Carly Miller

Corporate blog: Home of Purdue blog

The Home of Purdue blog posts on its website about every other day or every couple of days with new content.

The length of the blog posts ranges from around 300-500 words with the incorporation of pictures and hyperlinks throughout the post. For the most part, the posts are fairly short, but long enough to where the reader still feels like they are getting something out of it.

The types of posts on the blog include lists and traditional articles dedicated to specific things to do in the Lafayette and West Lafayette area. Posts tend to focus on food, activities and events happening in the area.

I find the blog and its different posts to be beneficial and informative for someone considering visiting the area or even for someone who already lives here. I think the blog highlights the major things happening in both cities and also sheds light on some attractions that people may have never heard of before. Even while scrolling through the blog, I discovered some places in West Lafayette that I had never heard of but want to go check out now after reading the posts.

I think the blog posts benefit the Home of Purdue organization because they do a good job of convincing the reader that there are a lot of different and fun opportunities in the area if they decide to come visit.

The ultimate goal of this blog is to get people to visit the Greater Lafayette area, and they seem to do a good job of trying to accomplish that goal. They also do a really good job of incorporating Purdue and how the college campus is part of what makes Lafayette and West Lafayette a unique place to visit.

I think the layout of the blog is visually appealing. I also think that the length of the blog posts being kept relatively short makes the website easy to scroll through quickly. Overall, I enjoy the Home of Purdue blog and don’t really see much that I don’t like about it.

Similar to my own beat, I chose to read the Billboard’s blog focused on music charts, news, photos and videos. The writing style was informative but also lighthearted and felt more personal than a news article.

The style felt like a good mix of casual and professional. From an organization like Billboard, I feel like that is what the reader expects.

I enjoyed reading some of the different blog posts because they were usually short and sweet overall, incorporated photos and also made good use of hyperlinks. I also enjoyed how they used lists in some of their posts. Lists make it easier to skim a post and still feel like you have a general understanding of the content. 

Their top posts on their blog were timely and had to do with the 2020 Oscars. I found this to be effective since it is what people seem to enjoy talking about after major awards shows like the Oscars.

Since my own blog post is going to revolve around the local live music scene in the Greater Lafayette area, I will definitely want to incorporate some similar aspects into my own blog posts. If I am talking about different places in the area to go to listen to live music, a list would be a helpful way to convey this information. 

If I’m talking about a specific band or musician, a hyperlink to their social media or website would add to my blog post. I will also want to include pictures of venues and performers throughout my posts.

One thing I might do a little bit differently than the blog posts I read on Billboard is making sure I am incorporating pictures throughout a blog post rather than all at the end. I think people enjoy text being broken up by pictures while they are reading.

(In-class assignment)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 7, 2018

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A free advice panel will be held with two Brian Lamb School of Communication alumni on Nov. 20 for any undergraduate and graduate students.

This will be the third and final alumni panel of the semester hosted by BLSC. Previous panels, much like this one, have sought to help with career development.

Panel information:

• Who: Trevor Peters and Ashley Scott
• What: a panel to answer student questions about local job opportunities and how to find them in the Lafayette and Indianapolis area
• When: Nov. 20 at 3:00 p.m.
• Where: Beering Hall, room 1284
• Why: the head of BLSC, Marifran Mattson, invited the panelists

Trevor Peters graduated from BLSC in 2016 and is now a news reporter at WLFI-TV.

Ashley Scott graduated from BLSC in 2010. She is now the president of AGS Consulting in Indianapolis and was the former Operations Manager at MatchBOX Co-Working Studio in Lafayette.

Quotes:

“I was amazed that I didn’t have to go to a larger city to find an interesting job,” said Scott. “I think a lot of students just don’t know what is available here or how to find it. And that’s where we come in. This will be a very fascinating, useful panel.”

“One of the most valuable things we can do as a school is provide our students with access to our esteemed alumni who have so much knowledge to share,” Mattson said.

Images:

This photo is from the first advice panel of the semester focused on internships.

Interesting fact:

• Purdue University was voted the best school for communications majors in 2018

Source: https://www.zippia.com/communication-major/#best-communication-colleges-in-indiana

Writer:

Carly Miller, 765-635-6111, mill1891@purdue.edu

Sources:

Trevor Peters, trevor.peters@wlfi.com, @TrevorPetersTV

Ashley Scott, ashley@ashleygscott.com, @ashleygscott

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nov. 6, 2018

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Immersive technology has the ability to either connect or isolate members of society, said an assistant professor of learning technology during her lecture on Tuesday.

Professor Aleshia Hayes is from the University of North Texas and was invited by Purdue’s Information Technology Department to participate in the fifth annual Dawn or Doom conference.

During her lecture, Hayes discussed the growing field of immersive technology and how virtual reality, in particular, can serve both good and bad purposes in people’s everyday lives.

“We get to decide how we use the technology,” said Hayes. “Every person of every discipline has something to contribute to this field.”

Virtual reality is beneficial because it can be used to help people with social anxiety, to gain empathy for others, and to ultimately connect with people in the real world, said Hayes. She also noted how virtual reality can be implemented in both school and work settings for educational purposes.

Negative effects of virtual reality include isolation from social interaction, addiction to content within the virtual world, and the ability to bully others in a virtual setting, said Hayes.

Hayes went on to explain how immersive technology and virtual reality are still in their beginning stages. The idea of incorporating this technology into everyday life hasn’t stuck yet, but there is an increasing awareness of it, said Hayes.

“I’ve heard some theorists say that we are at the brick-phone stage of virtual reality, and I tend to agree,” said Hayes. “We still have a long way to go with VR, but it is pretty exciting.”

Hayes ensured that, although she is the director of a virtual reality lab, she doesn’t want virtual reality to completely take over. Rather, she expressed that she wants people to be able to take advantage of the technology when it’s appropriate.

The discussion by Hayes was ended with what is on the horizon for virtual reality. Both the ability to taste and smell in a virtual world are fields being worked on in the world of immersive technology.

END

Writer: Carly Miller, mill1891@purdue.edu, 765-635-6111

Source: Aleshia Hayes, @AleshiaProf

By Carly Miller

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The city council has approved the request of a land donation for a new homeless shelter at Wednesday’s meeting.

The land being donated for the shelter has been valued at $100,000 and is located at 100 State Street downtown.

The local Our Savior Lutheran Church has been operating as a shelter for the past 10 years but is unable to meet the growing demands in West Lafayette. Because of this, a non-profit organization, Coalition for the Homeless, is working towards the development of the new shelter for the city.

A majority of the council members considered the shelter to be a positive change, but there was some opposition from council member Vicki Burch.

“I don’t think these people should be moved into an area that is so near a residential neighborhood,” said Burch. “Is this the place to put these people, some of whom have mental problems?”

The coalition leaders are still working toward raising the necessary $1.5 million for the shelter, but have already collected $200,000. Executive Director of Lafayette Transitional Housing, Jennifer Layton, is very hopeful for the future of the project while serving as the president of the coalition.

“We’ve applied for state and federal grants for $1 million dollars,” said Layton. “So we’re certain that if you provide the land, we’ll be able to come up with all the money for this thing.”

By Carly Miller

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Life in the White House and beyond includes much more than just the politics, said former first lady Laura Bush and her twin daughters Thursday night at Purdue University.

“The people [in the White House] really take it from a historical house to a home,” said daughter Jenna Bush Hager. “They fill it with love.”

The entire Bush family has furthered their careers in public service after leaving the White House, but Purdue’s College of Liberal Arts invited the women to speak on what life was like in the White House and how it has ultimately transformed their lives.

These women of the Bush family have experienced the White House in different ways throughout their life but chose to reflect on very personal moments about being in the public eye. Daughter Barbara Pierce Bush said sharing the same name as her well-known grandmother while also being in the public eye was tricky at times.

“I have the same name as my grandmother, and growing up, that was pretty hilarious because there would be a lot of confusion around who was being called,” said Barbara Pierce Bush.

Barbara Pierce Bush went on to share a story in which she mistakenly showed up to an event where her grandmother was actually expected. She said that she now wears the name proudly after the recent passing of her grandmother.

The lecture ended with a powerful piece of advice from Hager to lead with love that was then followed by a standing ovation from the large audience in Elliott Hall of Music.

In class assignment

By Carly Miller

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Betty Jones is a single mother of two children and works seven days a week to try and make ends meet. Working full time at Arby’s only making $7.25 isn’t nearly enough for Jones to support herself, and more importantly, her two kids.

The furniture in Jones’ two-bedroom apartment was all given to her family, and the food in the pantry and refrigerator is generic food from Aldi. Pinching pennies is the only option for Jones since money is scarce.

“I have to shop at Goodwill. See the bags on the floor,” noted Jones. “My kids, I just got them new hats and gloves from there.”

Jones hands her 10 and 12-year-old the mismatched hats and gloves as they scurry off to the bus stop early in the morning. Smiles are exchanged between the mother and her children as she knows she is doing the best she can to provide for them.

The potential of getting a better-paying job at the incoming Computers R Us, a large communications company, would transform the life of Jones and her small family.

Mayor Dennis Lester announced Wednesday that Computers R Us has purchased the available land near the city limits of West Lafayette. The company plans to open a factory to build its line of home computers and hire 500 full-time production workers to start.

“We welcome Computers R Us with open arms,” said Lester. “These are good jobs, with good pay and benefits, for the good people of West Lafayette.”

Vice president of New York-based Computers R Us, Tom Binkman, said that the company was really impressed with the location in West Lafayette. The proximity to Interstate 65 and the willingness of the city to cooperate made it the likeliest choice.

Computers R Us employees will experience many benefits including a pay of $17.25 an hour, two weeks paid vacation time, and paid training prior to the plant opening as no experience is necessary.

The company plans to start construction on their largest plant immediately. It hopes to have this West Lafayette plant built and operating by late next year.

Computers R Us will begin to accept applications for the 500 jobs in the next few months. The majority of hiring decisions will be made by summer, but hiring will continue as needed until opening.

Ann Miller, the employment counselor at the local department of Employment, anticipates many local applicants for the 500 jobs that will soon be available at Computers R Us.

“Applications for employment at the plant will be distributed through the Department for Employment,” said Miller. “The department will announce soon the exact date applications will be available.”

Betty Jones just might be able to see the silver lining of her tough financial situation after hearing the news of the incoming Computers R Us plant. She is hoping to obtain a job better than her current position at Arby’s with the company.

“This news is a godsend,” said Jones. “This new plant could be a dream come true.”