The Buzz on Blogs

Because of my background in Communication Studies, I chose the topics of college, non-profit organizations and marketing.

For the college topic I chose to read the article "5 College Ranking Categories we would like to see". This article listed "Best Mate Finding Potential", "Coolest Celeb Alumni", "Best Bathrooms", "Most Offbeat Electives" and "Strangest Campus Tradition". The first category made me laugh because being at an all-women's college, outsiders to the school always want to know how the student body meets individuals of the opposite sex. Do they realize we are separated by schools... and not planets? Along with the other categories, USC ranks as one of the most notorious schools with celebrity alumni. Strangest campus tradition was an interesting category because many people when they go away to school find out traditions or quirks while experiencing the situation. Individuals at University of California-San Diego have a "watermelon queen" who drops melons 7 stories to break records previously held by past "watermelon queens".

For non-profit I read an article from Beth Dunn. Beth Dunn spoke about social media as a fad. I found this article to be extremely relevant to Web Communication class, along with my senior comprehensive on adolescents and their uses of social networking sites. For non-users of social media sites, they may feel social networking takes away from individual communication. Little do they know, individuals use social networking sites as a way to shift the means of how we communicate. It may be easier for some to leave a wall post then a call or text based on convenience. Using social networking sites transforms the way we communicates and according to Dunn "accelerates" it.

With the Superbowl rapidly approaching, I found the Marketing article on "SuperBowl Advertising, Pre-Game Buzz" to be a common theme of every year. Every year friends and families get together to catch the two best NFL teams and to catch the "best" and "funniest" commercials they will see all year. Advertising corporations, according to this article, need to be careful on how they advertise their commercials because often times too much buzz for a specific commercial can be killed if it does not match up to the audiences expectations. The use of commercials can tear others away from buying the product or image or it can build expectations even further if the commercial successfully makes the audience laugh or remember what occurred during the 30-second time slot.

The Long Tail

"We are living in a moment where economics lie in server databases" of Google, Amazon, Netflix, etc... okay... so what does this mean? Have we taken the time to realize the impact each of these search engines have on our lives?

The presentation of "The Long Tail" gave us concrete examples of how Hollywood represents culture and society. We are living in a world where we are all about the consumer. We need to have everything right now. Examples given within the presentation include the use of the iTunes store, having more than 2 million songs. If we were to walk into a Borders, we might as well stay at home. If we log onto Amazon.com, it is more likely to have what we are looking for than Borders. Borders stocks 100,000 books within their stores while Amazon.com has over 3 million texts. Books and music are still some of the most predominant forms of media aside from the internet. Because the internet is connected to every form of media, when can we draw the line where a book is a book and music is still music if we are experiencing these forms of media online and not as tangible objects?

First post

We are living through one of the largest increases in expressive capability in human history. Has our connection to technology become second nature to us or do we recognize the constant advancements in technology as a step moving forward? As a digital native, I have grown up using technology. In grammar school I remember taking classes on typing and Microsoft Word. In junior high, I remember when my best friend was the first one out of my group of friends to have a cell phone. Now, I am majoring in Communication Studies, completed a senior comprehensive project on adolescents and their use of social networking sites... a phenomenon that came onto the scene less than ten years ago.
One of the most interesting points the presenter gave was the fact that the internet has become the migrant for all other forms of media. Some of the most popular websites on the internet today are sites with focus on television series and movies, as well as news sites that have a counterpart television station. Not only are these media forms all connected to the internet but the presenter states the audience is now becoming the producer of these images and connections. While working on this post, I received a call on my cell phone from another's Skype account. One individuals computer was connecting on a variety of media spectrums-- the telephone and the internet-- and combined to form one media outlet.

Aside from the telephone connected to the internet, individuals are using social networking sites not only to keep in contact with others but to keep up to date with current and relevant news information. That being said, Twitter gained popularity this past summer with the devastations in Iran. Twitter also gained interest when survivors updated his or her status updates on the devastation from the earth quakes in the Middle East. Because the audience was able to gain first hand accounts, donation sites flooded with support. We must use these social media connections in ways to better our society and global awareness.