If you own a wireless mobile device and if you're a food lover at the same time (who isn't?), then there is one more thing to be hAPPy about! An app from Canada Food Netwoork can now be downloaded onto your iPhone or iPod.
This app allows you to search for thousands of recipes from delectable desserts to sumptuous dishes. You can also view how-to videos, tips and techniques, and receive Recipe of the Day updates. What's more, you can also use its grocery list feature which will come in very handy when planning for your next meal.
What I like about the Canada Food Network app is its unique feature to help you search for very specific recipes. I am not just talking about typing a recipe name but it gives you different options to look for recipes by main ingredient; meal type/course; global cuisine; occasion; popular picks; and quick & easy. For example, let's say I'm planning for a special meal this coming weekend and I'd like to use beef as my main ingredient. All I have to do is touch 'Main Ingredient' on my search filters screen and touch 'ViewResults'. In a split second, I can now see that there are 83 results or 83 dishes making use of beef as a main ingredient. Each recipe is a file of its own complete with a list of ingredients, directions, and picture. It's also equipped with options to let you read any posted comments, rating, and available photos.
Should there be a particular recipe that you would like to share with family and friends, you can simply 'Add/Share' the recipe through your Twitter, Facebook, and email. You're also given other options to add your favourite recipe onto your 'Add to My Recipes' list or even onto your 'Add to Grocery List' if you happen to plan and buy the ingredients right away.
This app certainly follows the principles of persuasion which are:
Identification- It's very convenient and helpful to me. I get free recipes, watch helpful videos, and more! As a food lover and meal planner in the family, this app is certainly very helpful.
Clarity- I am very familiar with the logo. When I see the app, I know right away what it's for. The navigation buttons are very recognizable and the pictures of chefs from Canada Food Network let me recall the shows I've been following for a long time.
Action- I can easily view and check thousands of recipes at my fingertips. There's no need to look for a computer with internet access or even visit the website address of Canada Food Network to check for updates. Also, everytime I fancy a new recipe and would like to try it, I can easily manage my grocery list at the same time. Sharing recipes with friends and family members is very easy too, since there are option buttons for Facebook, Twitter, and email.
Familiarity and Trust- I have been a regular viewer of Canada Food Network for several years already. I also recognize the photos of chefs which allow me to recall their shows on television.
So if you don't have this wonderful app yet, now is the time for you to download it. Best of all, it's FREE!
There are certain mornings we find it just hard to get up from our beds and start off with our day. But once we’re in front of our computer or laptop screens, our fingers just can’t stop tinkering away those keys to share what’s been going on in our lives with the rest of the world.
The use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook, has been a vital part of most people’s lives including mine. Honestly, I have never thought that I would let social media be part of my life not until three years ago, when a friend invited me to join Facebook.
Although I have only been using Facebook for three years now and joined the Twitter community five months ago, I can say that there is still so much more to learn as I go along.
Twitter vs. Facebook
If you want to reach millions of people directly and would want to send short messages called “tweets” on any topic and likewise receive tweets from other people you choose to follow, then Twitter is the right one for you.
Twitter is a “micro-blogging” site that allows you to send short messages of 140 characters or less. Twitter allows you to send messages instantly, post a link to an interesting site, and ‘re-tweet’ someone else’s post/comment for others to see.
What I also find interesting about Twitter (and which makes it totally different from Facebook) is the fact that I can know of the latest news instantly. Since I follow a certain news organization, its tweets are all about news updates which I find very useful.
As with Facebook, it’s a totally different stage. As a social networking site, you enjoy communicating with your friends much deeper by sending and receiving emails; sharing photos and videos; writing comments or updates on your wall or someone else’s wall; and even allow for a string of discussions on a certain topic. Facebook also allows you to display or share your profile with others, which eventually becomes your ‘online resume’ (at least this is what I consider it to be). The site’s extensive privacy controls allows you to control which people can view your photos, videos, wall postings, profile, etc.
So if you like to keep in touch with your old friends and classmates way back in primary years, or better yet keep in touch with fellow co-workers, then Facebook is the right one for you. The great thing about Facebook is that it allows its users to create event or fan pages. If you have an important event coming up that you want to promote online and simply create more awareness among Facebook users (and even non-Facebook users), then a Facebook event page will be a good tool for you.
How do I use each one—at least for me?
Somehow by discussing the differences between Twitter and Facebook, you are already getting a grasp on how I use each one. Most of the time, I would use Facebook just because that most of my acquaintances, friends, and family are in it. I find it easier to share what’s going on in my life with others by posting a comment on my wall which allows them to give their feedback instantly. By putting up a comment on my wall also gives me the option to share a link, photo, video, event, and others. There are also third-party applications which I used long time ago like “send your friend a smile” but later on discontinued its use after learning that these third-party suppliers are not connected with Facebook in any way and uses my personal information for the purposes of their business. Overall, I don’t feel comfortable with this. So every time I receive a request to play a game or receive a virtual gift, (except for friend and event requests), I simply ignore it so I can better protect myself from a third party accessing any part of my personal information.
And so, how about my friends and family—how do they use each one?
For them, they would use Facebook more than Twitter because their friends, colleagues, and family members are on Facebook, too. Just like how I use each one, they use Facebook more for personal stuff since they can socialize more with it by sharing personal photos and videos. On Twitter, most have a combination of ‘strangers’ following them and people that they know of personally. Generally, they would tweet of things that could be of great interest to everyone, while they would communicate personal messages through Facebook. When asked what characterizes a ‘good’ person to follow or friend, the answers I got range from people who share the same school, company, interests, or even friends (on Facebook). As with people to follow on Twitter, the criteria is more varied and loose; some would follow people who they know personally or are in the same company or network they belong to; for the others, it’s a matter of common topics they’re interested in or simply finding that person popular enough to follow.
What do these all mean for a strategic use of Facebook and Twitter on PR?
If we have an upcoming event let’s say, the launching of a children’s book, a Facebook event page can be put up to invite potential guests to come. In Facebook you will be able to include more information about the event by putting up a promotional video and even a link to the actual website. If you are hoping to get more exposure let’s say, to your target audience of university students in Manitoba, your event page will be shown on the news feed of those people who recently responded to your event by way of leaving a comment on your wall or confirming their attendance. With Facebook, you can target more specific groups or networks of people who are more likely to be your target audience.
Generally what we are looking for in here are the different behaviours of people on how and why they use Twitter and Facebook distinctly to meet their individual purposes. As it turns out, Facebook for most is for sharing more personal information, messages, and interests. It’s basically a platform to ‘present’ oneself to others. As it becomes, one’s Facebook is like an online identification card and resume, promoting one’s interests, updates, and other information to other people. So if there is any event or product that you would like to create more awareness for and more direct responses from other people, then Facebook will be a good place to start. If it’s more for creating “buzz” for your event or product, Twitter will be a good platform solely because that the way the site allows messages to be sent through (in short lengths), people will readily be notified or updated—and if interested, a link can be provided or attached by the sender along with the original post. If it’s really more for the “buzz” and for the purpose of sending out the message in a way similar to word-of-mouth (this time it’s done virtually), Twitter gives you that benefit of sending out your message instantly to the public—allowing anyone to read it and give you the benefit of having let's say, hundreds of people to read it. Twitter will be very useful if you are meaning to send out the message to the general public and get feedbacks, responses, and even leads instantly. Remember, we can create more “buzz” on Twitter if used in the right way for the purposes of your PR plan—consider using “trending topics” when needed.
Here's a fun video on social media which you may find interesting- enjoy!
First impressions are not always right; that I learned when I was asked to set-up my own blog--now, here's what I have to say about this esciting way of communicating.
Sharing my thoughts and experiences to others has always been a big part of my life. At the very moment I entered the Creative Communications program here at Red River College, my life (in both ways) got simpler and more complicated at the same time.
I am a mother to two wonderful children, who demand my attention most of the time. But since they know that their mom goes to school everyday, they try to understand with their young minds that mom needs to do her homework most of the time especially in the evenings (and even weekends). It’s very comforting to know that as young as they are, they truly understand the situation we’re all in. I would also credit my husband for doing such a marvelous job for his unwavering support, and for looking after our kids most or all of the time.
My situation may not ring a bell to a lot of people, but I am pretty sure that the feelings of excitement and anticipation are common to those who have focused themselves to achieving a larger goal in life.
I am definitely a bona-fide student; tasked to do assignments, projects, and even meet deadlines. At the start of the term, my instructors in advertising and public relations encouraged us to start our own blogs and choose a theme of our own choice. I was quite intimidated at first because I had a negative impression about blogging.
First, I didn’t like the idea of posting my commentaries or thoughts towards a subject online, knowing that people who I don’t know, would read my posts and associate it to my name. It may be a state of paranoia, thinking that some people would find their way to find out more about me without my consent.
Secondly, I thought that blogging was just a waste of my time. Having a family to look after, part-time work and other commitments in the community, I just concluded that blogging was not my cup of tea--but I was wrong.
Right after my instructors told us the potential benefits of having our own personal blogs, I ventured out and did my research--I read other people's blogs, visited websites that talk about the subject and learned what makes a good blog. After I had done my 'homework', I realized that having a blog could do more good things and simply outweigh the bad ones--so long as I know where my blog is headed.
Another negative impression I had towards blogging is the possibility of making mistakes whether that be typographical in nature or simply a misinterpretation of a certain issue. I have been trained to go over my written works not just a few times, but a dozen times at least. I worked as a copywriter for over five years and in that position, I learned to be my best critic. But now since I put up my own blog, I learned to be more forgiving of myself whenever I make a mistake. I believe that since blogging is more of a personal journal, it’s not primarily meant to be judged by others although, correct spelling of words is still a must.
I believe that having a focus on one's blog is also essential. Although blogs are regarded as personal online journals, one should know where to draw the line between what is acceptable and not; one can share her views on a wide array of topics but that doesn't mean to say that one can talk whatever and however she wants; professionalism is still very important as well as good judgment.
In the midst of my busy and hurried life, I find blogging to be a good outlet for my thoughts especially on things that I am passionate about. And so, Heartstrings Winnipeg came about, to serve as a fulfillment to a requirement in school and most importantly, a medium to voice out my thoughts about certain issues.
My life may be more complicated now, having to balance between my studies and family, but blogging has certainly provided me a simpler way to share my thoughts and views to others--that I think is liberating!
Have you heard of Generation M? If you haven’t, it simply refers to today’s kids and teens who are the first totally ‘wired’ generation. They are the generation that is changing the world of marketing, technology, and communications as we knew it.
Look around and you will see kids and teens walking by with ear buds sticking to their ears; Or in the bus, pressing the keys of their mobile phones to send text messages; Or even see them sliding their fingers on the touch screens of their iPhones viewing on some cool pictures. These are just a few of those scenarios where you see kids and teens ‘connected’ to today’s technology.
Today’s kids are not just surrounded by today’s media and technology—they live and breathe it everyday.
Generation M is totally immersed in technology. An independent study from the Kaiser Family Foundation explored the daily media usage of over 2,000 children ages 8 to 18. The results show that children are engaged with media for an average of 6.5 hours a day. Because they multi-task, many are cramming 8.5 hours of media usage into those 6.5 hours.
Today’s kids and teens are not replacing “old” media; they are simply adding more media usage to their daily lives.Kevin Marks, software engineer and founding member of the Social Software Alliance, said it best: “My generation draws the Internet as a cloud that connect everyone; the younger generation experiences it as oxygen that supports their digital lives.”
It’s doubtful or even wishful thinking that media and technology will lessen as time passes by. I believe we will see the emergence of more technology to lure and capture every attention left with us. For sure, technology is moving at the speed of light (much faster than superman!) and carrying children along with it. The increase in world knowledge simply doubles each time around. This I think has a great advantage as well as a downside to it, especially when it comes to children’s learning.
We see the many benefits of today’s technology, making learning even more interesting and engaging. Growing up (I wouldn’t say when!), teachers from the private school where I attended used the reliable Betamax and VHS recorders to aid in the students’ learning. During those times, OHPs (or overhead projectors) were the ‘in’ thing for presentations. For the benefit of those who don’t know what OHPs are, this is an equipment that typically has a large box containing a very bright light and fan to cool it. Teachers would draw or photocopy their materials on transparency sheets, which they would place on the glass platform of the unit. The mirror above the lens of the overhead projector would then reflect the image. The use of such equipment saves teachers a lot of class time. But still, most of them would still resort to writing the lectures on the blackboards, wherein the students in the class would have to copy them in their notebooks (defined here as, ‘writing pads’ or ‘books made of paper’—surely, this isn’t the type of notebook you’re using now).
The good ol' overhead projector
Nowadays, I believe that there are a few schools which use OHPs. Once a fixture in classrooms, it is now replaced by large computer monitors, dedicated computer projection systems, and interactive whiteboards.
Adding to the difference that we see these days, kids and teens are taught in their schools with the use of multimedia which includes information content processing devices like computerized and electronic devices which can also be part of a live performance. Oftentimes, multimedia also describes electronic media.
Our kids’ education and learning are not only limited to the four walls of the school. Since the advent of the internet, learning has become dependent on what information can be drawn from different website content. Kids and teens these days can easily access information via mobile phones, notebooks or through the public library’s computers which have Internet access. The information drawn from all these devices makes learning accessible anytime, anywhere.
But how about the downside? In as much as kids and teens can access any kind of information, they might come across certain content that are inappropriate for their age, or things that require the supervision and guidance of adults. The Internet is a fun and enjoyable place to visit and draw all kinds of information from (and can be a great teacher, too!) but with improper use and handling, it can lead a child or teen to destructive behaviour and unhealthy practices.
All the other tech stuff we have (and enjoy) these days, can be great tools if we know how to use them properly. Still it is us who dictate how to use such technology, and not the other way around. I could discuss at great lengths regarding media and technology responsibility (and its many uses, functions and benefits). But there is one thing that I’d like everyone to know—such technology increases our knowledge. Now it is up to us, how we can responsibly use these things to serve its purpose and contribute to the betterment of our lives, especially the lives of our children.
