Slice of Life Writing Process: Tips and Challenges

When I wrote an article on a classmate,  I conducted a heavy amount of interviewing, researching, and communicating. For my slice of life assignment, I wrote about Veronica's study abroad experience with sports marketing in the United Kingdom. As I researched and wrote, I had to utilize interview techniques, grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules, and other tips from COMM231: News Writing and Reporting for Public Relations.

A Comparison of Interview Techniques:

Veronica and I first met in person for the interview. I prepared a list of interview questions, but our interview flowed more like a conversation. I still tried to touch on all of my questions, but I preferred this conversational style of interviewing because I was able to get better stories and details from Veronica. I did not record the interview because I felt that it would interfere with the natural flow of our conversation. However, that meant I had to rapidly take notes, and it was inevitable that I would miss some information. Consequently, after we met in person, we used Facebook and text messages to ask follow up questions, such as:

• How have you used what you learned abroad at home?
• Why do you think study abroad experience is important?
• How did you balance the academic and social aspects of the trip?
• What's your favorite color, your favorite book, the best advice you've ever received, your hero, and your career aspirations? (Used for the facts box)

Using social media and technology was a convenient way to communicate because we didn't have to meet in person to get additional information. I confirmed the accuracy of my primary source in two ways: first, I called Hilda, Veronica's mother and second, I looked through Veronica's photo album of her trip.

Veronica used the same techniques as I did, and we both were successful in conducting quality interviews.

Style Challenges

• I checked for spelling errrs in our When Words Collide text.
• I referred to the AP Stylebook and The Diamondback style guide for general grammar, spelling, and punctuation rules.
• I went over the sample assignments on Blackboard for formatting my own assignment.

 Writing Tools

• WrTl#3: I used strong verbs to evoke a sense of action and excitement.
• WrTl#13: I chose some unusual but generally understood vocabulary to keep my story energized.
• WrTl#10: My first draft of the story was 380 words, and then I cut out all of the unnecessary vocabulary and phrases to make my writing more concise. 
• WrTl#23: I read the first draft of my story to two of my friends, who told me that it sounded clunky and to change the ending.

Mapping the Writing Process 

First, I reviewed my notes from the NewsU Councilwoman lab and prepared a list of open-ended questions to ask Veronica. As I interviewed Veronica, I used several interview techniques I learned from the exercise to conduct a quality interview. I contacted Hildy and looked at Veronica's photo albums on Facebook to confirm the accuracy of information. One of the photos I came across is to the right. I then used my notes from the interview to pick out main ideas and followed up on sparse topics. Using all of my notes, I found a focus to begin my story. I picked out quotes from my notes that would support the main point. I referred to my notes from the NewsU Lead Lab Jumper exercise to write my lead. I organized my story in a way I thought to be most effective: with a descriptive lead, elaboration on the trip, and then a circle/future-action kicker. I wrote my first draft and read it to my friends. I then revised and clarified by deleting unnecessary language and ideas.

Tips

PowerPoint: I referred back to lecture slides to refresh myself on leads, endings, and interview techniques.

When Words Collide: I used the chapter on clarity, conciseness and cohesiveness to make sure my story followed the three C's.

Rich text: I reread chapters about news values, story organization, and leads and nut grafs before I wrote my own for my story.

NewsU: I utilized the skills I learned in the Lead Lab and Councilwoman Interview exercise to write my story.

Rise of New Media Pushes Corporations to Adapt Marketing Strategies to Be More Interactive

The rise of new media over recent years has dramatically changed the way people interact with one another, which, in turn, empowers customers to take an active role in corporate marketing. Consumers today are directors on YouTube, retailers on eBay, advertisers on Facebook, and authors on Wikipedia. According to a 2010 study, customers have become “highly active partners, serving as customers as well as producers and retailers.” The rise in new media challenges old established business models that provide no opportunity for customer feedback or interaction.

The study lists 6 criteria for new media: digital, pro-active, existing in real-time, ubiquitous, and using networks; examples would include Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Blogspot. The study examines how the rise in social media has enabled consumers to go beyond business’s traditional expectations, which pushes corporations to adapt their marketing strategies to this changing relationship.

Ted Matherly, a marketing PhD student studying consumer behavior, agrees that the rise in new media has redefined old established marketing models.

Whereas old business strategies solely aim to create awareness for a particular brand or company, new advertising techniques attempt to engage customers to endorse products to others. If a person uses social media to endorse a product, then someone in their network may see the endorsement and decide to advertise the product in their own network. Thus, the popularity of the brand grows exponentially and reaches people from all different networks.

Zachary Arens, a marketing PhD student specializing in consumer attitudes measurement, also notes that social media allows for better communication between businesses and customers.

Because marketing has become less about broadcasting and more about interaction, businesses can address customers’ demands more efficiently and effectively. However, not all businesses realize the benefits of turning to social media. Mr. Arens notes, “There’s a lot of failures where firms want to take the old approach, and they’re often really unsuccessful at it. They should take more of an approach where they work directly with bloggers and people on Facebook, and use this new media to get their message out in a social media environment.”

Dr. Bill Rand, assistant professor of marketing at University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith Business School explains that when corporations utilize new media, they capitalize on the fact that other people’s opinions have a large effect on what consumers buy.

Social media allows users to clearly see what other people are talking about, which affects what they think of a certain brand. If companies utilize this aspect of social media successfully, then their brand gains a substantial amount of endorsement and feedback through reblogs, tweets, and Facebook posts.

Similarly to Mr. Arens, Dr. Rand believes that firms must adapt to these changing ways of communication or get left behind. A company that adapted particularly well to these changes is Old Spice.

Whereas Old Spice was previously marketed for older men, the company used the rise in new media to capitalize on the opportunity to attract a younger generation. The Old Spice commercials have become viral videos, spread throughout YouTube.

The effect of social media has reached the marketing strategies of University of Maryland’s Student Entertainment Events (SEE), which coordinates events such as concerts, comedy shows, movies, lectures, and performing arts for the student body. Seth Backer, marketing director of SEE, talks about the effect of social media on SEE’s advertising techniques.

Over the years, SEE has become increasingly more involved with social media and, as a result, refining its advertising techniques within social media. Whereas advertising through Facebook used to mean inviting people to events, SEE directors now promote events by changing their profile pictures to advertisements for upcoming events and updating their statuses with a link to the event page.

While SEE is still exploring Twitter and Blogspot, social media offers a promising way to successfully advertise for events.  As Mr. Backer pointed out, all of SEE’s involvement with social media makes the organization seem more personable - an effective strategy that takes an interactive approach with audiences.

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According to Pew, 82 percent of 18-29 year olds use some form of social networking. Because SEE is an organization aimed at providing entertainment for college students, its use of Twitter, Facebook, and Blogspot is especially effective in reaching UMD students.

According to expert opinion, the study is valid in asserting that the popularity of new media has a significant effect on consumer relationships. This rise in new media gives users the opportunity to provide information for their own services and products, which threatens old established business models and marketing strategies. Although new media forces businesses to adapt to accommodate the more active role of consumers, new media also provides endless opportunities to create new means of communication and connect with costumers.

Gemstone Team Improves Communication for the Blind

 Nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions and hand gestures, are an integral part of communication. Yet, for a visually-impaired person, these nonverbal cues are unreadable, which handicaps social interaction capabilities. But what if there was a device that could fix that problem?

A team of University of Maryland students are creating exactly that. Team FACE (Facial Analysis for Communicating Expression), part of the four-year honors program Gemstone, have created a prototype that converts nonverbal messages into audio and tactile feedback. Using facial recognition and expression analysis, the device can relay the names of frequent communication partners as well as their facial expressions, which are organized within the six universal expressions: happiness, sadness, disgust, surprise, fear, and anger.

Melissa Nathanson, a member of the team, describes how the team conducted their research: "We have their white cane, and we mounted a camera on the top of it, while the camera is running facial recognition and expression recognition computer code." The team also conducted surveys with both sighted and visually impaired people. After researching and interviewing, the team successfully created a working prototype.





Assistive technologies such as screen reading software, reading devices, and specialized appliances have made daily life a lot easier for the visually impaired. Yet, Team FACE is the first to develop a device that specifically targets the way blind people communicate with sighted partners, which is a vital aspect of daily life that has gone unaddressed until now.



This device is an invaluable contribution to the field of communication because it opens up a world of opportunities for the visually impaired. By giving them the capability to interpret nonverbal cues, blind people can develop the same skill in communication that sighted people naturally possess.



Although there are some kinks that Team FACE still needs to work out, the device is functioning fairly well and will hopefully become commonly used in the future.



In the field of communication, it is necessary to be able to accurately interpret nonverbal behavior and respond appropriately. Until now, the blind community had no way of doing so. The creation of this device allows visually impaired users to become more skilled in communicating - which will not only improve day-to-day interactions but give blind people more opportunities to  pursue careers in law, public relations, management, politics, advertising, and many other fields.

Although the device could not be videotaped, Team FACE will present their device at the spring 2012 Team Thesis Conference.

Washington DC's Top Music Stations

Music entertainment is essential to the radio business. According to a Radio Advertising Bureau study, 70% of people prefer music over other forms of radio. The D.C. area has over thirty music radio stations that serve a variety of musical tastes, but, for college students in D.C., popular music stations include WIHT Hot 99.5, WWDC DC101, and WRQX Mix 107.3.

Hot 99.5 ranks as the number one music station in D.C. and the number two overall station behind D.C.'s dominant radio station, WTOP 103.5. Because Hot 99.5 plays top 40 ranking contemporary music, the station can often be heard blasting from the windows of a teenager’s car.

Philip Ahn, student blogger, explains how the popularity of Hot 99.5 can be linked to D.C.'s urban culture.

DC101 plays music in the alternative-rock genre. The station's slogan “D.C.’s Rock Station” suits Arbitron’s ranking of DC101 as the top “alternative” music station in Washington D.C. The station places ninth in most-listened-to music stations and eleventh in overall radio stations.

For Mix 107.3, the slogan is “80s, 90s, and today’s best hits!” As the slogan says, listeners can tune in and hear adult contemporary music spanning the past 30 years. Nonetheless, Mix 107.3 seems to play more current music, due to the need to appeal to popular interest. According to Arbitron, Mix 107.3 is the fifth most popular music station and seventh most-listened-to overall station in the D.C. area. In fact, Mr. Ahn considers Mix 107.3 his favorite station because its variety in music selection allows listeners to enjoy several different music styles, rather than one specific genre.
 

Although country is the current number one radio format in the U.S., this is not the case for the D.C. area. According to Arbitron, country radio station WMZQ 98.7 ranks eighth among all D.C. music radio stations. Evidently, country radio cannot top the popularity of Hot 99.5's contemporary hits. Mr. Ahn speculates that the reason for this gap between preferences can be attributed to D.C.'s metropolitan culture.



For the D.C. area, Hot 99.5 still reins supreme in the realm of music radio. In fact, D.C.'s urbanized culture may be the reason why top 40 contemporary hits are so popular. With 70% of people preferring music radio over all other forms of radio, music entertainment remains a crucial element of radio business.