The Case Study article I read today described the different ways that two major companies address their publics.

Wal-Mart for example, has no broad Twitter account. Specific employees, Kelly and Kevin, use Twitter to talk with consumers about their Wal-Mart experiences. The author of the article, Ari Herzog, explains that he likes “the naming convention” the two employees use: “Walmart Kelly” and “Walmart Kevin.” I agree with Hezog — the consumers on Twitter can tell right away that these two people work for Wal-Mart and are people themselves. It’s easy to think that all communication through a company is with automated voices, voicemails and no interaction with humans. These employees show that they are real people by using their names.

This summer, at the resort I worked at, there was a sign posted in the office that said “Are you so proud of your work that you would put your name on it?” I really like that quote because as a waitress, I was doing a lot of behind the scenes work. A lot of maids and hotel staff do behind-the-scenes work and many never even see the guests. The quote that was shown in the office really enforces that even if nobody sees you do the work, would you still sign your name to it? I think that is really powerful and everyone should do the best work they can — even if nobody is watching. Everyone will notice and you can start a chain reaction of good things!

These two employees from Wal-Mart weren’t forced to use their names; their names could have simply been “Wal-Mart Twitter.” They didn’t have to use their names to talk to guests but they WANTED to. They wanted to show the world that they, Kelly and Kevin, were working the hardest for their consumers. I believe that they wanted to show the consumers that their Wal-Mart experience could be a personal one, and the customers would not just be another face in the crowd.

When Herzog switches to talk about Comcast, they use the name “comcastcares.” Although Comcast says that their senior director, Frank Eliason, talks director the consumers, there is usually a team behind him that answers all of the questions. 

I favor the Wal-Mart approach to consumers over the Comcast one because they are more personal and show the consumers that real people are the ones talking to the public. It’s easy to forget that both of the corporations are actually both ahead of times — many companies are still reluctant to try Twitter or other social media and these two companies are actually both making positive impacts on the media world!

In Caroline McCarthy’s recent article “New Report Warns of Dangers of trashy Avatars,” she explains why virtual employees (such as bloggers) should also dress to impress.

Marketing firm Gartner believes “employees ought to know how to operate their avatars properly, use the same degrees of discretion and professionalism that they do on social-networking sites, and even keep separate avatars for personal and professional use.”

I have mixed feelings about requiring a dress code for the employees that are behind-the-scenes. Avatars spend most of their on individual projects – creating websites, blogs and behind-the-scenes projects — and I believe that can be done on their family room couch in their pajamas.

On the other hand, I definitely agree that when a person is interacting with employees, clients, management face-to-face (including Skype) they should be dressed appropriately and professionally.

I am involved in a sorority on JMU’s campus and we know that even if we are not wearing our Greek letters for everyone to see, many people still associate us with the group. We should always be classy and pleasant to all of those around us.

While the article’s view of the dress code was strict, I believe it can vary depending on the activities of the day . Always remember, if you are on or off the clock, you always are representing your employer!

Here’s an interesting article called “Andy’s Answers: How Ford is re-establishing its iconic brand.” Andy Sernovitz, owner of GasPedal, wrote about how Ford Motor Company really proves their company through blogging. He wrote about many of the same concepts we learned about in SMAD 341 — authenticity (the truth), transparency (allowing your customers to see the real company) and how to incorporate your leadership into the blogging world correctly.

The video shown really helps enforce those same points.

In D-Lib magazine’s September/October issue, Bonita Wilson wrote the article “It’s Time for Wider Acceptance of e-Textbooks.” She talks about the benefits of online textbooks; for example, they are cheaper and offer more functions that printed textbooks.

I am a huge fan of this idea!

During my online course this summer, we used online textbooks through James Madison University’s library and got our textbooks for free! We saved approximately $100 and got to access them at our leisure. If more universities switched to online textbooks, it would definitely benefit the student. Almost all students have laptops in college and it will be so easy to access the class textbooks online, rather than carry them around with you.

Recently, studies have shown that backpacks are way too heavy for students. In 2005, CBS news did a story on the weight of children’s backpacks in ”Backpacks Too Heavy?” E-textbooks will definitely help prevent back pain in students, young and old.

In my opinion, the only downside of online textbooks is that a student can’t highlight information in the text. I often highlight information that is important in the text and come back to it before an exam. On the bright side, it encourages students to take hand-written notes, which usually helps learning.

Online textbooks help students in new ways — they can easily reference other materials and include links to other sites where a student can find more information about a topic. Also, they are more environmentally friendly, leaving more trees in the forest and fewer at the paper plant.

Here’s an interesting article I found today! I’m not that surprised considering every college student I know has a Facebook (and many of their parents too!) and it’s quickly spreading.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/16/facebook.profit/index.html?iref=newssearch

A recent article by the Associated Press titled “Congress Weighs Landmark Change in Web ad Privacy” claims that the web sites we go to daily are being tracked by corporations for advertising purposes. I have been hearing about these claims on the news — businesses and corporations are using the sites we visit to help track what would be interested in purchasing. The advertisements on the side bar of each web site will soon match our personal preferences. 

The technique businesses are using is “behavioral advertising,” which “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” (Wikipedia).

The Associated Press article states that Virginia’s congressman Dick Boucher (Democrat) believes that consumers should be made aware their information is being recorded and ”how it is being used, and to give them control over that information.” He is currently trying to create a bill to ensure businesses have the consumers’ best interest in mind. 

This article brings internet privacy to the surface of the media yet again. Are you web sites secure? Your Facebook page? Your online banking statements?

While many people think of blogging and Twitter when they think of media, I also think of advertising. After searching for related advertising information, I found press release regarding Cooliris and Infiniti. Cooliris, a publisher network and Infiniti, a car manufacturer, have joined together in their next project.  

Cooliris has created a new internet advertising strategy where corporations can have an constant, unlimited 3D content. This collaboration between one creative team and one technology team is becoming more common. It’s very common now to create a new, advanced experience for the users viewing the site with up-to-date technology. The press release says that over 8,000 other companies have started using the new Cooliris 3D wall. The wall helps enhance visual navigation and allows for unlimited content. The new advanced technologies that are being used on these websites help lure consumers and keep them interested in a company.

Another very interesting advertising article I found was on the Forbes’s website. It explained that almost $8 billion is being spent yearly on advertising and almost 75% of the are entirely unnoticed. Thinking about my own internet usage and advertising viewing, I am not surprised that 75% of advertisements are unnoticed.

Don’t get me wrong — I noticed them, I just don’t click on them. For example, Facebook does a great job of relating the advertisements to the particular viewers. On the side panels of Facebook there are ads that are directed at me specifically. Not just “Shop here to buy dresses!” but I get ads that say “JMU students! Come to Craving Cookies!” The advertisers really know how to grab the attention of their potential clients because they directed it specifically at JMU students in the right places. Placement is another key aspect of advertising — not only placement on the correct websites for the correct audiences but the right location on that site.  

Although I notice the ads, I don’t respond to them and click on them. For one, I know that by clicking on an advertisement, I may get a virus on my computer. The advertisement may lead you to an unknown website with an unknown source that could leave your computer with a variety of viruses. Since 75% of ads are unnoticed, it’s up to the companies interact with the consumers to get their messages to the consumers.

One of the first things that Sean Cheyney, author of  “The 5 newest interactive trends: How will they affect you?” wrote in his article was how surprised he was how news is so instanteneous these days. It’s surprising how times have changed — he thought “back in the day” that you had to wait so long for someone to publish a blog about important news or events. He doesn’t even mention having to wait “all the way” until 5:00 for the nightly news. Cheyney believes that the internet is definitely helping share the news. Twitter is now being used to spread updates instanteously, as soon as it happens.

He writes about how companies are facing the economic crisis that is currently going on in the United States. While many corporations are going under, the internet and the interactive industry are still struggling a little. All of the websites and corporations’s ideas are getting down to business: they are getting more creative and are engaging more with their consumers to keep their business.

Many media outlets and celebrities are using Twitter to update their fans, followers, consumers and friends 0n the happenings of their lives/businesses.

Corporations are using their social media tools to update their clients, but are also there to get feedback from there. Another one of Cheyney’s main points is to listen. Listen to the consumers’s praises, problems and ideas for future products.

An interesting press release I found was ”Digital Research Inc. Launches Waggle ” which talks about a business in Maine that is using a new social media tool, Waggle, to facilitate marketing research. Waggle will help the corporation track trends and receive input from their consumers.

While we have talked about the importance of internal activity a lot during class, I wanted to go a little bit deeper into the topic.

Internal communication is essential. The “Internal Communication Strategies” article by Robert Bacal really helped me understand the importance of the interactivity that goes on behind-the-scenes at corporations.

Bacal believes that many corporations only address their internal communication strategies at the last minute, or when there is a crisis that needs to be addressed.

The author shares many of the advantages of internal communication. For one, with the help of communicating, the employees will be better prepared to make experienced, rational decisions. Another point is that the company will all be aware of the rules and goals of the company and make a conscious effort to enforce the rules and work towards the goals everyday in and out of the workplace.

It’s important to remember that internal communication exits to help companies over long periods of time. Bacar believes that there are four things to keep in mind:

1)      Plan for the long-haul

2)      Easily understood company values 

3)      Incorporate all employees when trying to accomplish the goals

4)      Encourage employees to remember the goals by constantly reminding them of the goals

 Like we’ve learned in class there are several steps to follow to establish an internal communication.

1)      Establish the common values that are needed and wanted – major difference between NEED and want.

2)      What are the available communication tools that could be used to implement the plan? Newsletter? Intranet? Blog?

3)      Which specific tools should be allocated to each specific goal?

4)      Implement the tools

5)      Observe the progress & adjust the tools if needed.

This article about The Effective Voice gives communication pointers for when a crisis arises.

Interactivity is extremely important for anyone in everyday life but especially in education. When I’m at JMU, I make it a point to meet my professors, go to office hours and receive any help I can get in my courses. This summer I thought it would be a good idea to get ahead, although I was worried about the interaction aspect of online courses. Thankfully, this class is run so well and Dr. Holman makes it so easy to interact with her through emailing regularly and phone calls (if needed). I also think it is a good idea to have the group projects to get to know the students in our course. I think we worked really well together and are already planning on hanging out at school (even though we’ve never actually met in person…which is kind of unusal).

I found a very interesting article to go along with online education courses titled “The Importance of Interaction in Web-Based Education: A Program-level Case Study of Online MBA Courses.”

The authors state that the more interaction the students have with each other, can lead to more effective learning and more satisfaction with the course. After doing research in several books, one author clarified the difference between interactivity and interaction. Wagner explained that interactions are need at least two actions while interaction occurs when the objects both influence each other. 

I believe that our course is definitely influential in my life. I am constantly thinking about how the social media we’re using is changing our lives, whether it is making interactions between friends easier, finding information faster or learning new technological advances as they are invented.  

The diagram on Sloan’s site also helps us understand the interactions that are made online.