This is just a list of 15 things I learned while in ACC 255. Some of them may be self-explanatory for those of you that are actively involved on the blog scene. However, for me this was all new concepts since I've always been more of a lurker (i.e. anonymous reader) on the internet and rarely if ever commented or shared my opinion on anything. Anyways, lets get started.
1. I learned what a blog is.
I know now that a blog is way more than just someone posting their opinion about something. It involves a lot more work than one might think to get a blog up and running.
2. I learned how to create a contact form.
This is a way to keep from getting your email address harvested by spammers and a way to make it easy for readers to contact you.
3. I learned what a USP is for and why it is used.
4. I learned how to create my own webpages.
5. I learned how to post on a blog.
6. I learned how to open a Google Analytics account.
7. I learned how to open a Chitika advertising account.
8. I learned how to place advertising banners within a webpage.
9. I learned how to place a hit counter on a webpage.
10. I learned how to create an eBusiness plan.
11. I learned the components required to create an effective marketing/landing page for a simple product- like a water bottle.
12. I learned how to create ezine articles and how to submit them to an ezine article database.
13. I learned how to set up a marketing affiliation with a company like Clickbank.
14. I learned how to craete my own products to sell through this blog through companies like Cafepress.
15. Above all I learned how to operate my own blog, how to monetize it, and, overall, that I do have some knowledge and expertise on a subject that people may want to read about. Even if it is about studying.
Seoul Studying!
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Traveling While in Seoul
If you guys are
anything like I am, I imagine quite a few of you want to travel the world,
visit multiple countries, meet new people- you know the whole traveling experience.
You might not remember, but I briefly touched upon this in a previous post, not
sure which, but being in Seoul is a great opportunity to travel to other
countries. This is due to its central location in Asia. The following are some
of the locations, and countries, that you can take a quick flight and visit
over an extended weekend or after your semester ends and you go back home:
1.
Jeju Island – Jeju is an island off the southern
coast of the Korean peninsula. Unfortunately, while I was in Korea I did not
have the opportunity to visit this island, but you definitely should. While I
was in Korea, basically any Korean friend I made recommended that I visit the island
due to its natural beauty. The good news is that this island is definitely one
place that you can get to, tour around, and come back over a single weekend plus
a day or two. According to some of my friends who did visit Jeju, the flights
there are very cheap, provided that you book well ahead of time. Round trip
tickets, they told me, only cost them around $70 USD and the flight only took
them around two hours.
2.
Japan- For those who have an interest in
Japanese culture, studying in Korea is a perfect opportunity to visit Japan.
Flights to Japan were not very expensive while I was there with round trip
tickets running around $350 give or take 60$. However those prices were for
flights to Tokyo. If you want to visit a
city like Osaka, you can look at Peach Aviation (httP://flypeach.com)
for significantly cheaper prices, provided you book well in advance. I do wish
to warn you that while I did not travel to Japan, I did have friends who did
and from what they told me, while the flights may be cheap, other prices in
Japan definitely are not. They further said that if you want to go to Japan be
sure to have plenty to spend. Apparently the majority of their money was spent
just on food, getting around, and, in the end, they had very little left over
to spend to do much else.
3.
Southeast Asia- Fort those of you who like
backpacking, Seoul is a perfect place to fly from to Southeast Asia in order to
backpack the region. I had friends, who after the semester ended, flew from Seoul
to Vietnam, to Laos, and a very popular country for backpackers- Thailand. Thailand,
and its myriad of temples and beaches, is only about a six hour flight to Bangkok
away from Seoul.
Basically, from Seoul, a whole range of Asian countries and
sights are only a relatively short flight away. That and flights are
substantially cheaper than going back home and then going back to Asia. If you
do study in Seoul I do recommend you take the opportunity that this presents
you and travel if you wish to.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Korean University Festivals
As a follow up to my post on Kpop, because Kpop is involved,
I want to cover something incredible that you might be able to experience while
studying at a Korean university. That is their university festivals. Now you
may ask what is so special about these university festivals. Good question.
University festivals from what I saw, are usually three day
long events held by each individual university. They’re not all held on the same
days rather, from what I saw, each university festival was staggered after
another university’s festival ended. From
what I understood, these university festivals are usually held during the
spring semesters, but due to certain events that happened in the spring of last
year, a large amount of university festivals were postponed until the fall
semester. As such I was able to experience a few during my stay this past fall.
They may only be three days but they are absolutely packed
with fun activities. During the day, a large majority of university clubs each
set up their own stands where they run games and sell snacks and food that they
make. Additionally, some of the clubs and associations also set up traditional
Korean performances.
At my host university, throughout the entire day they had
two stages with live bands playing through the entire day. However, the main
draws of the university festivals happen after it gets dark. For those of you
that are of legal drinking age, a lot of the clubs also each set up their own “beer
tents” where, you guessed it, they sold discounted beer and served snacks to
with them. These are incredible opportunities to get to make plenty of Korean
friends by playing a few drinking games with them. However, only do so if you
are over the legal drinking age, and if you do, drink responsibly.
At the end of each night, is when the main events of the
university festivals happen. At mot universities, they bring in one or two big
Kpop performers to perform at the university’s main stage. At a few of the
university festivals I attended, I was able to see groups such as 9 Muses,
Sistar, and Orange Caramel. These are awesome performances, even if you’re not
very into Kpop, and the Korean students go absolutely crazy over them.
Overall, these
university festivals are amazing and if you get the opportunity, try your best
to attend at least one before your semester ends.
Performers at different university festival.
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Kpop- What it is and Why you Should Care
I want to take this time to cover a topic you will for sure experience
during your studies in Korea- Kpop. I know it is likely that some of you, if
you have done your research on Korea or are already into Korean culture, will
already know what it is. If you do, please bear with me while I go ahead and
explain what it is and why you should care about it if you study in
Korea.
Kpop, much as the name implies, basically
stands for Korean Pop, yet is more than that. The best way that I can describe
Kpop is very catchy lyrics that are almost all fluff and sung to very upbeat
and catchy tunes. Kpop as a music genre might be known to you due to the fact
that it is part of the phenomenon known as Hallyu, or Korean wave, meant to
describe the rapid popularization of Korean culture around the world. As such
the entire scene around Kpop in Korea is astonishing. It is a weird mix of American
music star fandom mixed with the hyper celebrity culture around movie stars
familiar to Americans.
From what I saw while I was I Korea, Kpop
girl groups, and boy bands for that matter, are usually attractive and are
idolized to an incredible amount. Kpop is almost pervasive. You’ll likely hear
it while walking around the city, you’ll see advertisements with Kpop stars and
you’ll rarely go a day without seeing or hearing something Kpop-ish.
However, I must admit that, if you’re
anything like me, Kpop music will annoy you at first if you’re not used to it.
I know it annoyed me and some of my fellow study abroad students at first.
Eventually, however, it will be hard to not get sucked into the whole scene and
eventually you’ll find yourself humming along to some random upbeat Kpop tune.
Even now that I am back home, I find
myself going to YouTube and watching some Kpop music videos every now and then.
Moral of the story kids- Kpop may be
different at first but it’ll grow on you, so don’t dismiss it until you
experience it in Korea.
Ps. This is based on what I experienced
while I was in Korea and someone more knowledgeable will be able to provide
more in-depth view on the subject.
Ps.s. If you wish to listen to some Kpop, look
up Sistar, B1A4, and 9 Muses. These are just some of the groups I sometimes
realize I’m listening to.
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