
![]() Molokini is a crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater which is very popular with scuba divers and snorkelers. You can see several tour boats located inside the crater. Unfortunately, the star island does not exist. So yes, you can travel to Molokini island from Maui. Please do because the sea life is amazing.
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![]() According to a pin on Pinterest, you can use food coloring to create these colorful oranges. Really? Even if you injected the food coloring into the fruit, it would never result in such smooth and even coloring particularly on the skin of the fruit. Yet, this is repinned time and again . . . I sincerely hope no one destroys delicious oranges in an attempt to use food coloring to create this effect. I assure you that this was indeed digitally manipulated using Adobe PhotoShop. ![]() In my previous post I asked why this was necessary with some of the images. Allow me to continue this discussion with the question "Where do we draw the ethical limits to photo manipulation?" How much is too much, how far is too far? Obviously, it depends on the purpose of your editing efforts. Many times, I rush to capture a photo of a bird before it flies off to parts unknown or attempt to capture a waterfall at sunset. The result may be a slight blur, underexposure or overexposure, or a crooked horizon. I am sure that we have all taken a photo of a child's first birthday and they close their eyes each time the flash occurs. I love taking photos of my pets and the result is the "red-eye effect." Things happen and Adobe Photoshop allows me to correct the errors without mis-representing an bird, animal, person, or destination. Anyone seeing the images will have a true representation of what is real. What is the purpose when distributing an image that is not real? For example, the above image has been altered to add a shrine in the middle of a limestone pillar located in Zhangjiajie National Park in Hunan Province, China. Visiting Zhangjiajie was a wonderful experience. In fact, I have visited here 3 times and enjoyed it completely. When I first saw the image on Pinterest, I questioned if I had missed seeing it. So I sent it off to my friends at Zhangjiajie to see if they knew where this was located. They revealed that the shrine does not exist. Numerous pinners have pinned this image to their dream vacation boards, so I really hate to tell them that it does not really exist. Again, I am left with the question why? Why would someone intentionally distribute an image that does not accurately represent the destination?
When I teach my electronic marketing students how to use Photoshop, the first lessons are focused on creating aesthetics, such as following the rule of thirds, straightening the horizon, or sharpening the focus. When we move into the more artistic tools of Photoshop, the purpose is to create effective typography, combine images for advertisements, or create an original image. In order to ensure that we are truthful, I stress it is important to reveal to the viewer how the image was manipulated. This is essential when preparing marketing images and messages, for example when working with travel images. In my next blog post I will illustrate several manipulated travel related images. Will you be able to identify the real destination from the fake destination? ![]() If you are like me, I am a bit suspicious when I see a celebrity or model with a perfect smile, smooth skin, and skinny hips in magazine coves and advertisements. There is much discussion about the ethics of changing the image of models and the unrealistic expectations our youth develop after seeing these "perfect" images. I understand that a model may have an imperfection on the day of a photo shoot, but where do we draw line on what is acceptable for the sake of aesthetics and what is a violation of basic ethics. What has surprised me is the number of Pinners that pin fake images on Pinterest. What is the purpose? I imagine that it is designed to help get followers and repins of these unusual images. Unfortunately, it will also give unwise Pinners the wrong idea regarding an endangered species or potential travel destinations. For example, is the above image real or fake? If you said fake, then you are correct. What are some indicators that it is a fake? First, this is a photo of a Clark's Nutcracker that is a gray and black bird. Second, the watermark indicates that this came from the Worth1000.com website. This website operates photo manipulation contests . . . you can find a great number of really well done images. So I understand the temptation, but at least confess that this image has been manipulated with a software, such as Adobe Photoshop. Finally, this bird is found in the mountain west region of the United States. I have seen it many times in our national parks, near campgrounds, pine trees, and in picnic areas. But alas, even I have fallen for a few of these fakes. Now I take the time to verify the associated link. Does the pin link to a real website? Is the image still on the website? Is the author or photographer indicated on the website? Any photographer worth "their salt" will claim credit for their work! Most will share when and where the photo was taken, and with what camera they used to capture the image. Exercise a little caution before repinning that stunning image. I realize that many of these images are pretty and it is difficult to resist. But be truthful in your representation! Your reputation will depend on your ethics. Consider this . . . if you use a fake image to attract customers to a business website (yes, I have discovered at least one company on Pinterest that has done this), I as a customer would not trust that the images of your products were truthful. By the way, here is the original untouched photo of the Clark's Nutcracker. Next time you see a beautiful and unusual bird, check out Cornell Lab of Ornithology. ![]() Do you have a Pinterest Account? You might want to check out the Pinterest Accounts for my students in Electronic Marketing.
![]() I have an extensive number of Pinterest boards related to electronic marketing and social media. Why not check them out and follow the boards that will be most helpful to you in maximizing your marketing efforts.
![]() Please check out these Twitter Accounts for recent articles and information on social media: Instructor Linda Ralston: @DrLindaRalston Tanner Andresen: @TanAndresen Cameron Bailey: @Cssbailey Tyler Barnhart: @barnsandstuff Carly Brown: @carlyranae Cameo Burton: @CameoBurton Vivian Chang: @_VivianChang Ram Chapagain: @RChapagain2 David Cravens: @davidfcravens14 Cam Doane: @CameronDoane Creighton Elinski: @CreightonUofU Jenny Glauser: @JennLee941 Michael Greer: @MichaelWGreer Megan Hepworth: @MeganHepworth Kylie James: @kylieajames Cole Johnston: @rcj412 Tyler McLachlan: @McLachlanTy Cris Nelson: @CrisNelson1 Montana Peterson: @MontanaP_ Krystal Schultz: @krystals34 Samu Sitake: @ssitake David Sylvain: @DavidSylvain2 Jenessa Tondevold: @JenessaShae Jetta Valentine: @jettavalentine Jennie Williams: @jenniekinz80 Teaching Assistants: Si Chen: @elsachensi0622 Jared Hopkinson: @RaftIdaho Xu Liu: @XULIU2 Ling Sha: @LingSha1 Lin Zhang: @Lin_Emarketing Qingqing Zhang: @Zhangqq_Tiffany ![]() This week I would like to share some of the blogs created by my students in PRT 5460/6460 Electronic Marketing. Their first assignment was to evaluate a website using AIDA (attention-interest-desire-action). The majority of the students in this class will be graduating in May 2013. If you are looking for a capable employee with knowledge of electronic marketing, then check out these blogs:
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AuthorDr. Linda Ralston (alias UTourDoctor) teaches at the University of Utah in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. My blog on emarketing is designed for my students just beginning the journey of exploring the world of electronic marketing. Archives
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