moooooooovin' on!

Josh and I are finally all moved into the new house. It's been a stressful and hectic month, but I'm glad to finally be at "home." It's still weird not living at home with mom, but then again, I'm 22 and it's way past time for me to grow up.

I'll post pictures soon of all the paint jobs and basement remodel!

PT Loser...

So I have to do an update about my current vehicle situation, as frustrating as it seems.

I'll admit it. I hit a raccoon. Stupid fat raccoons. Am I even spelling raccoon correctly??

Anyway, I hit a raccoon and long story short... my car died the next day. As in totally blew up. I'm not even kidding you, my DIPSTICK MELTED! MELTED!! The thing is only like two inches long now. The man at the body shop told me I needed an entirely new engine. Whoa! How do these things happen to me??

After a lot of nervous waiting, insurance decided that they're going to pay for it. (*I cried I was so happy!) Then the real waiting began...

It's going on 2 straight weeks that I've been driving the dreaded PT Cruiser. I hate it. First of all, it's like the transvestite of all automobiles. It can't decide if it wants to be a car, truck, minivan, or hatchback. It's a little of everything. And I have an analog clock! What the hell, I'm going insane.

So if you see me driving around a stupid black PT LOSER and I look really pissed off... you know why.

I hope I get my Civic back soon!!

Lexi gets her ears pierced!

Anyone who read my blog posts over fall quarter knows how much I love my niece. And since all I ever do is work anymore, it seems as though she's the only interesting thing I have to talk about! Last week we took her to get her ears pierced, and let me tell you it was an experience! She was a trooper, though. She only cried a little bit- I think Aunt Casey was more upset than she was!


watching the lady get everything ready


aunt casey is starting to get nervous!!


it hurt just a little...



but then we were happy again!

Not cool, Aggy. Not cool.

I've been staring at my computer for about 2 hours now trying to decide what to write about for this d*** ethics paper.

Good thing I'm full of ideas (sarcasm). In all reality, I find it borderline unethical that we even enter this contest as part of our grade anyway. Shouldn't the entries be heartfelt with the writers entering because of feeling compelled to share something? NOT because their grade depends on it??

It's almost like bloggers being paid to blog. They lose their transparency and even their originality. The fact that I have to conjure up some sort of topic for an ethics contest to potentially win money because I'm being graded on it is pretty much the same thing.

Not cool, Aggy. Not cool.

Participation is the fabric wk10

The conclusion of Citizen Marketers left me with a renewed sense of faith in the future of social media. Like many people, I was a true skeptic of the Lonelygirl15 videos from the start. She seemed too posed and rehearsed for something as sporadic and candid as a YouTube video diary should be (as we've defined in our society). It's this system of checks and balances that applies to the world of social media and makes it so great. Those who care about social media (and probably even those who don't) are able to sniff out the "fakes" in the blink of an eye. It has become so easy to tell whether someone is being sincere or not. I'm confident that the future of social media is in good hands: ours!

One other quote that stood out in my mind was "Social media makes relationships easier to create and maintain because of participation, and participation is the fabric" (174). How true is that? There is no way that social media would work without participation. But the fact of the matter is there isn't anyone behind the curtain saying we MUST participate. The participation is voluntary. Just another example of how the power of one can turn into the power of many!

My Poll!

Alright my fellow social media students, answer me this: What has been your favorite lesson in social media throughout the course of this class?

Take the poll I placed in the left-hand column of my blog.

Thanks!

Social Media predictions of 2006... wk10

While searching for something to write about in PR/social media world this week, I came across an article written almost 2 years ago on the Communications Overtones blog maintained by Kami Huyse and Lauren Vargas. The title explained it all, and the blog outlined the 5 major trends of social media in 2006 that the writers felt would impact PR in 2007 and beyond. As a person from the "future," so to speak, I thought it would be interesting to review their predictions.

Firstly, I totally agree with the first trend on viral videos. I can only imagine how surprised the authors were when viral video avenues like YouTube not only met but exceeded their expectations as far as viral videos and social media.

I also agree that the misuse of social media has impacted PR in part, but it's also affected MANY people, not just those in public relations. It doesn't matter what the technology is, there will always be someone who abuses it. Another point was made about the 3D Internet movement. I'm not sure that I understand this concept fully, so I will have to say that I don't believe it caught on as much as predicted (or I could be completely wrong).

The new social media press release part made me smile really big! This could be because we worked on one in class, but at the same time it reassured me that this social media class has been worth it as far as teaching me skills I'll definitely use in the future. *Thanks Aggy!*

The only part of the blog I fully disagreed with was the fact that the authors felt that PR companies were getting shut out of social media sites and their services turned away. While that may have been a trend in the beginning, I'd say that now the companies are embracing any and all forms of PR in their social media world. Just look at how many companies have blogs maintained by their PR staff on their Web sites as one example.

Reading this blog made me wonder what PR practitioners are saying about current trends and what their predictions for the future may be. I guess we'll know in two years when we go back and read it (and probably laugh at how primitive we were, haha!)

Alexis' 1st Birthday! wk10

My niece, Alexis Marie, turned ONE on November 5th, but we had her birthday party today. She looked so cute in her little "Birthday Princess" badge and outfit. She had fun opening presents and playing in the cake! It's so hard to believe that this little angel has been in my life only a year. It seems like it's been a lifetime! I don't know what I ever did without her. She's truly had my heart since the day she was born. I look forward to many more birthday parties like this one. Enjoy the pictures!




Opening her present from Auntie Casey!

Icing face!


How cute can she be?!



Best friends for life :)



I love her so much <3

Do It Now video!

My video for the Do It Now campaign on organ donation:

you might need to turn up your volume, it didn't process so well after I uploaded it to YouTube...

New Influencers wk9

Every week I dread doing my reading comprehension posts because I never feel like I have anything new to say. This week is no different, and after reading chapter seven in the New Influencers book I'm even more confused as to what I believe.

As probably only Aggy will know, my PR post this week was how social media tools shouldn't be used by everyone. I had that in the back of my mind as I was reading for this week and it kept nagging at me how Gillin kept raving on it.

With quotes like "Social media is PR's turn to shine," and "No profession stands to influence social media more than public relations," I'd have to say that Gillin makes social media seem like the end-all-be-all of where PR is headed. While I definitely understand the advantages it holds for PR, I'm not certain that it is the ONLY thing we need to study and have going for us.

PR professionals still need to be creative and intuitive. We still need to be good writers and organizers with impeccable people skills. Those are things social media tools can't replace, and I think the author of New Influencers tends to get wrapped up in that too much.

Now there's something to Twitter about.

Twitteriocy... wk9

I knew someone would do it. Someone finally laid out the ground rules when it comes to PR firms using Twitter!

I came across a blog written by Jeremy Pepper entitled "Twitteriocy," which is supposedly the blending of Twitter and Idiot. The article is all about how NOT to be an idiot on Twitter. I found it highly amusing.

One thing that struck me is he said that Twitter, and even all of social media, is not for everyone (or every PR firm). In our class we seem to emphasize the fact that we'd better get used to social media as it is here to stay, but I definitely see his point. For me, I relate it to the 40-something year old mother of three who heads out to the mall wearing skinny jeans and a boobalicious low cut top. While skinny jeans are a hip fashion trend, I'm sure most mothers of three would agree they just don't fit like they should. And as for the sexy tops, well, let's face it; the girls just don't sit where they used to anymore...

This long and drawn out analogy hopefully proves my point! PR firms using Twitter just to be using Twitter, without any plan of action or knowledge or "the right body" should just stop. It only reflects badly on your skills. Leave Twitter for those who are more appropriately savvy.

Sick Sick Sick... wk 9

I hate it when the weather can't decide what it wants to do in Ada. Every time this happens I get sick. Ugh. It always happens at the most inconvenient times. I have several projects due this week, I have a packed work schedule, my niece is turning one on Wednesday, and I'm supposed to be going to watch my friend in a play. So if I seem a little out of it, just know I'm highly medicated and trying to kick this problem I call the Ada-disease.

In other news, I went and saw Relient K this weekend at the Newport in Columbus. For a band I don't normally listen to, they did an amazing job! I would definitely go see them again!

Buyer Personas... wk8

After reading Chapter 10 in The New Rules of Marketing and PR, I was definitely struck by some of the things Scott was saying. In order for a new PR strategy to be effective on the Web, we have to make sure we're thinking like/speaking to our buyer rather than our product/service.

To me, it only makes sense that these strategies change. Web sites and blogs get put on the internet for anyone, but are only found by people who want/need them. The only way for those people to find such sites and blogs are if they're tagged correctly or if they're giving the buyers the information they're seeking.

It makes me laugh when I think of the "NASCAR dads" or "security moms" examples of buyer personas, but when I really think about it, it's not a laughing matter! People really sat around and delved into the types of people they were trying to reach and provided a culmination of their research by creating these profiles.

If I had to give myself a buyer persona, I'd probably say this:

"Casey the college senior is a 4th year public relations major. She is 22 years old and ready to graduate next fall. She enjoys the bustling city life and would prefer to find a worthwhile job in the metro area. As a member of Generation Y, she is very independent and seeks a place she can use her talents and creativity without feeling restricted. She is well versed in the ways of Facebook, MySpace and YouTube and knows of several other avenues for seeking and finding information she needs. She will be looking for a job that offers those kinds offers those kinds of opportunities, utilizes them and is seeking potential employees such as herself."

That was actually kind of fun!

Double Deuces... wk8

Saturday, while most of my fellow PR majors were galavanting at the PRSSA Conference in Detroit, I was home celebrating my 22nd birthday!

My friends got together and put together dinner for me and we all watched the Bucks lose to Penn State... boo. So of course after the devastating loss we had to hit up the bars!

While I've decided I'm pretty much over the bar scene, it's still nice to go out here and there with the people I love and enjoy some drinking games and Bud Light... not to mention, my best friend Captain Morgan :)

It feels so weird to say that I'm 22. It's like once you turn 21 there really aren't any birthdays to look forward to anymore. The only fun part about this age is the fact that I can call it "double deuces." Don't make fun of me, you know it sounds cool...

Next important age: 63 (retirement). And the countdown begins!

Sodahead Polls.... wk 8

For the past several weeks we've all been learning about how social media provides a place for people all over the world to interact one-on-one by way of the internet.

To me, social media represents a lot of how I go about my every day.. whether it's on Facebook, MySpace or YouTube... I'm pretty sure I visit each site multiple times daily.

In the YouTube community, one of my favorite people to watch is Supricky06. The channel is run by a man named Chris from Los Angeles, and he basically just uses his channel to voice his opinion on a plethora of topics from his "man talk" episodes answering viewer questions, to his random rants about things that make him mad.

In the following video, Supricky poses a question that he also posted on another social media site, Sodahead. Sodahead is a place for posting poll questions and people have the chance to respond using your predetermined answers as well as by leaving comments. Supricky's video is about whether or not gay marriage should be legal. While I know this topic has been beaten to a pulp, I feel he makes a good argument. So of course I watched the video then visited Sodahead to voice my opinion! You should too!

Viral Marketing wk7

The viral marketing chapter in the New Influencers book was very interesting. After reading, I have to agree with something that was said within the first few pages. Gillin states that viral marketing, "is an inherently risky strategy. A viable message that doesn't catch on is a waste" (pg 180). It's amazing to me how many people are willing to take such a risk. You can have an idea, put it out there and it may catch on or it may not. It seems as though you really have nothing to lose but everything to gain. This is possibly why viral marketing is so attractive.

I've also wondered the same question B.L. Ochman wondered when he started his viral campaign "Up Your Budget": HOW DO PEOPLE FIND THIS STUFF??

The person starts a Web site that sends $10,000 to sixteen U.S. cities and basically allows any person to take the clues and try to be the first to find the money. Are there people who sit around all day just thinking, "hmm, maybe there's a Web site out there that will send me on a scavenger hunt for money?!" I'd really hope that isn't true, but sites like those and PostSecret, and Ethics Crisis that catch on and garnish tons of popularity still make me wonder HOW?

RSS feeds to your iPhone.... wk7

Can I first say that technology is the bane of my existence? I come home from work last night only to find that my internet is completely down for reasons I do not understand... leaving me an HOUR to go do homework at the library before it closed. Needless to say, I went to finish my research paper and had no time left for social media, which of course, requires my use of the internet.

But I digress.

This morning I rushed to the PAC lab to peruse Digg to find an article to use for my PR/Social Media blog. I came across this article explaining that new technology exists from Apple for people to turn any RSS feed into an application for their iPhone. After talking about RSS feeds extensively in our social media class, I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to actually understand this!!

Imagine the opportunities of turning ANY RSS feed you want into an application for your phone. This makes it so that any person can be the creator of his or her own personalized phone. No longer to we have to wait for applications to be created for us, we get to do the creating for ourselves! What will they come up with next?

Best $13 I've Spent in a While... wk7

I love Wal-mart. It's like the mecca for all college students, I believe. One of my favorite sections is the video/music area. They have the best movies for the cheapest price! Today I bought a 3-disc set of the American Pie trilogy... you know, American Pie, American Pie 2 and American Wedding... for a whopping $13!! What a steal!!

(For all those wondering, I don't count the Naked Mile, Band Camp or Beta House in the series because they were spin-offs and don't have all the original characters.)

Those movies bring me back in the day where we'd go on "group dates" of about 10 guys and girls to the movies since we were technically too young to date, but those hormones raged anyway (and parents were cool with group stuff!). It seems so long ago, but those were some of the best times I can remember from junior high/early high school! I'm definitely pumped about watching these movies again (probably for the millionth time!) and reminiscing. That is, once I have my life back after I finish this dreaded 15 page paper!!

Tag, You're It! wk 6

Though I'm not a huge fan of the New Influencers book, I have to say that chapter nine began to spark my interest when it discussed the use of tags.

Unlike with my difficulty in wrapping my head around what an RSS feed is, I tend to think that tags are self-explanitory devices. I'd always noticed them at the bottom of articles or blogs, and I knew that tags played a huge part in the success of search engines, but I never knew just how important that made them in the grand scheme of social media!

One thing I will give this book, is the fact that for every subject brought up, Gillin will give about 5 examples to help clarify. I never knew that there were sites on the Web set up to specifically track tags and what they say. TagWorld, and del.icio.us are especially interesting to me after I checked them out and did a few searches. The possibilities are endless! It's amazing that I could probably sit around all day thinking of ways I'd like to be able to search for information, by what category, and there would be some specialized Web site out there that will do just what I wish!

With technology we're always wondering, "what will they think of next?" but with so much out there already, I have to sit back and wonder, "is there anything left to think of?"

Freedom Calls Foundation... wk 6

Keeping with my military theme, I thought I'd post something interesting that connects social media to the military. Companies such as the Freedom Calls Foundation exist to bring internet connection and voice/video messaging to soldiers in Iraq for them to communicate with home.

The Freedom Calls Foundation is a non-profit organization that brings this technology to military personnel and their families free of charge. There really isn't a secure internet infrastructure in Iraq, and a company that relies solely on donations being able to provide this service really says something to me about the amount of people out there who believe in the cause and are willing to donate money.

It's amazing to me how social media seems to spill over into all aspects of our lives. Imagine being in the military and away from home even 20 years ago. The average person may have gotten to make a phone call once a month, if lucky. It's so much better to see your family than just hear them. Especially when technology such as video-conferencing can keep you right in the action of anything important going on at home. One Army General stated that the efforts of the foundation represented the single greatest boost in morale for the troops in the past 25 years. To me, that solidifies the fact that social media is here to stay!

My Wounded Soldier... wk 6

It's on a somber note that I start all my piles (and yes, I mean PILES) of homework today..

The day started out just like any other, but I received some very awful news. My friend Matthew that I wrote my personal blog about a few weeks ago was hurt in Iraq. His convoy was traveling into the city (though I'm not allowed to know which one) and an IED (improvised explosive device, aka bomb) exploded taking the lives of 70% of the men there. Matt was lucky though, if you can call it that. He broke several ribs and there are lacerations all over his face. For now, he is being hospitalized in Germany, but within the next few days he'll be back in the States. For a few months they'll have him stationed in Texas, doing therapy and keeping him trained for when he has to go back again. I probably won't get to see him until Christmas at the earliest...

All of this just brings it home for me. The war in Iraq is real. It affects real people, and real families, and real friends. I can't imagine what I'd be doing now if Matt hadn't been in the 30% of survivors. I've been worried sick all day/night just thinking about him being in pain and in a foreiegn country across the Atlantic Ocean where I can't go see him. I know that people in the class who read this won't feel as affected as I do, but please do me a favor and hug a soldier the next time you meet one, because I know I'll hug mine the first chance I get!

Yay for Podcasting!.... wk 5

I have to say that I love love love The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott. I was especially excited to learn more about podcasting, because so far this is the only thing we've talked about in class that I haven't tried on my own yet!

Chapter 6, though it was short, was just the kind of information I needed to know. I guess I never really looked into podcasting because I thought there was some kind of subscription fee. There was a quote that especially stuck in my head, it read "by appealing to a niche market and delivering audio that people choose to hear, an organization is seen as a thought leader and is the first choice for listeners looking to make a purchase." (page 70) Looking back on it, it seems like that is such an obvious statement. If the purpose of an organization is to reach it's consumers, then why did it take this long for consumer-targeting products like blogs and podcasts to appear? It makes me really excited to live in an age where advantages like this exist at my fingertips! The only hard part is figuring out which podcast to subscribe to!

On a side note, I checked out the band mentioned in the book, Uncle Seth, and I will have to agree with Scott on this one... they're pretty good!

Blogging/Twittering a College Class?.... wk 5

Surfing around for something PR/Social Media related for this week brought some rather ho-hum results for me. I decided to google "blogging classes" and see what I could come up with, and before I read too far down the page I came across an article on Techdirt that sparked my interest.

According the the article, a professor at NYU has actually asked that her students no longer blog, twitter, or text about her class to others. Now while it's her word against theirs as to the conditions surrounding the case, it seems to me that she's already made a serious blunder in the world of teaching.

Especially while teaching a course called "Reporting Generation Y," I would think that any professor would almost expect to be talked about outside the realm of the classroom. After all, this professor is supposed to know the ins and outs of the subject matter, which undoubtedly includes the members of her class. To me, any time a student blogs or twitters something about the class should be taken as a compliment. If I'm bored to tears with a class, I'll rarely talk about it on my own time.

Just as the article points out, I agree that this ban of social media is somewhat of a generational struggle. I'm pretty sure that social media is here to stay, and I'm I'm probably not the only one who would appreciate it if the older generations would just be more accepting.

No Motivation... wk 5

So before I go ahead and do my other 2 blog posts for the week, (yea, I was a bad person and waited this long to do ALL of them... reprimand me if you wish) let me just warn you that my motivation level is very low.

It always happens to me during week 5. Some people say the worst week to go to classes is week 10, but I will definitely disagree. Week 5 is by far the hardest of them all. It doesn't matter what's going on this week, I will ALWAYS not feel like doing ANY of my work. Period.

I still love social media, however. Hopefully week 6 I'll be out of my slump!

The 1 Percenters demanding transparency... wk 4

I kept sitting back and laughing to myself while reading this week's chapters in Citizen Marketers. The 2nd chapter on the 1 Percenters opened my eyes to several things I hadn't noticed before. Firstly, I was never aware that anyone had the time/energy to sit around and formulate "power laws" based on tons of information that I never in a million years would think to compilate into a statistic. However, I must say that the 1 Percent rule is alarming to me, because if asked this question on a test without reading the information, I'd SURELY guess that the number of people contributing to social media sites was more than 1%.

The 1 Percenters are also interesting to me because I find similarities in that group of people and my Millennial Generation. Wasn't it on the first day of this class that we learned the characteristics surrounding our generation? The book says citizen marketers are usually "in their 20s, highly educated, intellectually curious, sociable, interested in many things and in finding new interests." Wow! Does that describe this generation to a T or what?!

Consequently, I also found a tie to this generation while reading chapter 3 and the push for everything to become more transparent for everyone. We're always the ones being called "control freaks" for getting upset when a professor bumps a test up by one day... or when they change ANYTHING on the syllabus (man, I hate that!) Maybe it's not that we're so spoiled that we need to have everything laid out for us, but rather, that our society is one that is becoming more dependant on transparency!

So which came first, the chicken or the egg? The Millennial Generation, or the demand for transparency in life? Perhaps this debate will go on forever, but I'm sure that as long as one exists, so will the other.

My Matthew... wk 4

Everyone has those few friends who, no matter what, will always hold a special place in your heart. For me, my core group of friends is mostly made up of boys. This weekend was a bit sad for me, as it was my last chance to hang out with my friend Matt for a while because he left for Iraq this morning.

Matthew and I have been friends since I was 17. He's become like my brother. I've had so many good times with him, and I know that no matter what he'll always have my back and be there to protect me. Matt joined the Army last spring and spent most of the summer gone at basic training in Kentucky. He was home for a week at the end of August, before he left for base in Georgia. It was a total shock to me when he called and told me he was coming home for a few days because they were sending him to Iraq. I still can't believe it.

This weekend we rented a party bus and went all over the Toledo area bar-hopping and whatnot to give him a good time before he left. It was really hard to leave him this morning, I still can't believe I cried like a baby! I know he'll be safe and come home to us, but it still hurts to think that he'll be in danger and be away until February at the earliest.

I am so proud of Matt for his dedication to our country. Prayers for his safety would be greatly appreciated!!


<--- Matt and I back in the day



<--- Swimming


<--- Last Year


<--- At Little Mexico


<--- Me and my Matty his last night before deploying

Check out our band on MySpace! wk 4

Last Tuesday I went to a show in Columbus to see one of my favorite bands (MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK) play at the Newport Music Hall. Of course, especially among the bands I love to listen to, it's important for their image to be marketable to the younger generations. So what's the trend for bands who want to reach the masses?

MySpace.

According to an article on the Redwood Technology Consortium Web site, there are roughly *1.4 million band pages on MySpace. (*though I'd expect this number to be larger now since the article was published in 2006) Band pages on MySpace allow for bands to better connect with their fans by posting new music, upcoming shows and special promotions.

Bands aren't the only ones taking notice of this new trend. The article also talks about how some radio stations even use MySpace to seek out new talented musicians to play. Also, once a band is spotted online, the radio deejay's can even conduct interviews through the MySpace messaging system.

There are also programs especially designed to help bands reach fans who may never have otherwise had the capability of hearing about them. A company called NumberOneMusic specializes in marketing bands to audiences based on musical preference. The company will automatically generate a friend request for MySpace users who have showed an interest in a certain type of music, thus directing people to bands they may not have considered before.

I personally have discovered several new bands by visiting their MySpace pages, and I also use MySpace to check if there is anything new going on with the bands I already like.

So in the spirit of Social Media, enjoy this video from Motion City Soundtrack, called My Favorite Accident.

Technology and the Generation Gap... wk 3

One thing I've always found interesting is the fact that with every new technology comes the beginning of a new gap between generations.

Chapter 4 of Citizen Marketers (McConnell/Huba) describes the advancement of blogging, and particularly makes me think about the big change differentiating my generation from that of my parents'. My parents were part of the "TV/Radio Age," one that was drastically different from my grandparents' newspapers. It's funny to me that my parents thought they were "ahead of the curve" with their TV programs and radio shows, but here they are behind the times with things like blogs, podcasts, and even the internet in general! Headlining Web sites like MySpace and YouTube are constantly evolving, and that makes me wonder what could possibly be coming next to set my generation apart from my children's?!

OTHER RANDOM THINGS THAT MADE ME SAY "WHAAAAAT?!"
**RSS- I read and read and read, and I STILL can't tell you exactly what this means. Anyone care to explain it to me in Lehman's terms??

**ANIMALS BLOGGING??- I hope I wasn't the only person disturbed by this tidbit that might be part of the not-so-distant future...

**Does anyone else but me notice that the writers of Citizen Marketers use the word "democratize" WAYYYYY too much? If I wasn't so lazy I'd go through and highlight and count it every time I see it. There has GOT to be a new/different word they can use... it's as easy as visiting thesaurus.com

Not Facebook Friends... wk 3

It should have been a red flag to me that our personal life was in jeopardy once Facebook opened it's membership to non-college affiliated people. I know that social media sites are attractive to companies and school officials because of the amount of personal information one can gain by just simply perusing through pages of information.

Much to my dismay, I logged into Facebook early Thursday morning to find a surprise friend request from none other than the Career Services Department here on campus. And just why is the office of Career Services befriending students on Facebook?

According to an article on Wikipedia, many school officials are using the social media sites to investigate academic misconduct on campuses. While I know that things posted on the internet are essentially public and viewable by anyone, I'm confused as to why it has become such a hot tool for them to use against us. Wasn't there a time where personal life was personal life and professional life was something separate? I seem to think that what I like to do in my personal time that does not reflect on how I perform in school should not be questioned. I'll be 22 in less than a month, and I'm sure I'm grown up enough to be able to use social networking sites without training wheels or babysitters from school, especially when I have no idea what they're even using the site for in the first place.

Needless to say, that friend invitation from Career Services is still sitting there waiting to eventually be denied...

The Chap stick Chronicles... wk 3

So I was hoping to write my personal post this week about something interesting, but once again all I have to talk about is crap...

Yesterday morning I threw away my favorite chap stick, Burt's Bees Pomegranate, because it had finally kicked the bucket. Now anyone who knows me knows the obsession I have with always having chap stick on hand, so much to my dismay, I couldn't find any more of that kind in my makeup drawer. Of course I have other chap sticks.. you know, the kind that are like "sort-of" friends, the ones you call to hang out with you when there seems to be absolutely NO ONE ELSE around...

(Don't you make me feel like a bad person, because I know you do it too...)

I used a makeshift chap stick, but I told myself that before class I was going to run to Rite-Aid and get a new one of my favorite. Of course I had about a million other things to do so that didn't get done. Fast forward to the end of the day and I STILL never made it to the store for my chap stick, thus guaranteeing another meltdown in the morning when I rediscovered my loss.

Now before you think I'm totally crazy, let me give you something else to laugh about. I go to bed chap stick-less and for once in a great while I have a dream that I can actually remember! The sad part is that the dream ended with me getting shot by a giant tube of Burt's Bees Pomegranate. (I'll spare you the rest of my crazy dream) So before I end this post, let me just tell you that of course I made time to make it to Rite-Aid today so that I could stop obsessing over the stupid little .15oz tube of wonderfulness that seems to control my life.

PS- laugh if you will, I'd surely laugh at me too if I were you!

Bring me some toilet paper!

Going along with the social media theme, I want to share someone I often watch on YouTube (even though she hasn't posted a video in a while). She's absolutely hilarious, especially her videos where she prank calls people...

This one is her calling a restaurant pretending to be in the bathroom and needing toilet paper...




I think everyone should watch Katlitter, she's absolutely hilarious! :)

Viva Maria owns my life!

I know that by waiting until the last few days of the week to do the required blogs makes me look like much of a procrastinator (no complaints in that department), it also makes me look like I don't care much about writing them... which I'll say is untrue.

The truth is, my new job has completely consumed every ounce of free time I once had spending bored/putting off homework! I started working at Viva Maria last week (Wednesday) on their first day of business in town. Before anyone asks, the place is an Italian restaurant, authentic food... pizza, calzones, stromboli, pasta... you know the drill. So far in the 6 days we've been open, I've had a whole day off. I can honestly say I never even did this much running around waiting on customers when I worked at McDonalds back as a sophomore in high school (why do I keep feeling like sharing my embarrassing life details on this thing?).

But is it worth it?

I'd like to think so. The big boss man, Dom, is 100% Sicilian. English is his second language, and he often stalks around the place barking in a heavily accented voice. He IS the pizza master, though. I've never seen anyone be as passionate about cooking as he is. I never quite know where I stand with him, because he's pretty hard to read. I mean, he can walk up to me and say, "Casey, wha'you mean dey don' wan' no onions on da cheese steak?!" in the gruffest voice ever, but then smile at me in 15 minutes for no apparent reason.

Today he was wearing some really crazy pants, though. They were like sweatpants with all kinds of little Italian pictures and whatnot all over them. I was half scared to even say anything about them, but I told him I liked them anyway. He looked right at me and said flatly, "Oh yea? Well you can't have'em." Uhh... to say the least, I would've been content with a thank you, or even maybe a nod of acknowledgement?!?

It wasn't until I completely walked out of the kitchen that I heard him laughing. What a turd. He gets so much pleasure out of intimidating me to death!! I have a feeling I'll be sharing more Dom stories in this blog throughout the quarter...

New Influencers... the beginning.

It seems like forever ago since I read the intro and chapter one in New Influencers, but really it's only been a week. The biggest thing I can remember thinking while reading the first chapter was, "duh."

Allow me to elaborate:

As I talked about in my last blog, being part of this generation means being right in the thick of the social media boom (beginning at a fairly young age) and sort of "growing up" with it. For an adult like Gillin, who was NOT born of the "blogosphere" age, giant leaps in technology like this require one to stop and think about what's happening around them.

Of course, sometimes being right in the middle of all the action can alter one's perception of the changes, so it's nice to know that someone will take a section of their book and dedicate it to telling me the differences between business blogs, culture blogs, gossip blogs, online diaries, etc.

So I guess what I'm trying to say with this is that it's kind of nice to be growing up with all of this knowledge that some of the older people are just trying to grasp.

Social media leads me to PR

SOCIAL MEDIA FACT: The metrics enthusiasts at Jupiter Research claim that 57% of bloggers have a household income of under US$60,000 per year, a figure that is presumably consistent with concentration of blogging under college students. (for those of you who don't understand, that means OUR generation)

Social media in public relations is something I guess I never pictured going together. This, of course, was probably back when I was still a third year nursing major who felt out of place in the world of science brainiacs and uptight organizers. When I finally grew a pair (no that's probably not PC language, but my mom could definitely read that) and left my routine for a new major, I was sure in for a surprise! This is right in my element, because you see, I've been playing a role in the social media boom for years and I never even knew it!

I've been a member of the blog site Xanga for years. I haven't written in a while, but I used to write religiously. (insert lots of laughing at my apparent nerdiness...) I think it was back in middle school when the site became really popular and just about everyone I knew was writing in one. I'm also a member of the YouTube community. (as if Xanga wasn't embarrassing enough, now I'll have people I know searching for me on YouTube...) I post all kinds of videos on that site, some impromptu things I capture in day-to-day life and some are planned vlogs where I just talk about random stuff.

It feels really weird to say that I'm part of a statistic. I guess there really is a method behind all the madness though, because like I said, a social media nut like myself ended up a PR student!

1st Day

The first day of Social Media class is also the first day of classes in general for what would be my senior year here at Northern. Unfortunately because of changing my major last year, I will NOT be graduating this year as I'd hoped. This obviously started my day off badly.

I've had all but one of my fall quarter classes today and Social Media looks like it will end up being my favorite. The class length is a little long, but I'd rather be sitting in here than over in the Hill building wondering why history has to be so boring and why all history professors are born weirdos...