Social Media a CRAZE

have learned more about social media in this semester than I have in my whole college career. And I thought I was so ahead of the social media movement. I mean I had my first blog in middle school on http://livejournal.com. My friends and I updated each other daily about our lives. From there I moved onto http://myspace.com in 8th grade where I learned all about networking with "new" people. Then I got nervous when I found out it had over 64,000 registered sex offenders, so I moved on to http://facebook.com once I registered for college. I figured if only college students could go on it, then it must be safe. Now Facebook is open to anyone with an email address. Everyone, and I mean everyone is on it. Businesses and even my dad and aunt are on it now. What is going on? So now not only do we have to worry about our parents seeing what we post, but also potential employers seeking out our profile to see "what we're really like." Then http://twitter.com came about. Now, I'm all about jumping on the social media bandwagon, as you can see, but I was not too keen on it. After hearing about it for a while I finally decided to sign up. I signed up and did not understand a thing. I never went back...until Gee forced a Twitter assignment on us! haha. From there I learned the basics, but still I could not even figure out how to put my picture up. So I had my friend do it. I'm not sure if i'm much of a Twitter-kinda gal but it was good to learn and have the account for any future possible endeavors. I'm not sure where my heads at when it comes to social media, but sometimes that constant communication can be a bit draining and I want to return to the landline and answering machine with dial up internet. Just kidding! But seriously, I'm not sure how much more I can take of constant social media additions and inventions.

Having A Greener Christmas

Going green,and living environmentaly friendly has become a catchy trend. Everything from hybrids,organic cotton clothes, and reuseable shopping bags. But whoever thought that cutting down a tree would be the green thing to do. According to an article on msnbc, scientists say that cutting down a tree is actaully more environmentaly friendly that buying and using a fake on.

In terms of fake trees petorleom is used to make the plastic in them, and a lot of carbon dioxide is used transporting though. Because most real christmas tree and grown on a tree farm, just so they can be cut down, there is no effect on deforestation.

National Geographic also has a lists of ways to have an eco-friendly Christmas.

I know my family always gets a real tree. Something about having a fake one with a pin glade plug-in isn't the same. Also for the past two year my family has been using newspapers and magazines to wrap our presents. We use new ribbon and everything, but wrapping paper always seemeed like such a waste. Plus the presents always look really neat under the tree with all the black and white.

Any one else's family have special holiday traditions that have to do with being green. Whether it be re-using gift bags or stringing up less Christmas lights?

Too Much Media?

For my last elective, I took a journalism seminar class that focused solely on the 2008 Presidential Campaign. I figured this class would just be another look at the election and the candidates involved. The class, instead, focused on the media's coverage during the campaign. We looked at what they covered and why. One of the main things we discovered was that the candidates personal life was at the forefront and their stance on issues was just an additive, if involved at all. My question is when did the media become a tabloid for celebrity gossip. These candidates have become "celebrified" and are nothing more than that. The media pounces on topics like Tiger Wood's latest affair or what the Jon and Kate are fighting about today. Does anybody really care about that stuff? I admit I'm a tmz.com addict, but is this a direct result of overexposure to mindless details such as "Did Tiger leave these flowers for his wife or are they for him?" Back when JFK was president, his affairs were never publicized to the world or made a big deal, but I remember back to 6th grade when Bill was drowning in the Monica scandal and that was all anybody could talk about. As time goes on the media gets more personal, so where does it stop?

PR Blog Number 3

After working on my Company Portfolio Project, I have come to the realization of how important it is to be clear with your words. As I have been writing my press releases, news releases, etc, it is important to make sure that every single piece of information is included so that the receiver of the message is able to get everything they need.

I also think that this project is very helpful so that we can get used to the many different aspects of media writing. Not many classes and/or internships give you the opportunity to exercise the skills you will need in the field of PR.