Web Design Post

For my website, simplicity is what I'm striving for. Although I do wish that I had the skills to do some fancier styles, I'm just keeping it simple. As the article stresses as the main point, simple goes a long way. I believe that I have achieved that through my website design. The only colors that I'm using are red, black, and white. I also have a picture of a temple in Japan in black and white. The text is mainly white, except for when you hover over the link and are on the page, the text will be red. I feel that through my design, you can get a lot from me based on how I have everything arranged and the graphic that I chose. I love Japanese culture, so the picture gives it away but at the same time it doesn't. I also like the color combination of red, black, and white. Also, red and black are my top favorite colors. People wouldn't seem to get this right from viewing the page, but right there it shows them a lot about myself without really using any words to explain myself.

From reading the article and viewing the samples of the "bad designs", I can see why simplicity goes a long way. If you have a lot of graphics or colors, people are going to be all over the place on your website that they won't even think about your content seeing that they are distracted by everything else. It's better to just keep things simple so that people can follow and understand your website better.

The article mentions another point: navigation. My navigation is pretty simple as well. It's also easy to follow and navigate through when the links become active. The red text gives away the simple navigation. Red is such a bright color that people are attracted to and it's a strong enough color to show viewers where they are when navigating the site. When someone is on the contact page, the contact link will be red, while the other navigation links will be white.

The use of columns is another feature that the article mentioned. Although I don't have columns on my website design, using columns (the right way) can be a great organization tool if you have a lot of content to put on your website. I decided not to use columns because I personally do not like the way most columns look on websites. I'm not sure if it's just the columns that I've seen on sites, but sometimes columns can really clutter a website and it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing. There really is a right and wrong way to do columns on a website (as far as I'm concerned).

The last feature that I used on my blog was bigger text. I tried to make the text pop out and also make it easier to read. The text is also bolded. For my text on the top of the page, I used a 55pt font and the Bell Gothic text. I used the Bell Gothic text because it seemed like a text that would be very easy for viewers to read. Text is important on the site because you do have to have words on the screen, but it can also be a design tool. If you have a certain text, people are more drawn to it. People are not going to appreciate someone having 12pt font in a fancy, non-readable font. It's just best to keep it simple.

More Twitter!

1. The article under "How People Interact" intrigued me. It was interesting to find out that there are 19 different ways that people can interact with Twitter. I only thought that it was from your computer and cellphone. I've also never heard of the majority of the top 20 ways that people tweet from. I knew Twitter was popular, but not this popular!

2. The article, "How Companies Connect Using Twitter" was interesting as well. I've noticed that many companies not only have Facebook, but they have Twitter as well. I'd Sometimes, businesses get a bad rep, but it shows that these companies do care and want to take the initiative to connect through social media and microblogging.

Twitter Post

Twitter is becoming the new and most popular social media and microblogging tool on the Internet. Twitter can be used in many different ways. The obvious one being that Twitter is used for socializing. Users type statuses called tweets on their profile to update followers on their daily lives. It's almost similar to Facebook, but much simpler. Users can also post pictures, whether on a personal or professional level. Another way that Twitter is used is for business purposes. Many businesses and companies are starting to jump on the Twitter bandwagon, as it paves another way for businesses to become more popular and generate more customers. In my opinion, Twitter seems like an easy way for businesses to start out and utilize the features without it becoming a complicated matter. Businesses use Twitter to update customers on upcoming events, receive feedback and gain interaction with customers, and post sales and coupons.

Twitter is also used to get people closer to celebrities. It may seem far fetched, but Twitter is a great way to reach out to celebrities and maybe even get a response back from them. Since Twitter is fairly simple with their messaging system, celebrities are more apt to receive tweets from their fans and respond to them. It's a nice way to kind of stay in touch with a celebrity, even though you're not that close to them.

Journalism has also started to incorporate Twitter into their news reporting. The spread of information from news is faster than ever with the help of Twitter. Reporters don't even have to type that much into the status box to make a big statement or grab their audience's attention on the site. Plus, it's a way to gather more viewers onto your page since it's linked to your Twitter. Although, the spread of information on Twitter can become detrimental for some people. For example, the Spike Lee incident regarding the Trayvon Martin case. Lee tweeted what seemed to be the address of George Zimmerman, but he actually tweeted the wrong address. It goes to show you how fast information spreads and how people disseminate and quickly believe the information handed to them. Incorporating links is another way that journalists use Twitter. Many news companies will post the headline or a couple lines from the full article because of the 140 character limit. If your status is catchy enough, you can receive a lot of hits really fast. Links saves the journalist time and space in the status box when posting on Twitter than anywhere else it seems.

For this project, the five organizations that I chose to follow are FUNimation, Sally Hansen, Sanrio, Influenster, and AllKPop.

I chose to follow FUNimation because it's one of my favorite places to watch anime. I watch anime on a semi-regular basis and it has most of my favorite series. FUNimation also sells DVD's and shares information and events about the world of anime. Following this Twitter informs me about all the different animes coming out and news going on in the anime business. Since following them on Twitter, they post on a constant basis and keep up with their tweeting.

The second organization that I follow is Sally Hansen. I am a nail polish and nail art addict and Sally Hansen is one of my favorite nail polish brands. I followed this Twitter because I wanted to know more about the Sally Hansen company and especially any new colors or collections that they are planning to put out in the future. While following this organization, they post pictures of their new colors which keeps me interested in seeing what they're planning on doing next with the company. I also get information about other beauty products and sales that they going on. It's a great way to find out about new products and receive exclusive offers.

The third organization that I chose to follow is Sanrio. I'm a big Hello Kitty fan and of some of the other characters under Sanrio. I'm not sure if I followed the right Sanrio page because the one that I'm following doesn't have a lot of information about products that they sell on the Sanrio website. Either way, the Twitter is a cute page to go to occasionally. During the project, the page mostly tweeted about the character's birthdays and some events that Sanrio has planned for the future.

The fourth organization that I follow is Influenster. Influenster is a fairly new site that sends out full sized products for free. The site also has badges, which when you fill them out, you have a better chance of getting picked to receive free items. In exchange of getting the free items, users have to review the product on the site and Influenster encourages users to review products on blogs and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. I'm following this Twitter because I wanted to receive hints of what the Vox box products are. They give out very good products in the boxes. Influenster also encourages followers to suggest products to them to put in the boxes. It's interesting to see how this organization is growing as a website and an organization.

The last organization that I'm following on Twitter is AllKPop. AllKPop is a site that caters to K-Pop fans. It's mainly a celebrity gossip site, but it's the closest and most reliable news sources that caters to K-Pop fans. I follow this Twitter because it's easier for me to go onto the Twitter and see all the articles, instead of sifting through the website. All the full articles are made into links, and it's way easier to get to them through Twitter.

Using Twitter is definitely different than blogging and social media. For one, Twitter is public and open to everyone. On other sites, you have the option to make your profile public or private. Another thing is that for me tweeting was kind of addicting, but at the same time it's very ineffective unless you're a popular figure on Twitter. It feels like you don't really have a say on the site, or for better words, it's pretty hard to get people to pay attention to your posts if you're not popular or you have nothing important to say on it. I feel that if this was my personal Twitter account, there would be more interaction between my friends and I. The last thing about the site is that it's a little confusing and kind of limited. Posting statuses can be fun in a way, but there's not a lot that you can really do with the site. I had to stop sometimes because I was getting kind of bored with posting statuses, especially 20 and being limited with these five organizations.  I feel on other blogging and social media sites, there's more features that you can utilize and use. For example, games. I'm not sure how games would work on Twitter, but Twitter needs something to make it more interesting. But, obviously they're doing a good job being what it is right now. I just think that Twitter needs to create more features that will keep everyone's attention.

Interview with Mike

1.      How do you plan on self- promoting yourself?

Tyeisha plans on promoting herself through the Internet, blogging, Tumbler, and Facebook. She also plans on promoting herself through word-of-mouth tactics. Her answer to this question was basically that she will use the Internet in general to promote herself.

2.      Name three goals you have between now and graduation.

Tyeisha’s goals include learning Japanese or Korean, travelling to these countries, and eventually getting an internship dealing with writing and a news station. She wants to work with different cultural and cultural backgrounds.

3.      Do you prefer work with a group or on your own and why?

Tyeisha says that it depends on the people she is working with that will determine whether she wants to work in a group or by herself. She likes to work with more dependable people for a group.

4.      What contributions can you make to a group dynamic? Name three things.

She can provide ideas. Tyeisha says that a major contribution she can make is generation effective ideas for the group. She can also provide overall organization and organization tactics for the group. She is also willing to be a leader if asked.

5.      What contributions can you make working independently? Name three things.

Independently, Tyeisha can provide the ability to stay on track with objectives for the task. She is also a more organized person by herself. She also has her own method of performing the task which helps her to stay more on task with her goals and objectives.

6.      What are your pet peeves in a work environment?

Tyeisha need quiet in order for her to work. She can’t have distraction like that. She also can stand members of the group who don’t get their work done and also, members who rely solely on other members to do the work in the group.

7.      Name three things you feel passionate about professionally, this could be school-related, current-job related, group or organizationally related, and why do you feel passionate towards them?

Tyeisha feels passionate about the fact that she is hard-working and always finishes work for both school and work. She is also passionate about being a good listener in school and work and also passionate about having the ability to take initiative to ask question when she is lost.

8.      How do you handle stress and pressure?

There are ways she tries to handle pressure. Tyeisha handles pressure by trying to not overload herself with work all at once. She tries to divide up her assignments so that she is not trying to work on multiple assignments at once. She has to do all these procedures because she gets stressed fairly easy.

9.      Name the last three jobs you had, and the best and the worst failure you had at each of these jobs.

Tyeisha has only had one job so far which has been as part of the work study program. She says that her best experiences with this job are the conversation she has with meeting music students while she works as a computer lab monitor. It is very rewarding for her to meet all these new people. Her worst experience has been when she has let non-music majors some into the computer lab. She says that in that aspect she is sort of a push-over.

10.  How do you handle criticism?

Tyeisha finds that she gets very mad with non-constructive criticism. But she does find herself being able to handle criticism overall, just more frequently when it is constructive feedback.

11.  Outline three strengths you have in the workplace.

Three strengths that that Tyeisha has in the work place are that she has good people skills, is able to work with a group/teamwork, and has good computer skills and a basic computer understanding.

12.  Outline three strengths you have in schools.

Tyeisha is a hardworking person, as well as a good listener with students, and teachers, and has significant writing skills.

13.  How has creating a Wiki Page strengthened your communication skills? Name and elaborate on three things.

Tyeisha made a Wiki How page which helps her form the ability to educate people on a matter. It was important for her being able to socialize with other users for feedback. The overall communication aspect of this assignment helped her develop communication skills.

14.  How will Facebook be used to promote yourself? Name and elaborate on three things.

Tyeisha will have updates and invitations to groups and events. She will also post pictures and videos to let people know what she is currently doing in her field.

15.  How would you promote an organization on Facebook? Name and elaborate on three things.

She would have constant updates. She would also keep up-to-date with her page. Tyeisha would also add events to keep people posted on the status of the organization.

16.  How will Twitter be used to promote yourself? Name and elaborate on three things.

Tyeisha will promote herself through constant tweets as well as constant updates about her professional life along with her objectives and goals.  She will also promote herself through the links to other articles pertaining the organization she is highlighting/.

17.  Graphically, what do you want to have on your website? Name and elaborate on three things.

She wants a nice layout for her website. She already has experience with customizing a website through another program. Tyeisha also wants to include pictures that relate to what she is professionally doing as well as music that reflects her both personally and in a business-related sense.     

Constructive criticism: 

1. Mike did repeat himself a couple times with some of his answers when I was interviewing him. 

2. Maybe more elaboration with his answers and more follow up questions when he was interviewing me.

3.At some moments, he had to think about his answer, but I did the same thing during my interview.

Interview Questions Elaborated

1. How do you plan on promoting yourself?
I plan on promoting myself mainly through the Internet. I have experience with social media outlets such as Facebook, and blogging sites such as Tumblr and Blogspot. I would also promote myself through word of mouth as well. In order to make myself successful, I feel that these are the best ways to interact with people and through that, gain promotion for what I'm doing.

2. Name three goals you have between now and graduation.
One of my goals is to learn Japanese and/or Korean. I want to travel to these countries and others and practice journalism. Cultures absolutely fascinate me, so I want to incorporate that aspect of myself into my work. My second goal is to write for the school newspaper or The Lens at Buffalo State. I'm going to be graduating next year, and I want to get the most experience that I can before going out into the real world.  My third goal is to obtain an internship to gain more experience. My motto is, "The more experience, the better".

3. Do you prefer work with a group or on your own and why? 
For me, I would rather work alone knowing that I can concentrate and get my work done efficiently. In the case of a group dynamic, it depends whether or not the members are dependable for me to work in a group. But, I am not opposed to working in a group.

4. What contributions can you make to a group dynamic? Name three things. 
I can provide ideas. Everyone in a group setting always has ideas and I feel that I can put forth effective ideas for the group. I can also provide organizational tactics for the group. I'm the type of person who prefers to stay on track of things and organize our materials and time in an effective manner. I am also willing to step up and be a leader if asked or needed.

5. What contributions can you make working independently? Name three things. 
Independently, I can stay on track with assignments and projects. Also, I am hard working and will get things done. Finally, I have my own methods of staying organized, such as creating a daily agenda and keeping a planner to map out what my next step should be.

6. What are your pet peeves in a work environment? 
I tend to get distracted easily, so I prefer to work in a quiet area with little to no distractions. In a group setting, I can't stand when members don't contribute or they rely on the other members to get the task done.

7. Name three things you feel passionate about professionally, this could be school-related, current-job related, group or organizationally related, and why do you feel passionate towards them? 
One of the things that I am passionate about is that I'm a hard worker. I give 100% to everything that I do and complete. I am also passionate about being a good listener and following directions well. Finally, in a school setting, I am passionate about being able to ask questions when I'm lost. A lot of people feel uncomfortable doing this, but I'd rather understand whatever is given to me than not understand it at all.

8. How do you handle stress and pressure? 
I try not to overload myself with a lot of work, because I get stressed out easily. I have to divide up my assignments, so that I'm not overloading myself.

9. Name the last three jobs you had, and the best and the worst failure you had at each of these jobs. 
I've only had one job so far. I worked as the computer lab monitor for Buffalo State's music department. It was also a work study job. My best experience with this job was meeting and conversing with the music majors. I liked meeting all the different people that came by. The worst experience was when I would let non-music into the computer lab. In those moments, I was being a push-over.

10. How do you handle criticism? 
I can't tolerate criticism that is meant to hurt someone's feelings. I would prefer constructive criticism, so that I know what I need to work on more. I take constructive criticism very well.

11. Outline three strengths you have in the workplace. 
Three strengths that I have in the workplace are that I have good people skills. I try to get along with everyone and get to know people as well. Second, I am able to work and contribute in a group. Third, I have a basic understanding of computer programs and good computer skills.

12. Outline three strengths you have in schools.
I am a hardworking person. I'm a good listener to students and teachers. Finally, my writing skills are another strength that I have in school.

13. How has creating a Wiki Page strengthened your communication skills? Name and elaborate on three things. 
Creating a Wikihow, it has helped me to communicate and educate users on a certain topic. It's important to cooperate and communicate with users for constructive feedback and finally it has strengthened my communication skills simply by the interaction of thoughts and ideas.

14. How will Facebook be used to promote yourself? Name and elaborate on three things.  
Facebook has many functions that will further help me promote myself. First, creating events will help promote myself. Second, keeping my followers up to date on events going on with myself and my organization. I will also utilize visual media such as photos and videos to my followers.

15. How would you promote an organization on Facebook? Name and elaborate on three things. 
I will have constant updates posted on the organization's page. I would keep up to date with the page if any problems persisted, or just to see how the page is doing in general. Finally, I would add events to keep people posted on what the organization is currently doing.

16. How will Twitter be used to promote yourself? Name and elaborate on three things.
I will promote myself through constant tweets, as well as showing information about my credentials and my objectives. I will also provide links to followers and link other articles pertaining to myself and my professional work.

17.Graphically, what do you want to have on your website? Name and elaborate on three things. 
I would like a nice layout for my website. I want something that pops out, but also looks professional. I have some experience with customizing a layout through another program and through the customization tools on certain sites. I would also like to include pictures that relate to what I am doing professionally. Music would also be included. I want the music to reflect my personality, but also in a business related sense.


18. Name three best case scenario jobs you would like to have and why.
1. I want to be a creator of a culture magazine, mainly focusing on Japanese and Korean culture but including other cultures. I want to include fashion, traditions, events, etc.
2. Working for a newspaper or magazine, mainly one that focuses on Japanese and Korean culture and others.
3. A blogger. It sounds far fetched, seeing that blogging can be hard. I would like to run a blog based on my studies and experiences in Japan/Korea if I make it that far into my career.

19. What employment goals do you have after graduation?  Name three of them.

1. To find a job that I love going to work for. Nothing's worse than working and you don't enjoy it at all.
2. To gain as much experience with a company, so that I can help the company/organization grow. I also want to share my skills with others as much as possible.
3. To find a job that will lead me in the right direction of my long and short terms goals.