Students Of Success

What are blogs?

Blogs are frequently updated web pages on which authors post articles about news items, interesting websites, and their thoughts and just about anything that interests the author. Blogs are the newest information age revolution that allows individuals to express themselves to the world.

Blogs operate using a content management system, where the blog owner can add, edit, and delete content from the blog to keep it updated as quickly and efficiently as possible.

They were originally used as online journals, or diaries, which were the mainstay of teenagers who love to write down their most private thoughts. However, given the Internet is a public information space and anyone with an Internet connecion can read your online journal it is not a good place to be posting those private thoughts.

Who should use blogs?

Blogging first came on the seen during the 2004 election, now has exploded as a marketing tool for companies, such as Sun Microsystems, StonyField Farms, and Kowabunga Technologies with the intent on bypassing traditional media of reaching customers. With more people finding companies by searching the Internet, and with 32 million Americans reading blogs, this makes blogging a cost effective tool for marketing.

Blogs would be perfect for college students. Many college professors require that their students keep a journal of their activities so that they can see how the student is progressing and if the student is learning the material. Some college professors even advise students to set time immediately after class to do their writing activity in their journal.

This journal activity can be done using blogs, where the professor can go to the website and view the blogs of his or her students. The professor can see first hand who is actively doing the activity, and contribute to a discussion with the student by posting a comment, thus creating a two-way dialogue.

Let’s assume that the student is taking a course on Organization Behavior and is reading an interesting chapter on Interpersonal Communications in Organizations. At the beginning of the lecture, the professor hands out the lecture notes, usually as PowerPoint slides so the student can follow along. The first slide lists the learning objectives that the professor expects the student to be able to do upon completion of the lecture. Here is an example of a learning objective:

Describe the process of communication and its role in organizations

After class, the student can go to the computer center on campus and login to his blog, and attempt to explain what the process of communication based on the lecture. Being able to write about something in your own words immediately after hearing it can help in the learning process.

The Downsides of Blogging

Fear of negative comments

Blogs invite negative comments because there are a lot of people out there that just love to trash people and don’t have anything nice to say. Companies should not be deterred. Blogs have a feature where you can moderate each and every comment that is made by a visitor, and the blog owner can choose to accept it or reject it at his discretion.

The comments made by visitors reading a blog creates a two-way dialogue between the writer and the readers creating an opportunity for acquiring new knowledge which can lead to learning. However, for learning to take place, action is required to be taken on that knowledge, for learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior produced by experience and the acquisition of knowledge.

Inappropriate content written by employees

Two employees were fired from their respective companies for what they posted on their blogs. Mark Jen was fired from Google for writing about the companies health care plan. A Delta Airlines flight attendant was also fired for writing about her escapades, some of which were sexual in nature.

There needs to be policies in place regulating what employees can and cannot write about in their blogs. However, the blog must be company owned, such as within a company website. If an employee of a company starts a blog on his own time for his own engagement, the company cannot regulate what that employee writes about in his blog. If the employer attempts to regulate that employee’s behavior, that would be a violation of his first amendment rights.

Employers need to thread carefully so that they do not intrude in their employees personal lives. What an employee does on his or her own time is the employee’s own business and not the employer.

What can a business use a blog for?

Implement a newsletter

Blogs come with an archiving function where posts that are published are archived on a monthly bases. This is about the same frequency as a regular email newsletter. Visitors to your blog can view past issues to see what was written in past months.

Newsletters are published documents describing information of interest to customers, employees, or anyone that is interested in learning more about that company regarding the array of business and nonbusiness issues. Blogs can be used as a delivery method for bringing these same news and announcements about a company, products/services and the online industry in general that the company is in. Whereas newsletters tend to be a one-way communication tool and are more impersonal, using blogs as newsletters can make it more personal by creating a two-way dialogue.

Blogs can be a huge opportunity for small businesses and be a very real threat for email newsletter companies, such as Vertical Response and Constant Contact. These companies help small businesses build their email lists, publish their newsletters, and manage their email marketing campaigns. Small business owners only pay for the number of email newsletters that they send. The cost can range from as low as $15 for 1,000 to &750 for as much as 100,000 email newsletters.

By using a blog to publish a newsletter, the small business owner can save this money. The money saved can then be allocated to investing in the training and development of their employees, another critical aspect of running a business.

Improve a web presence

Search engines want to provide high quality search results for their visitors. Search engines love blogs and favor sites that are updated frequently.

Websites can get indexed almost instantaneously. Everytime you publish an article to your blog, it pings other websites. Pinging lets dozens of services know your website has been updated, thus increases traffic to your blog.

Become a published author

Everyone has an area of expertise, or core competency. Usually this area of expertise is based on a strong interest of the owner. You could haved owned a web design company and handled all of the Human Resources activities for your company because you had a strong interest in that field. Perhaps within this field you developed a strong interest in attracting and selecting the best candidates for your company. Maybe you tweaked the employment interview and turned it into an oral examination for the job applicant.

By writing articles, you will become known as an expert on the topics you write about. This will give you and your business extra credibility which will help you compete against your competition as you demonstrate your expertise.

To get started blogging, small businesses can save money by purchasing a reseller webhosting account, such as that from HostGator. A reseller hosting account is a tad more pricey, but cheaper in the long term. You have the ability to host unlimited number of websites without having to contact your web hosting provider and set up new account. You have to pay for every new hosting account, which can be a strain on your budget. With a reseller hosting account you will be able to create a hosting account for no additional cost (except for the domain registration).

Blogs are here to stay. As more people continue to learn what a blog is, it will continue to evolve with many new uses.

About The Author
Nick Roy is an HR Researcher, Consultant, and freelance business writer. He currently holds a Master of Business Administration and Master of Arts in Human Resources Management from Hawaii Pacific University, and a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from Florida Metropolitan University, Fort Lauderdale. He is also currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Organizational Change from Hawaii Pacific University, with theses research on “The Impact of Technology on Human Resources and Organization Effectiveness.”

Gastric bypass patients face a great task in the following months and years after surgery, most of which includes monumental lifestyle changes in comparison to their old habits and methods. The most important of all, given that gastric bypass patients have a new, tiny stomach to fill is diet. Similar to how those on a diet of any kind, the body will be taking in less food then usual and so it’s crucial to ensure that the food and nutrients you’re feeding your body are packed with goodness.

This can be a difficult task for the gastric bypass patient, but help is always at hand from the dedicated nutritionists and physicians after surgery. The Internet is also jam-packed with information for healthy diets specifically for patients.

Most of all, as the general gastric bypass diet lacks minerals and vitamins, patients must take extra vitamins to supplement their diet and ensure their body gets all that’s required. Among the vitamins recommended are multi-vitamins (chewy if possible!), then calcium, iron and patients may be advised you also take vitamin B-12.

Its important gastric bypass patients don’t slip up on taking their vitamins - certain conditions can develop soon after surgery if the body isn’t getting the required vitamins and minerals. Patients should always keep in touch with their doctor and follow the guidelines set out post-surgery.

Article by Beverley Brooke, visit the section on the gastric bypass at her website to learn more about the procedure and what’s involved post-surgery
http://www.healthandfinesse.com/gastric-bypass.html

Giving flowers dates back to the 1700s when Charles II of Sweden introduced the Persian custom of “the language of flowers” to Europe. Books about the meanings of particular flowers were published, and entire conversations could be carried out using only
a bouquet of flowers.

The rose has become the traditional Valentine’s Day flower. As it has always been a popular flower, the meaning of the red rose is still well known as the flower of passion and love. The red rose is also the favorite flower of Venus, the goddess of love, which
helped give the rose its symbolic meaning.

Cupid

He is the winged child whose arrows are shot into the hearts of potential lovers. His victims are supposed to fall deeply in love with someone. In both Greek
and Roman mythology Cupid is the son of the goddess of love and is always part of celebration of love and lovers.

The heart

The heart is linked to Valentine’s Day because it was once considered the source of all human emotions. The custom of drawing a heart shape is believed to come from early attempts to draw an organ no one had ever seen. The symbol progressed to become known as a sign of love.

Why does an X mean a kiss?

In the Middle Ages, a lot of people couldn’t read or write. When they had to sign a document, they would make an X in place of their name. In front of witnesses the signer would kiss the X to show themselves trustworthy. The kiss has since come to be
represented by an X.

It’s for the birds:

Lovebirds are often part of Valentine’s Day. Found in Africa, these brightly colored birds sit very close together with their mates, earning them their name. Doves are also part of the tradition. They are symbols of love and loyalty because they mate for life. A pair of doves will also share the care of all their babies.

Did you know?

• Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are the biggest holidays for giving flowers.

• One of the earliest Valentine’s Day gifts were candies. The most common were chocolates in heart shaped boxes.

• Mostly men buy the millions of boxes of candy and the millions of bouquets of flowers produced for each Valentine’s Day.

Gregg Hall is a consultant to many businesses and has vast experience in a multitude of areas. For a great selection of flower bouquets and gifts go to: http://www.flowerbouquetsandmore.com

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your child’s early literacy development is simply to let them play. Turn off the TV and anything battery operated then let your child pick up their toys, build blocks or duplos, or manipulate puzzles or game pieces. Not only are you giving your child the gift of childhood, something we so often fail to do in today’s hectice, achievement-oriented world, but you are actually helping them build skills that are key to learning to read and write.

Hand-eye coordination is a necessary skill for written language and the best way to help your child develop this skill is to let them play with toys and activities that involve looking at, using, and discriminating a number of elements. Puzzles are obviously a great activity for this but so are manipulative toys such as blocks, duplos, and magnetix.

My son just spent over an hour this evening playing dominos with his father — OK they weren’t so much playing as setting up complex pattterns and then knocking them down — but I didn’t tell them they were engaged in a preliteracy activity. They were just having fun together.

Studies have shown that spending time on hand-eye coordination activities improves children’s ability to learn to read and lessens the difficulty they face during the process. In fact engaging in a variety of craft activities, which most kids love, can be very beneficial so add play dough, stickers, and glue sticks to your list of educational supplies.

Research shows that early practice of hand-eye coordination activities reduces the risk for reading difficulties.

ACTIVITIES TO ENCOURAGE

Puzzles help develop hand-eye coordination because learning to control hands and fingers according to information received from sight is a coordination skill that aids children in early attempts at reading and writing. Determining out which piece goes where, working to fit pieces into place by making adjustments, and seeing a sequence develop in an organized pattern can be a great learning experience as well as very satisfying for children.

Puzzles, matching games, and the like are also important to help children learn visual discrimination. Visual discrimination is the ability of the brain to quickly tell the difference among visually similar letters, like “p,” “b,” and “q” or between words such as “was” and “saw.” Students with difficulty making these distinctions often struggle with learning to read, write, and spell. Playing games, engaging in activities, or with toys that help children discriminate among similar objects can be fun for the child and help them master an important preliteracy skill. My son loves to help his father sort change before rolling it to be deposited at the bank. Sure we could use an electronic sorter but our son loves to engage in the activity and it is a valuable learning experience for him.

Visual discrimination can often be learned with your child’s existing toys. Matchbox cars, dolls, and action figures all offer the opportunity for your child to learn visual discrimination.

Encourage children to work their wrist and finger muscles as well as work on their coordination and small-motor skills to help prepare them for the handwriting practice in their future. Activities to help with these goals include legos and other building sets, playdough, puzzles, pegboards, beads and other table toys. These fun, natural activities help children improve their cognitive and fine motor skills without frustration or boredom.

My son engages in many activities every day that encourage hand-eye coordination and visual discrimination. I don’t suggest the activities to him. I make the toys and manipulatives available to him and he chooses them on his own. The activities vary he may go an entire week building and rebuilding his wooden train set every day and then the next week his magnetix set dominates his play time. Some days he plays with both together and pulls in his duplos and wooden blocks for added fun. It doesn’t matter to me which activity he chooses because I know he is having fun, challenging his imagination,and learning.

Preschoolers Learn More newsletter offers a free tutorial to help you teach your child to read as well as other preschool resources at Teach Your Child To Read and Teach Your Child the Alphabet.