collegestudentsrule

College Students Love A Good Cause

I spend a lot of time around college students. Nothing seems to motivate them more than a worthwhile cause. I think it's because they discover a way to make a difference in the world and have a lot of energy to put into it. Just look at the rallies, protests, and petition drives in your area and you'll discover a lot of college students who have found a way to get involved.

Are you a college student without a cause?

Don't be apathetic. You can join in and make a difference as well. Take a look around you and consider these four things:

1. Focus on people.
The best causes are the ones that help another person out. That person or group of people may be the victims of injustice, oppression, or abuse. If you want a worthwhile cause, start with those who need the help of others to even survive.

2. Find a need.
It would be foolish to start fighting for less bristles on toothbrushes. First of all...no one sees that as a glaring need in our society. But there are real needs out there. Basic needs that aren't being met. How about clean drinking water, clean air, or just cleaning your room.

3. Figure out your resources.
One thing that college students seem to have more of is time. Perhaps you have a larger discretionary income. Or you might know a lot of people with large discretionary incomes. As you work to right the wrongs through your cause, consider what types of resources you can use in your efforts.

4. Follow your heart.
Standing up for a cause as a way to meet people of the opposite sex is scarcely enough motivation to keep you in it for very long. You need to find something that really interests you - something that you really care about. Most of the time, it will cost you something to fight for a cause. It's only your passion and dedication that will keep you in when things get difficult.

Remember, the best causes are the ones that you fight for someone else's benefit. If your greatest cause is to build your own financial empire...you might not get many people on board to join you. Hope that doesn't discourage all of you multi-level marketing students out there.

9 Ways To Discover New Music...In No Particular Order

By Guest Author: Chris Spicer

Go To More Concerts

Concerts cost money.  You can pay 80 bucks to see Rush play at the Idaho Center, or you can pay 8 bucks to see four bands put on a show at The Venue in Boise.  No matter how great Neil Peart is behind the drums, you should save your money and go discover new music.  It won't take long before you recognize the name of a band coming through town, and you might be even like the opener better.  I can't remember how many bands I have discovered this way, but it is quite a few.  Example A: Mute Math.

  Last.fm

Last.fm is loaded with opportunities to find new music.  At first it seems like "just another internet community", but I think it is the best music-oriented community site available.  It uses "scrobbling" (a process of sending the artist and song information from your computer to the internet) to keep track of everything you listen to.  Apart from giving you awesome insight into your music listening habits, it gives you recommendations based on the thousands of songs you will eventually "scrobble".  Just click play on your recommendations radio and listen for hours without paying.  There are also detailed artist pages full of similar artist links, and yes, LEGAL full-length songs.  Why haven't you already signed up?

www.last.fm

Pandora

Pandora is so easy, and it's so cool.  Just type the name of artist or song, and there you go -- a plethora of songs that match your input.  The genius behind pandora, called the "Music Genome Project", uses 400 different attributes to match songs.  These include anything from subtle use of acoustic piano, to groove oriented approach or blazin' rappin'.  Pandora doesn't mess around.  By giving a song a thumbs up or down, or adding new artists and songs to a particular station, you can fine tune your radio to play everything you never knew you wanted to hear.

www.pandora.com

iTunes Music Store

The iTunes music store is the second largest music retailer in the United States, so Apple must know something about music.  When you search for music in the store, they offer a list called "listeners also bought", a great place to discover new artists.  On the main page of the music store, you can also find the free single of the week.  Though the song selection is eclectic, one in ten is a hit.  And who doesn't like free music?

Available in iTunes - free download on www.apple.com/itunes

DimVision's MusicMap

This is actually one the coolest things I have ever seen on the internet.  Using Amazon.com music information, the designers behind this website created a living similar-music flow-chart.  Start by typing the name of an artist you like, and a bubble will appear on the empty page.  Clicking more info will give you a rundown of information from amazon, but the fun starts when you click expand.  More little bubbles pop out from this bubble, each representing a similar album.  Over time, and many clicks on expand, you should have a moving, criss-crossing page of bubbles connected to other bubbles and artist names.  It sounds confusing, but you're wrong.  It's awesome.  Sometimes I go there just to play with the bubbles.

http://www.dimvision.com/musicmap

Amazon

Sure, Amazon is a great place to buy books, and movies, and lawn chairs, but what about music?  Well, of course, Amazon has a very large music library, and they know how to sell it.  As a user, Amazon offers me recommendations based on what I have bought on the site previously.  I can update these recommendations by rating other albums I already own, whether or not I purchased them from Amazon.  Amazon, like Pandora, has a good sense of what two albums sound alike, and will match recommendations to your taste.  Be careful though, this is an easy way to spend a lot of money.

www.amazon.com

Record Store Grab Bag

This one is simple.  Play Eeny-meeny-miny-mo, and buy the cd that your finger lands on.  Just do it.  Used record stores are great for this.  I like the Record Exchange in Boise.  A good indicator for the sound of the music is to look at the album art.  Cheesy band poses and cartoons are a good indicator of punk pop records.  Earthy tones and subtle titles will often lead you to acoustic guitars and folk-leanings.  Anything that looks like it took less than one minute or longer than two weeks for the artist to make is also probably indie.

Film Soundtracks

Watch more movies.  Although many blockbusters contain original scores that are hard to listen to on their own, there are plenty of films that contain great music.  Indie films are a good place to look.  Garden State is a popular example, as the movie heavily relied on the soundtrack to tell the story.  If you're the type that likes to stick around for the credits, you'll be awarded with a list of every song played during the movie.  IMDB.com also has complete soundtrack listings on almost every movie site.

Ask Friends

We all have friends that are more musically inclined then us, it's true.  All you have to do is ask.  I'm sure that someone around you is listening to at least one band that you have never heard of.  Isn't everyone curious what's being played through the headphones of people all over America?  I know I am.
__________________________________________
Chris Spicer is a walking wealth of new music wisdom. He is currently finishing up his undergraduate degree at a private University in Idaho. Chris is a screenwriter. Someday...he will get paid to do it for a living.

College Students And The Political Process

There's been a great deal of attention paid by political candidates to the rising influence of college students in the electorate. Barak Obama has been quick to point out that his early victory in Iowa was due in large part to the young voters who turned out in support of him.

Today is affectionately known as Super Tuesday in the political world. That's because there are so many state caucuses and primaries that are being held around the country today. Twenty-four states. For those of you keeping score at home...that's pretty close to half of the United States.

College Students Rule! would like to know: As a college student, are you interested, involved, actively participating in the political process?

Recent demographic reports would say that this generation is slightly apathetic (and I'm being kind) when it comes to voting and politics. Is Iowa just a blip, an anomaly when it comes to the involvement of college students?

College Students Want Honesty In Advertising & Intensity Of Personal Body Oder

Some people like commercials, others don't. If you do like commercials, it's probably because you enjoy the short stories that they tell, or the creative way they attempt to get their message across. For me personally, I enjoy a good laugh. I want a commercial that is funny. If it's funny, I'll rewind it and watch it over and over. But that's me.

Ypulse College Mashup research sponsor Survey U just completed a batch of research on college students that they will be presenting this Friday. One of the series of questions they asked students was about what they look for in advertising -- they asked them to rank which of the following characteristics were "extremely important" to "not important at all" with a couple of rankings in between. Here's what they found in the order of what's most important...

Be truthful
60 percent said extremely important
30 percent said somewhat important
7 percent said important nor unimportant
2 percent said not very important
2 percent said not important at all

Show the functionality
41 percent said extremely important
43 percent said somewhat important
11 percent said important nor unimportant
3 percent said not very important
2 percent said not important at all

Show me the value
38 percent said extremely important
43 percent said somewhat important
13 percent said important nor unimportant
3 percent said not very important
3 percent said not important at all

Read the rest of the survey results here.

As for the intensity of personal body oder, I did my own personal survey and found that college students really do want to know when they stink - especially if they stink really bad. So let's be honest with each other and keep the smelly pheromones to a minimum.

Hey College Students...Looks Like You're Okay After All

There have always been a number of studies done that attempt to demonstrate (or demonize) the young people of today as self-absorbed, money-hungry, narcissistic children. Of course, don't you wish we were all judged by our worst moments like that.

Anyways, a recent New York Times article by Stephanie Rosenbloom, seeks to shed a slightly brighter light on the up and coming generation. She writes,

Some scholars point out that bemoaning the self-involvement of young people is a perennial adult activity. (“The children now love luxury,” Plato wrote 2,400 years ago. “They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.”) Others warn that if young people continue to be labeled selfish and narcissistic, they just might live up to that reputation.

“There’s a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Kali H. Trzesniewski, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Western Ontario. Ms. Trzesniewski, along with colleagues at the University of California, Davis, and Michigan State University, will publish research in the journal Psychological Science next month showing there have been very few changes in the thoughts, feelings and behaviors of youth over the last 30 years. In other words, the minute-by-minute Twitter broadcasts of today are the navel-gazing est seminars of 1978.

This new research flies in the face of the research of Jean Twenge, an associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University, who along with colleagues has found that narcissism is much more prevalent among people born in the 1980s than in earlier generations. Ms. Twenge’s book title summarizes the research: “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled — and More Miserable Than Ever Before” (2006, Free Press).

I tend to see the college student as a glass half full - lots of potential and already doing so many things to make the world a better place. Of course...that's why I think that college students rule! (cue cheesy music).

Read the entire article here.

Slideshare Millennial Generation Presentation

Okay...I'm experimenting here. I am hoping to add more and more video and presentation design elements to CSR. Here's my first effort into the online presentation world. I went to Slideshare and created a simple powerpoint. Then I recorded my voice going through the presentation. Slideshare combines both elements and puts them together in a way that you can embed them in your blog.

Here's my presentation on the Millennial Generation. It's about 7 minutes long

| View | Upload your own

Now...if you stuck around and watched much of it...tell me what you think.

Do you agree with Howe and Strauss's assessment of the Millennial Generation?

Youthquake - BusinessWeek Article Points Out The Political Power Of Millenials

Youthquake
"No one can predict with certainty how much influence this cohort (Millenials) will have on the coming election. After all, youth-backed candidates have faltered before. (Ask Howard Dean.) But the so-called echo baby boom has size on its side: nearly 43 million people aged 18 to 29, according to the Census Bureau, or 20% of registered voters. That and this group's hyperconnectedness (all those Facebook friends and MySpace (NWS)  pages) have convinced many pundits and economists that something seismic could be coming."
Read the entire BusinessWeek article.

I'd Like A Skinny Soy Latte' With A Big Mac And Fries

Fast Company Magazine reports the unlikely evolution of McDonald's into the world of coffee:

McDonald's has nearly 14,000 stores nationwide, all of which will be equipped with full-fledged coffee bars and baristas by year's end. Having already begun adding plush seating, gentler lighting and subtler colors to their franchises, the big M is looking to steamroll the limping Starbucks on its own turf. Starbucks, however, isn't going anywhere; rather, it's McDonald's that will be maimed most by its own campaign to destroy the Seattle super-brand.

Read the rest of the article here: Competition: How McDonald's Will Kill Itself Killing Starbucks

They're going to call it...McCafe' - I think it's doomed. What do you think?

Commons 2.0 - Why They Encourage Talking In The Library

Remember the days of talking in hushed tones in the library. If you got even a little bit too loud, the librarian would give you a dirty look and put their finger to their mouth - warning you that you would face certain punishment for being too loud.

Well...the times they are a-changing. In a recent article by Bryan Sinclair (Educause Quarterly), the social norms that surrounded learning environments like the library are changing. Sinclair writes,

The "Commons 2.0" brings together a wide range of elements to foster student learning in new and creative ways. It is not a static computer lab; rather, it incorporates the freedom of wireless communication, flexible workspace clusters that promote interaction and collaboration, and comfortable furnishings, art, and design to make users feel relaxed, encourage creativity, and support peer-learning. To this add self-help graphics services, color imaging, audio and video editing, and other production and presentation software catering to student learning and needs, and the Commons 2.0 becomes a one-stop collaboratory for out-of-class assignments, writing, research, and group projects.

With the rise of Web 2.0 and social software we are witnessing a major shift in the ways students approach and use information. They no longer merely consume and download information; increasingly, they create and participate in it. They are social creatures in every way that past generations were and in some new ways, sharing information digitally and using each other as sounding boards. They value social experiences that blend communication and learning.

Social software in the form of blogs, wikis, MySpace, Flickr, and YouTube is merely an extension of this socialization in a wired culture. The software, spaces, and instruction provided to today's students should encourage them to become well-equipped participants in an online global community, skilled in written and visual communication and critical thinking.

What we're beginning to see is the merger of the coffee shop, the Mac Store, and the library all into one. I think it's about time. Learning is becoming more and more collaborative. The individualistic paradigms that promoted the personal study cubicle is fading from view.

If you could change your library, what would you do to make it more Commons 2.0 friendly?

Read the rest of the article: Commons 2.0: Library Spaces Designed for Collaborative Learning

3% Of College Students DON'T Have A Cell Phone

According to a recent research poll conducted by Eduventures, it appears that 97% of their respondents own a cell phone.

According to Campus Technology,

In addition to the information shown on the graph above, the research also found that most students spend up to five hours a day on the Internet, with a fairly even distribution between personal and school use, and e-mail remains the most popular communication tool and the preferred method of contact for all school purposes.

Found via Snapshot: Personal Electronic Devices Owned by Students,"  Campus Technology, 1/8/2008.