NY Times and BBC

The New York Times website is my homepage. Every time I log open Firefox I see the top headlines updated every 10 -20 minutes or so. Clearly, this is my preferred news site. Visting the BBC home website was a very similar experience to navigating www.nytimes.com. However, being a visual person, I decide which site is for me according to the layout of the page. I also look for easy navigation and quick links to topics that I am interested in. On the NY Times website you don't have to scroll down to browse the different sections of the paper, they are located at the left of the screen waiting to be explored. On the BBC website you have to scroll down and decipher which of the blue boxes you need to be looking in. Overall BBC feels like a corporation website and NY Times feels more like a news source. I also enjoy the media on the New York Times website. It gives you a quick peek into the story and a alternative method to information rather than reading EVERYTHING. BBC is a bunch of hyperlinked words strung together with commas and divided into multiple faded blue boxes that run together.
Both sources display headlines and top stories but I think NY Times wins hands down.

By: Lauren Wright

BBC and The New York Times

After looking at both the BBC website and The New York Times website, I saw quite a few similarities but some differences too. They both broadcast the top stories big so that everyone can see it. The New York Times post many different articles throughout the website with some sort of description with it. I think by doing this they have made the website very cluttered and it is hard to notice everything and it makes it hard if you are looking for something particular. The BBC website has a few articles on the main page but they have a sidebar on the left with different categories. I liked the neatness of the BBC website compared to the NY Times. I'm all for less clutter!

By: Katie Sasser

Bars, Beers, Bathrooms, and Advertisments

I noticed lately that everytime I go to a bar, and then I go into the bathroom there is an adverisement on the back of the stall door. Before this class, I never noticed or paid any attention to any type of advertisement. But now I've become very aware of commercials, billboards, and any other form of advertisment. I sit there and figure out if I like it or not and if I dont what is wrong with it.

Well since recently turning 21 in August combined with taking RCS-362, I now seem to always see the bathroom advertising and I think it is a great way to advertise! When you go to a bar, you are most likely going to do some drinking. Drinking more and more is going to make you go to the bathroom more often. So when you go so much, you are bound to notice the advertisment on the back of the door and read it every single time you go. In my opinion I definetly think that this is a great way to get more people to know about your business, and i have seen that it is becoming more and more popular.

By: Katie Sasser

Yahoo! Avatars Part 2

I had never heard of Yahoo! Avatars before this assignment and I think they are pretty cool. I like all the options you can do with them like different faces, hair, clothes, backgrounds, and extra things to make it your own. I sat there for like an hour just playing around with different options. I first made one that was just an everyday me, but that was boring so I got fun with it! My avatar turned out in a brown dress, the background was a red carpet and a limo, and I had two penguins hanging out with me! haha! I think that Yahoo did a good job with these but if they are trying to appeal more to a younger adult crowd then they defintely need to come up with some more clothes that are fashionable because in that area they really didnt have anything that's why I ended up choosing something crazy. Also i think we should be able to pick out the shoes because I notice that when I choose an outfit I didnt like the shoes that went with it but couldnt change it. Another thing I thought should be different was with putting on the hats you had to have the short brown hair and i wanted to have a hat with the hair i chose. Oh well! Just a few suggestions, but other than that I think they are fun little things!

By: Katie Sasser

Yahoo Avataars

I did not have a Yahoo account previous to this assignment. After creating one, I created an Avataar. These miniature images are a fun way to waste time. You can customize your own to look identical to yourself or anyone. You can dress them in practically anything including cultural dress and active wear. There are options to place them in different background settings with multiple accessories and add-ons. The Avataar is a fun creation that you can play with to be as creative and expressive as you want. These little customizations are becoming hugely popular. I first saw them with AIM and the WeeMee world. Then when Nintendo came out with the Wii, they had Miis, which you can practically create your own network of players and teams. The level of detail involved in creating these people is amazing. From face shape to multiple colored highlights in hair to the distance from your beauty mark to your nose and the size of that beauty mark. The options are practically limitless. Avataars are a great way to personalize the online experience and really make it YOUR homepage. I love the little guys :)Here's my creation.

Energizer goes Pink

Today in class we started talking about how brands use colors as a way to advertise their product to a certain target market. Well it got me thinking about if i had ever been a "victim" to buying a product because its a new, pretty color and i remembered a certain product that got me.

About a year ago I noticed that suddenly energizer batteries went pink.
I was walking down the aisle at Target and those darn pink batteries caught my eye and i was amazed. I mean who would have thought PINK BATTERIES, of course I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I purchased those batteries that day and only bought them simply because they were pink. But the thing about these batteries i later realized was why they were pink. Energizer had joined forces with the the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation so when ever someone purchased a pack of these pink batteries they were supporting breast cancer. I think this type of advertising is a step forward for companies. Not only does this give more money into Energizer's pockets, but it supports a very important and relevant cause in our society. Who would have thought that my purchasing something as simple as batteries because they were pink would turn into donating money to a breast cancer foundation!



By: Katie Sasser

*clearasil may cause confidence

After discussing the inappropriate message the Old Navy Flirt commercial is sending it got me thinking about other commercials that are sending the same inappropriate message. One commercial in particular popped into my head. Just recently Clearasil has come out with a new commercial for the Clearasil Deep Cleanse using their popular tagline “Clearasil may cause confidence”. With this new commercial I think they took it a little too far in trying to get that message across. Below is the commercial…



Watching it for the first couple of times I found the commercial hilarious and still watching it now I laugh, but when you think about it like after talking about the Old Navy commercial you realize that the commercial and who it is targeted to is really not sending out the right message. The message in this ad is much more noticeable than the Old Navy ad. If I were a mother with teenagers (which is who they are obviously targeting) I would not want them thinking that they can act like that, and also teenagers already have such impressionable minds. I think they could have done it in a different way still making it as funny and suitable for their target market!!!

By: Katie Sasser