My Recent Research

For my Communication Studies Research class I have decided to do my research paper on what motivates professors to go to work. Since I have only done the literature review I cannot testify to how hard it is doing a full research paper, but I can say the literature review was no piece of cake. A literature review aims at reviewing “the critical points of current knowledge and or methodological approaches on a particular topic.” I was surprised to find a lot of studies suggesting that appreciation is a main motivator for a professor. Although, it does makes sense because most of my professors tell me they do not have a good salary. After finding a number of articles on appreciation being a main motivator I began wondering what other questions can I argue through previous studies. Research can be exciting if you are doing it on something you are interested in. I think doing research on targeted audiences would be an interesting topic. Even doing a study on commercials and who they target would be fascinating (to me at least). I am nervous about the method part of this paper…but hopefully I get the hang of it once my class goes over that section. I know there are all kinds of methods to gain data, like surveying (which I’ve been known to do in my spare time) and interviews. With knowledge about how research is conducted it gives you an understanding about how credible the data is. (Very useful I think!)

Tigers Return

On April 8th Tiger Woods will be back playing golf at the first major of the year. The Masters is a significant tournament rewarding the winner with a green jacket. Tiger has won this tournament four times, the last being in 2005. I am looking forward to watching him play because he brings a lot to the golf course and to the sport in general. Just recently I started getting into golf; mostly because I am a fan of Tigers performance and the ambiance he brings to golf. Not many players have his skill and athletic ability. Tiger has won fourteen majors and is only four behind Jack Nickalaus who’s won eighteen. I am hoping that what has happened in his private life does not affect his game. This tournament will either show Tigers fans that he is back with vengeance or that the media may have beaten his spirits. I personally do not think Tiger would not return unless he felt ready. Maybe in the meantime between rehab and rebuilding his family Tiger was practicing and getting ready to win back the love of his fans. Only time will tell if Tiger’s negative media experience has had lasting affects on him as it does for many actors and actresses.

Brand Yourself

Boston University held a PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) meeting with Penelope Trunk (BrazenCareerist.com) and other interesting people on this past Saturday. The main topic of discussion was how to "Brand Yourself." I was very excited to know that one man, Jacob Cass, has gain all kinds of success for his graphic designs simple by branding himself on the web through blogging/twitter/facebook etc. With such new ways of networking and communicating with all kinds of people you now have the responsibility of portraying yourself in a certain light. Facebook may be a great way to stay connected to friends and family, but to get a good job I say hook yourself up with other social media like Twitter. At first I did not see the sense in tweets, but as I gain more PR experience I am realizing it is a very good way to gain new contacts. Branding yourself is in other words making a name for yourself and getting your ideas out there. After attending this meeting on Saturday my whole view on social media has changed. Though it can be tiresome to sit in front of the computer everday, it is important to blog/tweet/etc on a daily basis otherwise you may get lost in the mail aka media that is everywhere.