Enjoying life...

I am a big fan of quotes and I have a habit of writing them in different places. I have a quote written on a white board at work, I have another one on my blackberry as a display message, and I have few of them around my room. I believe quotes make people think about things that they normally wouldn't have thought of, or at least give them a different perspective of seeing things. I came across this quote and thought it was very inspiring and true for a lot of people who forget how to live and make the best of every day.

“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon-instead of enjoying the roses blooming outside our windows today.” – Dale Carnegie

I guess sometimes all of us forget to stop and breathe and enjoy every moment. Most of the time I feel like my life is a chaos. I work full time, I go to school part time, I stay up very late at night and get up very early in the morning due to so many things I have to do during the day. On top of all that I have an older sister who is getting married and I am involved in every aspect of planning her wedding. Sometimes I feel like there isn't a lot of hours in a day to get everything done. But on the other hand, I am a huge believer that life is how you make it for yourself. Perhaps we should all stop and breathe and go with the flow...

I make a googling sound when I breathe...

I came across the cartoons below while researching about different social networks. In essence the cartoons make fun of the usage of social media networks and the extent to which social media networks have gotten. For many people out there, social networks are very much part of their every day lives and for some it is one of the only ways of communicating and keeping in touch with friends. The cartoons illustrate that social networks are present in every day conversations.

I really liked some of these terms used, from now on I might start saying that my stomach feels bloggish :)

Media Representations

In the previous post I wrote about a very inspiring and heartwarming Tim Hortons' commercial. In this blog post, I will focus on the opposite of that and show an example of very negative remarks that are represented on a popular television show, "Family Guy". We have discussed representations and stereotypes in Unit 9 of this course, and we learned about negative impacts of stereotypes. Unit 9 - Media Awareness Network says that stereotypes can be problematic because they can result in various negative forms such as the following:

- Reduce a wide range of differences in people to simplistic categorizations
- Transform assumptions about particular groups of people into "realities"
- Be used to justify the position of those in power
- Perpetuate social prejudice and inequality

The following Family Guy excerpts are examples of the points above and each in their own way demonstrate inequalities and prejudice.

Family Guy - Minority Suspect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81S5sm1U2RU

Family Guy - Fat Women and Coke

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnOU51nPUo4&feature=related

Family Guy - Asian Woman Driver

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik_wh6D2BRU&feature=related

Family Guy - Racist Sunflower

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu8EK7Rq9_w&feature=related

How far has television gone as far as representing negative images? Should we not be teaching audiences how to be respectful and non-judgmental human beings, rather than teaching them that it is okay to discriminate against other races and cultures? A show such as Family Guy and many others out there are comedies, and people enjoy the humor in it. But deeper than these shows being a comedy, many controversial issues surface and are seen in a very negative way. I believe television is one of the worlds best inventions, but I wish there were more restrictions as far as the topics discussed on television shows.

Every cup tells a story...

A Tim Hortons' commercial

Over the period of the course we have discussed various forms of media and their importance in our lives. Some bring positive perspective and others leave negative impact on audience. I want to dedicate this blog post to a positive and inspiring commercial. It is a Tim Hortons' commercial, clearly about coffee, but coffee not being its focal point, but rather the experience of drinking Tim Hortons' coffee. I must say what I really like about all Tim Hortons' commercials, is the fact that they know how to 'socially' advertise their products. It is not about the actual product itself, but the experiences and relationships that people build through these products.

It is a very inspiring commercial that taps into the Asian American culture and leaves the audience with a warm feeling thinking about the importance of our loved ones.

Commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QINv6rebyTU

Effective Communication

I recently attended a workshop called Effective Communication, which focused on teaching employees what it means to communicate effectively and how to write e-mails. If someone had mentioned this idea to me years ago, I would have laughed and said who doesn't know how to write a simple e-mail? But being part of the professional business world for the last three years, was I ever surprised seeing how some of my co-workers and even managers communicate with employees and clients. Having a degree in Communication Studies and knowing the importance of it, effective communication for me is one of the key aspects of success in any organization. Ineffective communication will result in a poor delivery of the intended message and a possibility of a misinterpreted message. Through my work experience I came across many 'bad' emails, and to demonstrate what a bad e-mail is, I will show an example that is very similar to an email that I saw recently.

Subject: 4th attempt...

Hello,

This is my 4th attempt to reach someone in your department. I have emailed previously to notify that the client has requested for the funds to be transferred directly to his personal account. I believe you have the clients bank information. Please let me know when this transfer will be complete, as the client is waiting for these funds to be transferred.

Thanks,

Tom

Discussion: This email was sent to my departments shared in-box. The fact that this is a fourth attempt to reach someone, shows that this is a very unclear e-mail and a very ineffective way of communicating a message. What client are they referring to? Who looks after this client? It is not a very effective e-mail and not a good way to reach the intended person. Perhaps they should be more specific and use clients name or account number. Or even picking up the phone and having a real conversation.

What have you done in your life?

I recently came across this cartoon and thought it was very similar to the last Discussion Post I wrote about the difference between Social Networks and Real Face-to-Face Communication. It is an amusing cartoon which makes fun of twitter and the amount of time spent “tweeting”. I hope that when this day comes, most of us are not answering in the same way and that perhaps we have built relationships and memories that we can look back on and not rely on what we have “tweeted” to our social network group.

Is coffee the key component of productivity?

I came across this cartoon and it made me wonder if coffee really is the key component of productivity. I think that I make myself believe that coffee will increase my productivity and reduce procrastination. But who am I kidding? I believe that it definitely helps you stay awake, but it certainly doesn't make you any more motivated or smarter. I work for a company which has a coffee station with 10 different coffee flavors. Most of the time I go for the well known Colombian coffee. Just the other day I figured out that I have been taking non-caffeinated natural Colombian coffee! But the first thing I say when I get to work is, hold on, let me get some caffeine first... Maybe I should rethink this coffee drinking habit...