Twitter

     Lately, everyone has been talking about Twitter.  I’ve heard about it from friends, family, and instructors.  While I was initially resistant to the idea of posting updates about what I was doing all the time, I’ve begun to warm up to the idea of Twitter.  It could be a great way to get my name out there and let people know that I am searching for a job in the publishing industry. 

 

     Twitter is a free social messaging tool that allows people to stay connected.  You can update your status on your cell phone, instant messenger, or through the twitter website.  To create a twitter account you simply have to give your email address and come up with a username that isn’t already in use.  Once you have an account, twitter helps you search for people you know by accessing your friends and contacts on msn messenger or hotmail.  As well, twitter gives suggestions for people you could follow.  Some of those people include well-known bloggers and celebrities. 

 

     Here is a video that explains Twitter in plain and simple terms.

 

     Twitter allows you to follow people even if you don’t know them.  Depending on the person’s security settings, you may have to send a request to get their permission to follow them, but most people will allow access.  To “follow” a person means that you will receive notification when they update their status on twitter, also known as tweeting.  A tweet is a text post of 140 words or less.  I just created my twitter account and am looking forward to searching for people to follow.  More updates will come later as I attempt to tweet and follow others.  Do you use twitter?  Have you found it helpful in your professional life?   

 

                                                        

 

The Wonderful World of the Wiki

 

            Over the past couple of months I have been learning about various online tools that will assist me in my future career.   One of these tools, which is my favourite and has proved to be the most beneficial, is the wiki.  A wiki is a way to share files between users.  You can password protect your account so that only the people who have the password have access to your wiki.  As I’ve mentioned before, I am a student in college and I do a lot of group work.  Before I was introduced to the wiki, my group members and I were constantly e-mailing our work back and forth to each other causing my inbox to always be full and clogging up my folders.  Once we learned about using wikis we were able to create our own account and post our work there.  We can view, comment on, and edit each other’s work once it is posted.  Now, instead of a constant barrage of emails, I am emailed once daily if our group wiki has been changed. 

 

            Pbwiki is a website that allows you to create a wiki for your company or group for free.  Using the wiki is an easy process that even I was able to master.  You are able to make folders and separate pages for as many categories as you want, and can upload, edit, or delete files.  The wiki’s recent history is listed on the first page once you sign in, so you can see what the other members of your wiki have done.   If you do have difficulty understanding how to work the wiki, here is a video that explains it all in plain English. 

 

 

  

            Anyone who uses the internet is aware of Wikipedia.  It is a “free encyclopaedia that anyone can edit” and is probably the most well-known instance of the use of a wiki.

           The wiki has completely changed the way I do group work and I would highly recommend checking it out if you find yourself bogged down with emails when working with others.  Comment and let me know if you found using a wiki helpful. 

   

Review of the Website for Annick Press

www.annickpress.com

Annick Press publishes picture books, fiction and non-fiction titles for children, young adults, and teens.  Their company mandate is to provide “Excellence and Innovation in Children’s Literature”. 

Overview

The website offers the user important information regarding the titles in Annick’s catalogue.  The price, size, and format are all listed when you click on each title to learn more about it.  As well, the number of pages, the age range for which the book is targeted, and the ISBN numbers are all stated.  For most books, a few lines of text regarding the author’s background and bio is given, as well as links to the author’s other titles.  In addition to this information, there are excerpts from the book and reviews from other authors and well known media sources.  All of this information is important when viewing the books from a marketing perspective.  It is well organized and easily accessed upon arriving at the homepage. 

Web 2.0 Features

The website for Annick Press is extremely user-friendly and provides the browser with a multitude of different web2.0 features including podcasts, videos of trailers and author readings, and blogs.  The user is able to access information quickly by utilizing the top menu and sidebar.  I think it is important to note that there is information available specifically for teachers if they were to use one of Annick’s titles is the classroom.  Supplementary information for lesson plans and suggestions on how to use the book in the classroom and where it can fit into the curriculum are particularly helpful. 

Branding and Marketing

The company’s mandate is to provide innovative and excellent children’s literature.  The website sells the company’s overall message that they are the place to go for great children’s books.  Annick focuses on the quality of their books and the information that they offer to the reader.  They have many books listed and allow the user to access this information through the books’ topics, authors, or age groups.  As well, there is a search engine available that pulls up any book even remotely connected to the terms used when searching.  Because the books are so accessible and easy to learn about, it really promotes the idea that Annick is the go-to place for children’s books.  

The language of the website is primarily intended to inform the browser.  The site does not pressure the user into purchasing.  Annick Press uses the website as a tool to inform the user of the quality and content of their books.  Each book is given equal space on the site and there is detailed information regarding each title.  By informing the user of information such as awards that the author has won or ideas on how to use the book in the classroom, Annick is instilling the idea that their books are superior and offer more to the reader.  This in itself is a marketing tool.  Annick is not selling their books to the user in an obvious way, but they are creating the mindset in the user that Annick Press offers the best children’s books. 

Graphic Design

From a graphic design viewpoint, the website could make a stronger marketing impact if they increased the size of the images showing the covers of their books.  On the homepage, and even when you click on the books to read more information, the image of the cover is quite small and can be difficult to see.  Sometimes it is hard to read the full title or to decipher the images.  If they were to increase the size of these images it would allow the user to view the cover more easily and therefore they are more likely to remember the cover.  This way, when a consumer is browsing in a bookstore they are more likely to recognize a cover of an Annick title and recall what the book is about and that they were interested in it.