there IS a life beyond Facebook.

The internet is full of information and services to make your life easier.  One thing that makes my life easier, as well as more expensive, is ShoeDazzle.  I love this website SO much, that I decided to make a list of my top 5 favorite sites to check out, that aren’t Facebook or Twitter.

1. ShoeDazzle.com – What’s better than shopping with the idea of having a personal stylist?  While you and one of your friends might not get the same batch of shoes in your personal showroom for the month, it’s probably not as personal as some would hope.  But slap on Kim Kardashian’s name, killer heels sent to your door, a low price, and new options sent every month and I’d say you’ve got a winner.
2. YouTube.com – Although YouTube is just as mainstream as Facebook and Twitter, it feels a little more productive.  Not productive in that it helps people get things done, but that you’re not simply staring at pictures and the comments people you rarely talk to have to make about them.  It’s useful for laughs, music, getting information out there, accessing/storing your own videos from anywhere in the world, etc.
3. Rotten Tomatoes/IMDB – Who DOESN’T love reviews?  Well I’m sure some people don’t but for the majority, it’s nice not to have to go into a movie with no idea of what you’re getting into.  Most people have a “don’t waste my time” type of attitude and are also annoyed when they see a movie they were expecting to be a good one, and were sorely let down.  It also serves as a great conversation piece in classes like feature writing, when we’re supposed to be talking about…feature writing
4. The Onion – This false news source is made solely for the sarcastic and hilarious.  Simply made for entertainment value, sometimes the real news can be boring and depressing.  Cue The Onion, where readers can share a chuckle about funny topics that they have probably always had sarcastic thoughts about themselves.
5. UltimateCollegeSoftball.com – This forum and news source is aimed specifically at the NCAA softball fan, and Coach Vigness who has an unhealthy obsession with the site.  Users sign in to carry on conversations about the upcoming season, past tournaments, how players are doing, who will be next and where, players to watch, etc.  This site is one of many, obviously there are pages devoted to every other sport out there, but it’s great because it is not ESPN and has a little more edge than most of the NCAA Regulations-friendly sites out there.

well, it took four years to get here…

It’s odd that this story has been presented to me in Carol’s class because of the thought process it made me take in relation to my other classes.

As a fifth-year senior I figured I had it all figured out.  I thought that I had learned all I needed to know and was finishing up the rest of my requirements.

I thought I understood what I was going to get out of this Jesuit education on the religious side of it…which was nothing.  My plan was to avoid it for the three Theology classes and get a normal education like my friends at state schools.

This semester, and with this article, I feel I’ve learned more about religion than I have in the last four years.

Theology 335 has taught me that God and my relationship with him presents itself in small ways, and in ways that I have had to look outside of myself to find.

My Senior Perspective has taught me to reflect like a Jesuit to learn more about myself, which has taught me that my experiences at Creighton have not been maxed out.

Finally, ‘Can you say…Hero?’ has taught me and brought up similar points as these two classes.  With all three of these thought processes happening to me at once, it’s impossible not to relate them.

What I’m gathering from this article is to look at God as part of your life, not someone you ask for help from but rather someone you thank for the good things in your life.  That different things in your life present themselves at particular times, and most often you don’t quite understand why they are happening.

Finally, that when you do recognize the true meaning of events, or people in your life, you appreciate them as best you can.  And thank those who helped them to find you.

Those Jesuits sure are sneaky with their lessons.

write it right

I like to write. right. correctly.

JMC classes have made my editing skills well above average, however it is my critiquing skills that have gotten out of control.

It started as a tiny obsession in fourth grade. The different forms of there, they’re and their were the culprit. I guess I should’ve known from that point on that journalism was for me. This was not the case, as I wasted time and money on classes such as microeconomics.

Micro makes no more sense to me than Chinese (text, the food it totally clear). Editing and writing are crystal clear in my mind.

That is why you find me here, in this fine institution, in the Journalism and Mass Communications Department.

te-KILL-ya?

Eat the Worm.  A lovely establishment in downtown Omaha where you may find, on any given evening, 96 different types of tequila and a smiling bartender ready to serve it to you.

You may cringe, but so did I.  Until my manager made me drink it until I could tolerate it and explain some of it to the guests.

Hand-made, top-shelf margaritas are probably my favorite.  The food is also delicious.  None of that, however, is why I work there.

Aside from making money, the people who walk around downtown are…there aren’t words to describe the ‘diversity’ I see on a daily basis.

There’s the downtown workers, the service industry that serve the West Omaha crowd on the weekends.  The same group that you’ll find in all the bars each Sunday night, drinking away some of the money they made over the weekend.

There’s the West Omaha crowd that the downtown workers hate.  They are annoying, drunk, but ultimately entertaining if you can get past the annoying part and just laugh it off.

That’s where I try to lay my eggs.  Life is too short is a ridiculous cliche that as a journalist I try to avoid.  But as Pop says, ask yourself two things: did anyone die?  Will the sun come up tomorrow?  Yes to the second question and you’re doing just fine.

Lime, Salt and Peace.

Are the French known for being dramatic?

A study conducted by a French research company puts young people or Digital Natives at the forefront of ruining Democracy as we know it.

Dramatic? Yes, but there are some truths to what they’ve said.  I am no exception to the millions of people with my CrackBerry within arms reach at all times.

This discussion has come up in every JMC class I’ve taken and there are some legitimate concerns in the fate of traditional and professional type journalism. I don’t think, however, that young people are going to be the demise of journalism as we know it.  There are plenty of kids out there who are on track to permanently poisen their minds and it’s no one’s fault but their own.  There are also plenty of bright young people and professionals who have been taught otherwise.

The quickness of aquiring information is everyone’s fault.  People want news fast and short, and what the people want is what they get. 

Yes, most young Americans are glued to one type of screen or another.  But they will have to grow out of it someday to succeed in school and contribute to society.  Those two coming-of-age tasks will not stop with the advancement of technology.  I have no proof except that it just won’t happen.

And that is the end of that.

An Auto Show like No Other?

With a massive reveal of a previously pretty average and standard car comes some questions and concerns:

1. Will they really sell that many more cars?
2. Is it the campaign really going to do all the work or is it that the car is that much cooler than the last version?
3. It’s a Ford. People are going to buy it.
4. Congrats to Ford for being innovative, but maybe stick to cars.
5. Were they trying to save money? Create something new to do for reveals all together? What was the motivation for this?

I’m sure there are more, but the bottom line is that a major company reinvented the wheel on marketing strategy. As are most, I’m curious to see the sales, but let’s not get carried away in the strategy of an already well-established SUV powerhouse.

Ladies Love to SHOP.

This article describing how women use the internet is really no surprise to me. I don’t find it surprising that women use the internet more to connect with friends and to purchase things online than do men.

Middle-aged women using it more for social media? A little more startling. I guess my mom not being on Facebook fuels that but my aunts are obsessed. I don’t necessarily want to be friends with them on Facebook quite yet but one thing is true about social media: it is GREAT for connecting with people.

While that’s obviously more important to women, men do it less mostly because they don’t care or don’t think about it. That’s why they marry women who use it, right?

This article tells us where to find women online, which is helpful for advertisers but also means we’re going to see a lot more ads for strollers, women’s health magazines and other suburb-ian type products. Bring on the Mini’s.

it’s like an epiphany every time

*copied from my blogger account

Having a tough time grasping the blog thing. More advice than breaking news? More sharing realization with anyone that will read?

John Greer’s insight was to research the researchers. Interesting…but upon further investigation, he means be careful who you’re giving information to, with an interesting Microsoft anecdote that will make your PR muscle shake.

Seth Godin speaks in terms of advice, like a life coach. Things that make you go hmmmmm…and things that make you say duh.

My favorite: “Is there anything more important to you and your organization (or your kids or your town) than figuring out how to obtain and share the wisdom that real teaching can deliver?”

As I think about my sentence and the blogs Mr. Godin has to offer, this question keeps rolling around my head.

everything happens for a reason

*copied from my blogger account so they were all in the same place

My sentence has a lot to do with the side of me that people don’t often see:

I work to help student-athletes take their experiences at Creighton and apply them to life off the field or court because when they do, their lives will be enriched like mine has been.

Cheesy? Yes. However, the experiences I have had in the different areas of athletics and in the classroom have given me a point to jump off of and achieve everything I want to

i really sucked at swimming freestyle

Did you know there’s a mustache called the freestyle?

At my place of employment, Eat the Worm, our entire drink menu is named after mustaches. We’ve called it The Mustache Ride.  When one completes the mustache ride (a very prestigious feat), they are rewarded with an Eat the Worm Mustache Ride t-shirt.

Almost all of these delicious mixes of alcoholic goodness are made with some type of tequila, and you can’t even taste it in most of them.  We are out to show the world that tequila doesn’t simply make your clothes come off or immediately make you regret taking a shot. 

It CAN be tastey, relaxing, and provide patrons with good topics of conversations.  It’s like wine, there’s a lot of it, no one REALLY understands where or why it was made and it all tastes the same to most people.

I should write the social media copy for this place…coming soon.