The Instagram posts were fun to make. Promotional wise I have never promoted an Instagram post so that was interesting when writing captions. I have a lot of experience overall with Instagram as I have been using it for at lest seven years so it was not hard making the posts. I have no experience with canva so that was kind of difficult to work with. The strategy I used when creating my promotional posts was a simple one. I just wanted to grab the readers attention with an brief statement. Then I gave a little information about my blog posts and what they could learn from reading them. My main strategy was the hashtags. I think hashtags give a great ad on to make the posts interactive and give the readers some insight on what might be in the post. I try to use catchy and fun hashtags for the readers to use there imagination on what might be in the post.

Canva was the most challenging because I have not used it before. I had to get it on my computer and cell phone because I did not know how to get the graphic to my Instagram. The other challenging part was getting my photos from the blog posts over to my Instagram because I couldn’t screen shot on my lap top. It was surprising how fun doing promotional posts were because I was skeptical about it. In the future I see myself using Instagram professionally. Making posts for a brand or company to promote and market there product or service. I could also see myself using it for a music or sports team to really provide exciting and interctive posts for readers to enjoy and be persuaded by.

Instagram

Introduction:

Introductory

Every weekend, hundreds of college students storm the bars of downtown Laramie. With only a few options, Roxie’s emerges as the most popular and exciting bar. With multiple bars, three floors, and a professional PA system with surround sound Roxie’s provides a perfect atmosphere to have “fun”. Equipped with multiple TVs giving you endless options for sound and entertainment, or maybe, distractions. Over the past decade there has been stories of girls attending Roxie’s and blacking out, forgetting everything that happened the night before with very little to drink. There have even been articles warning girls to be careful when meeting new people and never set there drinks down unattended. The ‘victims’ and spectators are assuming there are predators going to these bars and drugging females using a drug called Roofies.

Roxies

Quote

Chole Haag, a girl who I interviewed about a night she claims someone roofied her said, “I had two drinks at the bar and blacked out and my girlfriends had to take me home. When I woke up I remember a guy bought me a drink and was being super creepy.” She wasn’t assaulted but he believes a man attempted to.

5 Ws

Garret Hensley is the proud owner of the establishment at 221 Grand ave. He has received claims that people are roofying his customers to make them easy targets for sexual assault.

Facts

According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report experiencing alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape.

Also, according to a survey conducted in 2016, 7.8 percent of college students in the United States reported that their drinks had been roofied.

There are not many reports about drink spiking and drug-facilitated sexual assaults in Laramie because sometimes people don’t even know that they were drugged or don’t find it’s necessary to report the case.

In fact, no one has been charged in the town of Laramie for rape or distributing the drug known as roofies.

There is a problem with date-rape drugs and that is they are metabolized very quickly. This makes it very hard to find them in the body the morning after the party.

Quotes

I interviewed the owner of Roxies, Garret Hensley, about what he is doing to combat these claims and if he has caught any customers or bartenders spiking a drink.

“I have instructed my bartenders to pay attention to suspicious customers and unattended drinks. I have gave them a few prevention methods, they are supposed to make the decision to sell more than two drinks at a time to a single person.”

“My bartenders look out for people who are too intoxicated and the bouncers find them a ride home.”

He ensured me that he was disappointed in the claims against his bar and how sorry he was for the possible victims. He then went on to say how he demands the best service and that he will make sure the environment at his bar will be a safe one.

More of his prevention methods include…

“I have strengthened my security at the front door, they have been trained to spot fake I.Ds and not let anyone too intoxicated in. I have more security on the floors during dance parties and near every bar.”

I believe these were effective prevention methods because no one has been sexually assaulted from the reports shown. Hensley is a respectable man and I am positive he is doing everything to combat this issue.

Other bars

Roxies is not the only bar in town and certainly not the only bar where this roofie issue could be happening.

 According to a bartender interviewed by the branding iron regarding protecting yourself she says, “You order a drink, you keep it, motherf—er, in your hand. If you f—ing leave it on the bar, go outside, hang out with your friend and come back, you never know what piece of shit customer on other side of the bar is sitting and watching you and your drink.” This is pretty good advice and you should never drink your alcohol if you set it down or left it.

Bar

Conclusions

Although there have been many cases no girls have been reported being sexually assaulted. Often times they assume they have been drugged because they have got to drunk. Hensley has done everything he can to prevent anyone from getting drugged but it is ultimately left up to the students and customers. Don’t set your drink down, to take drinks from strangers, and never leave the bar with a guy you know nothing about if you feel too intoxicated.

The small town of Laramie Wyoming boasts many delicious and unique restaurants. All with different specialties and themes that provide tasty options for all taste buds. One common and reoccurring dish is a breakfast burrito and many restaurants say they have the best. The issue is that there are so many delicious establishments in the wonderful town of Laramie, so I am going to narrow it down to the top 5 places to get those tasty breakfast burritos. I am targeting people who do not eat out often, so they are unable to try all the restaurants; and college students who are looking for a tasty and satisfying meal. The criteria I am using rank breakfast burritos is personal opinions and quality of ingredients. Below is an interactive map to help guide you on a quest to the best breakfast burrito. You can click on any of the five pins to get a quick insight on the restaurant.

Coming in at #5 on my list of best breakfast burritos is Lovejoy’s in downtown Laramie. This restaurant isn’t know for breakfast but that burrito is pretty good. If you like mushrooms and onions in your burrito then this is the place for you. Although it does not include potatoes, which is why it is number 5, I would still recommend this tasty burrito.

A friend I interviewed about this burrito stated, ” It is good but what kind of breakfast burrito doesn’t have any potatoes. I’m not satisfied.” Aliza Maxwell.

Lovejoy’s

Next on my list is the popular food chain Qdoba. Most people have had one of the massive burritos for lunch or dinner but not many has had their breakfast. The quality of the ingredients are below average but the price and their famous queso makes up for it without a doubt. The ability to build your own burrito and the variety of salsas make this place unique and provide a personalized burrito for all people. This is why qudoba comes in at #4 on my list and is probably the breakfast burrito I eat the most.

Qdoba

Coming in at #3 on my best breakfast burritos in Laramie is Prairie Rose. This place has quality ingredients and is a small café known for their breakfast burritos. Almost every customer goes their for just that. They are a little on the small side, which is unusual for breakfast burritos but the smothered green chili is pretty darn good.

My friend Mike Madujano had this to say, “the eggs and potatoes are kind of bland, but the green chili was great.”

Prairie Rose

The next restaurant on my list is 17th street café. This has been one of my favorites since I lived in the dorms. Sitting on the patio with a massive smothered burrito is one of my favorite things to do. The ingredients are seasoned well and the green chili is very tasty. They are known for breakfast and their burritos and I thoroughly enjoy them whenever I go. The only problem I have is the cheese is sometimes not melted. It was hard to not put this one as number one but I just couldn’t decide.

17th street Café

#1 on my list is called the Old Man Grill. This place is a very small restaurant located right across the street from 17th street café. This place uses fresh potatoes and slices them thick and cooks them til they have the perfect crunch. The bacon is also cut into thick pieces and every bite has every ingredient. The eggs and everything are seasoned perfectly and the green chili tastes home made. I think it is the best breakfast burrito in town and really is a satisfying meal.

My good friend Jordan Wheeler had one I brought her and she said, ” oh my gosh, this burrito is so good! why haven’t I had one before.”

Old Man Grill

All these restaurants are great places but this is mine and others personal opinions after eating at all these plus more in quest for the best breakfast burrito. I recommend trying them all but I believe old man grill would be the best choice.

@troythomas The Last Dance provides never before seen footage of the iconic Michael Jordan in his last title run. #epic #TuneIn

@troythomas this event feels magical, like the whole world froze and observed greatness. #royalty

@troythomas wow, Jordan let people have it with the trash talking. #smacktalk

@troythomas Micheal Jordan referred to himself as “Black Jesus”, and people supported it. #untouchable

@troythomas The infamous “flu game” was actually a hangover. #partyanimal

@troythomas “I pulled people along when they didn’t want to be pulled, I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged.” MJ. His “airness” showed that winning has a price too. #hatedbymany #lovedbymore

@troythomas This picture of MJ says it all. Mentally and physically battered, yet still comes back to win the championship for the bulls. #heartofachampion #thelastdance

@troythomas Scottie Pippen was a top ten player in the league… This duo took down a few dozen hall of famers over their tenure. MJ did not do it alone.

@troythomas Jordans time with the Chicago Bulls signifies greatness. His last Championship cements his legacy as the Greatest of All Time.

@troythomas #thelastdance is what the sports world needed in a time of tragedy and distress.  

The Last Dance

My tweets

            This assignment is a very enjoyable one. Running a social media account for a company would be exciting as well as fulfilling and this assignment provided experience for that. We had to do live tweeting for an event of our choice and incorporate hashtags and at least one picture. I couldn’t make a twitter so I just made my tweets on a word document and tweeted 10 times. The event I chose to cover was The Last Dance, a Michael Jordan limited time documentary. This was never before seen footage of Jordan’s final championship run and was a highly anticipated series. I chose this event because it was a special one and was only released because of the global pandemic occurring and causing a halt to all sports.

            In this assignment I used a journalistic approach. I chose this approach because I wanted to be informational and engaging in my tweets. I provided a lot of my own observations and didn’t want to sound too boring. I definitely had some “Cheerleader” fluff because I am a huge fan of MJ. What I enjoyed about this event is we had the freedom to choose our own topic and type of event. I love sports, but there weren’t any sports to cover so this was the next best thing, if not better. I enjoyed coming up with tweets and sharing my thoughts and opinions, while also sharing some facts and information about the event.

            I learned that tweeting is a way many consumers get information and it is important to be honest and don’t propose any offensive or controversial remarks. What surprised me is how fun and exciting tweeting is. I didn’t actually tweet but I googled tweets about the event and it was interesting to see the thousands of people chirping in about the event. It really motivated me to tweet my mind. In the future I see myself running social media accounts for a large brand or company. I would love that.

Dennis Trapani, the producer of UW video production and control room. Directs TV production for the women’s basketball game on Saturday at the basketball arena. UW defeated Air Force 68-52. the environment was intense because of the severity of good production.

Women’s starting 5 for UW tip off against Air force on Saturday. With a court side seat I was able to capture a nice sports action photo. Uw one 68-52.

Concert goes come together in Denver Colorado to witness Nightmare perform in concert on Friday. I attended the concert and was able to capture a decent photo of the crowd enjoying the concert. The environment was exciting because of thrill of attending a dubstep concert. The creative device I used was contrast, because of the shadows of the concertgoers against the colors of the lights.

UW student was studying Monday morning in the class room building. She was there early this morning drinking coffee and eating breakfast.

My nephew Luca Thomas and his sister Amara Carrera were playing at a park in Denver on Sunday. The weather warmed up and they removed their jackets and enjoyed some valuable bonding time. It was a fun environment. I used framing as a creative device.

Sports action- For my “Tip Off” photo i attended the game to shadow a media member to learn how the video production team does their job. In the control room the environment was intense and a bit chaotic. The scene of the control room was complex and there were a lot of moving parts. The environment of the game was fun and there were a lot of loyal fans. It was easy to take this shot and I liked how the tip off showed the start of the game and the intensity. I felt good photographing this image and event. The creative devices I used was color because of the bright yellow photos in the background.

Feature photo- For the “study time” photo I had to go to school at 7:30 am to study for an exam. The environment was very mellow as people were tired and just trying to get school work done. The scene was very progressive and focused. People were buying coffee and breakfast and seemed eager to get work done. The shot was hard to take because i did not want to seem weird for taking pictures of people i do not know. Eventually, I got an appropriate picture to use. I did not feel good taking this photo because of the awkwardness. The creative devices I used was background because the subject had her computer, coffee, breakfast, and notebook in the background.

What surprised me about this assignment was gathering good photos to use for the assignment. There is nothing i wish i could have done differently besides taking better photos.

https://gowyo.com/

Sunset Boulevard Around 5pm off of Happy Jack Rd in Wyoming I caught a breathtaking sunset picture. Beautiful soft blue and pink sky above a Wyoming landscape blanketed with snow.

The dominant creative device would be “create depth”. This creative device draws the attention to the focal point because the worn out fence in the foreground pairs well with the snow and the skyline in the distance captures the viewers attention. This creates an aesthetically pleasing photo because of the sunset in the distance. Other devices i couldapply would be the background just because how beautiful the sky is

Trippy Apartments Saturday Night in Denver Colorado I stumbled upon these two gorgeous white buildings covered in curving designs displaying a multitude of colors and shapes. I was looking up at an angle and captured this amazing photo.

I identified the dominant creative device as color in this photo. Color really draws your attention to the focal point which is essentially the whole apartment. this captures the viewers attention because the colors and shapes are mesmerizing. Color creates a pleasing photo because every time you look at the photo you might notice a new shape. Other creative devices would be symmetry and patterns. This really captures attention and creates a pleasing photo because of how identical the two apartments and there lovely patterns.

Saturday Night Live Dressed to impress on a Saturday night out in Denver I captured myself using a timed camera. All black outfit, white and gold shoes, and gold accessories I was ready to hit the club.

The dominant creative advice would be contrast. The white wall in the background paired with my blackout fit and gold accessories draws attention to the focal point, which is me, and captures the attention of the viewer. The contrast of the black outfit against the white wall creates a pleasing photo.

Stacks Mid-day study session led to wandering through book stacks. Standing at the start of an aisle I took out my phone and captured a long stretch of books leading to a study desk.

The dominant creative device I identified was leading lines. The long aisle of books are perfectly aligned and lead to a bright window right above a study desk. This captures the focal point and the viewers attention by seeing thousands of books create a sort of tunnel and lead to the light at the end. This creates an aesthetically pleasing photo by noticing the perfectly stacked books lead directly to an ending focal point. Another creative device would be rule of thirds. The aisles are symmetrical and if cut in three columns they all have the same leading lines. This grabs the viewers attention and creates a pleasing photo.

Nations United Wyoming Union grabbing lunch and instantly drawn towards these flags; Hanging above a dining area I captured a symmetrical photo of many nations flags all unified in the same area, and focused on the American flag hanging in the middle.

The dominant creative device would be symmetry and patterns. This captures the focal point and the viewers attention because of how perfectly even the two sides are and the nice rows of flags leading to the American flag. The patterns of the flags create a pleasing photo and really produce a sort of frame leading to the middle flags. A few other devices I could use are color and framing. The color of the flags create a nice diversity of contrast and the hanging flags produce a frame leading to a focal point.

While taking my photos nothing really surprised me. If i could do something different I wish i could have a nicer camera and be able to edit my photos. I also would like more time to capture some amazing photos.

Ads

Every year Americans gather around the T.V. to watch the nations top athletes compete on the grandest stage for the Lombardi Trophy. While most people are watching for the competitive and exciting football game; many are watching for the hilarious and memorable commercials. Super bowl ads are always entertaining and 2020 did not disappoint.

Super Bowl Sunday came and went with the Chiefs securing their first championship in 50 years with a 31-20 win over the 49ers. But the Chiefs weren’t the only winner. Companies always shell out the big bucks for commercials to air during the big game. Often times the commercials include big name celebrities to present their products to seem more credible and this years ads were full of stars. With the tops ads including Chris Evans, Jason Momoa, Bill Murray, and even the beloved characters Rick & Morty made an appearance for a Pringles commercial. These stars provide an instant appeal and desire to want whatever the product they are promoting.

Entertainment sells and having some of the top entertainers promote a product is a good strategy to get an immediate turn around in their investments.

Answers For Blog:

1. This semester I would like to learn better writing skills all-around. From writing stories on events to captions on photos. I anticipate to learn the best way to brand myself to gain credibility and acquire a sort of identity in the journalism world. I want to learn how to better critique photojournalism as well as produce it to enhance my abilities and skills.

2. I want to cover all things entertainment, and critique the different forms and strategies people have in producing their forms of entertainment. I enjoy sports and music and would like to focus on those to fields. to step out of my comfort zone I could relate their entertainment to politics and uncover some of their motives and ideas behind their entertainment.

3. I would like to promote sporting event in the region and challenge students to attend an event they aren’t very familiar with and be optimistic about their experiences.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.