Photoshop photo #2

For this photo I did the following things:

1. Cropped myself out of the orignal picture using the magnetic crop tool. Googled a picture of space and placed myself on the new background.

2. Changed the color of my shirt using the paint-bucket tool.

3. Using the eraser tool, erased any stray remains from the orignal picture.

4. Enhanced the picture by using the auto smart fix.

5. Added text using the type tool, then arced the text to fit around my head.

ENJOY!

Photo Shop Photo #1

For this photo, I did the following things:

1. I used the clone stamp tool to put my head on the other three bodies.

2. I then changed the photo to black and white by clicking on enhance and then convert to black and white.

3. Then I duplicated the layer and used the eraser tool to put just the clothing in color.

4. And lastly I adjusted the hue saturation to add the finishing touch on my picture.

ENJOY!

Third photo for shane

Photo one for Shane

Photo two for Shane

On-line JCOM

On The Internet Nobody Knows Your A Dog:
I loved, loved this cartoon. This really puts in perspective what people are capable of when using the Internet. This made me think of on-line dating services. I have head so many stories of people meeting their "perfect match" on the Internet. Men who were described as tall, dark and handsome actually turned out to be short, fat and bald. You never really know what you are going to get when communicating through a computer.

FaceBook Article:
This reading made me laugh because I can SO relate to it! Just today, I saw an old friend from high-school who I am "facebook friends with." I had just been invited to her birthday party, via face-book and I asked her if she was excited for the celebration. To which she replied: "Ha! Did you see that through facebook?" I was caught! I hadn't really remembered her birthday at all...facebook was my fountain of knowledge. After she left, an old friend passed me and I congratulated him on recently becoming engaged. We hadn't talked for months but I knew this intimate detail about his life through facebook.
My mom was thinking about opening an account-honestly, I think it is so weird when older people have facebook accounts. It creeps me out. To that end, my mom still does not have a facebook account, nor does my dad. But they do have questions for me such as: "So Allie, what is your relationship status on facebook?"

On-line JCOM

WHEN GOOGLE IS NOT YOUR FRIEND:
I am on the fence about this one. I think googles tracking can be a good thing. There are a lot of creepers out there. If someone was surfing the Internet to better educate themselves on how to blow up a building or commit some act of violence, google would be able to track that person down.
On the other side, where is our privacy? Until I read this article, I had no clue that google was tracking my every move when I used their site. They should somehow post this so users know what they are getting themselves into. This article also stated that the Electronic Communications Privacy Act has not been updated since 1986 long before the Internet. This law needs to be re-evaluated to fit modern times.

THE COMING TUG OF WAR OVER THE INTERNET:
Basically, this article comes down to the green stuff that makes the world go round: money. Each business is looking for a new way to make the big bucks and they don't care who they have to step on in order to do it. As a consumer of the Internet, I agree with the portion of this article that says with this change the prices will go down! In our economy, any deal or discount is welcomed. I also agree with Edward E. Whitacre Jr., Chairman at AT&T when he says that the Internet companies expecting to get things for free is "bull."

JCOM 2160

Jcom 2160
Email Etiquette

In this time of texting, instant messaging and countless other forms of informal communication, it comes as no surprise that the etiquette of emails has also become more informal. I really enjoyed this reading because it very specifically lays out what needs to be done in order to produce professional emails. Whether you are emailing a professor, colleague or employer the email you send is a reflection of you. Thus, it is important to practice proper email etiquette.
I already knew many of the rules explained in this reading such as use proper spelling and grammar, answer swiftly, do not write in capitals, read the email before you send it etc. However I was surprised and thankful to see that included in this list is rule #19 don’t forward chain letters! I cannot begin to describe my frustration with the myriad of chain letters I get on a daily basis. They are annoying, pointless and a waste of time. So to the good people of emailreplies.com I thank you!
This reading also taught me that there exists such a thing as email management software. This is used by companies to monitor employees’ emails. Even more reason to be sure your emails are etiquette correct!

JCOM 2300

I think it is safe to say that most Americans would not feel complete without their cell phone attached to their ear. But would you believe that 35% of people would choose their PDA over their spouse? In a recent 20/20 interview with Barbra Walters, the soon to be president, Barack Obama, was asked about his black berry phone. He will have to get rid of this miracle device because of the potential dangers it could cause him. He said it's going to be a challenge but it will be worth it. I was just shocked that his blackberry came up when there are so many issues to discuss with the future president. Like I don't know say the war, the economy that has gone in the toilet, integration, stem cell research...this list could go on and on before I would ever mention a cell phone.
SOURCE: Diane Schwartz, PR news blog

JCOM 2300

Now is the time for companies to beef up their PR and public image. With our country in an recession, consumers are going to be extremely careful about who they give their business to. Money is tight for all Americans and they are going to watch closely which companies they give that money to. Many companies are cutting back the budget on things like PR employees, which is a huge mistake! According to the article by Devon Blaine, How Marketing Can Help Companies Succeed in A Recession, Now is the ideal time to revamp their image and show customers that they are a trustworthy company that will be around for years to come.

JCOM 2300

Don't skip Thanksgiving! I was recently in Wal-Mart and everywhere I looked, it was Christmas. Christmas candy, decorations, clothing etc, etc. It seems this year more than years past, the world of retail wants us to start thinking about all the dough we are going to spend in order to make our Christmas merry.
In my opinion, stores skip Thanksgiving because frankly they make more money on Christmas. Through advertising and getting a jump start on this holiday, people are reluctant to spend more and thus companies make more. PR professionals are working like crazy at this time of year. Planning events, advertising and convincing people to spend money and things they don't need. It will be interesting to see if these tactics work this year. With our economic crisis, people are stuggling just to put food on the table. PR professionals will have to work extra hard and hopefully this season will give our country the economic boost it needs.

JCOM 2300

Blogs seem to be part of the new technological wave of information. They are free, people can put whatever they want on them and anyone with the Internet can access them. It's no wonder that so many companies are now having blogs of their own. For my final project in this class, we are launching an internal campaign for Delta. When doing research for this company, I was surprised to see that they have a very detailed blog. On another end of the spectrum, I was doing research for a paper about the poet Mark Doty and come to find out, he also has a blog. This is a great way for companies and individuals to get their message out to the world.

JCOM 2300

We all have noticed the decrease of prices at the pumps which has been a big relief for Americans. It seems however that the food prices are not budging only rising. And now it is becoming quite evident that certain distributors are tyring to trick consumers giving us smaller packages for the same price. A major peanut butter company has now added a dimple in the bottom of the jar. When sitting on the shelf, it looks the same but in fact is several ounces smaller for the same price. Cereal boxes, candy bars and countless more products are adopting the same concept. I know I will be much more conscience of the ounces rather than the brand or price.

JCOM 2300

Well the big three car companies are not looking good. They are begging the government for a huge loan that most likely they will never be able to pay back. What was ironic to me, was the fact that the three big head honchos showed up in their three private jets. When asked if they would fly home commercially, no one raised their hands. One official said this move was like having a homeless person show up to a soup kitchen in a tuxedo and top hat. My question is, as far as the PR and look for the media goes, what were they thinking?

JCOM 2300

Today in one of my JCOM classes, we talked about the Internet craze, Second Life. This is a web-site where anything you do in real life, can be done plus some. 40 million people have joined, and every major business and university exists. Thousands of peoples full time jobs relate to Second Life. Now CNN has an i-report center in second life where avatars (the fake people you control) can report.
In the field of PR, this Internet frenzy will be important. Our professor explained that if something happens in second life that makes a business look bad, it is likely that it will affect the real life version of that same business. Thus, a PR campaign must be launched in Second Life to fix the problem. Wow. Technology is getting more and more advanced. It affects PR drastically and must be watched by those working in a field such as PR.

JCOM 2300

America officially has its next president. After the most historic presidential race in history, Barack Obama came out on top.
In the article A New Day For America: The Next Great Communicator, Obama's charisma is said to have greatly aided his win. The authors, Jim Cameron and Amy Fond point out six main points that carried Barack to victory.
1. TECHNOLOGY: With TelePrompTers involved in the deliverance of speeches, it is important to not look like you are reading off a screen. Obama does this with eloquence, grace and does not let advanced technology set him back.
2. CONNECTING: Even when speaking to a large crowd, Obama makes eye contact. He unites the masses through his words and even brings tears to his supporters eyes.
3. STORIES: People retain information much better when they have something to connect to. Obama brings in stories which allow his audience a more personal connection to what he is saying.
4. LANGUAGE: His word choice and voice intonation bring the audience in and give variety to his speeches. They are not just mundane.
5. REPETITION: Repeating things over and over will make people remember what has been said. Obama constantly repeated his points of importance which made the American people know exactly what he stands for.
6. HE'S REAL: With his charming smile and friendly personality, Obama seems like someone you could sit down with and have a cup of hot coco. No faking here. Americans feel like they can trust and relate to this person.
As PR majors, we could all take a hefty page out of Obama's book. His communication skills may not be the only reason he won, but they certainly did help.

JCOM 2300

In the world of PR, it is so very important to watch what you say and to tell the truth. The article Talk Like You're in a Fishbowl, from the PR News Blog, gives a great example of this.

A player from the Jets talked to an ex-player from the Lions. While the player from the Jets denies he gave any vital team information to his pal on the Lions, he made the mistake of denying in front of the media that a conversation ever took place. With some further interrogating, those interviewing him finally got the truth; the conversation really happened. His whole story looked very suspicious now that he was a proven liar.

The moral of the story, is to talk like you're in a fishbowl. If he would have just been upfront from the beginning, the whole thing could have been avoided rather than winding up on in a major newspaper.

JCOM 2300

PR news online, has some great articles about today's PR and media. The article How To...Respond to Media's Facts and Opinions talks about what we as receivers of the Media can do to better respond to messages being projected.

With the election being so close, we are seeing a mass output of media messages concerning the candidates. It seems to me, the media is very pro Obama. On the popular TV show, Saturday Night Live, we see McCain and Palin being portrayed as stupid and clueless. Also, several celebrities have publicly endorsed Obama. Oprah Winfrey, Hallie Berry just to name a few.

All of these messages can be very persuasive. Before Americans go to the polls, they need to be sure they know the issues and facts about each candidate. Voters need to make an informed decision and not let the media make decisions for them.

JCOM 2300

Going along with my energy conservation theme for the week, I thought I would blog on the following article: Study: Consumers save energy to save money by Brandon Lowe.

In today's economy, anything we Americans can do to save a few pennies seems worth doing! With rising energy costs, conserving is becoming even more important.

I can relate a personal experience to this: I always seemed to be FREEZING in our house! When I would go to turn up the heat my dad would always stop me and tell me to just put on a sweater! I would always think this was dumb until I saw the bill for this luxury. It was enormous!

A new study done by the Shelton Group, shows that now more people are turning down the thermostat in order to save cash. This not only goes for homes, but for businesses as well. Looks like it's going to be a cold winter both inside and out!

JCOM 2300

Wal-Mart is trying to "green" China. In Beijing on Wednesday, Wal-Mart announced its new environmental standards and energy saving tactics which will soon be effective in all Wal-Mart stores.

These new policies and rapidly approaching deadlines to meet them, are all apart of a grand scheme to improve company like ability and make more money! However, Wal-Mart can dictate its suppliers prices because they are such a large corporation.

In today's Eco friendly minded society, it's no wonder that Wal-Mart is vamping up their consumer like ability. They are an extremely successful business and will continue to be because of strategies such as this one.

Source: http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/chinacalling/archive/2008/10/24/wal-mart-s-new-push-to-green-china.aspx#comments