterwards, all files and folder should show up in the Files Window. If they do not, check the above steps.
To connect to FTP, chose “Connects to remote host” (the leftmost icon in the Files Window). This will allow you to update the live site.
Any questions? Ask in the Comments section.