It’s not unusual for students to have that one professor they will never forget. Sometimes it’s for good reasons — sometimes not.

In a random, unscientific survey taken through surveymonkey.com, about 75 Oakland University students from a variety of majors pointed out what frustrates them most about professors.

The top three complaints were:
— The required textbook was not used in class.
— Material on exams was not covered or barely covered in class.
—  Students didn’t know their grade or progress.

College textbook prices have increased 812 percent since 1978, according to an article in the Huffington Post.

“It’s frustrating having to spend all that money on a book you open maybe twice the whole semester,” said Adrian Michel, sophomore biology major at OU. “It would be more convenient if the professor gave us handouts on the few key sections we needed, instead of having us purchase a textbook.”

The National Association of College Stores and College Board estimate students, on average, will spend $1,168 on books and materials per year.

But yet the textbook may not be helpful if the professor doesn’t integrate it within the class lecture in preparation for what the students can expect on the exam.

Students assume that anything covered in class is fair game to show up on the exam. If they follow the designated readings that correspond with the class lecture, they should be prepared.

Sometimes, though, reading is not enough if the exam includes material not covered at all.

So after the exam-cram and the Scantrons have been filled out, students wait to find out how they did. But weeks — perhaps longer — might pass before students find out results and can calculate grades.

Professors have several ways of notifying students of grades, including OU’s Moodle.

If the professor doesn’t use Moodle or updates grades, the students are left in the dark. Students must go out of their way to find time to meet with the professor to discuss grades.

“I don’t want to have to take the time out of my schedule to go up to my professors and ask them what my grades are and if I need to change my study habits,” said Ryan Kallabat, a junior studying physical therapy at OU. “They have the resources to post grades, they just need to use them.”

At OU, Moodle is the main outlet for communication from students to professors, aside from email.

Not all professors are active Moodle users, though. Some professors, regardless of their department, are reluctant to learn and use it.

“The new teachers coming in are younger and have been using technology more throughout their student-teaching, and I just think it’s going to become the standard,” said Julia Key, a member of Moodle support about the use of Moodle and online teaching.

“A lot of teachers don’t use Moodle because they’re not comfortable with the technology, and they’re also not comfortable with changing their way of teaching,” she continued.

According to the survey, a third of students complain that professors do not use Moodle. If more professors utilized this resource, it could take the guessing game out of students’ progress.

“Moodle can incorporate email, papers, documents, resources and lectures all in one spot,” Key said.

OU offers Moodle workshops for professors throughout the year.

“The workshops go from Moodle one to Moodle five and it teaches you from the basics of logging into Moodle to building your grade book and creating exams,” Key said.

Despite the university’s push to have more online teaching, it’s hard to get professors to take classes to learn the necessary software, according to Samantha Thom, Tori Tomaszewski and Key, all members of Moodle support within the e-LIS department

Moodle, like most online teaching software, integrates resources in one spot. This helps students stay organized as well as eliminates the hassle of checking multiple venues for schoolwork.Tweet

A British-themed painting depicts familiar sites. PHOTO/BRIANNA BUDNY

BY BRIANNA BUDNY
OU News Bureau

It’s on our TVs, our magazines and newspapers, our clothes and in the music we listen to.

It’s American’s obsession with all things British.

“We obsess over British things because we grew up thinking they were cool,” said Tiffany LaDonne, a student at Oakland University. “I think our liking of the British Royal Family is because we grew up with the prince and princess fairy tales.”

It has been 237 years since the U.S. declared independence from Great Britain, but Americans still have a deep-rooted relationship with the British that goes back to the first colonists more than 400 years ago.

According to visitbritain.org, about 10 percent of the estimated 31 million tourists who visit Great Britain every year are from America.

“I think Americans like British things because of the monarchy,” said Linda Peterson of Rochester Hills. “Having a royal family in politics is totally different than the U.S. government.”

These commemorative Prince William and Kate Middleton royal wedding tins are to hold tea. PHOTO/BRIANNA BUDNY

Though there are similarities between the U.S and Britain, such as the language and pop culture, there are many differences. One is the British royal family. Even though the queen does not have real power, she is very much a figurehead for Great Britain’s tradition and culture.

“All of the pomp and circumstance, clothing, crown and jewels,” Peterson said. “It’s interesting to me.”

A fascination with British royalty may be from Disney movies that many Americans grew up watching. It might also be because of traditional royalty such as Queen Elizabeth or more modern royalty such as Princess Diana, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

A New York Times series titled “Why Do Americans Love Royalty?” featured contributors discussing their opinions on why American’s follow the pop culture aspect of the British royal family. They wrote it is because of Princess Diana, the pomp and circumstance, and an insecurity over what America lost due in the separation from Britain.

“I think Americans like the idea of Britain because it represents royalty and fanciness,” said Megan Felcyn, a student at Oakland University. “There is an heir presented that they represent a higher class, even though they aren’t necessarily any better or worse than our society. Britain has always been represented as royalty and some sort of power.”

“Plus, they have awesome accents,” Felcyn said.

There’s also the “fanciness” of some of the more traditional British things.

“I love the formality of high tea,” Peterson said.Tweet

Turkeys roost in trees at night. They can run at speeds of 25 mph and fly at speeds of 55 mph. PHOTO/AMANDA WILCZAK

BY AMANDA WILCZAK
OU News Bureau

Hunting is more than a sport. It is an activity that families pass down from generation to generation.

Michigan ranks third in the country for licensed hunters, with about 750,000 individuals who purchase a license annually.

The arrival of spring brings the start of turkey hunting season. With Michigan home to many hunters, this activity brings families and friends together.

“My dad and grandpa always were great hunters, so as a kid they would always take me out with them in the woods,” said Tyler Dougherty of Attica.

Hunting can leave lasting memories.

“My family has always been a very big hunting family,” said Felicia Bader of North Branch. “So, as I grew up, I was always involved in hunting no matter what the season. I can remember going out hunting with my parents since I was about 5 years old.

Felicia Bader SOURCE/TOM BADER

“Since that was such a big part of my life growing up, when I got older it just became second nature. Something about the adrenaline of getting your first big kill there is nothing like it.”

Lifetime Hunters

For many, hunting turns into a lifetime activity for those introduced to it at a young age.

“My experience with wild turkey hunting started when I was 12 years old,” said Josh Clendenan of Attica.   “On my first hunt, the sound of a wild turkey gobbling, the early morning fog rising of the warmer ground, the dampness from the dew soaking threw every layer I had on and the sounds of nature that could never be replicated by any man made device, had me hooked.

“So after that, I hunted turkeys every season I could and it lead me to start a guide service to share my experience with others.”

Even for those not as dedicated to hunting wild turkeys, their experiences lead to interests in other types of hunting.

“I personally have only gone turkey hunting a handful of times but I thought it was fun,” Bader said. “Every season is different for hunting different types of game. Therefore, it keeps it interesting to go out hunting for other types of animals.”

Tactics

While hunting for turkeys, hunters use specific firearms or a bow and arrow.

“The shotgun is the only firearm used in turkey hunting, although some people choose to use a bow and arrow instead for more of a challenge,” Clendenan said. “When I started, I used a Remington 20-gauge shotgun and through the years moved up to a Remington 870 12-gauge.”

Hunters have their own special tactics to attract turkeys to their hunting area.

“I use some hen turkey decoys to attract the Tom’s, or male turkeys,“ Dougherty said. “I also use a hen strut turkey call to attract the Toms to my hen decoys.”

Other hunters learn special tactics.

Paige Ekstrom

“My dad has taught me two tactics: ground hunting and chasing,” said Paige Ekstrom of North Branch.  “Ground hunting requires sitting in a pop-up blind and waiting for the turkeys to come to you. Chasing is basically what it sounds like. You go out the night before to find where the turkeys are roosting, and try to catch them coming off the roost the following morning. This method is more exciting.”

Some hunters keep their secrets.

“I have many handed down tricks from generations of hunters in our family, but I’m not allowed to share them,” Clendenan said. “I’ll tell you one of mine I learned, though I shouldn’t: They say to be extremely still and not to move, but through the years I’ve learned that if there’s a turkey near you but won’t come in close enough for a shot, if you actually make some movement he will come right in closer to you.”Tweet

From left, Nick Blauvelt, William Gibbs and Alex Murrell record their podcast. COURTESY/FILM NERDS

BY STEPHANIE SOKOL
OU News Bureau

They meet every Wednesday, watch a movie and discuss it. Unlike typical moviegoers, however, these young men share their opinions with others by taking their tradition to the Web.

OU Journalism senior William Gibbs and friends Alex Murrell and Nick Blauvelt are the trio behind Midwest Film Nerds, a film critic blog and podcast.

“I started with just wanting to write. I’ve always enjoyed writing and been pretty good at writing,” Gibbs said. “So I wanted to take that and apply it to things I liked — mainly movies, video games and comic books. I’m kind of a nerd, so those are things that I like.”

The men met working at Family Video in Berkley.

Gibbs and Murrell are film fans. Blauvelt, who studies film at Wayne State University, provides the technical perspective.

“Movies seemed the most universal and approachable for us, from our work schedules, and for listeners, as well,” Gibbs said.

After realizing they shared a love for film, they decided to start the podcast.

“For some reason, the storytelling in movies can really get to me,” Murrell said. “There’s so much that goes into making a good movie that just kind of experiencing that and tearing the movie apart to look at all of its individual parts is interesting to me; and that’s part of the reason the podcast exists.”

A growing trend

Podcasts provide a different media outlet, with the recorded discussions available on a variety of topics.

The first podcast was created by Volomedia, in 2003 as “a method for providing episodic content,” according to Mashable. They have grown in popularity since.

Small Business Trends said through 2013, at least 37.6 million people will download podcasts monthly.

“I think podcasting is a very distinct thing,” Murrell said. “And I know there’s a lot of people out there who listen to radio who haven’t really given (podcasting) the time of day. If you’re listening to talk radio, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be listening to podcasting. It’s always a good idea to go out and listen to people’s ideas about things, and I hope that podcasting sticks around.”

Gibbs discussed their podcast about the “Dark Knight,” which they put out last summer after seeing the film.

He said they try to keep the blog and podcast focused on new movies to help others decide what they want to see. Keeping reviews current also brings more people to the site.

Building a fan base

Uploading the podcast feed to iTunes, in addition to networking with other bloggers, has helped Midwest Film Nerds attract followers.

“I can say that as soon as we finished the first (podcast), I knew this was something I wanted to do,” Murrell said. “But the biggest challenge so far has been getting listeners or getting word out to try and have people listen, getting a wider fan base.”

Murrell set up the account with iTunes, linking to the blog from the store. He said the requirement is a host location for the feed to reach, but iTunes makes the podcast more available to listeners.

To further reach their audience, the podcasters use social media as an outlet. They have also had their podcast mentioned on the podcast of a popular slashfilm.com blogger.

“I try to maintain a Twitter account, post things up on Reddit and get it out to friends on Facebook, but there’s some untapped potential, some ways to reach more people that I just haven’t found yet,” Murrell said.

A future for the film nerds

The men want to see the blog make it big, but for now are focusing on sharing their passion for film and entertainment with others.

Gibbs discussed possibly expanding to include video game reviews or bringing in other podcasters, but the current goal is to have fun and share insight with listeners.

“We get so immersed in talking about these things, why not record it and put it out there?” Gibbs said. “It gives people a perspective and I think that each one of us comes to the podcast with something different.

“There’s so much debating going on today about really important things, it’s kind of fun to have a debate about something that’s not going to change the world. It’s nice to have a friendly debate.”

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Michiganders might say they don’t have an accent — other people do.

“There is this huge misconception that everyone has an accent except me,” said Samuel Rosenthall, a professor of linguistics at Oakland University.

“There is a kind of standard American English, but no one actually speaks it, but some dialects approximate it closer than others,” he continued. “It’s all relative, though. If you were to go to another part of the country, you’d be picked out as someone that is from Michigan in seconds.”

Accents in Michigan?

Even though Michiganders might say they don’t have an accent, there are some words that are said with one. The website michigannative.com contains a long list of word pronunciations common to Michiganders.

When saying Pontiac, for example, people from Michigan drop the t sound and pronounce it pah-neeack.

When words have the double consonant t in them, people from Michigan drop the t sound so that kitten becomes kih’ihn and button become buh’ohn. Likewise, city becomes ciddy and nutty becomes nuddy.

Or, they tend to shorten words. Mirror becomes meer and look at it becomes lookit.  

Accents everywhere

According to linguists, everyone everywhere has an accent.

“There is no such thing as American English free of any dialect,” Rosenthall said. “Everyone has an accent or dialect.”

The term accent is not a term used by linguists often. Instead, they use dialect, which is a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group. Everyone, regardless of where they are from, speaks a dialect. Dialects are defined geographically.

“It can be charming and it can stimulate you to guess where they are from,” said Linda Peterson of Rochester Hills.

Hearing people speak with an accent can be the quickest way to show that they are not native to that location.

“Accents are thought of as exciting and exotic,” said Jillian Breitschuh, a student at Grand Valley State University. “When you talk to a person with an accent, you realize how small the world truly is. In turn, it makes you want to explore the world. My favorite accent is Scottish or Australian accents. Hearing accents like that makes me want to go to those places.”

People associate certain accents with qualities that they may like or dislike. These qualities can be based on prior experiences with people or what we envision someone with that accent to be like.

“Their novelty is their main draw,” said Adam Burl, a student at Grand Valley State University. “People pair accents with concepts. French or Italian accents could be paired with romance, Russian or German accents with anger or deceit, and American accents with arrogance or wealth.”

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It starts out with a couple of cats or a few dogs. People start taking them in, wanting to help each one and believe they are making an impact.

But what starts as help leads to issues for both the animal and human.

Cats are the top hoarded animal species, specifically among older women. Victims of animal hoarding face neglect, and are often left underfed and unfit for adoption. PHOTO/STEPHANIE SOKOL

Animal hoarding is a growing problem.   The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals defines it as “a complex animal cruelty issue, mental health issue and public safety issue.”

At least 250,000 animals are victims of hoarding each year, according to the Anxiety and Depression Society of America.

Television shows such as Confessions: Animals Hoarding and social media have brought light to the issue.

“There’s not an official diagnosis (for animal hoarding),” author Celeste Killeen said. “With no course of treatment, psychologists are left to deal with what they can, and usually diagnose hoarding as an addiction or OCD.”

In 2003, Killeen co-wrote “Inside Animal Hoarding,” which looked into the case of a woman with 552 dogs.

About 200 of them lived outside and 300 were in the home. The husband was ill, and stayed in a chair. Housing conditions were poor, with feces covering the floor and animals starving.

“It was absolutely horrible,” Killeen said. “There was constant neglect. The animals were not fed, many were dying. They were not socialized at all so they could not be given to other homes. It was a really unhealthy way to live and a horrible existence for the animals.”

The woman had a breeder profile, and displayed addictive behaviors, Killeen said. The hoarder felt the animals needed her, and used them to feed her ego.

The treatments can be helpful for some, but usually when the animals are taken away, the people become anxious and hoard even more, according to Killeen.

Animal hoarding is similar to the act of collecting, which provides a sense of comfort that begins during childhood, psychologist Jim Windell said. Kids look at things such as dolls or trading cards as security and view them as comfort objects.

What starts as collecting can get out of hand and become a problem, however, leading to hoarding. And when the collection consists of living things, the result is cruel. Pets often become a substitute for human relationships. The “collectors” see animals as dependant on them.

Up to 250,000 animals are victims of animal hoarding each year, according to Animal Legal Defense Fund. This has doubled during the past four years.

Local Cases

Cases of animal hoarding have occurred in Oakland County. Recently, a home with 20 cats was cleaned out, according Joanie Toole, administrative supervisor at Oakland County Animal Control.

Another recent incident occurred in Livonia, when the Michigan Human Society and Animal Control removed more than 50 cats from the home, according to WDIV Detroit.

Though there is no limit on the number of animals a person can have, animal control evaluates the situation and looks for issues including illnesses, diseases and inbreeding.

The animals’ living conditions are taken into account to determine whether the home is a clean and healthy place to live, Toole said. Problem homes have feces all over the floor, unkempt animals and an environment unfit for human life.

The numbers and treatment

Seventy percent of hoarders are single, widowed or divorced females; 40 percent of people who hoard objects also hoard animals, according the ADAA.

When hoarding occurs, the first step is removal of the animals from the home. Depending on the severity of the situation, animals are often left are unsocialized and unfit for adoption. This leaves them facing euthanizing from animal control.

In the case of the 552 dogs, the court banned the woman from having animals, according to Kileen. Despite having her pets taken away, the woman was determined to take in more animals and stole a pregnant cat from someone else.

“I think it’s a way of satisfying a need that’s missing in their life,” Windell said. “(Mass amounts of animals provide) a certain amount of comfort.”

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Richard Forrest has enjoyed watching birds for 38 years. COURTESY/RICHARD FORREST

BY AUSTIN BROOKS
OU News Bureau

Baseball parks are full of fans, children are playing outside in the sunshine and the snow has melted.

But for one group of dedicated hobbyists, spring means something different.

For bird watchers, this time of year marks the unofficial start of the season. After a long winter, they’re dusting off their binoculars and field guides and getting ready to enjoy what could be considered one of America’s most popular secret hobbies.

According to a survey in 2001, 46 million people over the age of 16 identify as “bird watchers” accounting for just over 20 percent of the United States.

Just what is it about birding that draws so many people to the hobby?

“Well, it’s a challenge,” said Richard Forrest, a retired Rochester High School teacher who’s been birding for 38 years. He has a Master of Science degree in wildlife biology with an emphasis in non-game birds and teaches “Science for Elementary Teachers” at Oakland University’s Macomb location.

“At first, it’s just recognizing birds that you’ve seen pictures of in the field guide, but the more you get into it the more you see birds that are more difficult to identify that maybe you haven’t seen before,” Forrest said. “A lot of times you don’t get the best glimpse of them, so it’s a good challenge. And to me, it’s just really stimulating.”

Birders don’t have to travel far to find good locations.

“There’s a lot of good local birding, depending on the time of year,” he said. “We’re coming up on the spring migration in mid-May, which is when most of the migrants arrive, either to stay here for the summer or just to pass through. That’s the best time to see them.”

For ducks, cranes and other water-dwelling birds, secluded creeks and rivers are the best bet. For woodland birds such as blue jays, nuthatches or woodpeckers, a trail through state land with heavy tree density would be more suitable.

For those who just want to give birding a try, expensive equipment isn’t necessary. But a little optical help is key.

“You need binoculars,” Forrest said. “They don’t have to be top of the line, they can be a $50 pair or something, but the more you get into it the more you want to get the best look that you can possibly get. So eventually, you find yourself trying to buy better optics and things like that.”

Forrest recommends that beginners bring a field guide to identify species.

“A field guide is pretty necessary, even for experts,” he said. “A lot of times, you don’t know if it’s a juvenile of something that you haven’t seen in a while, and that’s when the field guide becomes a really valuable reference.

“For a beginner, it’s just seeing the bird and being able to identify it by the picture in the book.”

One thing Forrest doesn’t recommend is going out alone for the first few times.

“It’s great to go with someone who’s done it before, because they can really help you out,” he said. “There are local Audubon clubs in Oakland County and Macomb County that people can join. They usually have bird walks and hikes and guided tours, and that’ll help beginners get into it.”

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Thrift store shoppers say you can't beat the deals. PHOTO/BRIANNA BUDNY

BRIANNA BUDNY
OU News Bureau

Thrift store shopping can be a great way to find deals on clothes and other items for little cost.

“We love it,” said Veronica Groom from Boston. “It’s a great way to spend Saturday afternoons together.”

Some people have favorite thrift stores that they visit often.

“I love thrifting,” said Bonnie Forester from Clinton Township. “I love it best when I have time to really look. The Salvation Army in Rochester is the best, in my opinion.”

There are many thrift stores in metro Detroit. An easy way to find one is online at thethriftshopper.com.

“I love it,” said Brittany Rios, a student at Rochester College. “It’s like finding hidden treasure for basically no price at all. And it’s for a good cause.”

Many thrift stores are a way for charities to collect money. People donate to them, and then the store sells the items and uses the money for its charity. One example is The Salvation Army, an international movement that helps those in need.

“Thrift stores are more like treasure-hunting stores to me,” said Amber Stout from Macomb. “You never know what to expect, and the inventory is constantly changing.”

“Love it,” said Kaydee Kuhnle, a student at Spring Arbor University. “Great for finding unique stuff on a college budget.”

Prices and deals are some of the best parts of shopping at a thrift store.

Shoppers in search of a deal can get hooked on thrift stores. PHOTO/BRIANNA BUDNY

“You can’t be the prices,” Stout said. “Books are five for $1 at the Salvation Army. I have found some cool old records, a wonderful Popsicle maker, brand new clothes; but the coolest thing that I’ve gotten is a bass guitar that was only $20 and it works great.

“Plus, the thrift store always makes for good last minute gift shopping. You can definitely find unique things to fit any person.”

Items found at thrift stores aren’t always old or vintage. Some are new or barely used.

“Lots of good finds — even found a butter crock for $1.50,” Forester said.“Two years ago, I got an Anne Klein black coat with fur collar for $25.”

Occasionally, items are found that might be considered antiques.

“The coolest thing we ever got was probably an old trunk that was at least a hundred years old,” Groom said.

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Romeo Ford mechanic Joe Battani discovered his passion for automobiles during his senior year of high school and has been working in this career field since. PHOTO/STEVIE THIEDA

BY STEVIE THIEDA
OU News Bureau

After four years of high school, young adults must make important decisions as they take their first steps into the real world.

The nationwide high school graduation rate is at 75.5 percent, with a 76.24 percent graduation rate in Michigan after the 2012 school year.

With the number of graduating high school seniors on the rise, competition is at an all-time high.

Jacqueline Potash, 21, of Birmingham decided to go to college when she finished high school.

“I graduated from Seaholm High School in 2010 and knew right away that I wanted to go to college,” Potash said. “I chose to go to Oakland University because it’s close to home, and I feel like I couldn’t really go as far in life without a college degree.”

In 2010, 39.3 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 had earned some form of college degree, according to the U.S. Census.

“Right now I’m doing whatever I can to set myself apart (from others) because I know there’s a lot of competition out there,” Potash said.

Jacqueline Potash

“I’m majoring in communications, and I had an internship at Beaumont hospital in community affairs where I did a lot of event planning,” she continued. “I liked it a lot, and I think it gave me a lot more experience than I had previously.”

An alternative to attending a college or university is going to a trade school, which teaches students skills to perform a particular job.

Joe Battani 21, of Romeo is a mechanic at a Ford dealership because of his trade school experience.

“I found out I liked fixing cars in auto shop class during my senior year of high school,” Battani said.  “I was pretty much the only student in the class who seemed interested in the auto field, so my teacher told me right away when an opportunity came up to work at a dealership.”

Battani took part in the Ford Asset Program, which is sponsored by Ford through Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn.

“Basically (the program) is a co-op with the dealership you’re working at,” Battani said.  “My classes were eight weeks long and then I would work at my dealership for eight weeks after that, making a 16-week semester.”

Not only did Battani learn how to be a mechanic during his classes, but also he took part in conventional, college-like classes, as well.

“Each semester of the two-year program consisted of a different automotive subject, and then there were one or two classes like English, computers or politics,” Battani said.

He has worked as a full-time mechanic since his graduation in May 2012.

“Now that I have the hang of diagnosing vehicles I really enjoy the work I do, and I plan on keeping it as a career,” he said.

Daria Lopez

Not everyone decides on college or trade school.

Thirty percent of those who graduate from high school in the U.S. do not go to college right away.

“I decided that I wanted to work a lot and sort of live my life before having to be tied down by school again,” said 19-year-old Daria Lopez of Clinton Township.

On average, students will graduate from college with $27,000 in loan debt.

“At this point I really can’t even afford school,” Lopez said.  “Money is a big factor, and I’m trying to save up as much as I can right now.”

More than half of the new jobs available in the next decade will require some sort of continuing education past the high school level, according to an article by American Graduate.

“I do regret waiting to go to school,” Lopez said.  “I’m not positive about what I want to do yet, but I’m planning on going back to school in the fall and having a successful future.”

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Long gone are the times of relying solely on traditional advertising.

Without at least one social media avenue, businesses may struggle to reach their target audience.

Social media has become a platform easily accessible to anyone with the Internet. Not only can users keep in touch with family and friends, but also a business can keep in touch with its consumers.

“There are two parts to advertising — the message and how you deliver that message,” said Kim Madeleine, advertising and public relations professor at Oakland University.

The message is simply what the advertisers are trying to sell or promote. The way that message is delivered has dramatically changed.

“There’s a lot more channels out there today, not TV channels, but media channels,” Madeleine said. “With the Internet, that’s increased the bandwidth of being able to reach people, but at the same time it’s harder to reach them because people are paying attention to a lot more mediums.”

Using social media

Marketing through social media serves as a relatively inexpensive platform for businesses to implement marketing campaigns to a specified target audience.

According to the 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report done by Social Media Examiner, 94 percent of business have employed social media for marketing purposes. Eighty three percent of marketers said that social media was important to their business.

SOURCE/2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

For example, Facebook created specific tools to help businesses take advantage of its site. Through Facebook for Business, companies create a page and track their page activity. Recent updates include an ads manager, which makes it easier for businesses to track campaign performance.

Worldwide rental car company Hertz saw a substantial increase in recognition and sales after launching its Share It Up campaign on Facebook. At least 45 percent of users who saw the coupon ended up sharing it, according to the Social Media Strategy Summit’s list of top 10 social media success stories.

According to Facebook, “We (Facebook) are now helping marketers better identify what user actions drive their specific advertising goals.”

Facebook makes most of its money through ads, according to its advertising site.

The ads that appear on personal Facebook pages are chosen based on things that a user does with Facebook, such as liking a page, personal information on a timeline and location.

Similarly, Twitter has a specific section for business promotion and advertisement.

Here, businesses large and small can start advertising almost immediately.

Twitter breaks down the advertisement process into four simple stages, including choosing a location, targeting the audience, promoting Tweets or an account, and paying for what works.

Both Twitter and Facebook include success stories such as HubSpot, an all-in-one marketing software, to encourage businesses.

Twitter and other social media make their sites easily accessible for businesses to navigate through marketing tools.

HubSpot has gained 71 percent of sales increase from Facebook and 150 percent increase in sales from Twitter.

YouTube also has a way for businesses to connect with its consumers.

There are only two steps to draw consumers from YouTube: making a video and promoting it.

After the video is posted for free, businesses can use TrueView to pick the audience they want to reach and only pay when viewers choose to watch it.

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cracked down on digital advertising.

To follow FTC regulation, a tweet, for example, must first state that it is an advertisement and be followed up with a “clear and conspicuous” disclosure to the claim to prevent deceptive and unfair ads or practices.

Along with disclosure guidelines, the FTC requires advertising and marketing on the Internet to comply with the same regulations as traditional advertising, which states that advertising must tell the truth and not mislead consumers.

The annoyance factor

Ads on social media sites aren’t always as helpful to businesses as much as irritating to consumers.

Todd Henderson of Northville gets annoyed with social media advertisements and thinks they distract him from using these websites.

“I hate logging onto Facebook and seeing ads for a handful of different things,” Henderson said.  “I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and family, not as a way to see what stores have sales.  I can see why ads are popular on social media sites because millions of people use these websites on a daily basis.”

Consumers now have a bit of control over the Internet ads they see. Aboutads.info allows users to choose from a list of 115 companies to opt out of their interest-based advertisement strategies.

But is social media advertisement really as effective as it seems?

“A lot of companies pull their advertisement off of Facebook, like General Motors, because they weren’t getting anything for it,” Madeleine said. “People don’t go to Facebook to look for ads, they go to Facebook to look for their friends. So ads are an intrusion to many people.”

According to the 2012 Industry Report, 30 percent of businesses are outsourcing some portion of their social media marketing to pursue more traditional channels.Tweet