Holidays!

It’s the holidays! Such a relief to get a break off Uni however short it is. I unfortunately weren’t able to go home to Darwin these holidays (as I attend Cromwell College) but fortunately my mum lives in Brisbane so I was able to spend some time with her. My brother and sister also came down from Darwin for a few days, which was nice as well. We went night kayaking on the Brisbane River, and went under the story bridge that was both thrilling and daunting! College was very quiet; there were about 20-30 people there when there are usually at least 250! I had planned to get a lot of Uni work out of the way, but it never happened. One of my good friends from College, “Gump” (fresher name) lives in Mooloolaba and invited me to stay there for three nights. When I first arrived at her house I couldn’t believe it!! It was one of the most prestigious houses I’d ever seen in my life, right on the marina. Everything you can possibly imagine in a house she had it! But she is so unbelievably modest I had no idea her family was that wealthy. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t ideal beach weather while I was there, however we were lucky for about an hour on one of the days to head down to the beach! While I was there I discovered my love for second hand shopping, where I bought 8 items of clothing for about $30! We did too much shopping, but we had a lot of fun in the process. Gump and I also caught up with one our friends from College, Shrim (fresher name). We had breakfast right on the beach, which was nice. Overall, I had an amazing time and am so lucky to have made so many great friends at College! By the time Gump and I returned to college, the majority of people were back. It was good to catch up with everyone and hear what have had been up to over the holidays!

Cromwell Ball

Last week was our annual Cromwell Ball.  All the girls got their hair and make up done, and saved money by wearing their formal dresses from their year 12 formal. I, on the other hand had to pay for it all my self, so I decided on doing my own hair and makeup, which in the end, worked out well. The location of ball was a secret that the third year socials had organized. When we got off the bus we discovered the secret location was the Victoria Park Golf Complex. It was so nice, and we were welcomed with fancy beer and champagne. As the night progressed we had entrée, mains and dessert along with many photos taken and alcohol all night! The food was delicious, and a nice change to college food. Everyone looked amazing, and tore up the dance floor. All in all it was a great night! Following ball was ball recovery, which was held at the Paddo. The idea of recovery is to dress up as ridiculous as you can and get extremely intoxicated! It was a great day, cheap drinks and good company. A lovely way to end the Ball!

COMU1152 - Media Conference 3

In todays lecture, we had guest speaker Luke Royes, who is an ABC Online Journalist. He discussed the use of different social media's to keep up to date with what people are doing, and allowing people to know what he is doing. Firstly he discusses Twitter, which is his most used form of social media. He discusses how Facebook has some strengths Twitter doesn't have such as photo albums, videos and check in. 4square is another form of communication and is used to check in via mobile. Luke mentions that this media isn't as popular, as Facebook can check in as well as many other things 4square can't. Instragram is used to send out photos of what people are doing and is good for keeping brand recognition. Pintrist is another form of internet communication, and works in with Facebook and Twitter,  as an online pin board. Luke continues to discuss that ABC joined social media 5-7 yrs ago, and even since have used Twitter and Facebook to drive what theyre doing, and enables others to share and discuss their stories. Twitter is used to generate traffic to the site, and is good for getting in contact with people, and asking to send through photos. Personally, Luke first used Facebook 4-5 yrs ago, and was initially asked not to mention work related issues via social media. Now however, it is encouraged for employees to share what they are doing and where they are going. An interesting aspect of social media Luke discussed is how mistakes and negative opinions on social media can reflect upon you in a professional aspect, as well as your company. Therefore it is vital to be careful with what you say even if it isn’t work related, as well as the basics such as no typos with what you write. I found it interesting that businesses and companies can take advantage of what you post on Facebook and Twitter and use it against you personally and turn it around to look bad on your company also. Learning about how companies use social media gave an insight into the advancement of the technological world. It also made me weary that what you post doesn't only impact on you, but also the company you are working for.