My Experience in CMIR

For the past two years of my undergraduate studies I have been a part of the Center of Innovation Media + Research . The CMIR is a part of the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Both the CMIR and the College of Journalism and Communications have had a lasting impact on my education and my future goals. Since the day I began my journey here at UF I have been impacted by the opportunities offered.

Early on in my undergraduate years I was required to do hourly newscast in the Innovation News Center. I started in radio before starting to learn TV. I really enjoyed radio and continued to improve my writing skills on air.

Becoming a part of the INC and getting involved with CMIR I gained so many priceless experiences. In my Sports Media and Society Class I had the opportunity to meet amazing guests speakers that provide great insight. I even got to meet former wide receiver OchoCinco

After learning the basics in the INC I decided to start working at ESPN Gainesville. I produced hourly sports updates and web content. The content that I wrote was posted to the WRUF website. Becoming a part of the ESPN Gainesville family I got to experience different sporting events that were very exciting. I attended SEC Nation in the Fall where I ran into Tim Tebow. 

Even with all of the outside work that the CMIR has provided me with I also learned a lot in the classroom. The classroom material formed a foundation for the skills I would enhance in the INC and at other on-campus sites. 

I will forever be indebted to the CMIR and CJC. The University of Florida has provided me with the steps to success. I am proud to be a CJC student and as always I am proud to be a Gator!

The Tipping Point Review

The Tipping Point Review

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell discusses and explains how some ideas become trends and why others don’t. Gladwell, through the use of many comparisons and research compares how some ideas affect the society differently than others. In many instances he compares the characteristics of social change to a medical epidemic. The tipping point, as Gladwell proclaims, is when an idea or trend becomes a popular phenomenon at an extremely fast rate.

            Throughout the book Gladwell uses different situations to illustrate his point. He discusses why teenage smoking is still popular even though the negative effects are still known. Through different comparisons Gladwell describes the process of an idea gaining popularity and reaching it’s “tipping point.”

In a world where ideas are spreading like wildfire, some ideas gain popularity and some die off before they ever come to life. Gladwell makes the point that if you look at every successful trend they are more similar than you may think. Gladwell breaks down the “rules of epidemics” into three separate parts to determine if an idea will gain popularity and become a social trend. The three parts include the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.

The Law of the Few is the first rule in which only a few people are responsible for spreading a single idea. This is later compared to only a few people being held responsible for the spreading of STD’s to various others. These are the people who help the trends start and continue to spread. They are the people who start to gain popularity in small groups. If people continue to stand behind a product or idea it is more likely to be successful.

The idea behind The Stickiness Factor is that an idea continues to influence people’s behavior. Gladwell uses different children TV shows such as “Blue’s Clues” and “Sesame Street” to explain this phenomenon. Research that showed the logic, reasoning and literacy improvement helped the show to “stick.” It’s what gets people to continue to be attached to an idea or product.

The last idea, the Power of Context, is important to the future of an idea or product. Gladwell claims this is crucial to an idea gaining popularity and reaching the tipping point. He compares the Power of Context to the decrease in crime rates in 1990s New York City. The idea behind this factor is that various changes, big or small, can make change societies behavior. In his comparison to the crime rate, Gladwell believes that because city authorities made minor improvements to the city in turn led to a decline in the crime rates.

The main idea behind Gladwell’s research is figuring out how to get your ideas and products to influence change in society. In the book the process behind what makes ideas either succeed or fail is investigated extensively. Different factors and social patterns play a role in how successful an idea may be. The end goal of everyone’s idea should be to have his or her idea reach the tipping point.

Learn From Others

Similar to the last post, I would like to highlight different colleagues at UF that I have learned from. I am continuously learning from my fellow peers and the people around me. 

Kayla's blog "Coffee at Kayla's" is great for people looking to get away from daily stresses. Her writing and perspective on various things is amazing. She really has passion behind her blog and it shows. Her blog includes lifestyle tips, college advice and focuses on the college experience as a whole. 

Caroline's blog is all about Gator Sports and the sports broadcasting world. She blogs about her different experiences and work at ESPN Gainesville. Caroline has gained a lot of experience in her field. If you are someone who has a passion for the Gator's or sports broadcasting definitely check out her blog!

Another person with a lot of experience in the Telecommuncations industry is Dani. She works at WUFT as an anchor, producer and reporter. She does it all! If you want an inside look at all the experience and work she has done in her time at UF check out her blog. 

 

Amazing Colleagues

During my studies at The University of Florida I have had the opportunity to work with very talented people. Daniela is a senior studying telecommunications at UF just like I am. She spends a lot of time in the newsroom working to find cutting edge stories. I rarely go to the WUFT Newsroom without seeing her there. Her blog gives you an inside look at all of her work. 

If you are interested in everything fitness than you should definitely check out Andrea's blog. She consistently blog's about anything and everything in the world of fitness. From accomplishing distance races to improving her PR time. Definitely worth checking out!

Love Gator sports? Check out Savanna's blog all about sports and the Gators. She works for various entities in the Journalism and Communications college at UF. Similar to me, she has dreams of a career in sports broadcasting. 

Who Am I?

I would like to expand on the introduction of myself I posted a few months ago when I started this blog. I am currently a 22 year old Telecommunication Senior at the University of Florida. I am originally from Northern Virginia but have since relocated because of school. My family has also relocated to Tampa, FL to make travel visits easier. Attending high school in Virginia was an awesome experience. I was very involved in extracurricular activities and sports. I played on my football, basketball and baseball teams.

 I am currently in my 4th year of Air Force ROTC and will commission as a 2nd Lt. at the beginning of May. Throughout my undergraduate years I worked in various positions in and outside of my college and gained practical working experience. I am currently a part-time Lifeguard for the City of Gainesville. The experience I have gained from the WUFT Newsroom and ROTC have put me a  great position to succeed post college. I will be relocating to Robins, AFB after graduation to start my career as an Acquisitions Officer. During my time in college I got involved in different clubs and organizations.

 I have been a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity for almost three years now. I am also a part of Big Heart Gators an organization that helps raise awareness for Organ Donation. Over the past few years I have gotten really involved in philanthropy. I continuously raise money for Dance Marathon which benefits the Children's Miracle Network.

As I moved forward I look to continue improving myself and the world around me. In college I learned that I can push myself to extreme measures to achieve success. I realized that I am a very hardworking individual with a lot of ambition. I know this will carry me forward into my career and beyond. I can't wait to take on the challenges that await.

Taylor Hagan

TaylorHaganResume.docx
Taylor Hagan Resume

NASA Announcement Today

Throughout my college experience I have always had a distant desire to study more about space. I did not really have the opportunity to as I chose a different path with Telecommunications and AFROTC. Being involved in so many extracurricular activities  pulled me away from learning different more about space. In a few hours NASA is going to make a statement about new findings. They have been in search of Earth-like planets that contain water. I really appreciate the things that NASA does. Their research and findings are going to dramatically change the near future.

The fact that there may be planets beyond our Solar System intrigues me. Looking back I wonder if I could have squeezed into an astronomy class or taken more time to learn about Space. When selecting what I wanted to be in the Air Force, Space Operations was one of my choices. While I won't be starting off working as a Space Operations Officer there is always a chance in the future.