Thesis completion

I couldn't be happier about how my thesis project turned out. 

For anyone who hasn't been following it, I've been building a set of Mandalorian Armor (think Boba Fett) from the Star Wars universe. It's taken a lot of work to finish this. I spent the entirety of Spring Break in TCNJ's sculpture lab, working from noon until 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. If I didn't have to be in class, then I was working on my thesis.

And it paid off. I finished it just in time for it's big debut at PAX East in Boston. I wore it on Friday and Saturday, where it was wildly poplar. I was even featured a few times on Twitter and on New Gamer Nation with all of my friends! PAX East was an amazing experience, in and of itself, and was made a thousand times better by going in costume. 

The Senior Showcase that The College of New Jersey hosted for the seniors was equally as exciting. I built a PVC skeleton to display the costume, and positioned track lights around the exhibition room. I spent the entire night talking to interested students, alumni, and various Deans from the TCNJ administration.

As more and more people passed through, I found that more than a few of them were following my building online. It was so satisfying, so relieving to hear that all of the time I was spending on documenting this process was being appreciated and admired by someone who I had never met. 

Blogging Assignment III

For my thesis project, I’ve been creating my own propmaking business. With this business, I’ve created a accounts on Imgur, Tumblr, and a dedicated blog to document my process. Aside from actually creating the props, the biggest challenges I’ve encountered are creating a visual theme and establishing the tone I’d use.

When doing my initial research for the project, I started following Bill “PunishedProps” Doran on YouTube and Facebook. In one of his videos, he made a passing comment about how he portrays himself online. He said that he portrays himself like he would if he was in person. I decided to imitate this style when I started creating my content.

My first image album on Imgur was completely different than what I eventually developed. I created my captions exactly as if I were narrating them to a friend. My writing style frequently switched between the present and past tense, gave commands to the reader, and added jokes into the writing. Unfortunately, writing like this made my narrated segments choppy and hard to read. After consulting with several friends, it was recommended that I rewrite these sections. Eventually, I re-wrote the entire post, using only using the past tense. I am still not satisfied with the current tone of my blog. I feel that it reads as something too formal and boring.

My formatting and visual themes changed between my Tumblr and my blog. When I interviewed people about my collection of online networks, they commented on the visual differences between the sites. Most people replied that if the two sites had some visual consistency, they could recognize that both sites were part of one business. This presented two problems. First, I had to use the same voice when writing content, despite the different audiences of Tumblr and Blogger. Second, I had to design two visual themes that look similar, but have slight differences, and that are good for displaying both images and text.

Authenticity is very important, whether it is coming from a large corporation or when building a business from scratch. A business representative has to clearly communicate the message they send out. They also have to be forward thinking and completely honest when dealing with customers. For large businesses, this can be reacting to a scandal or product recall. For small businesses, this could be contacting a customer that their order will not be ready by a deadline. In either case, honesty and a little tact will help the company save face. 

The other half of being authentic to the brand is creating content that is authentic to the brand. Recently, Charmin posted an image that coincided with the release of Disney / Marvel’s Thor 2. Upon seeing it, I chuckled to myself and then immediately wondered if this was appropriate for Charmin to post online. After doing some research online, I found that was authentic to Charmin’s social media presence. Charmin uses their social media to primarily talk with parents, so the cleverly worded pun wasn’t completely out of character. But like the Gay Pride Oreo post, it left Charmin open to criticism. Unfortunately, Charmin has pulled the (somewhat) controversial ad after some mommy-bloggers and social media goers complained about it. As Gabe said in class, sometimes brands will comment on things where they have no reason to do so. This may be one such example of a brand making an ill-advised post.

Blogging Assignment II

Frank raised several points about marketers and consumers of social media. The most relateable was dealt with content creation, and social media users.

When I was working with the Air Force last summer, most of the recruiters were having problems getting outside activity on their Facebook pages. The problem was that the recruiter's attitude was "If I put some generic content onto my page, and people will follow me." As Frank Eliason said, people won't follow you because you push some content into their faces. Only two of the recruiters in the squadron were producing interesting content, and actively engaging with their audiences. Because these two recruiters actually participated with their users, each one had over 100 people following their pages. This is an excellent example of Frank's central idea; people relations are more important than content generation.

Another example of such is from my days on the paintball forum TechPB.com. On TechPB's forums, one particular brand of compressed air cylinders was recommended over all other brands. This was an odd occurrence because this company was relatively new, it didn't spend a lot on advertising, and it's products were actually was more expensive. This company was recommended so frequently because it was accessible. Anytime someone had a question about compressed air tanks, their company rep was there with an answer. He answered every private message, tweet, and Facebook message that was sent to him. Instead of spending its money on advertising and content creation, Ninja Paintball built value for their brand through customer relations. By serving the community, the community marketed Ninja's products for them.

The Ninja Paintball example shows how selling has changed. Consumers won't be sold by a sales pitch, and the marketing funnel is now obsolete. Companies now have to work with their customers, or else be vilified throughout the internet. Websites www.UnitedBreaksGuitars.com and www.gripevine.com are prime examples of customer review websites. When consumers consider purchasing a product, most people conduct research into that product. If they see that a company has several scathing reviews, they may reconsider that purchase. The digital presence of a company cannot "only" be an online sales pitch. It must also have a place for customers to resolve their problems, and form a productive relationship with the company.

Times are changing for companies. Social media has made it easier for customers to reach companies, and now companies must reach back to their customers. This interaction has become more important than content creation because it humanizes both the users and the employees, makes the company more accessible for their customers, and gives both parties a platform to resolve their issues. If a company works with their community, their community will reward them. If a company is obstinate towards their customers, their community will make their lives very difficult.

Embedding Album Test Post

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum."

Blogging Assignment I: My Last Year's First Post

This is the primary blog for myself, Al Gaillard. I'm a senior at TCNJ's IMM program and have truly come full circle. This blog was the first thing I ever created at TCNJ, for my major's 100 level class. It has been one of the few things that have made it through all four years. I'm looking forward to applying the lessons from this class into my thesis project. This year will be a lot of work, but it will be a lot of fun.

Metamorphasis: Opening Night

Opening night for Metamorphasis is tomorrow. Both the cast and the crew have been working tirelessly for weeks for this, and it really shows. For the first time, the production has been ahead of schedule. The set, lights, sound, and stage management teams are ready.

The curtain "goes up" at 8pm on April 11th.

ACT's Metamorphasis

TCNJ's All College Theatre (ACT) is producing Metamorphasis for the spring semester. This production is one  of the most challenging and rewarding shows TCNJ has put on. For those who are unfamiliar with the story of Metamorphasis, the various plots revolve around a central pool. ACT has contracted with two experienced alumni, Alex Zukovitch and Shelley Snyder, to aid construction of this massive project. The entire cast and crew are looking forward to the completion of the set.

Metamorphasis opens on April 11th, and runs until the 14th.
Tickets can be purchased at: http://tcnjcenterforthearts.pages.tcnj.edu/tcnj-box-office/