Social Media

I think the importance of social media is shown through the success that a brand or company will gain due to its implementation of social media. I, unlike most, did not use Facebook until recently because I viewed it as a distraction. Always logging on to look at your friend’s new photo albums or read their updated status.  I thought it was silly to constantly update your status to inform your friends and family what you were doing at an hourly basis. It was a breech of privacy for a complete stranger to search you name and look at all your photos and information without you knowing it. Keeping in mind this was before I learned more about Facebook and its many features that allowed users to change privacy settings to prevent such occurrences.

Yet, more and more people have asked me what my Facebook page is and not what my email is. The use of instant messaging is slowly dwindling. Everyone, of all ages are on Facebook daily.

The growing trend now a days is businesses who use Facebook as a marketing tool. Brilliant! That is the definition of adapting. Social media has become a large part of our lives and advertisers and marketers are seeing that and jumping on the band wagon. They know it’s a great way to assess the number of people who are aware of the product through various social medias such as Facebook, twitter, or Foursquare.  The number of fans on a company’s or product’s Facebook  page correlates with the increase of purchases. It allows companies to interact with the consumer and give more detail through such pages that traditional media outlets may not allow.  I believe that social media is a growing part of the marketing and advertising industry and companies should utilize such outlets to attract new consumers.

Future of Media

Technology is advancing at such a rapid rate that traditional media is on the edge of extinction if it does not catch up. Today, the Internet, being one of the greatest inventions in history, is the outlet for all information. Students, teachers, advertisers, employers, employees and I guarantee even your parents are on the internet. These individuals know that information delivery has become a click away. No more going outside to fetch the newspaper, let alone subscribing to one. No more tuning in at 6 o’clock to watch the local news to find out the breaking stories. Anytime, anywhere the internet is at your fingertips. Essentially, it all comes down to control. Control is the meat and potatoes of it all. The consumer, being you, is in control of when and where they will receive media.

The creation of personal video recorders (PVRs) gave the consumer the control to pre-record multiple programs and have the ability to fast-forward, rewind or pause live tv. PVRs also have the feature of omitting commercials from your pre-recordings so you do not get interrupted when you’re watching an episode of Castle. PVRs alone have drastically changed the life of television, a traditional media outlet.

The evolution continues. Apple comes out with iTunes in 2001 and instantly an entire music industry evolves. iTunes allows the user to access thousand of songs in the comfort of their home through the iTunes Store.



Everything will become mobile. Internet is accessible on mobile phones, thus more control for the consumer on the go. Creativity can be a friend to the advertisers of tomorrow. Finding alternative ways to reach their target in today’s society is no easy feat. Maximum reach is only attained through the use of technology. If you can’t beat them, join them.

Power of Words: Part 4

Excerpt from Dragon's Heart:



He pulled the blade out with a twist and spun, throwing himself to the side and grabbing Stricken from where it stuck straight up. A spray of blood answered his pull as he let the shield slip across his back once more. The remaining two cloaked men glanced at each other in what he suspected was unease, where there had been ten a moment before, only two now stood. That was enough to disconcert anyone. He continued to move back though, his eyes watching the images that danced before his eyes more than the men themselves. He spun abruptly, sheathing Fury and yanking one of the spears out of a fallen cloaked man, the one who was missing the insides of his head. He turned back, catching the man to his left blade with Stricken, and ducking below the head height swipe. He drove the spear up into the hood, yanking it back with enough force that bits of skin were still attached to its metal head.
He pushed back from the remaining cloaked man, smiling with elation even as he knew the cloaked man was shivering in fear. The blade trembled in the hooded man’s hand and the Mercenary laughed as he started forward, leading with his left hand, Stricken flashing forwards. The cloaked man faded back, preparing to block the sword even as the thick wooden shaft of the spear clipped him in the head. The cloaked man staggered to the side, losing his footing. Never one to pass up such a glorious opportunity, the Mercenary darted forward, driving the spear into the hooded man’s gut. He spun suddenly, dodging the last thrust from the cloaked man as he did. As he snapped out of his spin, he slammed Stricken through the man’s chest, ignoring the blood that splashed up to spot his face.
For a moment there was silence as the hooded man keeled over backwards, the Mercenary letting gravity do the work as Stricken and his spear came out. Smiling, he bent and cleaned them on the dark cloak before sheathing them and retrieving his second spear.
“Well” his steward said, breaking the silence, “I’m sure that didn’t go as they planned.” The guards laughed and mimicked the words in amusement even as he stretched his hands above his head.

Power of Words: Part 3

Excerpt from Dragon’s Heart:

“Gentlemen” he called down, coming to a stop at the dark marble railing and leaning against it, ignoring the dual staircase that wound its way to the entranceway below, “how lovely to see there are more of you.”
“Where is our Brother?” the voices all seemed to speak in unison and the Mercenary glanced at his steward, raising an eyebrow and receiving a shrug in response.
“He’s resting at the moment, fear not.”
“We have lost contact with him” the voices said, again in unison.
“Resting often means lowered brain activity, perhaps that is the problem.” Unlike many mercenaries, he was quite happy to annoy his enemies, and these dark cloaked men were quite clearly his enemies.
“You lie” the voice snarled, several of the dark cloaked men stepping forwards.
“Come now” he laughed, his golden-grey eyes watching the men closely as images flashed before his eyes, “I’m hardly lying to you.”
“Our Brother is not resting!” the voices howled and the Mercenary laughed in response.
“Untrue” he cackled, “your Brother rests, the difference is that this is a rest from which he won’t wake up from.”
“So you killed him?” the voices tone had switched from angry to suddenly calm, and the Mercenary tilted his head slightly to the left, his fingers brushing against Elapse.
“I killed him” he replied, watching as the images danced and shifted, “but he attacked me, not the other way round. You can hardly expect me to sit back and let myself be stabbed.”
“He did no such thing” the voices screeched, the angry tone back.
“Even if he didn’t” the Mercenary shrugged, “there’s hardly anything you can do about it. I have fifty-seven men armed with crossbows, all proficient in their use, exactly what could you possibly do?”
“Kill them” the voices replied in a menacing hiss, and more than one crossbowman shifted uncomfortably.
“You might kill one or two” he agreed, “but no more, you react quickly, but not fast enough to kill them all.”
“How little you know” the dark cloaked men seethed, spreading out.
“Duck!” he shouted, a moment before throwing knives flew from the hands of the cloaked men. A guard to his left took one in the throat; another further along got one in the eye. Blood sprayed, but apart from those two, none of his men were harmed. The Mercenary let out a harsh laugh, drawing one of the spears from across his back.
“I told you” he smiled, baring his teeth, “no more than two.” The spear left his hands with astonishing speed, slamming straight through the chest of one of the darkly cloaked men. The others turned in shock to stare at their comrade as blood ran down the wooden shaft of the spear. He didn’t care what they were looking at though; the second spear left his hands just as quickly, slamming into another cloaked man’s head, brain matter exploding out from the side. Fury and Stricken flew into his hands, almost of their own free will as he leapt from the railing, landing lightly on the marble floor with his knees bent and moving into a roll. He came up with his blades out to either side, their shocking white blades slicing through dark fabric as sunlight through a darkened sky.
The moment he reached his feet he ducked and spun, a sword drawn from one of the remaining six men bouncing harmlessly against the scaled shield. He spun again, this time throwing his hips to the side to avoid a thrust as he slammed Fury into a man’s chest. He threw himself to the side, tossing Stricken with incredible accuracy, the bright blade taking one of the five cloaked men in the hood. He spun as another cloaked man thrust at him, his shield swinging into his left hand smoothly as he pinned the blade against the marble floor. He looked up and grinned ferally into the hood, driving Fury up and in. He pushed back off his toes, his golden-grey eyes watching the remaining three men carefully. His body swayed ever so lightly as the three men approached their steps in unison. He feigned left, then right and charged down the middle. He swung his left hand around, ducking slightly, catching the swords on his shield and driving Fury into the middle man’s groin.

Power of Words: Part 2

As mentioned in the previous blog on the power and impact of words I will further demonstrate the vivid imagery words can create. To begin I will give a brief definition of high fantasy. Next I will give excerpts of a novel written by my boyfriend. I do warn any readers of the graphic nature of the excerpts and suggest you not continue reading if you have a weak stomach.

Definition of high fantasy:

High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy originated with the writings of William Morris, George MacDonald, and Lord Dunsany, and came to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s. High fantasy, along with sword and sorcery, has become one of the two genres most commonly associated with the general term fantasy.

High fantasy is defined as fantasy fiction set in an alternative, entirely fictional ("secondary") world, rather than the real, or "primary" world. The secondary world is usually internally consistent but its rules differ in some way(s) from those of the primary world. By contrast, low fantasy is characterized by being set in the primary, or "real" world, or a rational and familiar fictional world, with the inclusion of magical elements.



Excerpt from Dragon’s Heart:

The estate, despite the body that had been dragged from his personal chambers, was oddly silent to the Mercenary. Normally his personal guards, many of whom were mercenaries who had retired into his service, noticing that he paid better and for less work. It was a strange that none were wandering the halls. Everyday he saw different guards, each hour they changed their patterns, but to have none in any one place was un-heard of. His fingers began to itch, his hands straying to the hilts of his swords as he picked up the pace. Something was wrong, there was no foreseeable reason for none of his guards to be…the Mercenary let the thought trail off as his fingers brushed lightly against Elapse, the Dragons Eye flashing images in front of his golden-grey eyes.
“Why” he said quietly, continuing to walk, “did you not tell me?” There was no need to go into further detail; Soryion would know exactly what he meant.
“I did not feel that it was a pressing matter” his steward replied, “Everything is under control.”
“Under control?” he growled, “You call ten armed men in my estate under control?”
“They are being watched” Soryion pointed out.
“Yes, but the simple fact that they are within my walls means you have all failed. I told you when I hired all of you that you were to allow just one within the estate’s walls.”
“They insisted” his steward shrugged, “I did not think it would be a problem, sir.”
“Oh no” he said sarcastically as he rounded a corner, looking directly at the backs of several men who held crossbows and lined the walkways. All fifty-seven crossbows were aimed directly at the space below, at the ten men in dark cloaks. “Not a problem at all.” For him, it wasn’t a problem, but if these men had wanted to…they could have likely slain more than a few of his guards.

Power of Words: Part 1

The English language is such a complex language to learn. Not in terms of speech but from a grammatical stand point. Many rules, yet many exceptions. It is not as simple as a math equation where there is only a right and a wrong nothing in between. A simplicity lies within numbers that language can not comprehend; however, words can create such vivid imagery that numbers only strive to attain. Words, letters, and  language have the power to bring a country together.

History is evidence of such extraordinary control. Martin Luther King Jr. brought hope and courage to a nation with a simple message. His words carried by generations and remembered as a sign of a single man’s will to create a change that impacted millions. 

Words build an emotion , a thought, or even an action. Yet, not all things are as perfect as is in the written word. That same power can cause chaos and havoc. Imagine the magnitude of such an ability, to create and destroy life with just words.  Many battles won and lost by fear of the people. The people who were feed propaganda through posters, comics, cartoons, pictures, radio, television. All these made possible through simple yet intricate words. An oxymoron all in itself. History tends to repeat itself and it only proves one idea. The pen is truly mightier than the sword.

Rogers caught red handed!

Don’t you just hate it when controlling, conniving telephone companies try to rip you off when it comes to cell phone plans. I mean come on! You already have us chained to the ever-torturous 3 year contracts and god forbid you try to cancel a 3-year term. You’ll just get slapped in the face with a $400+ cancellation fee. Surprise! They’re all just full of crap and now they’re finally paying the penalties.

The Accused: Rogers Communications Inc.

The Crime: Rogers insulted their new competitors Wind Mobile, Mobilicity, and Public Mobile on their inadequate networks. Rogers launched a new discount brand called Chatr Wireless that advertised “fewer dropped calls than new wireless carriers.” Sound too good to be true?

Well, it is, because the Competition Bureau of Canada did “an extensive review of technical data, obtained from a number of sources,” and found “no discernible difference in dropped call rates between Rogers/Chatr and new entrants.”

The Verdict: A $10-million penalty for misleading advertising. This is also a hit to the name and reputation of Rogers. Who ever said any publicity is good publicity was clearly misinformed!

The biggest kicker is that the Competition Bureau of Canada only began the investigation because Wind Mobile filed a complaint about Rogers’ advertising. Really? The marketing department of Rogers Communications was naïve enough to think that they can have misleading advertisements while trying to bully their competitors and not get caught. It’s the Naughty List for you Rogers!

Alright kids, the moral of the story is DON’T LIE, especially when you’re a ‘big name’ communications giant like Rogers. And for the sake of your reputation, if you’re dumb enough to lie, at least don’t get caught.