Web ready, is Job ready..

In the grand scheme in the world today, there are a lot of outlets to promote one self. We have social media sites, resumes, LinkedIn, we have even gone to creating promotional websites for ourselves. Any possible way to highlight your skills and abilities is a positive attribute. There a million outlets so using a website creates for a center to access all those resources and material. It allows you to show up to a job interview and instead of going through a million different resource, you can open a website and everything your interviewer wants is easily accessible. Not to mention, if the interviewer wants to go and give your material another overview. He can easily access your accounts and portfolio.

As for people in the communication sector, the website itself is a highlight of the skills you can bring to an organization. There is a need for people who can work with technology. Not everyone needs to be an expert, but the ability to showcase yourself in a professional light, will give the company the belief you can showcase their company in that same light. Social media is a major resource for companies to look at in these modern times. Most companies will look through social media sites to get an idea of the person they are hiring. The creation of professional social media sites and connecting them to your website will showcase your ability to network, as well as showcase your ability to be understanding your presence on social media should be carefully monitored.

The ability to create a website is not something easily accomplished. There is a lot that goes in to the functionality and cosmetic work of a web page. It is imperative to keep your work saved in an organized manner to allow for the fastest and most effective functioning webpage. It is important to take the files you’re planning to use in your portfolio and use the appropriate software, Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop, to make all your files web ready and keep the file size down. This will allow for a better functioning and efficient web page. Cosmetically, you want your profile to be professional, yet you want to make it inviting and unique. It is important to give your website memorable to the viewer of who you are, yet don't over do the graphics. It will give off a look that is unorganized and draw to much attention away from the content of the page.

Lastly, the most important aspect of web creation. It takes a lot of hard work to create a web page. There is a lot of details and coding that is very time consuming. It is very important to make sure you properly save your work, as well as continuously back up your files. You don’t want to get through all that hard work and have your website working properly and functioning, then everything is wiped away. The feeling is awful and we don't want any computers hurt in the making of websites.

The Evolution of Twitter

It is safe to say that with the creation of Twitter a few years ago, it changed how all of us receive our news and how we communicate information around the world.  Twitter built around the craze of Facebook and Myspace, became something completely different then just a social media site.  It promoted short messages and easy access to people of interest.  It is easy to see how Twitter has influenced social media, marketing as well as journalism and we can see this over several major events this year.  

            Twitters creation evolved how social media would be used around the world. The effect of celebrity interaction with Twitter can easily trace the origins of how Twitter became more then just your run of the mill social media site.  It expanded the marketing aspect as celebrities interacted with their fans and help build their image and soon became a site for news on them, as well as what else is going around the rest of the world. Organizations and Political figures saw how the celebrity interaction created such a quick and direct connection to its audience they soon followed suit. News organizations then followed behind them.  Hash tags allowed for people to connect and connect their tweets together and make the followers audience feel like they have a voice. It allowed reporters the ability to break news faster than waiting for the next news segment to begin.

            With 140 character messages Twitter focuses on the quick and to the point messages. This concept allows for journalism professionals great resource to informing the public with up to date news with in seconds of it happening.  News outlets can also easily follow other news resources around the world allowing them the ability to break news from first hand accounts. An example of this, is earlier this year when Paris, France was unfortunately attacked by terrorists. News outlets quickly informed the masses of up to the minute news on what was going on and informing people to stay away of certain unsafe areas of Paris. It also allowed for people around the world to send their prayers and thoughts to the people in Paris by people hash tagging messages with #PrayersforParis. 

            Organizations and Politics are also using Twitter as a major tool to push their agendas. Organizations and Companies use the site to connect people with the same ideals and desires. They can help spread information and news of similar organizations and better network their organization. In the last two presidential elections we can see how social media, specifically Twitter, can help get you ideas out to the publics. This year alone presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders, led a small grass root campaign that started as a long shot. His campaign team put a lot of time and effort into spreading his policies and ideas through the use of Facebook and Twitter. Mr. Sanders who in the beginning of the election was a basic unknown and had about 20% of the votes has now risen to challenge presidential front-runner Hilary Clinton.

            Twitter has its fair share of controversy that comes with a free flow of information. This year, Kim Kardashian, a famous reality TV star came under fire for posting a picture of herself naked on Twitter. Kardashian famous for posting very risky photos on the internet, and who originally became famous for a sex tape with another celebrity came under fire.  While fans supported her. Other prominent actresses and famous people attacked her for using nudity to receive attention. Actresses spoke up telling her to use her influence to promote women to use their mind not their bodies to draw attention. They wanted her to help with the body image issue that plagues women in our society instead of adding to the issue. 

            Like many other social media sites, Twitters ability to allow you to follow a wide range of topics and people make for a great dynamic. It allows you to learn about topics you may have only heard of and want to better inform yourself with relative ease and in a fast amount of time.  For example, you may have heard of Sierra Club in passing somewhere and not known what is about. You can follow them and learn how they are an environmental advocacy organization and they post about what is going around the world involving the environment. This process can take you all of a minute to figure out.  You can end up following Sierra Club, then next follow the NFL. Twitter allows us to connect our passions that previously have never had the same sounding board and lets us easily navigate our interests. 

            Twitter is a global network connecting people all over the world, it allows us as Americans a way to connect with news going around all across the country. The most influential aspect of Twitter is its local presence. For example, Canalside Buffalo, which is an area in Buffalo, NY, has its own Twitter account. This organizations informs the community of events that are being held there and ways their followers can become involved with the area.  Locally, you can see how the effects of Twitter usage at work on a smaller scale.

            Twitter took the creation of blogging and evolved it into a more elaborate method of communication. It centralized the blogosphere and instead of long posts to read, it make things simple and quick excerpts. That allowed people to get the message to the receiver in a quickly less diluted way.  As blogging was to news information and topics, and social media sites were to connecting people to each other. Twitter broke the mold and combined the two outlets and created something more efficient and useful than anything previous.

            Twitter like any form of technology has evolved the way we communicate and look at receiving information. With the following it has already surmounted it will be interesting to see what the future has in store for it. We can all agree that we will all play a big a part of that transformation.  

            

Lights, Camera, Action!

When looking at forms of communication it is easy to see that video is becoming a more common form of expression for most people. There are websites specifically designed for creating and distributing video content to the world. When looking at some of the most used websites, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, and Vine, all focus around the sharing and creating of video content. They allow for easy step by step usage for people who aren't technology savvy. Even our means of shooting video are made to be fast and easy to operate.  Phones and digital cameras have HD quality video recording which makes videos look more professional than ever before. In the old days, it was unfathomable to make a video look as professional and allow us to edit our video content like we can do now.

                                                                                                                                                                          

When creating any form of art expression whether it's a painting, photography, music or a video we use certain elements to express our message.  Video, unlike any of the other art forms, allows us to express using many different forms of media. We create and take video which is only the base of what the final product will be.  We can manipulate that base footage to be dark, comical, sad, thrilling all by how we cut the footage, the effects we use and other post production tools we want to get our message across. We can use not only visual manipulation but videos allow us to use music and audio to manipulate what people see and feel.  Video allows us to experiment with many forms media to express or message.

When looking at the benefit of video compared to writing, we can look at what video allows us to do that writing can't. Writing allows us to create more mental imagery and emphasis on the details.  Video on the other hand can expose almost all our senses to get the same desired effects across in a more visual and auditory manner. People are always comparing books and their movie counterparts. While most people believe most movies can't hold up to their literary beginnings, it's a great example of comparing the two forms of communication. Most people argue writings allow for more focus on the small and personal traits of the story.  People seem to be able make a more personal connection with writing still. Hang on though, Video sometimes can miss those small details. While on other hand, with creative minds and technology we are seeing people come up with new and creative ways to use media to become a lot more of an effective way to use express a message then writing. As the age of technology continues to connect us to more people, video is becoming an easier way to communicate then writing is. We can reach more people who either are unable to read our language and pick up are language cues because of culture barriers. It is true that most people outside of our country relate to Americans not through literary work but through what else? Movies and videos. They pick up on cues and culture based on the videos we make in Hollywood and connect them to our culture.

The hardest part of creating a video and telling a story is deciding how you want to tell it and filming it. Creating a video story, it takes vision and organization. You need to have a visual plan to execute. When creating a video a lot of time the vision you have and the final project turn out differently but it is key to have a plan and allow the creative process to evolve and turn your video into what it becomes.  This can be very difficult for some people to do and create a lot of frustration of things not being how they want.

Secondly, we have access to cameras and more technology now unlike any other time in history, but it doesn't mean people have the creative tools to use it to film and create a unique message. The filming and creating of the message you are trying to create is the hardest part. If you are creating a video on your own, it is sometimes difficult to come up with good and unique ways of filming yourself and create great shots that look visually pleasing and add to your video. Everyone now a days is a selfie champion. We all can take a self-portrait without breaking a sweat.  Taking shots with unique angles and filming yourself is tricky to do well though and takes some trial and error to get the shot you want. We can do a lot of work to make a video look unique and professional in post effect but the basic foundation is we can't make bad film look good. So the hardest part of creating video is still the actual creation of the footage and taking good video.

With most things being universal now, video software, is pretty much universal whether you’re using Adobe or IMovie. There are subtle differences in the two softwares but it is more about just learning where things are in each software that make it tough to use.  The layout though are interchangeable. So, if you can manage to learn and figure out any video editing software creating and editing video is a walk in the park. Software allows for easy ways to post your videos to social media sites and the internet. Or export it to a device.

In conclusion, video work is a major aspect of communication moving forward in our culture and the connecting of the world. Video is gaining major momentum to catching writing as a more effective way to communicate, more people are able to use and access technology to create video and share their work with the world, yet the battle still today is the creative side of creating video and deciding what your message is. We can all create videos but still only select amount of people can create good videos.

How to wikiHow....

According to Webster-Merrian Dictionary, “A Wiki is a website that allows visitors to make corrections, contributions and corrections.” Wikis have changed how people access information in this world now. It allows everyday people the ability to contribute to how information is understood and received. Most people now know what a Wiki is but they don't know how to write a Wiki.

When creating a Wiki article, there is a lot of preparation and steps to follow to guarantee it gets published. Simply writing an article and submitting the work will not be enough to get published. Wiki articles expect photos or extra material to be credited and editors take articles and mold them to how the Wiki program wants the article to be viewed.

In publishing an article in wikiHow, there are steps and guidelines that need to be matched if publishing is the goal. wikiHow is a site dedicated to allowing people to post how to do things and give step by step instructions to get something done. There are millions of different wikiHows, from how to make a recipe to how to build a house. Normal people post articles on the things they are successful at doing to help people who are trying to accomplish the same goals and need assistance. There are many ways to go about communicating the information to people. With wikiHow, the main focus on a step by step basis. You should make your steps direct and to the point about taking a person through how to get something done. It helps keep people from being confused and on track with what their trying to accomplish. Other forms of how people communicate their Wikis is the use of pictures, videos, and gifs to give people a visual reference to how to do steps and accomplish their goals. When using these additional resources, it is important that you credit the person responsible for creating these additional resources. Even if the person who created the article is responsible for the pictures, videos or gifs, wikiHow will not publish the article without accreditation. Wiki also focuses a great deal on trying to keep pages and articles organized and simple. With your step by steps, it is also helps to use the different sections in communicating any additional information that is needed in the how to do. It allows for a simple and clear way for add information like warnings, material you will need to do the wikiHow, or any additional information that doesn't make sense to put into the step by step process. This helps keep the article simple, understandable and practical to use.

To walk through how to go about how to post a wikiHow it's best to keep things organized. It is smart to start out writing out the article normally before even getting into the Wiki page process. Once the article is written, it is important to get secondary resources pictures, gifs and videos together making sure they are properly sized for web use and know who to accredit the pictures to. From there, it is okay to start transferring that information into an online article.

wikiHow has to methods of creating a Wiki article. For people who aren't more computer savvy it has its own step by step process of organizing the article in a quick orderly way. Unfortunately, this method allows for a lot of issues and struggles to get the article to turn out the way you want. The site glitches a lot and when reviewing the articles things show up misplaced and the site can also freeze and it is a must to reset and start over.

The second option is coding the article and writing the article on the back end of the webpage. This option is a lot more involved and takes learning how to properly code for wikiHow article. The resources on wikiHow and on the internet easily allow you to learn the proper way to code your article and inserting your pictures, videos, and etc. are easily to incorporate. It enables you to organize your Wiki article in the fashion you want it. For example, if the article being written is a recipe and the author wants to have a section dedicated to, ingredients and things you will need to use to complete the recipe, and he wants those to be viewed first before his step by step portion of the article coding gives the author more flexibility and speed to organizing his article that way.  We can see this being done in this article about “How to make a Vegetable, Chicken and Egg Scramble." The order is edited to better represent the article.

The ingredients tab has been placed at the top of the page because those are important to know before you get into the step by step portion of the article.

Once the article is completed and set up the way the author wants there are still several things needed to be done still. It is smart to attach links to similar articles to the article being created. This allows for the article to be featured and recommended when people are searching for information related to the subject. Once the article is set up and complete submitting for submission is next. Once submitted the waiting game is on. Editors for wikiHow review and make changes to aspects of the article to make it wikiHow ready and it is published. Once the article is published, others are able to edit the article. Most add steps that help them or make the article more user friendly. It is expected to see the articles evolve and change from the original posted article.

When creating a Wiki article for the first time, there is a lot of work to figure out and steps to successfully publish an article on a Wiki site.  Understanding the proper procedure is most of the work. Once it is known how to get a Wiki published the experience is quick and easy to accomplish. Good luck on your article!

The Ever Evolving Web

MY VIEW OF THE WORLD WIDE WEB

The internet is an ever changing landscape. I look back on how things were when I was younger and how the web has evolved into the influential engine it has become. Our lives are so consumed by the internet and the abilities it has evolved into. When I was a kid, the internet was mostly just a source of information. You could get email, check news and obtain information. That was pretty much it. It was a static environment that wasn't constantly changing but just a resource. It was simple to access information and move on.  Let's call that Web 1.0.

Now let's look at the Web nowadays, the web is a part of every move we make. Whether it's checking in our social media, "googling information" or simply posting a picture on our Instagram of some activity we are partaking in. This is what we call Web 2.0. The modern day Web is a social Web that allows us as participants, not only obtain information, but also be influential in what information is being obtained and how it is viewed. We now have a voice on the internet and allows us a platform to voice our thoughts and opinions to whoever wants to listen. We are consumed by this every second of everyday. We are addicted to voicing our thoughts for the world to see. There are positives and negatives to the evolution of Web 2.0.  Positively, it has connected us with people around the world and has influenced positive global change. It has allowed us to take action and organize around causes to better the world. Negatively, it has allowed for people to be influenced by untrue facts and to be consumed by social media. It has influenced and negatively hurt how people interact with each other face to face. 

The truth is that the Web will continue to evolve and we have just begun to see it in what is called Web 3.0. The idea that information will become easier to obtain and accessible is already unfathomable to me. I believe it will allow us easier accessibility to the information we want to find and help remove the garbage we come across that is not wanted. I also know there is a good chance we will become more dependent and addicted to the technology and continue to slip into a reality far more diluted with what is real. I do know that for all the positive the evolution of the Web will continue to build off of, there will be equal amount of negative effects that we will continue to evolve with as well.

THE FACTS OF THE WEB 

Like most things nothing ever stays the same. We don't have to look too far to see this practice at work. If we take a look at the creation of the Internet and the World Wide Web, we can see the transformation in front of our very own eyes.

When the Web was first introduced, it allowed for the ability to share information in the speed of light across great distances. It was revolutionary. This was what is called Web 1.0. It allowed people access to information but the ability to interact with it and manipulate the information was very limited. It connected Web pages through hyperlinks. It was unorganized and accessibility was limited. Once that technology was mastered, the real understanding of what the Web could do was understood. 

The invention of Web 2.0 allowed organizations and people to interact in a way that was never realized before. Web 2.0 instantly became known as the "Social Web" because it allowed for people to share their own information and to interact with Web content. It allowed people to connect to each other and to share their ideas.  The creation of Wikipedia, social media sights like Facebook, Myspace and Twitter allowed normal individuals the opportunities to voice their opinions and connect with others all around the world. It isn't known when the evolution from 1.0 to 2.0 occurred. Most believe the change happened when web activity become more about social networking then other uses. 

In looking at what the future has in store, the idea of Web 3.0 has already come to light. The idea of 3.0 is of a "Semantic Web."  The idea of this is a Web that is more structured around databases and making the connection of information easier to obtain and more organized. Web 2.0 is a collection of documents that are organized and contained into search engines. The idea behind 3.0 is to put information within databases and then connect those databases to a larger network of databases to allow us a faster more efficient way of locating the information that we desire, filtering out unwanted information. 

The evolution of the Web is one that will continue to evolve in ways we have yet to understand. Easier accessibility, connecting to people faster, more creative ways to share thoughts and opinions and greater influence on internet content is a sign of things to come. 

How to Make a Peasants Breakfast (DRAFT)

How to Make a Peasants Breakfast

Needs: 1 red and green pepper, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1 tomato, 2 potatoes, 1 chicken breast, 3 eggs, choice of cheese(optional), olive oil, salt and pepper, 1 small pot, 2 sauté pans, cutting board a knife, a bowl, a fork, a stove. 

Step one 

To begin start out by filling the small pot and boil enough water to submerge your potato. Once the water is boiling place your potato in and cook until your potato is soft and you can poke through without much resistance. It should take about 5-10 minutes to soften up. 

Step Two

While your potato is cooking grab your chopping board and chop your peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and chicken breast. Depending on how much you’re planning on serving 1/5 of each of the vegetables would be enough for 1 serving.  1 whole chicken breast is enough for one or two servings depending on how much you like meat. 

Step Three 

When you are finished chopping take your first sauté pan and place a tablespoon of olive oil on it and preheat the pan. Once the oil is spread neatly around the pan and its hot place your cut up chicken on and cook it 3/4's of the way through. 

Step Four

Once you’re done with the chicken, your potato should be soft.  Remove it from the pot and let it cool down for a minute. Once it’s touchable chop your potato into small portions. 

Step Five 

Preheat your second sauté pan and place a tablespoon of olive oil in it. (See step three) Once it's preheated place your potato and chicken in first just till they start to crisp up. Then follow by placing your peppers, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. Cook them to how you like them. For me I like my vegetables pretty soft so I cook them a little extra longer. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Step Six

While your mix of potato and chicken are cooking grab your 3 eggs and crack them into your bowl and whisk with a fork until they are beaten.  

Step Seven 

Once you have your vegetables and chicken cooked to where you like them, add your cheese and egg and mix them into your cooked mix until the egg is cooked. Pull off of the heat immediately and serve.  

Step 8 

Once you have served up your meal it would be smart to let it cool for a minute before eating but then enjoy and begin clean up! 

Getting My Wiki On!

Wikis have grown to become a big part of how we obtain our information. When actor Heath Ledger died it first became public knowledge when someone changed his Wikipedia page to include a death date. People slowly started to share the news until finally an official announcement from the family was given. Wikis allow us to access wide range of knowledge from a wide range of topics. In deciding what to write about you have to spend some serious time deciding how you want to add your own expertise to the wiki universe. 

One topic example of how to write a Wiki is,  "How to be successfully be a Buffalo sports fan." You might be asking yourself how do I plan on writing a wiki about this topic? Well as most of us know,  there is a lot that goes on to being a sports fan for this town. There is obviously a lot of yelling and a lot of different emotions. There are traditions we have that are a must to supporting our local teams.  You have to be able to accept a lot of changes and a world full of heartache.This topic would be a lot of fun to write about and also very comedic. 

Second example of a good Wiki topic would be, " How to keep your tattoos looking fresh and new."  This topic would be good nowadays because tattoos are common among people. People want to know how to keep them looking good and fresh.  You could research and find several ways to keep your tattoos from fading and keep them looking bright and like new. No one wants to spend tons of money to put something on their body and not properly take care of it. People want there tattoos to look good even if its been years since they got the tattoo. 

Finally a third topic is a recipe "How to make a Peasants breakfast." A Peasants breakfast is similar of slop plate of vegetables, home-fries, cheese and meat. You could walk through the proper way to prep for the meal and take them step by step through how to properly make this delicious breakfast. Peasants breakfasts consist of peppers, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, your choice of meat, potatoes and cheese finally topped off with egg. It is a twist on a traditional breakfast and people would love to try something new at home to eat. 

These are three really good ideas that are not already done. They all seem like they would benefit a wide array of people and could be a lot of fun to write. You can use these as creative foundation to  choosing one and getting your Wiki on! 

The evolution of social media

Social media drastically evolved with the creation of Myspace then later Facebook and Twitter. For me, social media began a long time before those social media networks. When I was young my first experience was with AOL or other known as AIM. You were able to access large amount of news and information talk and socialize with friends and family. Also, email, chat rooms and "away messages" allowed for you to learn more about your friends and what they were doing with their free time. As I went through my teenage years the creation of Myspace, Facebook and Twitter took AIM and AOL to a more evolved level. It has taken over people’s daily lives and become a resource for not only to connect people but to connect people to organizations, media and movements.

 Like everything else social media has its positive and negative effects. It can become very intrusive and can be harmful to people whether it's cyber bullying or just by making people anti-social in real life environments. I prefer to look at the positive side effects though. For example, last year a group created an "ice bucket challenge" to raise money for a disease called ALS. It instantly became an internet sensation from celebrities and to everyday people challenging their friends. The challenge informed millions of people about the disease and helped raise an unreal amount of money for research. Without social media, the ice bucket challenge would of most likely never of reached the level of popularity that it did. It allowed for this small group of people to expose the disease to people all over the world and even inspired athletes, celebrities and people with great power in this world to help make a contribution. Social media is a very powerful tool in our world but with everything there is a responsibility to people to use it in a positive way. Social media was created to help connect the world. It is our responsibility to make sure we show respect to people of all cultures and ideas. Social media allows people of all walks of life a voice and allows all of us the power to police people who want to us it in a harmful way. 

It is fair to say that social media is now a major aspect of the way we live our lives. 

Many people once believed that social media was a fad and eventually would fade away. There is reason to believe that social media will just continue to evolve. I believe in the future we will see it become even easier to access and also contain more abilities then we are able to access now. We will be able to do our everyday lives without even lifting a finger. Social media has already evolved so much in just the last 15 years. People will continue to push the limits on the levels of why we use social media. I believe that social media will continue to help connect the world.