Project - Module 4

The personal blog I read is written by a San Francisco woman named Annie Tomlin at www.annie.newdream.net.  It's her personal blog although she is a professional beauty blogger.  I love her beauty blog but this is totally different from that.  Her personal blog give a lot of insight into the kind of person she is: sensitive, sweet, and very very smart.  It also shows how much she loves her kitties and often includes pictures and video of them.

The special interest blog that I chose is www.dlisted.com managed by a gay man named Michael K.  It's a celebrity gossip blog that is often insightful, always hilarious, and updated very often. 

I think these kinds of blogs couldn't exist in print media.  While I enjoy reading them when I'm bored at home I would never purchase them individually.  A good info blog obviously has to have good info but also be entertaining and keep my interest, which dlisted does.  I good personal blog has to have the same elements but also things make make the reader identify with the writer.  I would never keep reading Annie's blog if I didn't relate to her feelings of love for her pets or disdain for dumb weird people she encounters in her everyday life.

I would rate this as a 4 that it somewhat relates to my original thoughts about blogging.  Obviously these aren't important or read by millions of people but I think that these types of blogs are the essence of this type of journalism and media.

I would also like to take this time to say how much I loved this class, these projects, and reading everyone's thoughts.  It's really been interesting and wonderful!

Project - Module 3

The e-zine I chose for this weeks current event project is called the Internet Weekly Report found at www.internetweekly.org.  It's a composite of art, video clips, sound bytes, and the writer's take on current events.  The latest issue has several paintings as well as video clips of music that isn't widely known.

The blog I chose is another gem from Sugar Inc. found at www.citizensugar.com and of course I'm biased because I love all things Sugar.  I think that this blog is much more organized and subject specific than the e-zine.  This blog breaks down the information that makes it so easy to read and navigate plus there are prizes and things like that which make it fun too.

I still agree with my stance that blogging is important in today's media!

P.S: I'm allowed to be biased on my own blog! :)

Rest In Peace Becca

Hello Classmates,

Sad news in sugar land this week.  My dear friend Becca passed away in her sleep sometime between Monday and Tuesday.  She was found by her mother, still in bed, still wearing her eye mask, cuddling with her stuffed T-Rex.  Becca was only 25 years old, yet our group still teased her about being old.  For reference, I'm only 22.  Often when people die their friends always comment on how full of life they were but Becca truly was.  She always wanted to have a good time and loved to laugh.  I remember that she would always repeat things she found funny, over and over until it seemed the words had no more meaning but she still found them hysterical.

One of my favorite moments was when we took a trip to Mexico.  There were six of us and most had just turned 18 so we wanted to party.  Well, one of us was still 17 and when his ID got checked at a club a federali tried to rip it up.  Becca grabbed it from him and yelled "HAUL ASS" we all scattered and laughed so hard about it that we cried.  That is the kind of person she was.  I'll miss her terribly especially next weekend since she was always the person to plan the Super Bowl festivities.  I think I will this year, in her memory.  I'll write to let you know how it goes.

Project - Module 2

According to the post regarding this project an Entrepreneurial Blog is a blog that serves as a means of self promotion.  The blog I'm choosing to focus on is www.perezhilton.com.  To me, this is the ultimate self promoter.  Perez Hilton is the alter ego of Mario Lavandeira, the self proclaimed "Queen of all Media" comments on celebrity bad behavior and is notorious for playing favorites with stars he considers his 'friends'.

The links for the business blog information are listed below:

http://sbinformation.about.com/od/businessblogfaq/f/businessblogs8.htm

This blog addresses and answers most of the questions a beginning blogger would have or someone who wants to have a business blog.  Some of the questions are: What is a business blog? Is blogging a fad? Who provides the software?  The site is very organized and provides links to the answers of the questions.

www.businessblogconsulting.com

This blog actually compiles different business blogs for someone to read in one setting.  It offers advice on how to make your URL look professional, not spammy and how others are advertising online.  It also provides codes to make your site look more streamlined and teaches users how to create widgets.  It seems like it would be very helpful for someone who is serious about reading as well as posting blogs.

www.blogforbusiness.com

This is a personal blog from a user that seriously advocates blogging for business and is more humorous and casual.  It doesn't seem to be updated very often but the information seems useful.  It provides musings on customer "service" and what kind of software is better for what you're main goals are.  It seems most effective for professionals looking to relax a bit but still learn about how to be a better techie! 

Entrepreneurs need to constantly be changing their methods of reaching their audience.  Viewers are never satisfied and always want to know what the next big thing is before it gets a chance to be mainstream or trendy.  Blogs are considered cutting edge although they have been around since the advent of the Internet.  Using a blog as an alternative source of promotion is powerful.  It connects you with a huge audience, assuming people read it, and allows the writer to instantly interact with their audience with the use of comments and emails.  It can be updated as often as there is a demand and often includes personal information such and news, triumphs, and losses.  I feel that blogging is a fantastic means of personal promotion but also as personal connection with the ability to reach people or fan bases that might not have been possible otherwise.

This research definitely backs up my feelings that blogging is important and here to stay.  I feel that there are so many valid and diverse thoughts, ideas, and opinions out there and that all voices can have an open forum with blogging.  I have serious plans to keep my blog going even after the conclusion of this class.

Project - Module 1

I'm Miranda Moreno. I am a 22 year old public relations major. I love planning parties because I am a total control freak, but I don't drink! I have four dogs and three cats. I work as an administrative assistant at a prestigious tax firm in Valencia and spend a lot of my days surfing different blogs and trying not to get busted by our IT administrator! My favorite types of blogs are celebrity gossip and beauty blogs. I love trying out new products and reading about results other people have had.

Some research for this project has been done on Wikipedia, I know, GROAN, but it has a lot of useful information as well. Also, this blog had some interesting points:

http://www.eon.com.ph/Blog.php

I believe that blogging has significantly impacted the print journalism industry. It has impacted many aspects of how media affects our lives.