Multimedia Tools

For the image enhancement of the press release, I first tried to use voice thread and just put my own words into a picture. I cannot figure out how to imbed it, however, and it only gives me a link.

My second choice then, was something that seemed a bit easier. I used Pixlr to create this picture:

My idea for this was simple...to write a motto about making sure the new outlet for news is "the first thing you read for the day!". This was much simpler to me, and I was able to get the picture on this page, rather than just provide a link.

I chose this route because I am big on pictures, adding something simple to ads, or to websites, or blogs. I think video's are a great idea, but because last week's assignment was just on a press release, I felt a video would be for down the road, for instance the actual site we were announcing. Since our press release was focused on releasing a new media outlet, I felt that as a starting company, we (my pretend company) did not have any video's to post.

I believe any type of eye catching image enhances any sort of post, especially one that is mainly with words. Because my press release focused on a news blog site, with contribution by readers and neighborhood watchdogs, I felt any image with a simple picture of written resources would go well with the message I was trying to get across in the press release. Easy, simple, but full of information.

*If anyone happens to know how I would add the one I made through voice thread, I'd love to figure that out!

Best Blog Practices

I tend to try and stay away from read too many blogs. If they are at all political, I stay away completely, or I will get nothing done! But, I do read daily blogs on different topics that I believe will make a mark on my day. I have a friend who blogs, she started as an atheist blogger, and now is a devoted Roman Catholic writing about all of her experiences in a world that could use a little more religion. I read a blog from a mentor of mine, who writes on news stories, but twists them into a psychological perspective. Blogs, to me, are nothing more than a persons opinion, but sometimes, every once in a while, I come across a critical analysis of a situation through a blogger, and I immediately hooked.

I chose to review a blog by author and speaker, Therese Borchard. I began reading a column of hers back when I was in high school. Not for the topic of her column, but rather the way she wrote. She was funny. She was honest. And as a teenager, that is all I wanted in the writers I read.

Therese works full-time, she is a wife and mother to two children, and she lives in my great state of Maryland. I search every morning for a blog post, as I find them to be knowledgeable, reader friendly, and have a real purpose in what the reader is supposed to take away from that day's post. Therese, despite the many roles she plays in life, writes blogs on mental illness. She writes them for people who have a mental illness, who knows and loves someone that does, or for anyone who has ever been touched by any type of condition. She is compassionate, and above all a real hero in the mental health community. My first job out of college was working in the mental health arena, and I folded after a few short months. It is a long road to walk with someone on, or a lonely place to be if someone suffers from any type of diagnosis. But Therese writes to inform and to inspire, and her words do not tread lightly with me.

After analyzing her blogs this week, I believe she practices the rules behind being a good blogger. In the Daily Blog Post site, Borchard follows the twelve steps in being a blogger.

1) Therese has a blog to write about: the latest in mental health, medicines, her own personal struggles, etc.
2) Her blog does have a name- her former one was called Beyond Blue and now she just titles her personal blog Therese J. Borchard
3) She has a professional theme, on her own personal site, as well as her writings having been posted on other top mental health sites like PsychCentral.com or on news sites like The Huffington Post.
4) She has always had a logo.
5) She has a reliable web host- currently it is WordPress.
6) She has plugins all over her site
7) She has Google Analytics
8) Therese has often mentioned in her blogs that she develops future topics and writes them down after receiving e-mails from readers.
9) There are social media widgets and buttons linking readers to her Facebook page, LinkedIn, and Twitter feed.
10) Posts are relevant for search engines to catch on to.
11) She posts three times a week, sometimes more- and she has a full-time career!
12) She has a system for new ideas, besides from readers, she takes stories from the news, or from her own life and develops it into a blog topic.

Therese Borchard blogs touch people, and make them feel less alone in their struggles. But aside from that, she is an incredible writer, not just of blogs, but of books as well. Aside from taking life advice from this dynamic woman, I would take writing advice from her anytime.

References:

Chelidonis, I. (2011, September 05). 12 steps to launch a successful blog. Retrieved from http://www.dailyblogtips.com/steps-to-successful-blog/ 

Sample Press Release

Ford's Reform A place for bantering, brave bloggers to report the news
Annapolis, MD, Nov. 11, 2013/Ford's Reform/- Calling all bloggers! Calling all news followers! Calling first responders, eyewitnesses, and the nosy neighbors! Calling those who pledge to follow a lead based on facts and evidence, who strive to tell not a tale, but the truth! Ford's Reform wants YOU! A new new blogging site will report breaking news by those who believe blogging should be unbiased and ethical. Ford's Reform is calling the most experienced journalist to inexperienced interceptors of the news. Ford's reform aims to reform news reporting.
As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers". Ford's Reform is seeking any interested party to submit their credentials for a possible slot as a news reporter for our new blogging site. The founder and Editor-in-Chief, Becky Ford declares,"Socially, we are in a time where news should be the most easily access, but we are deficient in how that news details, or spins a story". Ford hopes that the news blogging website will be posts not just by professional journalists, but by citizens contributing to the news they experience. "The professional journalists can report on alliances with other nations, political pit stops, to the struggling economy, but no one knows the local news like the people who live it everyday," Ford explains. The news blogging site, set to launch next month, wants to make the news real to readers, and reform the unethical traditions of past journalistic routines.
There are many problems in the world of journalism today, but two of the biggest obstacles is what Ford's Reform hopes to change. First, Ford's Reform realizes the potential in new technologies, and believes the news should be available to anyone. The new site understands that, "information is in greater supply, knowledge becomes harder to create, because we have to sift through more data to arrive at it" (Kovach and Rosensteil, 2010, p.176). With a news blogging site, Ford's Reform will put an end to the constant babble that readers have to trudge their way through, and post reliable and informative stories. The second major change in the way the news is reported is involving the community in news engagement (Kovach and Rosensteil, 2010). With bloggers being local citizens, and not just professional reporters, the news will be written so that readers can take more ownership of the information they receive. And with that information accurately reported, the reader can then become not only more involved in the news world, but more involved in all aspects of the world. Ford says, "It's not just the news we're changing, we're changing how people live their lives".
About Ford's Reform For the next month, Ford's Reform will be soliciting local talent and giving their words a platform for a local, and even national audience. The news site will also be marketing their new newsroom site by holding an Ethical Communications Rally on Saturday, November 16, 2013 at 1pm in front of the state house in downtown Annapolis. All citizens, potential bloggers, and future readers are invited to attend to spread their hope for a more ethically friendly and citizen engaging news site. The rally, in preparation of the site launch hopes to get local citizens and activists excited about reforming the news.			Editor's Note: The rally on Saturday has a rain date set for Saturday, November 23, 2013 in the event of inclement weather. Parking will be available, with shuttle access to the State House, at the Navy Stadium on Rowe Blvd.
Contact: Becky Ford, Owner and Editor-in-Chief Ford's Reform Phone: 410-555-1776 bford@fordsreform.com www.FordsReform.com

A Social Media Society

As someone growing up in the computer-aged generation (though, I remember the early years without the Internet, and I was not a school kid with a cell phone), I am critical of all types of social media. I think many of them make us look better than we are, post lies and create gossip, to just unravel the whole value of a classic face-to-face conversation. Life is faster with these emerging technologies, and we all are "connected"  to those we know and love, and even to strangers. In my critical analysis, I am almost skeptical of the good in social media, and fear that the more tools developed, the more we will live our lives behind a computer screen. 
But my analysis can be taken as a two-sided approach, or even as hypocritical. Just as easily as I am to shake my head at a pre-schooler playing Candy Crush, or feeling that the White House having a Twitter account takes away the prestige and public service view of political office- I also am a user of social media. I use it to stay in the loop of things, even if I hate status updates and "check-ins" (if you check in when your out of the country, don't be surprised when someone robs your house- you posted it!) and I also use it predominately in my line of work. In fact, I do not know if I would be able to pursue the traditional graduate school setting if it were not for the technology of online classes, I value the flexibility of typing papers in the middle of the night, or reading during a break at work. 

For the most part, I would say I am pretty educated when it comes to the tools of social media. For personal use, I do log on to Facebook, and I have become obsessed with pinning recipes from Pinterest, though I highly doubt I will ever actually make a rack of lamb. For work, I have to log on to social media sites for clients. Sometimes, I monitor a company's Facebook or LinkedIn profile. Some days I have to come up with a clever pitch for Twitter, or I pin products to share on Pinterest. Social media, whether I like it today, but despise it tomorrow, is constantly in my routine. 

However, I chose two tools that I have not yet utilized, professionally or personally. The first one I decided to use was Widgets. I have heard about them, but never actually sat down to figure out how to use one. I used the application Snacktools and what I found was truly amazing! On the website of Snacktools, one can make banners for their company, make flipping books from their pictures, or create polls for their profiles on Facebook or Twitter. I found that this could be very helpful to me, professionally, especially when I do marketing work for clients. It is an easy to use site to make things, for example a poll asking if people believe Social Media helps or hinders society. 

The second site I chose to use, that I was not familiar with was a social networking site called, PatientsLikeMe. I got extremely interested in this one! Everyone goes online to diagnose themselves with something, and half the time they end up with ads for certain supplements, or programs with a regiment to end something like restless leg syndrome. Or, even worse, they end diagnosing themselves with Malaria or the bubonic plague. But this is an online site full of information and support, where people can go find others with a similar diagnosis, or just articles about foods to avoid during chemotherapy treatments. I have a nephew with ADHD, and there are so many forums for parents like my sister to share their story. My Mom is a Breast Cancer survivor, and she can activate a profile to share her journey through operations and various procedures in her battle against the Big C. Or, for myself, I suffer from Major Clinical Depression and I can connect with others who share similar worries and fears about how their illness holds them back. Professionally, this is a great marketing tool for companies that I work for that are in the medical community and our advertising a product. They can connect with their target audience and get their product advertised in a productive and less expensive way. 

I believe both of these can profoundly change the way people work and market things, to even how they handle certain situations on life's path. But, if I had to pick one or the other that I felt could reach a wider audience, or could make a better impact, I would have to go with the site that tugged at my heart strings more than they tapped into my neurotransmitters. While, I was really enjoying myself with learning about Widgets, and using Snacktools to come up with ways to use this application at work, my heart was more touched by the stories on PatientsLikeMe. I view social media critically, maybe it is because I was a Sociology major who learned that everyone eventually adapts to their culture, fits in with latest fads. Maybe I am critical of it because I spent a two year period working with one of the most smartest people, and a best-selling author, locating research and articles on what exactly social media was doing to us emotionally. Or, maybe I am critical of it because I've read one too many political status update commentaries where people brought up politics when they know the Golden Rule of never bringing politics or religion into a conversation. I got tired of hearing that someone had to clean the bathroom that day, or loathed going grocery shopping. And maybe I got tired of only seeing the positive pictures of people's lives, or having to put on that persona, when in reality that "friend" or "connection" just got let go from a job, or a loved one just got a bad diagnosis. I just got tired of the fake in social reality. 

But, I connected with this particular social media site because all masks were off. No, here, "all the world is NOT a stage". Disagreeing with Shakespeare, I would say that no one on this site is putting on a show, their posting pictures of weddings not because they want everyone to notice the cake design, but rather the groom's father, who beat his odds against brain cancer. On this site, people post real things about raising a child with a developmental disability, being disabled from a work injury, to finding out what it means to hear the proclamation, "I'm sorry, but you have MS". This site could have more of an outreach because it displays the truth. And in my opinion, on both the days I despise social media, or are ecstatic over a new networking connection, going to an informational site where people post the truth is better than any site that can display or network false images of ourselves.