Portfolio ! :)

Hi Everyone!  I created my own portfolio using Wix.com -- Here it is!  It includes my TED Talks, my Final Question, and my Slide Share.  I'm pretty impressed and it took a lot of time. But I think I learned so much about creating a website!  Check it out!

My Portfolio

TED Advice

After watching numerous TED Talks, creating my own, and observing others I have learned several important rules one should use when creating one. After presenting mine I thought of a million things I could have changed: Say this instead of that, use this joke, ask this question. So here is what I have developed.

1. Engage your audience!
Make it interesting for your audience.  If not they will daze off and fall asleep.  Nothing is worse then sitting through a presentation when you glaze off and can't help but yawn over and over.  Plus your meaning is lost and no one walks away wowed.  I suggest asking questions, playing a humorous video, or involving them in an activity.

2. Don't use to many charts and graphs!
Some people in your audience don't benefit from charts and graphs because they aren't numbers people.  I'm one of them.  If you need graphs keep them to a minimum or have them move.  The movement will keep even the none numbers people engaged.  Or try to make a graph using words.  I have an example of this earlier in my blog posts using Graph Jam.  Look it up -- give it a try.  ( I used this in a presentation for another class and it worked out GREAT! )

3. Be short and too the point.
Don't ramble on for hours and hours if your statement is clear.  No one likes to listen to someone who sounds like a broken record on repeat.  Vary it up, take different angles to achieve your point.  This can be used and achieved through simple variation of examples - Video, Picture, Graph, Effective Question. These different ways are engaging but don't come across the same even if they do have the same point.

4.  Be confident!
Remember that this is your presentation.  You know the material, no one else.  So if you stumble on something keep going.  No one else will know but you.  When your confident it shows and everyone else believes in you.  It will be portrayed in your presentation - be it slides or another kind - and the audience will be much more engaged.  They will feel like you truly know what you are talking about.

5. Practice, Practice, Practice
No one can ever practice too much before they present.  Many professionals, including Steve Jobs, practice over and over before a presentation.  This is how they learn what works and what doesn't works.  They also learn how to avoid bad pauses, ums, likes, or other safety words you may use when presenting.  This will also help your presentation move smoother and make it more effective. Nothing is more distracting then the presenter saying like every 5 seconds (once the class notices they will begin to count how many times - therefore your meaning is lost! )

Final TED Talk

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TED Talk

Description:  Alexandria Zentner takes a closer look into the social media spectrum of Twitter in regards to professional athletes and owners.  Leading a prolific discussion on the good, the bad, and the downright ugly tweets over the past few years.  Ladies and gentlemen please sit back, relax, and enjoy the show of uncensored twittering.

Our blog this week is to post our slides for our presentation.  First, I will provide a link to a youtube video which I would like to show first, followed by the slides.  I would love to hear some feedback in regards to what you think, what you would like to see, and anything inbetween. :)

YOUTUBE:

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Thanksgiving can't come soon enough <3

Blog post: In your blog post this week highlight 3 TED Talks that you find really interesting and engaging. Describe 1) why is each talk interesting to you? 2) How is each talk engaging? (vivid slides? audience interaction?)

Benjamin Zander on Music and Passion:
Benjamin Zander was a name I had previously heard from the context of my Music History class I am currently taking, so when I saw he was a top rated I was sure to click this. Once his talk began it was clear that he was very engaging. He was constantly moving onto the stage and then down to the crowd, being very interactive. He also used the piano to demonstrate his purpose which goes as follows: Most people will say that classical music is a dying art, but this is not the case. Instead, everyone can find meaning and joy in classical music, you just have to listen.

Zander believes that no one is tone deaf because we all can pick up emotions on the other end of the phone. Instead you must try and relate it to your life. He does this by asking the crowd to envision someone who has passed away while listening to a piece of Chopin. Every single person seemed to be moved, therefore displaying that classical music is something everyone can enjoy.

Jonathan Harris: The Web's Secret Stories:

This TED talk by Jonathan Harris takes the concept of how expression has evolved onto the internet and displays how.  Some examples of this are diaries and editorials that are now posted online via newspaper websites and blogs.  He displays how people are constantly using different websites to post how they feel now via the We Feel Fine Study.  This study pulls any statement that starts with I feel/We feel and places them into a database, which increases by 15,000-20,000 per day, and places them by age, geographic location, weather, etc.  People are able to go to this website and read random status' from all over the world and have the ability to connect with the person.  It also is able to show data for those recent hours.  For example, right now: 2.2 times the normal level are feeling comfortable, whereas 1.3 times the normal level feel right.  IT is pretty awesome!!  He is able to engage with the audience by displaying what people are saying right at the exact moment and going through the different features (such as pictures, climate, age, etc.)  Some of the examples he uses are comical therefore engaging the audience.  Also, the display of what the most felt emotion at that moment was pretty interesting. 

The LXD: In the Internet Age, Dance Evolves:

This was by far the most interesting talk that I watched.  It began by dancers doing extreme dance moves including flips and spins.  Then the director, John Chu, a film maker discusses how after directing Step Up to the Streets he created this group "The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers."  He feels that the internet has helped develop and advanced dancers across the universe.  He uses the example of a dance that was posted onto YouTube, which kids in Japan develop even further, and then kids in the US develop into a new dance technique.  These examples are inspiration for others.  John Chu's speech was short and too the point and followed up by individuals doing dance moves such as MADD CHADD who is known for being a master of mechanical movement.  Then for the finale -- a big dance number is done full of more moves I could never do in a million years.

Sound Slides

Objective:  To create a unique sound slide presentation between 2-3 minutes.

This may seem like an easy task to people who are computer literate, but for myself it was extremely challenging.  I decided to go with a video montage of my years at St. Joe's.  I took important pictures from my freshman year to recently and placed them in correct order and decided which way they should transition (I did that part in imovie).  Then I went in Garage Band and pulled songs from my itunes and choose bits and pieces to put together -- this was the hardest part.  The songs had to sound good together and they had to make sense with the pictures.  I was able to convert this into one large song and then place it with my pictures.  The hardest part was transitioning, cropping, and placement of the pictures, along with the creation of the unique song.

So... here it is:  My Master Piece (which could use even some more tweaking -- things I saw when I published this version).  Your thoughts are greatly appreciated and encouraged!

Blog post: Week 8 Post: What are you making? How are you making it? Why are you making it?


I saw this on YouTube while surfing and thought it was really inspiring!  First of all I really like the song playing in the background, but the message is unique.  I love how they were able to pull types of advice together and draw pictures to resemble them.  They all go together very well and are true for life! Ideas like "Finish what you start" and "Don't be afraid to fail"  are all very applicable in everyone's life. 


My sound slide is going to be based around a year in pictures.  I plan to take a bunch of pictures and add songs that relate well to them (small snip-its, so that a few songs can be heard).  It is a family tradition to have a year in pictures every year which my aunt makes -- we all sit down on Christmas Eve with family and friends to watch it!  It's a great way to remember the events that happen and it is something that will last forever. I'm plan on using imovie, but this is only my idea right now! I want to incorporate ideas from our Presentation Zen book using ideas such as the rule of thirds and how things fall into place ( whether they spin or zoom in at the end on one single point ). :)

The English Patient

Blog post: Watch a movie and discuss the nuances of its sound design. Extra credit if you watch a film edited by Walter Murch. See pages 314 -317 of The Conversations for a complete list of Murch’s movies.

Listen to this scene for The English Patient.  Pay close attention to when Kip, the Indian man, shoots the gun and tries to get inside.  Also, pay attention to after he discovers the mine, when Hannah is upstairs in the bedroom window observing.

Hopefully you are able to see the wonderful sound editing done by Walter Murch.  In the beginning of the scene the details of Kip shooting the gun, attempting to open the door, and trying to find the mine are all vivid.  There is no attention to what is going on outside, no sounds of wind, animals, crickets, bugs, etc.  This is there key moment were they first talk with one another.  A sexual tension is felt through the noises and there conversation.  After -- when Kip is outside with the others, and Hannah is upstairs with the English Patient, you are able to juxtapose both the sounds outside, as well as the conversation inside. You hear the crickets, conversation, and assembly of the tent, while also experiencing the intimate conversation occurring inside. This scene seems to show the beginning of the relationship between Hannah and Kip and implies there sexual attraction.  They both like each other, and this is the first scene where we can tell.  The sole focus on the two of them is what makes this apparent.  The crickets at the end of the scene allows us to tell that time has passed and night is falling.  Also, the picture show Hannah's admiration of Kip.

I loved the movie -- maybe it was because I was watching it by myself on my computer listening via headphones.  I was so engaged and interested, although I was interested by class, but I returned immediately to finish it.  The movie was one I believe I could watch over and over again.  The editing both sound and picture wise is AMAZING!  The sounds really tie the photos in together, allowing it all to flow smoothly and be an awesome movie! Thanks for the recommendation Professor Knight!

Creative Graphing

Blog post: Design an engaging data display/infosthetic. Use any means to create the display: pen and paper; Graph Jam, Word; PowerPoint, Keynote, Pages,Gapminder Desktop.

Needless to say,  when I read this task I was nervous.  Never have I ever... created a graph online.  How was I going to do this?  But thankfully, our teacher provided us with links.  I was able to go to this site and pick exactly what kind of graph I wanted to make -- a venn diagram obviously from the image below.  Then I had to chose the colors I wish to work with, purple and pink seemed to work well together (girly just like myself). Then I had a choice: do I chose data? or do I chose a fun saying? I decided to use a fun quote.  Specifically one by John Lennon.  This is the results:

"Love is the answer, and you that for sure; Love is a flower, you've got to let it grow."

What a powerful thought.

Hopewell Nursery

Assignment: Find something in the real world that needs to be redesigned.  Discuss why its current design doesn’t work. Show how you would redesign it (like the “Gentle Dental example).

I chose my dad's business: Hopewell Nursery.  The companies website was designed about 6 years ago and has basic upkeep from time to time, but could use a lot of work. The logo is much too small -- hardly visible. The main focus should be the logo, not the picture next to a long body of text -- this screams BORING!  The fonts don't mesh very well together either -- one has hard edges, the other has softer edges (mixture between serif and sans serif).

I decided to take this original logo against a white background, without the vines along the side and the busyness of the webpage and change it.  I played with tilting to see the difference and envisioned how the tilts would look in different segments.  If you tilt the logo slightly and switch the corner it would represent a fun change.  At the same time it would draw the visitors eye to the opposite corner. This small, subtle change would make quite a difference. This would only prove effective if the logo is enlarged.  

Finally, I decided to make my own new logo for their company.  This wasn't the easiest task to do since I don't have any professional imaging tools.  I was able to use powerpoint to be semi-creative. For the logo in the top of the screen shot at the right, I used Futura along with Lucida Calligraphy.  I tried to maintain the same colors.  I added in an arch for a little spunk.  The two font types seem to fit well together displaying the quality and unique experience the nursery will provide.  The bottom font is boxed, which I'm not very fond of.  I used a box font hoping that it would close in the logo.  The Sans Serif font of Hopewell was to allow readability. My personal choice is the arched one at the top. 

Everything but the Kitchen Sink.

When prompted to create a list of ten places at St. Joseph's University which I have never been before I was stumped besides one place: the rooftop of the Science Center.  I have always been advised that this is one of the top places to see before you graduate.  Therefore, when I heard we had to pick one and go see it I was all on board. I have always embrace the philosophy that unless you ask for something you won't receive it.

Upon entering the Science Center I went towards the elevator.  I heard a woman tapping away in her office so I popped my head in and got directed to the right office.  The head of the biology department was who worked with the green house.  Yet, I received the warning that its technically not open to the "public."  Since when are business students considered the public?  (I have always been baffled at the line drawn between the business and the arts and sciences) I was able to arrange an appointment for the next day to complete my adventure. Needless to say I was excited.

The time finally came and I was able to take the elevator all the way to the roof.  The biology teacher who took me up informed me of the construction that was taking place. Upon exiting the elevator I began walking on boards over towards the greenhouse.  The first thing I observed was the gorgeous Philadelphia skyline. Once inside the structure we learned about the turtle house.

In the turtle house are 5 different types of turtles -- even including albino turtles!  The professor then began to explain the filtration system for the ponds, which use sunlight and fresh water to create clean water.  The turtles are able to crawl from pond to pond which was very interesting!

Then we entered the greenhouse.  This glass structure is home to many different varieties of plants -- to be honest it reminded me a little of a jungle.  There wasn't much order for the positioning of plants, but the variety is amazing.  A palm tree, a lemon tree, cactus', ferns, even a coco plant.  The professor explained that the roof isn't open to the public because there is no railings along the side, yet they do hold a dinner on the roof once a year. My family is in the business of plants and shrubs -- Hopewell Nursery -- so I have grown up around different varieties.  The greenhouse resembles a smaller scale of the Holland Greenhouses we have on our farms.

Surprisingly, not all science students have access to the roof.  Most importantly students can only go up in small groups; therefore, an entire class can't benefit from a lecture from this location.  Uniquely, the greenhouse can maintain heat in the winter so that the plants won't die.  It absorbs water on one side and has a heater.  Who ever knew you could set the temperature in something like this?

Below is a slide show I put together using my mac's imovie.  It's a work in process, but it shows effectively my observations of the day.  Hope you enjoy!

The truth about blogging.

Blog prompt (for Thursday): Write a post in which you discuss your opinion about the following students blogs.

Blogs.  I embarrassingly admit when I was in middle school I had one, an Xanga account to be exact.  I used to discuss the daily drama occurring in my life and compare my life to that of Kristin Cavallari.  I swore I lived just like the reality TV stars in Laguna Beach.  Boy was I mistaken.  My life is extremely different from those on staged "reality shows".  I was reminded of this part in my life while looking through these other student blogs.  


The topics I came across while surfing where numerous.  To be blatantly honest I saw posts ranging from politics, to college life (the usual drinking and sex) articles, to finding a new website.  What interested me the most was that news and world views were no longer just in the media's hand, but in the consumers hands.  In this day and age there are so many blogs prototypes: product reviews,  day to day real life experiences, advice, political opinions.  The World Wide Web has enabled everyone to find answers at the click of a fingertip, but the one disclaimer we must all remember is that these websites are usually plainly opinions.  Yes, they are interesting, but are they the facts?


This is what I found myself pondering while observing these student blogs.  Who determined what was correct and appropriate.  I found one pretty cool website called Unhear It: it was created to help get rid of those annoying moments where you have songs stuck in your head.   It's a basic concept, play a randomly generated catchy song, yet I never would have guessed to look for this online.  

All of the blogs I reviewed appealed to a specific audience.  They didn't have to focus on everyone.  one type of person was enough.  I specifically loved Her Campus.  It reminded me of a Cosmopolitan Magazine made by bloggers.  And most importantly, all of the blogs sounded real.  Each had a unique voice and tone, much different from the next.  This is intriguing as a reader.


Blogs are the next generation.  They will continue to grow and expand in the marketing world due to all their potential.  Currently they're overlooked, but soon enough some one will discover exactly how to use them to reach consumers. And by this I don't mean in the ways we already have discovered; instead I mean unique, innovative ways.