Taking A Look Back...

Since the beginning of this course, for the past four months we have learned and discussed various principles of professional communication. More specifically, we have explored the concept of social media, which turns communication into interactive dialogue through web-based and mobile technologies. In this course we have have explored social networking through the use of Facebook and LinkedIn. We have explored blogs through the use of Blogger, and we have explored micro-blogging through the use of Twitter. I learned about several websites that I had no idea about, such as Audioboo which was a quick way to record audio.I learned what podcasts were. I learned what LinkedIn was and also came to find that several of my friends from high school use it too. I learned how to properly email my professors and contacts. I learned how to re-do my resume properly, edit Wikipedia stub, and how to make a power presentation that would be effective and efficient. I have learned many things from this course, both educational and personal. This course has exceeded my expectations.


Matt Hamm (Creator). (2008). Jump on the social media bandwagon [Image], Retrieved April, 12, 2012, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/2945559128/in/pool-46198829@N00/


At the beginning of the course, I had to miss the first week of school because I was attending a funeral in Singapore. While I was away, my boyfriend offered to go to some of my classes and take notes for me. When I came back, I asked him where the notes for my class were, he told me he didn't bother to take any. He also expressed how easy he thought this course was based on the syllabus and he told me thought I would get an easy A. With that, I had low expectations for this class, and for the first month I thought of this course as a waste of time. However, as the semester went on I found myself enjoying the laboratory sections where my assignments were based on designing pages, and creating presentations. I started to enjoy meeting new people and interacting with them. I found the assignments harder than I thought. I began to take in on the information I was given, and I began to learn from this course. I honestly didn't expect much from the course, however I unexpectedly found myself enjoying this course. This course was definitely not what I expected. I never expected Facebook and Twitter to be considered a professional form of communication. My fellow classmate also learned a lot from this course like me:

Jenna Patterson Blog

Some of my classmates were found to have believed that Social Media was a trend that would replace all human interactions. I can understand why they believe that, as I have some friends who prefer online role-playing game as opposed to hanging out. However, I believe that social media can not replace the so called, 'real human interactions'. This course has made me realize that Social Media goes beyond just Facebook and Twitter, but instead it is a whole new future. A new way of interacting, and if done moderately, it can be progressive for society. Trends are changing, and communication follows those trends in order to reach their target audience. By understanding and utilizing this new form of communication, messages, thoughts, and opinions can be more easily communicated. Social can be utilized in the future not only as a powerful form of advertising but it can also be implemented as a safety measure. In this article, they used social networking as a warning system for tsunamis.

Link to the news article

As demonstrated, the future of social media communication is boundless. It goes beyond what we typically think, and it is always changing and progressing. As the years pass, it becomes more advanced, and more user friendly. It makes a difference in our daily lives, and in some cases, it can make the difference between life and death. It is quick, it is efficient, it is the future.I have learned how to better communicate with others, and interact with them. This can be shown through my five comments on their blog posts below. This course has helped me realize that social media goes beyond it's believed capabilities. I had a great semester, thank you ALES204!

Here are the five comments on the blog posts written by my fellow students in this class:
Shannon Wilson, Hannah O., Lynda Forsyth, Sydney Killoh, Samantha Stevens

Tumblr

Throughout this course we have explored the concept of social media, which turns communication into interactive dialogue through web-based and mobile technologies. I haven't really thought much about how significant of a role that social media had in my life. Since high school, I have been a consistent user of Facebook and once I started university I started to explore blogger.com and Twitter, all of which have been discussed in this course. However, there is one form of social media that I would like to discuss in my blog post as my topic of my choice. I would like to discuss Tumblr, in which, over the past couple of years I have heard about it through my friends using it. But I have never really jumped onto the bandwagon and joined in. However, I was told it was very similar to Twitter and blogger.com. As of recently, I have begun to see Tumblr in a new light, a light that has made me want to look into possible integrating it into my daily life.

Tumblr was first launched on April 27, 2007 by David Carp, the founder and CEO of Tumblr. Like Twitter, it is a micro-blogging platform that is also a social networking website. It is website that allows users to post multimedia and other content in a short-form blog which differs from blogger.com. You can easily share different types of multimedia such as pictures, audio, videos, and music. Tumblr is like a blog, but it is way faster, more upbeat and modern, and unlike Twitter there is no character limit. It allows you to express yourself through your passion and interest, and also connect with others who also share the same interest. You can connect with millions of Tumblr users by reading other user's blogs and browsing the webpages. You can choose from various of communities to connect with as they are listed according to their genres. Making it simple to explore what you are interested in. There is no question about the easiness of Tumblr and why so many users are addicted to it.

Link to my Tumblr Page

Screencapture of my Tumblr Page
(Image retrieved on April 11th,2012 from http://mi-chelle-le.tumblr.com/)

As an experiment, I decided to create my own Tumblr page and explore if the claims I stated above about Tumblr on the internet were true. I definitely enjoyed choosing the template of my blog, as Tumblr provides various ones to choose from, both paid and free. I also researched on the internet that there are several graphic designers who offer their own designed templates on the world wide web. Making me realize that Tumblr is not only a blog, but a display of one's talent, kind of like an online portfolio. In which graphic designers can display their designs, bakers can post pictures of their creations, fashion designers can demonstrate their style, and artists can show their abilities. Tumblr has capabilities beyond Facebook and Twitter, in which you can connect and share with other individuals who share the same interest and passion as you. For me, I decided to look at pages that followed the theme of fashion, beauty, books, cute, fitness, funny, and design. I definitely enjoy just browsing through the hundreds of tumblr pages and just looking and admiring photos and quotes. A fellow classmate of mine also chose to write about Tumblr too, and it was found that we shared the same opinion about Tumblr and it's greatness with creativity.

Samantha Steven's Blog

However, although Tumblr is a great way to express yourself, it should also be recognized that it is a great way to waste time and procrastinate too as the time spent browsing other pages can be time consuming. I can definitely say that my experiment with Tumblr was successful, as I can definitely see myself spending my free time just browsing around various pages. Perhaps not as frequently as Facebook and Twitter, but I find it amazing how I can connect my Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr accounts all together and just make a single post. I encourage others to experiment with Tumblr, as I would recommend this social media to anyone who enjoys Facebook and Twitter.

My Experience with Wikipedia

On January 15^th, 2001, a website that had changed my life was created and even today it still impacts my life significantly. Wikipedia was created, an online encyclopedia that was efficient, accessible, and fast. For the past 11 years since it's creation, I have consistently used Wikipedia for personal and school related purposes. During high school, I used it to look up concepts and words that I did not understand from class. I used Wikipedia to learn about topics in ten minutes that my friends talked about in order to understand and feign comprehension. I even used Wikipedia last week when I wanted to know what 'Dead Silence' was about. A horror film about puppets, in which I had no idea what was happening during the film due to the fact I was consistently cowering in my boyfriend's arms when something suddenly popped out of nowhere. The point is, Wikipedia resonates in my life and for years I have always trusted this site blindly when it came to knowledge and learning. I have never really questioned the reliability of this site, until this course.

From this course, I have learned to question the reliability and the credibility of all information that I have received. I have learned to wonder, who wrote what I am reading, have they been peer-reviewed, and whether the article I am reading is genuine. I've learned to question the information provided by websites, in which I find information provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association more reliable than information provided by Ilovemypets.com (A site I made up, but you get the point). I've also learned from this assignment, that perhaps I should take the information I receive from Wikipedia with some criticism and caution. In this assignment we were asked to update an incomplete article in Wikipedia. It was the first time that I have ever made a contribution to the site, and I had a hard time getting started and finding a stub that I felt I could really contribute to. I chose to write on the 'Human-Canine Bond'. I chose to update this article because I felt that I had a decent amount of knowledge on the human-animal bond after I had taken a course that taught me about it, plus the incomplete article looked like it was lacking information. My contributions to the article will hopefully be helpful, as I have added a section on history, further described the theories of human-animal bond and provided examples, and I added more to the introduction of the human-animal bond.

My Wikipedia Stub Article (Michelle Leung, retrieved March 22, 2012)

Here is the link to my Wikipedia Stub: Human-Canine Bond

This assignment took me longer than I had thought it would, as I spent a lot of my time reading journal articles and citing authentic sources for the information I was providing on Wikipedia. Although it took a lot of time and effort, I am very satisfied with the information that I have provided and I take pride in the fact that I have actually made a contribution to Wikipedia. This made me realize that although anyone can edit and contribute to Wikipedia, the most important thing is being able to provide authentic and reliable sources to back up the information that you are providing. The ability to cite your sources is the difference between being a contributor that just 'vandalizes' the article and a contributor that 'gardens' the article. At first when we started learning about Wikipedia, I assumed that perhaps everything on Wikipedia isn't necessarily true, but now I know that as long as there is a a credible, reliable source, I don't have to worry about trusting the information when I used it in my own writings. I feel that this student should understand this too, after reading her blog. Although she understands that Wikipedia is easy to change, I feel that she should also understand that Wikipedia goes through great lengths to be credible and reliable. And that as a reader, you should always criticize and look in to the sources being used.

I also find it helpful in trusting the reliability in Wikipedia with the fact that the site makes it easy to correct mistakes. That even though Wikipedia is very open to changes and contributions, it also has the capability to undo some changes that are harmful and inaccurate. I never knew that Wikipedia implemented patrolled revisions in which editors could mark edits as vandalism and check credentials. Hopefully with my post, the edits will find my credentials acceptable. Although I understand why professors always warn students that using Wikipedia isn't necessarily a reliable source for information, I like to think that Wikipedia uses information form sources such as journal article. Thus they too must be just as reliable as the sources used to back them up. There is a reason why Wikipedia has lasted for over ten years already.

The Evolution of Facebook

February 2004 was a turning point and an evolution of social media that would forever change how individuals communicated with each other. Created by Mark Zuckerberg, merely less than a decade later there are about 800 million active users on this social network. With the ability to personalize one's page, add other users as friends, exchange messages, and share profile updates, Facebook has become an epidemic in society.

I use Facebook on a daily basis, and I can always find myself always checking my news feed and account every half hour. Sometimes more, if I find myself having nothing in particular. I absolutely love Facebook, and it is rare for anyone to not have Facebook at this day and age. It is a evolution of communication, and has the capabilities of connecting everyone with everyone. Practically everyone I know has a Facebook account, even some of my friends who previously stated in high school that they would never join Facebook has one now. A large majority of my family have a Facebook account, in which with Facebook I have the ability to communicate and stay in touch with my mom's side of the family who are all living in Singapore. I have the ability to stay in touch with my cousins on my dad's side who live in Toronto and Vancouver. I have the ability to communicate with my high school friends who I'm very close with, some who attend school in Waterloo, Some in UBC, and some still living in Calgary. I love how I can easily connect with everyone, as Facebook is so much better than the out dated email. It is more personal and accessible. The one thing I love about Facebook is that it is always constantly changing. When I first joined Facebook, it was just a simple profile page where your friends could post on your walls, and you could do so vice versa. However, now, there is a Facebook messaging app that is very similar to Msn Messenger, which I have not signed onto for over a year since. There are games that you can play with online, join pages of celebrities or companies. Facebook has changed so much since 2004, but it has become more and more accessible and fun to use.

During my ALES 204 class, I recently learned something that I never knew before. I learned about Facebook Pages, and how we can use Facebook as a professional tool, which is essentially a resume of the public to see. I discovered that a lot of individuals now have two Facebook pages. One that is personal, where they can post their drunken Friday night photos and randomness. The other page being more professional, where future employers take a online peek at who they are hiring. I found this really amazing, and a definite change in the way people get hired. As many companies and industries now use this tactic to hire people. So I created my own Facebook page, which can be viewed below.

Here is a screenshot of my new Facebook Page

Professional, crisp, straightforward, this was my online resume, in which I hope future employers will look at this page and see an individual that is well rounded and perfect for the job. With a Facebook page, I can still be the individual who I am on my personal page without the concerns of employers finding me unprofessional. Many business and companies also have begun to join the Facebook addiction, as some have created pages that capture the essence of their company. Pages that connect them to their buyers and keep them consistently updated on their products. One page that I found particularly interesting was the Facebook page for my favorite clothing store, Aritzia. In which I could view their new lines, and connect with thousands of other fans of the store.

It is apparent that Facebook is a new driving force in communication. It is a social media that has become a daily addiction for many of its user, even me. I can most definitely see myself still using Facebook for many years to come, as I am utterly in love with it.

Check out this student's thoughts on Facebook:
Chronicles of Shan

ALES 204 Introductory Post

Picture from Michelle Leung

Hello everyone,

My name is Michelle Leung, and I am a second year student attending the University of Alberta. I am currently under the Pre-Veterinarian major under the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Science. However, I am considering switching into the Animal Health Program and changing my major to the Companion and Performance Animal major. Ultimately, I am striving to become a veterinarian one day, as I have always loved animals since my childhood, where I would re-watch 'The Aristocats' numerous of times. My current personal choice is to one day work as a veterinarian in a clinic or explore a career in wildlife rehabilitation. I have also considered working abroad, as I would like to see the world while doing something I enjoy. I currently have a wonderful cat in my life, who I miss so much, as I had to leave him behind in Calgary to attend school here in Edmonton.

I believe that social media is an amazing way to connect and interact with people. Some people may argue that it dilutes real social interactions, however I disagree with that statement. I would argue that it connects people, and if done in moderation, social interaction in real life could actually enhance social interactions. As individuals would be connected, and up to date about current news. I believe that veterinarians will begin to utilize the power of social media to connect with their clients in the future.

Communication plays a significant role in my choice of career, as I believe it will be a evolution in the interaction between the veterinarian-client-patient relationship. Social media can be used by veterinarians to connect with their clients outside of the clinic, share medical news and advice, and permit their clients to get to know the individual who is responsible for the health of their loved ones. Dr V., a graduate of UC Davis Veterinarian School and has been practicing small animal medicine and surgery since 2002 is a consistent blogger. Dr.V, has created a personal blog about both her life as a veterinarian and as a mother, in which the blog is called Pawcurious.

http://pawcurious.com/

I read through a couple of articles, and I can safely say I enjoyed several of her blogs about her life as a veterinarian and a mother. Her stories about her family, her pets, and her daily life gave me a sense of understanding of what kind of person she is. I found her blog very clever and I can definitely see several of her clients enjoying the blog. I found this blog by googling veterinarians using social media, and I came across this blog and an article interviewing Dr.V, on why she decided to make this blog. I found it very interesting and enlightening.

Interview with Dr.V, author of pawcurious.com

Social Media is both my future and my present. Presently I utilize various forms of social media. I use Facebook on a daily basis, in which I frequently check my news feed and update my status. I use Facebook to connect with my friends that are across the country in Montreal and Waterloo, and I also Facebook to connect with my family in Singapore. I enjoy staying in touch with friends that I have known since elementary schools, and friends that I have recently made in university. I use Twitter to stay updated on the random moments of life of my friends, and to keep connected with various news. I enjoy watching YouTube videos, and Dailymotions. As you can see, Social Media is a huge part of my life, and I can see it becoming a huge part of my life in the future.

When browsing through the blogs of my classmate, I found myself enjoying the following blog:
http://jumpingbeamer.blogspot.com/

In which, based off of her post, we both have a lot of common thoughts and goals.

This is the first time, I have made a blog. However, I believe it is very similar to having a journal. Hopefully during this semester of ALES 204, I will learn the ins and outs of blogging, and more social media. In which I can utilize the knowledge that I will gain of social media in the future, and apply it to my field of study.