First Time Blogger!

Hello to all the bacon lovers out there!

Bacon thatched roof on chocolate cake...nothing better!
Photo retrieved January 20, 2012 from http://almostbourdain.blogspot.ca

My name is Lauren Bradshaw and I am creating a blog for the first time in my life! Hold on tight, the road could be a little rocky. As is evident from the title of my blog, I am head over heels in love with bacon. But I do have a life outside of this delicous porcine treat! I also enjoy traveling (I have a trip coming up in May where I plan to spend 10 weeks in Europe with a few of my best friends), and I have a deeply rooted passion for animals (which I realize is a slight contradiction in regards to my love of bacon). The passion I have for animals of all kinds is what primarily drives my career goal of becoming a veterinarian. I realize that this is a highly competitive field though, so I would be equally as pleased if I found a career that allowed me to work with animals; even if it is not the role of the veterinarian. Currently I am a third year student in the Animal Health degree at the University of Alberta and my major is Companion and Performance Animals. I find the classes I have been taking, and am currently taking, to be an priceless investment as they directly relate to what I am most interested in and most enthusiastic about.

Me and my beloved chicken, Noodle
Photo from personal collection (L. Bradshaw, 2011)

As I stated previously, this is my first time blogging but it is not the first time I have used some form of social media. I have an active account with Facebook (maybe too active for my own good) and I recently signed-up for a Twitter account for my ALES 204 class. Although the class is still in early stages, I feel that ALES 204 has already shown me how social media can be used for a wide range of reasons. Blogs may be used for personal or professional reasons. Today in class we looked at many different blogs that all posted and gathered information that was science-related. As well, I know that several of my friends have used blogs to keep family and friends at home updated while they are away on a trip or at school abroad. I myself plan to use a blog as well as Skype when I go to Europe for 10 weeks. I think that social media is important because it allows for fast dissemination of information which can be crucial when dealing with things such as pandemics and natural disasters. It can raise awareness for things such as this much quicker than TV or radio could. Communication in general is crucial in all aspects of life. Both professionally and personally. Learning how to communicate through social media and other online resources is something that I believe is becoming increasingly important as our world continues to become more technologically oriented. In the animal health field, communication is vital as you must be able to correctly assess what is going on with the patient, as well as correctly and clearly explain what you concluded to the client. So communication is key and knowing how to communicate information in different ways is a useful and important tool. In veterinary medicine, as well as many other professions, there are online resources that are available with information such as cases that other veterinarians have dealt with as well as new treatments or procedures that are becoming available. Something that is also starting to become more common is online discussion forums which allow you to access professional information more conveniently, and without the cost of an examination (http://www.justanswer.com/pets).

With this course I am hoping to achieve a more confident understanding of communication through social media. I think that for myself, social media will allow information to be more accessible and more convenient. It will allow me to explore my interests on the internet and allow me to connect with people who have similar interests and goals. By collaborating with other people and exploring new interests, I can increase my knowledge in areas that interest me without being inconvenienced by travel or cost. Even now I have found sites that can help to prepare me for my career goal such as (http://www.merckvetmanual.com/) and (http://canadianveterinarians.net/). I believe that this class will teach me how to further utilize the internet, for my benefit, in regards to social media. As I said before, I have little experience with social media and I look forward to furthering my knowledge on the subject. Also this is a link to another awesome blog that just started up! Check it out! Tech Hurts My Head

Our interactions via social networking
Photo retrieved April 1, 2012 from http://skgtechnologies.com/services/social_media_optimization.html