Assignment 2: Structured Blog Activity

1. I follow certain bands on Twitter and Facebook. Their activity on these social media websites has allowed me to see previously unknown aspects of their lifestyles. An example of this is the band Skillet. They post a video podcast on their Facebook fan page as well as on itunes and YouTube. This podcast shows the behind the scenes of concerts, bus rides, and their lives. I also follow individual members of this band. Some members of Skillet post pictures on their twitter. It makes these people seem more like human beings and not some fictional character you hear on the radio. Evan’s Ladder of Engagement is creating content by posting photos, evangelize offering consists of the actual fan page, consume content is reading updated posts and curate content is watching videos posted on the fan page.

2. The two distinct brands of social media are Twitter and Facebook. I am interning at the LPGA State Farm Classic and I am in charge of the social media. I never realized how important these two websites were to a business until I started interning. We use this to inform every fan and follower of the breaking news and tournament updates. The goal is to expand the amount of friends on Facebook in order to establish a larger fan base.

Amazing Social Media Popularity

This week we are covering social media and how popular it has become. Some people think it is a fad and there are facts to back those thoughts up but I do not believe that at all. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Wiki's are here to stay. The video below will show you some of the staggering stats of these social media networks. The numbers are huge and unbelievable but they prove to us that social media is here to stay.

Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are something I do not remember learning about in high school or even college to this date. I found it interesting that short phrases can be eliminated and fixed so easily. For example, the phrase "stick up for" can be easily eliminated with the word "defend." I like how this can be a very small cure to the wordiness problem most college students see in their writing styles. Here is a couple links to websites for more information on phrasal verbs and other fixes to wordiness. Thanks for reading!

http://www.learn-english-today.com/phrasal-verbs/phrasal-verb-list.htm

http://isucomm.iastate.edu/wordiness

My Thoughts on the Class Presentations

I really liked the way we did our class presentations. This format made me pay more attention to each individual's country and their cultures. The countries discussed were Brazil, Canada, Italy, Sweden, and Australia to name a few. I learned a lot about Australia. A couple of the main things I learned was how strict they are with littering, women are referred to as love just like men are called mate, and I didn't know people in Australia were such straightforward people. This was a good opportunity for everyone in the class to broaden our horizons on other countries. When we graduate and move on to bigger and better things some of us will be faced with working on the global scale. With this opportunity comes an even greater challenge. You must understand the culture of your international business partner or you run the risk of failing miserably. Do the research because it will pay off in the long run. I guarantee it!

Learning About Australia

This week we are to start looking for information about any country of choice. The first country that came to mind was Australia. Knowing Brent and Wade have really helped me with this decision. They made Australia sound very interesting during my two years of baseball with them. The problem is I only knew their side of life but not enough to do this presentation. This made it the perfect fit for a country to explore and do research on. It gave me a reason to learn about some of the history and the inner working of this great country.