Green Energy Campaigns

Advancing technology has improved every industry from 3G to 4G smart phones to hybrid cars that are more efficient on gas, its not surprising that these technologies are helping with sustainable energy as well.  Green Energy campaigns educated and informed the public of the earth's health status.  In 2003 a global warming initiative was launched to educate and develop renewable energy sources (Pierce, Steel & Warner, 2011) that are now being implemented for today's use.  Some of these sources utilized military technology with domestic farmers needs developing agricultural drones (Anderson, 2014).  With fossil fuels accounting for 80% of the United States global pollution (Greenpeace, 2014) and scientist tracking extreme weather and sea level rises mass media was used as the resource in transmitting immediate attention to this matter.

When politicians began to campaign on green energy, society took notice, it resulted in shifting cultural views on worldwide sustainable energy strategies.  Current technology can produce wind, solar and geothermal energy sources to provide 96% electricity and 98% heating utility demand (Greenpeace, 2014).  With the advancements in big data software and unprecedented forecast accuracy wind power and solar power grids are being utilized by utility companies (Bullis, 2014).  Overall, mass media campaigns have reached a large audience that have allowed renewable energy advocates to influence the world to actively use new technologies to push social change.  Cultural expectations in today's mass media is socially conscientious and knows that social media can impact world decisions.

References:

Anderson, C. (2014). Agricultural drones.  Retrieved from http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/526491/agricultural-drones/

Bullis, K. (2014). Smart wind and solar power.  Retrieved from http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/526541/smart-wind-and-solar-power/

Greenpeace. (2014). Stop global warming: energy [r]evolution.  Retrieved from http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/

Pierce, J., Steel, B. & Warner, R.  (2011). Cultural considerations in alternative energy development: an oregon and washington case study.  Retrieve from http://epi.boisestate.edu/media/8382/4_brent%20steel%20%28paper%29_cultural%20considerations%20in%20alternative%20energy%20development,%20an%20oregon%20and%20washington%20case%20study.pdf

Images:

http://www.moneycrashers.com/green-energy-technologies-solutions-home-improvement/

New Age Entertainment

I can still remember a time when I actually had to get up to turn my television channels.  Hopefully that is not disclosing how old I am but my children seriously asked me if there were color tv's in my day.  New millennium youths can't relate to the four channel, non-remote, non-streaming tv of the past.  YouTube is the go-to for the majority of my kids entertainment.  I have not invested in the nice quality digital tv's (DTV) that are now so popular but I do consume my entertainment differently then I did when I was an adolescent.  The technology advancements in mass media has changed the way society accesses their entertainment.

My walk-man has been updated to an ipod, I listen to Pandora rather then the radio and I use my ROKU (on-demand programming) to view my favorite shows and movies.  I can participate on social media through my phone and I use my laptop for work.  These new elements of communication have conveniently changed the way Americans consume entertainment (Curtis, 2012).  There are new platforms that are emerging such as more use in cloud computing, multimedia 3D entertainment and IoT connectivity (IEEE, 2013).  The cultural shifts of today are motivated by new technologies and new age entertainment will continue to form innovative creators who utilize all available platforms.

References:
Curtis, A. (2012).  Mass media influence on society.  Mass Communication Department.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke 910.521.6616
http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/Media&Society/MassMediaInfluenceOnSociety.html

IEEE Computer Society.  (2012).  13 Technology Trends for 2013.  Retrieved from http://www.computer.org/portal/web/pressroom/IEEE-Computer-Society-Announces-13-Technology-Trends-for-2013

Images:
http://www.onlinemarketing-trends.com/search/label/media%20trends

How Technological Advances Contribute to Societal and Cultural Shifts

With changing times we see changing technologies, societal shifts and cultural shaping.  All are intertwined and help feed each other.  The 2008 election showed how new technology developed a societal shift towards acceptance and has laid a new foundation to youths of the limitless potential being an American citizen can achieve.  Obama's campaign chose to communicate with younger voters who were increasingly using mobile devices for social media correspondence, the campaign used the fairly new platform of social media as a window to pour unsolicited information to a mass audience (Carr, 2008).

The American culture had changed to cell phones, laptops and tablets as the major medium in consuming music, media and news (Curtis, 2012).  These new avenues of communication were directly related to the technological advances that software and hardware companies were developing.  Citizens simply utilized the new technologies and now we use them in most aspects of our lives.  We have our ipads, iphones and ipods that are used daily and now our kids and grand-kids can't imagine a time before the existed.




References:
Carr, D. (2008). How obama tapped into social networks' power.  Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/business/media/10carr.html?_r=0

Curtis, A. (2012).  Mass media influence on society.  Mass Communication Department.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke 910.521.6616
http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/Media&Society/MassMediaInfluenceOnSociety.html

Images:
http://www.mobify.com/insights/55-of-cell-owners-go-online-using-phone/
http://www.philapark.org/2013/08/changing-times/

Communication Professional Job Requirement #3: Utilize Web Optimization

Communication professionals of the 21st century will have to be adaptable to new technologies, have the ability to write engaging and informative content and possess a strategic understanding on how search engines work.  This knowledge is needed to be a successful and sought after writer within the communication industry.  Basic understanding of computer programming language is crucial to manipulate successful results on the web (Reid, 2012).  Web optimization or search engine optimization can take a company's website from obscurity to the front page of a search engine.

References:

Reid, B.  (2012).  The 10 skills modern communicators have (or need to get).  Retrieved from http://blog.wcgworld.com/2012/05/the-10-skills-modern-communicators-have-or-need-to-get

image: http://www.collegeofmarketing.com/seo-guide/search-engine-usage/

Communication Professional Job Requirement #2: Keep me interested

The role of a communication professional entails engagement.  In attempting to engage with the public interesting content must be created.  To gain an audience you must utilize the tools on social media platforms to construct an effective outreach model.  Online communication conceptualizes human uses of the Internet by examining what people are doing with technology, socially and communicatively (Cairncross, 2001).  Using Google Analytics and other tracking software to rate your engagement campaigns will give you greater insight on what is keeping your readers interested.

Using trending hashtags and commenting on other interesting post will highlight your effort to interact (Reid, 2012).   Audiences repost and share comments that are funny and interesting the most (Roger, 2013) so it is important for communication professionals to stay aware of what is going on in society as well as how people are sharing interesting news.  Take risk and try new styles of marketing that are innovative and ethically sound.  These risk are a gamble but one post could go viral so putting in the effort could definitely pay off.

References:

Cairncross, F. (2001).  The death of distance: how the communications revolution is changing our lives - distance isn't what it used to be.  Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=brOQAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=culture+and+communication+changes+with+technology&ots=b8Lz83PqiN&sig=gLwZaOfUE0EUA5c3orIlCEBtOww#v=onepage&q=culture%20and%20communication%20changes%20with%20technology&f=false

Reid, B. (2012).  The 10 skills modern communicators have (or need to get).  Retrieved from     http://blog.wcgworld.com/2012/05/the-10-skills-modern-communicators-have-or-need-to-get

Roger, K. (2013, February 19). Integration of push marketing campaigns into social media.     Social Media Today.  Retrieved from     http://socialmediatoday.com/freelancewriter/1247226/squeezing-pull-marketing-    campaigns-social-media.

Communication Professional Job Requirement #1: Ability to Adapt

The one thing constant is change.  It is apparent in the field of communications with the advances in technology and how information is being distributed.  With new communication devices and multiple internet platforms being developed several times a year, professionals in the information industry must possess a basic understanding of new technologies.  Without the ability to adapt to the onslaught of new industry practices some companies may fall by the wayside.  Among companies currently facing or anticipating a skills shortage, 66 percent anticipate a loss of business to competitors, 64 percent face a loss of revenue, 59 percent face eroding customer satisfaction and 53 percent say they will face a delay in developing new products or services (Accenture, 2013).

Communicators must be proactive in their careers by participating in new media.  Companies will review how active a social media specialist claims to be by browsing their current profiles.  Without a cyber footprint communication professionals will more then likely be lost in the shuffle of other ordinary candidates.  New technologies need to be tested, they are essential for productivity and must be utilized properly because the technology themselves are specific to information and communication endeavors (Hare, n.d.).  Technology has changed the way we communicate and we as professional communicators must have the ability to adapt with these changes.

References:

Accenture.  (2013).  Accenture 2013 Skills and Employment Trends Survey: Perspectives on         Training.  Retrieved from     http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-2013-Skills-And-    Employment-Trends-Survey-Perspectives-On-Training.pdf

Hare, C.  ().  New technologies and the education of information professionals.  Retrieved from http://campus.usal.es/~teoriaeducacion/rev_numero_02/n2_art_hare.htm#Destino_06

Images: http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/acs/infographics/communications.html

Opitimizing Your Website with Multimedia

Multimedia has enhanced websites by adding a number of techniques to content, these devices help make websites more interesting and interactive.  Traditional reading in educational books and manuals have applied pictures and graphs for additional imagery to help better understand the text but interactive correspondence was not applicable.  Now most reading is done on mobile devices and websites have come to use visuals to optimize their content and Google rankings.  There are three main cognitive learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. All have been utilized to teach and advertise information in the online environment.

Visuals

 

A common saying in the culinary field is that "the eye eats first."  This means that if we like what we see we'll give it our attention.  With a huge variety of websites to choose from a webmaster must have their website stand-out from the rest to get noticed. Eye-catching visuals helps keep visitors on your webpage and it will make your site more memorable for future visits.  Embedding video's or audio podcast help visitor's grasp the content quickly for an easy user experience.

Audio

Hearing what you need to know works well when using mobile devices.  You can be hands-free and still get the just of what you were looking for without viewing a monitor.  Texting and driving is a nationwide campaign that is gaining momentum so the thought of going to a website and listening to ads and content adds a safety element to the hundred of thousands mobile device users.  This form of multimedia is used more for displaying music but adding your voice to a podcast is relatively easy to produce and distribute.

Kinesthetic

Interactivity is the most used technique for websites.  There are clickable links, pictures and content that prompt the user to take action and communicate through interactive techniques.  Now with touch screens and voice activated technology, interaction between IoT objects and human users is daily.  Multimedia has enhanced communications by using all of the cognitive learning styles.  Each style used properly will create a specific experience and if the experience is enjoyed by the website visitor, they will return. 

Specifying which technique is best would depend on the learning style of the individual website visitor, whatever style of learning works best for them is the form of multimedia they will prefer.  Best practice is to use all 3 techniques within your website.  Most importantly though, create an awesome website.

Best Practices for Serious Blogging -- To Blog or Not To Blog

You can research the12 Steps to Launch a Successful Blog or view The 100 Best, Most Interesting Blogs and Websites of 2014 but the information you find there won't encompass the best practices for writing a blog.  Guidelines, I guess, aren't the first thing you think of when you want to spout-off at the mouth.  OK, not all people create blogs to just spout-off personal opinions but we do have to consider them when analyzing a code of ethics for blogs.  These are the folks who drive the debate although they do not participate in the debate.  Mainly because they are not convicted to hold themselves to any accountability of what they publish.  They insist that blogging is free -- i.e. a free-flow medium and not a journalistic endeavor. (Webb, 2013)

Blogging to many is only thought of as an online diary/journal.  Discussing daily interactions and personal opinions, the new element and main difference from original diary's and journals is that the world is your potential audience.  This new factor of having a mass audience adds on an implicated responsibility of understanding professional writing ethics.  Although not widely accepted or even widely practiced there are blogging code of ethics that have been proposed.  I chose to analyze a blog to see if best practices for writers are being used, observing its form, function and substance.

Whowhatwhy.com was my choice, it is recognized as being one of the best blogs of 2013, it has a number of contributing writers and regularly receives comments from readers.  It has a news platform with a professional appearance, its function is to distribute current event articles and the content is well-written with cited sources.  Best practices are being used which allows this site to be viewed as having integrity and a resourceful and reliable source for news. 

I believe a code of ethics clause should be accepted before allowing a person access to a blog.  No rights are being restricted only codes of conduct being stated.  Therefore no blog can be distributed without a writer taking responsibility for the content on their site.  I do agree with the blogging code of ethics but I believe the traditional SPJ Code of Ethics needs to be merged into the bloggers ethics as well.  There will always be a comment that offends but with best practices in place the offense will be from a disagreement not defamation of character.

Is there an audience for what I have to say?

Social Media Tools

I will be sharing my research paper with as many people as possible and I need to figure out which social media tool will reach the biggest audience.  After reviewing the many chooses available I decided on 3 which I believe will reach the biggest audience.  

https://www.facebook.com/leona.davisbrown

First, is Facebook: This social networking site already has a list of my close friends, family and work associates so this will reach the main group of people who are interested in what I'm doing in my daily life.  These people will more then likely look at what you post and click on any links you may share with them.


@LeonaTheWriter

Second, is Twitter: This social networking platform will reach more then just friends and family.  If what I have to tweet is interesting others who follow me will re-tweet and so on and so on.  This site is very fast moving so I could get lost in the shuffle but the opportunity to reach a large audience is still possible.



leonasview.blogspot.com

The last platform I will use is this current blog.  I can update as often as possible and be interactive with those who do view my paper.  The audience takes time to build with blogs but by using Twitter and Facebook I can steer people this way.

Unrestricted Web Posting

There's a great commercial where a lady post on social media that she's going on vacation and there is an immediate response from a man who has a face mask on like the picture above that tells her to have a nice trip.  I loved it because the thief was concealing his identity even though he has taken a picture of himself, I associate that mentality to unrestricted web posting.

Unrestricted web posting, to me, is having full access of providing information to the world but not holding any accountability of the information being given.  Delivering false information is not a new practice, the web just provides a larger audience and a faster means of delivery.  In this era of opinion blogs and everyone claiming to be an expert puts individuals in the position to become fact-finders.  Research is not only for educational settings, we now have to compare and contrast the vast amounts of information out there to view.

Our society has become accustomed to researching products through customer reviews and consumer reports; we just need to apply that same technological advantage to other forms of information.  Researching cited sources isn't a common practice because it is not something we are spending our money on, it's free information.  We don't see how incorrect information can put us in more trouble then purchasing a defected pair of tennis shoe.  We know our purchasing habits have power so we strive to get the best deal through research, we also know that education is power but we don't hold that truth as high.

I read a NY Times article for my assignment and tracked every source.  They were all verifiable but I assumed they would be since the distribution company relies on giving the public accurate information.  Not all distributed news is reliable, there are many news media outlets that high jack the look of a professional news company but have a bias agenda on what information they relay.  This is when you will need to use the criteria to evaluate the credibility of WWW resources.  These techniques will help distinguish what is legit and what isn't but overall scholarly printed information is still refereed to as being the safest bet in acquiring empirical facts.

Social Media and Truth

The truth is a tricky thing in social media.  We would assume that the truth is simply that, the truth, but with millions of opinions and thousands of (so-called) experts the truth can be interpreted and many ways.  My assignment to learn something new using social media was a success and failure.  I found out about a lot of new things going on with my friends on Facebook; a friend from high school just got married, my cousins baby is due in September and she's having a boy.  I went to Twitter to see if there was something to learn there and most post were about attending the BET awards.  Checked out LinkedIn and read a couple of 2014 trends in social media which all seem true because of what I see when I check out different sites.  I didn't research further because I believe socialmediaexaminer.com to be a reliable site and all of the examples in the article can be found on popular websites.

I don't go to social media sites to research information or find out information that would be important to anyone other then me.  I go to my Facebook account to see what my friends are doing, Twitter to see what celebrities are doing and LinkedIn to see what people in my field are talking about.  None of that, to me, is intentionally searching for news updates and solid truths; but, there are times when social media does provide that for me.  There are always celebrity RIP post, which aren't always reliable, but social media may be the first time you hear about someone's passing.  I said that learning something new through social media was a success, in that I found out a lot of new information; but it was also a failure because I didn't find out anything I can concretely say was the truth through statistics and chronicled research.  I cannot say that social media is a good resource to use when looking for credible information but it's probable that you will find out things first through social media and then it is up to you to confirm that the information is correct.

Influence of the Media

There are the social media crackheads who always need their fix, their is the social drinker crowd who only respond to interesting posts or post for Birthdays and special events and then there are those who feel social media is too evasive and don't participate at all outside of owning the newest cell phone on the market.  I am a bit of an oxymoron, I rarely communicate through social media but I have set up accounts in all popular social media outlets and I just got a job where I will need to use all forms of media outlets on a daily basis.  The only form of new media I currently use daily is email (if that is even considered new media), I don't have a smart phone but I do have a cell phone that I use daily as well.  With my new job I see that I will have to do a lot of catch up to be successful in my field.

I know I will never become the social media crackhead because I like my me time.  My kids get kicked out of my room if they over stay their welcome.  I do not believe social media has changed my perspective on daily activities.  Don't get me wrong, I scroll through Facebook just as much as you do but I can go months without posting anything.  I can say that I do add others post to my timeline which makes it look like I am more involved on Facebook then I truly am.  This will change only because my career demands it, I can't say if it will make me post to my personal accounts more or if I will only post for clients.  I do not believe that being exposed to social media more often will result in negative influences but my background in Communications might help me decipher what to take interest in and what to discard.  My new position will open me up to so much more information but because it is professional I still think most of the images, articles and post I come in contact with will practice ethical guidelines when publishing information.  Only time will tell.