Twitter, PitchEngine, LinkedIn...Oh My!

I am very pleased with the various social media sites we were introduced to this semester in Gee's class. I feel our experience with them has put us a step ahead of others in our field who have not interacted with them as frequently or at all. I was not sold on Twitter in the beginning. However, after continued use it has grown on me! I am also finding use in reading others' 'tweets' ... constantly updated news as well as Marquette news. Regarding PitchEngine, I enjoyed using this site. It was especially exciting when I noticed the other day that my social media release received over 13o views! And finally, I know we didn't LinkedIn in this class, it was Gee who introduced many students to this site. I have found great benefit in posting a profile on there, and I will continue using it during the remainder of my college experience and then into my professional career

Does the press inform, or create hysteria?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/1208/breaking55.html?via=mr

Recently, the Irish pork industry has been making news... internationally. Dioxin has been found in Irish pork products, above safe levels. All over the world, but especially in the UK, there have been sensationalist headlines such as "British shoppers 'may not be able to tell whether they have Irish poison pork in their fridge'". The UK is the biggest importer of Irish pork, so the scare that's taking off there doesn't bode well for Irish pig farmers.

After reading the news story, what do you think? Does the media sometimes make a mountain out of a molehill, or are they just doing their job of informing their audience?

Tweet, Tweet said the Comm. Student

After my experience tweeting on twitter I must say that I am pleasantly surprised in the overall usefulness of the site. At first I thought the idea was a joke but soon realized the niche it has for communication professionals and the use of timely information. The fascinating part of this is that it was interesting for me as a college student I would love to see how useful it would be for me as working professional. If there is one thing I can really take from twitter is to always be on top of what is going on and make sure I’m on the in.

MAC vs PC

I always loved those clever Mac commercials that use an out of date gentleman to serve as a PC. Today as I struggled to finish a final project I realized that I am that PC. I had no skills on a MAC and was useless. It took be 7 hours to do a 3 hour job. I quickly realized that in the creative world it would probably be best to sit down and figure out a Mac and get off my PC high horse. One interesting thing I noted was that you never see a Mac user struggling to use a PC but usually the other way around. As Apples become an interracial part of the communication and creative world I think it serves us communication students to get as much exposure to them as possible. Or maybe that is what Marquette is attempting to do??

Dr. Pepper Faces Legal Battle WITH GNR

In March, Dr. Pepper offered a free drink to consumers if Guns and Roses released its album Chinese Democracy album in 2008. This was part of a disruptive campaign where a product attaches itself to a news story in order to gain attention. GNR feels that Dr. Pepper made it seem as though they were promoting for them and are their lawyers are demanding an apology as well as paying for using the band's publicity This is the first time I have heard about a disruptive campaign. The four goals of a disruptive campaign are to throw out good ideas for the marketing program, reach a mass amount of people, look at other industries and see their perspectives, and set a certain period of time. Overall, I feel that Dr. Pepper executed the campaign effectively, but in the future should check with anyone attached to the campaign and get their permission before running with it.

Facebook v. Google : Social Networking Battles

If there is one thing that blogging has taught me it is how quickly social networking is changing. Once again I am astounded not only by the number of networking sites, but also the quick changes and additional features that are offered by those that already exist.

Two of the most popular websites on the internet, Facebook and Google, are once again head-to-head with application features. Google just launched its 'friend connect' application which allows users to transfer portfolio information from one social network to the other. The application also allows websites to add social networking functions to their pages. Last week, Facebook launched a similar program, creatively titled 'facebook connect,' providing the same features.
It will be interesting to see how these sites continue to advance to keep up with competitors.

Social Media is Changing Business!

I recently read a blog about how social media has profoundly changed business. I thought it was interesting because we have discussed how significant it is that we as PR practitioners engage in interaction with social media in various communication classes at Marquette. The view of social media has dramatically shifted already, and it will continue to as more developments are made in this arena.

The blogger lists five positions related to social media that didn't exist five years ago. One listed is a Blogger Outreach Manager/Blog Cultivation Expert. The article explains that bloggers are a potentially significant new constituency for public relations efforts, and they are the engines that drives successful viral marketing promotions.

Cool!

Chicago Tribune Closing

After over a century of printing out news, the Chicago Tribune has announced it's closing. Instead, it will be replaced with a 24-hour news deck that will service Chicago Tribune websites. Tribune Managing Editor James Oshea says that this is important because the website and breaking news are becoming more important. I agree with this and think that it is more practical to use a website. Today's technology makes access to information quick and easy. Breaking news is now able to be up minutes after it happens. Although it will be sad not to see Chicago Tribune in print, I feel that with the current bankruptcy issue it is necessary to take new action.

To Twitter or not to Twitter?

I'm still not sure how I feel about twitter. I know Gee loves it, which is awesome! But I think it may be a lot more maintenance and upkeep then it's worth. It's like a mini facebook in which you have lot's of status updates. I think it's cool how professionals use it, thus it may be better once you get a career, but right now, I feel like as a student I may not be reaping its benefits. I think with practice, I may learn to appreciate twitter, at least I hope I do. However, I do enjoy blogging more then I used to thanks to blogger.com. I think all these types of social media take some practice, and getting used to. Hopefully with Christmas break approaching I'll have more time to hone my blogging and twittering skills.

Will Black Friday Spending Trend Continue?

While reading PR Weekly I came across an interesting article on holiday spending this season. Although the nation is facing economic hardships, individuals spent an average of 7.2% more than they did last year. The 27 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas challenges communication pros to reach out to their customers. For example, this Christmas season Kmart is offering a lay away program. I believe this is a great PR strategy. Trying to get consumers to open their wallets, while also showing the consumer they are aware of the economic problems the consumer is facing, shows that Kmart is trying to accommodate the customer. Hopefully over the next couple weeks businesses will reach out directly to the consumer, in an effort to promote spending. 

Launch of New Public Relations Agency, VoxPop Public Relations, LLC; Shannon Troughton Named 40 Under 40 by PR Week

A public relations firm has just opened its doors. Shannon Troughton, the former Vice President of Corporate Communications for WellPoint, has just started VoxPop Public Relations, LLC. VoxPop Public Relations is a strategic public relations agency that helps companies and organizations accelerate their growth, profitability, reputation and market presence through media relations, product launches, new media, events and promotions, messaging and media training, trade show support, and issues management.

Shannon Troughton was also named one of the 40 Under 40 by PR Week. Troughton has worked in PR for almost 20 years and has seen a need for more "boutique" PR agencies. She has a diverse background in the PR field and her new agency has topped her list of successes.

I think it is important to reconize people that have taken risks and seen them pay off. By starting her own PR agency in today's market, Troughton has demonstrated her ability to be successful in a tough market.

Youinternship.com

With the semester coming to a close I have started to think ahead to a summer internship. While stressing out about it one night I checked my e-mail and Gee happened to send out an e-mail about a website called, youinternship.com.  I clicked on the link, made an account, and have loved the site ever since. It is a great concept. You get to create a personal profile, with an uploaded resume and recommendations and alot more. The part I like the most is that when searching for an internship you can read feedback from past interns that worked at the company. The site is extremely easy to navigate around, and so far I have found a couple internships I am interested in. I definitely recommend this website to people that are looking for internships, it is great. 

Negative PR in advertising travels fast online

This article discusses how negative PR for advertising travels fast by using online sites like Twitter. The article discusses how Dr. Pepper said they would give a free Dr. Pepper to every American if Guns 'N Roses released their new album Chinese Democracy. They failed to do so and people spread the news around by using online blogging sites.

The article goes on to mention that this is true for any industry. Using online blogger sites like Twitter, help spread good news as well as bad news. It seems that negative publicity always travels faster than positive because negative publicity is more interesting to people.

There are also more examples of how negative PR for advertising spreads faster through bloggers. They go on to mention the Motrin ad campaign as well as others.

Online blogging is definatly the wave of the future in terms of spreading news and keeping in touch with people. This article just goes on to show the power that online bloggers have.