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Imagine that you just landed an amazing communication internship – congratulations! On your first day, your boss and coworkers all smile and welcome you to the office with open arms and a basket of cookies. All seems perfect, until they hand you your first assignment: maintaining the organization’s social media account. Sure, you’ve handled your own Instagram and Facebook posts since middle school, but has college prepared you to take on an organization’s page? From one intern to another, here are three specifics to watch out for when crossing into organizational social media.

The Internet has exploded with news on Amazon’s Alexa and Echo devices. The new smart-home technology has begun shaping America into a voice-activated society. Unfortunately for Amazon, while the company does dominate the industry, it doesn’t own the whole market. Both Microsoft and Google have jumped on the bandwagon to develop their own systems. Each of the three products, however, targets a different audience.

From generation to generation, the theme songs from our favorite television shows make us want to sing along, dance, and re-watch the episodes we enjoy. As time passes, the style of television theme songs changes as well. These songs convey the tone and theme of the shows.

One form of media that has taken the world by storm is streaming service. Binge-watching did not exist before streaming services came into existence. 

Since technology is not going away any time soon, what can be done to avoid depression brought on by technology?

Emails are a big part of the professional world, which makes email etiquette a necessary skill to learn for those entering it. For those looking to better your basic emailing skills, read “Email Distinction 101”: Part 1 and Part 2. On the other hand, some of us have been sending professional emails for such a long time that it has become second nature. But even email pros occasionally make mistakes. Here are 5 email etiquette tips that will benefit both the workplace newcomer and the seasoned pro.

For the past decade, social media has taken the world by storm. According to one study, the average American adult spends over five hours each week on social media (Casey, 2016). One of the benefits of social media is that it allows users to stay up-to-date with the news as well as what is occurring in their friends’ lives. The most popular topics to recently take over social media are Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. 

Students love using J-Term to recuperate from the typical busyness of the 15-credit semester. Here are some favorite J-Term activities and pastimes of a few members of the COMMunity.

Throughout the year, people can turn on the radio and confidently expect to find a breakup song or two. For months, ego-boosting songs like Meghan Trainor’s “No” and Daya’s “Sit Still, Look Pretty” instill deep self-confidence over heartbreak within the listener. But for at least one month of the year, the entire melodic focus switches. Instead of hearing the songs of the downtrodden or intentionally hardened, listeners’ ears fill with songs of hope and joy.

In an effort to stop Black Friday’s encroachment on Thanksgiving,  plan to lock their doors this coming Thursday. Among these nonconformists stand IKEA, Petco and Staples, all of whom refuse to open before Black Friday dawns.

However, only one store has made the decision to close on Black Friday as well

Around this time of year, we tend to discuss thankfulness a lot. We can hardly avoid conversations about the things we are thankful for— and rightly so. The whole Thanksgiving season celebrates the opportunities, people and tangible objects in our lives, and helps us remember to count our blessings. But, besides reciting our exhaustive list of blessings, how do we communicate thankfulness this season? Here are a few helpful tips for facilitating grateful attitudes and conversations around and beyond the Thanksgiving dinner table.

Do you have an important presentation coming up? Worried about talking for too long? Insecure about your visual? Can’t seem to get your thoughts organized? SAY NO MORE! Here’s a solution that will make your next presentation, precise, timely, informational, and professional. Presenting: the Pecha Kucha. 

In the first part of this series we unpacked the importance of catching the receiver’s attention with an outstanding subject line. Next comes the email body.

So you managed to get them to open your email, now how do you keep them hooked?

Trying to communicate via email? Smart decision. Even with the social media takeover, email marketing proves to return higher conversion results--if done well.

Intelligent, wise and timely communication from women has made a significant positive impact in our world. The month of March is women’s history month and an important time to remember some of these remarkable women. Even at the age of twenty, women like Malala Yousafzai have made an impact on how we communicate for peace and reconciliation.

Do Olympic athletes get hangry? In the middle of watching the intense competition, this thought might never come to mind, until now.

There is no doubt that this year’s Super Bowl was filled with unforgettable moments. From the Philadelphia Eagles defeating the reigning champs, the New England Patriots, to Morgan Freeman rapping Missy Elliott, viewers had an evening full of nonstop entertainment. While there is no doubt that the Eagles won the game, there was another team who won the Super Bowl.

For years, Doritos stole the commercial show and left football viewers talking about the most recent ad long after the Big Game ended. Besides the obvious humor, the commercials drew audience members’ attention because fellow fans had created the content. In 2007, customer-generated ads became a trademark of the chip’s marketing strategy, and the popular dynasty stretched into 2016. However, Doritos decided not to appear in the 2017 football game. In honor of their iconic commercials, let’s take a stroll down their cheesy memory lane.

#MeToo. Two words representing a typically sensitive subject have sparked a movement, resulting in a trending tag on Twitter. The hashtag created a place for victims of sexual assault to find solace and support from others who have experienced similar struggles caused by sexual trauma.

Olympic medalist, Simone Biles boasts 3.2 million followers on Instagram. At only 19 years old, she receives hundreds of thousands of likes on every picture she posts. Her popularity, however, wasn’t always this bold. Instead, her following has fluctuated with her career.

Both 2016 presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are intimidating people. On the right hand, stands Trump, the Chairman and President of the luxury-spun Trump Organization. The majority of the world knew his name even before he began campaigning for the White House. And on the left hand, sits former lawyer, first lady and New York senator, Secretary of State Secretary Clinton with an equally impressive resume. If either walks into a room, they instantly command it.

TED speakers have revolutionized the art of public speaking through their methods of audience approach and intentionality. If your presentations feel dry and you find yourself more engaged with your script than your audience, it’s time to turn to TED for guidance.

Sarah Smith’s mother and father, German and Irish by origin, U.S. born and raised, will meet her future in-laws for the first time. Steven Hoang, her fiancé, and his family moved to the United States from Vietnam over 20 years ago.

When the Hoangs arrive, the Smith parents stand four feet away as they bow repeatedly in welcome, blare traditional Vietnamese music, and immediately inquire about Tet, Vietnamese New Year. (Yes, Sarah turned bright red, and poor Steven just stood blankly in shock).

Take a quick break from finalizing your post-graduation plans there's something important you are missing:

You have probably heard about Talia Jane, the 25-year-old former Eat-24 Yelp call center employee in San Francisco. Talia started her job last August, quickly learning that entry-level pay in the pricey Bay Area does not go too far. However,publishing her list of grievances in a scathing open letter to her CEO did not help her plight.

Despite the release of blockbusters such as The Hunger Games, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Maleficent, the Boston Herald reports a decline in box office ticket sales by 5% in 2014. With movie theater attendance plummeting to the lowest figure in two decades, Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with Rentrak, acknowledges, “[Last year] was the most flabbergasting year ever.”

The "dislike" Facebook button everyone has been waiting for is finally coming to Facebook.

Well, sort of.

Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he "finally" heard the public's pleas for a dislike button and began working on an alternative form.

Last month, the names Ashley and Madison border-lined as synonyms for infidelity when extramarital affairs site ashleymadison.com experienced a security breach. The cheating site’s platform of secrecy and discretion quickly turned into a platform of open shame for nearly 33 million users.

Two weeks ago during a live television broadcast, news reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were murdered on-air by a previous colleague and former employee of WDBJ-TV. Vester Flanagan killed himself later that same day, but not before submitting a 23-page fax to ABC News and posting a video of the shooting to his social media profiles ().

Snapchat, the extremely popular photo messaging application, allows users to take photos and record short videos.  Users can add filters, text, and drawings to photos before sending them, and also choose how many seconds, from 1 to 10; others can view the picture or video. After the recipient views the file, it disappears from the device and Snapchat’s server.

Only a few years ago, Quick Response (QR) codes seemed to be everywhere, asking users to “Scan for more information!” And after a short time, these black and white, postage-stamp-like squares seemed to completely disappear. Or did they? While some people argue that QR codes are dead, this may not be entirely true.

All the journalism and public relations classes teach it: Be truthful! Don’t lie! Few things are worse for a reporter or someone working in communication than lying. Any time a reporter—especially a well-known one—lies, nothing good can follow.

With the rapid new advances of today’s technology, technology and journalism have never been so closely intertwined. This relationship is seen in the push towards drone journalism which is the use of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems, for journalistic purposes.