The Canadian Journal of Communication

hello everyone,

Today I spent some time reading through the blogs being posted by students in our class, and enjoyed my time. I thought to myself I wonder if there is some sort of academic version of discussion on communication in Canada. The internet is a crazy world, so I found The Canadian Journal of Communication. Their mission statement includes this "The purview of the journal is the entire field of communication studies as practiced in Canada or with relevance to Canada". I browsed a few articles including: 

Reality TV Formats: The Case of Canadian Idol	ABSTRACT PDF
Doris Baltruscha

 It was quite interesting to see professors and writers opinions on things that interest us. 


Check it out at the link below 


http://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/index

Social Networking

Social Networking

Shortly after Facebook announced plans for an initial public offering, its founder Mark Zuckerberg made a public statement stating that his company remained committed to a social mission.

He stated that Facebook believes that a “more open world is a better world." He also claimed that his product was "extending people's capacity to build and maintain relationships."

I do agree with Mr. Zuckerberg, in that a more open and accessible world is a better world. Simply because I believe that information flow would be improved by enhanced efficiency.  Though, in regards to Facebook this ‘world’ is limited to the internet. Facebook is strictly making what is posted on their site more available, and I do not believe it makes the world more open or accessible. If anything I believe that Facebook could add to an overall better world by have more privacy setting, making personal information on Facebook less accessible, not more open.

Also in regards to this article I do not agree with Mark Zuckerberg statement that his product, Facebook, is “extending people's capacity to build and maintain relationships". Yes, it is true that it does extend people capacity to build relationships, simply because is it making searching for people online much easier. Though, in reality Facebook does not always foster these relationships. In some cases, because of all of the personal information made available online, Facebook ends up completely screwing up relationships.

This house believes that society benefits when we share personal information online.

This debate within the Economist looks at both sides of the argument.

In regards to the argument put forth

·         70% Voted Yes

·         30% Voted No

Take a look at the debate. It is closed now, but it is still interesting to look at both sides of a great debate.

http://www.economist.com/debate/days/view/806

8 Conversation Competencies for Leaders

As a leader, communication is a key to success. If a leader cannot communicate efficiently with his or her employees, customers, stakeholders and peers, the organization can end up with unmotivated and low morale employees, an unproductive environment and much more, therefore a loss of financials and a high turnover. The following article is an article that lists eight conversation competencies a leader should hold to be successful in the workplace. This article talks mainly about the CEO but I believe they are crucial for all leaders in the workplace to be successful. As we all are future leaders I believe this article is something we can all benefit from when we take leadership roles in the future.

 

http://www.hrvoice.org/eight-conversation-competencies-for-leaders-2/

Why Professional Communications?

Hi all,

        This blog post is about how important our communication proficiency is in the real world. Even if English is your second language, more and more employers are requiring a better command of the language, especially in a business context. As this National Post article comments that even recent graduates are not proficient enough at communicating in the English language. Which means we need to pay more attention in class, learn to proofread, and become better communicators. The results of paying more attention, gleaning all we can from each class will mean that each of us is more employable than those who lag behind!

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/Want+advance+your+career+Improve+your+business+English/4791013/story.html

To Drink or not to Drink

Bob has urged us not to send e-mails when, sleepy, angry, hung over, high, drunk and when experiencing delusions of granduer.

I recently read an article that discusses whether or not is it appropriate to drink at work functions. HR professionals were polled and found that it was acceptable at:

• 70 percent: at a holiday party,
• 40 percent: at a meal with a client or customer,
• 32 percent: at a retirement party,
• 28 percent: at the celebration of a company milestone,
• 22 percent: at a meal with a coworker,
• 4 percent: at a meal during a job interview, and
• 14 percent: never.

Article: http://humanresources.about.com/od/networking/qt/drink_i3.htm

My job right out of high school was at a retail organization and I knew that working there was only temporary. Therefore, I engaged in a lot of drinking at work events.

At my current job, I limited myself to two drinks at the holiday party. Why? I can see myself working at this organization long term and was one night of getting drunk worth the possibility of making a fool of myself in front of my manager?

What are your thoughts? The article suggests analyzing the workplace culture to make sure that even having a few drinks at a lunch meeting is acceptable. 

You don't want to end up like this girl: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypy8h95ntOo&feature=related

CSIS has fun ?

CSIS is Canada’s spy agency much like the CIA in America. Today I read an article outlying a funny investigation that CSIS conducted on the correspondence between Conservative MP Bob Dechert and a Chinese reporter named Shi Rong who works for Xinhua. The Chinese news agency Xinhua is “widely suspected by western intelligence agencies of having links to China's spy services”. This is the reason why CSIS did the investigation in the first place. The Canadian Press obtained the documents under the Access to Information Act.

Examples of the email correspondence represent an innocent friendly relationship and nothing threatening national security. On lookers did not understand the sarcasm between the MP and reporter. This is an example of a weak communication channel. If the comments were made in person people would understand the sarcasm. Instead the government most likely spent $30,000 dollars investigating a long chain of emails that looked like this …. 

"You are so beautiful. I really like the picture of you by the water with your cheeks puffed. That look is so cute. I love it when you do that. Now, I miss you even more," wrote Dechert in an email sent on April 17, 2010.

The article is listed below

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/national/article/188341--spy-service-got-a-kick-out-of-conservative-mp-s-mash-notes-to-chinese-journalist

The Beauty of Data Visualizations

Hello All,

I was pondering what to post about in this blog. Then the thought came to me about how we had to have visualizations in our answers for some of the questions on the test. My immediate thought was: "Why?" What do visualizations do that make it necessary to implement them in a written exam and why do people ever need visualizations? We talked about this in class and how they communicate far more efficiently then our words ever could. The link at the end of this blog directs you to a TED talk about visualizations and what they do for human communication. Our visual senses pick up more then all of our other senses combined and if we include this in our writing and communication, then I believe that all of our future writings can be more efficient and interesting.


The video is 18 minutes long but I found very interesting:
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization.html

Jeopardy - Miscommunication

Last week a Jeopardy fanatic and colleague at my work was asking me about my classes this semester. When I told him I was in a class called Professional Communications he asked me to explain what exactly we study. I went over the course outline briefly and told him about the miscommunication assignment we did at the beginning of the semester. He then insisted I watch a Jeopardy clip that he claims is beyond hilarious...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viY_djqFw3U

Though it is not as funny as I anticipated, it just goes to show how easy it is, even for a student at Duke, to misinterpret a question – which eventually leads to miscommunication.

Audience Analysis?

I came into work this week to find the following 2 handwritten notes tacked to the wall. My first thought was "when did the accounting department hire a 5 year old?" My second thought was "who is the intended audience for these notes, was an audience analysis performed?"

If I told you a 50 year old man wrote these to an office of middle aged women who have been working with the company from 4 to 20 years and who all know how to wash dishes, would you believe me?

Are we all in agreement that it would of been a better idea to send an email or verbally communicate your frustration, after you confront your 19 year old son that recently was hired?

Good office communication is important. Let's all stop and think about who we are communicating with before we pull out the pink highlighters and tacks.

Do you want to avoid the "dead air" moment in your professional or social settings?. The article "Top Small Topic for Business" talks about the top topics to talk about to start small talks. It explains it in chunks, why the topics are great and how they are always good start up a conversation. The top topic to start up is "Sports" and the last one on this great list is "Television". Check out the link to find out what comes in between these two topics by clicking on the link below.

Top Small Talk Topics for Business:

 

http://interpersonalcommunicationblog.com/index.php/top-small-talk-topics-business/

Resume Problems ?

Good day,

I was in need of some comic relief this morning. Have you ever made an error on a serious report or maybe resume ? When I say error I don't mean missing a concept or thought. I'm talking about the little misplaced word that makes a regular sentence turn into a belly of laughter for the reader. Specifically I read a website today listing hundreds of resume mistakes. An example would be "Career break in 1999 to renovate my horse" or "an applicant ghosted a headshot as the background to her resume"After I stopped laughing (30min later) I realized how important it is to allow someone to read over your resume. Its hard sometimes for people to be vulnerable to someones critical analysis, especially a resume. For people that don't believe in proof reading I ask you this. Would you rather make the mistakes of the people on this website or have one of your friends laugh at you ? 


Link is posted below !


Cheers 




Read more at: http://jobmob.co.il/blog/funniest-resume-mistakes/#ixzz1mQ92Bn4R

The Embridge Project, and the effect on Aboriginal Relations in BC

This article is a great informational resource to gain a better understanding of the current Aboriginal relations issues that are currently unfolding in British Columbia.

For over a decade, the Alberta based company "Enbridge" has been making strong efforts to develop an oil pipe line from Northern Alberta to BC Coasts.  The major issue with this project is that it would travel through over a hundred First Nations communities, and pass through several primary salmon spawning rivers. The First Nations communities are opposed to the idea because they fear their cultures being destroyed.

The article highlights all the wrong-doings of the company over the past 10 years. The most significant of which is when the company cut down 14 trees that had spiritual and cultural meaning. This act alone is symbolic of the relationship that the First Nations communities in Nortern BC that are united feel with Enbridge.

I'd highly suggest anyone who is interested in learning more about the current issues within Aboriginal relations in BC to read the article. It is quite lengthy, but definitely worth the read. It covers a lot, and leaves the reader with a basic understanding of why much of BC land is still under treaty negotiations.

Link to full article:
http://m.thetyee.ca/News/2012/01/16/Enbridge-First-Nations-Relations/

Smaller cell-phone companies in Canada at risk

This article discusses the risk that small cell-phone service providers are facing in the competitive Canadian market. I remember just a few years ago when a few small cell-phone companies emerged in the market offering substantially lower prices then the market leaders. After several years of existance, some of the reaons why they were able to offer lower prices are beginning to surface.

One person who was interviewed in the article shows his disappointment with the service reception, as well as the customer service he has been provided with by the new carrier, Mobility. Although Mobilicity offers low prices and no fixed-term contracts, they are able to still make a profit becuase they don't have nearly the amount of cell phone towers to pay for as industry leaders such as Rogers. This is one of the reasons why these companies have a sort of economies of scale advantage over the smaller companies.

This makes complete sense, though, as a huge company such as Rogers has lower fixed-costs when averaged out against the amount of customers they provide services to. The Article also indicates that the govenrment has tried to create less market restrictons for small companies such as Mobilicity to enter into the cell-phone market, but this has shown little success as well.

Worth a read, especially if your considering a change of service providers.

Link to Full Article:
 
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/canadas-newly-competitive-cellphone-market-at-risk/article2334878/

The Best Career Advice of All Time: Shut Up

This article focuses on the importance of silence in having a good initial conversation. It states that, most of the time, the difference between a good conversation and a terrible one depends on who did most of the talking.

The key concept is not to completely shut up and be an unresponsive robot. Rather, the author advises us to tone it down a bit and be a listener, rather than the talker. Letting other people indulge in the desire to hear themselves can pay off in two ways. First, it steers the conversation towards a topic they are familiar with (and hopefully like). Second, it prevents us from monopolizing the conversation, which they say will likely make a bad impression.

To summarize:
Try not to take hold of the conversation by talking on and on about yourself. Instead, ask a lot of questions and encourage other people to talk about themselves.



The full article:
http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2012/01/31/quite-possibly-the-best-career-advice-of-all-time-shut-up/

Here’s Looking at You (but I’m Still Texting)

The New York Times recently posted about a new software that lets people text more discreetly. The software was developed so that you can touch your phone through the material of your jacket or pants and hand write a message, the software would then interpret the message and send it. The article states that this could have many new uses for professionals in meetings that need to reply quickly or when it is awkward to pull out your phone in front of someone. But this seems to me just another step away from professional communication or it could just be an easier way to foster and maintain relationships in this every more technological world.

Article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/12/business/texting-without-looking-on-a-new-touch-screen.html?_r=1&ref=business

9 Ways Students Can Use Social Media to Boost Their Careers

Whether you like it or not, Social Media is happening and it is here to stay. If you are not on broad now, you are behind your peers who are going after the same jobs as you. By not embracing Social Media you are making yourself less knowledgeable and employable, so get started now!

Kate Brodock, the executive director of digital and social media at Syracuse University, has put together a list of 9 things that students need to consider when they start to use social media professionally.

I feel that #9 on the list is one of the most important for students to understand. It is "What you do now will pay off later." If you wait to begin your online presence until after graduation YOU ARE LATE. Here is a list of the benefits of using Social Media professionally while still in school:

- You position yourself as forward-thinking

- You forge stronger industry connections

- You strengthen your on-paper credentials

With these benefits coming from something assessable to everyone, you have no excuse to not be involved with Social Media.

Check out the following link for the complete list of things to consider when starting to use Social Media professionally while in school:

http://mashable.com/2012/02/10/students-job-search-social-media/

What forms of Social Media are you using while studying at Kwantlen?

Radio Communications

Good Day, 

Most of the time when radio is used for communication it is critical that each side decodes the message properly. Some examples of important situations would be Air traffic control towers, police radios, and army communications. For example, in the army you never say repeat on the radio. You always say "say again" if you want the person to repeat what they just said. If your talking to the artillery or infantry on the radio and say "repeat" the soldiers will send an artillery shell down range in the same place it was fired before. This could be problematic if soldiers are surveying the area just bombed. 

Below is a radio communications guide so you can better understand how to communicate on the radio 

R radio communication procedures.indd

Forget Networking. It's time to learn how to Connect.

This article from entrepreneur.com addresses an aspect that surpasses networking: Being a connector. A connector, they describe, is someone who is interested in everything and is not afraid to reach out and meet people.

Networking, as described by Jill Leiderman, is a "means to an end" whereas connecting is "using a genuine love of meeting people and making friends to engage and assist another".

The article goes on to explain the traits of what makes a connector, and whether or not people are born with that skill or if it is something that can be learnt.

If you wish to learn more about it, here is the link provided below:

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222707?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+entrepreneur%2Flatest+%28Entrepreneur%29

10 Relationship Words With No Single Word Translation in English

This article includes “The Top 10 Relationship Words That Aren't Translatable into English". It is interesting to think that other languages have a single word translation for these complicated feelings and emotions. Some of these emotions can take us sentences to express in words. It would seem that a single word would be more effective at communicating feelings, then our long explanations. 

Take a look.

http://bigthink.com/ideas/41152

RIM - Fighting back

It now relies on Thorsten Heins to “save” RIM. A company that is still losing major clients, the most recent being Halliburton Co. which is a large oil and gas industry company, an energy saving, based in Houston, Texas. Halliburton Co. said they have “plans to replace about 4,500 company-issued BlackBerrys with iPhones within two years”. Among Halliburton Co., another company RIM has recently lost in the last year is Dell, who switched 25,000 phones in November 2011 to Microsoft’s Windows 7 platform. Citigroup and Bank of America who have over 500,000 employees together have been looking at switching to iPhone as well.

"Just last week, Google Inc.’s Android platform reportedly received approval for use by certain members of the United States military and government agencies and bring-your-own-device policies (BYOD) are becoming increasingly popular in the enterprise". They choose Google because Apple refused to cooperate about the use of security features for government employees.

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/02/07/halliburton-abandons-blackberry-picks-up-iphone/

But the question is what does this mean for RIM? “RIM’s share of the United States smartphone market has plummeted from a high of 42.1% two years ago to just 16% by the end of 2011”. However, this hasn’t slowed Thorsten Heins one bit; it seems it has only motivated him; in fact RIM is holding a job fair at their Bedford offices in New Brunswick on Wednesday February 8, 2012. RIM has made it clear they are fighting and that they are committed to their renewed commitment to their loyal customers. This can only be a good sign for such an ground-breaking company.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/59833-rim-hiring-30-people-bedford-office

RIM - Communication in our hand

Everyone knows that Research in Motion(RIM) has the reputation, and the fact in market share, that it is a slowly declining company in direct competition with Google’s Android smartphones and Apple’s iPhone. I recently learned that RIM’s Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis stepped down as CEO’s and named their Chief Operating Officer, Thorsten Heins, as their new president and CEO effective immediately, as of January 22, 2012.

It seems that it was a long awaited conclusion as Balsillie and Lazaridis have continuously made promises that they have not been able to keep in the last couple years. That their technology is always a step behind their competitors. One promise was that the BlackBerry’s new operating system BB 10 that will still not be ready till later this year. Could Thorsten Heins be RIM’s saving grace? Could he finally bring the company back into the spotlight and be a formidable competitor? RIM has been a leading company in regards to large corporations in the business sector with their security features. After re-launching themselves on a social level they regained some customers, many being teenagers.

What will this development do for the future of one of the first smartphone founders? They've had a significant impact on government members. They created this innovative form(at least 10 years ago it was) of communication that has taken a hold of our modern world in more ways than we ever could have imagined.

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/01/23/clock-strikes-zero-for-rims-jim-balsillie-and-mike-lazaridis/

Syrian President's Email Hacked!

Remember the checklist to go over before you send an email?  Here's a reminder:

- Don’t email when you are drinking.

- Don’t email when you are hung over.

- Don’t email when you are high.

- Don’t email when you’re angry.

- Don’t email when you are sleepy.

- Don’t email when you are experiencing delusions of grandeur.

- Don’t email, etc., etc., etc.

- I mean it: DON’T.

Well, here is a good example why.  You never know where that email could eventually end up.  You would think that even if you were sending an email to the PRESIDENT it should be pretty secure right?  Guess again!  

Anonymous, the notorious hacking group, managed to hack into the email account of the Syrian president.  Yes, as you can imagine, after months, days, and hours of sweat, blood, and tears they forced their way into the account protected by the password '12345'. They’ve leaked a few emails from the inbox that have circulated the office.  

Click the link for more details.

http://on.mash.to/wplgtM

-A

What is the real meaning of "hold your horses"?

This idea was brought up in class last week and I thought I would take the next step and provide a "technical" definition for this idiom of the English language.  Many website's, including Wikipedia, explain the term with the relation that "If someone tells you to hold your horses, you are doing something too fast and they would like you to slow down" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hold_your_horses).  A literal translation of the phrase means to keep your horses still with relation to riding a horse or with a horse and buggy. 

The term's origins seem to be from 19th century America where it was commonly written as "hold your hosses", where "hosses" is a slang word for horse or the way horses was interpreted with an American accent. Whichever way the idiom was written or heard, today it basically means to be patient or slow down.  

So the next time you ask someone to "hold your horses" think about where the original meaning came from and don't be surprised if they hand you the reins!

Also check out this link for more information: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/184400.html

Emotional Intelligence

A great piece of work by Daniel Goleman, summarizing on how emotional intelligence is becoming a huge part of a lot of organizations. Emotional Intelligence now becoming part of hiring process in the business world, educating young adults about being aware of their emotions, and have been a discussion of some faiths. I agree with the context of this writing. Educating everyone on emotional intelligence can make communication in our daily life a lot more positive.

Here is the link to Daniel's writing: http://danielgoleman.info/topics/emotional-intelligence/

Ginny Dybenko: Is there a good way to deliver bad news?

This is a very short clip by Ginny Dybenko (Executive Director of the Centre for Digital Media) on how to deliver bad news in a good way. It is a great clip that can help all of us in our professional and personal life. I would encourage everyone to look into it.


Here is the link to the clip: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/02/07/ginny-dybenko-is-there-a-good-way-to-deliver-bad-news/

Bullet Proof Suit

jello everyone,

A bullet proof car, vest, and window. All things I constantly see in action movies and Abbotsford. Today well browsing gizmodo I found a bullet proof suit . During the presidenital inaugural Obama walked on the streets with out any glass protection. A scary thought considering the current gun laws in the lovely United States. Not to worry the article explains he was wearing a bullet proof suit ! I honestly could not believe the suits powers, but no i found a video. Miguel Caballero designs fashionable bullet proof clothing for jouranlists and VIP's. To be honest it looks like he has a monopoly on the market currently. The fact that he's from Colombia might have something to do with this unsure. Still talk about a smart business decision. It is rumoured that Miguel designed the suit for president obama to his exact specifications. Talk about creating your own market ! He also has done a great job through his website communicating to his customers. You cannot buy direct, you have to email and speak with representatives. This allows his target market, most likely wealthy/scared people, to feel personally communicated with. This differentnates Miguel from the rest of the market, through simple communication.  Personally I just think the whole operation is pretty professional.

Here is miguel's website http://www.miguelcaballerousa.com/

Here is miguel shooting someone point blank with .38 calibre pistol in a nice jacket http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-SJ33qMRKFY