ALES 204 - A comparison from the beginning until now...And Beyond!

Twitter Clip Art

At the beginning of the semester, I was really dreading having to create a Twitter account. I felt that Twitter was only really used by celebrities posting about their up coming movie premieres, or pictures of their extravagant meals. I never thought Twitter would be so useful until this class! By learning how to use Twitter for academic reasons, one can search via hash tags or aliases to follow individuals who are contributing scientifically to a relatable area of study.  Although I did follow a few celebrities, I found following the CBC news to provide a relevant source of communication and up to the minute tweets of adverse weather conditions or local events.

When it came for the class to look in to the reliability of information of Wikipedia, I was blown away by the results of my research. Previously, I had taken everything seen on Wiki's to be true fact. It wasn't until our ALES lecture that I began to realize that we, as individuals are authors. And as authors, we can make a lot of inaccurate statements. For this assignment we were asked to locate a stub on Wikipedia, being a wiki that either has little to no information or citations on the topic. In my blog post about Wiki's I mentioned that I had troubles even locating a topic to improve upon. And since that assignment, I find myself obsessed with checking Wikipedia to see if the higher authorities have removed my published revisions. As of today, so far so good. To view my still intact stub, simply click here.

The face behind "Knitwit Abner"
my cat Abner

For my optional blog post, I discussed how I used a professional Facebook page to promote my side hobby of knitting. In lab, we created professional Facebook pages for employers to view. I took this idea one step further and created a page to upload pictures of completed knitting projects, as well as post an order form. Since opening Knitwit Abner to the world of Facebook, I have been quite successful in networking with people who are interested in purchasing items. Before ALES, I wouldn't have known how to portray myself online in a business sense. Keeping pictures professional and "clean" has improved my sales significantly. Using Facebook to promote Knitwit Abner, rather than a different source allows me to control who gets accepted on my mailing list, and separates e-mail pertaining to the page from my university e-mail.


Overall, I have greatly improved my knowledge on how communication affects business, first impressions, and presentations. After ALES is over, I might keep Twitter since I now see it as more of a resource than a "celebrity app". I will keep Knitwit Abner up and running on Facebook in hopes to create a small empire in the knitting world. And I might even keep this blog going, unless I get accepted to WCVM this fall of course!

Xinru Ye also summarized the work done in both lab and lecture well in her Ales 204 blog

Comments on Blogs:
1. Sara Hughes Wikipedia Post
2. Susan Enielse Introductory Post
3. Loana Valdez Optional Post on Viagra Use
4. Sara Hughes Facebook Post
5. Xinru Ye Reflective Post

Promoting a Hobby with Facebook

During stressful exams times, I try to find activities that keep my mind and body active to reduce all that pent up nervous energy.  Since the Edmonton weather sometimes prevents any venture outside to exercise, I had to come up with something else. It was this cold snap snowfall which prompted me to start knitting, as I was hopeless in finding any fun-looking mittens.  I found a really neat owl pattern (click here if you would like to try it for yourself) and thought I could handle the challenge. Once finished my project I posted a picture on my Facebook page, and almost instantly received messages about making more for friends.

Red Owl Mittens, so festive

With this opportunity presenting itself, I was curious as to how to promote my crafting hobby. I had tried selling items on Etsy, a website where individuals can create hand-made items for sale or sell supplies for crafting. I posted a few items on Esty and yielded a minimal sales result. Frustrated, I was not sure how I could keep promoting my finished projects. It wasn't until the ALES 204 lecture which taught us students how to make a professional Facebook Page. Since I could make a page listing my talents for possible employers, I extended the idea and made a page for my knitting.

And Knitwit Abner was created! By using Facebook, I can control what potential clients view as far as available colours of yarn, price list, and separate e-mails from my personal account for orders. Since creating this page, I have collected almost 40 clients above my 176 friends, including a few individuals from ALES lecture! Pleaser feel free to view my Knitwit Abner page for yourself!