So I am now in the market for a new cell phone. About 2 weeks ago I woke up and the buttons on my Motorola Razr just stopped working. No, I didn't make the usual college mistake of dropping it into a beer or the toilet. I simply plugged it into the charger overnight, woke up, and the buttons were unresponsive.

Now that I am searching for the perfect phone to spend the next 2 years with, I have been tuning into the catchy TV commercials and playing with friend's devices. After spending the entire day looking at phones in Anderson and dealing with not so pleasant customer service representatives, I left the store empty handed. I am now searching online for new phones and customer reviews and have found the perfect phone. The AT&T Tilt smartphone features a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard and a tilting screen. The Windows Mobile 6 smart phone also offers the full gamut of wireless options, including 3G and GPS, push e-mail, a 3-megapixel camera, and support for AT&TMusic and Video.


All of these functions are great....for a business man. I think that there should be a phone with a touch screen and keyboard that is simply a cellphone, rather than a fully loaded PDA with a HUGE price tag to go with it. So the search continues....

Employers Study Applicants' Personalities

This article describes the importance of recognizing personality and attitude in applicants rather than just noting their work experience. Many company's are spending more time interviewing in order to better read applicant traits. Other strategic interview policies include scare tactics, such as Lindblad's DVD, drug tests, and physical examinations. I think that it is great that employers are using these strategies in order to narrow down prospective employees because it is very important for employers to specific in terms of who they hire. The company knows better than the applicant if the applicant's personality will be appropriate for the job. It is imperative that a future employee has the social tact and right attitude in order to collaborate with the current employees. Overall, I think it is great that employers are paying more attention to personality and hope that this helps my future job placement in the sense that wherever I am placed my personality and professional attitudes will mold with existing team members.

Dual Coding

The dual coding theory explains the importance of using visuals in addition to words as a way to effectively communicate. This theory is commonly used in advertising in the world today. When reading US weekly, I came across a few advertisements. An Absolut advertisement displayed a highway with heavy moving traffic in the direction of New Orleans. In large font across the middle of the page it read: "In an Absolut world". In small font on the bottom right of the page the following sentence is displayed: "One spirit brings back together. Absolut New Orleans."

I think that this advertisement is somewhat confusing at first glance. Because of the very small font that is almost hidden at the bottom of the advertisement, it looks as if it is promoting drinking and driving. For this reason, dual coding has the ability to add confusion to advertisements. However, when read very closely the advertisement is actually conveying that the Absolut spirit of this alcohol has the power to bring a city back together.

In my honest opinion, I think that this advertisement is a little far fetched. On that note, it does not really convince me to purchase this alcohol the next time I'm at the liquor store. Overall dual coding can be extremely effective and definitely catches the readers attention. However, it must be carefully displayed in order to be persuasive to shoppers.