Friday, April 30, 2010
Torsten Kjellstrand
Torsten spoke to students and faculty about visual storytelling, highlighting the importance of possessing both technical skill with media technology and also an eye for building compositions. I found his presentation to be both informative and hands-on, showing that the skills and experience he has in photojournalism would be an important component to the experience future journalism students at WSU will have.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Questions for Eric Sorensen
1) How do you find out about stories like this?
2) How did you get into writing?
3) What got you interested in science writing?
4) Are there differences between science writing and non-science writing that are less-noticable from the outside?
5) Advice for graduating seniors looking for jobs?
2) How did you get into writing?
3) What got you interested in science writing?
4) Are there differences between science writing and non-science writing that are less-noticable from the outside?
5) Advice for graduating seniors looking for jobs?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Adapting to changing social media
Not much is needed to win a Nook eBook Reader from the Compton Union Building at WSU. The main requirements are simple enough: Log onto Facebook, add the CUB as one of your fanpages and leave a comment on it. Of course, only one of these digital book readers is to be awarded and the chances aren’t necessarily promising. But there still remains a draw for visitors of the page powerful enough to keep wall posts rolling in.
With new social media, advertisers are looking to develop new strategies of bringing attention to their product.
While the CUB may be doing just that, having a thriving base of commenting fans, many posts on the page’s wall feature content alluding to exclusive interest in winning prizes. From Monday, Apr. 19 to the evening of Wednesday, Apr. 21, 18 percent of the wallposts either mentioned an iPad or eNook, or were requesting to be chosen as the winner of the next competition.
These new strategies are not new–enticement to buy products, with the prospect of give-aways, has been common even to Internet Websites. Olive Garden’s Win a Culinary Tour of Italy, Travel Channel’s Trip a Month Sweepstakes, and T-Mobile’s El Llamado del Futbol Sweepstakes are all devout employers of this strategy. But now, this advertising method is being brought right into the social circles of the millions of Facebook members.
The future of Facebook
Facebook announced on Wednesday at the company’s annual F8 developer’s conference in San Francisco that changes to popular social networking site will incorporate a series of “social graphing” tools.
These tools are aimed at widening the sphere and reach of an individual’s content preferences. An example provided in the conference is creating more “Like” button tools on other site, like iMDB.com, which would, in the case of a user “liking” a piece of content such as a particular movie, automatically update the user’s Facebook favorite movies list. Individuals would be able to move their preferences, after accepting agreements to do so, between their preferred Websites they visit.
Phil McGuire, a network engineer for Seattle-based Spectrum Networks, said the move by Facebook is a step forward.
“It's very exciting to see the web being used in its intended form,” McGuire said. “Tim Berners Lee, often considered the Father of the Internet, has envisioned a linked open data web from day one. I think this would be a great step toward seeing that,” he said.
H&R Block strategy
Jason Falls, whose blog post on SocialMediaExplorer.com about H&R Block in 2008 refer to a similar theme, seemed to inadvertently forecast the current trend in social media advertising.
In Fall’s blog post, he noted the effective use of the tax company’s Twitter account to befriend him and engage in “human” dialogue. Falls continued, saying that:
“As it turns out, H&R Block not only gets the outreach portion of it, but has figured out a way to be 100-percent, totally marketing/advertising to people using social media tools and somehow pull it off. No, I wasn’t sure if it was possible, but I’ll be damned if I don’t like this campaign.”
Falls attributed the company’s ability to “pull it off” with using “honest/transparent, human, fun and engaging” strategy.
Criticism of CUB strategy
Some students believe the strategy used by the CUB’s fanpage admins is bringing in more visitors, but less valuable content.
“A lot of the comments mean nothing,” said Jared Johnson, a student employee of the CUB. “I don’t know if they’re getting the result they’re looking for,” Johnson said. “There is no guarantee that they [students] are looking at your content,” he added.
However, just like the H&R Block example, the admins of the Compton Union Building are also using a similar means of connecting with students outside of using the give-away method.
CUB strategy and the H&R Block method
Admins of the page frequently reply to the posts, even a few exclusively focused on winning the give-aways.
Replies are polite and “human,” ranging from answering questions about the Murrow Symposium that was hosted in the facility, to a simple “We had a good time too ;)” in reply to a comment that read “I had a good time chilling in you.”
Despite criticism, the CUB is building a base from which to gather more responses from students, both valuable and less so. In bigger terms, though, they are adapting to a time of constantly changing social networking.
With new social media, advertisers are looking to develop new strategies of bringing attention to their product.
While the CUB may be doing just that, having a thriving base of commenting fans, many posts on the page’s wall feature content alluding to exclusive interest in winning prizes. From Monday, Apr. 19 to the evening of Wednesday, Apr. 21, 18 percent of the wallposts either mentioned an iPad or eNook, or were requesting to be chosen as the winner of the next competition.
These new strategies are not new–enticement to buy products, with the prospect of give-aways, has been common even to Internet Websites. Olive Garden’s Win a Culinary Tour of Italy, Travel Channel’s Trip a Month Sweepstakes, and T-Mobile’s El Llamado del Futbol Sweepstakes are all devout employers of this strategy. But now, this advertising method is being brought right into the social circles of the millions of Facebook members.
The future of Facebook
Facebook announced on Wednesday at the company’s annual F8 developer’s conference in San Francisco that changes to popular social networking site will incorporate a series of “social graphing” tools.
These tools are aimed at widening the sphere and reach of an individual’s content preferences. An example provided in the conference is creating more “Like” button tools on other site, like iMDB.com, which would, in the case of a user “liking” a piece of content such as a particular movie, automatically update the user’s Facebook favorite movies list. Individuals would be able to move their preferences, after accepting agreements to do so, between their preferred Websites they visit.
Phil McGuire, a network engineer for Seattle-based Spectrum Networks, said the move by Facebook is a step forward.
“It's very exciting to see the web being used in its intended form,” McGuire said. “Tim Berners Lee, often considered the Father of the Internet, has envisioned a linked open data web from day one. I think this would be a great step toward seeing that,” he said.
H&R Block strategy
Jason Falls, whose blog post on SocialMediaExplorer.com about H&R Block in 2008 refer to a similar theme, seemed to inadvertently forecast the current trend in social media advertising.
In Fall’s blog post, he noted the effective use of the tax company’s Twitter account to befriend him and engage in “human” dialogue. Falls continued, saying that:
“As it turns out, H&R Block not only gets the outreach portion of it, but has figured out a way to be 100-percent, totally marketing/advertising to people using social media tools and somehow pull it off. No, I wasn’t sure if it was possible, but I’ll be damned if I don’t like this campaign.”
Falls attributed the company’s ability to “pull it off” with using “honest/transparent, human, fun and engaging” strategy.
Criticism of CUB strategy
Some students believe the strategy used by the CUB’s fanpage admins is bringing in more visitors, but less valuable content.
“A lot of the comments mean nothing,” said Jared Johnson, a student employee of the CUB. “I don’t know if they’re getting the result they’re looking for,” Johnson said. “There is no guarantee that they [students] are looking at your content,” he added.
However, just like the H&R Block example, the admins of the Compton Union Building are also using a similar means of connecting with students outside of using the give-away method.
CUB strategy and the H&R Block method
Admins of the page frequently reply to the posts, even a few exclusively focused on winning the give-aways.
Replies are polite and “human,” ranging from answering questions about the Murrow Symposium that was hosted in the facility, to a simple “We had a good time too ;)” in reply to a comment that read “I had a good time chilling in you.”
Despite criticism, the CUB is building a base from which to gather more responses from students, both valuable and less so. In bigger terms, though, they are adapting to a time of constantly changing social networking.
Outline
1. Lede
2. Nutgraf - CUB advertising strategy in social networks
3. Changing landscapes of social networking - Facebook F8 conference
4. H&R Block success story
5. Criticism of CUB strategy
6. CUB fits H&R Block model?
7. End- CUB is trying to adapt to chaning social networking
2. Nutgraf - CUB advertising strategy in social networks
3. Changing landscapes of social networking - Facebook F8 conference
4. H&R Block success story
5. Criticism of CUB strategy
6. CUB fits H&R Block model?
7. End- CUB is trying to adapt to chaning social networking
Sources
Phil McGuire (found online)
Network engineer - Spectrum Networks
(425)443-9127
Jason Falls (found online)
Blogger - SocialMediaExplorer.com
jason@socialmediaexplorer.com
Jared Johnson
CUB student employee
(509)520-5864
Network engineer - Spectrum Networks
(425)443-9127
Jason Falls (found online)
Blogger - SocialMediaExplorer.com
jason@socialmediaexplorer.com
Jared Johnson
CUB student employee
(509)520-5864
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
math practice
1. $78,850
2. 87%
3. 20%
4a. 25%
4b. 33%
5. 10.7%
6.
7. $280,000
8a. 20%
8b. 1%
9. 70 of 10,000 in Pullman v. and 20 in 10,000 in Spokane
10a. $790,600
10b. $207,000
11. margin of error
Response to the letter
Wickramatung's last letter offers words I think many preceding him in death in similar circumstances would have written had they thought of it. He showed that journalism, when done as he did, is a duty, and not necessarily just a job. I'm stunned at thinking about how ideals and ethics, if held to in earnest, will go down with you to the grave. I've already learned that if I was in it for the money, I wouldn't do it, but this also puts into perspective how far someone will go to live for what they say they believe in, and that challenges me to focus on being more intentional with my career goals.
Sustainability measures increase despite budget
Where a B- once crowned WSU’s sustainability report card only a year ago, a C has now replaced it. Dwight Hagihara, the manager of environmental services at WSU, said the results come partly from a report not being filed on student involvement by a student coordinator and also legal constraints dealing with shareholders.
Though flawed from having one section absent and another incomplete without an adequate shareholder base, the report still has some importance, Hagihara said. Found on the non-profit and nationally utilized college GreenReportCard.org website, WSU’s grade is explained based on survey results submitted primarily by Hagihara and concerning the University’s current sustainability measures during a year marked by concerns with budget issues.
Despite budget cuts in other WSU facets, however, the school’s Environmental Health and Safety department is looking ahead into 2010 to decreased energy costs and increased sustainability efforts.
As director of the EH&S, Hagihara knows the ins and outs of sustainability on campus.
In a conference room in the EH&S Department building on the edge of campus, Hagihara discussed with John Reed, the manager of environmental services, and Gene Patterson, the manager of public health/air and water quality, how even with cuts in the department’s budget, sustainable measures are still in place to save energy, water and money.
Hagihara said alternative building materials, energy and water saving measures and the implementation of recycled paper and paper reduction policies are contributing to a more sustainable campus culture, despite the possible misgivings of the online report card.
“A lot of these projects are preventing and eliminating waste,” he said. “We don’t like to waste energy, we don’t like to waster water. There is a tremendous push from the legislature and also from President Floyd to reduce paper use,” Hagihara added.
Reed said up-front costs for green alternatives are relatively small compared to the savings in money and energy generated through the current sustainable measures in place.
“Like energy conservation projects—they have a certain payback period, then after that, you’re essentially making money; saving money,” Reed said.
Water costs at WSU were cut by over 1,000,000 gallons in 2009 after equipment upgrades to two chiller plants and operational changes were made, according to the EHS annual report released at the end of last month.
Patterson noted that water usage was at its “second lowest since ’61,” a figure also ranking second lowest in nearly 50 states, according to a Feb. 2 WSU Today online article.
Money isn’t necessarily saved by the amount of water that is, though. In talking about saved water, Patterson noted that “cost wise, it’s cheap.”
“If you have to invest a whole lot of money to save this much water, it could be hard to justify,” Reed said. “Now what we did with this chiller plant, we’re saving all kind of energy money, and it’s just efficient in a lot of ways. So it’s cost effective, definitely,” he said.
Other sustainable measures on campus include the closure of Troy Hall, of which Reed said is going will likely remain “moth-balled” to save on energy until a solution for it’s use can be determined.
Hagihara said sustainability has three components the University focuses on.
“The one everybody thinks of is environmental,” Hagihara said. “There’s also economic and social. True sustainability should address those three issues,” he said. “It should be sustainable for the environment, for financially – economics, and for the social issues, so that no one group gets discriminated against. That’s the goal. There should be a balance,” he added.
Hagihara cited the WSU Dining Services purchasing of organic tortillas from a small Spokane company using wheat developed by WSU researchers as fitting the three-part sustainable model.
“The financial has got to be financially sustainable,” he said. “You don’t want to waste money. And nor do you want to have to benefit one group completely over another,” Hagihara added.
The Green Report Card did point out some shortcomings in the sustainability efforts.
“We’re bound by law on how our foundation and endowments are invested, Hagihara said. “That’s why we’re getting an F there,” he said of the shareholders section of the report. Hagihara said the University does not have the same freedoms universities have when it comes to shareholders and investments and legal issues need to be addressed in order to see change.
Even with the current sustainable measures on campus, the report card poses some problems to the University.
"It takes time and time is money," Hagihara said about filling out the reports and forms necessary to compile survey information for the report card.
Reed said another group asked for $700 as a donation for EH&S to prepare and submit reports, in a similar fashion to the Green Report Card.
“That’s how you get an A rating,” Patterson joked.
Reed said for other sustainability surveys, there isn’t an actual cost. “You don’t write out a check, but it’s time,” Reed said.
“If students are going out and reading the darned things, they’re going to make a decision about which university they’re going to go to--there is a marketing advantage,” Hagihara said.
“So like the Princeton Review has one, and we fill that one out for that reason,” Hagihara said. “But otherwise, as a manager of time and money, you have to ask yourself ‘what’s the cost benefit here?’ We’re responsible for state funds. You don’t want us to waste money, either. We’ll spend time with students,” Hagihara concluded.
Though flawed from having one section absent and another incomplete without an adequate shareholder base, the report still has some importance, Hagihara said. Found on the non-profit and nationally utilized college GreenReportCard.org website, WSU’s grade is explained based on survey results submitted primarily by Hagihara and concerning the University’s current sustainability measures during a year marked by concerns with budget issues.
Despite budget cuts in other WSU facets, however, the school’s Environmental Health and Safety department is looking ahead into 2010 to decreased energy costs and increased sustainability efforts.
As director of the EH&S, Hagihara knows the ins and outs of sustainability on campus.
In a conference room in the EH&S Department building on the edge of campus, Hagihara discussed with John Reed, the manager of environmental services, and Gene Patterson, the manager of public health/air and water quality, how even with cuts in the department’s budget, sustainable measures are still in place to save energy, water and money.
Hagihara said alternative building materials, energy and water saving measures and the implementation of recycled paper and paper reduction policies are contributing to a more sustainable campus culture, despite the possible misgivings of the online report card.
“A lot of these projects are preventing and eliminating waste,” he said. “We don’t like to waste energy, we don’t like to waster water. There is a tremendous push from the legislature and also from President Floyd to reduce paper use,” Hagihara added.
Reed said up-front costs for green alternatives are relatively small compared to the savings in money and energy generated through the current sustainable measures in place.
“Like energy conservation projects—they have a certain payback period, then after that, you’re essentially making money; saving money,” Reed said.
Water costs at WSU were cut by over 1,000,000 gallons in 2009 after equipment upgrades to two chiller plants and operational changes were made, according to the EHS annual report released at the end of last month.
Patterson noted that water usage was at its “second lowest since ’61,” a figure also ranking second lowest in nearly 50 states, according to a Feb. 2 WSU Today online article.
Money isn’t necessarily saved by the amount of water that is, though. In talking about saved water, Patterson noted that “cost wise, it’s cheap.”
“If you have to invest a whole lot of money to save this much water, it could be hard to justify,” Reed said. “Now what we did with this chiller plant, we’re saving all kind of energy money, and it’s just efficient in a lot of ways. So it’s cost effective, definitely,” he said.
Other sustainable measures on campus include the closure of Troy Hall, of which Reed said is going will likely remain “moth-balled” to save on energy until a solution for it’s use can be determined.
Hagihara said sustainability has three components the University focuses on.
“The one everybody thinks of is environmental,” Hagihara said. “There’s also economic and social. True sustainability should address those three issues,” he said. “It should be sustainable for the environment, for financially – economics, and for the social issues, so that no one group gets discriminated against. That’s the goal. There should be a balance,” he added.
Hagihara cited the WSU Dining Services purchasing of organic tortillas from a small Spokane company using wheat developed by WSU researchers as fitting the three-part sustainable model.
“The financial has got to be financially sustainable,” he said. “You don’t want to waste money. And nor do you want to have to benefit one group completely over another,” Hagihara added.
The Green Report Card did point out some shortcomings in the sustainability efforts.
“We’re bound by law on how our foundation and endowments are invested, Hagihara said. “That’s why we’re getting an F there,” he said of the shareholders section of the report. Hagihara said the University does not have the same freedoms universities have when it comes to shareholders and investments and legal issues need to be addressed in order to see change.
Even with the current sustainable measures on campus, the report card poses some problems to the University.
"It takes time and time is money," Hagihara said about filling out the reports and forms necessary to compile survey information for the report card.
Reed said another group asked for $700 as a donation for EH&S to prepare and submit reports, in a similar fashion to the Green Report Card.
“That’s how you get an A rating,” Patterson joked.
Reed said for other sustainability surveys, there isn’t an actual cost. “You don’t write out a check, but it’s time,” Reed said.
“If students are going out and reading the darned things, they’re going to make a decision about which university they’re going to go to--there is a marketing advantage,” Hagihara said.
“So like the Princeton Review has one, and we fill that one out for that reason,” Hagihara said. “But otherwise, as a manager of time and money, you have to ask yourself ‘what’s the cost benefit here?’ We’re responsible for state funds. You don’t want us to waste money, either. We’ll spend time with students,” Hagihara concluded.
# # #
Outline
1. Lede
2. Nutgraf - current budget v. sustainability
3. Sustainability measures
4. What is sustainability?
5. Back to the report card
2. Nutgraf - current budget v. sustainability
3. Sustainability measures
4. What is sustainability?
5. Back to the report card
Sources
John Reed
Manager of Environmental Services
johnreed@wsu.edu
Dwight Hagihara
Director of Environmental Health & Safety
hagihara@wsu.edu
Gene Patterson
Manager of Public Health/Air & Water Quality
gpatters@wsu.edu
Manager of Environmental Services
johnreed@wsu.edu
Dwight Hagihara
Director of Environmental Health & Safety
hagihara@wsu.edu
Gene Patterson
Manager of Public Health/Air & Water Quality
gpatters@wsu.edu
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Story pitch
The story I'd like to work on focuses on WSU's sustainability efforts during the current economic climate. This year WSU's sustainability grade on the sustainability college report card dropped. What I'll talking about is how WSU is working through keeping sustainability efforts up despite working with their current budget... this includes meeting silver LEED certifications for building and renovation projects, dining hall food purchase standards, etc. The question will be whether the university is able to continue choosing green and more costly options over cheap and more non-recyclable ones.
Some possible sources to look at:
Survey results for the sustainability report card
WSU Environmental Management System Report
American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment
Silver-LEED minimum building requriements
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