In the Classroom

Last Week in Journalism 2.0 we continued our discussion of effective means for blogging. I would like to re-cap the most important things I believe are necessary to make a blog successful. First of all- frequent updating. The only blogs I religiously visit, I visit at least 4 times a day as part of the cycle of websites I check everytime I open my laptop. I get angry when they don’t update. So angry that I might stop checking if it continues to lack updates. Next, images. Until pippo said it out loud I never realized how important images are. When I’m scanning a blog, I typically stop and read the post when I see a picture of a celebrity or show that I love. Also, tags. When scanning a website quickly, I can use tags as a guide for what is most important to me and narrow down what I actually read. In the blog world, the aim is to get a loyal following. If you know your audience and write for that set of people, maybe you can get a strong following quickly. Finally, I learned to be discreet. I can outline every detail of an episode of some show, but the readers really only want to hear the important parts. No one wants to read an essay for every single post on your blog. I hope to follow these tips and gain a loyal following.

T.V- Oktoberfest Hangover Cure

After a long barbaric weekend of binge-drinking liters of beer at the Hofbrau tent, I managed to catch my flight and make it home just in time for a long 12 hour session recovering in bed. For me, the ultimate hangover cure is catching up on the celebrity gossip from the weekend and downloading a show or ten off of iTunes.
Which brings me to my following report. On the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we watch as Taylor reaches her breaking point and is one glass of wine short of detainment in a mental institution. As the women discuss her marriage, we sadly watch as abuse is mentioned and brushed off her shoulder, though the recent events of Russell’s death have made it clear that Taylor was a victim of abuse and her behavior is anything but out of the ordinary for someone in her circumstances. The new show Hart of Dixie starring Rachel Bilson premiered on the CW. Any fan of gossip girl/90210/one tree hill- welcome to your new addiction. Think Sex and the City mashed up with Greys Anatomy and Georgia Rule with the boho-chic wardrobe we all love. Modern Family welcomed us back with two new episodes. If there’s been one thing missing from my life since I came to Barcelona, its Gloria. Also, Lilly is awkwardly 4x her age last season. The Real Housewives of New Jersey took us on family vacay to Punta Cana. It’s becoming unbearable to listen to Teresa’s delusion. Finally, on the Zoe Project, Rachel styles Kim Kardashian and ultimately we all die over her new house. Rachel Zoe= every girls idol. Getting paid to shop, having a gay husband..it doesn’t get much better. Finally, I don’t typical venture into the non-reality side of television but I figured I’d watch the premiere of Two and a Half Men and see what the buzz is about. Ashton Kutcher replaced Charlie Sheen as a billionaire genius who stumbles upon Charlie’s house after attempting suicide in an act of romanticism. I think I’ll leave this show for my parents to watch. Love u all!

WWGD? What Would Google Do?

In this article called “Dell Hell,” Jeff Jarvis illustrates the power of the blogosphere and the masses to actually make a difference where desired. He chronicles his story with his dissatisfaction with the Dell company’s product and customer support department, and how a simple blog post garnered enough response and widespread unity against the company to substantially affect their sales. He closes his piece with suggestions to the Dell Company to make their customers their first priority and to perhaps track their perceptions through online forums like blogs. This article is very interesting, as his blog following grew so rapidly as to launch his site to the main google search page when “Dell” was input into the engine. Blogs have become an important source of social media and an effective way to make one’s voice heard. The internet is a powerful tool at each of our fingertips to do virtually anything we want to.

Lost in Translation

Huh?

For die-hard celebrity gossip/pop-culture fanatics like myself, studying abroad in a foreign country may pose a serious threat to our very existence. The language barrier/ different “celebrities” in this country make it very difficult to browse the latest issue of People while painting your toe-nails, and before you know it… you may even fall too far behind to catch-up on your favorite show (we’ve all been there with Grey’s Anatomy).”Cultural Immersion” doesn’t have to mean that we should be unaware of a high-profile teen pregnancy, the latest scandals for the women of the “Real Housewives” franchise, or exclusive scenes from Kim Kardashian’s royal wedding. Luckily for you, I vouch to dedicate a substantial portion of my Facebook time each and every day browsing websites like Perezhilton.com and keeping up with my favorite shows on iTunes simply because I care about my fans. Without all of you, this blog might not be possible.

A brief sample of what you can expect from this blog:

This week, Bravo fired Jill Zarin, Alex McCord, Kelly Bensimon, and Cindy Barshop from the upcoming season of the Real Housewives of New York City. Congrats to Sonja for keeping her job, she could use the paycheck. Cindy- you were too sane for this show from the start. Jill- you never quite understood the concept that you were being filmed each time you talked behind someone’s back and then claimed on the reunion special that you were a changed person. Kelly- you’re just weird. Ramona- aren’t you a little too busy with your “businesses” to stay on this show? Not quite sure how this show can continue without them, but it was becoming painful to watch anyways. Props to you Bravo- now I can dedicate more time to the Beverly Hills biotches and the New Jersey gals. Lets all cheers with a glass of Ramona pinot grigio to the last time we ever have to hear Jill Zarin’s voice!