Generation Y Blogging

After being asked what makes a good blog I began to contemplate a few different things. To begin with, generation Y offers many advancements in communication. Social networking is very good example of one such advancement in communication. Each day, more and more people, from different walks in life, are participating in digital communication. Digital communication transmission is any form of communication that takes place through digital means. Blogging is one of the newest and most efficient ways to communicate digitally. In order to be most effective, blogging must be done with consideration of content and the audience.

Today, the two primary forms of digital communication taking place are through mobile phones and the Internet. In fact, the Internet was recently introduced onto the mobile phone platform and is preparing to make significant advancements. Mobile phone providers are currently introducing the fourth generation of Internet access. Therefore, as these two forms of powerhouse communication continue to intertwine so will accessibility, and thus, far more effective for those ready, willing and able to take advantage of its benefits. Thus, blogging is something many industries will be able to take advantage of in almost any place an individual with access may find themselves in.

Journalists, for example, will be able to utilize and create digital content when covering a headlining story. This means information sharing is going to improve and the competition is going to become fierce. Due to the nature of fierce competition, it is necessary to consider a few key elements and this applies toward anyone wishing to generate a following for their blog, or simply to get any attention at all.

            In term of efficiency, there are few things to consider when creating a blog. A blog should have a clearly defined purpose. For example, a reader should be able to easily know what the blogger is trying to convey. So, just like a college level paper, each blog should have a thesis, or a main point. Presenting the main point does not need to follow the same set of rules as college level writing, but it should at least give the reader a simple sense of what the writer is trying to convey.
            I was also able to stumble upon a few tips provided by an author at about.com. The author, Laura Lake, a marketing specialist at about.com stated, “Blogs have core components that increase their success such as content, distribution, and frequency, but you need more than that to get people to read it.” Lake later went on to state, “Popular blogs have one thing in common, an individual voice. A voice will not only gain readers, but it keeps them.” Laura raises awareness to the fact that keeping readers is just as important as gaining readers and individuality is crucial.

In addition to this, Laura Lake went on to give 5 tips, which would help promote a successful blog and increase readership. She mentioned blog personality, consistent posts, simplicity, reader comments, and an appealing title. To go into each of these briefly, personality alludes to the personality of the writer and keeps things interesting; consistency simply refers to updating the blog regularly – around two to three times per week; simplicity is straight forward, but many writers make a mistake in this area as they tend to over think things; reader comments can make a blog interactive and can help a blogger obtain constructive feedback. Lastly, an appealing title is considered to be the frontlines of a blog and can move a blog from a position in which it is being ignored to a blog that is receiving hundreds of hits in a considerably short period of time.

 I’ve reviewed a few of my classmate’s blogs and all of which have significant strengths that will appeal to their individual audience’s. I believe that with time their blogs will continue to flourish and attract attention. I learned that attention to detail, font style and coloring, background and a strong title are just a few of the elements which I can mention and that have been seriously considered and put into effect in these blogs. Each of the writers shared information that seemed to create a good deal of excitement and passion in their writing. On the other hand, it also appeared that a few of the writers overthought their objectives in some areas and their blogs seemed to carry on a bit to long. However, this is simply an healthy attribute the individual writer will learn to harness and overcome. I believe each writer I had the privilege to critique is well on his or her way to creating a successful and appealing blog.

Reviewed Blogs

http://lacyridgellgwyn.blogspot.com/

http://communicationscapstone.blogspot.com/

http://blogtocommunicte.blogspot.com/

                                                                  

                                                                  References

Lake, L. (n.d.). Top 5 Tips to Creating an Effective Blog [Blogging Tips].

     Retrieved January 31, 2011, from http://marketing.about.com/od/

     marketingmethods/tp/blogmarketing.htm

Effective Conflict Mediation

Conflict in any environment is natural and bound to take place. Most movies require some form of conflict in order to help the audience develop a sense of loss and later to recover and feel the joy and excitement of recovery. Hollywood writers base a portion of a films premise on this very concept. Also, most psychiatrists would argue that a relationship free of any contention, or a portion of turmoil, is possibly in a far worse state than that of a relationship with apparent struggle.

Struggle, many times, may imply an effort is being put forward to resolve conflict. Therefore, it can be argued that conflict is natural and healthy. What remains to be determined is the affect we have on a given situation based on our response. So how do we respond? The situation presented regarding an employee who has alienated clients and coworkers is a great scenario to evaluate conflict resolution and no doubt these kinds of situations take place all of the time and in many environments. The work place is one such environment, but it tends to be a complicated organism. However, like most things that become complicated a simple fix just might be the answer.

Prior to finding a fix to a problem it’s important to know the root of the problem. This requires sincere research and if the appropriate steps aren’t taken the problem can actually escalate and worsen; we in effect create a greater issue. Dennis Sandole studied the various ways in which conflict can be best resolved. In his published work "Comprehensive Mapping of Conflict and Conflict Resolution: A Three Pillar Approach, A." he states, “Although, prescriptively, an effective intervention ought to depend upon knowing something about any given conflict and its causes and conditions before intervening into it, descriptively, there is a "two-culture problem" between the academic and other researchers who study and theorize about conflicts and the practitioners who actually try to intervene in them. My objective here, therefore, is to propose and outline such a mapping in a manner that connects theory to practice, to maximize the prospects that interventions will be effective: unless we know what makes conflicts "tick," we may, good intentions to the contrary, only make matters worse.” (Sandhole 1998)

With these factors being taken into consideration it becomes important to find out what the root of the problem might be with an employee. I would suggest giving all parties involved the benefit of the doubt. This would entail the necessity to engage the situation and take the time to sit down and have face-to-face interaction with the employees involved in the conflict. While doing so, I would suggest that empathy is key to providing mediation and resolving the situation for both parties.

So many times dismissal is a choice management rushes toward and the resolution of conflict is simply observed through avoidance rather than careful consideration and big picture thinking. This kind of scenario relates directly back to our fight or flight mentality and unfortunately taking flight always seems like the easiest solution but reaps a far lesser reward.

References

Sandole, Dennis J.D. "Comprehensive Mapping of Conflict and Conflict Resolution: A    Three Pillar Approach, A." , December 1998

Media Technologies

Media, and the means in which we obtain it, now comes in many formats. These various formats are becoming more and more accessible and the audience is widening. The five primary forms of media technology that come to mind are the Internet, television, magazines, newspaper and mobile media. Technically, I’ve really only listed four media technologies and they all can be accessed via mobile means. The fact that WIFI and 3G is growing so rapidly only increases the number of ways to access media.

            The Internet is now the best, easiest, fastest and most inexpensive way to find information and for people to share information. The usages are becoming more diverse and it’s actually taking a good deal of business away from anything that previously relied on paper as a means of transmitting information. The audience utilizing the Internet is increasing in it range, but is more naturally used by those individuals born during the digital boom or after around 1980.

            Television probably reaches everyone, but extends itself to a bit older demographic. It requires little technical knowledge and has also gone digital. Television offers news networks that cover a variety of important news and media, but it’s important that individual check a few different sources, as one source may be a bit biased and the news may be slanted.

            Magazines are found at the check out stand of every grocery store and are an important means of media delivery. It’s often easy to decipher between accurate and inaccurate information. For this very reason many people may argue that it is not a legitimate source of media. However, the number of people buying into magazine media alone is an indication of the potential magazines have as an engine to propel media – whether in paper or digital format.

            Newspapers are a bit of an oxymoron. All major newspapers have begun delivering their editorials through the Internet. In fact, they’ve embraced this technology, but the name news-paper has lost a good deal of meaning, as it has lost a lot of business through paper distribution. Obviously, newspapers are probably the number one contender in terms of accuracy and reputation. This is a standard they’ve lived by for centuries. They were originally close to being dubbed the fourth branch of government and are known as the watchdog. The saying, “blew the lid of the story,” comes from the newspaper and it’s journalists finding the truth and exposing prominent individuals for poor and, sometimes, dishonest choices.

 We’re living during a time where all of these formats can be accessed through mobile means on the go. Honestly, this very fact must take all of these options in to consideration, but we must be sure to exercise temperance and balance and avoid loosing sight of where the real world starts and the digital world ends.

Adventures in Writing

Writing is something many people tend to stray away from. I personally have endured this exact struggle in the past. However, over the last several years I have come to truly enjoy writing as a form of self-expression and creating clarity for others. I believe effective writing does just that. I've learned that writing should be for an audience... not to build my self up, but rather to cater to the needs of the audience. To go a little further, writing should be a means to happily and humbly connect with others, rather than to glorify oneself or to control or slant information.

 I recently learned about the acronym K.I.S.S., which means Keep-It-Simple-Stupid. It sounds funny – and possibly silly – but it's so true. Many times we forget to just keep things simple, and I believe this inhibits an audience's ability to truly enjoy reviewing any kind of information and has the potential to even disengage, or weaken, any kind of connection. Many times the most profound experiences take place under rather simple circumstances or series of events.

Often times, we as human beings, tend to complicate the things we engage in and for personal reasons. We may want to impress another individual, or group of individuals, or we may want to advance our own interests. An individual, regardless of any external stimuli, should never allow themselves to stray from his or her core values. It is my opinion that writing can remain consistent if a writer writes for his or her audience and remains true to his or her core values. Therefore, a simple rule of thumb is to remember one thing…. simplicity does not imply stupidity!