Rift Fournier...

With so much experience, it is hard to listen to Rift and not be in awe of what he has accomplished.

Jill was right when she said Rift was a great motivational speaker. Although he sat with a piece of paper filled with topics Jill thought he ought to talk about, he spoke freely and openly to us.

Of the numerous topics that filled Rift's discussion, he seemed to place a lot of emphasis on the word passion. "Do something you are passionate about," he told us with conviction in his voice. Although he jokes and is very laid back, Rift was adamant about that statement.

The mention of passion and Rift's comment about the inevitability of changing majors got me to thinking. Am I really happy with the path I've chosen in school? I am ready to take on some form of the communications world when I graduate? Do I have passion?

I found the answer while I listened to Rift speak about his experiences in the writing world. He was persistent. So much so that his first writing job was a yield by a man who just wanted to be left alone. Rift's somewhat obnoxious, but memorable behaviors were his lead into the world of writing.

I would like to think that if I wanted something bad enough I would find a way to make it happen. I would also like to think that is passion.

As Rift continued talking about all the things he'd done I could hear the fondness in his voice. I can hear the same tone (maybe a little more excitement) in my own voice when I talk about the things i've learned while pursuing a degree in communications. I feel the same way about what I want to do as Rift proclaimed to have felt about writing. Would I send forget-me-not's to a potential employer? Possibly (that's pretty catchy, Rift!), but it's more than just a simple gesture. It made him stand out. It showed his passion.

If I took anything away from Mr. Fournier's talk on Wednesday, it is the knowledge that I know iIm in the right place doing what I KNOW I want to do.

Social Media

I partake in social media almost everyday. We all do. It’s not just Facebook or Myspace as many of us first imagined. And it’s not just blogs and Twitter.

Social media ranges from social networking sites, like the above mentioned, to reference sites like Wikipedia and even entertainment found in games like Second Life. There is a long list of social media that has only recently expanded. Social media is seeing a shift from the way we once gathered information through monologues into a dialogue in which the information gatherers directly communicate with the information providers.

We are now forming relationships with social media. These relationships can be business or personal. We are able comment on someone else’s blog or blog our own thoughts. Blogging our own thoughts is what the video ‘Social Media in Plain English’ refers to as ‘making our own flavors’.

Not only are we able to create, we are able to learn from others just like us with their reviews and ratings. It is easier for us to find what we want with websites like MouthShut.com and Yahoo! Answers. This idea of feedback and dialogues did not always exist. According to an article in Business Week, the social media has significantly expanded in the last three years and is what they consider “nourished by users.” In the article, they discuss how consumers are using blogs to communicate and refer to them as ‘the most explosive out break in the information world since the internet itself.’

Social media can be broken into sections. These sections include communication, collaboration, multi-media, reviews, and entertainment.

Communication refers to the nine million blogs currently out there, the micro-blogging sites like Twitter, and the social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. These are all user interactive and in most cases a dialogue can be created.

Collaboration sites include Wikipedia in which the users submit content, or StumbleUpon where users can rate sites. This is taken directly from the websites ‘about us’ section: "StumbleUpon uses / ratings to form collaborative opinions on website quality." They directly refer to themselves a collaborative form of social media.

Multi-media consists of sites like YouTube, Flickr, and imeem that are created to provide a platform designed for sharing. Users are able to upload videos to YouTube to share with the world. Flickr allows you to upload photos and video that can either be shared with everyone or kept private. imeem is a site that supports viral content sharing like videos and music and is completely free to users.

Sites with the purpose of informing through reviews would be Mouthshut.com and eopinions.com. These sites allow users to review topics ranging from airlines to washing machines.

Entertainment in social media can be found in games like Second Life or World of Warcraft in which the players are connecting to other players through the internet. This connection allows for a dialogue between the players.

Everywhere we turn, we are taking part in social media. Whether it is commenting on a friends picture on Facebook or Tweeting our whereabouts to all our followers (uh, how cult like does that sound?) we are all participating.

generation diva..

I've seen the shows. The ones where the mothers teach their five year old daughters that big hair, a spray on tan, and a cheesy smile will win the hearts of the judges everytime. So, it's not hard for me to believe that the girls who grow up listening to this and even the young girls that watch these shows see that making adjustments to your physical appearance will help you win the hearts of those around you.

When I was eight, I don't even think I knew what mascara was. I'm twenty now and i'm lucky if I get out of the house in the morning with moisturizer on. Sure, i'll get an occasional pedicure or manicure, but no way do I spend $50 on a haircut. I find this article unbelievable, but at the same time I don't know how I didn't see this coming.

I first find it unbelievable that a parent is going to say alright to their 13 year old daughter getting highlights that cost $150 or starting a weekly pedicure habit that is sure to put a dent in daddy's wallet. Who are these parents that are paying to support their tweens outrageously expensive beauty habits?

Then I give myself one of those "oh, duh" nudges and think that this was bound to happen. There is so much in the media that is focused on targeting the 13 - 19 age group that I wondered how I missed it. Every magazine you look at or television show you watch has some gorgeous face all over it, a face touched up to perfection.

Its unavoidable. And what's scarier is that it's becoming more attainable.

The article talks about Dr. Alan Gold, President of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, who says that 14% of Botox users are in the age range of 19 - 34. Seriously? Do people even have enough wrinkles at 34 to justify Botox or do they just like not having the ability to make facial expressions?

We see how the media is affecting young girls, but is there anyway to put a stop to it? Dove is doing the best they can with their 'campaign for real beauty'.

Take a look at a few of the videos put out by dove:

Podcasting...

When I was in primary school, my teacher read The Hobbit to us. We made topic books about WWII and the eco-system. We used pen, paper, and occasionally colored pencils.

A lot has changed in a decade.

According to this article, the British government wants to do an overhaul on the current elementary education. Their proposal would make teaching newer forms of media such as blogging, podcasting, Wikipedia and Twitter mandatory at the younger levels.

Seriously? I got to color pictures and these kids get to update their Twitter pages. Jill, I know how thrilled you must be to hear about such young twitterers, being an addict yourself. But, what's even crazier about this proposed overhaul is the idea of teaching about podcasting. I'm not even sure what podcasting is and i'm in college.

I did what any "self-respecting" college student who lacks information does, I went to Wikipedia. As stated by the trusty site, 'A podcast is audio made available for download via syndication. The files are usually retrieved with software applications (generically known as podcatchers) such as Apple's iTunes so that subscribers can listen at their convenience on devices that have intermittent, slow, or are otherwise lacking Internet access.' Basically - a podcast is some version of a 'broadcast' on your ipod, available to you when ever you feel a hankering to listen.

What's so cool about a podcast is that you can find one about almost any topic you want. According to digitalmedia.oreilly creating your own podcast is as simple as 1. producing your own audio files and 2. publishing them somewhere online. Apparently it's super easy and can be done completely free.

Podcasting has endless opportunities. Anyone with a hobby can probably find at least one podcast about their favorite activity. iTunes, for example, offers more than 100,000 podcasts to users all for FREE. We know that Gen Y loves free stuff...With podcasts ranging from CNN to Sesame Street it's easy to find something you like.

It's cool to see that kids could be leaning how to podcast in school. It's a growing medium that is vastly accessible and having knowledge of these technologies will prove very handy in the years to come.

Job Search...

The internship is in Chicago for the CBS owned WBBM-TV. The internship is for a public relations intern who would work with the public affairs and communications director. Assisting with station-sponsored events, talent appearances, and preparing promotional materials are just some of the duties of this internship.

It seems like a good experience and is interesting because it takes place at a television station. There is a lot of public relations work done at t.v. stations and the skills one might develop here would certainly help when looking for a job. Assisting with station-sponsored events is, for me, the most intriguing part of this internship because I am interested in event planning.

To prepare for an internship like this, simply taking the required classes is not going to satisfy. Although I am working on my degree, I am currently interning at Emmis Communication in downtown St. Louis. Emmis owns four of the major St. Louis radio stations, KHITS 96, 105.7 The Point, KSHE 95, and 97.1 FM Talk. I work with the Emmis Marketing Group, specifically with the Event Management Specialist, Ellie Sertic. I have helped on numerous events for all of the radio stations that include all the planning leading up to the event itself and also creating promotional materials for the events.

NO SOLICITORS.

Gen Y is coined as the hard-to-reach marketing group. In fact, marketers have even joined the name calling of Gen Y when they describe us as "the untouchables." It's true. We are harder to pin-point, but once you've got us - we're pretty loyal.

Millenials are considered the biggest group of spenders since the baby boomers. I've heard numbers of our spending habits thrown out anywhere from $150 billion to $200 billion in just a year! That's some serious cash flow. Which is why marketers are so interested in targeting us.

Instead of employing the usual techniques, companies are catching on to what gets us interested. They have started putting their messages in places where Gen Y is most likely to be. Of course the internet comes up, since Gen Y is always on their favorite social network or catching their friends latest video on YouTube. Marketers are also popping up at places like snowboard tournaments. According to a USA Today article Mountain Dew has figured out a way to reach Gen Y effectively. They call it the "Pavlovian connection". Mountain Dew hands out samples of the drink at these 'extreme' events. "There's a Pavlovian connection between the brand and the exhilarating experience," says Dave Burwick, a top executive at Pepsi.

They've got it! Gen Y wants an experience. We want to feel like we are getting more than just a drink. Recently I have seen Monster energy drinks out on the street being given away after concerts and at festivals. Gen Y LOVES this because it's free. If we like what we are tasting it's possible we will actually go buy the product next time we have to stay up until 3 am to write a blog post.

Other than giving us things for free, marketers have discovered that concentrating on smaller groups is working well. If you work to satisfy a group of teens, they are more likely to talk to their friends and rave about their experience with the product or company. Personally, I am a huge fan of personal referrals and generally tend to purchase things I know have worked for my friends.

Apple won Gen Y over when it created the 99 cent song. Instantaneously you could have the music you want without having to purchase an entire cd. I thought this was awesome, so I invested a little more money in Apple, buying an ipod. But that wasn't all. The computer I sit here typing on is, guess what - a Mac! I was so satisfied with my experience at Apple that I continued to buy their products. They drew me in with iTunes, but kept me. I am also a prime example of peer referrals. I recommend the products to anyone who asks.

Apple has it figured out, you draw them in with something they want and keep them with other great products and service. Many companies out there could learn a lesson from Apple. It doesn't matter how hard you try to reach us "untouchables," if you can't keep us your efforts are lost.

Retouching

In this high-tech world where anything can be manipulated with a few clicks of a mouse, it is hard to look at a picture and determine if what we are seeing is real or enhanced.

Photo-retouching refers to the process of warping an image until the desired result is achieved. I say that it is easy to manipulate a photo with a computer, but retouching has been done since photos have been around. At the start of the 1900's, photo manipulation was used as a form of propaganda. Compiling collages and enhancing parts of photos was something used during the wars and especially practiced in WWII against the Nazi Regime.

Computerized manipulation saw one of its first big controversies with the retouching of a 1982 National Geographic cover in which two pyramids were moved closer together to fit vertically on the page. Due to issues such as this one, the National Press Photographers Associaion (NPPA) set a code of ehtics for photographers. In this code of ethics, the NPPA advised photographers to be weary of photo manipulation for published photos that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects.

When we speak of photo-retouching, we are most likely talking about the magazine covers or billboards we see in which the models are made to look flawless. This type of retouching constructs ideals and leave the viewer having trouble differentiating between fact and fiction. Such retouching is a strong factor in the self-esteem issues of men and women.

Lauren Collins wrote an article for The New Yorker in which she talks about photo-retouching and its guru. "Pixel Perfect" describes the work of the infamous photo-manipulator, Pascal Dangin, and how he deals with a photograph that needs to be 'retouched'. In the March issue of Vogue, Dangin altered one-hundred forty-four images, one-hundred seven advertisements, thirty-six fashion pictures and the cover. Dangin was quoted in the article saying, “I think retouching is too much when it reaches the point of disfiguring. I want people to have an understanding of the skeleton and musculature and how it works. There is nothing worse than looking at an ankle or a calf that’s wrong. This is what bad retouching can do—you see in magazines girls having their legs slimmed and they no longer have tibias and femurs, and it’s weird.”

Take a look at these pictures. The celebrities photographed in them have very different before and after shots.

In a world where everything around us is digitally enhanced, it is hard to know if anything we are seeing is ever real. According to this video, it takes more than some make-up and hairspray to create the kind of look that goes onto a billboard.