ALES 204: Farewell, the next step in the journey

As Ales 204 comes to an end, I reflect on everything that this course has taught me. If not for this course, I would not be writing this blog to my fellow readers had I not been introduced to Blogger. Among this site, I have learned how to use different tools of social media including: Twitter, Googledocs, LinkedIn, Audioboo, and Wordle, along with many other useful  sites that will be highly beneficial in my future career aspiration as a dietician.

Figure 1:
Social Media Footprint

When first coming into this course, my media footprint was quite small, and the impact I had on the world wide web was insignificant, if any. From posting a just a couple of statuses and photographs to my friends on Facebook, I did not strongly contribute to the online community. After this course, how significant is my media footprint now? With Ales 204, I have posted edited my first Wikipedia stub on Earls restaurant (see older posts) for everyone to view the information that I edited as well as started a Twitter account, with many followers keeping updated on my activities. I Although questioned about its credibility (or possibly its lack of), Wikipedia is nonetheless used by millions of people everyday as a research tool. By placing an article on Wikipedia for everyone to read and use, I am making a place in the largest encyclopaedia in the world. Talk about impacting the web now!

Honestly, I will not use everything I learned in this course, yet everything I learned was still a valuable experience and it was great to see how technology and social media has changed the way how mankind interacts. I will most certainly use Twitter in the future to connect with dieticians and those in my field, as well use it to connect with potential clientele. It is an effective way to spread your words or promote your business in the blink of an eye. I will also keep my professional facebook page (see older posts) up and keep it updated as a means of attracting potential employers and clients.

I am glad this class was mandatory for my Nutrition and Food major. Like my fellow classmate, Rachael Adams, states in her blog, Ales 204  gives you the initiative to step out of your personal life and expose yourself to the online community. Much like herself, I am generally a private person. This class has allowed me to connect with the world and with my classmates, by reading and commenting on one another's blogs. Along this journey, I have met many others, much like myself, going through the same struggles and successes in their field. Connecting with my fellow peers has made this class experience very enjoyable, and in a sense, self-discovering. Although I take the next step in my journey, this class will be reminisced and my classmates will not be forgotten! Some fellow classmates blogs that I have gotten a chance to read and comment on are found below:

Blogs:

1. Kelsey Trite's Blog

2. Caitlyn Erickson's Blog

3. Chau Chin Yo's Blog

4. Rebecca Miller's Blog

5. Christine L.'s Blog

A great thanks to my lovely professor and TA Jessica Lacetti and MC Roy. You have made the beginning of my journey to nutrition a wonderful one.

References:

Figure 1: Social Media Footprint [Photograph], (2012). Retrieved from: http://jsncafe.com/2011/12/28/social-media-what-to-expect-in-2012/

Wikipedia Stub

Wikipedia has been forever a useful tools for students and professionals to gain information about a variety of different topics. Forever being criticized for lacking peer-reviewed credentials, Wikipedia has been disapproved by professors for use in reference lists. Nonetheless, Wikipedia provides a broad overview of topics and allows changes and new content to be added on a daily basis. My fellow classmate, Shannon Fox states in her blog the benefits of using Wikipedia to start your research as it is comprehensible and inspirational, as well as their reference list can be a starting step in which sites to use in your research paper.

Figure 1
Earls Restaurant (Whitehorse Location)

This week I made my first attempt to contribute to the fellow Wikipedia community that I have so strongly relied on. Since I have been working at Earls for the last few years, (as a means to pay off ridiculous tuition fees!) I have decided to add to the Earl's (restaurant chain) Wikipedia Stub to expand on the corporation that I have devoted a large portion of my life too. Apart from regular menu offerings, Earls can offer more health conscious and reduced fat offerings, as well as a peanut and gluten free menu.

Figure 2
"Earls (restaurant chain)" on Wikipedia

At first, I found posting on Wikipedia a little tricky to manoeuvre, with adding external links, italicizing, bolding words, etc, but with this handy Wikipedia Cheatsheet, expanding on my stub was a little more manageable, although I still had troubles with the referencing list on the bottom. The question is, what does posting on a site like Wikipedia have to do with a nutrition student like myself? Many reasons actually! Search up any term on Google, Yahoo search bar, Bing, etc. and the Wikipedia site will likely appear in the top five search results. As my goal is advancing education to the public about nutrition, Wikipedia may be a useful tool to spread my messages as it has a lot of publicity and is so often used. This site here lists the pros and cons of having a business Wikipedia page. The benefits include great exposure of smaller businesses, but the downside can entail that competitors can put negative feedback as anyone can edit the articles. In perspective, I think Wikipedia will expand my career toolbox as a means of exposure to my business, and education awareness. With time and persistence, I am sure I will be able to master the coding of the Wikipedia community! Check out the results of my newly edited Earls (restaurant) Wikipedia article!

References:
Figure 1: Earls Restaurant Whitehorse Location [Photograph], (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g155047-d1547364-Earls_Restaurant-Whitehorse_Yukon.html.

Figure 2: Wikipedia "Earls (restaurant chain)" [Personal Photograph], (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75254019@N02/6860784044/

The Art of Public Speaking

(sweaty palms, stomache aches, a feeling of nausea)

For many of us, the art of public speaking does not come very easily. Being on dead-center stage with your peers staring down at your every move, the pressure in on. However, as nerve wrecking and unpleasant as many of us find public speaking, it is a vital means of promoting ourselves and is necessary in pursuing any career. 

Figure 1:
Martin Luther King

Take many politicians, for example, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and even Adolf Hitler. The popularity of many of these men arose from the power of the speeches that they delivered to the public. Words are powerful, the best of them can be passed down for generations to come. As American journalist, Chuck Palahniuk once said "We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will (1961)."The speech that Martin Luther King delivered way back in 1963 on racial inequality still continues to ring in our ears today, "I have a dream....". The following Youtube video shows the entire clip on Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech: Martin Luther King "I Have a Dream" 

So how exactly does one provide a meaningful, powerful speech, that will be remembered for centuries to come, or at least make a lasting impression in the audience for the next hour? The art of public speaking integrates so much more than just words itself, it is a sum of speech, humour, body language, confidence, delivery and so much more. The following link provides tips on presenting a powerful speech: Tips on Public Speaking. For myself, and others aiming on becoming a registered dietician, public speaking will be a crucial skill as health promotions will be a large part of what I do on a regular basis. 

For those still nervous about presenting in front of an audience, relax! Presentations now no need to be as long as Martin Luther King's seventeen minute speech. Pecha Kucha presentations have recently been introduced as a replacement for long, nerve wrecking speeches. What exactly is a Pecha Kucha? 20 slides, 20 seconds per slide, all for a total of 6 mins 40 sec on stage. It is much more straight to the point than a regular speech, and with only 20 seconds per slide, it saves the anticipation of finding words to say. My fellow classmate, Yinglin Huang states some benefits of this short presentation plus great pointers on how to deliver an effective, thought provoking Pecha Kucha that will keep your audience on their toes! Check out her blog here.

References:

Figure 1: Martin Luther King [Photo], (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.walkingbutterfly.com/tag/martin-luther-king-jr/

Facebook as a Business Tool

Thanks to my class, ALES 204, and my lovely professor, Dr. Jessica Laccetti, I have created my first professional Facebook page. I have always thought of Facebook as a means of sharing photos and instant messaging with friends and family. I never thought it could emerge into such a powerful business tool. Through popular emerging social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace, businesses are able to promote their businesses around the globe at the touch of their fingertips. I started a professional Facebook page as a means of getting potential employers to know a little more about me, my skills and interests. With advancing technology, it is definitely a  lot more convenient than carrying around a resume all day!

Figure 1:
Professional Facebook Page

                                Professional Facebook Page, a photo by paulinen416 on Flickr.


Facebook will prove to be beneficial in my pursued dietician career as it will help me in increasing my audience to attract a diverse potential clientele, promote my business, and share my nutritional and active living thoughts with those who like my page or come across it. Facebook and Twitter are great business marketing strategies as they are so widespread universally; millions, if not billions, of us use it on a daily basis Time Magazine's article shows how businesses can use social media sites, namely Facebook, effectively in business strategies.

Figure 2:
The Social Network, 2010

I'm sure that many of you have seen the movie "The Social Network (2010)". The movie reanacts the origins of Facebook and the life of its creator, Mark Zuckerburg. The movie explicates how Facebook was orignally created from its predecessor, Facemash, which was a website that compared the attractiveness of peers. What has started as a online social networking site between the students at Harvard University, has now amounted to a whole new dimension of our technological lives on the world wide web. What Facebook has become has caused a whole new era is doing business and promotions. As Steven Johnson writes in Time's Magazine article "How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live,"  regarding the creation of popular social networking sites, "It's like inventing a toaster oven and then looking around a year later and seeing that your customers have of their own accord figured out a way to turn it into a microwave." Professionals in the business sector have found the potential in the popularity of Facebook and Twitter and have extracted this tool as a means of doing business in a whole new sense of light. It was not why Facebook was created, it is what we have made it become. Facebook is beneficial to businesses as it promotes on a mass market level. As many popular social networking sites are free of charge to the public, businesses can target almost any audience that owns a laptop, or smartphone. Instead of spending millions a year through advertisements and billboards, businesses can create pages on Facebook (similar to the one I created above) or pay for advertising space on the site.This can be less time consuming, more successful at attracting potential customers, as well as more cost effective.

To see a few more reasons on the successes of creating a professional Facebook page, and why you should promote your business, resume, etc. online, check out a fellow blogger, Chris Wohl's post at Chris Wohl's Blog Until next time, check out my Facebook page here to learn a little more about me, and as always, stay active and healthy!


References:


Figure 1: Professional Facebook Page [Personal Photograph], (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75254019@N02/6767836447/in/photostream

Figure 2: The Social Network (2010). [Photograph], (2012). Retrieved from:  http://www.rocktheworldbook.com/

Welcome to my Blog!

Figure 1:
Apples

 Hey there everyone! My name is Pauline N and I am a second year undergraduate student at the University of Alberta, studying Nutrition and Physical Activity. I am very excited to start my very first blog so I can share all my new nutritional knowledge with everyone! I am passionate about educating others about healthy lifestyles through means of proper diet and exercise.

Many athletes will know that achieving the "perfect body" requires not only strenuous hours at the gym, but also means dedication to eating your fruits and vegetables and the willpower to pass on the last slice of pizza. As many of us stare enviously at the front pages of magazines, I strive to inform you the HEALTHY way of eating and exercising to get you looking like your idolized celebrities.  

As the field of nutrition and sport is constantly changing at a rapid pace, I will like to research popular diets and workouts and communicate, through my blog, the effectiveness of these trends. As social media reveals different diets and popular workouts that are claimed to be used by Britney Spears or Jessica Alba, how do we know what really works and what is just a waste of your hard earned dollars? A popular website revealing celebrity workouts is advertised on the internet as well as celebrity diets . As my studies develop, I will tell you what workouts and diets are hot, and which are NOT!

Figure 2:
Jessica Alba

  

 I think that social media will be a great means for me to communicate to the public about my thoughts on nutrition and exercise regime, as well as get feedback from anyone with a passion towards these areas. I would love to start educating others more about healthy Vietnamese cuisine. There is a popular traditional story in Vietnam that told of a king who offered his daughter's hand for marriage. The chosen suitor would be the man who brought the most delicious meal to the king. After thousands of men lined up for this opportunity, the king was presented with meals of exquisite duck and filet mignon. However, the man the king chose to wed his daughter was a peasant farmer who was very poor. All he had to offer the king were salad rolls, simple food eaten by the lower class (see pic below). The punchline of the story: something so simple and taken fresh from mother nature can be delicious AND nutritious!

With this thought, I invite others to eat foods how they were meant to be eaten! Straight from earth's roots. As trans fat is on an alarming incline, I encourage you all to stick to fresh fruits and vegetables, straight from the garden. Crisp, fresh and delectable! I ran across a fellow student's blog in nutrition and I am very excited to meet someone which such similar interests in healthy living and public education. Check it out at http://pc204.blogspot.com/. An inspirational blog that I came across on the internet as well is that of Alan Aragon's.  If you interested more about nutritional science and sport, he is the man to go to!

Figure 3:
Vietnamese Salad Rolls

That is all for now! Please feel free to leave some feedback. Cheers and happy eating!

References:

Figure 1: Apples [Photograph], (2012). Retrieved from: http://forserious.ca/2009/10/03/world-compares-apples-to-apples-canada-wants-fruit-combo/.

Figure 2: Jessica Alba [Photograph], (2012). Retrieved from: http://iphone.88000.org/33__Jessica_Alba_.htm.

Figure 3: Vietnamese Salad Rolls [Photograph], (2012). Retrieved from: http://www.epicureselections.com/en/recipe/262