Reflection!

It is amazing how fast this past semester has gone! I have had a lot of fun in ALES 204, and learning about social media, and different online tools to communicate better! I enjoyed the informality of the lessons and how the participation required us to tweet about interesting things that we learned in the class, and with extra material that we had to look through. It made it feel less like work and more like fun web browsing. I enjoyed looking through others’ blogs such as Alana’s and Jessie’s and being able to comment and share my ideas with them, even when we were not together. Working in collaboration with others in the class gave a great opportunity to meet new people and develop friendships that will most likely go beyond ALES 204.

 photo credits: Kelsey Rutar

Photo of Alana Soderberg and Kelsey Rutar in ALES 204, taken on: February 29, 2012 at 11:19am

I only had Facebook coming into this class and the best thing that I have taken from ALES 204 is learning about and using Twitter. To be honest I had full intention of deleting my new Twitter account after the semester was done. I was awed in the fact that people would want to update every little thought they have and tell the world, or their “followers” what they were doing. It turned out to be more interesting that I expected.  Twitter is so much more than just a site to randomly talk about unimportant stuff, and because of this class is why I know that now. My thoughts were shared with many in this class and I commented on a blog post about my common thoughts of Twitter and how they have changed. In Christie’s blog she has also mentioned that another person in our class has shared the same thoughts as well! This is in her internal link on the blog post that I have commented on.

We are not the only ones that had skeptical thoughts about Twitter, Robyn Twomey a writer for TIME magazine wrote an article of How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live. I found reading this to be very interesting! Twitter gives those not around you, a sense that they are. Everything can be a Tweet, and to me now, most interesting information pieces that I find usually are. There are the occasional uninteresting items I post as well.

With Twitter I have been able to follow local news stations and get updates about what is going on in the city that I live. I have been able to follow favorite fashion designers that I have and even see when new fashion clothing lines are coming out before magazines are even printed! I have been able to follow and connect with individuals in the marketing and advertising industry, which is the path that I want to take for my career. Twitter is good for networking and meeting new people and Rosie is a perfect example of that! In her blog, she has shared with us that she is moving to a new school in the fall, and when she went to visit it during reading week she was able to meet up with people she has been communicating with on Twitter. I found that really interesting because it would be more comfortable and make you feel like you know the person a little more already before actually meeting in person! I think that Twitter is better at networking than Facebook is. Twitter gets the point across in a short way, and allows you to hashtag your thoughts to group it with others that have similar opinions as you do. I will not just give up on Facebook though, I have learned in this class how to prepare a Facebook page, which can also help network and allow employers to find talent that we may have. Laura shared her Facebook page on her blog and her ideas about finding employment based on keeping information simple and to the point.

Editing Wikipedia

For my Ales 204 lab on Wikipedia editing I chose to work on a Swan Lake Stub.

A stub is not enough information to provide encyclopedic coverage of a subject. I do not think that I would classify Wikipedia as a reliable source, or even call it an encyclopedia. Anyone can alter the information as long as they create a Wikipedia account. I think that the idea to have this site is a good one. If people actually took the time to do research on a specific topic and sited all their sources it could be a credible source of information. Since that is not the case, I like to use Wikipedia as a quick fix for information. In argumentative conversations I think that this site helps to settle disagreements. I admit that is one of the main reasons I use Wikipedia, to prove someone wrong! Although, I am not always right, but then again those who are writing articles on Wikipedia are not always correct with their thoughts too.

Another thing that I believe Wikipedia is good for in an academic sense, is to familiarize yourself with a topic before you do any extensive research. I think that getting some general knowledge from this source is good ground work before actually diving into any credible articles. It is good to start but not credible material to site on a topic.

I chose Swan Lake (Martins) as my stub to research and edit because I am a dancer. I have been dancing for 18 years, and I have a passion for it. I thought it would be interesting to find information on a performance that I have actually been a part of. The classical dance and music is amazing and I really did find it interesting completing this stub. After I was finished with researching as a homework break I went on a website called StumbleUpon and the first thing that popped up was the picture below (Kolnik, 2012), of ballet dancers in Swan Lake. I thought that it was a sign that I chose the right stub to work on! I found out about StumbleUpon from Lynda Forsyth’s blog. She is a classmate in Ales204 and when reading her blog posts made me curious and ready to log on that site!

(Photo Credits: Paul Kolnik, 2012)

Online Communication!- Personal Post

I am almost ready to graduate from the University Of Alberta, with my major in Material Culture and my minor in Marketing. I am so excited to finally be moving on with my life, and getting out of the school atmosphere. I am ready to put what I have learned to use, rather than just hypothetical assignments in class. I want what I create to be seen and shared among the community. It is a little bit scary t0 leave school and be in the working force, since all I know is how to be a student and have gotten used to having that title. I want to be on my own, and have a work life, but bitter sweet leaving campus and the freedom I have created being a student. Even though I am ready to leave, when the day finally comes that I have to I know that I will want to stay. When I talk to people who have already been through post-secondary school they tell me how different it is now than it was before. Registering for classes used to be in person and you would wake up extra early to get a good spot in line so you knew for sure you could be in the classes that you wanted. Now, everything is online and all we have to do is set our alarms at 6am and log on. You can still be in your pajamas, make a few clicks then go back to sleep. Back then assignments were all written out, or typed on a typewritter and you had to come to school to hand them in. If you were sick you had to figure out some way to get your assignment in to your professor before the deadline. Now, we can just add it to an email and click send, then off it goes and right to your professor with no worries. The invention of the internet has made life and communication easier. But now, it is still advancing!

I found this funny comic online about mail and email. This shows that back when the internet first came out and email was available as a form of communication we were so excited to get something in our inbox and ignore our boring letters from the regular mail. Now we keep accumulating emails and when a real letter comes in we are excited about that! I think that the invention of email is a wonderful thing, although it can be a bit of an overused convience and become annoying. Anyone can reach you at any time of the day! Online communicaton has made all our lives easier and provides more opportunities for networking. Although, always talking via online can diminish face-to-face relationships and cause people skills to go down the drain. There are two sides the way I see online communication, I really enjoy being able to set up meetings, or hand in homework over the internet, but I still prefer having an actual meeting rather than an online skype date!:)

 Photo Credits: Kelsey Rutar

Screen Shot of my friend and I on Skype. Taken on: March 22, 2012 at 7:13pm

The topics about the internet in my previous two paragraphs show show the internet has made school life easier. But now in the work force online communication has been an asset to getting things done efficiently. It is a great thing that in school we are now able to email our professors, hand in assignments online and get notes because it teaches us professional online edicate skills that we will use in our futures. Even now in classes professors are using social media as a means to communicate to students. It is a less formal way of communication but is still effective to getting your message across. Most of us now have smartphones, and are connected to social media all day every day. In school it allows you to connect to professors, TA’s, fellow students and even class groups and discussions. In the workforce, social media allows us to connect with other people in relative industies to your own. I am in the marketing and advertising field, and on twitter I am able to connect with ad groups in edmonton, and know about upcoming events that will further my contacts and therefore futher my career prospects.

Facebook and Social Media!

Facebook was created to serve a specific collage student target segment in 2004. Since then it has taken storm all around the world and it seems that everybody now has a Facebook page. It is used to catch up with old friends, become part of a new social circle and now even for business. I have been able to find new blogs that I am interested and able to find new friends made in class. Along with students and acting professional many companies create a Facebook page that people can “like” (follow) and see posts about the work that they are doing. I am in the marketing and advertising field. I have an internship at WeAreFree, an advertising and marketing company in Edmonton and they too have a Facebook page. I follow that to stay connected about new projects that they are working on so that when I start my practicum I can be generally caught up with what the company has done and also what they are about.

I created a Facebook page in my last ALES 204 lab lecture. The reason that this was made is basically to have a one page online business card for yourself! It was explained to us in class that this is a way to have people find you online, but not your personal or even risky photos that you may have lingering out there. Using this Facebook page is to help with career advancement by sharing your job interests, goals and skills that you can offer to a future employer. This page is just another way to get yourself out there in the “real” working world as a more convenient resume.

This will be useful to help further careers because it provides detailed information in a concise format. I find sometimes that if your resumes first page is not exceptional the employer you hope to look at it will just pass it by. This Facebook page just being one page, give you the opportunity to share you education, work experience, goals and achievements at once and in a capturing way. I think that this can further your career by getting more attention. If perhaps a company does not have a position for you based on the criteria you have posted on your page, they may know someone else in the field that might and pass it on to them. I believe that all kinds of business is all about networking. A website that I found regarding to Facebook (and other social media) has tips about it and how it is used as a new form of networking. I think that these tips help with the whole aspect of using Facebook as a professional tool.

Hello world!

Hello and welcome to all. My blog is simply to share with you my influences from my view of the world. Learning, Fashion, Music and Travel are where my experiences come from and how they have taken down my path of life.

About me, I am from Edmonton, AB, Canada and a student at the University of Alberta. I am in my fourth year, studying Material Culture as my major and Marketing is my minor. I have changed my direction of study so many times. I started out just in Arts, taking a very broad ranges of classes, from Ukrainian and Modern Dance to Statistics. I came into university nieve about how this type of school life would be for me. I thought that collage life was fantastic! Getting money from my student loans, teachers not caring if you come to class or do your homework, basically I felt the freedom of being “my own boss”. I quickly came to the realization that school and learning is not going to come easy and found myself struggling with my classes. I had an epiphany and knew that if I was going to continue with my education I would have to find something that I was pasionate about and had a real intrest in pursuing. I changed my major to Speech Methology, then to Biochemistry, then to Organic Chemistry. I still found myself struggling and not caring. Finally I found the faculty of ALES and switched into Human Ecology. I love fashion and the business practices around it.

Being in Human Ecology and having fashion related classes combined two of my loves. Learning and Fashion. As well in a lot of my classes I have been exposed to different world cultures and studying their economies. I love to travel and have been very fortunate to be able to go to different parts of the world. I have been to all the proviences in Canada, and have travelled the United States and Mexico. North America is almost done! A goal of mine is to travel to every continent in the world and see how different cultures live. I love to experience and learn about other religion and social norms.

My minor being business was a move that I chose basically from a strategic point. I really want a job after I am graduated from my bachelor degree. I have A LOT of experience working in an office setting. I have been an employee at North American Construction Group for the past 6 summers. Doing things in Payroll, Accounts Payable, Accounts Recievable, Finance, Accouting and Reception duties. It is a fantastic place with great employers and co-workers, although with this experience I have discovered that I do not want that to be my field of work as my career. Which is why I chose marketing. Marketing is all about networking to find a job. It is who you know, to be able to get a foot in the door at a job. I think that is why blogging and twitter is so important. Especially for my field of study.

Social Media is a new form of communication that has entered the business world. It is a key communication tool for being able to connect with people across the world, in a more comfortable and laid back manner rather than high class business meetings. I think that it is important in my field of study and how my career is going to progress because it is able to give me a different and personal voice. I am able to communicate and express my thoughts and feelings about a subject and find those who share similar opinions. As well, it gives information about events that may be going on that would benefit your career by being there. It gives you the opportunity to meet people that you normally would not be able to, perhaps due to location. I also like a blog because it keeps my in touch with projects that some of my friends are pursuing. I follow my friend Jessica’s blog on fashion and travel and she lives in Vancouver. It creates a personal experience as if I am there with her even though I am not.

An internal link that I am following is my friend Alana’s blog. Through social media and communication I have been able to develop a friendship at school and keep updated in my friends lives.