Podcast

Podcasts could be used in public relations in many ways. They good thing about using podcasts in public relations is their ability to cover every credential to creating an effective campaign. Podcasts use a combination of audio and visuals to deliver messages. They are also easily accessible once uploaded to the Internet. Once on the Web public relation practitioners can direct their locations to those regularly viewed by specific target publics. The ability to produce audio and visual messages daily make podcasts an effective and in someways essential tool to running an effective public relations campaign.

(My podcast still wont upload, I am going to bring it to class tomorrow)

Cloud Computing

According to the Wikipedia link provided on the EME Web page, Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grind.

Cloud computing is a relatively new tool for document transferring and editing. Here is a conceptional diagram of cloud computing: 

With the implementation of cloud computing computer users will have a much more efficient process of sharing documents with other users. Hard drive space will be freed up, paper will be saved, and time will be saved as well.

The ability to put a document in a central location and allow (and restrict) certain users to edit, view, print, and distribute it is revolutionary and genius. The most popular space for cloud computing is GoogleDocs. The video we were presented in class explained the uses and processes of using GoogleDocs in a simple and effective way.

There are other easy-to-view informational videos about cloud computing available on Youtube. This video is informative and elementary, allowing even the least versed computer user to understand how cloud computing works: 

The field of public relations is filled with press releases, memos, abstracts, client selection sheets, public statements, and many more AP Style documents. These documents go through hundreds of rewrites, hundreds of edits, and dozens of emails. With the implimentation of a cloud computing program, such as GoogleDocs, the editing and revising process could become ten times more efficient. Editors could view and edit documents daily without the waste of work time and paper.

Podcasting: Revolutionary

In the article "Podcasting in the Classroom" by Brian Flanagan, he presents the different uses of podcasting in the realm of academia. He also goes on to explain the new technology that has pushed podcasting to a new level. He even advocates the use of ipods in schools.


One might wonder how ipods can be allowed in schools. The answer is simple. Podcasts. With podcasts, teachers are able to stream media daily, both auditory and visual, to their classes


Flanagan says that at some institutions use podcasting for academic reasons. Their use falls into five categories:

1. Course content dissemination
2. Classroom recording
3. Field recording
4. Study support
5. File storage and transfer

He continues to describe the variety of benefits of podcasting. The one benefit that stood out most to me was the use of podcasting to create soundseeing tours. Soundseeing tours are are combination of sounds and visuals used to disseminate information.

Apple has released "enhanced podcasts" which allow users to create podcasts with audio and visuals. The combination of both auditory and visual resources will be available to audiences on their ipods. Like a complex powerpoint. 

With this revolutionary technology we may soon see a day where online classes are no longer taught and put onto computers, but rather streamed to ipods, ipads, itouches, iphones, or whatever assessable technological devices are created in the near future.

Here is a video on how to create a podcast from various Apple products: 

Digital Storytelling

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Digital storytelling could be used effectively in Public Relations pitch presentations. When a practitioner delivers a pitch presentation they are selling their services to a person, corporation, or client. During this pitch presentation practitioners are taught to use visuals that will attract attention and form a sense of familiarity between presenter and client. With videos like the ones created on Animoto.com, practitioners could create video slide shows to create a story about a plan of action they find appropriate for their client's situation. I find digital storytelling as a tool that can create a sense of comfort during a pitch presentation, which is what practitioners are looking for and rarely find.

The Power of Photoshop

Photoshop is a computer program that is taking the computer world by storm. Its popularity is off the charts due to its diverse and complex functions. Photoshop is used for a cornucopia of things: Photograph manipulation 
painting, virtual drawing, 
graphic design, illustrations, page layout, 
typography, 
animation cells, sprites, gif. animations, 
web images etc.


Photoshop's design allows the user to use several tools on several layers of an image to create an extraordinary finished product. Tools such as the magic lasso, magic eraser, and eyedropper are complex tools that can be used for the simplest of changes. Here is a list of tools used in Photoshop. The list provides a brief explanation of each tool.


In today's age of social networking Web sites, photoshop has become an everyday tool used to enhance people's Web page. With vast amounts of Facebook and Twitter users viewing pictures on other's profiles, users have gone as far as changing their body structure by using Photoshop tools to impress their page visitors. In this video we are given instructions on how to use certain Photoshop tools: 



As a public relations major I have come across mentions of Photoshop but never really used the program to its full potential. After using and understanding the tools provided by the program I was truly able to understand and appreciate the power of photo enhancement provided by the Photoshop. Many public relations campaigns have completely revamped corporation's images (figuratively and literally). With Photoshop practitioners are able to create company logos, enhance images, and create Web compatible photos. The current state and future of Public Relations lies in the hands of programs such as Photoshop.

Media and Information Literacy

According to the EME Web site, visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading.

According to the link we were presented in class (http://museumca.org/picturethis/visual.html), visual literacy is defined as the ability to understand communications composed of visual images as well as being able to use visual imagery to communicate to others. Students (humans) become visually literate by the practice of visual encoding (expressing their thoughts and ideas in visual form) and visual decoding (translating and understanding the meaning of visual imagery).

Through the process of encoding and decoding images we are able to make sense out of and attach meaning to inanimate images. For example a sequence of circles could trigger the idea of a super store (Target) in some people, and it could remind others of hunting (an actual target used to practice). It all depends on each individual's process of encoding and decoding. There are many universal signs that trigger universal responses among humans. We see that in a video posted on the EME Web site. This is how why the term "literacy" is used.

In the field of public relations understanding how visual literacy works and the power of it is essential. As a public relations practitioner you must disseminate messages and make them suitable for your target publics. If a practitioner were to use a symbol similar to one that could be taken as offensive, he or she has a problem. The target public decodes the messages that were encoded by the PR practitioner, so when choosing how to present certain messages through images, one must be very careful.

In the following video, we see how a group of images placed in different orders can completely alter the audience's opinion of what the images mean.