Today, I made my second edit on the Vera Bradley wikipedia article. After the list of retired designs, there was a sentence that read:
"- -some retired colors you can still buy. They have them in many Hallmark stores and on the website[http://www.verabradley.com], only while supplies last, though."
I thought this sentence was poorly worded and also there was bad capitalization. I reworded the sentence, added some more information, and moved the sentence to the top of the section where it seemed to fit better. Now, the sentence reads like this:
"Once a pattern is retired, Vera Bradley will not produce additional items in that pattern, however, it possible to still purchase some retired patterns. Items made from retired patterns are available in many Hallmark stores and on the website[6], but are only available while supplies last."
I think that this new sentence sounds much less awkward and is easier to understand. My edit can be seen here.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
California Tortilla wiki edit #1
Today, I made my first wiki edit on the California Tortilla wikipedia article. Last year, I won a year's supply of free burritos so I've spent a lot of time at Cal Tort enjoying free burritos. Sadly, my year just ended but I figured I would commemorate the end of my free burritos by making a big edit on the wiki article.
Before I made my edit, the Cal tort edit had very little content. The article consisted of only a small paragraph with a few sentences about the restaurant and then a references list. For my first edit, I added a few sections to organize the page and then added some content. You can see my edit here.
These are the sections I added:
Locations
For the locations section, I wrote the following sentence:"Currently, California Tortilla has approximately 29 restaurant locations. They are located in 7 states (Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and Washington DC), however roughly half of the restaurants are in Maryland alone. The world headquarters is also located in Maryland, in the city of Rockville."
I also added links to the wiki articles for each of the states listed.
Atmosphere
I added this sentence under atmosphere:"The atmosphere in California Tortilla restaurants is "spunky" according the company itself. The restaurant is decorated in bright, bold colors and patterns. Simple things such as pens to sign credit card slips are held to the counter by a large heavy chain to add a fun edge. Signs are also worded in a more humorous way."
Menu
For the menu section, I added a list of various types of menu items. I also added a few sentences describing other key aspects of the menu. Finally, I added links to the wikipedia articles for some of the food items listed.
Promotions
Under the promotion heading, I wrote a few sentences about Cal Tort promotions, especially the grand opening promotions. I also added a list of some of the promotions that Cal tort does and then described them.
Finally, I edited the original intro paragraph to better match the content I added. I think that the content I added greatly improved the quality of the article.
Before I made my edit, the Cal tort edit had very little content. The article consisted of only a small paragraph with a few sentences about the restaurant and then a references list. For my first edit, I added a few sections to organize the page and then added some content. You can see my edit here.
These are the sections I added:
Locations
For the locations section, I wrote the following sentence:"Currently, California Tortilla has approximately 29 restaurant locations. They are located in 7 states (Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida and Washington DC), however roughly half of the restaurants are in Maryland alone. The world headquarters is also located in Maryland, in the city of Rockville."
I also added links to the wiki articles for each of the states listed.
Atmosphere
I added this sentence under atmosphere:"The atmosphere in California Tortilla restaurants is "spunky" according the company itself. The restaurant is decorated in bright, bold colors and patterns. Simple things such as pens to sign credit card slips are held to the counter by a large heavy chain to add a fun edge. Signs are also worded in a more humorous way."
Menu
For the menu section, I added a list of various types of menu items. I also added a few sentences describing other key aspects of the menu. Finally, I added links to the wikipedia articles for some of the food items listed.
Promotions
Under the promotion heading, I wrote a few sentences about Cal Tort promotions, especially the grand opening promotions. I also added a list of some of the promotions that Cal tort does and then described them.
Finally, I edited the original intro paragraph to better match the content I added. I think that the content I added greatly improved the quality of the article.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
ben's post
A few days ago, my teammate Ben made a post on his blog about a Clickz article entitled The Devolution of Online Advertising. Basically, the blog entry is about online advertising. It focuses on why online advertising has become so popular and what will be necessary to keep it that way. Specifically, the entry talks about how everyone frequently consumes online media- whether it be videos on youtube, or gossip articles about Paris Hilton. Ben argues that media consumption is an addiction, and gives the example of his roommates who go straight to their computers when they get home. I definitely agree with this. I personally am addicted to using the internet and spend hours daily using it for either email, news, communication, or entertainment. Since we spend so much time online, its a great window for advertising.
Ben does a really good job of summarizing the blog entry. He mentions what the author states as the four things necessary to continue the effectiveness of online advertising. Though he lists all four that the author stated, Ben states that being creative is the most important of the four. He says that as online advertising becomes more common and we are overwhelmed with it, the more creative ads will stand out. I agree with Ben as well. I think that its important to keep thinking outside of the box and making online ads stick out.
The only thing I have to criticize Ben for is that he said the title of the post was "The Devaluation of Online Advertising", instead of the Devolution. Its not really a big deal, but the author commented on his post and clarified. This shows how quickly people can read what you are writing. The author saw this post about his article and was able to quickly comment. Even though he made a slight error, it worked out well in the end and was something educational.
Ben does a really good job of summarizing the blog entry. He mentions what the author states as the four things necessary to continue the effectiveness of online advertising. Though he lists all four that the author stated, Ben states that being creative is the most important of the four. He says that as online advertising becomes more common and we are overwhelmed with it, the more creative ads will stand out. I agree with Ben as well. I think that its important to keep thinking outside of the box and making online ads stick out.
The only thing I have to criticize Ben for is that he said the title of the post was "The Devaluation of Online Advertising", instead of the Devolution. Its not really a big deal, but the author commented on his post and clarified. This shows how quickly people can read what you are writing. The author saw this post about his article and was able to quickly comment. Even though he made a slight error, it worked out well in the end and was something educational.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
VALS survey
Last week in class, we talked about the VALS survery. VALS is a marketing tool that classifies people based on personality traits. Using these classifications, businesses can develop strategies to effectively market to different classifications, as different types of personalities exhibit different types of consumer behavior. The VALS survey can show you what your VALS types are.
You can take the VALS survery online here. I decided to take the survey and blog about my results. According to the survey, I am a:
Striver/Believer
Your primary VALS type is Striver, and your secondary type is Believer.
According to VALS, the primary type represents the dominant approach to life while the secondary type is the particular emphasis you give to the dominant approach.
Here is some more information about my two classifications:
STRIVER
Strivers are trendy and fun loving. Because they are motivated by achievement, Strivers are concerned about the opinions and approval of others. Money defines success for Strivers, who don't have enough of it to meet their desires. They favor stylish products that emulate the purchases of people with greater material wealth. Many see themselves as having a job rather than a career, and a lack of skills and focus often prevents them from moving ahead.
BELIEVER
Like Thinkers, Believers are motivated by ideals. They are conservative, conventional people with concrete beliefs based on traditional, established codes: family, religion, community, and the nation. Many Believers express moral codes that are deeply rooted and literally interpreted. They follow established routines, organized in large part around home, family, community, and social or religious organizations to which they belong.
I agree for the most part with both of these. I don't really think I'm trendy, but I like to have fun and feel motivated by achievement. The one thing I disagree with definitely is the money issue. I don't think I'm very motivated by money (and if you knew what types of jobs I usually take, you'd definitely agree) and I also don't think I purchase products that show material wealth. I definitely agree with the Believer type. I think I am very idealistic and traditional. I definitely like established routines.
Taking this survey was really interesting and made me think about how my personality affects my purchase decisions.
You can take the VALS survery online here. I decided to take the survey and blog about my results. According to the survey, I am a:
Striver/Believer
Your primary VALS type is Striver, and your secondary type is Believer.
According to VALS, the primary type represents the dominant approach to life while the secondary type is the particular emphasis you give to the dominant approach.
Here is some more information about my two classifications:
STRIVER
Strivers are trendy and fun loving. Because they are motivated by achievement, Strivers are concerned about the opinions and approval of others. Money defines success for Strivers, who don't have enough of it to meet their desires. They favor stylish products that emulate the purchases of people with greater material wealth. Many see themselves as having a job rather than a career, and a lack of skills and focus often prevents them from moving ahead.
BELIEVER
Like Thinkers, Believers are motivated by ideals. They are conservative, conventional people with concrete beliefs based on traditional, established codes: family, religion, community, and the nation. Many Believers express moral codes that are deeply rooted and literally interpreted. They follow established routines, organized in large part around home, family, community, and social or religious organizations to which they belong.
I agree for the most part with both of these. I don't really think I'm trendy, but I like to have fun and feel motivated by achievement. The one thing I disagree with definitely is the money issue. I don't think I'm very motivated by money (and if you knew what types of jobs I usually take, you'd definitely agree) and I also don't think I purchase products that show material wealth. I definitely agree with the Believer type. I think I am very idealistic and traditional. I definitely like established routines.
Taking this survey was really interesting and made me think about how my personality affects my purchase decisions.
Friday, March 16, 2007
vera bradley wiki edit #1
Today I made my first edit on the Vera Bradley wikipedia article. In case you don't know, Vera Bradley is a company that sells purses, luggage and acessories. The company primarily targets women and is known for products that are customized with many different color patterns and designs.
The article is currently very basic and doesn't include a lot of information. There are just a few different sections of information, and there is a tag on the article stating that it "reads like an advertisement". Hopefully I can do my part to fix that.
Today I added a lot of information about different colors. I created a new subsection of a list and entitled it "Retired designs." Then, I rearranged some of the old bulleted items, added a few more groups of retired patterns, and organized the entire list. I think I added a decent amount of content, and can still see lots of room for improvement for the article.
My edit can be seen here.
The article is currently very basic and doesn't include a lot of information. There are just a few different sections of information, and there is a tag on the article stating that it "reads like an advertisement". Hopefully I can do my part to fix that.
Today I added a lot of information about different colors. I created a new subsection of a list and entitled it "Retired designs." Then, I rearranged some of the old bulleted items, added a few more groups of retired patterns, and organized the entire list. I think I added a decent amount of content, and can still see lots of room for improvement for the article.
My edit can be seen here.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
short or long?
Shel Israel, writer of Naked Conversations (one of the books that we are reading/discussing in class), is currently the writer of a blog called Global Neighbourhoods.
On March 12, 2007, Shel blogged a post entitled Blogging: Short v. Long. The article was in regards to the length of a recent blog post. Shel recently made a post giving an overview of his new book than included five sections, bringing the total word count to about 3,750. Readers have been complaining about the length, stating that "people are too busy now, to read all those words."
Basically, people are saying that two years ago when Shel wrote Naked Conversations, it was the norm to write really long blog posts, but now the novelty has worn off and short posts are the way to go.
Though Shel acknowledges this argument, in the end he writes that though some people may not like his long blogs, he will continue to do them because blogging has helped improve his books. Though it may hurt his "Technorati ranking", his goal of writing a great book is more important than improving his ranking.
I thought this post was really interesting for several reasons. First, we are reading Naked Conversations for class, so it is of course interesting to read a blog by the author. Next, I thought the issue of short versus long blogs is incredibly relevant to our class. I have noticed that when I check my bloglines subscriptions every day, I rarely read the incredibly long posts. Unless the title really interests me, I usually just skip over the blog posts that are ridiculously long. However, I also feel like there are several blogs that regularly post really short posts as well and sometimes I feel like those are almost pointless. I enjoy reading blogs that I can read in just a couple minutes. I get the point, learn something, but didn't have to spend 20 minutes reading.
I hope, however, that this blogging style works out for Shel. If his primary reason for blogging is to gain insight and criticism, then he should definitely continue to blog as long as he wants. It seems as if people are still reading his blog, so the small minority who want to complain can just continue to do so, and the others can continue to read tons about Global Neighbourhoods.
On March 12, 2007, Shel blogged a post entitled Blogging: Short v. Long. The article was in regards to the length of a recent blog post. Shel recently made a post giving an overview of his new book than included five sections, bringing the total word count to about 3,750. Readers have been complaining about the length, stating that "people are too busy now, to read all those words."
Basically, people are saying that two years ago when Shel wrote Naked Conversations, it was the norm to write really long blog posts, but now the novelty has worn off and short posts are the way to go.
Though Shel acknowledges this argument, in the end he writes that though some people may not like his long blogs, he will continue to do them because blogging has helped improve his books. Though it may hurt his "Technorati ranking", his goal of writing a great book is more important than improving his ranking.
I thought this post was really interesting for several reasons. First, we are reading Naked Conversations for class, so it is of course interesting to read a blog by the author. Next, I thought the issue of short versus long blogs is incredibly relevant to our class. I have noticed that when I check my bloglines subscriptions every day, I rarely read the incredibly long posts. Unless the title really interests me, I usually just skip over the blog posts that are ridiculously long. However, I also feel like there are several blogs that regularly post really short posts as well and sometimes I feel like those are almost pointless. I enjoy reading blogs that I can read in just a couple minutes. I get the point, learn something, but didn't have to spend 20 minutes reading.
I hope, however, that this blogging style works out for Shel. If his primary reason for blogging is to gain insight and criticism, then he should definitely continue to blog as long as he wants. It seems as if people are still reading his blog, so the small minority who want to complain can just continue to do so, and the others can continue to read tons about Global Neighbourhoods.
Monday, March 12, 2007
skype!
This past Monday, we had our first skype presentation. Toby from Diva Marketing joined us via skype to talk to us about blogs and marketing. Though we had a few technical difficulties at the beginning, overall it was really cool that we were having a live presentation from someone who wasn't in the building. Calling Toby on skype seemed pretty easy too.
Toby talked about social media and how it has changed how brands are perceived. One example she gave involved flickr, youtube and Burger King. She showed two examples of flickr and youtube presenting an image of Burger King that probably would not have been approved by BK. I thought that was really interesting because I have gone to youtube and flickr many times and have never really thought about how I might have a different perception of different brands as a result of different images I see.
When I found out that Toby was going to speak to the class, I was already interested because I had just blogged about her blog a few days prior. I commented about a blog post she made in regards to Starbucks. I really liked the design of her blog and her writing style, so I was excited to hear her presentation.
The presentation itself was really good, but then later when I was looking over her powerpoint slides again, I was surprised to find a screenshot of my blog! I then looked back and realized that Toby had actually commented on my blog a few days prior. She was using my blog as an example of the "Ying & Yang of The Conversation". I'm pretty sure we ran out of time right before we got to that slide, so I didn't even notice that slide until after the presentation. However, it definitely showed me how interconnected everything is online. It was really a funny/ironic experience so see my blog right there and have the example be really personal to me.
Toby, if you are reading this, thanks for the great presentation!
Toby talked about social media and how it has changed how brands are perceived. One example she gave involved flickr, youtube and Burger King. She showed two examples of flickr and youtube presenting an image of Burger King that probably would not have been approved by BK. I thought that was really interesting because I have gone to youtube and flickr many times and have never really thought about how I might have a different perception of different brands as a result of different images I see.
When I found out that Toby was going to speak to the class, I was already interested because I had just blogged about her blog a few days prior. I commented about a blog post she made in regards to Starbucks. I really liked the design of her blog and her writing style, so I was excited to hear her presentation.
The presentation itself was really good, but then later when I was looking over her powerpoint slides again, I was surprised to find a screenshot of my blog! I then looked back and realized that Toby had actually commented on my blog a few days prior. She was using my blog as an example of the "Ying & Yang of The Conversation". I'm pretty sure we ran out of time right before we got to that slide, so I didn't even notice that slide until after the presentation. However, it definitely showed me how interconnected everything is online. It was really a funny/ironic experience so see my blog right there and have the example be really personal to me.
Toby, if you are reading this, thanks for the great presentation!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
grey's wiki edit #2
Well, since my last Grey's Anatomy wikipedia edit didn't go very well (someone deleted it :( ), I decided I would try again! Hopefully, this edit will last longer, but the Grey's Anatomy wiki fans are pretty hardcore- tons of people change stuff and have pretty strong opinions about the whole thing.
This time, I just added a link to a different wikipedia article. In the trivia section, there is a list of instances in which Grey's Anatomy is referenced in other TV shows. One example of this occurs in the television show "The Office". All of the other examples include a link to the respective wikipedia article for whatever show they are referencing, so I changed the text that said "The Office" to a link to the wiki about The Office - just like that.
Even though it was a small addition, I think it makes the list more consistent and will help direct readers if they are interested in learning more about that show. You can click here to see my edit. (Hopefully its still there!)
This time, I just added a link to a different wikipedia article. In the trivia section, there is a list of instances in which Grey's Anatomy is referenced in other TV shows. One example of this occurs in the television show "The Office". All of the other examples include a link to the respective wikipedia article for whatever show they are referencing, so I changed the text that said "The Office" to a link to the wiki about The Office - just like that.
Even though it was a small addition, I think it makes the list more consistent and will help direct readers if they are interested in learning more about that show. You can click here to see my edit. (Hopefully its still there!)
Sunday, March 4, 2007
grey's wiki edit
Today I edited the grey's anatomy wikipedia article.There was a section in the article focusing on the new spin-off staring Kate Walsh. There is a good size paragraph with details of the spin off, but nothing is said about the cast's reaction to the idea of the spin-off. I added a sentence that says "It is rumored that the rest of the cast is not pleased with the spin-off and some are even upset because they thought that they would be the one chosen for a new show." It is very difficult to find something to add on the Grey's Anatomy wiki because it is so well done but I figured I would try to add that. I would not be surprised if someone removed it or edited it quickly but I thought I would give it a try!
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