So, I found this food blog (since I love baking) called Pinch of Yum. The blog is written by a husband and wife team who started their blog as an experiment to see if they could turn a food blog into a profitable job.
I have to say that upon finding this blog I have fallen in love with most of it. I say most because the blog does not consist of only food, but also monthly income reports (which I do not find interesting). So I will talk mostly about the fact that I love the food aspect.
Lindsay and Bjork (the writers), not only write and post recipes from themselves and others, but they post videos allowing the viewer into their private lives. This allows a type of connection between the viewer and the blogger, allowing them (the viewer) to see that they (the blogger) are real people just like them (the viewer).
The functionality of this blog is so easy to navigate and with drop down menus at the top and pictured items within each category available. The writing in this blog makes it a very informative, well organized way of gathering new information. I would say that this blog is well written and a great way to not only learn new recipes, but learn how to become a professional blogger.
http://pinchofyum.com/
Best Practices
I think the most important practice in blogging is to make sure that you know who your target audience is. When you are writing you do not want a blog that is going to be so generic and open that there is no specific audience, this is the best way to lose an audience.
Readers are going to look at the content of the blog and decide whether it is worth their time or not. If the content is so broad and all over the place then you will never have the same audience and will end up losing more than you gain through sheer boredom.
Another great practice is learning the perfect length (and grammar) of the blog and what avenue to use in order to post. Length and grammar are another quick way to lose readers. People want to read a blog about things that interests them, but they also want the writer to get to the point and not include a bunch of useless information.
This goes for grammar too. Readers do not want to read a one page blog that contains horrible grammar (to include punctuation, spelling, etc.). As a reader we want to believe that the person writing the blog has some type of experience and knows what they are doing.
Finally, the best practice to use when blogging is PUT YOURSELF IN THE READERS SHOES!!! After you write what you want to write go back and re-read it. Is it something that would catch your attention? Is it informative, but fun? If the blog is not something that you would read then why post it? Always remember, the only thing more important than the writing of the blog, is the person reading your blog.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Joe Paterno Dies at the Age of 85
Joe Paterno, also known as "JoePa", has died at the age of 85 years old today, January 22, 2012. Paterno was the long standing football coach at Penn State College. According to Mount Nittany Medical Center (2012), Paterno died of "metastatic small cell carcinoma of the lung", (lung cancer).
Paterno's family has released a statement according to ESPN (2012) saying, "His loss leaves a void in our lives hat will never be filled. He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitious wee far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave his Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players, and his community."
Paterno was known for his credo of "Success with Honor" but lately had been plagued with questions of his honor. Paterno was in the midst of a child abuse scandal involving his colleague Jerry Sandusky. Paterno was diagnosed with ling cancer only days after his resignation was denied and he was fired.
Paterno's death comes a midst the child abuse allegations of his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. In an article in The Washington Post, Paterno is quoted as saying, "I didn't know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was. So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn't work out that way."
For many like 30-year season ticket holder Steve Schaffer the scandal was a slap in the face or like "finding out there was no Sana Claus" (USA Today), while others held on to their love of Paterno and their belief in him through it all. The allegations against Paterno were not enough to over shadow the loss of "maybe the greatest coach ever," (Bobby Bowden). This is how many seen Paterno before and after his death.
Paterno seen 409 wins in his 46 year career and turned out over a dozen NFL players. Paterno will forever be remembered as a 'hero' to those who knew him. Christian Marrone was quoted by CNN as saying, "Joseph Vincent Paterno was a great football coach, but his life can never, ever be measured in wins or championships. The greatness and the legacy of Joe Paterno lies in each of us."
Facebook Status:
Joe Paterno died today at the age of 85. What can we say? Paterno was a legend in football and not only at the college level. He gave us so many great players in the NFL that his name is carried on with them. The scandal that rocked PSU and Paterno will never have the input of Paterno now, but can these people not let him rest in peace for now? I wasn't there, I don't know what he did or didn't do and neither does anyone else who wasn't there, so I say we leave the family alone and let them grieve. Paterno once said, "They asked me what I'd like written about me when I'm gone, I hope they write I made Penn State a better place not just that I was a good football coach." Joe Paterno Dec. 21, 1926-Jan. 22, 2012 RIP JoePA "We Are...."
Carey, J. (2012). Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno dies at 85. USA Today. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/story/2012-01-
21/former-penn-state-coach-joe-paterno-dead/52737230/1
CNN Wire. (2012). Paterno Remembered as a Teacher, Winner, 'hero' at Public Memorial. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/26/us/penn-state-paterno/
ESPN. (2012). Joe Paterno, 85, dies in State College. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7489238/joe-paterno-ex-penn-state-
nittany-lions-coach-dies-85-2-month-cancer-fight
Goldstein, R. (2012). Joe Paterno, Longtime Penn State Coach, Dies at 85. The New York
Times. Retrieved October 17, 2014,
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/sports/ncaafootball/joe-paterno-longtime-penn-
state-coach-dies-at-85.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Shaprio, L. (2012). Joe Paterno, former Penn State football coach, dies at 85. The Washington
Post. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joe- paterno-dies-at-85/2011/12/09/gIQAS9eXIQ_story.html
Paterno's family has released a statement according to ESPN (2012) saying, "His loss leaves a void in our lives hat will never be filled. He died as he lived. He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. His ambitious wee far reaching, but he never believed he had to leave his Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family, his university, his players, and his community."
Paterno was known for his credo of "Success with Honor" but lately had been plagued with questions of his honor. Paterno was in the midst of a child abuse scandal involving his colleague Jerry Sandusky. Paterno was diagnosed with ling cancer only days after his resignation was denied and he was fired.
Paterno's death comes a midst the child abuse allegations of his assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. In an article in The Washington Post, Paterno is quoted as saying, "I didn't know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was. So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn't work out that way."
For many like 30-year season ticket holder Steve Schaffer the scandal was a slap in the face or like "finding out there was no Sana Claus" (USA Today), while others held on to their love of Paterno and their belief in him through it all. The allegations against Paterno were not enough to over shadow the loss of "maybe the greatest coach ever," (Bobby Bowden). This is how many seen Paterno before and after his death.
Paterno seen 409 wins in his 46 year career and turned out over a dozen NFL players. Paterno will forever be remembered as a 'hero' to those who knew him. Christian Marrone was quoted by CNN as saying, "Joseph Vincent Paterno was a great football coach, but his life can never, ever be measured in wins or championships. The greatness and the legacy of Joe Paterno lies in each of us."
Facebook Status:
Joe Paterno died today at the age of 85. What can we say? Paterno was a legend in football and not only at the college level. He gave us so many great players in the NFL that his name is carried on with them. The scandal that rocked PSU and Paterno will never have the input of Paterno now, but can these people not let him rest in peace for now? I wasn't there, I don't know what he did or didn't do and neither does anyone else who wasn't there, so I say we leave the family alone and let them grieve. Paterno once said, "They asked me what I'd like written about me when I'm gone, I hope they write I made Penn State a better place not just that I was a good football coach." Joe Paterno Dec. 21, 1926-Jan. 22, 2012 RIP JoePA "We Are...."
Carey, J. (2012). Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno dies at 85. USA Today. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/story/2012-01-
21/former-penn-state-coach-joe-paterno-dead/52737230/1
CNN Wire. (2012). Paterno Remembered as a Teacher, Winner, 'hero' at Public Memorial. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/26/us/penn-state-paterno/
ESPN. (2012). Joe Paterno, 85, dies in State College. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7489238/joe-paterno-ex-penn-state-
nittany-lions-coach-dies-85-2-month-cancer-fight
Goldstein, R. (2012). Joe Paterno, Longtime Penn State Coach, Dies at 85. The New York
Times. Retrieved October 17, 2014,
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/sports/ncaafootball/joe-paterno-longtime-penn-
state-coach-dies-at-85.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Shaprio, L. (2012). Joe Paterno, former Penn State football coach, dies at 85. The Washington
Post. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joe- paterno-dies-at-85/2011/12/09/gIQAS9eXIQ_story.html
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Best Way to Convey Your Information
There are many tool out there today in which to convey information and enhance our delivery of said information. Here is a look at just three of those tools in which I personally use and prefer.
Blogging-
Blogging-
A blog is an online conversation like this one. It is informal in writing and tone and allows readers to comment. The purpose of a blog is many things. For some it may be something like an online diary or journal to vent, or it could be used like this one, to bring forth information and used as a classroom tool. Another, great use, for a blog is to inform its readers of important information. One such site is AIDS.gov. This site, “serves as a gateway for information about these Federal efforts, with a focus on domestic programs,” (AIDS.gov, 2010, ¶ 1). This blog enhances the delivery of information that would otherwise not be available unless through a research department or doctors office. Not everyone is willing to pay for this information and the AIDS.gov blog offers this information for free for anyone that is willing to read it.
Social Network Sites-
A social networking site is something that almost every person is familiar with regardless if they have one or not. The most popular of these right now are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. These sites are made available for free and are used for many different reasons. Facebook is can be used to share information about yourself, your business, your cause, etc. It can also be used to play games or just keep in contact with friends and family around the world. Twitter is limited to 140 characters worth of writing, but we will get into that in the next paragraph. Instagram is limited to photos and videos but is a great way to spread the word about almost anything. With the use of video and photo you can get your point across better than is just by word. Although, Pinterest is a great social media site it is not one of the best for getting a point across. This site is more, or less, just for ideas and interests that allow you to share these ideas with others. While all these social media sites are great I believe that the best one to use to get a message across would be Facebook. As of July 23, 2014, Facebook has, “1.314 billion monthly active users,” (Smith, 2014, p. F). Because of the number of users on Facebook, this makes it the perfect social media site in which to enhance our delivery of information. For example, the Breast Cancer Awareness page currently has a little over 4.2 million followers (Facebook.com, 2014). This shows just how far Facebook’s reach can go in providing information for anyone.
Twitter-
Social Network Sites-
A social networking site is something that almost every person is familiar with regardless if they have one or not. The most popular of these right now are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. These sites are made available for free and are used for many different reasons. Facebook is can be used to share information about yourself, your business, your cause, etc. It can also be used to play games or just keep in contact with friends and family around the world. Twitter is limited to 140 characters worth of writing, but we will get into that in the next paragraph. Instagram is limited to photos and videos but is a great way to spread the word about almost anything. With the use of video and photo you can get your point across better than is just by word. Although, Pinterest is a great social media site it is not one of the best for getting a point across. This site is more, or less, just for ideas and interests that allow you to share these ideas with others. While all these social media sites are great I believe that the best one to use to get a message across would be Facebook. As of July 23, 2014, Facebook has, “1.314 billion monthly active users,” (Smith, 2014, p. F). Because of the number of users on Facebook, this makes it the perfect social media site in which to enhance our delivery of information. For example, the Breast Cancer Awareness page currently has a little over 4.2 million followers (Facebook.com, 2014). This shows just how far Facebook’s reach can go in providing information for anyone.
Twitter-
This is another social networking site that we briefly touched on in the paragraph above. So to clarify a little more information on Twitter here we go. Twitter is a social networking site that allows users to “tweet” messages in 140 characters or less and follow “tweets” made by other users. These “tweets” can be about anything from how a person’s day was to showing support for a specific cause or foundation. On any given day the average number of “tweets” sent out is 177 million (AIDS.gov, 2014). With this amount of messaging someone could easily convey their message to millions of people. A great example of this would be fellow Twitter user, actor, and animal rights activist Ian Somerhalder (whom I personally follow). Mr. Somerhalder runs a foundation called the ‘Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF)” to help, empower, educate & collaborate w/ people to positively impact the planet & its creatures” (ISF, 2010). Mr. Somerhalder currently has 5.32 million followers and his foundation has 181,000 followers. Different states and countries also have pages for ISF making it hard to pinpoint exactly how many there are. Although, it is hard to pinpoint the number of pages, it does go to show that Twitter is another great platform to convey your message.
Anyone of these would be a great way to get a message across, but it is simply up to the user and the message that needs to be conveyed. Although, I use Facebook on a daily basis, I personally prefer the blogging experience.
AIDS.gov. (2010, Sept. 21). About this blog. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from, http://blog.aids.gov/about
Facebook. (2014). Breast Cancer Awareness Page. [Social Media Site]. Retrieved from, https://www.facebook.com/BreastCancerAwareness
Smith, C. (2014). How Many People Use 700 of the Top Social Media, Apps, and Digital Services? Retrieved October 9, 2014, from, http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/7/#.VDaZb_ldXpE
Twitter. (2014). Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF). [Social Media Site]. Retrieved from, https://twitter.com/IS_Foundation?lang=en
Anyone of these would be a great way to get a message across, but it is simply up to the user and the message that needs to be conveyed. Although, I use Facebook on a daily basis, I personally prefer the blogging experience.
AIDS.gov. (2010, Sept. 21). About this blog. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from, http://blog.aids.gov/about
Facebook. (2014). Breast Cancer Awareness Page. [Social Media Site]. Retrieved from, https://www.facebook.com/BreastCancerAwareness
Smith, C. (2014). How Many People Use 700 of the Top Social Media, Apps, and Digital Services? Retrieved October 9, 2014, from, http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/7/#.VDaZb_ldXpE
Twitter. (2014). Ian Somerhalder Foundation (ISF). [Social Media Site]. Retrieved from, https://twitter.com/IS_Foundation?lang=en
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