Tag: SLC

Beware the Blogosphere

Hey people! I’m still alive (barely) and I’m blogging again! This semester almost killed me but remember what doesn’t kill you will make you want to die. This is kind of a sequel to this post. Just because I like you guys, I’ll tell you what I’ve learned about blogging, about myself, about global audiences and I’ll answer the biggest question of all. Will I stay trapped in the blogosphere? I promise I won’t bore you. 

What did I learn about the art of the blog?

The blogosphere is a wild place. You realize you have so much to talk about and so many things you want to write about that it can be overwhelming. One thing I’ve learned is never to write for an audience. Write for yourself, and your audience will find you. Just ask Gary Vee. There are millions of people out there, and if you keep creating your honest and unique content, you will find your niche. Writing should always be for you, that is how you create great content and find your perfect audience.

What did I learn about my own writing?

I have been writing for most of my life, but recently I learned something about how I write. After rereading my writing and getting critiqued on it, I’ve noticed I never put any personality into my writing. It always lacks depth, emotion and anything that reflects who I am. I sound like a robot. It’s all so technical. Now that I see this I’m going to try to put more of my own unique personality into my writing to show people who I am. A good writer always leaves a piece of themselves in their work.

The worlds a blogging site

How many of you in this gaping void is going to read this?

Hi guys! I doubt hundreds of people will read this, but the possibility that there could be is startling. Whenever I feel scared of the big global audience, I remember that no one cares. That’s harsh, but I’ll explain. No one cares about the opinions of a 19-year-old girl. People may read my blog but what they think won’t hurt me. I may get a mean comment but in the grand scheme of things the “global audience” can’t hurt me, and it can’t hurt you either.

Me? A blogger?

Now finally the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The grand question! The answer to life, the universe and everything.  Will I continue blogging? I don’t know. Anticlimactic I know, let me explain.  I want to keep blogging. I love writing, and I have so many ideas for this blog that my brain is overflowing with them. I just don’t know if my schedule will allow it. If I am going to blog I want to dedicate myself to it and put my all into it. I promise that someday this blog will be so full of posts you’ll all be sick of me.

Wow, now that was a lot. I hope I’ve expressed to you all a bit more about me, about blogging and about what the future of this blog will be. I hope you all take a moment to think about who you are as a writer and who you want to be. Thank you for reading and Frank, please give me an A. Just kidding! Mostly. Please.

/https://www.pexels.com/photo/girl-writing-on-a-black-keyboard-6469/
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Beyond the Blogosphere

I never believed I would fall into the blogosphere, but here I am. In my computer skills for communicators course, my teacher Jackie had the class create WordPress blogs. Since then I have learned about what it means to be a new blogger, what an effective blog is and what it means to write for a global audience.

I never believed I would fall into the blogosphere, but here I am. In my computer skills for communicators course, my teacher Jackie had the class create WordPress blogs. Since then I have learned about what it means to be a new blogger, what an effective blog is and what it means to write for a global audience.

Now I’m a brand-new blogger with my first post being about my time in college. I will be blogging for class projects, but I hope to continue after that. I have spent countless hours designing this blog, so I can keep blogging after St Lawrence. Being the newbie that I am this blog isn’t perfect, but every day I learn more about being an effective blogger.

I have learned that to be an effective blogger you need to add a personal twist to make your posts unique. It shouldn’t be too long or hard to read because no one is coming to your blog looking for a whole novel. You should also give your readers something to think about by asking them a compelling question and so much more.

I’ve been writing for years as a hobby, but I’ve never thought about writing for a global audience. It’s scary letting people read my writing because it’s important to me, but it’s also exciting. I believe when learning you need to be critiqued and your work needs to be reviewed, so I look forward to hearing what others think. I will grow as a writer because of this blog and be able to share my passion for writing with others.

Now that I’m stuck in the blogosphere I know what’s it’s like to start on a new path when it comes to writing. Being a new blogger, writing effective blogs and having anyone in the world see my work will help me grow as a writer and teach me how to reach people with my writing. Now I have a question for all my fellow writers. What would it mean for you to start your journey beyond the blogosphere?

Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-using-typewriter-1262972/

Why Video Games are Good for You

Since the release of Pong 50 years ago video games have been a driving force in culture and entertainment. However, video games have also taken the blame for many of society’s issues. This blame is misplaced, and evidence has shown that video games are good for you.

Since the release of Pong 50 years ago video games have been a driving force in culture and entertainment. However, video games have also taken the blame for many of society’s issues. This blame is misplaced, and evidence has shown that video games are good for you. Video games improve people’s learning capabilities, help with mental illness, and the idea of video games causing violence is nothing but a myth.

Brain Training

A benefit of playing video games is that it trains the brain and improves the player’s ability to learn. According to the University of Rochester (2014), most video games depend on the player’s ability to predict, analyze, and find patterns. This trains us to make problem-solving templates and to retain data quickly. Creating templates and preserving data is how we learn. Studies show that players can create templates faster than non-players and that the effects of gaming last longer than other brain exercises (Patenaude, 2014). Games offer many learning benefits and help us in many ways.

Mental Health

Video games do more for the mind than help it learn; they also help those who are suffering from mental illness, specifically depression and anxiety. As stated before video games are brain training, which causes cognitive changes in the brain and gives players control over their depression. They also change how the brain handles depression and anxiety attacks (Khan, 2017). Gaming has a strong emotional effect, which helps with mental illness. Since I suffer from depression and anxiety, I know what it’s like to feel attacked by my mind and feel as if there is no escape. Videos games gave me joy by offering fun, excitement, beauty and satisfaction. Games gave me control and purpose when anxiety convinced me I could never have it. Without gaming,I don’t know if I would have gotten through the roughest parts of life and they gave me a chance to heal.

What people are getting wrong

Now, when violence is on every news broadcast, many people blame video games and gaming culture, which is wrong. Many think video games cause violence, but there is no proven link between them (Zendle, 2018). Excessive use of video games can cause mental harm, but this does not mean games are to blame; addiction to anything is harmful. A study written by David Zendle (2017), shows that people exposed to violent games are not more compelled to violence than people who are not exposed. The study showed that while video games affect how the brain functions they do not change behaviour (Zendle, 2018). Also, the idea thatthe world is more violent because of games is absurd when you consider history.We used to burn women alive, lynch people, and execute people in public. Humansare violent, and video games are not to blame.

Video games have taken the blame for society’s problems since their invention, and all the good they do is ignored. Gaming improves how people learn, helps those who suffer mental illness and does not cause violence, despite what many say. The stigma against video games helps no one, and the world could be a happier and better place if we focused on the good that video games can do.

Works Cited

Khan, S. (2017, June). Playing to beat the blues: Linguistic agency and message causality effects on use of mental health games application. In M. Guitton, Computers in Human Behavior (pp. 436-443). Elasvier.

Patenaude, M. (2014, November 10). Playing action video games can boost learning. Retrieved from University of Rochester: http://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/playing-action-video-games-can-boost-learning-78452/

Zendle, D. (2018, January). No priming in video games. In M. Guitton, Computers in Human Behavior (pp. 113-125). Elesvier.

The Death of Demographics

Things are changing in the world of marketing.

Things are changing in the world of marketing. No longer are we going by age, sex and ethnicities in marketing, Everything is being broken down into smaller and smaller categories, making marketing far more personal then it has been before.

http://www.brandquarterly.com/the-death-of-demographics-as-a-targeting-tool

How my life is changing at SLC

Coming to St Lawrence has caused a huge change in my life. Obviously.

Coming to St Lawrence has caused a huge change in my life. Obviously.

I’ve gone from living in a small town, working at Walmart every single day to living in a city I don’t know and going to class again after being out of school for a year.  The stress of assignments, the stretched out the class schedule and all the note taking has been hard to get used to. I had to leave my job, my routine and pretty much everyone I knew and I’ve had to completely step out of my comfort zone. The change has been hard and I have definitely struggled with it but its all been worth it.

Since coming here I have opened myself up to so many new things. I have met new and interesting people and have made friends who I adore. I have become more confident and have been able to fight against my anxiety enough to step outside of my comfort zone. The best part has been my classes. Every day I go to class and become a little more excited about my future. I enjoy all my classes, I find everything I’m learning so interesting and all my professors are amazing.  I’m so happy I made the choice to come here and learn about advertising and marketing. I don’t know what my future here will be but I have high hopes for it.