STIUQXELA Challenge

So before I get into discussing this new challenge we have been working on in BUAD477, let me just document the fact that I just worked a little bit on the layout of my blog page. I just managed the 'untouchable' left side of my blog by adding to it the list of links of required blogs for this course. Check it out! Now people that may visit my page randomly & see what I am blogging about can also jump to the Diva Marketing Blog or Adwords with just a click!
So now onto the challenge. Professor Brown has a hypothesis (which has already been proving true). He made up the word "stiuqxela" that had no search results on the Internet before this experiment began. Then, the BUAD477 classes were assigned to blog this word as much as possible, but when blogging, link it to www.packers.com, the official website for the Greenbay Packers. Anyway, besides the fact that Professor Brown just happens to be a big Packer's fan, this experiment served another purpose. Alex hypothesized that blogging stiuqxela on our individual blogs, while linking it to the Packers' website would lead not only our blogs, but also the Packers website to appear in search engine searches for the word stiuqxela. And so far is has done both of these things in Google! Hopefully if I blog it enough, my blog will show up in this search!
Now - 2 things learned about Professor Brown through this experiment
1) He is a Packers fan
2) You can find out #2 by decoding stiuqxela (hint: think backwards!)

We'll see how this challenge plays out...game on!

Happy Spring Break!

Well now that this is my last post for today, I will soon be heading home for Spring Break! Nothing too exciting, but it will be nice to relax for sure. Also, I just went to class before & I think it was cancelled & I didn't know. I'm not sure, but no one else was there so I get that feeling...
Anyway, I just commented on my teammate Jessica Erskine's blog. She had posted about doing a vanity search through google, so I decided to do one myself. My blog unfortunately did not show up like Jess's, but a the 5th link directed me to my sorority, Alpha Sigma Alpha's, page at UD that introduces all the sisters, etc.
I posted to Jess to let her know & it was pretty cool, but kind of scary that people can SOO easily access information about you. But vanity searches are useful so that I can see what's out there & what others can see publicly on the Internet about me!
Well, feels good to be done for now & I hope everyone has a great spring break! Hopefully those points for being on top of my game are headed my way! =)

Wikipedia Edit #3 - Bubble Tea

So my 3rd Wikipdia edit is on Wikipedia's "Bubble Tea" article. I chose to edit the bubble tea page becauuse I actually work at a bubble tea shop on Main St. here in Newark called T'Licious. It's located right next to the Delaware Book Exchange..stop by!
Anyway, I edited some information in the top general section of the article regarding the source and origins of the tapioca pearls, an essential component of any bubble tea drink. I added "These tapioca pearls are made mostly of tapioca starch, which comes from the tapioca, or bitter-cassava plant. In other parts of the world, the bitter-cassava plant may be called manioca or yuca. Cassava is native to South America, and was introduced to Asia in the 1800s." Check out my updates!

Wikipedia Edit #2

So I just noticed that there is a page for my high school - Pearl River High School in Pearl River, NY. I was originally going to work on the page for my town, Pearl River, but I just noticed that there is finally a link to PRHS from the Pearl River article. This must have been added recently because when we were first assigned this project, I could not find a matching article when searching for Pearl River High School. I may e-mail Professor Brown now and ask to switch because it seems that this page needs more work than the one dedicated to my town. And I just made some minor grammatical edits in the "Rival" section. I made sure that the periods of 2 of the sentences were inside the ' marks & I also corrected a spelling error from "knowen" to "known" in the last sentence of that section. Check it out here. More to come (as long as I am allowed to switch to editing this article!

Spam, the Law, and e-mail Marketers

So I just read an article from ClickZ called "Spam, the Law, and e-mail Marketers" by Derek Harding, and it was thought provoking. Something I had never considered, but is a huge problem, is spam & its interference with the viability of e-mail. Derek discussed how spam is increasing at ridiculously exponential rates, and that eventually servers may be receiving millions of spam e-mails per week..that's right, MILLIONS! And what do people immediately want to do, but block these annoying messages? But there lies the problem, because in filtering spam, marketers are concerned that their advertisements and promotions will not get through to consumers. These marketers argue that this is, in fact, illegal. But Derek brings up another good point in that even if these messages from marketers DO get through, won't they just be lost in a crowd? Most likely. I know personally, I get SO much spam and it is terribly frustrating - I don't give any of those e-mails a chance..it's just delete, delete, delete. In my opinion, Derek is right & we have to ensure that we work toward saving e-mail...And maybe marketers should just find another method of reaching their target audience.

Bloglines Article Response #1

So I just read an article that I got through Slashdot. It was called "12-step program for e-mail addiction stumbles" by Paul McNamara. Anyway, it caught my eye because sometimes I do consider myself an e-mail addict! I feel that I check it compulsively, and go out of my way to find a computer if I am out & about all day. It is good to keep yourself up to date on what is going on, but I mean c'mon..sometimes I take it a little too far. Now that I have started blogging and realized that Facebook is essentially a blog, or at least an online community for sure, I realize how addicting all of these things can be - because I, along with the rest of the college students out there, am definitely a facebook/e-mail junkie & addict. But obviously, we are not the only ones.
Anyway, Paul's article was basically commenting on a 12-step process put together by an executive coach named Marsha Egan. And I am not going to lie, I totally agree with Paul that the process is a sham! I actually think that it is not really directed at people who compulsively check their e-mail, but rather would help someone cut back the amount of time the spend with their e-mail. For example, she suggests ways to keep your inbox neat & organized, and has a lot of suggestions about creating folders, and sending concise e-mails. None of which will help myself or the rest of the people out there who just can't stop checking our e-mail! Anyway, I guess she tried . . .
Maybe she just doesn't understand what it truly means to be a slave to your inbox...and here are the rest of us, stll checking. But hey, there are WAY worse addictions & for now, if I am a little hooked on e-mail & Facebook, I'd say I am doing just fine.