Blogs

2009-11-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

One thing I have never had much interest in, just like Twitter, is blogging. Yet again, Communication 634 has exposed me. Out of the large list of blogs we were to check out, I prefer the following: Mashable, Lara Kretler’s Blog and Fahlgren Mortine. If you ask me, none of these blogs are alike. However, they are each equally appealing to me in some form.

I was originally drawn to Mashable for the design. It is exciting, inviting and engaging. I found myself wanting to read what the information was about and then wanting to know what else this site could provide me. Not to mention, the content itself is actually quite interesting. As a Communication major I like to stay up on media trends. I enjoy finding out what is new and what is upcoming. I found Mashable offers a wide variety of information that can benefit me in keeping up-to-date on current communication trends.

I also enjoy Lara Kretler’s Blog. This one is simple. It is definitely not a day-to-day project for Lara but I like what she has previously written and I am attracted to the fact that she seems local. I personally took to the blog titled “Best of Columbus: Waterfront Dining.” I found out about a local restaurant that I may in fact try and even better she gave a suggestion of how the restaurant could use social media. I like that.

In my recent classes social media is a great part of what we discuss. I am constantly trying to apply it to places, events, products and more around me. So I was intrigued to see her take and how she approached the idea. She has a few other blogs that I could relate to as well. I like the personal everyday girl appeal that Lara’s blog has to offer.

The third blog that I preferred was Fahlgren Mortine. Honestly, I had never heard of Fahlgren Mortine before this assignment. I am hoping that is not a completely horrible thing and I like that I am still learning. I found the blogs interesting and more news driven that the other two blogs. This website holds up the business end in my variation of preferences. It focused a lot on Public Relations which I found useful considering it relates to many of the classes I have taken recently.

I found each of the three blogs useful but each in their very own way. They all have their own personal appeal which I think draws toward their intended audiences. I do find it interesting that I was drawn to three different focuses of blogs. I think it goes to show that social media can be very beneficial. You may attract your intended audience and you may very well attract others.

The information was of value, some more than others. I can see these blogs being helpful to Communication students. I however, do not necessarily plan to visit them religiously. If any at all, I may keep an eye on Mashable. I find the content to be most relevant to me and I personally enjoyed the experience of the website. I also know that social media is ever growing and this site will be useful in keeping up on important topics in the Communication world.

Twitter

2009-10-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

I heard of Twitter. I had an idea what it was about, but I had never tried Twitter before taking Communications 634: Creative Message Design. The assignment was to use Twitter for one week. I was told to follow my classmates along with at least twenty out of thirty other Tweeters the teacher provided. From there I gained a new prospective and knowledge about the social networking site, Twitter.

My initial reaction to the assignment was not a positive one. I did not have a Twitter account already because I did not want one. From what I had heard about Twitter it was for stalking and name dropping, two things that are of no interest to me. I already had Facebook. That was enough information on status updates and my friends’ whereabouts. I did not want or need a second status notification.

Through my experience, I found out my assumptions were half true. There appears to be two separate worlds molded into one on Twitter. From what I took in, there is a world of personal Twitterers and a world of professional Twitterers. The difference to me is that personal Twitterers tend to connect more with friends and personal acquaintances. These people give continuous updates on their whereabouts and personal happenings, all of which I did not find beneficial to me. On the other hand, I found the professional Twitterers to be very beneficial. Professional Twitterers provide updates regarding articles of interest, current news, local attractions and events and much more. I greatly enjoyed the convenience of receiving news and information on topics that interest me.

I followed several local businesses, some of which I had not heard of before the assignment. I also followed local television and radio personalities and media sources such as 614Magazine. I like the ability to interact with all of those entities so easily. For example, I had recently seen on NBC 4 News that viewers can tweet in their comments. I never really knew what all that entailed until I joined Twitter and now I can see that it is relatively easy-and a great way to give your opinion if you do have one. I like that Twitter enables us to have a voice in our local community, or even further.

Through the assignment, I don’t know that I learned anything from Twitter. I do know that I definitely received an education on Twitter, its uses and how it can benefit me. I now have a second viewpoint of Twitter, which has helped me to see it in another light. I have kept my stance to discredit Twitter as a personal social networking sight. I find it to be a total time waster in that sense. However, I think Twitter is highly effective and beneficial if used in a professional manner to market or relay news and information.

I think it is great that Twitter can provide an outlet for businesses, companies, local media and personalities not to mention many other subpopulations. Twitter has definitely had an impact on the ability to contact an audience. I have much respect for that aspect of Twitter and continuously thinking of ways I can use Twitter to promote and benefit events and organizations that are important to me.

I plan to keep my Twitter account and follow the Tweeters who have been of interest and beneficial to me this past week. I also hope to search out and add on more entities that I can gain from in some way. I do not know that I will do too much Tweeting myself, unless of course there is something important for me to Tweet about. I do not want to use Twitter to update my whereabouts or let everyone know who I am or am not having lunch with each day. I simply want to take advantage of the up-to-date news and information that is so conveniently placed in front of me each day.

My Comm 634 Experience

Blogs

Twitter