Ales 204

Hello everyone!

We are nearing the end of the semester, and the last day of classes has come and gone. It is time for us to reflect on the things we have learned this year in our Ales 204 Communication class.

Walking into this class, I was very skeptical of what we would be doing. I had been strongly opposed to Twitter, and had vowed to never sign up for it. Imagine my dismay when I realized that I had to use Twitter for in class participation! As we learned about the different social media platforms throughout the semester, such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and also online references such as Wikipedia, I began to realize how important staying connected was. Our world is becoming increasingly competitive, and it is important to make yourself stand out in every aspect, including having a good online profile. The internet is a good way to promote yourself and also gain knowledge, if you know how to look. One part of this class I really learned from was the Pecha Kucha presentations. I have always had trouble with public speaking, and being forced to present to my lab was a good way for me to really step out of my comfort zone and practice public speaking. The Pecha Kucha is also a great way to plan presentations that can keep the audience engaged, and not bore them to death.

Figure 1: Social MediaFrom 1st Web Designer Blog (2010). [digital image]
Retrieved April 13, 2012 from:  http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/freebies/integrate-social-media-your-website/ 

Another experience I really enjoyed was editing our own Wikipedia stub. It really taught me how to be critical of what I was reading online, and also improved my researching skills. Usually, when I want to learn something, I first go to Wikipedia to gain a brief understanding of my topic, and go off from there. However, this time, there was no Wikipedia to refer to! Editing Wikipedia was a struggle for me, since I was unfamiliar with their formatting. It really made me appreciate the many users who go out of their way to share their information on Wikipedia.

However, while I did enjoy this class, and learn a lot, I must agree with my classmate NutritionStudent, that a lot of the things we covered in class were intuitive, and things we could have learned on our own. As a generation that grew up with the internet, I believe that we are quite capable of navigating and learning how to make use of these different platforms. While I did enjoy this class, I think that a lot of the things we did in class could have been homework assignments, while we discussed more things during class time.

Overall, I enjoyed this class, and the fact that there are no quizzes or exams is a plus! There were some aspects that I felt we could have spent more time on, such as learning how to write memos, public speaking, learning about different online databases to find information, etc. Things such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn were fun, and made the class more interactive, but were things that we could have all done on our own time. I found the blog a great way to express what I learned in class, and also to learn about the thoughts of my fellow students. I've had a great semester in this class, and it was a pleasure reading the blogs that everyone has written!

Here are some of the blogs that I really enjoyed reading, and wrote comments on:

• Cassandra Holte 
• Jenna Patterson
• Lindsay Gervais
• Becky Bohlender
• Marney Steadman

 Thanks to Jess and all the TAs for everything they have taught us this semester!

Memes

Hello! Surfing the internet has always been one of my favourite hobbies. You never fail to come across something interesting or quirky. This past year, I have begun to take notice of an internet phenomenon that is becoming increasingly popular - internet memes!

I'm sure all of you have come across an internet meme at some point, whether you knew it or not. Memes are concepts that become viral, and spread through the internet. They can be in the form of a picture, video, phrase, a recent fad. They spread quickly using many of the social media platforms we talked about throughout the term, such as Facebook and Twitter. The term meme was coined by Richard Dawkins, the author of The Selfish Gene. In it, he talks about how Darwinian principles can be applied beyond genes - they can also be extended to cultural evolution. Dawkins uses the word meme to refer to cultural entities that can be replicated, combined, refined, or modified, and thus evolved over time. While memes are often silly and humorous, they are a reflection of the culture of today, and it is undeniable that they have a significant impact on us today. Some examples of memes that I'm sure you have all seen or heard of are Rebecca Black's 'Friday', and planking, a recent fad. Rebecca Black is an example of how powerful internet memes really are. Overnight, her video became an online sensation, amassing millions of views and earning her millions on iTunes. However, while she did have a lot of publicity, it was mostly negative. She had over 500,000 dislikes on her YouTube video, and generated a torrent of hateful comments and parodies mocking her.

As can be seen in Rebecca's story, memes can be used as a tool for promotion and branding yourself. However, in her case, it might not have given her the kind of publicity that she wanted. Marketers are quickly catching on, and using memes to advertise and promote their products or ideas. It is an inexpensive and trendy way of spreading an idea. However, it is also very unpredictable, with no way of knowing what will become the next trend. Another example of a meme success story would be that of blogger Eric Nakagawa. He created the internet meme lolcat. They are pictures of cats with humorous depictions. This may not seem very impressive, but his website is now worth $2 million, and has millions of hits everyday.

The University of Alberta has its own meme page on Facebook, where students can post memes related to their classes, professors, and their university experience in general. The great thing about memes is that they are easy to change so that they can be applied to you, and the vast amount of different memes out there let you use them in many different situations. I was studying in the library one day, and left to get a drink. When I came back on my computer, I found a meme waiting for me on my desktop:

Figure 1. Y U No Internet Meme
From Chau Chin Yo (personal collection. April 13, 2012)

While internet memes can be hilarious, it is also important to realize that sometimes we are laughing at someone else's expense. You never know what can become an internet meme, and this is another reason to be so careful of what you post online. You might go online one day and realize that overnight, you have become famous - and sometimes not in a good way.

Another way memes can impact us is through language, and how we communicate. Check out Cassandra Holte's blog to read about txt spk and communication today!

Thanks for reading guys, and hoped you learned a bit more about memes today!

References:


Arandilla, R. (2011, Sept). The Power of Internet Memes. Retrieved on April 13, 2012 from:  
        http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/power-internet-memes/

Wikipedia (2012, April 7) Internet Memes. Retrieved on April 13, 2012 from:
        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme

Wiki-Know-How

Hello Everyone! It has been a while! Today's topic is going to be... *drumroll*… Wikipedia! Everyone’s favourite online encyclopedia!

Wikipedia Logo. (2012, March 23). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 23, 2012. From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo

Wikipedia is a free online resource that can be accessed by anyone, and has millions of articles on a wide variety of subjects. Volunteers world-wide work collaboratively to write and edit these articles, as well as keep the site running. The website was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, and was launched in January of 2001. Wikipedia is a quick and easy way to search for information, and is often the first site people go to whenever they need to know something. In fact, on search engines such as Google or Yahoo, Wikipedia is usually one of the first links to show up. However, while Wikipedia is undeniably a popular and vast resource, many academic institutions do not accept Wikipedia as a reliable reference. Why is this?

This is likely due to the fact that Wikipedia is an open source that can be edited by anyone. As long as one has access to the internet, they are able to edit existing articles or write new ones. In some cases, this has led to abuse, or page vandalism, as Wikipedia calls it, where users will post biased, misleading, or false information. Many people feel that due to this feature, Wikipedia is an unreliable source, and should not be trusted, especially for academic purposes. However, studies have shown otherwise. In a study conducted by Nature, it was found that Wikipedia was almost as accurate a source as Britannica. You can read about that article here. Science Daily also published an article stating that a peer-reviewed study showed Wikipedia to be a reliable source of political information. It appears that Wikipedia is gaining acknowledgement as a trustworthy source, and continues to be used by millions all over the world each day.

I am a huge supporter of Wikipedia and have been using it since it came out. I believe that everyone should have access to information, and Wikipedia allows that. However, for the first time, I not only used Wikipedia, but contributed to it! I found a stub, which is an incomplete Wikipedia article, and edited it by adding relevant information and references. I found it to be a lot more challenging than I expected, but also a lot of fun! The topic that I chose was the Jelly Bean Rule. This is a regulation set by the FDA (Food and Drugs Association) of the United States, stating that “foods cannot claim to be healthy unless they contain at least 10 percent of the Daily Value of: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, protein, fiber, or iron. .. [and] companies could not fortify foods with the sole intent of making that claim.” When I first saw the stub, it looked something like this: 

Yo, C. (2012). Jelly Bean Rule Wikipedia Entry [Screen Capture]. Retrieved on March 23, 2012. 

After I edited it, it looked like this:

Yo, C. (2012). Jelly Bean Rule, Wikipedia Entry [Screen Capture]. Retrieved on March 23, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_bean_rule

While researching and looking for information was not too difficult, I found formatting Wikipedia to be rather challenging. I am inexperienced with formatting web pages, and it took a lot of time to get used to it. However, Wikipedia itself has many different pages and tutorials on how to write a Wikipedia article, and even has a sandbox page, where you can experiment and see what the page will look like. Through this process, I realized that page vandalism was not an easy feat, as articles are constantly being regulated and monitored. A bot is used to correct simple errors, such as formatting or spelling mistakes, while registered users are constantly checking over articles that have been newly modified or written. With the millions of users online, it does not take very long for mistakes to be caught. While there is still the possibility of error, one of the great things about Wikipedia is that it encourages the use of proper citations. We learned how to reference our information in class earlier, and this information was used in order to cite the references I had found for my Wikipedia article. When looking through other articles, you can look not only at the information provided, but also at the original sources the information was taken from.  This is another handy way to make use of Wikipedia. 

Well, that's it for this week! Make sure to check out the blog of Clara T, and her thoughts on Wikipedia. 

References:

Study: Wikipedia as Accurate as Britannica. (2012, March 23). In CNet News. Retrieved on March 23, 2012 from: http://news.cnet.com/2100-1038_3-5997332.html

Wikipedia. (2012, March 23). In Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on March 23, 2012 from:    

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia 

Wikipedia Deemed a Reliable Source for Political Information, According to Study. (2012, March 23). In The Science Daily. Retrieved on March 23, 2012 from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110414131855.htm

Hello everyone!

This week, I learned how to create a professional Facebook page about myself! I've had a Facebook profile for years now, but this was the first time I created a page. While your profile is personal and informal, showing your status updates, photos, and comments from your friends, a page is more business orientated, and can be used to promote yourself.  We've all heard stories about employers researching their applicants, and rejecting some after seeing their Facebook page. But have no fear! With Facebook privacy settings, you can safely keep your personal profile from prying eyes, and potential employers. At the same time, you can still promote yourself using your public profile, which contains an online resume and contact information (without the embarrassing photos). Below is a screenshot of my page, and feel free to visit me on Facebook!

My Facebook Page, uploaded from Flickr

An article on the New York Times Bits blog shows that 45% of employers use social networking sites to screen applicants, and of those, 35% were turned down due to the content on those sites. This article was written in 2009, and since then, the numbers have probably increased. When we are on the internet, it is easy to forget who might be reading the things that we post. That is one of the biggest advantages of Facebook. It allows you to be free to voice your own opinions, and relax when communicating with your friends on your profile, while still maintaining a professional image on your page. It can act as an online resume, and so much more. You can edit and personalize your page to market yourself the way you want to be seen. You can post your credentials and accomplishments as well as your hobbies and personal interests, allowing people to get to know and understand you better. Rather than friends, your page can have fans, who can like you, and receive updates of what you are doing. For those who have their own businesses, Facebook pages are also good ways to market new ideas, inform fans of promotions, and also obtain feedback on how they are doing. As you can see from the many advantages of having a page, it is something definitely worth trying.

Thank you everyone, for reading my blog, and come check out my fellow classmate Cassandra's blog, and how she plans on making use of her Facebook page!

So remember everyone, before you post something online, ask yourself - who can read this?

Introduction

Hello everyone,


Welcome to my blog!


My name is Chau Chin Yo, and I was born in Calgary, Alberta. I grew up in a large family, living with my parents, grandparents, and two brothers. I have a variety of hobbies, including reading, arts and crafts, listening to music, watching movies, playing games, and playing sports. I love spending time with my friends and family, but since many of them do not live in Edmonton, I use Skype, MSN Messenger, facebook, and texting to stay in contact with them. Moving to another city and going to university has definitely shown me the importance of social media in staying in touch with others.

Here is a picture of some of my high school friends, who are attending
universities all throughout Canada!

I am currently a second year student at the University of Alberta in Nutrition and Food Sciences, planning on transferring to a Nutrition major. I love food and health, and want to pursue a career as a Registered Dietitian in the future. As a RD, I will have to be able to communicate effectively with the people that I work with. Being able to clearly convey my ideas so that others understand is essential, and being able to network and build connections is very important as well. In this age of information, where technological advances have made communication all the more easier, the ability to make use of social media as a means of communication is becoming increasingly important. In the future, should I ever become a RD, I may need to provide people with resources and advice on health and nutrition, in which social media will be a very valuable tool. I could also make use of blogs written by other dietitians in order to stay up to date on the latest news on nutrition and food. One example of this is Nutrition Blog Network, a blog written by dietitians. 


I am very excited for Ales 204 this semester, and look forward to learning more about blogging and social media! I can't wait to read the blogs of my classmates, and learning from everyone!


Make sure to also check out the blog of fellow classmate Evelyn Cheng, who happens to be in the same program as I am, and also aims to be a RD! She mentions the importance of networking in her blog, which you can find at: http://elycheng1992.blogspot.com/