What's In Your News?

There are many different ways that people receive their daily news. New York Times and BBC are two of the many popular sources for receiving news. I prefer to watch my daily local news to receive information about current events and issues that effect my life. I like to watch my local news because it is a habit. I like the easy access of turning on the television versus going onto the Internet and searching for information.

I like to watch my local news however, New York Times and BBC offer more options to viewers. While observing the websites I had more control on what topics I wanted to read immediately versus waiting on the news anchor to talk about it. On New York Times website they have many categories that can relate to different people's interest. There were blogs about different topics. I also like that they had a list of the most popular topics because that helped me realize what topics were recognized the most. BBC had the option for viewers to listen to the news by audio.

Overall I believe that the New York Times and BBC are good sources to receive news. They have the current news topics on their front page. These sources are helpful for viewers who can not wait for their local news or they want to know about current events immediately.

Halloween Serves As a Great Advertising Vender

I have noticed that Halloween is not only a big holiday for children but for adults too! When I was younger I saw costumes that reflected just a few characters such as pumpkins, witches, ghosts, and clowns. There are more costume selections that are offered now. Adults have decided to join in on this holiday by having costume parties, and dressing in character on their jobs. Halloween has become a day of advertisements for many brands and celebrities. I saw several people dressed up as celebrities. Some people might have dressed as celebrities because they are fans, or they just wanted to poke fun. While others noticed different costumes, awareness and reinforcement of a particular person or a product was developed at that moment. So whether you thought about it or not you gave your character great publicity as you went out last night which was a great benefit for the various brands!!

Yahoo Avatars!!

The unique advantage about using Yahoo email accounts or applications is that you can create an avatar. Avatars are cartoon figures that an user can create that represents their identity for free! There are many options for avatars that includes different color hair, color eyes, color skin, hairstyles, and clothes. I have created my avatar to be a reflection of me. My avatar is a college student. She is shown with her books in her hand standing in a library because that's where I am or should be a lot during the school year!

I enjoy having the option to change my avatar. I am able to put different outfits on her and show her in different scenery. I think that this is a great opportunity for college students to participate in because it is fun and you can create your own person. College students also like to engage in different technological activities. I have noticed in my class that a lot of my peers did not even know what an avatar was. I think that Yahoo needs to market this feature that they provide. More college students will become interested in creating an avatar if Yahoo:

• make college students more aware of avatars by advertising ads on facebook and my space
• include more background scenery that is relevant to the target market
• provide popular clothing trends for the avatars to wear
• create phrases for avatars to be able to say

These features can help add more buzz about avatars because people will be excited to show and tell what they have created!

Where Can I Shop for Appropriate Clothes if I'm a Tween?

In America some of the top consumers are between the ages of 8-12 , known as tweens. Tweens are usually able to persuade their parents to buy them things that they want. In the clothing retail market there are some mixed messages sent out to this age group concerning what type of clothing that should be worn.

Some retailers have clothes that are considered to be too sexy for young girls. For example you are able to find thongs and breast pads in a tween store. Wow, what dad wants to buy their little girl such intimate apparel?Graphic tees are very popular with some negative logo designs printed on them. Having this type of material for tweens might encourage them to act as an adult. At this age you may want to feel mature but you should still enjoy your childhood. There is no anticipation to becoming an adult if you can purchase the same things that they can!!

Another issue for the clothes that are targeted to this market is "baby stuff". Some of the apparel looks like it is designed for a two year old but made in the size for a nine year. Although a tween is still young they are two old to act like a baby so they should not look like one.

There is an issue for creating appropriate clothes for this age group. Right now the clothes are from one extreme to the other. To help this problem designers should take the time to study this age group behavior and design the "right" clothing. Maybe there can be a variety of more graphic tees that have positive and relative logos on them, and other types of clothing made that parents would feel comfortable when buying for their child.