Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Plagiarism: A dire issue in journalism schools
Columbia Journalism Review’s article, “Do they get that it’s wrong?” addresses the disturbingly prevalent issue of plagiarism among student journalists. As a student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, the idea presented in this article that students caught and punished for plagiarism simply do not understand how wrong and unacceptable their actions are is both eye-opening and gut-wrenching, though not entirely surprising. In this digital age, we as students have endless information literally at our fingertips. That makes it much easier and, in some cases, more tempting for students to steal someone else’s words. For others, the wealth of information on the Internet isn’t enough, prompting them to simply make up fake sources and quotes. Is it out of laziness? For lack of ambition or creativity? I certainly can’t explain it. I have always been disturbed by cheating – not just the act of doing it, but showing absolutely no remorse or even displaying pride and accomplishment after the fact. It was so common to see people do it in high school, though, that I am not entirely surprised at how it has come to permeate college campuses – specifically, journalism schools.
Is there a way to fix this, or has it become the new norm? I believe there are several steps to a solution. First, journalists at major news outlets need to step up. With the 24-hour news cycle through Twitter and constant broadcast news channels, the new trend is to be first – but not necessarily to be right. People report the first inkling of news they hear, without backing it up or confirming it with legitimate, reputable sources. Thiscreates chaos, an endless rumor mill, and a lack of trust in journalism by all. By fixing the state of journalism in the professional realm, academia can only benefit as it follows suit.
Further, the subject of ethics needs to be stressed in schools before college. Sure, all schools have a code of conduct that says cheating is prohibited, and many colleges even mandate an ethics course to graduate. However, by teaching younger students the dangers and gravity of plagiarizing, citing past issues and dire consequences that could result – from career derailment to expulsion or even jail time – we can instill a sense of understanding in them that plagiarism is intolerant, unacceptable and inherently wrong before they even set foot on a college campus. It is like in Joseph Malines’ poem about a cliff: is it better to use a fence to prevent people from falling, or invest in an ambulance to care for them after they fall? Currently, school policies and academic hearings are serving as an ambulance to try and make students understand the consequences of their wrongful actions after they commit them. Why not stress the issue of ethics at a younger age, thereby building a fence to stop these problems before they even start on college campuses?
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Reputation Management Proposal Analysis: Chris Brown
Our team, Second Chance PR, presented a three-step plan to
revamp Grammy-winning recording artist Chris Brown’s tarnished image. Our pitch’s
strengths included the simplicity, yet power of our plan. From having a basic,
fundamental crafted apology at the ready for Chris to use as a basis for his
responses in the media, to the presence of an interview assistant so he can
vent and adequately prepare, to the idea of rebuilding Brown’s social media
presence by implementing temporary “damage control,” our plan encompasses the
important aspects of reshaping public perception in times of crisis. We focused
on Chris’ undying success through his craft – music – and tried to play off the
passion he has for it by creating a launch party for him to interact with
fellow celebrities and fans in celebration and anticipation of his upcoming
album, X. By tying this fun and exciting event with a worthwhile charity that
is near and dear to Chris’ heart, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, we were
able to both promote his music and allow him to give back in a meaningful way.
After
observing the other teams, I would create a similar media element to add to our
plan – similar to Pro PR’s idea for a Christopher
documentary. I thought that was a great idea that would really resonate
with fans and get the new and improved Chris Brown’s message across in a
direct, yet entertaining way. I would also consider naming specific, measurable
objectives like Pro PR and Elite PR did, in order to put a number on the qualitative
goals we presented in our plan. However, I would stick to our charitable
donation plan through the launch party – I felt that that was a major strength,
and something that would be much more effective for Chris himself than trying
to force him to do community service in a park or in a school, something he has
notoriously had trouble with in the past. I also believe our idea of social
media control is not too overwhelming. While the other teams insisted they
would allow Chris to maintain control while implementing their plan, I feel
that our proposal of temporary control for the time being would be an easy,
direct way to show Chris directly how to revamp his social media image. It’s
not that we would be dictating everything forever; we would simply craft some examples
of acceptable and exciting tweets, in the voice of Chris himself, in order to
get him back on the right track.
I
believe our plan has the emotional appeal to fans that is necessary to get
Chris to an even higher level of success and ultimately respect in the public
eye – our video showcased that emotion. I feel that our Second Chance PR team
should be the winner due to the all-encompassing simplicity and potential of
our proposal – we get straight to the heart of the matter in getting Chris’
limelight back to where it really belongs – back
to the music.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Social Commerce: A New Approach to PR
Today our class heard from two communications professionals
from the W2O Group: Haifa Barbari, director of digital strategy and account,
and Kieran Fagan, group director of corporate and strategy. They spoke about
the idea of social commerce – a relatively new concept in the communications
field that involves using interactivity through digital media platforms to
foster more effective relationships between businesses and their publics.
Several key points of the discussion stood out to me in
terms of the value social commerce brings to the field of public relations
today. First was Kieran Fagan’s point about the increased importance of
writing. There is a misconception in the field today that writing is no longer
a crucial skill, due to the shortened format of communications and nontraditional
trends we are seeing. However, Kieran made a great point: writing, if anything,
is even more of a major skill today than ever before. The channels and tools
are useful, but the content is what matters. Writing is a reflection of
thinking and problem-solving ability, so being a good writer is absolutely
critical as an upcoming public relations professional.
Another major point that was discussed is the incorporation
of analytics to corporate PR efforts. By zeroing in on key search terms and
matching them up with content production, we can narrow the gap between
customer and company. It is critical to make content user-friendly and
“findable,” too. Sephora does a great job of this by making products easily
visible to actively searching customers. The application of analytics to
traditional PR will determine the success of modern businesses in this
ever-evolving era of social media and digital strategy. By using data to
observe what’s working and what’s not, we can tweak and improve content to
better serve customers and better build relationships over time.
A final takeaway from our guest speakers is one involving
crisis communications. Haifa Barbari stressed the importance of assessing a
situation as it arises. She emphasized the importance of NOT reacting
immediately without thinking it through first. It is too easy to make a
mountain out of a molehill when it comes to social media feedback. If one
blogger or tweeter is ranting a slew of concerns, it is better to isolate the
issue and react privately when possible, rather than making a small blip into a
major reputation crisis on multiple platforms. There is no cookie cutter way to
respond to a potential crisis in the digital age; every situation is customizable
and must be looked at in a detailed light before crafting the appropriate
response.
Social commerce is full of new and exciting ways to
interpret data and apply it to public relations efforts. However, despite all
of these analytics tools and data-based research methods, the root of the
message remains important. Word-of-mouth is still powerful, writing is still important,
and it is still crucial to be a reactive listener and an interactive
participant in the conversations between company and constituents.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason's Firing Memo: An Analysis
After reading Andrew Mason's clever, quirky and surprisingly frank announcement regarding his firing, I felt somewhat refreshed. As a corporate big shot in the all-too-often stuffy and gray business sphere, Mason found just the right balance of honesty, sincerity, and quirkiness in his take on an internal memo. Groupon is a forward-thinking, modern company with a lot of creativity at its core. Thus, communicating his own departure with a healthy dose of that creativity and acknowledging his own faults seems like a perfectly fitting way to go out. If the reason for Mason's departure had been some major internal scandal or legal issue, this would be a different story.
However, in the modern business world, it is no secret that everything revolves around the bottom line. This appears to be a simple case of a once-sucessful co-founder/CEO who made some wrong turns as a businessman and suffered the consequences in the form of his company's financial failure and demotion on the corporate spectrum. Rather than beat around the bush or pretend that he "resigned," Mason got straight to the point, which gave him a stronger platform to explain himself. Most employees would rather hear the truth than a bunch of succession jargon anyway, so by starting off with a blunt delivery of the news, perhaps Mason gained their trust, respect or at least time to hear him out. Throwing in expressions of his gratitude, his hope for the company and some advice -- while keeping his message relatively concise -- gives a more human side to the suit and makes employees realize he really does (and did) care. For this company and this situation, I definitely think Mason made a smart, albeit bold, move.
Tweeting the message was definitely a nontraditional channel of internal communication, but I liked that Mason figured "it would be leaked anyway" and decided to open it to public eyes. Rather than seeming insincere, Mason exhibited a sense of transparency and honesty by communicating with the masses through Twitter. I think social media information sharing in the form of crisis communications will continue to grow as time goes on, but I believe many companies with more traditional or conservative business models will stick to strictly internal communication when it comes to succession issues, at least initially at the time of the announcement.
However, in the modern business world, it is no secret that everything revolves around the bottom line. This appears to be a simple case of a once-sucessful co-founder/CEO who made some wrong turns as a businessman and suffered the consequences in the form of his company's financial failure and demotion on the corporate spectrum. Rather than beat around the bush or pretend that he "resigned," Mason got straight to the point, which gave him a stronger platform to explain himself. Most employees would rather hear the truth than a bunch of succession jargon anyway, so by starting off with a blunt delivery of the news, perhaps Mason gained their trust, respect or at least time to hear him out. Throwing in expressions of his gratitude, his hope for the company and some advice -- while keeping his message relatively concise -- gives a more human side to the suit and makes employees realize he really does (and did) care. For this company and this situation, I definitely think Mason made a smart, albeit bold, move.
Tweeting the message was definitely a nontraditional channel of internal communication, but I liked that Mason figured "it would be leaked anyway" and decided to open it to public eyes. Rather than seeming insincere, Mason exhibited a sense of transparency and honesty by communicating with the masses through Twitter. I think social media information sharing in the form of crisis communications will continue to grow as time goes on, but I believe many companies with more traditional or conservative business models will stick to strictly internal communication when it comes to succession issues, at least initially at the time of the announcement.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Newsworthiness
After examining several days of top news on both NYTimes.com
and LATimes.com, I learned firsthand about the qualifications of newsworthiness
in today’s media climate.
The New York Times, known for its widespread and somewhat
elite, well-educated readership, focuses headlines on government affairs much
of the time. From the nation’s budget to current Supreme Court cases, domestic
affairs are a popular pick for front-page news. The New York Times has an
international presence, so world affairs are also popular. This often
encompasses global conflict with news of war-related deaths and nuclear power
negotiations in the Middle East, but other issues, like the arrest of the
Mexican Teachers’ Union and the election of the next pope, span top news. The overall feel of the publication’s
website is a serious, intellectual one, with hard-hitting, far-reaching news
stories. There is less of a local or feature focus here than on smaller news
outlets, but the website promotes interactivity with links to videos and other
multimedia.
The LA Times is still a national-caliber publication, but
its news coverage has more of a local feel. Headlines, rather than being about
politics in D.C. or conflict overseas, focus on west coast events. News of
violent Mexican drug cartels, drilling in the Alaskan Arctic, flu deaths in San
Diego County and details of the Santa Cruz cop killer case all have a more
regional feel than the New York Times headlines. Still, there is definitely
overlap between the two publications, with headlines on the conflict in Syria
and a prevalent Supreme Court case. The LA Times has a more approachable
undertone on its website, with more feature-orientated content permeating the news
front.
The number one requisite for newsworthiness that sticks out
to me is the current nature of events. In the midst of today’s 24/7 news cycle,
websites are constantly being updated and articles being added. Yesterday’s
news is just that. Major crises or tragedies may stick around the front page
for several days or even weeks depending on magnitude, but in general, for anything
to be considered news, it must be timely. Another consideration is the
publication’s audience. For politically-interested intellects reading the New
York Times, covering top stories in Congress makes sense. For the casual daily
reader in Los Angeles, news of flu deaths in the state of California is more
pressing. Thus, as PR practitioners who pitch stories, we must cater to the
needs and interests of the publication’s audience.
While government and
politics have always been a hot-button topic for news, today’s trends point
toward international coverage. With increased U.S. involvement in a number of
countries, ongoing conflict in the Middle East and occasional spurts of major
news – like the Pope’s resignation – all occurring overseas, and with the power
of the Internet to spread information like wildfire, domestic affairs have
taken somewhat of a backseat in terms of top news on a daily basis. Again,
depending on the readership of a publication, it might be more appropriate to
take an international, national or regional approach to a story. Human-interest
stories, or taking news stories and delivering them from an angle to which the average
person can relate, are another popular trend in news today. Sports and celebrity news
will always be popular, but in the state of today’s world, the timeliness and
global impact of events are what make news, news.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
CEO Blog Review: Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks
Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, maintains a
personal online presence on his blog at www.blogmaverick.com. I was surprised to note
that in terms of content, Cuban doesn’t often cover the Mavericks
organization as a topic on the blog. He is a prominent businessman and entrepreneur, and
his posts cover a wide variety of topics that all tie into the business world
at large, from the Facebook brand to the state of the stock market. Cuban
writes in a candid, concise manner. Though his posts are sometimes lengthy, his
sentences are short and the overall flow of information makes for a quick read. His tone is relatable
and friendly, yet still professional. However, there is no shortage of grammar
mistakes scattered throughout the posts. Though this almost proves (unintentionally) that he is
actually doing the writing himself, it does not help improve his personal brand
or that of his organization, of which he is a major representative.
In comparison to the general PR effort within the Mavericks
organization, Cuban’s blog lacks continuity with his organization and feels sporadic content-wise.
The team’s tweets and website content are, as expected, very sports-centric.
They also interact with fans directly by responding to them and using hashtags.
The color and content across the website and social media channels are
consistent. Cuban’s blog covers a seemingly random range of topics -- they all relate to business, but are very unrelated to each other. The design is fairly straightforward and bland, with very few
graphics or user-friendly features. He does occasionally use bold type to
indicate key points in his posts, but they could benefit from some editing,
graphics and subheads or bullets to make the content more appealing to the
casual Internet user.
Despite the improvements that could definitely be made,
Cuban has a solid following on the blog. Avid fans leave lengthy comments and
frequently share posts on Facebook and Twitter. He keeps a fairly frequent
presence on the blog for a major management figure, posting once every couple
of weeks. Though for some, this might seem too infrequent to maintain a solid
following online, his popularity and celebrity status allow him to go for weeks
or even months without posting while still keeping a wide readership.
The pros of keeping a CEO blog are tangible, as fans of a
brand can put a familiar face to a major corporation. It is somewhat refreshing to read
simple, candid remarks from a major leader of the business world. However, the
cons are far-reaching as well. Cuban’s blog does not align very well with the
Mavericks organization as a whole. While this particular case is not necessarily a detrimental
situation, it could easily become a problem in the future. There are risks to
putting the face of a company out for the public to scrutinize in such a direct
way online. Small grammatical errors are one thing, but sharing one offensive
remark or off-color opinion can result in a major PR crisis. Overall, I think
Mark Cuban does a decent job in keeping a CEO blog, but improvements could certainly
be made. Perhaps having a PR professional edit or at least proofread posts
before publishing would be a good start in order to ensure continuity across platforms from the
CEO and the organization.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Eric Mower Speaker Series: Adrian Barrow of JWT (Extra Credit)
Last night, I attended another event as part of the Eric
Mower Advertising Forum. Adrian Barrow, head of strategic planning at JWT, a
major global advertising agency, spoke about the significance of art in
advertising and strategic communication. I enjoyed hearing his thoughts and
seeing real world examples of how powerful an impact art can make on consumers.
Although I am not looking to go into advertising, I hope to pursue a career
that involves strategic communications, so the idea of art as a medium to unite
and persuade an audience was both interesting and relevant to me.
Barrow spoke of advertising’s dissemination of “information
as persuasion” that ultimately leads to a positive change in consumer behavior.
He stressed the need for not only cognitive or conscious persuasion, but also
emotional persuasion – the subconscious kind that resonates with our personal
thoughts, memories and feelings. By using art, advertisers can successfully
“puncture the membrane of rationality and reason,” communicating a message in a
way that touches the hearts and souls of those receiving it. Barrow explained
the need to listen to one’s own intuition as a creator, because if you are not
moved by something, chances are nobody else will be either. Just because a
campaign “makes sense” doesn’t mean it will resonate with a target audience –
there needs to be that “click” of inspiration that goes beyond rationality.
We saw examples of profound artwork that made a political or
social impact, from Picasso’s “Guernica” painting to the popularized photo of
Che Guevara. What struck me, though, was the power of even the simplest ideas.
For example, this video on the origin of Britain’s infamous “Keep Calm, Carry On” poster shows how one concise message, laid out in a particular way as art,
can be more profound than the most complex painting or photograph. This is
important to remember in the practice of public relations, too. Sometimes the
best ideas are the simplest ones.
What I really took away from Barrow’s discussion was the power of creativity in communications. He explained that art sneaks under our defenses, affecting us before we even realize it. Our brains process artwork as stories, so using art to get past the consumer barrier is an effective way to not only influence behavior, but also mindset (especially when it comes to branding!). I learned the importance of graphic design last semester in my graphics class, but now I see that art itself is truly an impactful way of getting a message across in the real world.
What I really took away from Barrow’s discussion was the power of creativity in communications. He explained that art sneaks under our defenses, affecting us before we even realize it. Our brains process artwork as stories, so using art to get past the consumer barrier is an effective way to not only influence behavior, but also mindset (especially when it comes to branding!). I learned the importance of graphic design last semester in my graphics class, but now I see that art itself is truly an impactful way of getting a message across in the real world.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Applebee's Social Media Disaster: An Analysis
After examining the unfolding chapters of the Applebee’s PR disaster saga, I realized there were several specific points of action taken by
the Applebee’s public relations team that caused this situation to go from bad
to worse. Due to the fact the
entire crisis came to be because of Applebee’s firing of its employee as a result of her violation of customer privacy, Applebee’s should
have been extra cautious in its customer-related postings on social media
platforms in the days following the incident. If the organization had announced
and explained the employee termination and then reiterated its message of
caring about customer privacy, the social media outcry probably would have run
its course and quieted down soon. The people posting were, for the most part,
customers or potential customers, and thus would appreciate the corporate
concern for their privacy in the long-run.
However, by posting a kind note written by a customer (with
that customer’s clear name in view) on its Facebook page just days afterward,
Applebee’s essentially kicked itself in the mouth. Posting that picture was the
first key point in this crisis. The breach of customer privacy elicited another
major outcry, this time with accusations of hypocrisy. This just goes to show
how important consistency and continuity across corporations, and on social
media specifically, truly is. Customers lose trust and faith in a brand when it
contradicts itself.
Another crucial point was the first Applebee’s comment in
the middle of the night on its original status update. Clearly, posting this at
an inopportune time and in an essentially hidden location was bad PR from the
get-go. What really sticks out to me, though, is the tone that Applebee’s used.
It gave a generic (and therefore shallow) message about caring about customers
and appreciating feedback before going on to highlight, with bullet points, the
details of what happened at the St. Louis franchise from the time of the
incident to the time of the employee termination. This stuck out as somewhat
rude and insensitive to me, as a customer. Applebee’s immediately took a
defensive stance. However logical its actions may seem to itself (or even the average, unbiased onlooker), a company
cannot just ignore the task at hand – responding to the plethora of people
online who were clearly heated about this issue. By laying out the situation in
bullet point form, it felt like Applebee’s was demeaning the intelligence of
its Facebook fans and simply saying something to say something, without putting
any real effort or meaning behind it. We already saw the general perception by
negative commenters of Applebee’s as an organization run by “corporate pigs” –
and the tone and content of the initial response did nothing to change that perception,
as it essentially enforced it.
The final breaking point during this crisis came after
Applebee’s deleted its status update, which it had previously been incessantly
posting as a comment in response to concerned customers. Deleting the update,
which had thousands of comments attached, obviously did nothing to help
Applebee’s case – but worse than deleting it was denying that the deletion ever
occurred. If Applebee’s had deleted the update and then actually listened to
the uproar about the deletion and seen the screenshots people posted in
disbelief, further deciding to craft a response apologizing for its actions to delete
the posting or at least explaining its reasons for deleting the post, it could
have eased the concerns of many that it was a dishonest, deceptive corporation.
Instead, by literally posting the words, “no posts have been deleted,” Applebee’s denied
an obvious fact and refused to take responsibility for its already questionable
actions. Any customers who were on the fence about Applebee’s probably fell right
over to the other side at that point.
This mess has simply reiterated the importance all of the
basic, crucial points that make up effective corporate public relations. It is
also a lesson in ethics, transparency and trust. In the end, I feel the escalation
of this crisis was the result of a combination of questionable decisions by
perhaps an understaffed or under-qualified social media team and the sheer
stubbornness of Applebee’s executives. The ways Applebee’s went about posting
and communicating on social media was a lesson in “what not to do, ever”
online, but the content and overall message was just as questionable in
response to the public outcry. In this age of 24/7 communication online and the
general public’s increasing distrust in corporations, it is so important to
remember the fundamentals of good social media PR: be honest, think before you
type, and address concerns effectively rather than spit out a generic apology
or run away from them.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Hurricane Sandy and Social Media: An Analysis
The influence of social media during natural disasters and
national crises was clearly shown in the case of this past fall’s
Hurricane Sandy that hit the Northeast. The sheer amount of national social
media attention to the storm and its destruction shows how powerful platforms
like Twitter really can be.
Meteorologists around the country were able to keep
people updated on the local status of the storm, allowing them time to prepare
in case of emergency. There were certainly some insensitive tweets, from
hopeful high school and college students wanting school to be cancelled to “prank
tweets”
showing doctored photos of Armageddon-like images of the New York City skyline
and stores offering special celebratory discounts in honor of the storm.
These
received scorn and backlash from many, including victims whose homes and
livelihoods were destroyed by the dangerous storm. This just goes to show how important it is for not only
individuals, but especially companies and corporations to pay attention to
current events and think with sensitivity before acting online.
Still, amid the misplaced “excitement” as
people awaited the arrival of the storm, not realizing just how destructive it
would be for many, there are also stories of hope and community that stem from
social media usage during a time of need. I enjoyed seeing tweets in the days after the storm of people
traveling to rebuild the affected areas, and Facebook pages to raise money for
those in need were abounding in the wake of the destruction. In a
time when phone lines and communication in general were hard to come by, social
media was sometimes the primary method of communication between friends, family
and neighbors affected by the storm. Through Facebook pages, people were able
to keep tabs on the status of their damaged property as locals kept updating
with photos and video, as noted in this article from the New Jersey
Star-Ledger. There was also much talk and debate about the New York City
Marathon cancellation in the wake of the storm, as many runners showed up to
help with relief efforts in lieu of running.
Without channels like Facebook and Twitter, we as a nation may not have understood the impact of this weather tragedy. I sometimes wonder how we would have reacted to major tragedies in the past, like Columbine and 9/11, had social media been around. The far-reaching, instantaneous
properties of social media show how worthy these platforms can be as
communication tools in times of emergency. Despite the occasional hoaxes and
insensitive comments, the benefits of social media in times of crisis are clear.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Eric Mower Speaker Series: Deb Henretta of P&G
I attended the first speaker event of the Spring 2013 Eric
Mower Advertising Forum tonight. The featured guest was Deb Henretta, group president of Procter and Gamble's Beauty Care division. She gave an engaging talk
about the twists and turns of her career path, touching on the specifics of her
experiences with different notable brands at Procter and Gamble and giving
students advice on how to embrace change, find your passion and become a leader
in the workforce.
I enjoyed Deb’s honest approach; she talked earnestly about
her life as a mom and a wife first, then a business leader. She emphasized the idea of "juggling as part of the journey," learning to balance all aspects of life day by day. Her story matched
up well with various videos and advertisements she showed to give the audience
a sense of just what Procter and Gamble is all about. Their business really
goes beyond the products and packaging, as they work to achieve their
overarching goal of helping people and making them feel better (as their tagline,
“touching lives, improving life” communicates).
Hearing Henretta’s stories of
the multitude of career changes she underwent – many “good news, bad news”
situations that encompassed impressive promotions that also meant uprooting her life and family to live on other continents across the globe – was inspiring. She stressed
that change is constant, and that while it can be good, it can also be challenging; it takes courage to be a leader of change in the communications industry.
It
was surreal to hear and see some of the examples of Deb’s work, some of which
have become so commonplace on our TV screens over the years. For example, she
was in charge of revitalizing the Pampers brand of diapers, and she worked with
a team to develop the product line of different diapers for varying “stages” of development (from newborn to toddler), which
seems so natural to us as consumers now. At the time, though, her proposal was
revolutionary, and she stressed the importance of perseverance and thinking
outside the box in the workplace to sell your ideas to management who may be
reluctant at first.
Henretta’s visit gave me a new perspective at the power of packaged
goods; she is currently working with the Secret deodorant brand to develop a
digital “Mean Stinks” campaign to stop teenage girls from bullying. The campaign
has already received mainstream media attention, as the brand encourages young
girls to “be nice behind someone’s back” and make video confessions to
apologize to people they have hurt in the past. She has also worked in Asia on
a social responsibility campaign that involved food, water and energy security
and sustainability issues; through the “live, learn and thrive” program, she
has helped P&G provide life-saving water purification tablets to third-world
countries around the globe. While our society is often chastised for putting
too much emphasis on beauty ideals and packaged material goods, I learned from
Deb that by keeping brands relevant and paying attention to current issues,
this field can truly make a change for the better by improving – and even
saving – lives.
She advised to turn your passion into power, follow your heart,
and look for ways to make a difference in the world by embracing and leading
change. Henretta concluded the talk with one of her favorite quotations from
Winston Churchill: “The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the
optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Guest Speaker Reaction: Christy Perry, Newhouse Web Content Manager
I really enjoyed Christy’s guest lecture on Tuesday. While I
am pretty well versed in social media, I use it more for personal and social reasons, therefore often overlooking the professional aspects of it. I never realized
just how many benefits and risks there are for brands who take part in social
media and do or do not engage their audience.
Platforms like Twitter are so useful for relationship
building in the digital world, and I know from personal experience that one’s
perception of a company can be affected (positively or negatively) based on their social media response. I am
a major Wegmans lover, so when I received actual responses in the past after tweeting about
their products or about my shopping experience, it simply cemented my trust in their
brand and strengthened my loyalty.
One point Christie made that I feel is crucial is to
avoid duplicating exact information across various platforms. I follow
the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts of my friends and favorite brands (from sports teams to TV shows to clothing stores), so seeing the same picture with an identical message three
times gets a bit annoying after awhile. I like the idea of sharing the same gist of the message, but in a different way – perhaps by using a video link in one post and
a photo or short message in another.
Christy’s 10 rules for social media use reminded me to be
careful about my own social media presence and any work I do for companies in
the future online. The one that truly stuck out to me involves relevance. Seeing
the top social media “fails” of the year reinforced the importance of being
sensitive to current events and issues, and not just saying something without
thinking twice. This applies to personal accounts – it is just another reminder
not to tell my followers what I’m doing, where and why at every moment – and
also to corporate social media usage, as companies make sure to limit
irrelevant or poorly timed messages in times of national tragedy. While it is
important to be transparent content-wise and consistent time-wise, one must
always consider quality over quantity and think twice before hitting the “share”
button!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
My life as an SU student: social media's impact
As a college student, I am an avid social media user. I have
accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest and Linkedin,
and I use YouTube very often. I can barely remember a time when social media
was not the immediate "go-to source" for the latest news and current events, or simply the primary procrastination tool used by young adults. These various outlets undoubtedly have benefits, as major news has broken on Twitter time and time again and networking has taken the Internet by storm both
socially (through Facebook) and professionally (through LinkedIn).
For me, there is a delicate balance between spending just enough time on social media and too much
time there. Though tweets can be used scholastically and professionally and
Pinterest can be used as an organizational tool that fosters productivity, I find
myself all too often overwhelmed by the number of distractions that are just a
smart phone or computer screen away at all times.
The impact of social media on my life as an SU student has
been both positive and negative. These channels have allowed me to connect with
friends, classmates, professors and even guest speakers and visiting
professionals while providing a platform for me to share thoughts, opinions,
photos, and even specific details – like my whereabouts and the details of my resume – with my
virtual network. I have become much more interested and engaged in news and
current events during my time at Newhouse through the use of Twitter, and have
paid close attention to the dos and don’ts of crafting my personal online brand in
order to put my best foot forward both socially and professionally. As a
passionate sports fan and sport management student, social media (especially
Twitter) has made it easy to stay up-to-date with information like scores,
in-game updates, fan opinions and predictions, and rumors and reports by journalists,
bloggers and fellow fans. I have also been able to get a better sense of the
personalities of my favorite media professionals, athletes, celebrities and bloggers by sifting
through their daily updates and photos, and have had the chance to communicate directly with them – something that would be unlikely to happen "in real life."
However, my once-rare tendency to procrastinate or get
distracted while trying to work on assignments or read has definitely become
more of an issue due to social media. The 24/7 news cycle on Twitter, endless
supply of do-it-yourself project ideas on Pinterest and constant stream of
activity on my Facebook and Instagram feeds are all simultaneously blessings and curses.
I am thankful for the instant availability of breaking news updates, plethora of new opportunities to share my thoughts, and possibilities to reach wider audiences, but
sometimes I just wish there was a master “off switch” so I could enjoy more frequent face-to-face conversations or read a book outside in the sunshine in peace without the temptation of tweeting a picture of it to my followers!
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