The Introduction

Bonjour!

I'm Janessa. This is the first blog that I have ever written and I am excited to explore the possibilities that blogging brings.

First off I would like tell you a little about myself. I am 19 years old and I speak both English and French  (hence the "bonjour").  I grew up in Red Deer, Alberta and my family still lives there so it's not too far of a  drive if I decide to go back on the weekends. Right after high school, I attended Red Deer College in the  pre-professional dentistry program. As an option, I took a nutrition class and really enjoyed it.  A few years  earlier, my Mother had breast cancer and it really opened my eyes up to the nutritional side of the world.  She had to take many supplements and eat very specific foods in order for her body to stay healthy because  of the effect that chemotherapy had on her.  With this tragedy happening to my family and with the nutrition  course, everything was starting to merge together. This past year, I transferred into the nutrition program  majoring in food and nutrition and I am currently in my second year of education at the University of  Alberta.  I am hoping one day to become a dietitian and work with cancer and radiation patients with their  health.

Photo retrieved from: http://avtecmedia.com/credit-union-marketing/social-networking/

Before ALES 204, I simply belonged to  Facebook as a social network, however I will  be honest and say that I'm not a huge fan of  social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).  Most of the time they are just annoying due to  the fact that individuals use them to document  their every move. And personally, I don't care  that you're eating breakfast or that you're so in  love or just woke up from bed. What I am  interested in is things going on around the  world,  tragedies, research etc.. Facebook has  a  specific  role for me, it keeps me connected  with friends by allowing me to send personal  messages to friends that live in other cities,  provinces, and even countries! Facebook also  keeps me engaged with social gatherings by allowing friends to "invite" me to fundraisers, parties, etc.. I am  now a part of Twitter, which is still quite new to me, but I believe that this social network has many benefits  to offer. Twitter is a huge interactive site that allows you to "follow" whoever you wish and anyone can  "follow" you.  I like how Twitter has a maximum amount of characters that can be used per post because  the  writer therefore needs to get their information out directly.  There are many different people, groups,  and  events on Twitter which increases the interaction among individuals. I use YouTube as well which is  very  interactive by allowing individuals to post videos. I feel that these videos are very important because   they can be about anything! They can be awareness videos, humorous videos, just anything that someone's  imagination can come up with. I know there is a lot involved with social media but I believe that I have  covered the important networks that I am involved with.

Photo retrieved from: http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1538R-65364

Communication, such as social media, will have a huge impact on my future work.  In the nutrition field, information changes all of the time.  There is a lot of research being conducted on a daily basis which leads to many contradictions over the same topics.  Since these social networks are increasing and becoming very popular, I believe that in the future, individuals will have no choice but to use these networks if they want to stay connected.  A great example of this is The Health Blog.  One role that communication could play in the future is to keep me connected to the rest of the world for up-to-date research development and new information found. Another very important role of communication is to ensure that health care professionals, such as those in the nutrition field, have the proper information available to council patients.  It is very important that information comes from a reliable source and that it has  background information.  It is also very important to be able to connect with patients.  I believe that being  able to connect to a patient (whether it be on Skype, Twitter, Facebook or through a blog) is absolutely  vital.  For example, if a patient (or even just a regular person for that matter) has a question about nutrition  or food, I believe that I should be available to that person in order to answer their questions.  They could  comment on a blog or "tweet" me on Twitter.  Either way, the information should be available to everyone,  no matter where they are in the world. With that being said I hope to broaden my network connections and  be involved with more social networks in order to become more familiar with what is going on around me.

If this blog interests you, you may also want to check out Bianca Cimino's Blog, that is fairly similar to mine.

I really hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog and that you will come back for more!

Until next time,

Janessa is out.