Wow. Check out this fiasco. An awful awful case of a baby's murder in Britain was followed by a humongous backlash on the web. It involved bloggers and Facebook users who just went crazy with the story.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/170087

Yay! Seventh Avenue in Ybor City -Tampa, FL was named one of the Top 10 Streets in the USA! I spent a good deal of time there this summer. :)

Also a good place to get your nose pierced. :P

A+ class

After our little PR presentation to the orientation class, a friend of mine texted me. He is a freshman broadcasting major and heard our spiel. He was super excited and said he really wants to add a PR minor now. He said we were very convincing (well, the people that talked anyway).
So, great job everyone! We're already putting those persuasive PR tactics to use. ha

TOMS shoes Week 10

If you haven't heard of TOMS shoes, you need to pay attention.

There are so many varieties of TOMS shoes, but it's not the look of the shoe that is appealing, it is the concept behind it. For every pair of shoes that is sold, TOMS shoes donates a pair of shoes to a child in need. The creator of the company uses word of mouth as his advertisement because of its personal interaction. He markets the shoes through his story and his cause. He says it is the "intimacy of his message" that matters. TOMS shoes communicates to customers via YouTube, their Web site, and word of mouth. Their hope is that people will get asked by others about the shoes and then have the opportunity to share the message behind TOMS. It is brilliant and beautiful and I'm getting a pair for Christmas! (Which also means I'm giving a pair to a child who needs it.)

The End Week 10

In a way, it is sad to read the final chapters of our 'textbooks'. I would never normally use that sentence. But it is true, like most people in our class agree, these books were thought-provoking, insightful, and intriguing. With social media being a new topic to study, I was excited to read each week and learn what the knowledgeable, experienced authors had to say--especially since all of their ideas can be applied directly to PR and where the profession is headed.

In the conclusion of New Influencers, Gillin says, "Social media is simply an electronic version of interactions that have been going on for a long time." I completely agree with his statement. The concepts and ideas behind social media aren't fabulously new and innovative. At its core, social media is communication and interaction between people. What has changed is that people now know how to communicate/interact electronically and instantaneously. This allows companies, organizations, and individual people to interact with the public in a more effective manner; a manner that follows the evolution of technology in our culture and uses it.

Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba stress the importance of loyalty and transparency in this social media phenomenon. Loyalty is the goal and the backbone of citizen-created content. People blog and share because of their passion and desire to do so. It isn't (normally) out of monetary motivation. Self-motivation is what makes the communication credible, honest, and transparent. Investing time and thought into people and engaging in transparent communication is social media at its finest.

Wonder Woman Week 10

I hate that people can't be trusted, especially on the internet. Nobody likes being fooled. Yet another story of a lying blogger/Web site recently ocurred.
On the site Wonder-Who.com, fans have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of who will play Wonder Woman in the upcoming film adaptation.

In the article by Matt McDaniel that I read on Yahoo, it said, "The Wonder-Who.com site appeared with an image of the Wonder Woman logo over an American flag with the words "The Truth Will Be Revealed!" Every day they would reveal a little more of the picture of the actress until finally the picture was revealed and the actress was Megan Fox, dressed in Wonder Woman garb. Megan Fox fans were ecstatic! As were fans of the comic Wonder Woman--they were excited that apparently a cast had been chosen and filming was soon taking place.

However, it was all a hoax. Other Web sites had started stating that Fox was the lead, but after some bloggers' investigation, Warner Bros. was contacted and they said that the Wonder-Who.com site was "complete B.S." What a downfall. The site built up hype for the revealment of Wonder Woman, and it wasn't true it all.

How can any Web sites information be fully trusted? The creators of Wonder-Who.com disgust me. Why put useless, false information out there that people latch on to? This story is another example proving that before trusting online information, people need to do their own research. I know I will in the future.

Singers tour Week 10

Is there a life management tool someone could sell me out there? K, thanks.

From last Wednesday till Sunday night I was on tour with University Singers. We performed at various high schools and churches around northern and eastern Ohio. It really was a blast--despite the missing class and not having time to get work done part. I wasn't smart like Evan who brought his computer into a mall to work. Then again, I don't know if I could've handled the people harassing me for money like they did him. We were in Cleveland.

My favorite part of the trip was staying with host families. My roommate and I, Amanda Quintrell, were overly excited to meet our host "mom"s and "dad"s every evening. It is just a unique experience to invade a random family's home for the night. Albeit awkward, there are bound to be stories that arise from the situation. Amanda and I had great hosts every night (by the end we were hoping for a bad one so we could have an exciting story to tell). Our first host mom gave up her master bedroom for us. She threw us a nacho party and invited all of her friends over so we could meet them. In the morning, we received a breakfast smorgasbord too. The second night, Amanda and I stayed with a nice old couple in Mansfield. The lady bought us Starbucks and let us browse a Barnes and Noble for an hour before heading to their home. Despite not having a shower, we slept well and were grateful. The third family experience was also pleasant. It was another old couple who fed us and basically left us on our own. Their cat loved me(I named it Buttons) and their dog didn't love me. Anyway, they took us out to a local diner for breakfast and we conversed about all kinds of things.

I'm glad that during our tour, we stayed with families instead of in hotels, because it really helped us to connect with people. I'm not a big talker, but I am always interested in other people's lives. I love to hear their stories and see from where people come. Because of the way our tour was set up, we could do that.
Bonding with choir members was also a huge positive that resulted from our tour. I feel much more comfortable around them now considering I spent several hours squished on a bus with them, swapping stories and sharing everything.
The tour was more fun than I expected, but it is causing me to breakdown now, after the fact. I'll be astonished if I don't drown under my workload this week...

Kidney Caper--Video Project

Kidney Caper



Evan and I wanted to come up with an unconventional, creative way to endorse organ donation. We're funny people, so we wanted to do something comedic and different. Although organ donation is a serious matter, comedy appeals to college-age students and we figured we could find a way to mesh the two. Most people are aware of the urban legend where a person is drugged or kidnapped and that person wakes up hours later in a tub full of ice with a missing kidney. Well, we figured we could incorporate this legend into organ donation. With the help of the brave actors, Trent Dorner, Kyle Roby, and Tim Smith, our vision became reality. We hope the message comes across through the video and leaves the impression that organ donation is hip but also important.

GPS underwear Week 9

In our high-tech day when everything and everyone is connected, I'm still flabbergasted at some of the insane things people think they can do with new technology. They twist useful tools and incorporate them into idiotic products. Like this newest product I found online--lingerie fitted with a GPS tracking system. ...see what I mean about idiotic? Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks this is weird and ridiculous; most women, especially feminists, are "reacting with horror to what they call the 'chastity belt'." I've read the article over and over but I still can't find the real purpose for this invention. Lucia Lorio, the Brazilian designer, says it's a "wink to women and a challenge to men because even if she gives him the password to her GPS, she can always turn it off." Still, I don't see why? Especially since it ranges from 500-700 euros. She also said women want to use it for protection reasons when they go out in big cities. Whatever the reason, it is plain weird to buy underwear with a built-in GPS tracking system.

As long as the technology keeps evolving, there are going to be people who exploit it for strange uses. Some of the uses may catch on, but others are only going to be mentioned in a few articles and bought by a small group of people. I have a strong feeling this is going to be one of those 'firecracker'inventions. It will fizzle out soon enough.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1082707/Outrage-chastity-belt-lingerie-fitted-GPS-tracking-system.html?ITO=1490

New Rules Week 9

While reading this week, I didn't have any grand epiphanies or interesting realizations. The three chapters in The New Rules book basically outlined and briefly explained the basis for marketing and PR and their shift to the new rules of conducting business and relating to customers through social media. It further reinforced the importance of why we should care and what we should be doing.

A few quotes from David Meerman Scott stood out to me and seemed right on with the changing direction that PR is taking. In chapter 2 he says, "Unlike in the days of the old rules of interruption marketing with a mainstream message, today's consumers are looking for just the right product or service to satisfy their unique desires at the precise moment they are online." The word unique is important. PR needs to find ways to reach unique, targeted groups of people on a more personal level. The mass messages are useless and "try to reach everybody, but speak to nobody" as Scott says. Specifically targeting people that are most likely to use your product or sign up for your service is a no-brainer. And you have to use ways to reach them that are creative, direct, and easy to relate to. It takes work and research, but is worth it.

Scott's statement that "content drives action" is also very impacting. He says that, "Great content brands an organization as a trusted resource and calls people to action--to buy, subscribe, apply, or donate." I agree that what a company decides to portray and how they portray it affect how the consumer responds...obviously. But more isn't necessarily better. I hate visiting a site that overwhelms me. I'll tend to skip over those for sites that are cleaner and simpler but with meaningful content nonetheless. Instead of obnoxious flashy advertisements and pages jam-packed with links, pictures, and videos, organizations should strive for direct and classy. Of course their own style needs to be incorporated, but the disturbing flashiness needs to go.