Pinning Comments February 23, 2012

Victoria Evans- BEWARE, Pinterest can be addicting!

Pinterest really is super addicting! As I mentioned in my blog, I am currently on a hiatus from pinning because I don’t have the time, but positive I’m going to become best friends with Pinterest very soon! I use Pinterest to plan the wedding I will have. You know, once I get engaged and once I get a boyfriend! Haha I think Pinterest is like those “keepsake boxes” each and every one of us know we kept under our bed! The boxes that you stuff pictures of what your future house will be and write down motivational thoughts for the “future you.” Pinterest is like an online-version of that keepsake box. You can save pictures and resources on one website that you can constantly look at whenever you want to, to remind you of things you want to do or be in life.

 

Katie Poole- The Power of Pinterest

Pinterest really is a site that if you are constantly on it, you will get bored. But, if you only get on Pinterest in your spare time, you will always be pleased with its contents. Since Pinterest can be divided into categories, I think that companies can select their specific target audience much easier. Also, a good pin is a memorable pin. Just creating something for creation’s sake is not going to help your product because no one appreciates a bad pin. No one.

Pinterest as a PR Prop February 23, 2012

When I first discover Pinterest, I pinned and pinned for hours on end! Now, I don’t have as much free time as I used to and I haven’t pinned anything in about a month. As far as how Pinterest holds a place in the public relations world, I’m not sure if I am 100% sold on it yet. I think for people who are visual when it comes to identifying what they like, Pinterest is ideal. If your company produces a product or service that can be shown through photos, I would probably encourage the use of Pinterest. Clothing is a very popular “pin” topic as well as food and crafts. You can get really creative when figuring out how to include your product in each pin. However, I don’t think that if your company is straining trying to decide how to create a “pin-worthy” photo, you shouldn’t use Pinterest. Good photos are repined over and over and can show up on someone’s feed for weeks. A bad photo just for the purpose of having it on the site is useless.

I can’t decide if Pinterest will become a short fad or not. I think there are some adjustments that need to be made to the details of specific parts of the site, but the concept is easy and effective. These two elements make Pinterest a type of site that could stay around for a long time. As mentioned earlier, I have my own Pinterest account. To be honest, it took me a while to figure out how to maneuver the site. A better tutorial could be something that is fixed in the future. I actually have recommended Pinterest to coworkers and they love it! My old coworkers, however, do not really understand the simplicity of how to use it, but the younger people had no problem learning. If some changes are not made to Pinterest then it could possibly fade away. But if it is constantly improved, there is hope for Pinterest to become a regular tool for use in public relations.

Valentine’s Day, the PR Way! February 16, 2012

Let me begin by saying that I absolutely LOVE Valentine’s Day! No, I did not mean that sarcastically, it really is one of my favorite holidays! I love that even if you are not dating someone, you can still make valentines for your friends, family, and people in your life that you love. I am not one of those cynics who strongly feel it is a “Hallmark Holiday.”  I have only been dating someone on one Valentine’s Day in my life. Because of my intense love for this day, I made my boyfriend a really nice gift basket with lots of things he wanted in it as well as lots of candy. (Homemade gift baskets are way better than bought ones FYI). His present to me clearly had not effort put into it at all. It was a heart shaped bucket; a box of 64 pixie sticks (with the cards that you can use to give to your classmates); a huge stuffed dog; an odd, red stuffed bear; and another white stuffed bear, holding a plastic container of plastic red rose petals. Real thoughtful, huh? To me, as long as a gift is thoughtful, I appreciate it. However, this gift, I really had to put my acting skills to work! If I get a gift I dislike, I usually pretend to like it somewhat. If the person offers me the choice to exchange it, then I speak up and say that would probably be better.

A tie-breaker bad gift was from the same guy, years later. This time, were not dating, but were in the process of trying to work things out. We agreed to still do something small for Valentine’s Day, so I got a cute coffee mug, put some candy in it, and put a small stuffed animal on top. Simple and cheap. When I called on Valentine’s Day to say I was coming over to deliver his gift, he told me to “wait a few minutes because he and his roommates were going on a beer run.” When I arrived, I was greeted with a box of Queen Anne’s chocolate covered cherries. Out of all things chocolate, I HATE chocolate covered cherries! I was not happy at all and needless to say, things didn’t work out between us. Clearly he had forgotten we were still doing gifts and quickly ran to the gas station to get something fast. I would have preferred if he would have been honest and admitted he had forgotten.

On the good side of things, my parents have always sent me flowers, gotten me gifts or sent me chocolate covered strawberries! Go parents!

If I worked for a greeting card company, florist, etc, I would try to persuade customers to buy from my business instead of the competitors by offering discounts during special holidays. Or, I would offer discounts on random days to persuade men to randomly buy flowers/get cards for their wives or girlfriends randomly. Hopefully, the women will be impressed and that would encourage the men to buy from us more! Also, I would team up with other businesses to offer promotions: Buy Flowers from Blank and get Half Off chocolates at Blank. This might encourage customers who shop at one store, to get something from the other store as well.

Social Media Usage Comments February 9, 2012

Yasmine Horton- “Generation Y’s Weapon of Choice”

I couldn’t agree more that Generation Y wants instant gratification on everything we do! Thankfully, being a part of Generation Y has taught me how to use social media correctly and therefore I might be hired over someone who has no idea what social media can do! I also agree with your statement that company’s sometimes think that anyone can handle the power of social media properly. Businesses really should hire people who know more than just how to update a status or compose a tweet. There is so much more social media can do for a company with regards to good public relations.

 

Ryan Matherly- “Social Media and PR”

It really is true that problems can be solved and crises can be averted with a click of a button from hundreds of miles away thanks to social media! I agree with your statement that social media could go to waste without people with the proper skills behind its management. Companies need to be smart in hiring people with a public relations background to manage their social media. If it fell into the wrong hands, that could be detrimental to the company.

Leave it to the Professionals… February 9, 2012

Social media has changed the PR world because it has opened a completely new medium of communication than before. Even though I am just entering into the PR world, I can’t image NOT having the access social media provides us. Since I can’t really compare social media to anything else like it, I would have to say that it has changed public relations for the better. Companies instantly know what customers are feeling at any given time. People can complain about a bad product, praise excellent customer service, or just inquire about new arrivals or special discounts.

Since social media is so accessible to anyone and everyone, I think that companies who try to employ social media to promote their business without using someone with a background in public relations is just crazy. Public relations professionals or even just people with a PR background know how to successfully use the tools that social media provides its users. If you don’t know what you are doing on Facebook, Twitter, etc, you will more than likely end up overwhelming your customers with information which could result in a loss of profit and customer satisfaction. Individuals who try to take on the responsibility of furthering their company through social media would be advised to get help from someone who is trained in PR or knows how to generate results with the use social media.

Movie vs. Book Comments February 1, 2012

Victoria Evans- “Eat My Shit”

Hahaha! I think I’m laughing so hard because I just wrote my blog post to this topic and mine was about Harry Potter “fans” who haven’t read the books! Anyway, I saw the movie “The Help” recently and I loved it! I After watching that movie, I wished I had read the book before seeing it. Since it was such an emotion-provoking movie, I have no doubt that the book was great. As i mention in my blog, however, once I see a movie, I can’t go back and read the book. The surprise and mystery is completely ruined and the magic of picturing it in your mind is lost.

Juliana Rabeler- “Book vs. Movie”

I totally agree with your idea about not reading the book after seeing the movie because it ruins the fun of imagining your own characters (I actually talk about that in my blog!). I don’t read books very often outside of school, but I will try to bring myself to read “The Alchemist” since you so nicely recommended it! And I also agree with the statement that Brad Pitt…naked…makes every movie better.

What to experience first? The movie, or the book? February 1, 2012

It’s a recent phenomenon to me how as soon as a movie is announced that is based on a book such as “The Notebook,” “The Help,” “Water for Elephants,” etc., my Facebook news feed is bombarded with people saying that they are going to read the book before the movie comes out. To me, I can’t keep up with every book that Hollywood decides to turn into a movie. The movies-based-on-books that I have seen all turned out to be pretty good movies. For example, I never read the Twilight series, yet I have seen all of the movies and they were great.

The books I have read that were made into movies were all of the Harry Potter series and the Chronicles of Narnia books. I went to countless midnight premieres of the Harry Potter movies because I previously read the books and loved them; I was a true fan! I was so excited to find out how the producers, directors, and actors portrayed the books I loved so much. Throughout all eight Harry Potter movies, I can think of about three scenes that were not in the books. That is awesome to me! The picture I painted in my mind was brought to life with the movies. When I watch a Harry Potter movie with my friends who have not read the books, I love knowing more about the characters and their background stories than they do. The Chronicles of Narnia movies were not as similar to the books, but then again, I also did not love those books as much as the Harry Potter series.

To me, a “true fan” of a book-based-movie has actually read the book BEFORE seeing the movie. I cannot stand when people say they are fans of Harry Potter and have not read a single book. Oh, and I keep this philosophy with book-based-movies I have seen! The Twilight series, for example, I enjoy the movies, but I do not claim to be “true fan” since I haven’t read the books.

In addition, once you have seen the movie, the book is not as fun and it takes away the mystery. Books let you create the world in your mind, and picture the events and characters like YOU want them to be. Sure, you may be a little disappointed if the movie doesn’t stick to the story in the book, but ultimately, you still have the creation you imagined when you read the book. It is just an added bonus if the movie truly represents the book. So, for me, I will read a book I want to read, regardless of if a movie is coming out about it. And I would never, ever, watch the movie then read the book!

Which to read first? The book, or the movie? February 1, 2012

In all

Bucket List Comments January 26, 2012

Victoria Evans– “What you may find on my Bucket List…”

Ah! haha if you cook every recipe in a cookbook you should blog about it like the movie Julie & Julia! I could totally see you doing that! As for me, I just included “going to another country” as a main priority on my list. It’s funny how you have already done that and that led to MORE ideas for things on your bucket list! Once you accomplish one thing on the list, it leads to more opportunities and ideas you had never thought of before.

Lauren Craddock– “Bucket List: 2nd Edition”

I put owning/building a house on mine too!! It probably sounds silly, but I really want a house that is designed how I want it (huge closet included!). And I’ve been to New York State, but not New York City and I’m sure they are very, very different from each other. Also, I guess we can be sister wives because Channing Tatum already is marrying me! haha You can have Ian Somerhalder!

My Bucket List January 26, 2012

Although I have not seen the movie, “The Bucket List,” I have seen the show on MTV called “The Buried Life.” In this show, a group of friends go across the U.S. helping strangers accomplish things they want to do before they die. I’ve never actually written down my bucket list because it changes every single day. I hear of something cool that someone else has done and mentally add it to my list. The following three things are non-changing. They will always remain on my bucket list no matter what.

I want to visit another country, and no…not Canada. I want to go to another country with an entirely different set of cultural norms and values than we have in America! Ireland, Brazil, Australia, anywhere. I want to live in a city and actually spend more than a week in that country.  I know so many people who have studied abroad, or gone on an Alternative Break trip and when they returned home, they all said how it was such a learning experience for them!

Next, I want to ride in a hot air balloon! Preferably, I want to ride in a balloon in a hot air balloon festival. My dream proposal would be in a hot air balloon (a girl can dream!). Even though I am terrified of the idea of being up so high and the whole time I was in it I will probably be worried something would malfunction, I still want to go. Maybe the fear is what is motivating me to want to do it or maybe I know that the aspect of fear is what makes it worthwhile.

Finally, I want to build and design my own home, my dream home! This may not sound like something normally on a bucket list, but in today’s economy, many people have given up on this dream. Building a home, much less buying a home, is out of reach for many Americans. Someday though, I will build my own home and it will have a bay window in the kitchen with a restaurant-style booth attached! Yep, one day, this will happen.