Research Symposium

Today was the research symposium and before I say anything else great job everyone! I loved hearing everyone’s presentation; I think they were really put together. It is an honor for Bridgewater students to be able to do a small research people and be able to present their findings to an auditorium of people. I myself was a bit nervous, but hopefully people understood what I was trying to say. The Symposium serves as a showcase of faculty-mentored research, scholarly, creative and artistic work conducted by undergraduate students in all disciplines at Bridgewater State College. All BSC undergraduate students, regardless of year or major, are encouraged to participate. The entire college community is invited, and faculty is encouraged to invite their classes to attend all or part of the Symposium. It is a wonderful event I think every student at Bridgewater State College should be a part of because it gives you more public speaking skills, encourages you to improve your research skills, and for some people allows you to challenge your nerves. Once again, great job everyone. I think the health presentations were all great! Were any of you nervous today? What presentation did you enjoy the most?

"Don't believe the hype"

Lately I've wanted to find better skin care products and makeup. I just recently got a good job so I think it’s time to treat myself right. The problem is I don't know where to look. Now of days everything seems to have some kind of media ad trying to get your attention to buy it. I bought Bareminerials a few months ago, and what the company says about its product is almost 100% true. It gives great coverage and makes your skin look natural. However, it seems to be drying my skin out. After I talked to some of my friends who own bareminerals most of them agree that it is drying their skin out. I did some research and found out that mineral makeup is not good for the majority of people’s skin. I wish the ad said something like that! I'm beginning to lose trust in ads run on TV. I think if a product is that great word of mouth would be the best marketing it could have. I am not sure how other people are feelings towards ads on tv, but I myself am tired of them. Every time I try new mascara I am let down. It never ends up looking like it does on the commercial. So I wonder how they get away with such exaggerations. I guess the term, “results may vary,” has something to do with it. I think if a product is not doing what it says it can do for more than 75% of people who test it out, then it should not be able to claim that it has worked because it most likely only worked for one person! Ahhh…any suggestions on how to shop for products true to their “advertising”.

Coming to an end..

As our Media Studies class comes to an end I just want to go over some of the things I've learned. Not the technical things you can only learn the book, but the common sense I've gained. After taking this class I've realized I watch movies and television differently, more subjectively now. I begin thinking about the process of the show or movie and how hard it was to actually get broadcasted. I also think of what they are trying to sell to the audience; do they use specific language for a reason, are they doing a lot of product placement...etc. I wonder what their goals are and try to figure out the tactics they use to accomplish them. I have now become less naïve and have opened my eyes to the fact that almost everything in the media has a goal. I have also learned that the media is not always honest. The media has biases and can even enforce stereotypes of people. Has anyone else noticed they have started analyzing the media more than before? I am happy I have taken this class because now I am more aware of the media's purpose, but I think it may have taken away from its authenticity ...to me personally.

Reality TV

I enjoy many reality shows, why they are called “reality” shows I do not know. The irony in these shows is that they are supposed to portray real life captured on film, but instead, everything is exaggerated and scripted. Everything seems so over scripted now of days I do not even want to give any new reality shows a chance. When reality shows first appeared on TV I was fooled into thinking that these people are really who they describe themselves to be. Obviously, money is probably what persuaded them to act in the manner as they do on TV. Tool Academy on MTV for example is perhaps the worse show, yet I'll watch it from time to time just to see the guys cry. This is a great example of writers scripting too much in reality shows. The whole show seems completely mismatched. Reality seems to have some parts scripted and other parts not… and then they change the narration, so I don't know what to believe. Are reality shows partly scripted or completely? Is anyone else a fan of reality TV shows and why? Sitcoms are probably my favorite type of show, but with all these new reality shows like 16 and Pregnant I’m beginning to worry what will happen to other genres.
I found a great article in The Washington Post about reality shows. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53032-2004Aug9.html

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.