What makes a good Blog

                   There are many ways Layout and Design can make a Blog

     Each blogger has a different way of looking at how they want to get their thoughts and messages to an audience. Layout and Design is an important element. A good blog captures the reader’s interest through the use of graphic elements and by using an effective layout. From type font to images how well a blog uses them will keep the reader’s attention. “Readers should never have to work to find what they’re looking for on your blog – “Don’t Make Me Think” still holds true. That means you should have effective navigation.” (WebDirect, 2012) Putting all the pieces together will make your blog worth reading.

    When looking at the blog’s being created in our class one can see many styles and likes. Each has its own unique feel to it. When you build your blog you are also building your audience. Each audience that follows a blog is unique. A niche audience looks for information that is particular to their interest. As a successful blogger your community of followers will grow if your site is informative, easy to use and has a professional feel to it.

                                              Now…….     What makes our blogs good?

Critiques of our Communications Class Blogs:

http://affairsofthemindandheart.blogspot.com/

        I like the title of the Blog. It makes you want to see more on the theme and message of the blog. The landing page graphic from the story “Creating a Blog” had the right amount of impact. The use of a background and then using a lighter shade to accentuate it was not overpowering. The layout is simple and easy to use. Layouts should make the reader move through the blog like a book or magazine.  Type font works with the color of the background

http://sphoncommunicationtips.blogspot.com/

 The layout is good; it is clean and not cluttered. The graphics of the birds help break up the background. The only thing is that do you think your eye follows them off the page. One suggestion I would offer is  that unsure if they could come from the other side, and then they would act like a leading line to take the reader to the story. Overall it’s very clean. I would like to see a few more graphic elements to break up the blocks of type. I like using leading lines in a layout. It provides direction to the reader’s eye. One lesson we had was people surfing blogs don’t spend much time on site if there is an overwhelming amount of type with no breaks in it.

http://tesfayef-musings.blogspot.com/

       Your Blog is defiantly straight to the point. The headline grabs the reader and lets you know what the themes are. What I like is the type and fonts are clean and are easy to read. By shading the background you don’t overwhelm the reader. I find some blogs go too dark on the back ground color that your eye is distracted. As a personal preference the green distracts a little to me, but then that is a personal preference. I think the shading should be neutral like a gray of  light color. I would like to see some other graphic items to break up the scrolling of a long page of text.

                                        Summary

            Blogs are an expression of the creator. In my blog I hope to make a pleasing layout that takes the readers interest and has them stay on the site. The art needs to stop a reader like a lead photo does in a magazine or newspaper. Headlines need to be quick and spur interest. If the headline can make the reader want to know more they will start reading the information. Clean layouts need to help achieve that. If it is cluttered or distracting the reader will lose interest and click away. Overall I need to find a balance on my blog in layout and design. In our class our blogs all show great examples of the use of colors and balance of the material. Most of all I see that incorporating good layout and design principles is a factor, but your information needs to be strong. One of the number one written keys to a good blog is stated as, “Easy to read content is one of the most important elements of an effective blog design. Large font size, contrasting colour against the background, sufficient line and paragraph spacing are some ways to ensure content is easy to read.”(KronikMedia, 2011)

             References

Kronikmedia, (2011) 15 elements of a great blog

                        Retrieved on line from Kronikmedia.co, May 26. 2012

                        http://www.kronikmedia.co.uk/blog/15-elements-of-great-blog-design/2133/

WebDirect, (2012) Creating an effective Blog

                     Retrieved online from Webdirect online, May 26. 2011

                     http://webitect.net/blogging/creating-an-effective-blog-design/

Delivering Bad News Tactfully and Effectively

      Providing good customer service is a must for any business to survive. Your employees are crucial to that success. As a good supervisor you owe it to your employees to provide them with constructive feedback on their performance. In that you should be constantly developing your employees so a situation on whether to terminate does not arise. If an employee falls behind, and their behavior effects performance to a point it makes a negative workplace, communicative action must be clear to all involved.  The company’s goals are important, and can be jeopardized if; counseling is not effectively communicated to correct the deficiency.

       In the provided scenario you have an employee that for the last two years is still operating at a substandard level. The first step as the supervisor will be to gather information on the employee. This information would consist of their skill level, and has there been any continuing counseling that he or she has fallen behind. I would first get with the Human Resource Office to make sure there are no other instances that have been documented as in warnings and performance evaluations.  In any counseling session that is of a negative aspect you need documentation to develop a plan or any warnings on firings.

      After gathering the needed records and documents I would also want to know the extent of the customer service complaints. This is important for if the company is having the person work in an area that he or she is not qualified for that could be a cause in the issue. Documented customer feedback will also aid in the meeting with the employee to avoid he said she said disagreements. After gathering enough information I would set up a meeting with the employee.

  

       In the initial meeting there should be an open discussion with the employee. At first you need to be upfront with the employee and let them know that there are some serious concerns that management has, and that performance is affecting the overall goals of the company.  The employee will probably be very defensive or even hostile. As the supervisor you need to be firm and straightforward. This is also a time now to practice the S-TLC system which is an acronym for Stop, Think, Listen, and Communicate.  In that system as the supervisor you will want to listen to the employee views of the current situation. Listening skills are crucial. How I’m viewed in taking concern of the employee’s viewpoint will help them accept the credibility of whatever my final decision is. It will also help de-escalate any tensions in the meeting.

   In the counseling session I will need to separate the person from the problem. No matter my personal feelings or preconceived notions the supervisor must focus on the problem. In the text book Managing Conflict Through Communication, this is described as

“One of the most important actions we can take in a conflict is to keep our perceptions of the other person separated from our perceptions of the problem or issue. It is easy in a conflict to confuse how we feel about the issue with how we feel about the person involved with it. Because this can work in either positive or negative ways, our like or dislike of a person can cloud our decision-making processes.”(Cahn & Abigail, R. 2007)

By adhering to that principle and using effective listening skill to the problems laid out to the employee a training plan can be implemented. If this is a long list of documented problems and there has been numerous warning that have not led to improvement then it would be time to terminate.

    

     If the company was remiss in not helping the employee in identifying weak area, this would be a good time to outline an improvement plan and timeline. Taking the employee concerns in during the listening phase and determines that if there is no improvement than this will lead to termination. In a situation like this one needs to communicate effectively. There is a time to be to the point. When an employee falls behind your communications is important. If they are not effective or ignored the situation will arise over and over.

   

Media technologies....who's audience

"The way new media technologies are providing audiences with content has changed the way the end user now has unprecedented control over the media it consumes. There are four types of media technologies that I looked at, Broadcast TV, Radio, Internet and social media platforms. Each is unique how it can reach an audience. "

  The Web becomes Social: The two that have had the most influence in recent times are the internet and Social media. Social Media is the use of twitter, blogs, and face book. These platforms are for the user who wants their content on the go or instant. Even though we associate the social media web with younger audience you can also reach older audiences. In a social realm you can direct your message to social media sites that have a certain type follower. If you were to target older retiree’s you may want to engage sites like AARP or bloggers that cover senior issues or health etc. Author Philip Napoli described this growth as, “User generated content now competes with traditional media content for new technologies such as hand-held devices and interactive television services build upon established technologies, providing ever-expanding means by which content can reach audiences. At the same time, within many of these distribution platforms the capacity for providing more choices continues to expand dramatically”(Napoli, 2010) The internet also has changed due to the mass use of hand held devices as I pads, IPhones, and other mobile devices. This has created user-generated content that can spread an audience out to the individual.

    Broadcast Media or TV: They still has some relevance on reaching an audience. Neilson data in 2008 revealed that TV viewership was still high. People will also us TV to be informed or entertained. The demographic of what audience watches what is where you can target an audience. In a TV example if you wanted to target men age 18 to 34 according to Entertainment Weekly that demographic is watching shows like “Men 18-34: Family Guy (Fox, 2 million), American Idol Wednesday (Fox, 1.8 million), The Simpsons (Fox, 1.7 million), The Office (NBC, 1.6 million), and American Idol Thursday (Fox, 1.5 million).” (Rice, L 2012) Broadcast television is also a major way to use advertising to inform audiences. If you products market was to reach a young male one can see why buying space in those shows time frame would be beneficial.

    Who tunes in to Radio: Radio stations target audiences with specific demographics; they reach more of a general population in its broadcasting. Since radio listeners listen for short times messaging would need to be quick and concise.  One on radio’s biggest reach is in the drive times, morning and afternoon.  In example political talk shows general have a set audience; this can be working class adults who would be more apt to listen at that time. “Radio can give even small companies low-cost marketing that reaches a general demographic group, such as working, educated adults on political talk radio.” (Norman, 2004) On the other hand a morning show on a hip hop station would reach a completely different audience.

Napoli, P (2010)  Audience Evolution - New Technologies and the Transformation of Media Audiences. Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10471997&ppg=130

Norman, J (2004) What No One Ever Tells You about Marketing Your Own Business : Real-Life Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs. Retrieved fromhttp://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/Doc?id=10057390&ppg=181

Rice, L (2012) Ratings alert: What you're watching if you're 11, 50 or 34 years old (the results may surprise you! Retrieved on line from InsideTV.com
http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/03/15/ratings-by-age/

The first try at Blogging

     The use of blogs in today’s media world of communication has become a very influential means of communication. Blogs today can reach many people. They influence opinion and can serve as a way to reach a very specific audience. The blogger can create and frame a message they want to communicate.

   Putting my first ever blog together is a very new task to me. As an avid reader of news being able to maybe have followers or put a message out is a daunting thought. Blogs can be overwhelming, they can also be confusing. There are many different types of bloggers out there. Some are more successful than others. To be clear the blogger needs to be easy to read and navigate.

    A good blog is like a well laid out magazine or newspaper. The colors need to work with the type they also need to be consistent throughout. The proper use of colors will make the reader comfortable. The goal in colors would be to not distract or over power the message. The Font is also important here as I start to blog on a theme or message.

   The content of my blog is in the field I like working in, Military Media. By combining well produced content that is ethical and informative, combined with a good design, I look forward to learning as I go and seeing the feedback on creating a professional blog...

Here you also see some older posts as I started the blogging assignment to learn a layout and design... Thanks for taking part!

Spiking the football or the right thing to do... an opinion

Just a Chiefs view........

    

     There will always be a debate in an election year if the Commander In Chief is on a campaign swing or fulfilling his duties when the Military is involved. President Obama's recent trip into Afghanistan has gathered that attention. Pundits will debate it, others will applaud it.

    The speech in all its 10 minutes, was quick and to the point. As the very left leaning New York Times noted “The New York Times live blog analyzing Obama's Afghanistan speech last night found that "the speech was notable for Mr. Obama because unlike most of his other major addresses, it did not include any personal anecdotes. There were no specific stories of soldiers he has met or families he has consoled." It was may be viewed in a campaign year as just that, but what president has not used the benefits of office to mix policy with a campaign.

    As a communications type and a military background you always look through neutral lens when an event blurs. In the end the President is the CINC, and when, as his speech did it was to the point and acknowledges the sacrifice men and women make and is more about "us" than "I”..... It is the right mix