Social Media

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, oh my. Where to start?

Facebook is an excellent networking tool, but I personally feel it should only be used in the private realm. Professionally this is not the place to look, who are we kidding? What can you really find out about someone just by looking at some pictures from their time out partying with their friends in college? It's great for connecting with people, especially ones you already know, but it should definitely be taken away as a role of Big Brother. Here's the link to my Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/markshore12

Twitter is interesting in that it can be really useful, but most often it's just really pointless. It's a great way to keep in touch with the world and find out what's happening right away, but there's no need to know every detail of people's lives. For news sites and important people to let everyone know what's happening is great however. The jury's still out on Twitter, but I suppose I'll give it a try. Check me out here.
http://twitter.com/markshore12

LinkedIn can be useful in the professional realm; however, I feel that not enough people use it or use it enough to make it effective. It's a great way to connect with people for business or to try and get internships or jobs, but once again not enough people really know how to use it wisely. If LinkedIn became more popular, which I hope it does, I think it would go a long way with helping people professionally. Connect with me on LinkedIn here.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-shore/8/943/46

Chalk It Up!

The Spirit of Troy

The Trojan Marching Band, sometimes referred to as the Spirit of Troy, is a much hallowed tradition at the University of Southern California. Besides being what many feel is one of the best college marching bands in the nation, they are also a fixture in the history and ritual which are associated with USC.

“It’s a great part of the Trojan tradition,” said Iwari DeWees who is a senior tenor saxophone player. “It makes you feel like you’re really a part of the school spirit.”

One of the members of the band who gets to participate in one of USC’s arguably greatest traditions is the drum major Kenny Morris, who gets to stab the field before every home game. Morris describes stabbing the field as one of the most intense sensations he’s ever felt.

“Going out there is a huge rush,” said Morris. “Being able to be in front 100,000 doing the stab is obviously a lot of fun.”

The unknown story, however, is what goes on behind the scenes with the marching band. Part of what makes the Spirit of Troy so powerful is the camaraderie that comes with being in the band.

For starters, the members in the band spend so much time together, both practicing and socially, that they look at each other almost as family members.

John Montes De Oca is a senior tenor saxophone player who has spent five years in the Trojan Marching Band. “We spend so much time practicing and hanging out that I look at the guys in my section as brothers,” said Montes De Oca. “You pretty much have to the tight connection just based on the amount of hours you spend every week with these guys.”

Meanwhile, Morris compared being in the band to being on the USC football team in that each person is working together for one common goal.

“Everything that we do, everyone’s kind of in it together,” said Morris. “To me the one thing that sort of brings people together is when you’re kind of under a common pressure and trying to attain a certain goal.”

As every school year approaches and most students are relaxing and getting ready for classes, the Trojan Marching Band is hard at work in band camp. This is where the group starts to get extremely close to each other.

“The first step is band camp, it’s a lot of work that we all put in together,” said DeWees. “It’s 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., you see the same people every day, so you get to know them.”

During the year, the band practices on average about 10 hours during the week practicing the marching formations and the music. Then on Saturdays, between early morning practice and all of the game day festivities, they spend more than seven hours together as a unit. It’s because of all these hours that they put in which help to set the Trojan Marching Band apart from other college bands around the nation.

“Most bands don’t nearly work as hard as we do,” said DeWees. “They have far much less practice. They don’t memorize their music for every show. They don’t really march, they just walk around on the field and they don’t really play that loud. So you know, it’s great to know you’re part of one of the best bands in the country.”

The hard work is shown off on Saturdays during the football season when the Spirit of Troy is able to showcase their abilities before, during and after the game. Members of the band, just like most other USC students, hold a special spot in their heart for game days.

“The best part [about being in band] is the march over from Heritage Hall to the Coliseum before every game,” said Montes De Oca. “It’s so much fun getting all the fans to give you high fives and yell and scream, and just perform for everyone.”

Nevertheless, what happens beyond their work on the field may go further into developing the tight knit relationships in the Trojan Marching Band.

“Everything we do is just Trojan Marching Band,” said Morris. “The people you hang out with, the people you spend so much time with are in band, because they’re the people that you become so accustomed to being with.”

Members of the same section in particular spend a lot of time together partying or just hanging out, especially the night before games.

“My section, the tenor sax section every Friday before a game, gets together to celebrate, have a couple drinks, kind of enjoy ourselves,” said Montes De Oca. “And then at midnight the day before the game, when it becomes game day, we all take drinks together, we all take shots together. It’s a bonding experience.”

All of the bonding helps add up to the finished product which appears on the field at every football game; and as Morris mentions, the confidence they exude truly showcases Trojan pride.

“When we walk into a football stadium, no matter where we are, we are never intimidated,” said Morris. “We always walk in there like we own the place, and that’s the kind of Trojan swagger that we have.”

Steven Starks Audio Slide Show

Here's the link to the audio slide show with USC diver Steven Starks:
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~mshore/jour309/publish_to_web/soundslider.swf

Steven Starks Audio Interview

My subject for the audio interview is USC student and diver Steven Starks.

Here is the link to the full interview with USC diver Steven Starks:
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~mshore/jour309/Steven%20Starks%20Full%20Interview.mp3

Here is the link to the condensed interview with USC diver Steven Starks:
http://www-scf.usc.edu/~mshore/jour309/Steven%20Starks%20Interview%20Condensed.mp3