A final word...

Back in January when we first began ALES 204 I was a bit unsure of what to expect. The first glance through the syllabus presented things that were unfamiliar to me--no midterms or finals? Awesome! But...what is an e-portfolio? And Twitter?... isn't that only used for silly updates between friends and celebrities? Dr. Laccetti did an excellent job of thoroughly explaining to the class what we should be expecting and how to properly prepare for what was ahead. She quickly helped me understand that not only were Social Media tools, like Twitter, excellent for connecting with friends, but perfect for forming bonds between people all across the world who shared the same interests as my classmates and I. Through tools like hashtags and tagging, finding these people is almost overwhelmingly simple and quick. If I wanted to gain a perception of how my classmates were responding to the class and what their thoughts were, a simple search of #ales204 in the search bar brought me to numerous points of views of all of the students in the class. 

Figure 1

My favorite part of this class is how diverse and versatile it  is, especially when it comes to being applied to other class and even many areas in life. I think this would be an extremely helpful class to take in the first year as University as it sets a base for so many things that will be frequently used throughout an academic career. Proper use of PowerPoint proved to be very valuable, as there are so many mistakes people, myself included, easily make because they have never learned the correct way to create the best presentation possible. Stepping beyond my comfort zone in lab and doing a Pecha Kucha presentation, that we did not have much time to prepare, helped me to see that public speaking does not have to be so scary and definitely does not--and should not, rely on reading off of a cue card or straight from the distracting blocks of text on the slides.  

Being exposed to the professional side of Social Media made me think twice about how I was using it and inspired me to push the boundaries that I had subconsciously set for myself when it came to devices such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogger. A year before even taking this class, I began following a Swedish blogger named Kenza who inspires me every day with her fashion sense and carefree attitude. With the knowledge derived from ALES 204, I see this would not be possible if it weren't for Social Media, as I discovered her the same way I found out about the Tone It Up girls in my last post, through a site full of inspirational photos. Her hundreds of thousands of followers all across the world would not be made possible without digital communication and it is truly impressive how it brings together so many different kinds of people in different places.

Figure 2

Something that really allowed me to get a good idea of who I was taking the class with was looking through everyone's blogs. I am always impressed at how many different creative solutions can be thought up despite working with the exact same information. A blog that I particularly enjoyed, for both it's content and visual interest, was Bianca Cimino's. She used eye catching fonts and colors that compliment each other for a beautiful layout and design that put me in an automatic good mood just looking at it. Her blog posts were well thought out and consistently professional; and in her final post she notes that the students in this class will be leaving ALES 204 with a whole different perspective on Facebook, and other social media alike, then when we first began. I think this sums it up perfectly--my perspective has certainly been broadened and I am thankful that so many things I learned in this class will carry one in other classes as I complete my schooling. 

I appreciate the input that Dr. Laccetti and the TA's put into this class and definitely plan on keeping my Twitter after it is all over! It will be interesting next semester to type in "ALES204" and see what different things pop up, as the next set of students prepare to acquire knowledge on all the perks of social media, PowerPoints and proper professional behavior that I have over the passed 3 months.

Links to my 5 Comments:

1. Brittany

2.  Caitlyn 

3. Jen 

4. Brenna 

5. Shannon 

 References:

Figure 1: Latulippe, L. (2009). Free twitter birds (image). Retrieved from http://drawn.ca/archive/free-twitter-birds/

Figure 2: Moody, T. (2012). Business goodbye farewell card greeting card (image). Retrieved from http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/good-bye-farewell-cards/general-good-bye-farewell/business-goodbye-farewell-card-264016 

Toning it Up via Twitter

What are we without our health? Without it, the perks and helpful tips of Social Media that we have grown so accustomed to may seem rather meaningless and unimportant. But what if we could use Social Media to our advantage and let it help to educate and inspire us? We can, as I have recently discovered. Though I am a Clothing and Textiles student,  I am interested and motivated by nutrition and think that every student should be-- no matter where their main area of study lies.

 I have never had any pressing health issues, never been over or underweight and have never really eaten that poorly; but what a lot of people do not understand is just because someone may be "skinny" definitely does not mean they are fit or even healthy. I was never one to workout very much, as I am not a huge fan of gyms and in the past, would not even know exactly what to do at the gym once I got there. Whenever I had a vacation coming up that would involve me wearing a bikini, I would do my routine Pilates DVDs and occasional meetings with the treadmill; however, I lacked consistency and motivation to workout all year round. Last year I took a nutrition class and that really opened my eyes to how important it is to not only avoid foods with no nutritional value, but to consume those that do. Since then I have been on the lookout for a program that would help constantly motivate me and educate me on exactly what I need to be doing to obtain and maintain my best body possible-- both inside and out.

It was only a few weeks ago that through a site similar to Pinterest, called We Heart It, I inadvertently found exactly what I have been looking for. There was a photo of two young women on a beach looking very happy and healthy in their bare-all bikinis. They caught my eye and I clicked on the photo which sent me to a Facebook page called "Tone It Up". Well who doesn't want to Tone It Up? I know I certainly do! By clicking through the profile and pictures, I learned that the two women in the picture were certified personal trainers and nutrition coaches working out of California, Katrina Hodgson and Karina Dawn. With a well thought-out nutrition plan and many workout videos, a tight-knit Tone It Up community has been established thanks to the two of them. Through accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as well as their own website, these two ladies act as personal trainers to women all around the world--virtual trainers! They are constantly re-tweeting and responding to their clients in a way that feels very personal and it is very obvious that Katrina and Karina care very much about each and every individual that commits to living life the Tone It Up way of life. Through all the Social Media devices they use, they provide an extremely thorough foundation for not just starting a diet, but beginning and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Katrina and Karina of Tone It Up

What is so great about the Tone It Up community is that an ever-growing group of thousands of women are there to inspire and motivate each other every day, no matter what. Posting photos of meals from the nutrition plan or progress photos is just like having a workout buddy and I find that to be so essential when making the decision to get into shape. Katrina and Karina post numerous daily check-ins, asking their followers/subscribers/likers what they had for dinner, which workout they are planning on completing that day or even a motivational "Wherever you are, stop and do 50 lunges right now!" It is truly amazing how Social Media, just like we discussed so many times in class, has become a huge business card for the Tone It Up girls and so much more! The word is always spreading thanks to the efficiency and quickness of Twitter and Facebook. Only one day after I had "liked" their page on Facebook, two of my friends had seen this and decided to "like" them for themselves. 

Many people have their own way of keeping up with their health, whether it be going to the gym, walking their dog, attending yoga classes or going for a run. The thing I love most about the Tone It Up community is that there is something new every single day, whether it be a recipe or a workout, so I (and my muscles!) will never be bored with it. It isn't a coincidence that one form of social media (We Heart It) lead me to another, (Facebook), which lead me to yet another (Twitter) and another (YouTube)! All of these websites work so well together and all have their own unique advantages which all come together in a wonderful way. 

 A still from the making of their "Beach Babe DVD" in Oahu, Hawaii

Fellow Ales classmate Patrick Laska's blog discusses the important of Social Media outlets for food companies and how those who keep up-to-date when the digital age are likely to experience higher profits. This definitely goes hand-in-hand with my post today. Trainers at gyms may have to begin connecting to Facebook and Twitter in order to establish or maintain a following--otherwise they are at risk for being outshone by the likes of Katrina and Karina!

  The very popular "Protein Pancakes" from the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan

Image References:

Figure 1: Hodgson, Katrina, & Dawn, Karina. (2010). Turks & Caicos Gobeachfest (image). Retrieved from http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=483909514800
set=a.483905199800.256406.125883599800&type=3&theater

Figure 2:  Hodgson, Katrina, & Dawn, Karina. (2012). Your toned in '12 challenge is here for tryit thursday :) (image). Retrieved from http://toneitup.com/blog.php?Your-Toned-In-12-Challenge-is-HERE-for-TryIt-Thursday-5379

Figure 3: Protein waffles. (2012). We love food friday: protein waffles!!! (image). Retrieved from http://toneitup.com/blog.php?We-LOVE-Food-Friday-Protein-WAFFLES-5416

Editing a Wikipedia Stub

I'll have to be honest, when I first learned that we would be editing a Wikipedia stub article for one of our assignments, I was completely confused. Normally I have had some experience or exposure to things I am assigned at University, but this time I really had no idea what a stub was. I had always known that Wikipedia was a reference site of which anyone could edit at anytime, but what I didn't realize was that there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of potential helpful Wikipedia articles out there just waiting for the right person to come along and edit them- and here we have a stub.

Looking at all the stub possibilities was most definitely intimidating. Not only was there an A-Z subject option but Aa, Ab, Ac, etc. How was I going to narrow these down? Where should I begin? What topic area will provide me with the most relevant sources? Do I have any previous knowledge about any of these stubs? I clicked through a couple possibilities in hopes of discovering something related to my major (Clothing and Textiles) or more specifically my minor of Interior Design. Alas, I landed upon InStyle magazine, something that I am very familiar with and was relatively shocked to discover that there was so few points on the subject in its Wikipedia article. I was pleasantly surprised that such a famous magazine, with so many interesting things to speak of it, was available to me.

Editing the InStyle stub gave me an odd sense of importance ("MY words are going to be on Wikipedia?!") It was a much different feeling than the usual knowledge that likely only the professor, TA's or other classmates would be reading my work. But this only pushed me to make the article as relevant and accurate as possible. However, since literally anyone can edit an article at anytime it is a bit nerve racking; as we have learned in class, referencing a peer-reviewed scholarly source is almost always significantly more reliable. With Wikipedia we don't really have any idea as to who even wrote the article.  I feel as though the trick to making a good Wikipedia article is to find the most pertinent information that people would most want to know and present it in a straightforward yet interesting way. I, personally, struggled with the 300-600 word limit as there was so much more I could have said about InStyle magazine- this is where skills of being concise go to work in hopes that as much useful information is given in such a short amount of text.

Since I have never created a blog, aside from this one, or edited articles on Wikipedia, I was a bit worried when it came to using the specific codes that are necessary-especially for the reference list. But with the help of the Wikipedia article (ironic?) Referencing for beginners, I quickly got the hang of it and was soon referencing my new and improved stub. This assignment definitely brought me the most pride of the final product and I now have a lot of appreciation for those "Gardeners" who frequently contribute correct information to the large number of articles on Wikipedia.org. 

 Figure 1

Figure 2

A link to my Wikipedia entry

Fellow Ales 204 classmate, Samantha Stevens, wrote a blog entry about her own experience with editing a Wikipedia article, expanding on the Recycling Cotton stub. Since both of us share the same major and minor, I could relate to her when she made the point that it is a bit difficult for us to find scientific information about the majority of aspects in our field of study. However, both of us found this assignment to be extremely eye-opening and helpful-but also cautioning since we learned first hand just how simple it is for anyone to update information on Wikipedia.

 

References:
Figure 1: Di Battista, M. (2012). March 2012 cover of InStyle (image). Retrieved from http://www.popsugar.com/Jennifer-Aniston-InStyle-Cover-Pictures-2012-21664027
Figure 2: Forenza, S. (2011). Wikipedia logo (image). Retrieved from http://www.stefanoforenza.com/wikipedia-italia-closes-up/

Making a professional Facebook page...

This week I created something that I had never really considered doing before- I made a professional Facebook page. I had always been aware that future employers could potentially look me up on Facebook to try and get a better understanding of who I was and what my life consisted of, but always figured I would just set my profile to "private" rather than try to sort out possibly "incriminating" photos or posts that an employer would deem unprofessional. But a private Facebook page does not give very much insight into who I am- rather it does the complete opposite and might even cause one to wonder what it is I'm trying to hide! That is when I realized creating an alternate page, primarily for use in the professional world, could be the perfect thing for a potential employer to come across and consider hiring me for a position.

A page like one I created this week gives someone an opportunity to find out what kind of an employee I would be like at the workplace, not what I do on the weekends or on vacation. It gives people a chance to express a resume-like summary of themselves in a digital format, which I think is much more present-day friendly as well as extremely efficient. For those who may be nervous or not perform their best in an in-person interview, a professional Facebook page grants them the option of sort of "boasting" about their own qualities and accomplishments with the help of appropriate photos and summaries. On another level, it can let the employer see what kind of Facebook pages are "liked" and whether or not the person is technically savvy. It opens up a broad range of options that can be very beneficiary to anybody looking to get ahead in the workforce. Especially since when people think of "Facebook" they usually do not think of it helping them go further in their career, those who consider it on a different level will be pleasantly surprised at the results it provides them.

The page can also be kept and regularly updated as I continue to grow in the Interior Design world and could blossom into a sort of reference for potential clients. Perhaps one day my professional page could develop into one like the talented Interior Designer, Candice Olson, who has nearly 40 thousand "likes" on her page which demonstrates a number of images of her recent work: 

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Divine-Design-with-Candice-Olson/316108916551

Look for my fellow Ales 204 classmate Shannon Fox's blog where she gives some interesting perspective into what it is like to be on the employer side of things:

http://foxshannon.blogspot.com/

 

A screen grab of my new and professional Facebook page

An introduction to my blog...

     Hello readers, welcome to my new blog! My name is Laura McSporran and I am a twenty year old who is currently studying at the University of Alberta within the Human Ecology program. My major is Clothing and Textiles with a minor in Interior Design, which is where my main ambition lies. This is my second year in at the University of Alberta and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to be educated at such an esteemed University. My brother is currently partaking in his second year in Law School at the U of A and acts as a major source of inspiration for me. I always thought it would be a huge life experience to study somewhere else and am interested in pursuing this one day, perhaps in California where I have a few personal connections.

     It is clear that communication will be of vast importance in relation to my future career. In my opinion, the most important aspect of Interior Design, and doing it well, is to thoroughly get to know the client and understand what their wants and needs are, while also suggesting new ideas that they may have never even considered. It will be crucial to "brand" myself to potential clients through the use of social media, like a website depicting my style of design, a visual portfolio and ways to contact myself for a consultation. In a consultation I would ask a broad range of questions to fully allow both the client and myself to reach a greater understanding of what the goal at hand would be. Everyone has different visual tastes and one color may even appear different from one person for another, so it would be my job to ensure that the client is fully aware of and satisfied with the details that would be going into their home. I have been told that attention to detail is what sets a good interior designer from a great one, and will definitely keep that in mind as I step closer and closer to entering the "real world". Another important aspect of communication in Interior Design will be to establish connections with people such as architects, installers and product reps in order to develop reliable relationships to bring about trust and efficiency in my career as well as theirs. Connections are everything in this business!

     Aside from school, I have an extreme love for animals, particularly my own of course. I have both a dog, Max and a horse, Dusty in my life whom I can't imagine being without. I've had Max since I was nine years old and Dusty since age thirteen so it is difficult for me to even remember a time where they weren't a major focal point in my life. Like many of us, I have dreams of traveling-- especially over seas-- and would love to visit places such as Australia, Greece and New York City. Unfortunately for my heart, I am also an avid and devoted Edmonton Oilers fan. While others may be jumping ship to more convenient teams, I will forever stay true to my team despite the heartache we have been going through for the passed five years. One day, we will be successful again...one day.

I am constantly looking for inspiration when it comes to interior design and have found this blog to be both an educational and fun read:

http://blog.2modern.com/

I also just recently found someone who seems to be in the exact same spot as me in regards to our desired future career. Her name is Samantha and she is also in Ales 204 this semester. Nice to meet you, or at least your blog! :)

http://ales204hecolstudent.blogspot.com/

And to put an image to a name, here is a picture of Max and I just before Christmas last year!

Have a great day,

Laura Brittany

(From my personal photo album)