Ally’s Class Blog

For my social listening assignment, I chose to use the brand Cheerios(or General Mills, but Cheerios specifically). I realize that it's a really strange brand to do a whole project on, but I figured it might be fun to look on social media to see what people really think and how they really feel about the famous breakfast cereal. Cheerios´ Value Proposition is based on how healthy their cereal is, while still appealing to children. Cheerios message is simply ¨Eat Cheerios and live longer!¨. They are careful to appeal to parents in the health aspect, while still delighting children with the taste. Some common comments left on the Cheerios Instagram page are simple things such as ¨You guys have made my mornings something different, you don't understand¨ or To say were obsessed would be an understatement.¨, but some other comments seemed more thoughtful and original. Ariannna.marie commented, ¨I cried when I found out Cheerios were going to be gluten free, I used to eat t...

1. How old are you?     “ 18 years young.” Where do you work?     “ For my dad at Maciel Yard Maintenance.” Has COVID-19 had a positive or negative impact on your business?     “ Positive, we still get jobs coming up. I just worked a 75 hour week last week. People are staying home more often and they're realizing that their yards aren't perfect, and when their neighbors see our trailer, they give us a call, and we get even more business.” What is your dream job?     “ I'm indecisive. I wanted to be in the blue collar field but I'm stuck between mechanic, welder, and landscaper. However, I'm leaning more towards landscaper at the moment.” What is the hardest thing you've gone through?     “ My grandma passing away on February 24th.” What is your favorite thing to do with your free time?     “ I like to build legos and go fishing and work...

Flower shoppers walk around the Garland Nursery right off Hwy 20 around 4 p.m. on Friday, April 17th, where they browse for yard decor and new garden additions for this coming spring. Jenny Creech (left) and Sebastian Heiduschke (right) wander around the nursery, wearing their masks and keeping their distance, while they search for something yellow for their garden. Though the garden has few customers, everyone keeps their distance while making sure their masks are still intact.  Martha Campbell stays very far away from most of the other customers in the nursery. She’s afraid of anyone coming near her due to the pandemic, but still she came to get her daughter some small plants for her new garden.  Inside the greenhouses at the Garland Nursery, it feels as if it is 90 degrees. Tired of feeling like I was breaking a sweat, I moved on to see the Bonsai section of the nursery. There was only one woman back here, but she did not want to be photographed so instead I ...

Annie Leibovitz is considered one of America's best portrait photographers. She was born in Connecticut in October of 1949. Raised with five other children, Annie's mother was a dance instructor and her father was an Air Force lieutenant. Because of her father's job, Annies family moved around a lot. In 1967, Annie went to study painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she discovered her love for photography. In 1970, Leibovitz applied for a job with the magazine Rolling Stone. At first, Annie was given a job as staff photographer, but within just 2 years, she was promoted to chief photographer. Because of her job, Leibovitz was permitted to go on tour with the Rolling Stones band in 1975. This was a huge opportunity for her, however Leibovitz ¨lost herself from the experience¨ and ended up with an immobilizing drug addiction. While employed by Rolling Stone, Annie discovered her ¨trademark technique¨, which usually consisted of extremely bold and surprising pose...

Logan (left) and Dimitri (right) Schukow, wearing masks while they play outside. Neighborhood twin girls Addy and Anya Schukow  go to check their mail with masks.  Addy (left), Anya (right). (from left to right) Anya Schukow, Avery Hall, and Addy Schukow attempt to play together outside while still abiding by the  social distancing rules. 

Marketing In the News: Google Classroom Users Doubled as Quarantines Spread At first glimpse, this article looked like it held all the necessary ingredients to a great marketing story. I chose this subject because it's a current issue and its relevance applies to me, as well as every other student who is dealing with this virus outbreak. While I was scrolling through Bloomberg, I saw several other articles relating to online schooling or Zoom updates. I chose this article because I want to dig deeper and learn more about what's going on behind the scenes of online schooling. I want to see from someone else's perspective. Not my own, and not any other student.     In the last month, Google's performance has skyrocketed (to put it lightly). Due to this virus pandemic, google's software has become a necessity for just about every school district in not only America, but Italy and Indonesia as well. Javier Soltero-Google's vice president-in an interview, s...

I already introduced myself for my photojournalism post, but since this post is for a different course and a different grade, I guess I'll do it again.  Hi! My name is Ally Hall, I'm an early graduate from West Albany High School, and this is my first time taking college classes, unless you count those classes you take in high school that offer college credit. I'm a business major, and while I originally created this blog for my photojournalism class, it will be used for my marketing class as well.  I'm taking this course because I want to learn all the aspects of business. While most people wouldn't say that reading their college textbook is fun or interesting to them, I would disagree. Yesterday, I sat in my room and read 100 pages of my marketing textbook Purple Cow by Seth Godin, and honestly, I thought it was so cool. That probably sounds really strange, but the way Godin writes has this fun, sarcastic innervation to it that made it easy to read. I...

Second Blog Post: Masks for the Masses  I decided to interview my mom for this post. I realize that it's supposed to be about me and how my family is coping, but by interviewing my mom and finding out how she's coping, you'll be able to understand how our whole family is doing for the most part.  My mom started making masks on the Friday of spring break(March 27th, 2020). So far she has made 158 cotton masks, and she is still working on a batch of 13 more as I write this. My sister and I have helped her a few times when we had a break from school, but for the most part, it’s been just her stuck at that sewing machine, watching Hallmark movies on her phone, while she grinds until about midnight or later every night.  So far, my mom has donated 50 of the masks to Regency Albany, an assisted living facility on 19th Avenue. She gave 12 to a gal from the LBCC offices, as well as donating several to fellow volunteers at Mid Valley Gleaners. We have also sent som...

 Fun Facts :) My eyes change colors with my mood. If I cry a lot, they turn green. If I’m happy, they turn blue, and if I’m bored or neutral, they stay grey. I’ve taken piano lessons since I was about 10 or 11 and I just recently stopped playing. I was homeschooled until my freshman year of high school. Not online schooled, but actually homeschooled. My mom was my teacher and we ordered books every year. I work at the Albany Izzys and I love all my coworkers. However, my favorite coworker is a guy named Fernando, who works at Sizzlers as well as being a server at Izzys on weekends. I live with my parents and my little sister, who is a freshman and still homeschooled.

All About Me: Hi, my name is Ally Hall. I just graduated high school a couple months ago, and I’m attending LBCC for free through an early graduate program. I enrolled into ‘Intro to Photojournalism’ because I originally needed the credits to qualify for my high school program, and it seemed like the best fit for me at the time. I’m actually a business major, but now that I’ve sat through one class session, I’ve realized that this may very well be the most interesting and fun class I will be taking this term. This course title attracted my attention when I was registering because I’ve always loved photography. I was given a very old Nikon 35mm when I was 11. Even though I had to replace the film often and take it to get developed, I loved that camera. A few years later, I was given a much newer, nicer Nikon. No more film, no more waiting for my pictures to get developed. Outside of photography, my bigger interest is writing. I used to stay in my room all day, writing anything ...