Hospitality Industry

In this business it doesn't matter what your property looks like, what your food tastes like, or even what location its in, if service isn't there, it won't be successful. Any property can buy great food or cool furniture but you can't change the people. Service is the heart and soul of the industry. Working within the industry myself I have seen many things first hand. I work at a Marriott owned property thats in the autograph collection which is an upper scale/bran within Marriott. Upon being hired my boss outright told me to forget about the glamor and image of the place, and just focus on making the customer feel special. At the Henry we make people feel like there at there home away from home. Engaging and relating will always bring the guests back for more.

Tau Kappa Epsilon Date Auction for St. Judes

April 14 (tomorrow) is when the men of TKE are putting on a fundraiser for the children of St. Jude's. This fundraiser means a lot. It brings awareness to childhood leukemia and helps pay for there medical treatment. Leukemia many have heard of but I bet few have actually seen the affects it has on people. After seeing a small boy with this disease, it was humbling. It made me feel that any problem of mine was minuscule compared to his. How could a child's life be cut so short? It sadden me right away. This boy I found out was never going to live past the age of 13. As I starting thinking about all the things he's going to be deprived of, I right away wanted to help. Thats why anyone and everyone should come by and donate to the cause. Its the noble thing to do, lets give them children some extra time. #comm340

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=200217360009583&index=1

Warmer Weather Brings Trouble

As the summer of 2011 draws closer, the nations problems seem to be escalating. Within the past month or so, there has been two near government shutdowns followed by intense partisan wars within Washington. Obama which is trying to gage his re-election thats coming up has many worries. Not only does he have to worry about partisan wars but he also has to worry about new wars, Foreign wars. With higher levels of troops going into Afghanistan and now US intervention in Libya, Obama needs to see how people are going to react. The global climate is much different from 2008 and "change" has turned into many changes, some not for the better. It should be an interesting summer for politics as all these forces play into the global scene. Below are a few articles that outline some problems that are currently arising. #comm340

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/04/10/white-house-obama-propose-new-plan-reduce-long-term-deficits/

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/10/libya.war/index.html?hpt=T2

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/10/pentagon-iraq-withdrawal-timeline_n_847154.html

Communication 340 W11

Its a new semester as well as a new year. This semester I'll be taking a communication class Thursdays from 6-9pm. This class looks very promising. Outlined in the syllabus are three assignments that will force a student to learn many new skills of communication in this ever expanding information age. Students will engage in conference calls as well as video chats while working on a projects outside of the class room . These skills I feel will greatly benefit young professionals. The reason I think this is because these methods are many times incorporated in fortune 500 businesses.

Second Life

BIGBOY BREEN

I choice to give my avatar casual dress. He's wearing jeans, polo, and tennis shoes. I wanted him to have the apperance of being laid back. I also give him a muscular build because thats kind of my body type, so i wanted to put a little of me into my avatar. Second life i found out is very interesting and hard to judge the people you communicate with if you dont already know them. Many times i started talking to different avatars and most times the people behind the avatar said that they were either in the 30's or young, like in highschool. I think Second life gives people something to do if there bored. It gets people out of there normal everyday life. I find it also entertaining because of all the different things that are possible. You can basically do anything in it.

TV Concerns

Televison plays a huge role in the lives of many teenagers and for the matter adults. Its a source from which they gather there information about the current issues at hand. So basically whatever is told or gets attention on televison is what people are going to know. Thats a huge concern for me because i feel its making our country as a whole dumber, less educated, and easily feed BS. Many people are agnorant to many issues and the issues they do know of, they know only one side. I personally dont watch that much televison because im so busy and envolved with different activities. There should be something done about this problem because i dont want a generation of mindless slaves to the televison just beleiving ever word thats said from it. We must think on our own and be smart.

Dear Aunt Mary

There are many social networks on the internet today. The two most popular ones would be Myspace and Facebook. Social networks are formed to connect people worldwide so they can communicate to anyone. They also are made so people can put there information on them and others can look for someone that they like. These networks also help bands and different companies adveritise there products. If i were to choose a network for you, i would choose Facebook. The reason for that is its less flashy and confusing, and its pretty simple to use. Facebook also targets older people, where as Myspace appeals to younger kids. I use Facebook to talk to my friends because its simple, fast, and when your on the go its the easiest to say "hey whats up, havent seen you in a while, call me up". So if you had a Facebook you could talk to me and all your friends. Thats my opinion on Facebook so i hope to see you on sometime.

Love,
John