Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Donate to the Extraordinary Tigers for Tigers Challenge

MU and Clemson and Auburn universities recently teamed up to raise funds for tiger conservation. The program, which is a collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund, collects donations to use in assisting the tigers and humans who coexist in tiger habitat.

Listen to a podcast about the fundraising challenge and learn why tigers need your help.

For more information about the fundraising challenge or to donate, go to the World Wildlife Fund Web site.

Visit Tiger Garden

Although Valentine's Day was last week, here is a podcast I created to show how Tiger Garden, MU's student-operated floral shop, was preparing for the day.

Enjoy!

Saturday, February 2, 2008

My introduction to podcasting

I consider myself to be fairly current on what’s happening in technology. Before this assignment, for instance, I knew about podcasts, but I had never actually listened to one. So my first podcast download was an interview with Lidia Bastianich on “One on One with Victor Hogstrom,” a locally produced Kansas City PBS show. My experience with the podcast was good. It consists of audio of the TV show in its entirety. Therefore, I can see it being used as a way for regular show viewers to catch up on missed episodes, or people who are busy during the show’s timeslot can now listen to the program at their leisure. On the other hand, the show might consider changing the online content to include additional features and interviews that can’t be seen on TV. With that change, both regular viewers and podcast-only listeners are likely to be driven to the site.

In an introduction to podcasting reading from the “How Stuff Works” site, I was very interested to find out that podcasts don’t have to comply with Federal Communications Commission rules. I think the government should be allowed to filter indecent material on podcasts just as it does on the radio. Don’t get me wrong; I value free speech, but I think decency in material posted on the Web, even in the form of podcasts, should be a top priority, too.

Additionally, I think podcasts open opportunity for unique content to be tailored to unique audiences. Podcasts are another way for individuals to create online communities and share information. With the availability of more content, the strategic communications industry changes along with journalism. Now, public relations and advertising professionals have new chances to reach audiences with their messages.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Columbia's winter weather


Columbia residents experienced snow and strong wind gusts this afternoon. While yesterday felt more like an early spring day, temperatures dropped shortly after 9:30 this morning to remind us all of winter.




Friday, January 25, 2008

Blog Analysis

The blog I chose to review is Small Planet Partners. The blog’s content addresses the evolving tactic of word of mouth marketing, where advertisers attempt to build buzz about a product or service and consumers spread the news through their personal networks. The blog presents relevant, up-to-date news about changes in the communications industry. In addition to this information, the blog touches on news about advertising and marketing campaigns that have garnered media attention.

The post about Nielson’s advertising effectiveness survey shows that word of mouth marketing is an increasingly strong tool to integrate into a marketing communications plan. In that survey, 78 percent of respondents indicated that consumers more highly regard information from fellow consumers than other information sources. In an agricultural environment, I could see this as being very true. If a farmer finds a revolutionary product and shares information about it, his friends and colleagues are likely to at least further investigate the product and might even try it.

After looking at this blog and previewing its content, I see how blogs in some ways can act as an aggregation of related information. If an agriculture communications specialist, or anyone in marketing, was interested in sources related to word of mouth marketing, the previous blog would be a good starting point for finding information. Additionally, the blog allows readers to add comments, which would further stimulate discussion about a post’s topic.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

First Blog Post

This is my first blog post!