A web page that will land you a job

Most, if not all students get the inevitable fear of what to do after graduation. Four years in school but for some reason still don’t feel prepared enough to enter the real world. Well the real word is here and it’s time to be a part of it, ready or not. It’s time to start the dreaded job search. A full time, paying job in the communication field would be amazing. But it’s more likely going to end up being an unpaid internship with a job description that involves serving a lot of coffee. No matter how demeaning that sounds, it’s time to start that search anyways. Starting that search means being prepared. Creating a web page with a compilation of work and information is a great way to showcase one’s ability. Promotional yet factual web pages should include, a biography, a professional photo, contact information, and examples of work. A biography is a great way to let employers see things like, what college was attended, extracurricular activities, as well as future career plans. Contact information is not only good for obvious reasons but also because it lets the future employer see that on is fluent on social media. A lot of companies rely on social media for advertising and customer relations, so simply letting them see you can create and participate on social media is an easy plus. The most important thing to add in is a show case of past work. Let them see examples of things completed in a writing or website design class. Don’t let all those hours of typing endless papers go to waste. Pull them out and be proud of them. They might just be what helps you land that job. A website like this can be made on a site called Dreamweaver. This site is very user friendly. Being and expert at HTML and CSS is not necessary in accomplishing a professional looking portfolio. What does need to be done is pre-organization. Spend some time looking at other websites and what makes them look professional. Then draft it out, drafting isn’t just for writing it’s for making websites as well. Choosing a layout, fonts, colors, and a them making using the software much easier. Having a theme that represents your personality can also send a message to future employers. Does it look clean and organized or is it blurry font with a picture of you vacationing in Cancun? Make the website an accurate portrayal of your business self. Make it appear how you would want your employer to see you. With a well-designed site, that is easy to navigate, written well, has all the important contact info, and examples or past work you are sure to get a job. Even if it seems tough and the thought of serving coffee to people is discouraging keep on pushing. Soon someone will recognize that you are a perfect candidate for a better job, and who knows it might all be because they saw your webpage.

Rockin Robin, tweet deedley deet

Twitter is a social media site that is a combination of instant messaging, blogging, and texting, that also can reach a mass audience. Twitter is also about discovering interesting people. The fast responses on this sight make it instantly gratifying for users. Not to mention with actual celebrities posting their personal opinions and daily routines, fandom has skyrocketed to the next level. There is one catch though, everything must be done in 140 characters or less.

Twitter has outgrown the simple labels of socializing, and marketing. It has developed into something much bigger. Twitter is not only useful and interesting it delivers news and politics. It also allows fans to read actual comments from their favorite stars and can help keep a business organized. Twitter is filled with useful tips and tricks. Here are a few examples of how twitter has gone beyond socializing and marketing. When terrible things happen in America people use the phrase “the nation wept” to show what an impact that specific event had on people.  When the tragic attacks on Paris happened, the entire world wept. People all over the globe changed their profile pictures so that there was filter of the Parisian flag over the picture, #prayforparis went viral. In this terrible time twitter went beyond its social and marketing means and became a way for the entire world to grieve and show Paris that they were supported and loved. It became a channel of support and encouragement. Another recent event that showed what else Twitter is capable of was the Boston Marathon bombing. Many spectators had their cell phones out filming the race when the bombing occurred. Some of these spectators went straight to twitter with the tragedy they had just seen. Twitter was covering the news of what happened way before any newspaper or news channel had a chance get to the story. Twitter provided, eye witness accounts which ended up providing some of the first-hand evidence. Spectators who used twitter also gathered pictures, soundbites, and reactions that informed the narrative. Having these things on Twitter for everyone to read brought immediacy and intimacy to this tragic event. It was the unfiltered word on the street that gave firsthand accounts of this tragedy. Twitter was also seen beyond its usual means during the Egyptian revolution. The news in Egypt was sweeping social media, especially twitter, because of the sites wide popularity the voices of many working middle class citizens could be heard. Some even say this phenomenon of free voice sparked the revolution.

            For businesses Twitter can be a very useful organizational tool. There is a feature on the site that allows users to create private lists of existing customers so connecting and engaging with customers can be quick and easy. This site also has a feature that allows users to create a public list of brands used by the business to help stay up to date on the latest news and products associated with those companies.  Twitter is useful as a journalistic tool because of its ability to deliver flash news. Very much like the banners that run across the bottom of TV screens, it grabs your attention and gets quickly to the point. Today’s society is filled with people who have incredibly short attention spans. These kinds of people want their news quickly with a convenient link to an article if they are interested in reading further on the topic. Twitter has also put a useful twist on politics. When candidates post comments to their personal Twitter feed it does one of two things. Either increases their likability among voters because they appear more relate-able or it makes them less appealing to voters because of negativity associated with their comments. The 2016 election with Donald Trump is a great example of this. He upset many people with his offensive tweets. Unfortunately, he did not lose enough votes over the comments to lose the presidency.

            The 2016 election is a great example of how Twitter can also work as a communicator for events. Twitter basically worked as a narrator throughout the election, constantly updating users about the freshest news. This was a success in the fact that voters were more informed about this election that ever before in history, but a failure in the sense that it allowed a mockery to be made of the election with so many memes and jokes. Twitter has also been successful when it comes to marking one’s self as safe during a tragedy. For some recent disasters, such as the attacks on Paris, Twitter was the main communicator letting families know their loved ones were safe. Twitter has shown some failure though when it comes to sending spam and trying to boost interest in trending topics. It was discovered in January of 2017 that there are over 500,000 are fake accounts on twitter spreading spam.

            A good way to show the different reasons one uses twitter is to show examples of different types of pages to follow. For example following @vikingsontwitter allows fans to see trailers for upcoming seasons, bloopers, as well as interesting facts about the actors and the show. Following someone like @kathygriffin teaches patience. It is challenging to follow someone who is hated, it does teach how to put personal feeling aside and approach people’s comments and ideas like an adult. Not every person encountered in life will be a friend. Following @HGTV is so useful, there are constant tips, tricks and DIY projects.

            The experience of using twitter is much different from blogging. One must be able to express ideas and opinions in 140 characters or less. Blogging allows the writer endless time and space to get their point across. When there is only 140 characters the heart of what is really trying to be said will come out with no fluff or ribbons. Because this is an era where attention spans are so short and only getting shorter, Twitter might be the future of how people receive their daily news.

            

Time is Not Measured by Clocks

            Starting a group project can be terrifying, especially when the group consists of complete strangers. These strangers goal is to come up with an idea for a video to be published to the internet. First creating an individual video and then combining every group member’s individual videos and ideas into one collaborative theme, achieving all of this on iMovie with a group of three people who have never used the program before. All group members’ ideas and input are equal and necessary in completing the project. Having constant communication with all group members every step of the project is detrimental to success. Falling behind on individual work or a lack of communication from one party can be very frustrating for the other members. It is very easy to fall behind when group members don’t show up or the unpredictable weather in Buffalo causes most of your groups scheduled work time to be cancelled. Or even worse, losing a group member in the final stages. When working in a group it is important to remember the gestalt theory, the organized whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Though it is important to have individual reflection of self that must tie in to the overall group portrait. In order to achieve success in a group it is important to know and understand group dynamics, as well as communication and dedication among the members of the group from beginning to end.

             Before any work is started the group should brainstorm together and decide on a common goal, not change topic ideas a week and a half into the project, it can really slow things down. Be realistic in selecting the topic choice. Something to abstract will not properly convey the message and something to detailed will be too hard to accomplish in the allotted time. As individual work begins the final end goal of the group project should be kept in mind. Sometimes members will naturally be the Alpha while others will be the Beta’s but that should not change the fact that there should be an equal amount of work distributed. Collaborating as a group can create a much stronger end result if done the right way. With so many personalities working together it’s more likely to be successful in reaching a larger demographic than with an individual video.

            Video as a communication tool instead of writing or photographs is much more instantly gratifying. Sure a picture can tell you a lot about what’s happening but it can’t do it in real time like a video can, neither can writing. Videos have their downfalls as well. It can make it harder for the encoder to perceive the message exactly how the sender wanted it to be interpreted. Especially when there is no verbal communication in the video only music. In the beginning of the process there should be a strong knowledge of the subject matter. Knowing the subject well determines what to shoot. Having strong representations will help to eliminate any misinterpretation from the encoder. If the topic is time for example research different ways time can be expressed. Consider that time isn’t just a number on a clock but rather time can go too slow or too fast, it can show the passing of time, or impatience of waiting. To argue the opposite of that say time is just a number or moment in time. How many ways can that be represented? Clocks, sun dials, military time, hour glasses, and so on and so forth. All of these can show time without verbally communicating it. Only shooting in landscape eliminates having the black box around your footage. Being the star of a movie can be a hard task when you also have to do the filming. Come up with creative ways of positioning the camera. Prop it up on things like picture frame holders or find ways to suspend the camera like with Command strips. Incorporating different types of shots and angles such as close ups and long shots helps to portray the end message. Distance can also show time.

            The shots alone will not be understood by the encoder without editing. It can be a long process of deciding how to transition from frame to frame or what filters to use. These are crucial decisions that will either further or hinder correct interpretation.  If attention is payed to every detail of the editing process video as a tool of communication can be extremely effective. Images can be shown as a chronological narrative, or a series of related images that do not need to be viewed sequentially. If editing on iMovie be sure to always back everything up to a flash drive. Occasionally the program can glitch out and work could be lost.  Deciding what music to use is also an important port of the process. Chose a song that represent the subject matter. Using the example of time again something with birds chirping can help emphasize that one is waking up. Using techno music or a fast paced beat can show how one shifts quickly through the obligations of a busy day. Whether it be through words or tempo the encoder should be able to see a correlation between what they are viewing and hearing.

            Remember that this video will be posted for the whole world to see. Becoming a part of a popular site like Youtube or Vimeo can be quite an experience. Making a video to post to the web is a crucial skill to have when learning about communication whether it’s independently or in a group. It is another form of sending a message on a channel to an encoder. The sender is able to choose what subject matter to focus on. As well as including self-portrait expressions. Sure there are some struggles along the way, especially for a beginner who isn’t familiar with the process of shooting, editing, and posting. But over-all communicating through video is a rewarding experience that furthers education and is another step in complete interconnectedness.

Why make a Wikihow?... Because you CAN!

         

We are all social media babies due to the invention of the internet and the evolution of the World Wide Web. Using the Web and being an author of the web is now one in the same. So if you haven’t made any contributions what are you waiting for? The internet has been called the next step in collective modern human evolution because of its profound ability to connect us and ensure collective intelligence will be handed down from generation to generation and will be the catalyst for exponential technological growth in the years to come. Conveniently enough of you were born within the last thirty years, you grew up in an era of computers and internet so using these tools are like breathing.

            For example creating a step by step tutorial for the deconstructing of an engine block or making a flour less chocolate cake can be done with ease! The actual task, well that’s a different story. People are picking up hobbies by watching YouTube videos and how-to’s, you can watch a video VLOG review of a product you are considering, or order food.

            The internet is a global network connecting millions of computers all over the world. The Web is a way of accessing information over the internet through servers that support specially formatted documents.  With the beginning of the Web (Web 1.0) sites were not interactive. Though they provided some information it was not enough to entice users to revisit sites. This was a period of time when organizations controlled the websites and the visitors had very little control. The next stage of this evolution is Web 2.0, an open source program. Meaning these source codes are available to everyone on the internet. Users were able to learn how these applications worked and make changes to them. They could even build their own sites. With this came the birth of social media and all of its social media babies.

            Wiki is one of the most popular social media sources. With so many branches of it, users can teach and share on almost any subject you can think of. There are wikis for entertainment, food, drinks, games, how to, health, political, product, references, religion, sports, travel and so much more. So what is the benefit of all these wiki sites? The ability to learn and share information. The ability to gain knowledge, and knowledge is power. As humans we have a driving need to discover not only new things and new people but new perspectives or outlooks on supposedly familiar scenarios or subjects. Even more so we have the need to share those things as well. Wiki is a small example of the internet’s ability to drive innovation and ingenuity like never before. Just like there are so many different wiki sites there are different benefits. Businesses can now benefit from free advertising, and easier communication between employees. Schools can provide information to the students and staff much easier. Online learning has become an essential part of the class room. So much so that a lot of classes don’t even make you purchase books anymore you just do the reading online. Friends and family are able to stay connected constantly, whether they live 5 minutes from each other or 5,000 miles from each other. This world has reached a level of interconnectedness it has never seen before.

            Of all the Wiki sites Wikihow has become undeniably one of the most popular. Entrepreneur Jack Herrick launched the site ten years ago with one goal in mind, to help anyone on the planet learn how to do anything. There are now more than a million users sharing their experiential knowledge. Wikihow provides how to do things with simple step by step directions. It also provides a list of all the tools you will need to complete whatever project you chose. With the boom of Web 2.0 also came a lot of fake information. Too many amateurs were publishing false information leaving sites like this marked as not credible. Wikihow has worked constantly to change that mind frame of users and maintain the accuracy of the information posted through hundreds of admin whose only job is to check facts and retain credibility.

            So what’s it like to be an author on wiki how? If there is a topic that you know well and it hasn’t already been demonstrated go for it. People use this site out of necessity, chances are if you need it other people do too. The website is user friendly and has tutorials so you can teach yourself. Pick a topic you are passionate about. If you have any questions along the way the admins are always there to help. Occasionally data can be lost. If you are working on a draft save it to a separate word document every so often. Just to be sure you don’t lose that work. Once you publish the article an admin messages you right away. They thank you for joining the team and give you helpful editing tips so your work can match their criteria. It’s also helpful to add links in your page to other related wiki how articles. Sharing a topic also teaches you more about the topic, you have to learn how to manage that project and make it easy to follow. Create an outline to follow step by step. You can upload your own photos as visual aids to your steps. Add in a tips and warnings section so you can share details you have learned along the way to stream line the process. Teaching someone how to do something can be very rewarding.

            The evolution of the World Wide Web changed many things about the way we communicate and how we share and learn. Wiki how is a user friendly site that is easy to work with. With tutorials and admin to help you every step of the way. Being an author is just a click away. It is now time to fulfill that driving need of learning and sharing with the world. 

Let's Talk About the Web Baby

My Theory of Webolution

I don't think anyone expected the Web to evolve the way it has. Web 1.0 was basically like looking at a virtual flyer or an online library. You could consume information but that was about it. Terrible graphics, links to other pieces of information but not much more. I had to search pretty hard to find a website that hadn't been updated since the early 2000's I'm sure everyone remembers Space Jam , or at least I hope you all do! This little piece of Michael Jordan history seems to be frozen in time. Well most of us were sitting around doubting the capabilities of the web other people (especially Tim O'Reilly) were out there dreaming about the technical possibilities and finding ways to put it into action, hence the birth of web 2.0. This is the Web that we are all most familiar with, social media, blogging, and sites like Wikipedia. This advance allowed us to be interactive and it is mostly user produced content. Oh the power of networking! Now you can share, collaborate, upload, and you don't have to be an expert. It is designed for everyday people. As users our lives were changed and our needs were met, we were happy until it began to consume our lives, because when you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to want a glass of milk. By giving us more we end up wanting even more than what you gave us before! All of these advances are paving the way to the next step of evolution, Web 3.0. Some will argue it is yet to come some will argue we are already living it, but there were also those who argued 1.0 would never evolve. Let's not be fooled twice and dive into what the future Web holds. If at this point you're still a little confused do what i did and watch this video. So we can recap by saying there wasn't much technical change from 1.0-3.0 so much as social change. Web 3.0 is all about technical change. It has been refined and works off of semantics and algorithms. In easier terms it's like a bunch of documents got organized really well and are in multiple different categories. For example "Of mice and men" could come up in the categories of, books, mice, men, etc. By organizing the documents it is much easier for the user to sift through more information. It also allows the Web to predict what it is we are looking for. This is great for businesses and college students, but there are those who worry it is gathering to much personal information on us, invading our privacy. Whether you feel positive or negative about the advances of the Web, it, like all things, will evolve. Just keep an eye out if you think its gobbling up to much of your personal information.

Supply and Demand

Why has there been such an evolution of the Web? Understanding the history of the Web helps to understand how it has become a demand. Web 1.0 was about consuming information.  Websites were like virtual flyers or online libraries. Terrible graphics, links that only took users to other information. There was nothing beyond that. The technology was there but nothing came of it until what is called Web 2.0. This is what changed the Web forever and why it continues to change. Web 2.0 became interactive. Sites like Facebook, Amazon, Wikipedia changed the web forever. It allowed users to become interactive. Sharing, uploading, collaborating, networking and more have become options for users. Web 1.0 was the information era of the web and 2.0 is the social era. Once users realized the boundless opportunities they began to want more. The demand for faster, better organized information needs to be supplied. Next comes the semantic era, or the era of technical change. How can these programs make our web experience faster and easier? By creating better organized data bases with semantics and algorithms searches are narrowed and future searches are predicted based on individual search histories. For example if a user searches "shoes" frequently that search will become more refined to shoes the individual likes and also prompt advertisements of shoes. With Web 3.0 we went from simply sharing and interacting to having connective intelligence, connecting data, concepts, applications and ultimately people. The Web has gone far beyond being a virtual library or an outlet for social media. It is a crucial role in today's society. Being used by businesses, schools, hospitals and so many more has created this demand of rising technology, because we rely so much on the information as a functioning society it needed to be streamlined to suite our needs. Hence the supply and demand. If it is in demand it will be supplied. It has to be considered that this is an international demand. The evolution will continue, if you search the word "bank" on one side of the world there needs to be recognition on the other side of the world that means a "financial institution". With Web 3.0 the entire world can reach a level of connection it never has before. Imagine walking into a library and seeing books everywhere, no organization, no way of narrowing your search. A library without the Dewey Decimal System would be preposterous. Information is the key to life, with an easier way of getting to this information and searches being narrowed the sky is truly to limit in our Web capabilities. Some people worry that their privacy is at stake with this advance in technology, this is understandable to an extent, but thinking about how this technology will change future information seekers lives forever and possibly be an interconnected world for the first time ever should discredit those woes.

                                                                                                                                           

AIM do you remember it?

Social media has become so prevalent in our society that sometimes I think people forget we weren’t all born into it. Some of us are dinosaurs that remember the all mighty dial-up! My first interaction with social media was AIM on AOL. There were of course parental blocks set up for me so I was only able to chat with pre-approved friends. Even those chats were far and few because at that time not every house hold had a desktop computer. I can remember trading screen names and waiting online hoping to hear the noise of a door opening on your buddy list. Now a day’s social media is a much different it's everywhere and accessible on every device. You can literally go anywhere and hop on social media. No more hoping one of your pre-approved friends coincidentally goes online the same time as you do. At some point social media went from a way of keeping in touch with old friends to consuming our lives. It became almost intrusive. Constantly seeing every little thing your acquaintances do from what they eat to when they went to the gym, ads being shoved down your throat, and the demand to join other competing websites that basically offer the exact same things. Even though it is so intrusive it is like a bad popularity contest you can’t escape, because everyone is using it, you have too.  For some of us dinosaurs social media has become an unwanted responsibility. It’s hard for me to go out and see so many couples sitting at a dinner table with two phones in between them. My boyfriend and I have a no cell phone at the dinner table rule. I urge all of you to try it. I think it’s fair to say I don’t enjoy social media as much now as in years past. I enjoyed how easy it was to reach out to friends but that’s not what it is anymore. It has become progressive. I have 3 out of 5 classes that I have to “like” our class Facebook page. Social media has changed our social norms and will continue to. Personally I think the overall worst, and defective thing about the evolution of social media is how unreliable it makes our news sources. People are constantly quoting things they have seen on sites that aren’t even true. Our society has grown too dependent on social media as a source of news not interaction. I worry that this will cause people to stop being aware of every day news and politics. Our right to that information is our right as Americans to be informed and make conscious decisions from that information. We must always remember that knowledge is power, if that knowledge is factual.  Let’s face it though, social media isn’t going anywhere. It has become a crucial aspect in people’s personal lives, classrooms, how businesses operate, charities, relationships, and so much more. The capability and intrusiveness of these sites will only advance.