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There are a couple of things I’m interested in possibly doing for the final project. I like to eat, so my first idea was doing a series on unique, enticing food places in San Marcos. Another idea was  things that we do while we’re driving that we probably shouldn’t and each page would be a different thing that we shouldn’t do along with the dangers of it, statistics, etc. My favorite idea (next to the food one) was doing a series on what’s long been considered “socially acceptable” and how the norms are changing and the fight to continue to change them. Included in that fight is the natural hair movement happening among black women that are fully embracing their natural hair. However, many still have a problem with it and don’t see it as “professional.” This idea partly came about because of a Buzzfeed article I recently read.

After much thought, I’ve decided that my final website will discuss the industrialization of Austin and how it is recreating what makes Austin one of a kind. At one time, Austin was simply known for its barbeque, its music, and above all its weirdness. Now, you’re lucky if you can enjoy any of these things for a reasonable price.

Given the latest and most recent developments over the years Austin has had quite the transformation. From new hotels to up and coming businesses downtown Austin is hardly recognizable. Yet, there are still many other areas that aren’t quite as developed but still bringing in a lot of outside traffic. Take the Formula One track for instance, since its addition Austin has become quite the tourist destination. However for local austinites it brings higher rent payments and increased industrialization to the area. With all the fluctuations in prices it begs the question : Is Austin the next Rodeo Drive?

Click here.

Upon hearing the assignment for the final project, I drew a blank. I had no idea what topic or purpose I could make new website for. I was browsing around past student’s project sites trying to find some kind of inspiration to draw from. I thought maybe I could do something over the food trucks in San Marcos, but then I realized that there is already a well established website for that. Ruled that idea out. I asked my friend group for some help on inspiration. One of my best friends responded with the idea of travel and study abroad. As I have already done a PR project for Intro for PR over study abroad, I didn’t really want to do specifically that again. I thought maybe I could focus on foreign exchange and the experiences of living abroad for at least a year or more. International students then came to mind. I thought about all the ones I’ve met and the fact that I was one myself. Then a couple of minutes ago a better idea hit me.

Cultural Appropriation. Realizing how culturally diverse and culturally aware I’ve become, made me realize that there is a majority of Americans who aren’t. Cultural appropriation is a real problem everywhere. It starts with ignorance, turns into cultural appropriation, and then racism. This society and many others are deemed racist simply because one culture hasn’t took the time to understand the other. Texas State claims to excel in diversity. But do they really? I think this is something I can work with.

I want to follow working local stand-up comedians with their up and starting careers all over Texas. Texas is one of the few states that kind of competes with the comedy giants which are California and New York. Austin, Dallas, and Houston have some pretty good comedy scenes with several comedy clubs in each city. I want to set up a page where people can discover new comedians and see their work if they have any up online. A stand-up comedians social network of some sort where they can register and upload information about their next shows and what not.

Although I am not a PR major, I do need to create a website for my cousin’s tattoo business by which I am being paid. Obviously it has to be very visual but I want to look into making 1-2 animations for the site. The five pages being Contact, Home, Galleries, Location, Shop.

By: Jarrett Moehn

As much as I would like to do something about atheism I feel like my final project is going to go in a different direction. Focusing on something that I have doing for pretty much all of my life. That would be playing games made by Blizzard and possibly more specifically Starcraft. Now how this final project would look I honestly couldn’t say because I have no idea what the requirements will be. Most likely though a lot like another student’s work.

Starcraft Wallpaper

Telsa Motors has the innovation it takes to make it to the future of automobile transportation. Self driving luxury cars that will be affordable in the following years in the price-range form 50-100k.

I believe the ‘Next Big Thing’ will be in the health and medicine field. Nanoparticles are now being tested on human subjects to detect diseases and even battle cancer. Research is being done to produce nanoparticles to enter in human cells and help the body’s immune system fight and even prevent cancer and other serious illnesses.

These nanoparticles have been used to detect potentially fatal infections when time is precious and test results will take too long. Sepsis, an infection of the blood, usually takes three days to get test results back to confirm or deny the bacteria present. In three days the patient, if they are infected, would be dead. Nanoparticles have been used to determine infection and report diagnostics identifying all the specific bacteria that are present in about TWO HOURS.

These nanoparticles are being applied to treat brain injury, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and to be used as a new broad-spectrum antibiotic.

Google has gotten involved in this R&D for the “cancer-detection pill”. I think that we will see this technology a lot sooner than imagined.

Web Sources Used:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/google-health-tech-enterprise-7-ventures-watch-entering-ocano

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/tech/nanoparticles-and-the-future-of-medicine/

Tech news is all around us. Experts are constantly shoving the next big thing down our throat. So what is the next big thing?

Personally, right now I think it’s wearable gear. While it’s not technically a new idea it’s definitely catching on a big way. Google Glass and the Apple Watch are great examples. When they were first introduced, you could hardly visit a tech site without them being the leading article. Now obviously, we know Google Glass kind of failed and went back to the drawing board, but it’s not the death of wearable electronics. Apple’s watch has really caught on lately. While, the reviews might say it’s not there yet, it will be soon since the greatest minds in the industry are hard at work on that type of technology right now. So why is wearable gear getting so much attention?

My answer is mass integration. Having to constantly dig through your pocket for your phone is annoying. So are the constant smudges that you have to wipe off the screen. Then there’s the fact it can be dropped and broken. Right now in the industry, they’re trying to rework designs to fix these flaws. They want technology to be so integrated into your life it’s no longer a separate device from you, it is you. It’s almost like they want us to be turned into cyborgs or something. It’s supposed to be so seamless you don’t even realize you’re using it anymore. That’s why wearable tech is the future.

One technological feature I think (and hope) will really take off in the next few years is mobile payment. While several high-profile companies have rolled out payment options, no platform or business model has taken off yet, as Qoura points out. Considering the advertising opportunities and the advancement of mobile phones and their applications, I think it will only be a matter of time before we’re relying on our phones to pay for our everyday purchases. One thing that could be very popular is spending tracking and classifying. An app that would track purchases and give the consumer easily understood visual data about what they spend their money on and when would be huge among almost every demographic. Virtually everyone is trying to cut down on spending in this economy. A simple, easy-to-use and free app could quickly join the ranks of the Facebook, YouTube and Google Play apps and be almost universal if marketed right. The advertisement opportunities would also be a good incentive: brands or companies could offer app users a small discount on purchases if the customer uses the app to pay, therefore encouraging consumers to both download the app and spend their money on products.