Week 3 Blog Assignment

It's Emily Elizabeth again! Welcome to my blog.

For my week 3 assignment, I have the privalege of informing you about Google+, which is a new social media site to me, and discussing a program we just learned in class called InDesign.

I chose to get a Google+ account because I needed one in order to sign up for Blogger. Google+ is one of the most recent additions to the online social networking community. While it first launched in 2011, it already has over 500 million users. The main purpose of this network is total communication. The angle Google+ takes on communication is creating circles to distinguish different connections and groups of people one may communicate with. Four distinct circles are used: friends, family, acquaintances, and those you are following. 

The main concerns people have found with Google+ are that profiles cannot be made very unique or personal and the site overall does not have enough style or variety to draw users in and make them want to consistently check it. However, overall it is a very well designed site and is easy for anyone to use. 

Sources: http://social-networking-websites-review.toptenreviews.com/google--review.html
         
 http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/google-plus-update-review-2013/

"Adobe InDesign is a desktop publishing software application produced by Adobe Systems. It can be used to create works such as posters, flyers, brochures, magazines, newspapers and books" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_InDesign). Whether you're looking to create a small flyer or a lengthy book or magazine, InDesign is a great resource to have! Something I really like about InDesign is that you can work outside of the document while still on the same page. I need to visually make a plan before I start putting together a project. By organizing all of my text, images, and other aspects of the work outside of the lines of the final document, I am able to experiment and build my ideas without the pressure of fitting it all perfectly into final boundaries. 

Want to learn more about InDesign? Here are the basics that will build a strong foundation: http://www.indesignskills.com/skills/indesign-basics-insert-page-numbers-and-create-sections/

After you've read up on the basics, you can get started on your very own creation! Here are some helpful links!

How to create a…

1. Document: http://www.indesignskills.com/skills/indesign-basics-creating-your-first-document/
2. Book: http://www.indesignskills.com/skills/create-a-book-in-indesign/
3. Magazine: http://www.indesignskills.com/skills/create-a-magazine-in-indesign-one/

Week 2 Blog Assignment

Welcome back!

I am now a few weeks into my Emerging Communication Technologies course at Western Washington University. It's amazing how much I've learned such a short period of time. Since my first blog post, I now also know about online website builders, podcasts, the Audacity program, and music beds/sound effects.

Do you wanna build a website???

"Website builders are tools that allow the construction of websites without manual code editing" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website_builder). The fact that users can construct a website without manual coding makes the entire process much more inclusive and welcoming to people of all levels of ability and training when it comes to technology. When I was at Wenatchee Valley College I took a course on computer coding and it felt like I was learning a different language. I can't imagine creating an entire website from manual code editing. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. 

Two website builders that our class experimented with are Wix and Weebly. Both websites are very user-friendly. Their drag and drop tools and hundreds of pre-made templates make it easy to create a professional and well organized website. I would like to underline how excellent the drag and frog feature is. Want a picture on the page? Drag and drop it! Want to insert a list, audio recording, or Facebook link? Drag and drop it! As I have been working on our group website for class, I have been amazed by how much I can create with little to no prior knowledge about the program going into it. Many of their features are free and I've personally found that the features that cost money are not usually necessary to create a fantastic site.  

Here is a helpful video if you're interested in using Weebly to create your very own website!

My group chose to use Wix for creating our group project website. We decided on Wix because we found that the way tools were laid out made it easier for us to understand and work with. Also, Wix has themed templates which gave us a better idea of what the page would look like after it was completed. 

This video is a great example of how you can create a website for your company simply by starting from a template! 

Ultimately, what I learned this week in terms of website builders is that anyone and any company or organization can make a website. Having a well put together website gives a person or group an online presence and a professional edge on others they may be in competition with. The little time put in to dragging and dropping information and personalizing one of hundreds of templates through Wix, Weebly, or countless other website builders is completely worth the outcome and lasting benefits. 

Another assignment I have in class is creating two podcasts and an intro and outro to our class's podcast series. A podcast is "a digital audio or video file or recording, usually part of a themed series, that can bedownloaded from a website to a media player or computer (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/podcast). The topic of our podcasts is emerging communication technologies. We are making them through a program called Audacity.

Audacity is a program used for recording, editing, and compiling audio. It can be downloaded at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/ and is very easy to learn to use. 

After recording your voice, a fun way to make the audio more interesting and entertaining is by inserting music beds/sound effects. These can vary from the sound of applause or a car horn honking to a voice saying "hello!" to rain falling outside. For my partner's and my podcast series intro and outro, we inserted bits from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack to make or recording more exciting and epic. And apparently people liked it because it was chosen by my class as our podcast series' intro and outro! Music beds and/or sound effects are a great way to make a podcast unique stand out. They create a more pleasant experience not only for the listener, but for the creator as well. 

Here are some links to great music bed and sound wave sites to help you get started: http://www.pacdv.com/sounds/index.html
http://www.freemusicbeds.com/


Thanks for reading! Come back next week to see what more I have learned in COMM 350 - Emerging Communication Technologies. 

Week 1 Blog Assignment

Hello!

My name is Emily Elizabeth and this is my big red blog! (That was a reference to the TV show, Clifford, for those of you that didn't grow up watching PBS Kids.)

But unlike like the TV show character, I am not a cartoon. I am a human being! More specifically, I am a senior at Western Washington University pursuing a Bachelor degree in Communication Studies.

The purpose of this blog is to compile a series of postings on assigned topics for my class, Emerging Communication Technology. This week's assignment is about blogging, personal branding, and photoshop. If you are anything like me before I took this course and don't have a clue what those topics are, let me do my best to help you out!

"A Blog or Weblog, is  a website that consists of a series of entries arranged in reverse chronological order, often updated on frequently with new information about particular topics. The information can be written by the site owner, gleaned from other Web sites or other sources, or contributed by users."
                                                                                             - searchsoa.techtarget.com

Since you are reading this post, I'm guessing you at least know a little bit about blogging. The definition listed above does a good job at explaining what exactly a blog is. Blogging is a free and easy way for anyone to post about any topic at any time. If you are interested in making a well-made blog that you really want to share with the public (but don't have any idea how), here is a website that can help you make a quality blog, starting with the basics.

http://www.buildyourownblog.net/step-1-the-basics/?utmx=1-5

Through your blog and other forms of representation, both on the internet and in your face-to-face interactions, a personal brand is formed. Personal branding is an individual's identity that represents who he/she is. This can represent one's values, abilities, purpose, and reputation. Shama Hyder, a writer about business technology and marketing, reminds us of an important point: "The question is no longer IF you have a personal brand, but if you choose to guide and cultivate the brand or to let it be defined on your behalf."

A personal brand is a broadcasting of who you are and your character. As you develop your brand, it is important to keep a few things in mind:

• Reflect on who you are and you want to represent. 
• Be consistent in all areas of your life. 
• Take time to make connections, interact with those around you, and give your branding public exposure. 
• Be proud of your digital footprint.
• Create a reputation that brings to mind clear, powerful, and positive ideas when others think of you. 

Here is a helpful website called "7 Things you can do to build an awesome personal brand": http://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2014/08/18/7-things-you-can-do-to-build-an-awesome-personal-brand/
This TED talk that shows you how to put these helpful hints into action!

Photoshop, "a brand name for computer software used to digitally alter digital photographs or other graphics" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/photoshop), is the last topic I'll be explaining in this post. Photoshop is an Adobe software that can be downloaded here: http://www.photoshop.com/products.This software is an incredibly useful one, as it not only allows pictures to be edited or altered, but it is a tool that can be used to create a completely original extraordinary graphic design. Everything from editing blemishes out of a selfie to designing your own business card can be accomplished with Photoshop. With a little training or learn-it-yourself YouTube videos, you can acquire the skills to discover the unlimited possibilities Photoshop provides. I personally am technologically impaired, and if I can learn the basics of how to create my own logo, for example, then you can too!

This video should help you get started on your journey to becoming a fluent Photoshopper:

Thanks for reading! Check back in next week for my second blog assignment for my class, COMM 350, Emerging Communication Technology.