To: Dr. Karen K.

Lee From: Hannah McAndrew Subject: Portfolio Date: May 8, 2013 The writings in this portfolio are some of my first attempts to write for online environments. Social media is becoming more and more popular in self-promotion, and is the future. The works below are some of my favorites from throughout the semester, and I hope that you will find them to be good examples of my writing and artistic skills. This collection of documents will serve as some of my first works viewed by potential employers. Of course, there is always room for improvement, and I will probably add to this portfolio over time. I have enjoyed the writings in this course and despite some technical difficulties, and prepared to share this portfolio with you today. In this portfolio, you will find my original case study, autobiography sets and business card, usability study, writing for social media report(s), my social media activity report and my website memo. I hope that you will enjoy reflecting on these works as much as I have. Also included is a link to my Twitter account, where most of my social media activity has taken place: https://twitter.com/hemcandrew

s n i u R l a P y a s P a m t s i r h C
A case study by Hannah McAndrew
Source: CircaSassy (flickr.com)

Background
Regretsy is a popular blog that specializes in sharing the best and worst crafts for sale on the internet. The blog is known for finding and sharing wonderful and aweful crafts from the popular internet market place, Etsy. The blog aims to make readers laugh, but also aims to raise money for various charities. Regretsy was launched by April Winchell in 2009 and went into archive mode on Feb 1, 20131. While Regretsy is no longer active, the blogs many posts can still be read. Paypal, founded in 1998, is a website that allows its users to exchange money via the internet. Paypal has become one of the worlds largest internet payment companies. It is used by many countries in many parts of the world. Paypal is currently owned by Ebay and is known for multiple controversies surrounding its customer service and other policies2. In this particular social media disaster, Regretsy and Paypal would go head-tohead about a month before Chirstmas 2011. The resulting internet carnage would force Paypal to rethink its decision.
1. Killer Helen (Winchell, April), LETS WRAP THIS UP NOW, Regretsy (blog), January 28, 2013, http://www.regretsy.com/2013/01/28/lets-wrap-thisup-now/. 2. Paypal, About Paypal. Last modified 2013. Accessed February 11, 2013. https://www.paypal-media.com/about.

What Happened?
Roughly a month before Christmas 2011, Paypal froze the account to a Secret Santa fundraiser organized by Regretsy. The fundraiser would benefit 200 children and their families. The money collected would be used to buy each of the 200 children a gift and a special letter from Santa Clause. According to a Regretsy post entitled Fuck You, Paypal on December 4, 2011, PayPal did this due to the site using the wrong button to generate funds. Instead of using PayPals buy now button, they used donate. According to Paypal, the donate button is to be used for non-profit organizations only. Apparently Regretsys Secret Santa program did not qualify as non-profit. Soon after the Secret Santa fundraiser was shut down, PayPal began to feel the pressure. Blog posts on Regretsy flamed PayPal, and random commenters on the companys Facebook posts/wall reminded them of their mistake. One blog post on Regretsy, Cats 1, Kids 0, gathered over 1,300 comments in a matter of days after being posted on December 5, 2011.

Examples of numerous comments by angered Regretsy readers.

Comments from Cats 1, Kids 0.

Comments from Fuck You, Paypal.

 Paypal would loose respect, credibility and business as a result of their actions with Regretsys Secret Santa fundraiser. Many Regretsy readers would cancel their Paypal accounts and encourage others accross the internet to do the same. Paypals Facebook posts were taken over by angry commenters. One post exceded 1,000 comments; most shaming Paypal for their treatment of Regretsy. Some of the angered comments from that particular post are below:

Things spread very quickly on the internet. Within a matter of days Paypal lifted the restrictions on Regretsys account. In a blog post entitled, Paypal Update Regretsy would celebrate victory. Paypal issued a statement to Regretsy lifting the restrictions on the blogs account and would go even farther by donating $20,000 to the 200 children and their families3.

Paypals statement.

3. Killer, Helen. Paypal Update. Regretsy (blog), December 7, 2011. http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/07/paypal-update/ (accessed February 11, 2013).

Lessons Learned

Paypal needs to think before acting. Shutting down a fund raiser is not something to be taken lightly. It certainly wasnt taken lightly by Regretsy readers and other concerned individuals. This disaster could be considered poor judgment on Paypals behalf. There was no thought put into their decision. This could have been avoided with some thought and some common sense. Paypal and Regretsy managed to reach a solution, but the damage to Paypal is done. The lesson here is think before you leap. Consider the people who may be affected by your choice. It seems like common sense, but it is often forgotten.

Conclusions
Paypal made a mistake by freezing the account of a charitable cause. Regretsys Secret Santa program was one of great importance to not only Regretsy, but to the children and families it would benefit. Hopes were dashed when Paypal made the decision to stop the fund raiser in its tracks. The Regretsy community responded in a big way, forcing Paypal to make things right. Hopefully, this social media disaster will be a lesson to all companies. Customer service is important and should not be forgotten.

Works Cited Killer, Helen (Winchell, April). LETS WRAP THIS UP NOW. Regretsy (blog), January 28, 2013. http://www.regretsy.com/2013/01/28/ lets-wrap-this-up-now/ (accessed February 11, 2013). Killer, Helen (Winchell, April). Paypal Update. Regretsy (blog), December 7, 2011. http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/07/paypal-update/ (accessed February 11, 2013). Paypal, About Paypal. Last modified 2013. Accessed February 11, 2013. https://www.paypal-media.com/about.

s n i u R l a P y a s P a m t s i r h C
A case study by Hannah McAndrew
Source: CircaSassy (flickr.com)

Background
Regretsy is a popular blog that specializes in sharing the best and worst crafts for sale on the internet. The blog is known for finding and sharing wonderful and aweful crafts from the popular internet market place, Etsy. The blog aims to make readers laugh, but also aims to raise money for various charities. Regretsy was launched by April Winchell in 2009 and went into archive mode on Feb 1, 20131. While Regretsy is no longer active, the blogs many posts can still be read. Paypal, founded in 1998, is a website that allows its users to exchange money via the internet. Paypal has become one of the worlds largest internet payment companies. It is used by many countries in many parts of the world. Paypal is currently owned by Ebay and is known for multiple controversies surrounding its customer service and other policies2. In this particular social media disaster, Regretsy and Paypal would go head-tohead about a month before Chirstmas 2011. The resulting internet carnage would force Paypal to rethink its decision.
1. Helen Killer (Winchell, April), LETS WRAP THIS UP NOW, Regretsy (blog), January 28, 2013, http://www.regretsy.com/2013/01/28/lets-wrap-thisup-now/. 2. Paypal, About Paypal. Last modified 2013. Accessed February 11, 2013. https://www.paypal-media.com/about.

What Happened?
Roughly a month before Christmas 2011, Paypal froze the account to a Secret Santa fundraiser organized by Regretsy. The fundraiser would benefit 200 children and their families. The money collected would be used to buy each of the 200 children a gift and a special letter from Santa Clause. According to a Regretsy post entitled Fuck You, Paypal on December 4, 2011, PayPal did this due to Regretsy using the wrong button to generate funds. Instead of using PayPals buy now button, they used donate. According to Paypal, the donate button is to be used for non-profit organizations only. Apparently Regretsys Secret Santa program did not qualify as non-profit. Soon after the Secret Santa fundraiser was shut down, PayPal began to feel the pressure. Blog posts on Regretsy flamed PayPal, and random commenters on the companys Facebook posts/wall reminded them of their mistake. One blog post on Regretsy, Cats 1, Kids 0, gathered over 1,300 comments in a matter of days after being posted on December 5, 2011.

Examples of numerous comments by angered Regretsy readers.

Comments from Cats 1, Kids 0.

Comments from Fuck You, Paypal.

 Paypal would lose respect, credibility and business as a result of their actions with Regretsys Secret Santa fundraiser. Many Regretsy readers would cancel their Paypal accounts and encourage others accross the internet to do the same. Paypals Facebook posts were taken over by angry commenters. One post exceded 1,000 comments, most shaming Paypal for their treatment of Regretsy. Some of the angered comments from that particular post are below:

Things spread very quickly on the internet. Within a matter of days Paypal lifted the restrictions on Regretsys account. In a blog post entitled, Paypal Update Regretsy would celebrate victory. Paypal issued a statement to Regretsy lifting the restrictions on the blogs account and would go even farther by donating $20,000 to the 200 children and their families3.

Paypals statement.

3. Killer, Helen. Paypal Update. Regretsy (blog), December 7, 2011. http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/07/paypal-update/ (accessed February 11, 2013).

Lessons Learned

Paypal needs to think before acting. Shutting down a fund raiser is not something to be taken lightly. It certainly wasnt taken lightly by Regretsy readers and other concerned individuals. This disaster could be considered poor judgment on Paypals behalf. There was no thought put into their decision. This could have been avoided with some thought and some common sense. Paypal and Regretsy managed to reach a solution, but the damage to Paypal is done. The lesson here is think before you leap. Consider the people who may be affected by your choice. It seems like common sense, but it is often forgotten.

Conclusions
Paypal made a mistake by freezing the account of a charitable cause. Regretsys Secret Santa program was one of great importance to not only Regretsy, but to the children and families it would benefit. Hopes were dashed when Paypal made the decision to stop the fund raiser in its tracks. The Regretsy community responded in a big way, forcing Paypal to make things right. Hopefully, this social media disaster will be a lesson to all companies. Customer service is important and should not be forgotten.

Works Cited Killer, Helen (Winchell, April). LETS WRAP THIS UP NOW. Regretsy (blog), January 28, 2013. http://www.regretsy.com/2013/01/28/ lets-wrap-this-up-now/ (accessed February 11, 2013). Killer, Helen (Winchell, April). Paypal Update. Regretsy (blog), December 7, 2011. http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/07/paypal-update/ (accessed February 11, 2013). Paypal, About Paypal. Last modified 2013. Accessed February 11, 2013. https://www.paypal-media.com/about.

One sentence pitch: Im Hannah McAndrew, a Professional Writing and Editing major at Youngstown State University. 100 word pitch: My name is Hannah McAndrew. Im currently a Professional Writing and Editing student at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. My studies are focused on writing manuals and other technical documents or works. However, I am still very versatile, having taken multiple classes and gaining experience in other branches of professional writing. I have experience with publishing and design software programs such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. I can create attractive documents to fit your needs. I am working on gaining experience in my field as an intern at IES Systems, Inc in Canfield, Ohio. There, I write and revise manuals for various machines. 250 word biography: My name is Hannah McAndrew. Im currently a Professional Writing and Editing (PWE) student at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. I was born and raised in the Youngstown area; living in New Middletown, Ohio. I attended Springfield Local Schools in New Middletown, Ohio where I excelled in writing, art, and science. I was involved in concert band and the high school marching band. When I wasnt playing my instrument (baritone), I was caring for my animals. Throughout my childhood, I was involved in 4-H. Throughout my 10 years in 4-H, I would show horses, llamas, and a lamb one year. Caring for my animals as a child taught me a great deal about responsibility; a lesson that I take with me into adulthood. I graduated high school in the summer of 2010 and would begin my college education the following fall. At first, my major was Biology: Pre Veterinarian. I chose this due to my love of animals and my interest in the sciences. At that point, I was still interested in a degree in English or writing, but decided to try biology first. Soon after beginning classes in the fall, I began to feel very out of place. I continued anyway, spending three semesters in the biology program. At the end of my third semester at YSU, I decided to change my major. I researched different degrees and kept returning to the English department. I found that YSU offered a Professional Writing and Editing degree and took great interest in it. I have now been a PWE major for a year and a half.

Hannah E. McAndrew
Professional and Technical Writer

The University of

Mount Union
Usability Report
Writing Center Website

Presented By: John DePinto, Hannah McAndrew, Aaron Wilson, and Richard Queale

Table of Contents
Test Administrators:........................................................................................................................ ii Mount Union Writing Center Usability Report .............................................................................. 1 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Overall Findings.......................................................................................................................... 1 Study Summary........................................................................................................................... 2 Participant Summary................................................................................................................... 2 Detailed Findings ........................................................................................................................ 2 Positive Comments ................................................................................................................. 2 Critical, major and minor usability issues............................................................................... 2 Other Issues ................................................................................................................................. 5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Test Questions ......................................................................................................................... 6

ii

Test Administrators:
Hannah McAndrew A junior Professional Writing and Editing major. Richard Queale A senior Journalism major. Aaron Wilson A sophomore Professional Writing and Editing major. John DePinto A senior Professional Writing and Editing major.

Mount Union Writing Center Usability Report

Executive Summary
There were ten subjects used in conducting the usability test. Their ages ranged from eighteen to fifty five. The goal behind this was to get a wide enough range to accurately gauge the average population of the Writing Center users. The findings resulted in several problems coming to light: The first was the ability for non-students to make an account at the writing center. This is a risk to the center because non-students can easily make fake appointments and waste the tutors and students time. The second problem was the Student Spotlight link at the top of the home page. Many subjects assumed that this was the link to the tutor page, and became lost as a result. Another problem was the search bar, located at the top of every page, not resulting in any information regarding the Writing Center. Subjects were also confused by this. Two minor problems that were discovered were the difficulty retuning to the home page of the Writing Center and the ability to find the Quick Guides easily.

Introduction
From March 17 to March 22, 2013 we conducted tests over the usability of the Mount Union Writing Center home page. Our subjects ranged from high school seniors to older college students. We did this to better understand how different people would make use of the website. There were a few major issues discovered by subjects as well as some smaller ones.

Overall Findings
The subjects were given a verbal test to follow. Each question had to do with navigating the website and finding specific pieces of information. One question was timed and we took note of how long it took the subjects to complete the test. They easily followed instructions and finished each task quickly. The subjects felt that the site was easy to navigate when first loading the home page. Some subjects had a little trouble finding a specific tutor when asked to do so, relying heavily on the search bar at the top of each page. Due to this, they became frustrated and needed to be shown where to look. They also struggled to find the style guides, saying that they looked more like an ad than anything useful. When asked to create an account for the writing center with a tutor, the subjects found it easy to set up an account and make an appointment. Some said that it was too easy to make an appointment, stating that the Writing Center could be spammed with false accounts and appointments.

Study Summary
Number of subjects: 10 (1 high school student, 7 college students, 2 non-traditional students) Average length of each subjects session: 12 minutes Study focus: Ease of navigation for writing center website o Ability to search for items o Locating items through clutter o Usefulness of sites contents to the participant o Ability to locate links Type of Study: In-person

Participant Summary
Subjects were selected based on their potential to use the Writing Center. All subjects were capable of comfortably using technology in their daily lives. Subjects used a variety of devices that could access the site. These included cell phones, laptops, PCs, tablets, etc. Seven subjects made use of Google to search for the website, though three made use of Yahoo.

Detailed Findings
Positive Comments At first glance, the shade of purple and the design caught the subjects attention. Subjects noticed the Getting Started box almost immediately, which made it easy to work through parts of the test. Subjects found it easy to create an account and to make appointments. Critical, major and minor usability issues 1. Critical Issue - Ability to create false accounts. The simple process to create an account and set up an appointment is convenient for the student, but could provide issues in the future for the Writing Center. The simplified process allows non-students to create an account and set up an appointment whenever they want. This would waste the time of both the students and tutors. One participant used a completely fake email address and was still capable of logging in and setting up a fake appointment. We found these results with question six.

Possible Solutions: Set-up the website so that it verifies e-mail addresses. Add a way to verify course numbers and instructors. Creating fake classes is too easy. Make the site exclusive to only Mount Union students by requiring a student ID.

2. Major Issue Student Spotlight on Writing Center home page. When arriving to the home page, subjects noticed the pictures of students under the links. At first glance they believed these pictures to be tutors for the writing center and attempted to use them to find Tyler Lowe for our test. This resulted in frustration and confusion for some of the subjects. We found the results with question three.

Figure 1 shows the problem images. These make it seem like tutors are helping students.

Figure 1.

Possible Solutions: If possible, remove the Student Spotlight images to avoid confusion in the future. Update the pictures to show Writing Center tutors instead. Emphasise the fact that they are promenent students and not tutors.

3. Major Issue Using the search bar does not result in any information on the Writing Center. Some subjects immediately went to the search bar, located at the top of every page, to look for a specific tutor when asked. This resulted in a lack of Writing Center information and confusion for some subjects who then needed to be shown where to go. These results came from multiple questions.

4 Possible Solution: Update the site so that its search engine pulls up Writing Center information.

4. Minor Issue - Returning to the Writing Centers home page was difficult. Subjects didnt see the Writing Center Home link at the bottom of the list of links. Some users tried to use the Mount Union logo to return to the Home page. When it didnt, they became confused by the result.

Figure 2 shows the problems with the University of Mount Union link and how it can be easily confused for a link to the Writing Center home page. Also in figure 2 is an example of how difficult it can be to find the actual link to the Writing Center home page.

Possible Solutions: Switch the FAQ and Writing Center Home links around. Add a Writing Center Logo under the Mount Union logo and create a separate link to Mount Unions home page.

Figure 2. 5. Minor Issue - The Quick Guides on the Home page do not stand out: Some subjects mentioned that the Guides did not catch their attention. One user mentioned she thought the guides were an ad of some sort at first glance and did not use them. Others didnt even notice them next to the Getting Started guide.

5 Figure 3 depicts the design for the "Quick Guides". This design is simple compared to other parts of the site, making it not stand out against the rest of the sight.

Figure 3.

Possible Solutions: Move the Guides off to the side or put them on their own so that they can be seen easily. Consider ways to make them stand out a little more.

Other Issues
The body text for some pages was hard for some users to read comfortably. This was due to the lettering being small and black on a grey background. The text on the Writing Links page is a good example of this problem. One user using Internet Explorer experienced issues with not being able to cancel an appointment. The videos on the side bar of the Homepage are difficult to notice at the bottom. Only one participant saw them. Wording for questions in FAQs section confused some users. Information on which style guides, and the majors they are paired with, needs to be made more noticeable to help users.

Conclusion
In conclusion, this sight is a well-designed site with a few major problems that keep it from being great. One problem is the ability to create false accounts. Another is the difficulty navigating certain parts of the site. And there are a few more problems that go along with those two. However, we added in a few tips that we feel will be able to help you fix some of the problems with the University of Mount Union Writing Center site.

Appendix
Test Questions 1. Using the search engine of your choice, locate the Mount Union Writing Centers web page. 2. On the Writing Centers home page, what are your eyes first drawn to? What are the first things you notice about the web page? 3. 4. Locate Tyler Lowe, a tutor at the writing center. Could you find him? 5. Find the Documentation/Style Guide Chart. What style should a History major use when documenting sources? 6. Find the Faculty FAQs page. What is the first question on the page? 7. Set up an appointment with a tutor. To do this, you must first create an account on Mount Unions website. Provide the necessary information and create your account. Next, set up an appointment with a tutor. How easy was it for you do create an account and set up an appointment? Write down the name and email and password you used to do this. 8. Find the Writing centers Frequently Asked Questions page. How much time can you spend at the writing center? 9. From the Frequently Asked Questions page, return to the writing centers Home page. How easy or difficult was it for you to find the link to the home page? 10. Find a link to Purdue Universitys OWL (Online Writing Lab). How easy or difficult was it to find? 11. What is your opinion of the website? How easy or hard was it to navigate? What do you like about the website? Is the text easy to read? Finally, what were your likes or dislikes?

Writing For Social Media Report by: Hannah #3

McAndrew
If I have learned anything from this course, it is that I (apparently) do

not really like social media as much as I probably should. I must admit that this assignment is one that I have neglected due to time, and other work taking over my time. I do not have much to add to this final report. My About.me page has fallen flat. I havent gone to it since the last time I wrote on of these reports. My Twitter account faired better, but only by a small amount. I have a whopping 18 tweets! For my portfolio, I will provide a link to my Twitter account since most of my tweets are silly and not strong (another blunder on my behalf). What I did enjoy about this project was exploring different social media sites and using things that Ive never used before. I also found the concept interesting. When I was in high school, social media was looked down upon. I was told it would never be useful. I can see now that this way of thinking is not correct. Social media will help me (if I would just use it) to better promote myself as a professional or technical writer. In the future, I would like to use social media more. Since I now have my own personal website, I will be more aware of what Im putting on-line and will hopefully use my social media more. I have enjoyed this class, even though this project didnt go as well as it could have.

Writing For Social Media

Introduction

REport #1 By: Hannah McAndrew

I must admit that I do not have much material for this first report. Due to time constraints and a lack of interest in social media, I havent been as active as I should be. We as a class and individuals were instructed to work on our social media accounts. We had to keep our accounts updated and add our own personal flare while posting about our field of interest (Technical Writing, Journalism, etc.). We also had to produce a monthly report that would catalogue our social media adventures.

Activity

I have been most active on Twitter, even though I only have a total of 14 tweets. I have tried to ad my own personal flare like I mentioned above. I would like to change my avatar to an actual picture of me, but for now it is a photo of one of the buildings on Ellis Island, NY. My background on Twitter is also an image from Ellis Island. I will keep this background, but it does need some editing. It is an image of the Wall of Honor, on which the names of some of the immigrants processed there are listed. I have tweeted to some of my class mates and have attempted to join in on some conversations, but my introversion or social awkwardness (I havent decided which) keeps me at bay. Ive made most of these tweets during class time. My Twitter account can be found here: https:// twitter.com/hemcandrew. My second social media account is my About.me page, which can be found here: http://about.me/hannah.mcandrew. I have yet to make any major changes to my About.me account. I only have a few pieces of information about me on my account and it has been viewed a total of nine times (Im pretty popular!). I do like About. me and find it to be an interesting site. I hope to improve my profile in the next coming weeks.

Working Ahead

Obviously, I need to get to work on my social media accounts. I need to make use of the spare time I do have and invest more into this project than I have been. I want to develop my About.me page and I want to become more active on Twitter by posting things more relevant to Technical Writing. I hope to be more involved in class discussions on Twitter and would like to get more than nine profile views on my About.me page!

Social Media Activity Report No. 2.

By: Hannah

McAndrew

Businesses are using social media more and more, and they should be! Social media is a great tool for marketing a business, service, or yourself. Below are just a few of the people and businesses that use social media to spread the word about themselves!

BIG Businesses GM (General Motors)

Followers: 97,400+ (10,000 increase) Tweets: 8,900+ (200 increase) General Motors, one of the worlds largest automotive

companies, uses its Twitter account to promote its products and to keep in touch with customers. GMs tweets share information such as sales stats, new products or options for its products, and other useful information. The account is very active and tweets are frequent. The account averages about 30-50 tweets per week. Since the first report, GM has gathered 10,000 more followers, and over 200 more tweets!

Followers: 110,000+/- (10,000 increase) Tweets: 13,000+ (2,000 increase) Arbys is one of my favorite fast food restaurants! Their

Arbys

first restaurant opened in Youngstown, Ohio in 1964. Their Twitter account is very active, like that of GM. Arbys uses its Twitter account to promote their restaurants and food. Many of the companys tweets remind followers to enjoy some of their good mood food. Arbys has increased its following by 10,000 and its tweets by 2,000!

Small Businesses Catullo Meats

Followers: 551 (40 increase) Tweets: 2,384 (99 increase) Catullo Meats is a small butcher based out of
Youngstown, Ohio. The business is owned by Danny Catullo, and the businesss Twitter account is also managed by him. The tweets are simple and to the point. Theyre all about meat! Tweets are still frequent, but Catullo Meats needs (and deserves) more followers. Keep spreading the word, Catullo Meats! It seems to be working, as there are 40 new followers.

Followers: 1,471 (51 increase) Tweets: 599 (7 increase) Peekn Peak Resort in Findley Lake, New York is a

Peekn Peak

popular ski resort. The companys Twitter account was very active in January and February, but March is not a popular month it seems. Hopefully things will pick up since the resort is open all year round. the company could have many more followers, as it is a very popular place to be when the snow flies. The companys tweets drop off at the end of March, and there is not much activity. More needs to be done to promote this great resort!

Non-Profit

Followers: 15,300+ (700 increase) Tweets: 3,789+ (200 increase) Goodwill Industries is a well-known non-profit

Goodwill

organization based out of Rockville, MD. Goodwill uses its Twitter account to spread-well-good will! The most frequent tweets are those with Tax Tips and other useful information. I found 14,000 followers to be a surprisingly low number. Goodwill also only tweets a handful of times per week. The organization needs to continue building up followers. So far, Goodwill has gathered another 700 followers!

ASPCA

Followers: 157,950+ (5,950 increase) Tweets: 15,300+ (1,300 increase) The ASPCA is a non-profit organization dedicated to

helping animals in need. Most of the organizations tweets are all about animals and how to help them. Tips for pet care make up many of the companys tweets. Most have a simple, clear message. Unlike Goodwill, the ASPCA has a large amount of followers. Goodwill will have to work to catch up, because the ASPCA has increased its following by almost 6,000!

Celebs! Vic Mignogna

Followers: 20,700+ (2,000 increase) Tweets: 199 (15 increase) Vic Mignogna is a popular anime and video game voice

Ellen DeGeneres
Followers: 19,147,000+ (1.6 mil increase) Tweets: 7,440+ (200 increase) Ellen DeGeneres, talk show host and comedian, is the
most popular person I followed by far. She is the master of the comedic arts, and is incredibly active on her Twitter account. She tweets quite a bit, keeping her fans and followers up to date with all things funny. With more than 19,000,000 followers, she doesnt need anyone to tell her how to use social media.

actor that, in many cases needs no introduction. Though his account only has 184 tweets, he has managed to gather over 18,000 followers. This is probably due to the great way he treats his fans. He attends numerous anime conventions and other similar events year round. He often tweets about his experiences and updates fans on his current roles. To gain even more followers he could certainly tweet more, but in this case he may not need to. With just 15 tweets he has managed to increase his following by 2,000!

Politicians John Kasich

Followers: 50,500+ (1,500 increase) Tweets: 2,963 (163 increase) John Kasich is the current governor of Ohio. He has a
good number of followers, but could use more. His tweets typically talk about creating new jobs for Ohioans. Kasichs Twitter account is very active, producing tweets many times a day. He has gathered 1,500 new followers and has made 163 more tweets.

Tom Corbett

Followers: 11,400+ (1,000 increase) Tweets: 3,200+ (900 increase) Tom Corbett is the current governor of

Pennsylvania. He is just as active as John Kasich, but only has about 11,000 followers. He could certainly use more followers. It is clear that he himself does not draft the tweets. Text speak is used frequently, and might be the first thing that needs done away with. Corbetts account has produced over 900 more tweets, but has only gained 1,000 more followers.

Conclusions

Some businesses and people are utilizing their Twitter accounts well, but others could use some work. Things like eliminating text speak, short tweets that can be confusing, and other habits can help. Ellen certainly has a handle on things, but Goodwill could use more attention. Peekn Peak is a popular resort with a not-so-popular Twitter page. Catullo Meats has great products that deserve more attention, and the ASPCA (while having a good number of followers) could always use more. Each of these people & businesses have increased their followers , but can do more to promote themselves through social media.

To: Dr. Karen K. Lee From: Hannah McAndrew Subject: Personal Website Project Date: May 9, 2013 When I began building my website, I had simplicity in mind. I did not want to over complicate things and chose a website template from a free website builder that made the most sense to me. The template was from Wix.com, a website builder/host that proved to be very helpful and useful. When the time comes, I may even upgrade and become a paying customer. I wanted soft colors that would go together nicely, so I chose a color palette from the options that I liked. The colors are a mixture of shades of pink, brown, and gray. I found that these colors make the website nice to look at, but are not so vibrant that they look unprofessional. There are currently only three pages to the website, but I plan to add more. For now, as a student, I think that three pages is enough. The home page doubles as an About Me page, and the portfolio and contact pages are as they are titled. Because the free template is limited, I am using my Scribd. com account to showcase my work. There is a link to Scribd.com on my portfolio page. There are a few things that I like about my website. One is the fact that it is impossible to get lost in it. There are only three pages, the links in the menu are available on every page, and it is easy to use. I think that these facts show that I am a to-the-point kind of person. I wanted everything on my website to be to-the-point and professional without being dull. I think that I managed to accomplish just that. As I mentioned before, I used a template format to edit/build my website to my liking. The benefits of this format are many. You dont need to understand HTML or CSS, and editing the template reminded me of InDesign. I was able to create a website that I liked in a few minutes. There are a few cons to this method, though. I was not able to post PDF files to my portfolio page like I had hoped, and had to use my Scribd.com page instead. The website I made is not totally original; it is an edit of an already existing template. This doesnt bother me, but it may bother others who want to build their own site from scratch. Overall, my experience with this project was a good one. I have a published website that I am happy with, and will continue to maintain and even upgrade. Wix.com is easy to use and is a great tool for someone who is not savvy with HTML or CSS. Building my website was fun and wasnt too time consuming. My website can be found at: http://hemcandrew.wix.com/technical-writer