New Business, New Technology

I have been thinking about some of the other technology that we discussed in class, and, more specifically, the use of Twitter by a business. My family has a business, and it is based off of a blog.

At the beginning of the Fall 2010 school year, my family started a blog that is based on my dad waving at my sixteen year old brother every day on his way to high school on the school bus. The blog is titled "Wave at the Bus" and is found at http://waveatthebus.blogspot.com. The reason why this became so popular is because each day that my dad waved, he was dressed in a different costume, and he never repeated a single one.

We have created an iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad app of it, done numerous interviews, made many YouTube videos, have a Facebook page, and even have a Twitter account for it. After the first year of waving, once we realized we were receiving thousands of hits a day, we decided to make this a family business (Wave at the Bus, LLC). My dad still continues to wave once a week to my brother, and we do some more personal updates besides the funny posts now.

That following summer, once we created it as a business, we decided to also create a Twitter account. The Twitter account, located at twitter.com/waveatthebus, has become my responsibility. My mom and the rest of my family are in charge of doing the blog posts and updating the Facebook page; I am in charge of keeping our Twitter account updated and active.

Learning about Twitter in class, and how it can be used by businesses, has helped me to improve my Twitter usage and create more meaningful tweets for the followers. I really enjoyed the group that taught us about Twitter, and I believe they did a good job of showing it.

New Technology: Presenting in Motion

Until our presentations in class, I had never even heard of Prezi. But after seeing a Prezi presentation in action, I am sold.

I learned that there is software to make a dynamic, moving, zooming presentation. PowerPoints and slideshows are perfect for certain situations, but they often turn out dull and boring. Prezi provides presentations that keep the audience's attention.

It is free to get an account, however there are some premium accounts that you can purchase if you'd like some additional features. I also learned that it is very simple and easy to share with a group to collaborate on a presentation.

The Prezi group did a great job of showing how simple it is to use, and I enjoyed that they used Prezi for their presentation as it provided a great example. I'm grateful that I was able to learn about this software in class so that I can take advantage of it in the future. It's possible that I might even use it for my group's presentation at the end of the semester!

Communicating So Far

I have learned a lot in this class so far. I've been realizing how grateful I am to my job over the summer as an administrator customer service representative. That position gave me experience in communicating professionally both internally and externally. Through taking this course, I am seeing more ways to apply these techniques in a professional atmosphere, not only in the ways that are brought up in class. I have discovered that it is important to know how to format a memo and letters, but I am also aware that it's not very often a business will send out formal printed letters to a customer in the current professional world. Most businesses, like the one I worked for, will usually email the customer. The email will follow the majority of the same steps as a printed letter. For example, if we were replacing a product, then the customer had most likely emailed us, so we email them back with an appropriate response and send a replacement product in the mail. The steps for writing a Good News Letter - and Bad News Letter - are still put into place, even if it is through email. I am enjoying this course, and I am learning a lot. I'm excited for the rest of the semester!

What Professional Blogs Do

There are many ways that blogs can be used professionally in this world. Businesses can choose to create a blog for many reasons, such as to share company announcements like events and products, to help provide customer support, start discussions, and to give their business a more personal aspect. 


Companies like to give themselves a personal side so customers feel more comfortable while communicating and associating with them. A way to accomplish this is by having employees give their thoughts about different products and services of the company. It doesn't have to be a formal written prose or a formal video blog (vlog); it can be very casual but still professional. This helps the customers to connect to the employees - and the business - in a less formal and more personal way. 


Providing customer support and discussion is a great way for a company to help its customers with questions in a casual, easy-to-use format. As with the personal aspect that comes along with it, it helps customers feel a little more connected to the company. 


Professional blogs are also a really great way for businesses to make announcements. As was said in the textbook, it is a great email replacement. Because of all of the spam filters and email overloads people receive in today's society, blogs help reduce email traffic and allow users to check on their own time the announcements from a company. These announcements may include new locations, new products, new ideas, giveaways, competitions, or any other general company announcements. 


These professional blogs have changed the world of public relations for companies. From a typical prose blog to a vlog to a microblogging platform such as Twitter, they have found a way to connect with a consumer on a very personal level. Instead of monthly newsletters, companies can interact with their customers at any time and in any medium they choose.