MEMO

Faisal Alkhenaifer

Dr.Karen Lee

Introductory Memo

5/10/13

I have selected the best of my work throughout semester to include in my portfolio. The

components of my portfolio are:

1. Study case project

2. Biography of my self-branding project

3. Final report of writing for social media

4. Final social media report

5. Usability test report

6. Memo of my best visual element of self-branding project

7. Copy of my memo for personal site project

8. Report of my best of social media reports

9. And, three screen shots of my best social media activities

I am proud of the work I have done throughout the semester. The reports above reflect a

wide and diverse range of work, which gave me the ability to expand my knowledge beyond my

comfortable zone. For example, I had never done a usability test report, and initially I disliked

the idea, but it turned out that I enjoyed the experience and team work.

Writing for online environment is, in my opinion, a new field of writing. Because writing

tweets or Facebook comments is not similar to writing a research paper or a newspaper article,

including online articles. There are a set of rules to follow in writing for online audience in order

to gain credibility that are different than writing for non-online audience. For example, when

writing a paper, the writer must cite the work of where he or she got the facts, but in online

environment, we usually don’t that. Online writers gain credibility by many methods, not only by

citing the work. For example, if an online writer writes about historical events, but doesn’t have

many followers or “likes”, then he or she may lose credibility regardless of how well the

historical facts are cited.

As for the assignments, I like the case study assignment, because it made me see how the

world was very connected. What happens in Zimbabwe, or any foreign countries, can

immediately gain international attention through social media. Furthermore, the social media

reports are eye openers. Before I wrote those reports, I used to look at social media from the

user’s point of view; but after I wrote the reports, I started looking at social media from an

observational point of view.

In conclusion, I enjoyed all the assignments we had in class. I think writing for online

environment is definitely a growing field that is worth our professional attention.

Case Study: GoDaddy ‘s CEO IN AFRICA

By FAISAL ALKHENAIFER

Background Information:

GoDaddy.com is one of the largest companies in the US for web hosting and domain

registration; it currently has 3,500 employees and revenue of $1.14 billion. The company has 12

international and domestic awards for example, “Best Company to Work for” award by Fortune 100 on

2012, and a finalist of “Best Security Team” by SC magazine awards; both awards, and more, are listed

on Godaddy’s official site

http://www.godaddy.com/newscenter/awards

The company was found in 1997 by Bob Parsons who later stepped down as a CEO in 2011.

Although Parsons has an accounting degree, he was more passionate about computers and

programming; he became a self-taught programmer. Parsons is believed to be a persistent, perfectionist

and a hard worker.

The Event:

The company has faced many controversies during its lifetime, one of them is Super Bowl ads

with “Godaddy girls” bouncing out of their shirts; however, the major disaster when a video was found

on

Twitter and Youtube of GoDaddy’s CEO killing an elephant in

Zimbabwe, Africa, then had a group of locals wearing

Godaddy.com hats gathered around the dead elephant to eat its meat. Such video has spread all over

the internet like a wildfire, and caused damaged to the company’s goodwill and brand name which

believe to be intangible assets. Especially since one of the awards that Godaddy.com had received was

“BBB of Great Arizona Business Ethics Awards finalist” on 2011-2010 by Greater AZ.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, has closed its account with

Goddady.com and encouraged others to do so too. Furthermore, PETA has publicly spoken, by its vice

president Tracy Reiman, against the CEO himself saying “ I am writing to present you with (ETA’s first-

ever Scummiest CEO of the Year Award (your certificate is on the way) You deserve the award for your

egregious disregard for the life of the elephant you shot and killed for your personal enjoyment. Such

behavior only shows a poverty of understanding and a deep insecurity, perhaps in your own masculinity.

Non-lethal methods are available to protect crops from elephants left hungry because of their

disappearing habitat.” As a result, Bob Parsons replied “You are completely misinformed.

Elephants in Africa, especially in the Zimbabwe, Bostswana, South Africa corridor exist in tremendous

numbers. They are in no danger of becoming extinct. The bigger problem is that there is way too many

of them.”

According to CITES, Washington Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species, the

number of African elephants have dropped 50%, from 1.3 million to 600 000, between 1979 and 1989,

because of poaching.

Since 1989 elephant poaching has been considered illegal by CITES, especially in rich African countries

such as Zimbabwe- this information can be found on CITES’s official site www. CITES.org-. However, Bob

Parsons said that he had gotten the permission from the local tribal authority.

It is worth mentioning that Zimbabwe is one of the poorest countries in the world with only,

almost, $800 per capita / year- according to the CIA WORLD FACTBOOK www

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/zi.html.

Finally, many small hosting and buying domains firms, such as HostPapa.com, have taken the

advantage of the incident by offering free ideals that consist of discount rate on domains, free transfer

FTP and $5 donation to charities that protect elephants. These attempts to snatch Godaddy’s customers

have not been very successful according to Elizabeth Driscoll, Go Daddy's vice president of public

relations, said, "We have seen no significant impact on our business from this." Go daddy’s revenue still

at least $600 million according to industry experts.

Lessons Learned:

There are a few valuable lessons to be learned from this disaster. First, there is no such a thing

as local news anymore, especially with the growing of the social media sites. What happens in Vegas or

Zimbabwe does not necessary stay in Vegas or Zimbabwe. If an incident happens in Japan, then it can

easily be seen by Americans, and vice versa. One must be very careful of what they say or do in

anywhere on the internet, and especially on social media sites. Second, social media can build or destroy

your career. My guts tell me that if Bob Parsons was not the owner of the company, he could have been

fired over killing the elephant in Zimbabwe and all the controversy that it brought; in contrast, folks with

no intellectual talent, for example Jenna Marble has gained more than 10 million viewers on one of her

YouTube videos and become a well -known social media personality over simply rambling about her life

and views of life.

Conclusion:

In summary, Godaddy’s CEO gained very negative media

attention over a video of him killing an elephant in Zimbabwe. His position and the company’s high

revenue did not impress highly critics such as PETA, and opened opportunities for small businesses to

take advantage of the incident. With the growing of the social media, obtaining an absolute individual

privacy has become a challenge, even for CEO’s who cannot legally or otherwise remove the video from

being watched online.

Case Study: GoDaddy ‘s CEO IN AFRICA

By FAISAL ALKHENAIFER

Background Information:

GoDaddy.com is one of the largest companies in the US for web hosting and domain

registration; as of 2012, it has 3,500 employees and a revenue of $1.14 billion. The company has 12

international and domestic awards, for example, “Best Company to Work for” award by Fortune 100 on

2012, and a finalist of “Best Security Team” by SC magazine, which is known for its unbiased business

and technical information, wards; both awards, and more, are listed on Godaddy’s official site

http://www.godaddy.com/newscenter/awards

The company was found in 1997 by Bob Parsons who later stepped down as a CEO in 2011.

Although Parsons has an accounting degree, he was more passionate about computers and

programming; he became a self-taught programmer. Parsons is believed by his employees to be a

persistent, a perfectionist, and a hard worker.

The Event:

The company has faced many controversies during its lifetime. One of them is Super Bowl ad

features the sexy model Bar Refaeli kissing a nerd; the message is that Godaddy has the beauty and the

brain; the ad received many negative opinions, for example, Michael Steele, former Lt.Gov.Marland,

Washington,DC, said on his

Twitter account, “That Godaddy commercial was VERY DISTURBING.” The ad, Steele’s comment, and an

article on the ad can be seen on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/03/godaddy-ad-

reactionstwitter_n_2612676.html

However, the major disaster when a video was found on

Twitter and Youtube of GoDaddy’s CEO killing an elephant in

Zimbabwe, Africa, and had a group of locals wearing

Godaddy.com hats gathered around the dead elephant to eat its meat. This video has spread all over the

internet like and caused damage to the company’s goodwill and brand name, especially since one of the

awards that Godaddy.com had received was “BBB of Great Arizona Business Ethics Awards finalist” in

2011-2010.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, also known as PETA, closed its account with

Goddady.com and encouraged others to do so too. Furthermore, PETA has publicly spoken, by its vice

president Tracy Reiman, against the CEO himself, saying “ I am writing to present you with (ETA’s first-

ever Scummiest CEO of the Year Award (your certificate is on the way) You deserve the award for your

egregious disregard for the life of the elephant you shot and killed for your personal enjoyment. Such

behavior only shows a poverty of understanding and a deep insecurity, perhaps in your own masculinity.

Non-lethal methods are available to protect crops from elephants left hungry because of their

disappearing habitat.”

As a result, Bob Parsons replied “You are completely misinformed. Elephants in Africa, especially

in the Zimbabwe, Bostswana, South Africa corridor exist in tremendous numbers. They are in no danger

of becoming extinct. The bigger problem is that there is way too many of them.”

According to Washington Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species, the number

of African elephants have dropped 50%, from 1.3 million to 600 000, between 1979 and 1989, because

of poaching. Furthermore, since 1989 elephant poaching has been considered illegal by CITES, especially

in rich African countries such as Zimbabwe- this information can be found on CITES’s official site www.

CITES.org-. However, Bob Parsons said that he had gotten the permission from the local tribal authority.

It is worth mentioning that Zimbabwe is one of the poorest countries in the world with only

$800 per capita / year- according to the CIA WORLD FACTBOOK www

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/theworldfactbook/geos/zi.html.

Finally, many small hosting and buying domains firms, such as HostPapa.com, have taken the

advantage of the incident by offering free ideals that consist of discount rate on domains, free transfer

FTP and $5 donation to charities that protect elephants. These attempts to snatch Godaddy’s customers

have not been very successful according to Elizabeth Driscoll, Go Daddy's vice president of public

relations, said, "We have seen no significant impact on our business from this." Go daddy’s revenue still

at least $600 million according to industry experts.

Lessons Learned:

There are a few valuable lessons to be learned from this disaster. First, there is no such a thing

as local news anymore, especially with the growing of the social media sites. What happens in Vegas or

Zimbabwe does not necessary stay in Vegas or Zimbabwe. If an incident happens in Japan, then it can

easily be seen by Americans, and vice versa. One must be very careful of what they say or do in

anywhere on the internet, and especially on social media sites. Second, social media can build or destroy

your career. My guts tell me that if Bob Parsons was not the owner of the company, he could have been

fired over killing the elephant in Zimbabwe and all the controversy that it brought; an example of

someone who started their career through social media is Jenna Marble, who has gained more than 10

million viewers on one of her YouTube videos and become a well -known social media personality over

simply rambling about her life and views of life.

Conclusion:

In summary, Godaddy’s CEO gained very negative media attention over a video of him killing an

elephant in Zimbabwe. His position and the company’s high revenue did not impress highly critical

people, such as PETA, from harshly criticizing the video, and opened opportunities for small businesses

to take advantage of the incident. With the rapid growth of the social media, absolute individual privacy

barely exists, even with high profile people.

Faisal

I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia in the largest city of the country, Riyadh City, which

has a population of five million. I lived a year with my grandparents in another city, a small one,

where my family was, and still is, the governors of the city. I only lived there for my senior high

school. After high school, I graduated with good grades, worked a few years in the computer

department as an entry level programmer of the company where my father worked, then

applied for a scholarship and came to the US.

I want to be known as a successful businessman in online marketing field, as well as a

web developer. I want, someday, to have an international cooperation.

Interested in people Knowledgeable Intelligent

Resourceful persistent Funny

Creative loves technology ambitious

Categories:

1- professional

2- personal

I think I am goal-oriented and know what I want. I like to be at the top of things and take

full responsibility of the task I am facing. Furthermore, I am creative, communicative and have

intermediate knowledge of todays’ technology.

Moreover, I like the PWE program, but will double major with Information Technology.

By doing so, I could be a technical writer or a programmer in a decent company. Before I do that,

however, I would like to work on my web developing skills, because web developing has become

a major part of our lives, and an essential skill to learn.

Finally, I think the strongest element of my self-branding project is the color scheme.

After reading the book and watching videos of colors posted by the professor on Blackboard, I

think I finally understand how to select colors effectively.

Eye Catchers Optical

Usability Report

By

Jessica Johnson

Rebecca Brown

Carly Ondash

Faisal A. Alkhenaifer

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ……………………………………………………… 2 Introduction ………………………………………………....................... 3 Study Summary ……………………………………………………......... 3 Usability Test …………………………………………………………….. 4 Results and Recommendations...……………………………….…...... 5 Mobile and Social Recommendations ………..……………………….. 6 Initial Reactions …………………………………………………………. 7 Locations ………………………………………………………………….. 8 Contacting Eye Catchers Optical ……………………………………….. 9 Conclusion ……………………………………………………….…........ 10

Appendix …………………………………………………………........... 11

Executive Summary

Our group has performed a usability study of the Eye Catchers Optical website,

www.eyecatchersoptical.com. This usability test was completed March 18, 2013 - March 21, 2013, by a

group of twelve volunteers made up of Youngstown State University students, co-workers of the testers

and professors at Youngstown State University.

Our purpose for the test was to gather the first impressions by each user of the overall website. Some

aspects we focused on include the information presented, the accessibility and navigation of the

website and the design of the website.

Most of our volunteers were active Internet users who said that they use the Internet more than two

hours daily. Five of the twelve volunteers said that they liked the appearance of the website at first

glance; the rest of the group displayed a lack of interest towards the website at first glance mainly

because of the color scheme and font. The majority of the members still said that they had an overall

good impression of the business despite the layout because of the other information presented.

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, and 1 being the lowest, six of the volunteers rated the

website at 3.5 or lower; the other six rated the website at 4 or higher. This study will include the

different impressions of the website that lead the users to give these ratings.

Using this information we compiled the strengths of the Eye Catchers Optical website, as well as areas

that the website could be improved. This test should serve as constructive criticism to give ideas of ways

to improve the website’s format and appearance. Overall we saw a positive response to the website;

however many volunteers comments that the layout could be improved.

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to determine the strengths and weakness of the Eye

Catchers Optical website through usability testing. This testing was conducted by Faisal

Alkhenaifer, Rebecca Brown, Jessica Johnson, and Carly Ondash. Three of us are Professional Writing

and Editing majors and one of us is Journalism major. We are all taking Writing for Online Environments,

a course in the Professional Writing and Editing major at Youngstown State University, where we have

been studying web design.

Study Summary

• Length of session: 17 questions. Users’ time varied from 7 minutes to 10 minutes.

• Focus of study: To gather multiple impressions on the usability of the Eye Catchers Optical

website and to gather information that would enable the business to improve their website.

• Recruitment method: We asked for volunteers from classmates and professors at Youngstown

State University, and co-workers.

• Dates of usability testing: March 18, 2013 - March 21, 2013.

• Type of study: Monitored, in-person usability test.

Usability Test

Each volunteer was tested individually; each test was monitored by two group members. One group

member asked the volunteer a preset list of questions, and guided the volunteer through the certain

usability tasks. The other group member timed the test and took notes.

Each volunteer was administered the same usability test. Volunteers were not given help. The usability

tests lasted on average 10 minutes.

Each volunteer was asked 17 questions:

General questions:

1. How much do you use the Internet on the average day?

2. What do you use to access the Internet? (I.e. mobile device, desktop, Tablet)

3. Which type of websites do you visit the most? Which browser do you use when doing so?

4. Do you generally follow businesses on Twitter or “like” them on Facebook?

Usability directions and questions:

Search for a page for Eye Catchers Optical website however you might during your normal Internet use.

1. Which website or search engine did you use to find the business?

2. What is your initial reaction to the website?

3. What kind of business do you think this is?

4. What are you most interested in initially on the home page? (I.e. what link or tab do you click on

first?)

5. If you were looking for an eye doctor and went to this website, what information would you like

to know?

6. How long would you spend on this website if you were using it in your own time for your own

research?

7. How many locations are there for Eye Catchers Optical?

8. What are the business hours?

9. If you were interested in this business, how would you access their information? (I.e. phone or

website)

10. What are your impressions of this business based on the website?

11. If you had specific questions, where would you go on the website?

12. Would you read reviews before using the services of this eye doctor? And where would you find

these reviews?

13. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, how would you rate the website for Eye Catchers

Optical?

Results and Recommendations

This section analyzes the results that were gathered through Usability testing. For a complete list of the

results and quotes from the volunteers please see Appendix 1.1 on page 11.

There were 12 usability test volunteers. Around 70% of these volunteers were in the 1824 age

demographic. Usability test volunteers completed their survey and tasks within 10 minutes on average.

Volunteers averaged 4 hours a day on the Internet. There were multiple ways the volunteers accessed

the Internet, including mobile phone, desktop, laptop, and tablet.

The most commonly used were mobile phone and desktop.

Mobile and Social Recommendations

The Eye Catchers Optical website’s tabs and links are viewable via desktop and laptop. Tabs and links are

not accessible through the mobile version of the website. Seven volunteers, 38% of the test group, use

their mobile phones to access the Internet. Expanding the mobile version of the Eye Catchers Optical

website so that users could view the full website would be an ideal way to maintain a prospective

patient’s interest.

Volunteers described various websites they visit the most. According to the volunteers, the most

commonly visited website was Facebook. Firefox was the most popular browser. Half of the volunteers

Fig 1.1 Graph of how volunteers access the internet.

Mobile Device

38 %

Desktop 24 %

Laptop 24 %

Tablet % 14

How do you access the Internet?

“like” or follow businesses on social networking websites. Adding a Facebook page or Twitter account,

would allow more interaction with patients.

Initial Reactions

During the first part of the usability test when volunteers were asked to find the Eye

Catchers Optical website without being given the web address, 10 volunteers used

Google as their search engine of choice. There were opposing initial reactions to the Eye Catchers

Optical website. Five volunteers had a positive comment, while 6 volunteers had a negative comment.

One volunteer had a neutral comment.

Fig 1.2 http://www.eyecatchersoptical.com/

We recommend that The Eye Catchers Optical website’s color scheme and logo should be modified.

Most usability test volunteers stated that the white box logo did not match the background, which they

felt was formal. Either omitting the white space in the logo or by adding matching background color will

create a more appealing website. Volunteers also commented that the font seemed small, especially

considering that the website may be visited by individuals who have eye problems.

Three usability test volunteers were confused by what type of business the website was advertising.

Multiple volunteers thought that the website that was selling eyeglasses and/or sunglasses, and not an

eye doctor. One volunteer thought the business was either an “eye exam place or makeup/eyelash

business.”

Volunteers were initially interested in the following links or tabs on the Eye Catchers

Optical website: “Our Practice,” “Locations,” “Smart Mirror,” “Doctors” and “Services”. Volunteers

wanted to know about the prices, expertise or the doctors, locations, and their products (type of

glasses).

Volunteers say they would spend an average of 10 minutes on the Eye Catchers Optical website judging

by the amount of information presented there that interested them.

Locations

Figure1.3 http://www.eyecatchersoptical.com/locations.html

All volunteers found Eye Catchers’ two locations; however, one volunteer initially saw just the one

location listed on the home page, and later found the other location while further browsing the tabs and

links.

All volunteers found the business hours; two volunteers initially answered incorrectly, but found the

location hours by searching the tabs and links on the Eye Catchers Optical website.

Another suggestion would be to add both locations, and the hours for both locations on the homepage.

It was confusing to some volunteers that only one location was listed on the first page. The information

about location and business hours should be on the homepage so that it can be easily found.

Contacting Eye Catchers Optical

If they were interested in Eye Catchers Optical, most volunteers said they would generally call by phone.

Three volunteers said they would go online then call the eye doctor.

Volunteers would also generally Eye Catchers Optical call if they had specific questions. Three volunteers

noted they would visit the Eye Catchers Optical website, then call. Six volunteers would read reviews

before using the services of this eye doctor. These individuals would find these reviews through Google,

Yahoo, Yelp and Angie’s List.

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, the 12 usability test volunteers submitted the following

results:

The average rating for the Eye Catchers Optical website was a “4” out of “5”, with 5 being the highest.

Usability test volunteers generally found that the information was useful, but agreed that it needed to

be organized differently. There were, however, 4 volunteers who rated the website a “2” out of “5.” One

volunteer, who rated the website a “2”, stated that there was “a lot of info. It takes a lot of time to find

[everything]”. Although the page is functional, it might not be useful. Updating the website with a

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 ] (Lowest 2 3 4 (Highest ) 5

Rating Website on a Scale of 1 - 5

Rating

professional layout, changing the font size, graphic and background color will create a better response

from prospective patients of the Eye Catchers Optical.

Conclusion

The Eye Catchers Optical website is useful and informative for an eye care business. Twelve usability test

volunteers navigated the website and provided both positive and negative feedback. Test volunteers’

initial reactions to the website were mixed; some felt the color scheme with the eye logo were

attractively designed, while others felt it needed vast improvement. There were a few test volunteers

that were confused by the type of business. Two volunteers initially answered wrong to the how many

locations and their hours. It is suggested to add both locations and their hours for Eye Catchers Optical

on the homepage. There were several volunteers who rated the website a “4” out of “5,” with “5” being

the highest. However, there were 4 volunteers who rated the website a “2”. The results were mixed, but

the test volunteers all agreed there was room for improvement. By changing the color scheme, omitting

the white logo background, and tailoring the homepage so it conveys an eye business without confusion

will provide a better online product for prospective patients.

Appendixes

1.1 Eye Catchers Optical Usability Test Answers

1. How much do you use the Internet?

2. What do you use to access the Internet? (I.e. mobile device, desktop, Tablet..)

3. Which websites do you visit the most? And which browser do you use when doing so?

1 hour 8 %

hours 2 33 %

4 hours 25 %

hours 5 17 %

6 hours 17 %

Hours

Mobile Device

38 %

Desktop 24 %

Laptop 24 %

Tablet 14 %

How do you access the internet?

4. Do you generally follow businesses on Twitter or “like” them on Facebook?

1. Which website or search engine did you use to find the business?

YES 50 %

NO 25 %

MAYBE ( SOMETIMES )

25 %

LIKE OR FOLLOW BUSINESS ON SOCIAL

NETWORKING

2. What is your initial reaction to the website?

Tessa: I didn’t think this was a website for an eye doctor at first.

Cassandra: This could be for an eye doctor.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Google Yahoo

Search Engine

Positive Comment

42 %

Neutral Comment 8 %

Negative Comment

50 %

Reactions

Richard: Bland, nothing pops out, logo doesn’t fit color scheme

Jay: Amateur, Big white box is awkward against background, text small. Functional, but not attractive,

Typical website set up. Smart mirror is interesting, but the information is disappointing.

Hannah: I like the logo, but font is small. I like the menu too.

John: Drawn to background, the white box stands out though. Ashley: I like

picture, my eye is drawn to the eye, set up nicely Mike: Color scheme isn’t too

flashy. Information seems explanatory.

Eleni: It’s alright. Indifferent towards it really.

Ian: Why is this eye staring at me?

3. What do you think the business is?

Dana: Don’t know- never had any experience with eye doctors. Tessa:

Looks ok Cassandra: Eye doctor

Richard: Eye Doctor

Jay: Already knew(this is his optometrist)

Aaron: Something about eyes/eye glasses

Hannah: Eye Doctor

John: Eyewear, sunglasses.

Ashley: Eye Doctor, sells glasses/ sunglasses Mike: eye exam

place or makeup/eyelash business.

Eleni: Eye doctor.

Ian: Something eye-related.

4. What are you most interested in initially on the home page? (I.e. what link or tab do you click on

first?)

5. If you were looking for an eye doctor and went to this website, what information would you like to

know?

6. How long would you spend on this website if you were using it in your own time for your own

research?

"Our Practice" % 17

"Locations" % 9

"Smart Mirror"

25 %

"Sunglasses" 8 %

"Our Services"

25 %

"Doctors" 8 %

Nothing in Particular

8 %

What are you most interested in initially on

the home page?

Prices 6 % Articles

% 7

Expertise 67 %

Location 13 %

Products ( types of glasses)

% 7

Information Patients Would Like to Know

7. How many locations are there for Eye Catchers Optical?

All but one volunteer found both locations, however, that volunteer found the second location after

looking around more. 8. What are the business hours?

Nine of the 12 volunteers found the business hours for both locations easily. The other three volunteers

only saw the business hours listed for the Columbiana office, which are listed on the first page.

9. If you were interested in this business, how would you access their information? (I.e. phone or

website)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

5-10 minutes 11-30 minutes Not sure

Time

Time

10. What are your impressions of this business based on the website?

Dana: Looks Professional

Tessa: Elegant

Cassandra: Alright, not impressed, wouldn’t go there. Front page one location, but they have two.

Richard: Not too professional, make person not want to go there, basic like high school student made

it.

Jay: Nice, successful

Aaron: Seems nice, confused about Weds hours.

Hannah: I think this is a good business, Font is too small, likes the simple backgroundJohn: They are

trying to get the word out, know that this is the best way, want to get more patients

Ashley: Clicked through all tabs, like the articles

Mike: I would want to know more services but it seems reliable if I was looking for an eye doctor.

Eleni: It seems nice and probably have a good business since there are two locations and I like the

picture of the place, which makes me want to go because it looks nice. Ian: Bland. They could have done

62 %

38 %

Contact Business

Phone

Website

better. Not visually appealing and it should be since it’s an eye doctor. Words are hard to see which

could be difficult for people with eye issues.

11. If you had specific questions, where would you go on the website?

Dana: Would Call

Tessa: Search the website first then call

Cassandra: probably could, would rather emailRichard: “Our Services”

Jay: Want to know prices, look at sunglasses, brands, eye care, articles, services

Aaron: Facts, eyecare articles.

Hannah: Stay on the homepage, call

John: “Our Services”

Ashley: Homepage, email or call them

Mike: article page - lists everything you need to know for your benefit.

Eleni: “Our Practice” or “Our Services”

Ian: “Our Practice” or “Our Services”

12. Would you read reviews before using the services of this eye doctor? And where would you find

these reviews?

Dana: No

Tessa: Yes, Yelp and Google

Cassandra: wouldn’t take the time to look it up

Richard: No, go by word of mouth

Jay: Yes, Google eye catchers optical reviews, word of mouth

Aaron: Probably not, can’t find them on the website

Hannah: Google, yahoo review or yelp

John: Yes, probably Angie’s List

Ashley: Maybe, clicked on articles, “Our Practice” Mike:

Yes, Google search for reviews. Eleni: No,

Ian: Yes, Google.

13. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest, how would you rate the website for Eye Catchers

Optical?

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Yes No Maybe

Would You Read Reviews Before Using the

Services of this Eye Doctor?

Reviews

Dana: 4

Tessa: 5

Cassandra: 2 - No reviews, No FAQs, No insurance info, needs more. Not professional for an eye dr.

Richard: 2, Thrown together, nothing stands out, layout programs and just fill in info, bland font, logo

doesn’t match

Jay: 2. Functional but not useful, not great, lots of links, “Our Services” should be types, they list glasses.

Seems bigger than necessary.

Aaron: 2. A lot of info - takes a lot to find. Not very direct, tons of links, well organized but takes a lot of

time to find what you’re looking for. No way to contact them online. Only Columbiana office listed on

the 1st page. Simple enough design, but needs cleaning up.

Hannah: 4.5

John: 3.5 - Background is nice but doesn’t match with text. Should have more information

Ashley: 4, pretty good, need something with reviews.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 (Lowest ] 2 3 4 5 (Highest )

Rating Website on a Scale of 1 - 5

Rating

Mike: 4. Easy to navigate and I like the color scheme, not too eye catching though but articles are

helpful.

Eleni: 4.

Ian: 3. Not visually appealing, too small of words - which seems ironic.

Time: Dana:

5:40

Tessa: 7:00

Cassandra: 9:52

Richard: 9:32

Jay: 8:45

Aaron: 8:00

Hannah: 9:30

John: 6:41

Ashley: 8:35

Age: Dana: 20

Tessa: 19

Cassandra: 20

Richard: 25

Jay: 43 (this is his optometrist, but has never been to website before)

Aaron: 21 Hannah: 21

John: 22

Ashley: 27

After being a user of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for a while, I realized that

writing for social media is different than any other type of writing, such as writing an

article or a story. This is because the audience of social media is a lot different than the

audience of a book. Book or article writers usually know who their audience is, but for

social media, the audience sometimes is too broad. Furthermore, social media has its

own style of writing, for example “LOL” is an abbreviation of Laugh Out Loud, and

“ASL” stands for age, sex, and location; in order to write effectively on social media

platforms, a writer must be familiar with these abbreviations.

As a PWE major, we like to write professionally, therefore we do not replace

“laugh out loud” with “LOL” when we are writing papers. But when writing on social

media pages and the web, I think it is necessary for professional writers to use those

abbreviations, because they show that we are aware and up-to-date with what goes on in

the social media. For example, if someone spells out “as soon as possible” instead of

writing as “ASAP,” some audience immediately assumes that the writer is a novice of

social media.

My social media activities have increased since I decided to join a Hollywood

gossip website, TMZ. I like the website, because it is up-to-date on current events

regarding celebrities. I occasionally comment on their stories. What makes the whole

commenting process easy is the fact that a user doesn’t have to register on the site’s

database in order to comment. All what a user needs is a Facebook account. Comments

that are left on the TMZ site can also be viewed by my Facebook friends. Which

indicates that many social media platform have broken the barriers between them,

meaning an internet user doesn’t have to open an account for every website or social

media platform to comment, a Facebook account is sometime enough.

Here is a screen shot of a comment I left on TMZ site:

Also, here is a screen shot of my Facebook account:

My Twitter account:

Overall, I learned, as PWE major, that some times what we consider to be

professional in the academic field is not necessary professional in another. For example,

if we write on social media “laugh out loud” as comment on social media instead of

“LOL” sometimes is shown as unprofessionism.

Faisal Alkhenaifer

Dr.Karen Lee

Social Media Final Report

5/10/13

Writing for Social Media Report

It is no doubt that social media has changed our lives in many aspects. We can

read real comments, feedback and recommendations, without any personal interactions,

on a business before deciding if we want to buy something from it. This wasn’t the case

before social media. Furthermore, we can keep in touch with our long-distanced loved

ones without barely any financial efforts. Although, the primary purpose of social media

is to interact with other users and “socialize electronically.” But after being a social

media user, mainly Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, for a long time, I have noticed a

very interesting phenomena; many users say things their comments and tweets that

would not normally say in real life. Things that are racially, religiously or politically

considered controversial, or even offensive. This behavior is not limited to regular

average citizens, even celebrities engage in such behavior.

I have become a Facebook friend of a female, Diana, I met on Yahoo! Group,

another social media platform. After being friends with her for a few months, I noticed

that she posts images and comments that reflect her strong feminine and religious

views; As a result, I got the impression that she was a very active feminist in her

community. However, she told me in private messages that she does not express her

feminine views outside of Facebook, because she believes by doing so , it will attract

negative attentions from her family, friends, and job colleagues. She said, “Some people

just can’t understand that I have different beliefs than them, so I come on here

(Facebook) to express my views.” Here is a screenshot of one of her posts.

Moreover, we tend to think that celebrities usually keep their religious,

political, or racial views private, because they have so much to lose than the average

person. In reality, however, that many celebrities express their controversial views on

social media. I, for example, have followed the TV personality and comedian Sarah

Silverman and was surprised on things that I read on her Tweets. Some of her posts are

racist and obscene tweets, in my opinion. Furthermore, many celebrities have been

caught saying racist statements online that they would normally say in real life. For

example, the actor Alec Baldwin “I love that song NIGGAS IN PARIS!!! I love Kayne!”

WHAT was done (the problem the report addresses):

The problem is that many people take advantage of not being on the spotlight and

express their real views on social media. Also, many people underestimate the things

they say online, and don’t thing they have the same effects if they were said in the

presence of people, but in reality, they do.

HOW it was done (the procedures used to investigate or address the

problem):

It is done through posting comments, images and videos on social media without

thinking much of the consequences of those posts.

WHAT the results were:

As a result of impulsive posting racial and religious comments on social

media, many people start demanding censorship and control over what’s being said; the

legal act CSIPA is an example of the government trying to control what is being said on

the internet; also many parents believe social media should classify posts to G and R

rated posts. Finally, with the rise of many obscene comments on social media, many

users started to see that social media companies are not neutral in their views. For

example, a Facebook page that promoted Palestine’s second Intifada (protesting) was

deleted without any explanations from Facebook.

WHAT conclusions can be drawn? I think the main conclusion of all of the above is that social media is not only used for interaction, but also used for expressing views that normally are not expressed in real life. Finally, absolute privacy in social media almost doest exist.

WHAT recommendations can be made? If I were in charge of a well-known social media company, I would publically declare the company’s political and religious views. This may not sound appealing at a first glance, but there are many successful religion or politics oriented social media platforms out there, for example, “Christian Single Mingle” dating site for Christians and “Black Dating” site for African Americans.

Here is a list of all my followed accounts on Twitter: I like to keep my followed accounts diverse

Businesses or companies.

MJM Graphic Design

Internet Marketing

Businesses or companies.

Hollywood Reporter

Dubai Informer

non-profit organizations.

American Red Cross

Salvation Army USA

celebrities Taylor Swift

Melissa Theuriau

politicians. Obama

Mitt Romney

Faisal

Social media report

3/8/13

After being on two of the most active social media, Facebook and Twitter, for a couple of

months, I noticed some a few striking phenomena: First, the love of anonymity. Many users on

social media enjoy the fact that they can freely, and almost with no consequences, express their

feelings, opinions and ideas to a broad audience. This quality emerges from the ability you can

sign up to any social media site without verifying your real identity. I think being anonymous on

social sites is a unique quality, and definitely an advantage; because, we are able to express our

feeling without the fearing social pressure, and we can measure (of course proxy measurement)

what the society likes or dislikes. For example, one can live in the most diverse and friendly cities

in the world, then assumes that racism does not exist anymore. But, by going to social sites, we

can see that racism, unfortunately, does exist.

A second phenomenon is the love of attention that many users enjoy. I have noticed that SS

users like to randomly add others’, and post insignificant posts just to gain attention; for example

one posted to their 500 friends on Twitter “ its 5 am, and I cannot sleep. “This post is not a scientific

fact or an official public announcement from the state department. It is just a Twitter account, yet it

sometimes receives over 80+ replies.

I think many today’s users have lost interest in following TV shows or news on main stream

media, but rather be on social media accounts to post on any comment of their favorite users.

My followings on Twitter are :

Businesses or companies.

MJM Graphic Design

Internet Marketing

Businesses or companies.

Hollywood Reporter

Dubai Informer

non-profit organizations.

American Red Cross

Salvation Army USA

celebrities Taylor Swift

Melissa Theuriau

politicians. Obama

Mitt Romney

My social media accounts are: https://www.facebook.com/Me2015

https://twitter.com/faisal_1256

WHAT was done (the problem the report addresses)

- I think the problem with social media companies today is that they are obsessed with

collecting as much as information about their users with or without their awareness.

HOW it was done (the procedures used to investigate or address the problem)

- Most users join social media based on friends’ or family recommendation and to stay

in-touch with long distance loved ones. The platforms the users join usually are not

usually straightforward on how collect and disclose information of users. For example,

FACEBOOK’s legal policy lays out somewhere on their site how collect and disclose

information. But that piece of legal documentary is dived inside the social media site

that many users tend to overlooked.

WHAT the results were

Stalkers always use social media to stalk their victim, because they are fully aware

of the massive amount of personal and non-personal information posted on their accounts.

WHAT conclusions can be drawn

The conclusion is that popular social media sites are purposely keeping their private policies

either too complicated for the average person to understand or hard to access.

WHAT recommendations can be made

I think a comprehensive awareness campaign by the people and to the people about the

loopholes of private policies of social media, then legal actions taken against social media should

be highly considered.

1) Tweet at MarketingTips “ What’s the difference between Search Engine Marketing and SEO?”

2)Tweet at BarackObama “ Obama is a Zionist”

3)Tweet at Hollywood Reporter about Boston Bombing Suspect story.

MEMO

Faisal Alkhenaifer

Dr.Karen Lee

Personal Website Memo

5/3/13

Personal Website Memo

Before I began coding for my personal website, I first followed the basic guidelines of

building a professional site. Firstly, I drew a sketch on a piece of paper of how the site would

look like. Secondly, I did a moderate research on personal websites of professionals, such as a

well-known web developer from the UK, to get a solid idea on how personal professional

websites look like. Finally, I started building the website HTML and CSS on Notepad ++. I think

learning about the color schemes was very helpful, because I didn’t know which colors go

together.

I tried several methods of testing the usability of my website. First, I tested the usability

and visibility of the website on Firefox. All the links were working. Moreover, I did the same

testing technique on Chrome and Internet Explore. As for Chrome, the website was fully

functional. But for Internet Explorer, some CSS rules didn’t apply. I fixed the CSS file and

tweaked some rules, now the website is perfectly functional on IE. Lastly, since I don’t have a

domain or server to upload my files, so I am going to upload the HTML files via blackboard, I

zipped the files into a folder, sent it to my Gmail account, opened it in another computer, and

tested it out.

The website illustrates my personal and professional identity. I uploaded three major

writing projects, as PDF, of mine for viewers to see. I wrote my telephone contact number and

address as methods of getting in touch with me. I believe that non-professionals do not usually

list their phone numbers for contacts, only their social media accounts.

As for the content, I was a little skeptical on what to include, because I had never build a

website for professional purposes. However, I was able to overcome my ignorance and add

content to the site. I decided to add two of my previous writing projects of last semester, because

I think they are well-written and reflect my writing ability. However, because the two major

writing projects are mainly for academic purposes, I decided to add the business plan to broader

my audience, considering that writing business plan is extremely common in the professional

field; I wrote the business plan for my friend Ryan to help him out with his business project.

I did not use any templates or copy any layouts for my personal website. Because, first, I

have bad experience with templates, as often time they don’t fully work as expected. Second, in

the event of a technical error rises, templates are difficult to. Last, I believe that personal

websites must be personally and uniquely designed to reflect the owner’s personality.

Strongest Visual Element of My Self-Branding Project

I think the strongest visual element of my Self-Branding Project is the

color schemes. Because I followed what the book said about keeping colors

within the same family, and white and black colors are dominated, so they

nearly match with all colors. As for my site, I have blue as background

color, white for the navigation bar, and light grey (close to dark white) as

the footer.

I have seen many professional websites use the color

recommendation the book suggested. For example, Google doesn’t have an

orange background, red text, and a yellow navigation bar. But it has dark

white as background of the top, white as the body of the page, and little

dark white as background color of the top.