Food Face Off, How two Companies Compare on Social Media.

Its hard to find a company today that does not use any social media, the real distinction is how it is utilized. I took a look at two companies, Denny's and Whole Foods, both with a focus on food, and compared how they go about creating an internet presence. The two companies both have advertising in mind, but the methods used are vastly different.

The attention Grabber

It is clear that the reason for any company to be active online is to make themselves visible to the public. But it looks like Denny's decided to add something extra. On both Facebook and Twitter they have a sense of humor. I looked up and down the page only rarely spotting a serous post or tweet, most of the time about a new special deal or event. This may sound pointless at first but they actually have a really good idea. The goal is not to teach you something new, but to grab your attention with these ridiculous tactics, and subconsciously make you crave the food. The tactic appears to be working because the breakfast food joint has 212K Followers on Twitter and 5.2M Likes on Facebook. The reason this works so well is Denny's target audience, returning customers. Most of the tweets attempt to put you in the mood for breakfast food, keeping in mind most people have been to a Denny's before. In addition to posting often, they also respond to comments and replies, while interacting directly with individual people. The most common type of interaction is responding to tweets about the food and over all creating a welcoming and friendly environment.

The Change maker

Whole Foods is a grocery store that specializes in organic and local food. Denny’s was comical, but Whole Foods uses their internet presence to make a difference. By sharing healthy recipes, and articles on important issues, they hope to make a positive impact on the agriculture business. An example is the recent “Save the pollinators” campaign to raise awareness about the declining numbers of important pollinating insects and animals. The method used was to post short 10-20 second videos about each of the pollinators. By keeping the media short and easy to understand, more people are likely to finish the video and hear all the information. The target audience for Whole Foods is health food enthusiasts, vegetarians, and local business, though I’m sure they would like to reach as many people as they can. While not as funny as Denny’s postings, I believe the helpful advice and ideas that Whole Foods offers is just as effective. With currently 4.07M Followers on Twitter and 1.7M Likes on facebook, whole foods has a huge fan base. Even with that many people, they still respond to every question asked which is quite impressive.

Though both companies have vastly different approaches to their social media presence, both methods have proven effective. The trick is to know your market and provide what they are looking for, be consistent, and most of all, engage with the public.   

TED Talk to Note

There seem to be an endless supply of TED Talks out there, with new ones coming out all the time. Depending on your interests and the speakers style, some will be more memorable than others. This particular talk, "5 Dangerous things you should let your kids do" by speaker Gever Tulley, stood out as one of the more relatable talks I have watched. In it he talks about how safety regulations are growing out of hand and what your children can do to learn how to keep themselves safe through experimentation.

Gever opens by introducing himself as a Contract computer scientist, and Founder of the tinkering school, which is a summer program for children that allow them to learn about how things work via first hand experience. This Leads into a conversation about how Child safety regulations are found on just about everything and how this limits children from learning how to keep themselves safe. If you never encounter danger, you will never be able to avoid it on your own. This leads to the point of the TED talk which is, Let your kids do things you might be dangerous with supervision, so they when unsupervised or as they grow older that have an understanding of how to keep themselves safe. 

The first on the list of activities is "Play with fire", explaining that poking at a campfire or holding leaves over a candle can teach children about the basics of combustion and how to control a larger fire. Second is "Own a Pocket knife" which is an important multi-tool and is must have for children around the world. While I personally was very afraid of my little brother waving his flame covered stick around while camping, I did have my own pocket knife growing up that I loved. I used it for everything from poking around in the dirt, to unscrewing the battery case on my toys. His third item on the list was "Throw a spear" as a physical and mental activity. Fourth, and in my opinion most important, is "Deconstruct Appliances". For most children, the majority of everyday things such as a refrigerator or oven are just magic boxes. When they are able to take them apart, even if both of you are just taking a guess at what the parts are, it allows the child to see that it works for a reason. This forms and understanding that things can be built and sparks an interest in creating basic machines from tape, cardboard, string and other household items. The Final activity on the list is "Drive a Car" the intent being in a controlled safe place such as a private lot or an empty parking lot. 

Gever appears nervous but is able to keep the audience attention through the use of visuals. Throughout the presentation, he has pictures of children doing the activities and most of the time the pictures are quite funny. It was quite an effective tool to lighten the mood of the presentation and to remind the listeners that its just a suggestion not mandatory. Where he may lack in confidence he makes up for with speech writing skill. The presentation as a whole was well put together and each part was given just the right amount of time. It was easy to follow all the way through and in the end I find myself completely agreeing with him. I don't have kids of my own but I now have much more trust in letting them experiment and learn by experimentation, not instruction.

Computers Need Checkups Too

Holidays are filled with an abundance of food and the joy of seeing family. This Easter had all of that but for me it included something a little extra, I was playing doctor for the day. My Grandmother had been complaining of slow performance and crashes, before she could even ask I had offered to help. "This Computer is almost as old as your brother" She said excitedly. She was proud to have kept it running as long as it has, But unfortunately for me she was not wanting to invest anymore money into it or make any major changes. Immediately this eliminated my plans to add more RAM and Upgrade to Win 7. So this ended up as more of a checkup then a surgery. 

I went with a simple plan, Evaluate what needed to happen, Clear out any outdated or unneeded programs, Update everything, then check and defrag the disks. I knew there would be a lot of old programs because she never liked to get rid of anything, implying that it is something she knew how to do. While uninstalling programs I realized  I was more guilty than anyone because most of what I had to get rid of was long forgotten computer games and other garbage I had installed myself when I was much younger. The list grew, Sims (and all the expansions ever made), math adventures, Oregon trail, Zoo tycoon. I don't even remember playing half of them. 

After clearing out years of abusing Grandmas computer, it was time to update what remained. I would love to describe this but all that comes to mind is click and wait. Wait so long you dye eggs, bake a cake, and socialize with family. Most of all, hope and pray that it the bar will someday move from 13%.

Once the endless waiting for Updates was done it was time to take care of the Drive. I ran a few disk check programs and commands to see if anything was out of place or broken, then attempt to fix it or remove it. Now that all the data was nice choppy I ran a much needed defrag. I thought that would be the end of it but while shutting down I noticed the dust buildup in the vents. With my boyfriends help and a can of air we sprayed out enough dust to block out the sun. 

Grandma was very happy with how smooth everything was running and it feels good to be able to help her. She has been caring for me for the past 20 years, the least I could do was spend a few hours helping her. Perhaps someday I will be able to convince her to leave vista behind but for now everything is running smoothly. 

News from the iFair

This week I was able to attend the iFair at the Harley-Davidson University Building. While there I was able to see many schools and companies share what they have to offer in the world of technology and engineering. I was pleased to see so many young people learning and showing an interest in such a growing industry.

One of the first things I encountered was a dissection and explanation of a typical computer and its parts. The group was in the middle of teaching several very engaged students the location and function of the most important components. The heat sink had been removed and excitedly passed around. I was happy to see that they also had a laptop for me to play with. A minute or two of pulling things apart and replacing them and I decided it was time to move on.













The MATC Logo caught my eye and of course I wanted to see what my school had to offer. I was very impressed with the display and how they presented themselves. They had samples from the digital art and engineering departments. They had utilized the 3D printer do display both the internal structure of 3D printed objects and the medical applications of printed prosthetics. They also had representatives from the programming and the support programs. As I walked past I could see a a page of code going by on one screen and the program on another. This particular booth was very popular and it was hard to get close, so I made way for some prospective students and headed to the next booth.

Simple task robots are some of the most charming contraptions in my opinion. This robotics school had prepared a few for the event, and I was very exited to see them move. Unfortunately I had came late to the event and it appeared that most of the people running the booth had left. They only had one person and he was engaged with a group of high schoolers. While I respect the choice to focus on the perspective students, I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I waited for a little while browsing the pamphlets and posters before giving up and moving on.

There were many other interesting and creative groups represented here, And this gives me a lot of hope for future students. It feels as though every year there are more and more new technology programs beginning or expanding at schools all over. From what I could see most of the student were very engaged and genuinely interested. Attending the iFair made me proud to be one of many people exploring and perusing a future in the IT field.

Preparing for A+

As an IT professional I know the importance of certifications. The CompTIA a+ certification is the beginning when climbing the computer support ladder. Soon I will be going in to get my Cert and I have created a list of everything I did to prepare.

The Start:
The Very beginning for me, and the logical Starting point, Was to enroll in the A+ class at MATC. This class covers everything you need to take the Exam, as well as gives you hands on experience. I have yet to complete the class, but so far everything has been very clear and helpful. The added bonus with this class is that the textbook is a great review tool.

Purchase the Voucher:
I purchased mine directly through my teacher which gave me half off on both parts of the exam. But if you are not enrolled in the class you can purchase the Cert vouchers directly through the CompTia website. Depending on your employer, they may also provide a certification Discount.

Read and Read again:
You should never go into any test unprepared. Alongside the class you should have some kind of study guide. This can be in the form of books or web resources, I have used both with great success. Besides knowing the material you should also get to know the test-taking rules, such as what you are allowed to bring in with you, how much time you have, and whether you can return to questions. This changes often and should be reviewed a few days before the set date.

Lets do it:
Get a good night sleep, Eat a good breakfast, Relax and get your A+ Certification.

Why I am at MATC

When I enrolled at MATC I was looking at a career in bio-tech. I had chosen MATC because of the many locations and ability to transfer to another university if i needed to relocate. My first semester started out a little rough and I realized Bio-tech was not right for me. I had always loved technology and after looking at my options I decided IT-Networking was a great fit for me. From the first class I have felt right at home and have learned so much. In about a year I should be finishing up my Degree program here and begin looking for internships. The goal for me at graduation is go find a job as a server administrator and be able to continue my education further.