Reflective post: ALES 204

Where to begin..

This class taught me many things and opened my eyes to numerous resources that i never knew existed. Many of them i would probably go on using even after this class because of how useful they are in assisting me succeed. I find that many of things you learn in school don't really apply to the real world or it doesn't get pass the classroom door, but ALES 204 supplied me with tools that will benefit me greatly. Tools such as google doc, Audioboo, Linkedin(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn), Twitter, etc and even blogging became useful for not only this class, but other classes that i took. It helped me connect and widen my social network, which is something i think everyone needs. Like they say "its the people you know, that gets you places."I really believe this saying because it implies to everyone. 

Another thing i enjoyed about this class were the labs. They were really interactive and gave us the opportunity to practice and adapt what we have learned. Most labs that i've taken so far were really dreadful. Get in, get out. This is probably one of the first times that i didn't feel the need to bolt out the door. One of the aspects it help me improve on the most was public speaking. Awesome! 

Lastly, this course was packed with tips and hints about anything and everything. It help me realize the mistakes that i even make today and provided me some ways to improve them. Very helpful for my writing skills that's for sure. Also, the course covered various basic fundamentals that other classes didn't, so it was refreshing to clear up some concept that i didn't quite grasp from the beginning.

To summarize,

-awesome class intertwines many helpful resources

-allowed me to improve greatly in all personal skill areas

-broader social networking skills

-cleared basic fundamental concept

-O right not to mention interact with classmates and read amazing blogs such as Lisa's!

Thanks ALES204!
My blog comments for lisa, Pc, Dana, ashley and nicole!

Twitter vs. Facebook

 I have decided to make a list of pros and cons for both Twitter and Facebook to help me pick the superior social media tread. I have to say, i am a little bias because before ALES 204, Twitter did not exist in my internet world.  

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002982068314

Pros

-befriend long lost friends 

-live news feed 

-fun games

-liked button

-event calendar 

-birthday reminders (A MUST!)

-facebook chat 

-photo uploads and viewing other peoples photos
-career related profiles 

Cons

                                                      -consumes your life
                                                      -makes you addicted to checking it at least twice a day 

                                                      -keeps you up at night chatting 

                                                      -time consuming 

                                                      -makes you procrastinate 

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/

Pros

-short status and not paragraphs to read

-numerous links to other websites 

-no limiting to posting 

-global audience 

-celebrities use it 

-get to follow people that you have never met in real life

-find tweets on every topic in the history of mankind
-better for mobile use that Facebook

                                                      Cons

                                                      -word limit (some of us have lots to say)
                                                      -only limited to reading status (profile picture does not cut it sometimes)
                                                      -reading pointless statuses

                                                      -too many notifications if you follow many people or if its just one enthusiastic twitterer

                                                      -causes people to tweet instead of reporting danger 

So what to choose: Facebook my long time friend or twitter my newly made friend? I choose... BOTH =D Because it never hurt any one to have more than one friend, or social media options in this case. I also get to have the best of both worlds and I'm not going to argue with that.  Check out Dana's blog where she talks about other social network websites. 

Wiki: Food Rotation System

Have you heard of food rotation systems? Well if your like me, it wasn't until i came across it at a fairly new job that i understood why we needed it. This is also the reason why i chose to write and edit this topic on wikipedia. Not only did i want to share my knowledge, but gain a little more about this system that some businesses have incorporated. 

From work, they used the rotation system mostly on ketchup,steak sauce and salad dressings that are taken from the original bottles and used to fill the restaurant's own branded bottles. With this, the business cut costs by buying bulk bottles instead of individual ones and also reducing the cost spent on ramekins (for those who don't know, these are the mini glass bowls) that were perviously filled with the condiments. How the system works is that if the bottles were half empty, we would marry them together and with the completely empty bottle it would be wash and filled with fresh product. Then, in the refrigerator where they are stored, the fresh product gets pushed to the back of the refrigerator, while the older product are kept at the front. This rotation keeps the condiments fresh and the quality standard high. 

While editing my Wiki stub (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_rotation_system), i learned many new things about food rotation that i didn't know before. One of them being that according to FDA regulations foods must have labels that include dates of when it was packaged and when it must be used by. Reason being is because of shelf life. The labels reinforce expiration dates that need to be adhered to. Another point i found interesting was that the rotation system goes hand in hand with the aspect of food safety. When it comes to handling food, safety is a big issue because it is detrimental to a business if they do not provide a safe product with minimal bacterial food borne pathogens to the public. They risk being shut down by the government and tarnishing their name/reputation.

So to summarize:

1. Consider food rotation system if and when enter food industry

2. Use labels to help differentiate old products from fresh ones and ROTATE!

3. Avoid factors that will bring a bad name to your business i.e food borne illnesses! 

Don't forget to check out ashley's blog and her wiki stub! 

The Facebook Era: Used for business?

When I say Facebook, majority of the individuals know what I am referring to nowadays, but there are also the selected few that may not know what I'm talking about. To summarize, Facebook to me, is one of the largest communication networks out there today and the users range from children to grandparents. Personally, I have not used Facebook for professional business as of yet, but i have used in it my personal life to connect with friends, family, etc. Also, it has worked wonders in reminding me when people's birthdays are and upcoming events that i might want to attend, but the way that the social media is expanding, I think that in the near future i may be using it for that dream job or as simple as getting my resume out there with out leaving my house.

There are already sources that exist where it talks about a guide to using Facebook for professional business:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-101-business-guide/. 

This website suggests things such as "growing your network" or "check your photo for consistency," which i agree with because if you have met people in your field of work, it possible that they may know and connect to many more people that share the same interest as you. I think when dealing with business or work, it is always a great idea to grow your network because at the end of the day it all about who you know and connections that you make with people that might land you that dream job. Who doesn't want that? I know i do! 

There are other benefits that Facebook can play in the professional business world such organizing information and relaying information to employers or employees, but it can also be a way to let those thousands and thousands of colleagues, managers, supervisors, etc. know that you exist. Facebook can allow people you associate with to put names to faces and I also agree with this classmate's blog post http://kelvinwwong.blogspot.com/, where he states that it is useful for people to reference to you from your profile page. People may not want to ask you your name for the 100th time, so they can play it safe and just check out your profile page. Another benefit is that if i wanted to let my future colleagues know about interesting information or warn others to beware of my bad day, a post of Facebook will suffice.

So, cheers to Facebook for I will no longer be called "that employee," my name is LINDA check my profile!

Introductory Post

Hello blogging world, my name is Linda Phan and this is the first time in my life that i have created a blog. A little about me is that right now i am a human ecology major but my goal is to transfer to the nutrition and food science major and do a minor in physical activity.

In the field of study that i am working towards, the role of communication is essential. Things such as networking with all nutrition resources (books, blogs, forums, websites, and even people) is important in that it provides a data base where information can be accessed readily even if you yourself do not have the answer.http://www.healthpost.ca/forums/nutrition/

It can help you be knowledgeable fast and share that knowledge with others. Another role of communication would be to spread the word of healthy diets or actions as opposed to unhealthy ones through social media. Word can travel at its fastest to reach those in needs. Lastly, the role of communication in this field of study is to promote your innovative ideas and health plans to people who can use it. If you can not communicate your idea across, it would be useless in that it will not produce an impact to the world around you.