I've discovered that a lot of us at the Hive frequent Inside Higher Ed, a great source for higher education news, blogs, articles, and opinions. Recently, I came across this blogpost that gives great advice for college undergraduates, postgraduates, researchers, and professors alike on good practices when it comes to writing a grant or scholarship applications essays, CV's, and even recommendation letters. I highly recommend checking it out if you have a few minutes to spare!

TEDTalks are some of the most interesting pieces of video I have come across, and the stories and findings that are revealed in these talks are going to be coming to WUKY 91.3 on Sundays! There's a fresh article on UKnow about it, which reminded me that I haven't listened to a good TEDTalk in awhile. As an audio nerd, I think that these often lend themselves better to a video format, but I love the mobility of audio-only formats! I will probably be downloading these and listening to them while I walk to work. 

If you haven't heard of these TED things, check some out. Or better yet, wait until you're on a deserted island with wi-fi. There are hundreds of these videos posted each year; currently about 900 are online for free. A recent, interesting one is Brian Greene's "Is our universe the only universe?"

So, sometimes when I'm producing a podcast, I think, "Man, I wish I had some recordings sitting around of background noise, or birdsong, or tires on a gravel road..." and now, I don't have to worry about going and getting that audio myself (well, most of the time). Though it is more fun to go out and collect field recordings myself, I don't always have time to do it, and I do like to add some atmosphere here and there in pieces where it makes sense to do so.

Freesound.org is a collaborative database of sounds under Creative Commons licensure. A lot of drum hits, sound effects, and for some reason, 34 tracks of people eating carrots... all under Creative Commons licenses, some of which are really free & open and some of which ask that the artists be attributed, or that the tracks not be used for commercial purposes. Either way, CC licenses seek to allow people fair use of things that would otherwise be subject to traditional copyright law, which is vague at best and erring on the side of caution can mean not using much of a work. 

Here's an interesting article about the current trends of social media. The author uses the term "social discovery" to refer to the phenomenon of posting and sharing what users have found versus what users are doing. I think it's a very interesting concept, and he's hitting the nail right on the head. Media sites like Pintrest, Tumblr, StumbleUpon and Reddit are all about sharing something that one has found and deems interesting and worthy of sharing, perhaps for their own benefit (self-esteem) or for the benefit of others (shared knowledge). 

Students - don’t forget to check out and register for A&S summer classes. A&S is offering nearly 200 courses both online and campus-based for summer 2012. These courses are designed for students who want to make progress toward a UK degree over the summer, gain extra credit hours, explore new topics, and have flexibility with busy summer schedules. With courses ranging from anthropology and chemistry to political science and statistics, A&S has something for everyone.

The courses will be offered in two summer sessions:

Summer Session I
4-week Session (May 8-June 5)
First 6-week session (May 8-June 19)

Summer Session II
8-week session (June 7-August 2)
Second 6-week session (June 21-August 2)

For more information about summer courses, visit http://www.as.uky.edu/summer-online-courses or contact your academic advisor.

Enroll this summer and see where A&S summer courses can take you!

I would like to remind everyone about the upcoming A&S Distinguished Professor Lecture on Thursday, April 12. This year’s lecture, “Seeking the Good Life in America: Lessons From the Appalachian Past,” will be given by Ronald Eller from the Department of History. The lecture will begin at 7:30pm at the W.T. Young Auditorium with a reception immediately following in the W.T. Young Gallery. 

Please join us in honoring our 2011-2012 Distinguished Professor Ron Eller.

Recently I sat down with Professor Eller to discuss his newest book, Uneven Ground: Appalachian Since 1945 and his ties to the Appalachian region. 

It seems that social media never sleeps. Everyday, something is being re-hashed, overturned, or invented to better connect users online. New applications like Tumblr and Pintrest are flooding the scene, while websites like Zinch and Kickstarter are social media appealing to niche audiences. It’s almost too much to keep up with!

Recently, I have been developing advertisements via Google and Facebook, something that is completely new to me. I’m learning fast, though! It seems that social media, as much as it benefits individuals, also can serve businesses, as well as academic institutions like A&S. This new avenue of advertising helps drive the cost of marketing campaigns down, especially when you compare to traditional print media methods AND you get to target a very specific audience.

I’d be really interested to hear what other social media sites people visit and use. Social media are developed now for a variety of interests and purposes. Any niche social media sites that I have yet to hear about? Let me know!

The Third Coast International Audio Festival is taking place this October! I am hoping to go, network, and learn. A bunch of workshops and sessions have been recorded from their last conference in 2010, which I've been listening to. From looking around the page, I've been picking up new blogs to follow, tips and tricks from professional audio producers, and hearing a lot of awesome podcasts in the process. 

Greetings! UK basketball fever has hit campus and everyone is looking forward to the Final Four games. I was in China visiting Jilin University and Shanghai University and missed the first couple games of the NCAA tournament but managed to link my portable computer to my desktop in Lexington so I could watch them online. The computer kept me connected but for the Final Four games, I’m heading to NOLA to catch them live.

To get an idea of the excitement on campus, aside from the sea of blue and white shirts, check out a new UK Army ROTC video. They have their weekend set – how do you plan to cheer on the Cats?