Discuss how one international group (country, city, or group) uses the Internet or Internet technology

Last month, the Vatican announced it was taking steps to enter the new technology revolution in an effort to increase communication to Catholics (especially younger Catholics) around the world. A new Facebook application was launched that allows users to send virtual postcards to the Pope. This comes several months after the Vatican opened their own YouTube channel that features videos of speeches by the Pope. Links to the Facebook application, YouTube channel and other social networking tools employed by the Vatican are available at the portal page Pope2You which, according to the Huffington Post received 500,000 page views the day it was launched.

e-market paper

According to a report by the PEW Internet and American Life Project, 53% of American adults play video games (Lenhart, Jones & Macgill, 2008). Within that segment, the majority of video game players are college educated and between the ages of 18 and 29 (ibid). Men have a slight majority when it comes to likelihood to play video games and people living in urban areas and with at least some college education are more likely to engage in gaming than people living in rural areas or people with no college education (ibid). It was also noted that video game consoles like PlayStation or Xbox are the preferred gaming platform for kids and teenagers while adults are more likely to choose computers as their gaming medium.
Although it is still regarded by many as just a form of mindless entertainment, video gaming today has evolved into a social activity, especially among college students. Roughly 65% of college students report playing video games regularly (“College students and video, Internet, and computer games,” 2003). Many college students said that they viewed video games as a way to spend time with friends and many respondents said playing video games helped to not only strengthen existing friendships, but establish new ones as well (ibid; Jones, 2003). According to Jones (2003), women are significantly more apt to play online role playing computer games than men (60% women to 40% men). Jones (2003) posits that the ability to disguise gender when creating an avatar for online play is a significant factor in women choosing this type of game. In light of these findings, two online role-playing game sites were examined in terms of how they respond to the online gamer target market. The first was a text-based role-playing game, Alliance of Heroes, hosted by play.net (www.play.net/aoh). The second was the popular World of Warcraft Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game produced by Blizzard Entertainment (www.worldofwarcraft.com). Both sites were analyzed for their appearance, ease of navigation and quality of game information.

Discuss how one brand or nonprofit uses online blogs and online advertising

The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life page has a section where members can link their blog to the site. Topics include recaps of Relay events around the country, methods members used to raise money for their Relay teams, and requests for help in planning local Relay events. Advertisements on the site generally refer back to the American Cancer Society homepage where users can search through resources on coping with Cancer.

Find an Effective Use and an Ineffective use of PR online

Effective: My pick for effective use of PR online happened last year. A British tabloid had run a story about a young girl's suicide, linking her actions to listening to music by the band My Chemical Romance. The band posted a message on their website acknowledging the girl's tragic death and issuing their condolences to her family while also reaffirming that they do not condone or encourage suicide. The message continued, addressing the themes of "hope and courage" in their album and ended with the plea: "If you or anyone that you know have feelings of depression or suicide, we urge you to find your way and your voice to deal with these feelings positively." Unfortunately, the message was taken down when the website was remodeled, but here is a link to a music website that summarizes the event and has quotes taken directly from the MCR website: http://www.hiphop-elements.com/article/read/4/25451/1/.
I thought this was effective because in writing the statement and putting it online, the band acknowledges the event and their link to it, while also urging fans to seek help for depression. The statement was featured prominently on their homepage, easily available to fans and other visitors to the site. As a fan of the band and the album, I was happy to see the concern on the band members' part and view the statement as more than just an attempt at protecting their brand and image.

Ineffective: I'm nominating Nintendo.com for ineffective PR simply because it's hard to find any public directed media on the site. Nothing about new games and systems coming out, even though a new version of Wii Fit was announced at E3 a few weeks ago. Nothing about glitches with new games or download patches for the Wii; just a link to contact the company if you are a member of the press. The site is so elaborate and complex that it is a wonder they are not using it more to connect with consumers.

Discuss one important policy issue for the internet

A major policy issue that I have had some experience with in the past several months is the move to electronic job applications. I went to a job search seminar last month and the person giving the workshop stressed the emphasis most companies are placing on e-mail applications and online resume postings. Gone are the days of cold calling HR departments asking about any openings in the company. Now when you talk to an HR rep, they direct you to look at the company's website and submit your application online. Even Suffolk's Co-Op program is web-based. You log into the website, search the postings available and when you find one you want to apply for, you notify your Co-Op counselor via e-mail.
For someone like me who has (for all intents and purposes) grown up with the Internet, the whole process is simple, efficient, and easy to use. But what about people looking for a job who do not have access to the Internet in their homes? Or what about people who have never really needed to use the Internet either for work or leisure but have recently been laid off?
I guess the policy issue in question is related to access, both the physical ability to use the Internet and the education and experience necessary to be able to use the tools provided.

Ineffective Websites

The Curious Dreamer: (http://www.thecuriousdreamer.com/dreamdictionary/)
I found this site hard to use. I was looking for some insight into a weird dream I had and this site came up in my google search. There are two dictionaries, the main one and the "alternative symbol index". I clicked on the alternative index at first and my results were just a series of synonyms for the words I was looking for. I went back to the main page and saw the links for the main dictionary. I tried my search again and was once again given a list of synonyms, but these were links to additional pages. Clicking on the link finally gave me some information about my dream.

Sing365.com: (http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Beth-Hart-Lyrics/D0D39309737BB27B48256A93002F8324)
I am listing this one because the first time I tried to access it, all that came up was a green screen with the artist's name at the top (no ads, no lyrics, nothing). It is working now, but everything is squished onto the left side of the page, leaving a bright green (empty) column that takes up the right third of the screen. The text is tiny and surrounded by large ads (many of which move or flash). I skipped over the artist's bio at first because it is right under an embedded video playing a movie trailer. It is easy to believe the bio text is describing what is playing in the video.

The Hummingbird Website: (http://www.hummingbirdworld.com/h/)
Although I was able to find some useful information on here, it can be confusing to navigate. The main navigational links are in the center-right of the page, but there are two additional links in the column along the left of the page. Scroll down about half-way and find some more navigational links about first aid for injured birds. I just feel like this site could be streamlined a bit to make it more user-friendly.

Find and Comment on a phono online that adds to a website

I found this image on a band blog/website. The post was about how many record companies are removing music videos from sites like YouTube. I love the picture and think it adds to the post by symbolizing how big corporations and what not are carefully monitoing what users are doing in Big Brother fashion.
(The author of the blog post I got this from says he is disappointed that his band's videos were removed from YouTube because he feels the fans end up missing out on artists' work. Read the post here: http://www.mychemicalromance.com/blog/mikey/mcrcom-now-fortified-8-videos-and-minerals