“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take” Wayne Gretzy.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi.

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.” William Shakespeare.

“If you are going to do something half-asked, do not bother doing it at all.” My Great-Grandfather

All of these are great, inspiring quotes by great, inspiring people. When first spoken, I wonder if the author knew they would be remembered forever, posted all over the Internet, used in motivational speeches, or written about in books. Yet these words have gone down in history as memorable, inspiring quotes. What you say or write has the power to resonate, and many of these words stay with people their entire life.

We live with this power everyday, the power to communicate. Some may argue that the power to communicate feelings, opinions, messages, facts and information is one of the most important powers in the world. As a communication major, my passion is communication, and one day it will be my job to make sure a person or a business is communicating effectively.

Communicating well is an everyday challenge. For you never know when what you say will stick — when your statements will be the quote used as someone’s Facebook status or as part of a monumental speech. So make sure when you communicate, no matter how you do it, it is done properly and thoughtfully. Because you never know when your words will become part of history.

My time as an intern at Talk is at an end, and I simply can’t believe it. My last day is Thursday, April 22. All of the experiences I’ve had here flood my mind as I write this entry, and bring a smile to my face. I have learned so much about the industry in general, and have sharpened my skills in research and writing. All internships offer a different but equally educational experience and my time here at Talk is truly memorable.

Looking back, I think my favorite part of working at Talk was interacting with clients. When I delivered final products to clients, I saw their eyes light up as they opened their product and I knew, every time, that the Talk team delivered a successful product once again. These experiences evoked such rewarding feelings, and I found it’s easy to be the messenger when you carry a positive message!

I also enjoyed writing blog posts because it is something I have always wanted to do, but never had the time or energy for. Reading articles upon articles, trying to learn about recent trends, turned into a habit and now I am more informed than ever.

As an intern, it is important that you not only do work for the company, but you do work for yourself. After all, you’re volunteering your time to learn. After this internship I will take away several writing pieces for my portfolio, as well as communicative skills useful to many situations and a better understanding of how the industry functions. Interning for Talk has given me confidence and helped prepare me for the “real world” I’ll face after I graduate in December!

-Rachel Kaylor

With the nation’s increasing obsession with digital video recorders (DVR), companies are searching for ways to still get their message out there, without being skipped. If you watched NBC’s popular sitcom ‘30 Rock’ last week and didn’t DVR it, you probably saw a commercial featuring Chris Parnell as Dr. Spaceman, a character in the sitcom. Dr. Pepper and NBC’s strategy, using Chris Parnell’s character from the sitcom, as well as the way the commercial was visually shot, and how a ‘30 Rock’ promotion was tacked on at the end, is to create the illusion that the commercial is a part of ‘30 Rock,’ in hopes of keeping viewers interested.

Their main idea behind this tactic is if viewers see the beginning of the commercial, they will refrain from fast forwarding through the commercial because they are afraid they will miss something relating to the show. Since the commercial features a familiar character and actor who is typically associated with comedic roles, they expect the viewer will be even more interested in viewing the whole spot, since it has potential to be more entertaining than the average commercial.

This could not necessarily work for every company and every show, but has worked for years in many forms, some comedic and some serious. Though this isn’t the first time NBC has driven down this path, you may remember the MacGruber/SNL and Pepsi commercials, or Community and Turbo Tax, it reminds us that advertisers are constantly trying new ways to reach the public in lieu of the obstacles that new technology presents.