Category Archives: IMC

Creating an Online Portfolio

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The end of the semester is near and graduation is right around the corner! Seniors are now pressured to lock down future plans for the next chapter of their lives. Whether your goal is starting a career, an internship, or graduate school, this is a very important time to mold your brand and prove your worth. The image you portray is vital, you need to market yourself in a way that is unique and shows that you will be an important asset to the team.  Thanks to our Communication Capstone course, students can prepare and shape their resume and artifacts for their portfolios. Why not make an online portfolio? In this day and age, in almost every field an online presence is essential. I am going to show some advantages of making your own online portfolio.

As we all know, the moment an employer decides someone is worth hiring, they Google the prospect to gather as much information as possible. Facebook, Twitter and other social media is a great way for an employer to size someone up. But, if your online portfolio is the first thing the employer sees this can be beneficial to you by making you appear professional while showcasing your work. It shows employers you have taken the time and initiative to collect artifacts such as past articles, blogs, projects and presentations. Online portfolios give you the opportunity to show the steps and improvements you have made within projects. Including future goals is something that employers would like to see as well.

The ability to personalize the layout and design gives you the opportunity to perfect your brand image exactly how you would like to present yourself.  Maggie O’Briant’s article, 5 Great Online Portfolio Hosting Websites, claims that carbonmade, behance, photoshelter, dripbook, and viewbook are all great opinions when choosing the host site that is right for you. Maggie also describes the details of each of these listed sites in her article if you would like more information.

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An online portfolio is the ideal tool to create brand coherence for yourself.  In the book Branded Nation, James B. Twitchell defines brand coherence as “a sense of coherence, a sense that nothing was out of place, a sense of a center”. This will give your audience a clear image and a centered sense of who you are. The best part is you have the ability to control your image, by editing your portfolio at anytime. Twitchell also states that a brand tells a story. Creating this profile offers you a platform to display the story of YOU, how you have evolved, and where you would like to go.

- Kelsey Raskob

Pin Pin Pin Away!

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As our generation surrounds itself more and more with social media, Pinterest is becoming more prevalent as an upcoming advertisement strategy for businesses. Only existing for 3 years now, Pinterest has skyrocketed to the third most popular social network site. Businesses have started to see the opportunities Pinterest can offer when marketing their products. Jim Cockrum, author of Free Marketing: 101 Low and No-Cost Ways to Grow Your Business, states  “Pinterest has unimaginable potential as a marketing and customer relationship building tool”. Small companies have begun to expand their clientele greatly due to the publicity that Pinterest generates for them. Similar to Twitter and the concept of “retweeting”, social media users do the work of advertising for businesses just by pinning their posts. Pinterest is like a multimillion multiplier, there simply is no end to where it can and will go.

Another advantage of Pinterest is the ability for consumers to shop when they are not intending to do so.  Pinterest gives consumers the feeling of leisurely browsing, similar to a shopping mall. However, we can get ideas from all over the world, put them in an electronic file and remember them all later. Products are directly displayed to the public and the person who pinned them, but all of their friends on Pinterest, as well as others interested in that topic, can view them as well.

Jason Miles and Karen Lacey  (shown above) wrote the book Pinterest Power revealing how they have made millions based solely on Pinterest.  In 2008 Liberty Jane Clothing was cofounded and took off when it launched its page in 2011.  Pinterest also led Liberty Jane to growth on Facebook with over 14K likes and on Youtube, with a channel consisting of 7,600 subscribers with 1.2 million video views. James Miles has also worked with over 600 small business owners to launch their Pinterest businesses as well.

As you can see, Pinterest might be a valuable marking tool for businesses to look into in order to increase sales and publicity.  However, there is one issue consumers might want to stay clear of. Consumers should be aware of the dangers of mixing private and public spheres on Pinterest. Graham K. Henning, writes in Corporation and Polis, that ”The polis emphasized the importance for public and private spheres to stay separated. Blurring of the spheres creates a social sphere”. He compares the social sphere to a shopping mall as well, and claims it to be unethical. I think consumers need to draw a fine line between their private and public worlds on Pinterest, but from a marketing standpoint this is the best customer relationship tool you can have!

-Kelsey Raskob

The Galaxy S4

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What could be better than Siri you ask? Apple better watch out because they may have recently developed a new top competitor. Samsung’s newest phone the Galaxy S4 is soon to be released at the end of April 2013. The Galaxy S4′s, or GS4, dimensions and weight are slightly larger than the iPhone5, but so is the screen size for those who like to see a bigger picture.

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The GS4 processing speed is 1 .9GHz with the Android 4.2.2 operating system, which is considerably faster, than iPhone5’s processing speed of 1 GHz on the iOS operating system. To see a table of more comparisons, click this link. When it comes to the camera, GS4′s Super AMOLED panel at 441 pixels per inch is significantly denser than iPhone5’s 326 pixels per inch. The GS4 camera also has crazy new features such as the recording of front and back cameras at the same time.

So what new technological features does the Galaxy S4 have that could really disperse the iPhone fanatics? When choosing between the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone5 the design, display, apps, and processing system are all based on individual preference, but the Galaxy S4 interface is just on a completely new level. PC mag.com states, “Android features a much more customizable interface for advanced users, which lets you configure your phone exactly how you want it.” The interface has a feature called Air Gestures, which includes motion sensors of hand movements to control the display with out even touching the screen. They have Smart Stay, which tracks your eyes to tell if you are looking at the screen. If you are watching a video, Smart Pause will automatically pause the video for you when you look away. Smart Scroll will check when you are reading a scroll up and down when you tilt the device.

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This April we will all be able to see for ourselves if the iPhone has a real competitor; and if Samsung’s new features using hand and eye sensors are handy to use on a day-to-day basis or just plain creepy!

-Kelsey Raskob

The Next Big Thing… Coming Soon.

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Have YOU had the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos taco yet?  I can’t say that I was waiting anxiously outside of my local Taco Bell on March 7th when this new wonder debuted, but millions of taco fans could barely contain their excitement.  Not convinced?  Follow Taco Bell on Twitter or Facebook and you’ll experience the overwhelming response.  On March 4th Taco Bell announced via social media that fans could get the new Cool Ranch DLT (Doritos Locos Taco) a day early and the response was a mix of joy and outrage.  Many fans hopped on the chance to indulge while others were shocked to discover that their local chain had not gotten the memo.

It seems that Taco Bell knows exactly what their fans want and have aimed to deliver.  In fact, the franchise has focused their advertising for the new DLT on their fans.  Working their fan base, the earliest announcements of the new taco came in the form of teasers, meant to fuel the DLT craze and build anticipation.

Next came a series of ads featuring tweets from fans about the new taco sensation. Since the rise of social media, companies have been able to receive more direct feedback from their fans and have taken advantage of this in their ads.  Through these ads Taco Bell is not only able to highlight fan comments, but also feature these fans in the ad, emphasizing their delight in finally having the Cool Ranch DLT.


Starting to sound familiar? You might be thinking back to the iPhone 5 and Apple’s promise to finally deliver all of the features that fans have been anxiously awaiting.  So is this new, fan-based advertising genius or overdone?  That’s up for us as consumers to decide.  After all, gone are the days of simply consuming advertising.  Today, we can all be a part of the magic behind the ads.

- Ally Walton

Travelling Abroad and Confidence!

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Do you have any advice for traveling abroad?

Jessie – When traveling try to blend in and make sure to research the culture you are going to be visiting.

Kati – Do a lot of research and have a plan, but also be flexible! Your expectations can easily be misguided. Don’t be so caught in your plan that you can’t roll with the punches.

Do employers look at travel abroad experience positively?

Jessie – Absolutely, I work in the department I do now because I have the experience abroad.

Closing notes:

The COM Core Skill – Confidence – has gotten a lot of attention today!! Let yourself shine!

Job Advice and Why COM Rocks!!

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How to stay positive in the job search after graduation?

Leland – Take the steps you need to take to get to where you want to be, and it is never a straight line, so be flexible!

Brenzy – Take the experience you have the opportunity to. Learning what you don’t like is just as important as learning what you do want.

Matt – You don’t really know what your dream job is until you get out there. Things like your boss, and business culture are important.

Kati – Keep an open mind, always be looking. If you aren’t really liking something, figure out what direction you would rather be moving in. Don’t wait for the breaking point before you start looking for a new path.

Is there one communication skill that you can think of that will make you stand out to an employer?

Consensus – CONFIDENCE

Matt – Be prepared for any kind of interview.

Jessie – Be honest. Don’t say you have skills you don’t.

Is there one specific advantage that being a COM Major gave you?

Jessie – I think the versatility really sets you apart because it makes you a flexible employee.

Leland – It develops people skills, you have to know how to adapt to people and situations.

Kati – It provides such a broad foundation and you can dabble in a lot of different areas. Mediation was something that really came in handy, and I wasn’t sure it would be useful but it has proven very helpful even in the last six months. It’s such a risk to say I just want to do accounting for the rest of my life. COM gives you the opportunity to change careers if you want to.

Matt – I wouldn’t have gotten hired for my first job if I hadn’t taken the PR classes. Having those diverse classes sets you apart because you can do a little bit of everything.

Do you think employers would rather see a lot of experience or longevity with a company?

Leland – Longevity is definitely important because they want to see that you were loyal to a company before. It shows you can be committed to a job.

Kati – I think there is a balance because you don’t want it to seem like you can only do one thing.

Jessie – Because I have such a diverse array of experience, and positive references, I got the job I have now. Whether I was there for a month or a year, I had great references to call upon.

Matt – I don’t think longevity means anything.

Software Advice

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What kind of role does Adobe InDesign play?

Jessie: I use it to manage our websites, to create headers, to add creative elements to make things more visually appealing. I also used it for Warrior Dash, definitely for advertising and marketing.

Matt: The more software you know how to use, the more indispensable you are. The more often your boss is coming to you to ask you to do something, the better. Even if you don’t learn it in class, it is something you should learn how to do.

Kati – You can always get someone else to produce whatever you need done, but you don’t want your project to be held up especially when working with clients. The more you can handle yourself the better!