New Media and New Markets: Test

Throughout the semester, I learned many things that will allow me to be more marketable to an employer. An example of something that I learned in New Media and New Markets was how to create a website using HTML. I learned how to create a website on Dreamweaver. I created hotspts, added hyper links and images, designed tables, added titles and metatags and added Javascript. I learned the importance of making sure everything is exactly correct with no spaces because even the slightest space can result in a website not functioning. I learned the importance of making sure each page is saved as a jpeg seperately and made sure the HTML pages were saved correctly as HTML files. I also learned the most effective ways to design pages, banner ads. I learned about how different demographic groups use the internet. For example, my parents use the internet to check email, book flights and research product information. In my generation we use the internet a lot more, type faster, search for jobs and socialize. Our parents and grandparents are not using the internet to socialize as much as we are.

Additionally, in New Media and New Markets I learned how to develop and maintain a blog for free. I also learned where to find out how to start websites for free. I was not sure on what websites to use for this blog and found that http://www.blogger.com/ was an effective way to broadcast your thoughts and class assignments in a creative manner online. Furthermore, I also learned a lot about target markets on the internet. I learned about the different websites such as emarketer, Click Z, PEW Internet, Comm Score, Hitwise, Quantcast and Alexa. These websites give you specific information on what people are watching and provides the demographic information about specific TV show or newspapers so you have specific statistics to give employers. I learned that by saying the names of these websites and discussing key buzzwords, it may help you obtain a job in the social media field.

Furthermore, in New Media and New Markets, I learned about how Myspace is rapidly declining and that Facebook is increasing more rapidly then ever. As a result of this class, I read the book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich and I am currently reading The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick. I developed a real passion for social media and would love to get into the social media field. Finally, I learned about how important privacy is on the internet and how important it is to keep your profiles private so your boss can not see your photos and private information. Many people have been fired due to blogging about information that could be harmful about the company. Consequently, for consumers, by negatively blogging about a company, certain companies may offer you discounts to change your opinion about the company and prevent you from continuing to write poorly about them. Finally, I learned that marketers are following your every move and know all about what websites you visit and what it is exactly that you are buying in all areas of your life.

The most interesting thing that I learned in this class was behavioral targeting. "Behavioral targeting uses information collected on an individual's web-browsing behavior, such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made, to select which advertisements to display to that individual. Practitioners believe this helps them deliver their online advertisements to the users who are most likely to be
interested" (http://www.businessdictionary.com/). Behavioral Targeting allows website owners or advertising networks the ability to display content that is more relevant to the interests of the person viewing the page. Properly targeted ads will generate more consumer interest and may result in increased sales.This will result in the seller possibly asking for a premium for these over random advertising or ads based on the context of a website

In this class I would have liked to learn more about website design and layout of websites. We touched upon that in class, but I think more detail on advanced design techniques would have been interesting. This would also have made our websites more creative. I am strong in the Adobe Design Suite, but am not aware how to use what I know in these design programs in Dreamweaver. Maybe a course on website design could be offered in the Master's in Communication's program as an elective. I also think the Master's program in Communication should offer courses on specific design programs that employer's are looking for when hiring a communication professional. I noticed a lot of the jobs that I am looking at require Indesign and Flash. If we could learn about these two programs in our graduate studies at Suffolk University, I think this would make graduate students more marketable for employers. By combining our HTML skills learned in this class, and learning more about design, I think this would give us a greater advantage over other job seekers. I also think since Search Marketing is becoming very popular, a specific class on SEM, SEO and Marketing Analytics would be very beneficial.

New Media and New Markets: Free Choice Blog: Holiday Stress

The month of November is even more stressful for me this year. I am now a graduate student in IMC at Suffolk University, and I am trying to find a good balance for getting graduate work done and all of the other stressful holiday activities. I understand millions of others are also very stressed, but it critical that I learn how to balance everything. The day before Thanksgiving I will be traveling to NYC to Long Island which is always a nightmare. Perhaps, the only good part of not working full-time and only doing a part-time graduate fellowship is that I can leave at the crack of dawn on Wednesday. This prevents me from walking around in the dead of the night trying to get to Long Island to visit my family. However, I will still be walking around NYC with the millions of others, trying to get on the Long Island Railroad from various parts of NYC or other parts of the country. I love the Thanksgiving day holiday, and I am excited to see my family, but will undoubtably be in a lousy mood after the craziness of the holiday travel. My mood will perk up on Thanksgiving Day for the unbelievable feast my Aunt Liza makes. She prepares both Italian food, Turkey etc. Last year she made so many dishes she forgot to put one on the table! In the back of my mind on Thanksgiving Day, will be the insane amount of graduate work I have to do by December 9th. I am guessing I will be skipping getting up at 5:00 am to see the Macy's Day parade live in NYC this year. The TV will be just fine this year!

Additionally, my winter stress level is at an all time high because I have a million things going on between the Junior League of Boston, Graduate Student Programming chair, part-time fellowship, 3 classes, trying to find a full-time job and interviewing. Although, I absolutely love the festiveness of this time a year and seeing my friends and family, I can not help but wonder how I will fit everything in?  I always love to attend everything the holidays have to offer and will now have the struggle of attending holiday parties in NYC, Boston and Albany, NY. I pride myself in being creative and I love decorating for the holidays, baking, throwing holiday parties, visiting friends in NYC and Albany and playing with my dog. I most likely will not be able to do these creative tasks until late December because of graduate school.  I am usually very good at balancing my personal life, work life and school. However, with taking 3 classes I now feel in over my head. I also have the added challenge of trying to find the money to attend these events when I am only working part-time. Furthemore, I have no time to go to the gym which is also very stressful, especially when the pounds always seem to pile up during the holiday season. I can not wait for the first of the year to return to the gym, have a few weeks off  from graduate school and really try to be one of the only people that keeps his or her New Year's resolution!

New Media and New Markets: Discuss how one international group (country, city or subgroup) uses the Internet or Internet technology.

The International Center of the Capital Region is a not- for -profit organization community-supported organization that is funded by government grants and charitable contributions. ICCR is affiliated with the National Council for International Visitors (NCIV), the Foreign Policy Association, the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA), and the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs. My dad Bruce Bushart, has retired from the International Center of the Capital Region. His former position was the Executive Director. Currently, he still works for the center as a human service consultant. He has dinners for the international visitors at his house and is very involved in helping others succeed in the area. The ICCR's organiztional missions statement is to help the Capital District (the upstate New York area) engage with the world and help promote cultural understanding. The ICCR, promotes cultural understanding by serving as citizen diplomat, by hosting international visitors and delegations and promoting professional and cultural exchanges. The ICCR also promotes education, global awareness, cultural diversity and global issues on their websites and through email blasts. They frequently use the internet to promote the center's events in the communit.  Additonally, the ICCR  promotes the location of the ICCR  and other assets the Capital District has for international visitors. Finally, the ICCR promotes the different services for international groups in the Capital Region.


The website for the ICCR has a link for the Calendar of  Events, Galleries for International Photos, Resources, links for different programs international visitors can join, press releases,volunteer forms and much more. This is a passionate organization dedicated to making every international visitor feel comfortable and involved . The ICCR is great at involving community members from the upstate New York area (my hometown) to get involved in understanding different cultures. I have volunteered with this organization, and I am passionate about the organization's mission statement. In order for this organization to get more funding, I would promote what they do, using social media websites including: Facebook, Twittter, LinkedIn, Flickr etc. I would also organize events on Facebook to increase the attendence of the ICCR events.

New Media and New Markets: Discuss how one brand or nonprofit uses online blogs and online advertising

The Joslin Diabetes Center uses blogs to raise awareness of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. They use the online blog to discuss the outbreak of Diabetes in both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes and the different classes they offer to the center's patients. The different classes they offer for diabetics are: are carb counting, nutrition classes, pump information and fitness information. The blog also discusses the different walks and fundraising events that people can participate in to raise money for this condition. Furthermore, the blog offers personal stories about Joslin patients in dealing with Diabetes. The blog also discusses how parents and friends can help his or her loved one that has just been diagnosed with Diabetes, or has been living with Diabetes for a long time. The blog discusses how having a child diagnosed with type 1 can be real shock. According to Dr. Lori Laffel, the head of Joslin’s Pediatric Diabetes Programs, "a diagnosis of Diabetes affects the whole family." A number of young patients who receive this diagnosis generally are caught off guard, as only about 10% have a family history of type 1 diabetes. The blog encourages all parents and anyone who cares for young children to be aware of the warning signs for the disease, which include extreme thirst, frequent urination, lethargy, flu-like symptoms and dehydration( http://blog.joslin.org/2010/10/childhood-diabetes/). The Joslin diabetes blog, discusses safe Halloween treats for diabetics, weight issues, mood swings, symptoms and questions that you may have about the condition. Online advertising offers basic information about  giving money to the foundation and more information about the Joslin Diabetes Center. I think Joslin Diabetes Center could do a lot more online advertising to increase donations for the foundation. More online advertising can especially be done to promote the Walk for the Cure for both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.

I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes my senior year in college. At this time I was living in upstate New York, and blogs were not really that popular. In 2002, my friends and family would never look at blogs to give me medical advice. However, I was still shocked and confused and had a really tough time dealing with it and needed help. My friends and family wanted to help me understand and cope with what was happening to me. I feel that if they had known about the Joslin blog it would have helped out all of us. This step by step guide featured in the blog on helping a diabetic would have been very helpful to me when I was first diagnosed. This would have been easier and less time consuming for me than shifting through various medical packets, and literature trying to make sense of the condition. Blogs and online advertising are becoming a lot more popular, and I think this is a great source in obtaining information quickly.