In today’s culture, a dependency on continuous innovation and brand identity has made the precedent of consultants with their eye on those focuses a requirement for companies succeed. Although I work a normal 9 am to 5 pm position, I also own my own creative business that serves as a consulting firm for business and brands developing their own online presence. This involves meeting with the brands and businesses to understand their vision and advocate for that vision online.
Read MoreOver the past two decades of technological growth, it’s become increasingly apparent that the human need for real connection has had to adapt to our new way of communicating. This has become even more apparent in big versus small business. The gap between consumer and provider has become increasingly narrower with companies being able to advertise directly onto someone’s phone with just a simple photo. This has made advertising for small business increasingly difficult, with ads and social media engagement becoming a necessity, and financial burden, for entrepreneurs and creatives. This concept of small business, entrepreneurial, and creative-led innovation has been largely produced with emergence of self-made content creators and digital influencers who have “upended” the status quo of “business as usual” and put the spotlight back onto the local upstarts (Duffy, p. 48). This is what broke web 1.0 into web 2.0, skyrocketing not just businesses past just promoting but actually generating content (Carney, p. 359). Luckily, with these new challenges has come sense of community, fostering an environment of small business owners not only sharing their experiences, but advice and services to benefit the whole of their communities.
Read MoreI believe that in the past 40 years, the definition of Human Resources has greatly changed from being one of a sounding board for employees to encompassing all facets of employee well being and benefits. Original human resource departments were built with the intention to manage the actual feedback itself and it’s direct impact on the employees (Miller, p. 43). With this shift, employees were given an opportunity to voice concerns to those with the organizational knowledge (and power) to make those decisions, instead of employees just complaining to management in hopes that something would change.
Read MoreClassical management approaches, as defined in our text, “are represented by a collection of theories that share the underlying metaphor of organizations modeled after efficient machines (Eisenberg et al. p. 65).” These theories stem from early organization functions that were run with a governmental hierarchy structure and was built with specific leadership funnels that are in place. In this management structure, employees are to follow specific and structured outlines and follow specific paths to promotion.
Read MoreEstablished in the fall of 1985, Blockbuster LLC was the leading provider of media rental services by the mid-1990’s. The media giant was a forced to be reckoned with, revolutionizing the way families would enjoy their weekend movie nights (Time, 2010). From the newest movie releases to hit video games, a trip to Blockbuster was the highlight of every 90’s kid weekend.
Read MoreIt’s not uncommon in today’s media to look around and see an urgency for literacy of both media intake and output. As Arnett, Fritz, and Bell state, “We are no longer in a time of information increase alone, but in an era of responsibility increase as well, a time to learn and engage information that we do not know and would not even care to know (p. 220).” We live in a society that regardless of where the information comes from, we are responsible, as those who share it, to engage thoughtfully with the information being provided to us.
Read MoreI’ve been fortunate enough as a young adult to have only been ill a few times in my life. Most doctors visits are due to the occasional strep diagnosis or annual check up, however, when I was 6 years old, I was brought in on some tests for my anosmia (inability to smell). What they understood to be simple tests was a complete shocker to a 6 year old girl, who’s view of healthcare was relatively slim.
Read MoreIn 2011, I was initiated as a sister in Alpha Omicron Pi fraternity at East Carolina University. I had never planned on “going Greek” but I was forging my own path and thought “why not?” After joining, I was consistently reminded that my actions as a sister, but as a collegiate on ECU’s campus, should always be for the “good of the order.” My actions were not just my own and my words represented a body of women much larger than myself. I was held to a new standard, one that I was expected to uphold.
Read MoreThe value of experiences has never been lost on me. My parents both raised me to believe that your experiences build your future and fulfill your purpose, both positive and negative. Arnett, Fritz, and Bell define as a story that provides guidelines for human action, but our narratives can stem from both experiences, education, and our personal identities (pg.37). My petite narratives are built from my identity and my experience as a child and how it’s shaped me into the person I am today.
Read MoreIn looking for an article for this blog post, I was faced with the challenge of finding an article that I wanted to read, but with a comments section. I have been trying to discern what media I “buy into” since I already spend a majority of my time on the internet for work. I searched a few sites for some unbiased politically centered articles (as those always seem to have the most charged comments sections), however I was met with the surprise that most comment sections have been shut down or are carefully moderated.
Read MoreLooking for the current “good” in my life has also been exploring my “why,” why I choose to work the way I do or why I volunteer my time. As In exploring this week’s reading and the blog topic, I knew that my current “good” is directly to my “why.” Arnett, Fritz, and Bell indicates that “the good” is what we as a culture strives to “protect or promote.”
Read More8 weeks and a few projects later, here we are! I cannot believe it’s already over. I knew graduate school would be a new step, but I didn’t realize how exciting of an experience it would be getting to collaborate with students online and be able to dive into an entirely new way of understanding communication.
Read MoreThis essay is observing the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s for women in the 21st century as an equipment for living for the balance between desiring independence and self-reliance, and a lasting romantic relationship. Holly Golightly is a woman who thrives off her independence, desiring to be wild and “untamed.” However, she begins to desire the relationship she had never experienced before: a true partnership based off of friendship and mutual respect. Using the socio-cultural and phenomenological tradition as a basis for the methodology, this essay will be observing the film itself and researching the film’s impact on women from three key demographics and two relational statuses.
Read MoreAfter reviewing the seven traditions, I feel that I most understand the socio-cultural and phenomenological traditions. With both of these traditions, I feel personally connected with how they affect my everyday life working in the digital space. I have been able to notice how I communicate with others by relating to their experiences and our shared identities within the digital space and are able to communicate more effectively.
Read MoreAlthough they are most commonly used as a citation format, style guides help a writer and an audience communicate effectively. Common formats include MLA, APA, AP Style, and more. An example of these would be the importance of referencing page numbers in APA style. So why would we have so many variations of a commonly required style system?
Read MoreI will be perfectly honest: as much as I appreciate the need for citations, and the need for a coherent and organized paper structure, I never liked style guides. Even in high school, where every paper rubric was 40 percent formatting, I always seemed to miss the mark on how to cite correctly. I jumped from MLA, to AP style, then to APA, and I never felt like I actually learned how to correctly format a paper within one formatting guide. Luckily for me, the internet exists and Youtube tutorials now extend to style guides.
Read MoreFrom the early days of Netflix, stream able content was even a stretch. The company was initially deemed “doom to fail” actually mailing out content via postal mail. At the time, the competition of “ready to watch” content was still heavy, within person stores like Blockbuster still holding on tightly to rentals. Even Chuck Tryon stated, “Although the intersections between the film industry and the new media are often marked by the rhetoric of novelty and anticipation – the promises of fast, cheap, and ubiquitous content – some users are often reluctant to embrace new technologies, ensuring that the adaptation (sic) of these tools is far from seamless.”
Read MoreEven as a kid, I considered myself a creator, using the internet as a tool to publish blogs, photographs, and even videos. Eventually I made this into my first small business and became a part of an inclusive and almost fully entrepreneur-led industry. Now, as content generation becomes a dense and fierce force in the entertainment industry, it’s more important than ever to understand content creators, the platforms they use, and why now getting to have someone “share” is almost as important as having someone “buy.”
Read MoreFor the first step in my inquiry project, I wanted to dive deeper into a field I’ve always been curious about: content creation. I wanted to focus specifically on digital creators (bloggers, Youtubers, etc.) who have virtually created careers and full fledged careers on the content they create online. To begin, I chose Steinar Ellingsen’s article, “Seismic Shifts: Platforms, Content Creators, and Spreadable Media.”
Read MoreIn beginning my first week of graduate classes, I knew I would have to stay on top of updates and ensure that I was prepared on every front. Thankfully I had a majority of my blog sites and digital media platforms established prior to beginning classes. I knew I had my basics: The top 3 (Intagram, Twitter, and Facebook) and Youtube. With the others, I knew it would take a little bit of work since I had also not logged onto a few of theses sites for active use in a while. Without fail, I ran into my first obstacle.
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