Comments Week 2/20

1. KH Dent: http://iamkhrys91.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/pinterest-is-it-your-type-of-social-media-site/#comment-20

“KH! I didn’t realize that Dunkin’ Donuts had started an account. That is interesting. On my blog, I said I didn’t really see the connection between PR and Pinterest, but your posting makes a lot of sense.”

2. Victoria Evans: http://victoriasfunblog.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/beware-pinterest-can-be-addicting/#comment-23

“

I knew you would be an avid pinner. You seem really organized. Ha. But this is interesting. I guess I can see how it would be helpful in the world of public relations. I think it would be a better website if they revamped the humor section. One of my favorite pins I ever saw was one where it was various pictures of short notes little kids wrote to God. These were my two favorite ones:

“Dear God, I am American. What are you?”

“Dear God, If you let the dinosaur not extinct we would not have a country. You did the right thing.”

http://weheartit.com/entry/104206“

Pinninnggg

There are two times in my life where I think Pinterest is extremely necessary.

The first being when I am bored to tears and need something to pass the time. The second is when I want to look at funny pictures of dogs.

My bff, Mary got be started on this web site. She’s what I like to call a keeper of all things trendy. Apparently I wasn’t living up to my full potential as a social media star. So nevertheless I was invited to join. I wouldn’t call myself an avid pinner because I usually don’t even sign in when I get on; partly because I can never remember my user names and passwords, but mostly because I never pin anything. I don’t know why I don’t use the same password for everything. It’s really annoying and I refuse to write them down because I tell myself, “you’ll remember.” To be honest I don’t really look at anyone else’s  pins either. I think it’s a cool idea for a social media tool, but I don’t see it being here years from now.

I really don’t think there is PR value in this website. I think it’s more useful for advertising and marketing, but I really don’t see the connection between pinning and public relations. Maybe my fellow classmates will enlighten me. It is a fun website. It allows you to get ideas from other people, but it really doesn’t give you the opportunity to have a creative mind. If you’re the “crafty” type, you’re either recreating someone else’s work or you’re adding slight variations to something a million other people have done…. or you’re just looking at pictures of Ian Somerhalder (I’m talking to you, soon to be Dr. Groover)

Overall, it’s a good website. It’s different. It’s entertaining. But it’s not going to shake the world of public relations by any means.

 

Comments Week 2/13

KHilson: http://khilson.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/stupid-cupid/#comment-51

“Sometime’s gifts can be cheesy, but I agree with you- It’s polite to pretend that you liked the gift. It is the thought that counts and a “thank you” is always in order. I’m glad you had a good Valentine’s Day! And I hope you still received an awesome gift from your Dad.”

Ashley Salim: http://asaliml.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/love-is-in-the-air-for-some-of-us/#comment-64

“I think that is so sweet that your mom still does that. My mom used to every year, and I always enjoyed the candy. I guess she really dropped the ball the past few years. I asked her what happened to my candy and she said that I never ate it all anyway. (Lies). But it’s ok, I forgive her. She still never forgets my Birthday or Christmas.”

Ugliest Color Combination? Red and Pink

My favorite memories that revolve around Valentine’s Day were when I was in grade school where we were allowed to spend the entire day trading awesome Toy Story themed Valentine’s Day cards and eating candy. Then came high school and the inevitable expectations. Yes, you guessed it. I am that Valentine’s Day cynic that thinks it is a stupid holiday. It is an entire day set aside for people to tell others that they love them (as if people need a holiday to remind themselves), and it gives them an opportunity to buy flowers and cheesy stuffed animals.

By no means am I high maintenance. I don’t need a giant bear that says “I Love You”. I don’t need a dozen red roses, but I do need chocolate all the time… not just once a year. I like people that are spontaneous, adventurous and creative. I think that some people can take this holiday and turn it into something wonderful for their loved one, but for the most part, it is a holiday full of predictability.

I have been given the staple Valentine’s Day presents, but I have always just said thank-you and acted excited… because it would be rude to say, “really? A $10 bear from Wal-Mart? Dumb.” Now that I am reflecting back on these memorable moments I remember a time when I was dating this guy, and we were watching a movie on Valentines Day.. admittedly, The Notebook, and he asked me what kind of ring I wanted and how I wanted to wear my hair when I get married.

I of course ended things immediately. Such futuristic talk sent me reeling… off the couch, into my car, and to a very safe place. I think that’s the reason I don’t like the holiday. I don’t want to think about marriage, hypothetical children, or having to make dinner every night… Maybe I just attract stage 5 clingers…. which would make my love life make total sense.

I find it hard to look at this from a public relations standpoint because I would never sell greeting cards, but if I did I would make them say exactly what people mean when they buy such frivolous presents. For example:

A card from a nice young fellow to his girlfriend should read: “Happy Valentines Day!” (on the front) Then you open it and it says, “I hope you loved your flowers and chocolate…. Now can we have sex?” “P.S. I Love You”

A card like that doesn’t require public relations. Sex sells.

Comments Week 2/6

1. Yasmine Horton

http://yasminehorton.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/generation-ys-weapon-of-choice/#comment-87

“I agree with the fact that generation y responds the most to instant gratification. This makes social media a dream to us. It’s exactly what we want, and it makes things a lot easier, but at the same time we are losing a lot of skills that are built through face-to-face communication. I agree with you that there are good and bad sides to social media. Information is put out almost instantaneously, but who are the gatekeepers? Who are the watchdogs? It will be interesting to see how the public relations profession will fare in a world that doesn’t necessarily require credentials.”

2. Victoria Evans

http://victoriasfunblog.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/for-the-pr-dork-in-me/#comment-15

“I agree with the point you made about small, local businesses running their own social media because they are targeting such a small portion of the community. But people that are working for a big company have to employee people with the proper credentials. Everyone thinks that they can do anything on a social media website, but they can’t do it well. That’s where trained public relations professionals come in; they are necessary and they understand the world of communication and how to properly communicate with various audiences, whether it be through press releases or tweets.”

What’s a tweeter?

Social media has not only changed the world of public relations, it has changed the world of communication. Anyone can put anything on the internet, whether it is credible, or not. While looking at social media from a public relations standpoint I can see why it is so appealing. It puts information out into the world instantaneously and it allows for instant feedback. This is a great way for companies to keep in touch with their stakeholders, and in turn keep things running smoothly.

Although the upside to having various social media mediums may seem endless, I still think that it discredits the public relations practitioner that actually has an education in public relations. Any one can get on the internet and call themselves a “public relations specialist.” Maybe it should be our job to keep thinks in check, but I think it’s sad that we live in a time where we can’t trust anything anyone says unless they have the source in their hands.

I admit it, I love facebook and I get on it all of the time… even when I mean to check my e-mail for school, but I also have great respect for the (hand) written word. We have entered an era of continuous technological advances, and for the most part, we have left print  behind. Things are always changing and evolving, but it is important to always remember the basics when it comes to working in the world of public relations. This goes back to our ethics and our understanding of the lines of communication that exist between practitioners and their public’s. Whether you are targeting your public’s through press releases or twitter, there is still a level of precision and accuracy that should be held to the highest esteem.

I’m never going to work in a job that requires me to update that companies social media. It’s just not me. But I understand its purpose and I understand that at a certain point in time, I will become my mother and every aspect of technology will be a trial of my patients and a test of my comprehension… truth be told, I’m O.K. with that because I will know how to communicate without a computer screen or extra extra smart phone and my hypothetical children will not. #IWIN

 

Comments Week of 1/30

1. Victoria Evans: http://victoriasfunblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/eat-my-shit/#comment-13

“AHH I forgot about The Help. It was an awesome movie. I cried… and if that ever happens then it was definitely a good movie, or a really emotional time in my life. Fun factoid about that movie: I saw it with my mom and ran into the GROOVEESSS and Anna. Don’t worry we did sit together, and Mrs. Groover cried for days.”

2. LaurenJC: http://laurenjc.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/book-vs-movie/#comments

“I honestly died laughing the entire time I read this. And I don’t think just anyone is that funny. But I agree about Harry Potter. I love to read and I tried to open one of those books and I hated every second of it. I would rather read a research paper. I agree with Ryan’s comment, The Hunger Games is a really good book… and I hear the other ones are pretty good too.”