Wal-Mart Teaser and Article Re-Write

Teaser:

When it comes to charities and giving, Wal-Mart is the largest corporate cash contributor in America.  On top of all that, Wal-Mart associates are active in social volunteering programs.  Clearly Wal-Mart is a company that truly supports their communities.

Body:

When it comes to charities and giving, Wal-Mart is the largest corporate cash contributor in America.  On top of all that, Wal-Mart associates are active in social volunteering programs.  Clearly Wal-Mart is a company that truly supports their communities. 

In 2007, Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Club, and  the Wal-Mart Foundation gave more than $296 million to over 4000 communities in the United States alone.  On top of that, Wal-Mart’s U.S. customers gave more than $106 million and their international customers gave an additional $30 million.

Wal-Mart’s associate volunteer program, Volunteerism Always Pays (V.A.P.), encourages their associates to take active roles within their communities.  Last year alone, Wal-Mart associates recorded approximately 1 million volunteer hours and as a result the Wal-Mart Foundation gave $6 million to organization where those associates volunteered.  Many associates have been recognized outside of Wal-Mart, by their communities, for their extensive volunteer work.

         Communities, associates, and Wal-Marts partners help Wal-Mart help others.  It’s a big deal to them and they only hope that they make it a big deal to you. 

  

Video for PR

Video has always intrigued and interested people since television was first created and distributed.  Video on the web is no different.  The New York Times reported that sixty percent of all Internet traffic is video related according to CacheLogic.  It is even thought to expand to ninety-eight percent within the next two years.  That is huge.  Video is a much easier way to convey information to mass audiences because of it’s ease of production and it’s ease of reception and comprehension.  Videos can distribute a lot of information within a much smaller relative space than simple text and oftentimes even photos.  The other great thing about producing small videos for public relations purposes is that it costs almost nothing.  Not only are production costs fairly low, but distribution costs are utterly non-existent.  You could throw it up on YouTube or any number of other video hosting and sharing sites for the world to watch. 

ASSIGNMENT 2

1. The purpose of the Whole Foods blog is to relate to, interact, and involve their valued customers.  They post about great food ideas you may not have thought about or tried, different contests and/or promotions that you might be interested in, and reports on the authenticity of some of their products.  It's a great place to get information straight from the source.

2. Different people write the blog posts.  This indicates that the information that is being posted is less likely to be overall biased.  It is not all being written by the same person so the original thoughts are more varied and the points of view are as well.  The strategy here seems to be that Whole Foods wants to provide their customer community with a community of it's own.  A place where several people can write about different topics that may differ from each other, and others can respond and comment.  It's not just one persons information and opinions, it's a community's.

3. Two other social media tools used by Whole Foods on their blog are videos and contests.  The videos are used to bring even more of a personality to the Whole Foods name and community.  it's nice to be able to see who works behind the scenes and it makes you feel more connected with them.  The contests are a great way to connect their user community by encouraging them all to participate together in the same activity.  Both of these tools help encourage and instill a sense of community and togetherness amongst their users.

4. Whole foods uses both photos and videos on their blog.  They both help in ways that text may not be able to.  They use these tools to help clarify what they are talking about.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Instructional videos are always better and easier to understand than instructions alone.  Plus, they are more relational.

5. I think that Whole Foods' strategy concerning their blog is on par with what their community wants and needs.  They seem to be stressing all of the important things that I believe their customers might demand; a relational feel, names and faces, a sense of community.  I wouldn't change anything because I think all of their needs are being met more than adequately.  The name of the blog is also a nice addition.

FINAL

Descriptive Portrait

Here is a portrait shot i took of my cousin Toby.  It was really difficult to take because of the briefness of the pose, but it describes him very well.

HDR

Here is my HDR image.  It is very blue.  Enjoy!

Depth of Field