Year 1 Complete!

It is so crazy to think that I'm already finished my first year of CreComm! It flew by. I am only one year away from graduating and being a grown up!

I remember being so nervous and I didn't know what to expect coming in to the program. I thought I would never be able to make it through but I did!

I had so many great experiences and I created so many projects that I am proud of.

My electronic publishing assignment from the first week compared to my last assignment shows a huge improvement in my design skills.

After finishing the PR and AD exams I realized I have learned so much and retained so much of the discussions we had in class.

I am so excited to be majoring in PR next year and I can't wait to see what kind of challenges will be thrown at me.

I am also going to try and redesign my blog over the summer so stay tuned!

IPP Approved!

I am so glad I can finally say that my IPP has been approved! It was a stressful few months coming up with an idea and then waiting to find out if the instructors would let me do it.

For my IPP (or independent professional project) I am going to be the social media coordinator for Ken Peter's Dance Express and I will also be running their website!

I have been dancing at Dance Express since 2007 and teaching there since 2008. I love being a part of the Dance Express family and I knew that I wanted to do something dance related for my IPP.

I came up with the idea to run their website and social media accounts because I knew it would be a way to combine all of the skills I learned in CreComm with my love of dance.

So now that my idea has been approved I can finally get started on my project! I am going to meet with the owners of Dance Express to go over my plan and then I am going to start a Twitter account, a Facebook page, an Instagram account, and also redesign the website.

I am really excited to learn more about photography. I am going to be taking photos at all of the competitions, recitals, and classes this year. I am also going to be making a few videos to add to the website.

I am so excited!

So please stay tuned for the launch of my IPP and then you can follow Dance Express on Twitter and like us on Facebook! Woo!

April Fools!

This year was the first April fools where I saw the internet explode with parody videos that companies made hoping they would go viral. The videos all featured some sort of new product or claim that was just a well-planned April fool’s joke. Many people were tricked by these videos and actually thought they were real! Here are the best online April fools jokes this year (in my opinion):

lulu leather

This video was made by lululemon for lulu leather, a line of yoga gear made from local cows. It's a good laugh and it is actually a pretty convincing video!

Gmail blue

This video made by Google features the launch of Gmail blue, it's Gmail but BLUE! It's funny and is a parody of product launch videos.

Google Treasure Maps

Another winning video from Google.

Probably the meanest April fools prank was the Oreos people were filling with toothpaste! Yuck!

 

What are your favorite april fools jokes of this year?

Get Retro!

I love old music so much! The songs from the 40's to the early 70's all seemed to spread positive messages. I am thankful I was exposed to old music at an early age and I think it has made me have a strong appreciation for good music. I think the world could be a better place if music was all still about love and peace.

A few weeks ago I went to a record convention here in Winnipeg and I started my vinyl collection! It was amazing, I even found an Elvis record from the early 50's! There is nothing like putting on a record, hearing the crackle, and relaxing as the songs play.

Here are a few retro songs that will put you in a good mood!

50's
Beyond the Sea - Bobby Darin

60's
Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! - The Beatles

70's
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison

I hope that put a smile on your face!

Making a Magazine

Since January we have been working on creating magazines as a school project, and this week was the due date. We're finally finished! 

It was hard work! We had to write the articles, take the pictures, and layout the magazine ourselves, but it was rewarding being able to create our own mag! 

I have always loved reading magazines, something about the glossy pages and beautiful pictures really appeals to me. When I first heard about the magazine project I immediately knew I wanted to do a dance magazine.

Luckily my group liked the idea and footwork magazine was born! 

I had a photo shoot with a few of my dance friends a few weeks ago and I ended up getting some really good pictures for the mag. I also got the chance to work on my design skills when I laid out the pages, and I feel like I am finally getting the hang of Photoshop and InDesign. 

Next thursday March 28 is the magazine trade show at the college. We get to design our own booth and  hang out there all day, showing off our hard work.

I'll post the PDF of the magazine soon, but for now here are a few pictures from the photo shoot! 

Enjoy!

Google AdWords !

Today in class we looked at how Google makes its money, and it mostly all comes from ADVERTISING! Who knew! So as part of class we are writing ads for our blogs based on the template that is used for Google AdWords.

Here are my top 5 ads for my blog:

Sarah Corley's favourites
Discover Winnipeg's hidden gems
Check it out for yourself right now
www.sarahcorley90.blogspot.com

Food, shopping, and more!
Sarah Corley shows you the best
places in wonderful Winnipeg!
www.sarahcorley90.blogspot.com

Sarah Corley's world!
A student, dancer, and entertainer.
See Winnipeg according to Sarah!
www.sarahcorley90.blogspot.com

City life by a city girl!
See the places Sarah loves,
Go check out her blog today!
www.sarahcorley90.blogspot.com

Sarah Corley's thoughts!
The view of a Winnipeg girl.
She shares her stories with you at
www.sarahcorley90.blogspot.com

Here are my eight keywords:

Coffee shops in Winnipeg
Restaurants in Winnipeg
Winnipeg jewelry stores
Beginner crafts and hobbies
What to do in Winnipeg
Thrift store shopping in Winnipeg
Creative Communications program
Sarah Corley Winnipeg


I would run this campaign in the spring when people are looking to go out of the house and do things in the city.

Which of my ads are your favourites?

Check out Googles new site that explains how search works.

And if you're bored check out buzzfeed's 26 Most awesome happy meal toys of the 90s
(I'm still sad my parents threw out my Halloween McNuggets)

A Thousand Farewells

Read

As an assignment in journalism class, I read A Thousand Farewells by Nahlah Ayed. The book is a memoir of Ayed's life as a journalist for CBC and her life as a child living in a refugee camp. 

The book starts out in Winnipeg when Ayed was just a child living in St. Boniface. She is happy and loves her home. Ayed and her siblings attend a French school and when their parents realize they know more French than Arabic, they quickly pack up and move the family to a refugee camp in Jordan.

Ayed's description of life in the refugee camp is vivid and detailed. She illustrates a place that I could never imagine having to live in. 

Before reading the book I thought refugee camps were a place that no one would choose to move to but Ayed's parents wanted their kids to be close to family and it is easy to understand why they moved.  

By having the story of her childhood in the book it really helps us to understand Ayed. It shows how every part of her upbringing has prepared her for life as a journalist. I think that most of the parts in this book work. All of the stories of war in the Middle East are necessary and Ayed does a good job of thoroughly explaining them. 

I think that this book would be really informative for someone who is very familiar with the conflicts in the Middle East and the places they happened. Instead of just explaining the conflicts, Ayed offers a behind the scenes look at what life is like during those times. 

I found the places hard to follow at times. I felt like I should have had a map beside me while I was reading so I could keep track of all of the places Ayed visited as a reporter. The book is very educational, there was so much detail about the people involved in the conflicts, and it helped me gain a better understanding of what happened in the Middle East.

I thought that Ayed left out some of her personal opinion on the conflicts in the book, but I think that is because she is still a journalist and she doesn't want people to feel she is biased. 

At the core of the book is a story of life as a journalist. We can watch the news or read the paper but we don't get the stories behind the stories. That's why Ayed's book is so important. For any young person with dreams of being a reporter this book is a must read.

Ayed tells how hard it can be to get the story you need. At one point she gets badly beaten when she has done nothing wrong. She also has to deal with personal morals and decide not to interview a person who is morning. 

The difference between this book and another memoir such as Life by Keith Richards, is that her life is just getting started. She hasn't retired yet or finished being a journalist, she still plans on doing this for the rest of her life. It is nice to read about things that are current, some of the conflicts only happened a few years ago. I found Ayed's book easier to understand because I was alive during some of the events she talks about.

Although her book offers lots of important lessons, I think the one I found the most applicable to my life is the importance of putting yourself first. Ayed witnesses a lot of terrible things in the Middle East, she is away from her home, and she gets badly beaten. I think it was so important for her to return home and take a break otherwise she would not be able to do her job the best she can. 

I really enjoyed reading A Thousand Farewells. It taught me more about the Middle East than I learned watching the news or reading the paper and it showed what the life of a journalist is really like.