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This article deals with website design and what to make note of when designing, as most first-time visitors will give you less than five seconds to "wow" them, making the aesthetics a vital part of reeling in customers. The website must be both visually appealing to your targeted demographic as well as communicate important things to know.

This article covers website aesthetics. Clara Teoh advises web designers to design their websites with: the preferences of their target demographic in mind, the right tone  to focus on designing the layout of the website to capture the attention of users by choosing appropriate colours and  correctly sized buttons. She also says to compare your site using other successful websites as benchmarks. She goes on to say that site aesthetics even affect variables like conversion rates and sales for businesses.  

Panel discussions are a great opportunity to derive a diverse wealth of information in a short amount of time. What differentiates a good panel discussion from a great one is an effective moderator. Much of the panel discussion's success is attributed to the panel moderator. Key takeaways: This article focuses on the effects of how a good moderator can impact a panel discussion. A good moderator is a person who is responsible, aware, organized and a strong speaker. It's important that moderators differentiate themselves from the panelists but at the same time, also make the effort to create a connection between the moderator, panelists and the audience.

This article refers to the lecture and assignment of the power of social media tools to represent a brand or organization. Furthermore, this article talks about the four big social media platforms, being LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. These social media tools are great for commercial use; to connect and gather interest from the public. It touches base with individuals on an almost personal perspective, as the platforms talk directly to an individual or certain group. This article emphasizes why these 4 well known platforms are being used by marketing teams and organizations themselves.

This video disputes the strengths and weaknesses of two valuable tools of media; YouTube and Vimeo. The video explores the variables that effect and contribute to the strengths and weaknesses of each type of video host website.

This article gives 100 tips from various podcasters around the world that will make your podcast great. Tips like listening to your own show to find ways to improve, be yourself behind the mic, and don't over edit can be helpful for anyone. This list also has links to the podcasts the advice is coming from. Lots to check out! 

This short article takes a critical look at the different types of social media platforms. The author has an interesting take on how social media has evolved over the past years saying that: "Within the last seven years, we have been through three waves of social domination: The publishing wave (with blogs), the sharing wave (with Facebook and Twitter), and the curating wave (with Quora, Pinterest and alike)." The author goes on to place further importance on the type of content users post and how that impacts the evolution of social platforms. Towards the end he also touches on the choosing the right social media for different types of business.

Last week Professor McMaster touched on online ecosystems. If you want to know more about it, this Forbes article clearly describes what a social media ecosystem is. The key image depicts the social media landscape in very compact and useful way. It shows all the different ways users interact with their devices.

New media is evolving and it is important for consumers and businesses to adapt and learn how to properly use it, and protect themselves from copyright laws.

This article explains how although it is not always possible to predict if content will go viral, there are some similarities between content that has gone viral in the past. For example, Walter explains that viral content shares common features like addressing real-world problems, by evoking emotion (such as anger or humour), and usually has an element of surprise. Walter also adds that how material is distributed and by whom (ex. if celebrities are endorsing it) often plays a key role in whether it will reach a level of virality.

This article could be helpful for anyone hoping to work in communications or as an entrepreneur in the future.  It thoroughly explains how companies make money by using free social medias including Facebook and twitter (even providing visual examples).  Due to the increase of people online, and on social networking websites these tips can largely increase profitability and communication clarity of any public company.  They may also help with the media episodes project whilst trying to create and market social media to a specific audience.   

Have you seen Brian Sollis' ingenious "Conversation Prism"? If you don't I urge you to check it out and learn how it works. As Solis explains, the goal of any online conversation is to relate back to the user (you). It shows all the ways that a user can connect to the social web. The way I see it, it is complex and interconnected like a spider web.