ONE PAGER- NEUFELD- JANUARY 22 2018

I must admit, I don’t read newspapers, listen to the radio, or watch television.  I get my news online, typically from Google News (which is probably pretty bad, but somehow I feel better about getting information from an aggregated source like Google than picking one particular news company to deliver it with its own spin) or from snippets I pick up from social media.   I’d be the first to admit that I’m not terribly well informed, though I do go through phases of trying quite hard to stay on top of current events.

            I moved to Victoria from Alberta in 2015, at the time without concrete intentions of attending post-secondary school, and with no concept of what schools were available, let alone their reputations.  When I began considering furthering my education, I did a Google (!) search for ‘Victoria college’, and when Camosun no doubt popped up first, I perused the available programs until I found one that I found interesting.  I didn’t know much about Camosun- I’d seen the odd ad- but the fact that it came up first on a search engine was enough to sell me on it.

            I imagine that public relations are important in maintaining the image of the college, however, for someone new in town like me, the sole fact that it came up first on a Google search led me to believe it was the biggest and best college in town- and nothing has led me to believe otherwise.  Frankly, I don’t know if Camosun even has any other real contenders, aside from special interest (business/art/religious) schools, and UVic.  Unless some sort of horrible controversy arises that the college must scramble to play down, I feel that Camosun can probably get away with minimal PR without losing too much business or faith from the community.

TWEETING EXERCISE

Change is in the air: Major restructuring announced today for National Widget Company

“I am saddened this morning to announce the National Widget Company will be laying off 200 employees across Canada”:  NWC president Andrew Bryce tearfully announces restructuring this morning.

“It’s like a great big family”: The 200 employees laid off from the National Widget Company this morning will receive compensation and will be re-hired as soon as possible

“The increase in sales is unprecedented!” Explosion in widget demand puts National Widget Company back on top

National Widget Company breaking down barriers as the first widget company to enter Chinese market

“We are thrilled to be offering employment to people we consider part of the family”: National Widget Company president Andrew Bryce announces rehiring of 200 employees laid off last June

Regina, we’re coming for you!  National Widget Company announces plans for new facility in Saskatchewan

Are you a widget lover in Regina? Join our team as we get ready to open our newest facility! 

Hey Regina: The National Widget Company wants YOU!  The career opportunity you’ve been waiting for is coming August 2018!  Apply now!

Analyzing a Blog

BLOG ANALYSIS - NEUFELD - JANUARY 21 2018

In his blog post ‘Because Reading Is Fundamental’, Jeff Attwood discusses the idea that members of the blogging community are more concerned with increasing post counts rather than actively reading them.  He likens this trend to the act of speaking rather than listening, and says that the value of conversation is decreased when bloggers do not take the time to fully read and understand posts.

The intended audience of Attwood’s blog is not gender-specific.  Though his blog ‘Coding Horror’ is about programming and software development and would likely appeal to others in his field, this specific piece could be of interest to anyone who is part of an online community seeking a richer, more educational experience.  His post is written in language that is mildly colloquial but still polished in tone, and would be appropriate for an audience likely 18 and older.  The audience does not need to post-secondary education to understand and enjoy the post; however, as it implores the audience to consider reading more thoroughly, individuals who have sought college or university degrees may be more receptive to his message.

In order to bolster his stance that the blogging community does not spend enough time reading, Attwood cites two “experiments”.  The first of these is the ‘Ars Banana Experiment’, where readers of a post by Ars Technica were instructed, in the last sentence of the seventh paragraph, to include a reference to bananas in their response to prove that they had read the entire post.  It was not until the 93rd comment that a reader first made reference to bananas.  This rather cheeky example clearly backs up Attwood’s claim that the majority of readers are not reading posts to completion.  Attwood’s second example, “The Slate Experiment”, however, hardly seems to be an experiment at all.  He shows us a chart of analytics data gathered by Farhad Manjoo, which is less an experiment than a collection of data.  To call this an experiment is somewhat sensational, and the chart itself is overly simplistic and could even be misleading.  Still, the information does seem to support Attwood’s stance.

Attwood proposes providing incentives to reading- namely, removing pagination, measuring users’ read times, rewarding reading with badges, and updating online conversations in real-time to emulate live conversation. 

Attwood’s post does give credence to the idea of reading/listening more than talking, but there are factors which he does not consider.  For example, a blog post may be dry and frankly, arduous to finish.  Conversely, it may spark emotional response early into the piece which a reader may feel compelled to respond to immediately.  (This could be comparable in “real life” to clapping or booing during a speech.)  “Incentives” for reading defeat the purpose of pursuing knowledge for knowledge’s sake.  And finally, those who come to a blogging community for interaction with others, particularly if incentivized by real-time updates, are simply eager to engage in conversation.  Attwood has an almost utopian idea of a community of informed readers huddled in polite discussion, but for those who come to the internet because they need someone to talk to, this would not be enough.  His idea is thought-provoking, but fanciful.

News Release Assignment

NEWS RELEASE

JANUARY 15 2018

NATIONAL WIDGET COMPANY ANNOUNCES MASS RE-HIRING

Fifty Victoria residents laid off by the National Widget Company last year will soon be back to work.

“We have sent recall notices to all employees who were laid off in June,” says president Andrew Bryce.  “As a family-owned company, it was heartbreaking to lay off so many loyal people so we are thrilled to be offering employment to people we consider part of the family.”

Employees across Canada will be called in as required in the coming weeks, with plans to return to regular operations in six weeks’ time.

Traditionally, widgets have been used in the oil business, but their recent use in residential construction means the need for them has increased.  There is currently a huge demand for widgets in China, where they must be installed in every new building. The National Widget Company is the first company in the world to secure a deal with the Chinese.

“The increase in sales have been unprecedented.  We think this opportunity opens up enormous markets which will last for years,” says Bryce.

The National Widget Company was forced to lay off 200 of its 2000 employees nationwide last June after the world’s markets were flooded with widgets.

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For more information, Contact Stephanie Neufeld at (555) 555-5555