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...