Dancing Through Life

Apparently this is my week to sing in my head as I blog. If you don't know the song "Dancing Through Life" from the popular Broadway musical Wicked, I would advise you to look it up. Now, down to business.

This Saturday was the dance show at Ohio Northern. Eisenhower Dance and dancers from Ohio Northern performed seven numbers in total. My personal favorites were entitled "What Was That?" and "The Music Lesson." All of the performances were equally as breathtaking. Ohio Northern's dancers were also wonderful in their performance. Each dancer in sync with themselves and each other. The continuous energy coming from the stage was electrifying.

The way the dancers created continuous movement was incredible. Not a single moment when the curtain was up was there a complete stillness. Each person knew the story they wanted to tell the audience. Whether that was the story the audience received, at this point, isn't relevant in my opinion. The dancers were able to convey emotion through their dance. It's what many people dream of doing. Those in Eisenhower Dance had the opportunity to Saturday, and I had the equally gratifying experience of seeing the show.

The McDonald's Makeover

On Thursday evening, McDonald's held an event using their menu in a new way. A gourmet dinner was served using ingredients from McDonald's. Kung pao chicken was served using chicken McNuggets. Tortilla espanola with Garlic and Saffron Aioli was made with McDonald's hashbrowns. McDonald's chicken and hashbrowns were also used to make the bold BBQ chicken. The same beef used for the hamburgers (although it wasn't ground) was used for the slow-cooked beef with blueberry pomegranate sauce and mac fry gnocchi. The gnocchi was made with their french fries and eggs and the sauce was made with their blueberry pomegranate smoothie base. For dessert, a pumpkin spice biznut (a combination of biscuit and donut) and cheesecake was served. This used the biscuit mix and pumpkin spice latte syrup from McDonald's.

So, is this a genius public relations plan? With so many news stories about all the processing McDonald's food has, I would say so. Rachel Tepper, however, did have some complaints: "McDonald's sourcing was barely mentioned. Talde's kung pao chicken made with chicken McNuggets were slimy and overly salty. A tortilla espanola made with hashbrowns was served hard and cold. Fried chicken was made with an oddly (and unnecessarily) sweet batter" (para. 4).

What does this all mean? Perhaps, it's that McDonald's took a step towards showing the world it's more than fast food. Tepper did mention that the beef dish and dessert would pass in a high rated restaurant (para. 5). It does leave me to wonder if other fast food chains will follow this trend. I believe that McDonald's followed it's slogan and decided to show the public what they're made of.

Tepper, R. (2013, September). McDonald's gives its menu a fancy makeover (photos). The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/27/mcdonalds-fancy_n_4005194.html.

True Colors

Okay, so the first thing I thought of when that phrase popped in my head was the Cyndi Lauper song "True Colors." However, I didn't know how to quote a line from the song without infringing on copyright laws, so maybe just buy the song and start listening while you read. Otherwise it'll just be stuck in your head.

Chapter 17 in Share This: The social media handbook for pr professionals gives a section about being completely authentic. Wouldn't it be nice if every person you met was this way? As Philip Sheldrake says, "[i]n the simplest terms, it's impossible to fake it" (p. 150). He mentions, just as we have learned in our Intro to Public Relations class, eventually, the truth will come out. As everyone knows, it's much easier to clean up a smaller mess than a big one that has built up over an extended period of time.

In this chapter, he seemed to be putting more of the pressure on individuals rather than organizations. Saying an organization or business needs to be authentic is a no-brainer for anyone with PR training. Be truthful and face conflicts early on. Simple. But what happens when we as individuals are expected to do this as well? What if we don't completely agree with a strategy our company is taking? It all comes back to ethics.

We have ethics thrown at us constantly in PR classes, but we will be thanking our professors one day. If we, at the core of the message, are authentic in what we say, then it's easy to convey that authenticity thrown the entire PR campaign. This authenticity is defined by Sheldrake as "having the quality of an emotionally appropriate, significant purpose and responsible mode of human life" (p. 151). We're not just talking about sending a message anymore. Now, we have to think about those influenced or affected by the message.

What are your views on authenticity? Is it truly important to let your individual "true colors" show? Or are you just hired to do the work that's best for the company and nothing else?

Sheldrake, P. (2012). Real-time public relations. In S. Waddington (Ed.), Share this: The social media handbook for pr professionals (pp. 147-155). United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pitching a Story

Chapter 16 in the book Share This: The social media handbook for PR professionals talks about how to pitch a story using social media. Personally, I have not had much experience of any kind pitching a story, but this chapter provided insight on how to achieve the intended goals. As some of you may know, a PR story or campaign is all about the goals, or objectives.

Something I had never given much thought to was the before period. Julio Romo points out how important creating a network is BEFORE you ever start to pitch a story. Making sure you follow your intended audience of journalists, and even some of the target audience, in order for them to know your name, and possibly follow you back, is crucial. How do you expect people to willingly follow you if they don't know who you are?

An important point Romo makes is to tailor each story to appeal to different specific people. Even in the overall target audience of journalists, some news sources are interested in different areas of your story. Make it easier for them and highlight that portion. If they don't think the news will apply to their column, they won't read the whole story. They're busy people and receive many possible news stories a day.

Lastly, always remember you are still competing for attention. Just because you think your story is the best for a specific news outlet doesn't mean they see it and feel the same way. Engage and capture your audience so they become as enthusiastic as you are about the story you're pitching. Otherwise, they won't even make a second glance.

Romo, J. (2012). Pitching Using Social Media. In S. Waddington (Ed.), Share This: The social media handbook for pr professionals (pp. 137-144). United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Return of Fall Shows is Upon Us...

As the weather gets colder, that only means all the fall television shows are returning with new episodes! This Tuesday marks the return of popular TV crime drama NCIS. Beginning its 11th season, NCIS is one of the personal favorite crime dramas of this blogger. Right after this premiere is NCIS: Los Angeles at 9 p.m. I am also anxiously awaiting the return of Once Upon a Time on September 29 at 8 p.m. on ABC. Surprisingly, the return of South Park on Wednesday at 10 p.m. is something worth looking forward to, as well.

Although homework will only increase, the return of popular TV series adds an extra incentive to complete assignments quickly. That hour break also allows our brain to relax and travel to another world for a little while. Whether you are looking forward to the return of a comedy, drama or reality show, this week will be filled with an increased amount of time in front of the television.

So, fellow bloggers, what series return are you looking forward to? This week or farther into the future. Maybe, perhaps, the musical episode of Psych is making you ready to embrace the cold winter winds of Ada. After watching the Emmy Awards, maybe new shows are now on your list of series to watch.

Amazing Opportunities

Today, I was fortunate enough to participate in the readings of two screenplays as part of the Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival. One of the screenplays chosen was written by an ONU senior, Patrick Fisher, and alumni, Chris Matejka entitled "Needle of the Eye." Myself and four other actors, alongside professor of theatre at Ohio Northern John Armstrong, went to the Lima Civic Center to add a voice to the screenplays. Both scripts were great, but I really felt so proud of Patrick at Chris winning second place and only being a junior and senior at the time, respectively.

It was such a great chance to be able to bring the script to life. Although this might be a bias opinion with my dating Patrick, I even thought their script was better than the one that won first place. Regardless, the opportunity to participate in such a competition is incredible. Every actor or screenwriter needs to start somewhere. The chance to have that start while still in college as a part to learn skills while refining them.

I am still in awe at how enjoyable this table reading was and how fun it was to discuss the script with a group of people. Opportunities like this make me so glad I attend Ohio Northern. Professors tend to go out of their way to find extraordinary chances for their students. Being in the little village of Ada isn't so bad when you have amazing teachers to guide you along the way.

How Twitter Can Make a Difference for Your Company

Although I was first reluctant to create a Twitter account, it has quickly become my favorite social media outlet. Even if there are a few people I regret following in the first place but feel guilty if I unfollow them, Twitter is such a useful tool for thriving and striving businesses.

In my opinion, Twitter is the easiest way to connect to big businesses or celebrities by far than any other social media device. As said by Alex Lacey, "[m]ore so than any other tool, Twitter has provided a personalised outlet for customer feedback on products and performance" (p. 74). Customers are able to share problems they may have and tag the business or use a hashtag as a way to archive it. I don't think it gets any simpler than that for the customer.

Another important point Lacey makes is to make sure that your company is using this platform because if you don't, someone else will, especially in times of crisis. He then gave the example of the parody public relations account of BP having 10 times the followers than the official BP account did when the oil spill occurred (p. 74).

As my PR professors love to repeatedly say, public relations is now about making relationships with the customers. Being honest and spreading information yourself is much better than a parody Twitter account having 10 times the followers you do. They can post almost anything they want to, even if it's based off a rumor.

Twitter is a great way to become connected and build trusting relationships with customers. Those customers then tweet about how much they love your product and the fact that your company connects with them so quickly. In turn, their followers try your product and are equally as impressed. Honestly, doesn't that sound that sound like a win-win situation?

Lacey, A. (2012). Twitter: The unstoppable rise of microblogging. In S. Waddington (Ed.), Share This: The social media handbook for pr professionals (pp. 71-77). United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Welcome to Sophomore Year. Would you like to Super Size your stress?

With adding a second major, assuming leadership positions and continuing to grow as a public relations student, it is safe to say that the stress is starting to pile up.

Don't get me wrong, I love being busy and every choice I have made I in no way regret. I have a great room and roommate and I now return to the campus knowing much more than I did last year. No longer will I have to worry about getting lost on the way to White Bear (and yes, that did happen to me last year).

So, did I get in over my head? Possibly. And there may be times when the stress may get to me and I feel like I won't be able to win. The great thing about Ohio Northern is at times like that, I know I can go to my professors or my friends and find help and support through them. Even if I forget to go to studio for my new voice class after my voice teacher drove four hours to help the 10 of us continue to improve our voices, a sincere apology and support from those closest to me can set me on the right track again.

Remember When

On September 11, it is only fitting to write a post pertaining to this topic. Mine will center around how others react to this event to this day.

One year ago, a huge uproar was made because the first tweet of the day sent from President Obama's twitter was about signing up to help his election while Governor Romney's account had a heartfelt message about remembering the victims of 9/11. What a disaster for President Obama's public relations team.

Many people were coming to his defense saying the tweet was not from him personally and was not his fault. Should we really cast away the blame so easily? I believe that someone should have seen that the tweet was going to be sent on 9/11, and therefore made sure that a remembrance thought was sent from him first.

Yes, he still won the election, but I think there is a very important message for public relations professionals to learn from this. No detail is too small, especially when concerning a topic that is still touching to all of our hearts. I believe that knowing this day is so important to so many American citizens should have prompted an extra look at the messages being sent that day. Let's not forget, many of the citizens who remember firsthand the attack were also voting age.

Syria

The news is slowly starting to constantly center on one thing: Syria. After watching the movie Argo this weekend, I now can understand a little more how serious this situation can be for those American citizens that are in Syria working at the embassy. I don't want to see the United States in another war. Quite frankly, watching Argo just made me think that the Iranian hostage situation could have been avoided had the U.S. not interfered in the first place by replacing their elected official.

The United States is not perfect. No matter who is our president, we are bound to make mistakes, either from acting rashly or not quickly enough. With problems in Iraq and Afghanistan slowly starting to come to a close, are we really ready to launch another attack in the Middle East? Sometimes action needs to be taken, and I understand that. I just am very wary about how long and to what measure our help to the Syrian people would take.

Sometimes, we truly come to the aide of other countries, other times, however, we cause more problems than there were before.

The Less Glamorous Side of ONU

The wireless internet in the dorm rooms have always been less than stellar to say the least. However, the Wi-Fi in Lima hall works for maybe an hour a day. Maybe. I always have my ethernet cable into my computer, and even with the cable in my computer the Internet still does not connect. Normally, this would not be a problem because our information technology center is excellent at fixing problems just like this. The problem is, the university is not funding the proper procedure to fix the Wi-Fi because it is not a concern of theirs.
With so many classes requiring students to use the Internet for assignments, I do not understand why this is not a concern for the university. It is possible for students to go to the library for the regular subpar Internet, but we as students are paying, or taking out loans to pay, for our rooms at almost a thousand dollars a month to have all of these promised qualities in the comfort of our own room. I just do not care for the fact that we spend the money to live on campus so we can have things like wireless internet, but the university is the one that is able to decide if we need it to work or not, a problem any landlord would fix for their residents.

Groundswell

Because Groundswell is a book written in the early 2000s, many aspects of social media have changed, but some basic ideas were very similar to strategies we are still taught today. What I found most thought provoking was the case study on Dell computers. Living in the social media age that is happening as we speak (or I type, rather), the idea of listening to brutal customer dissatisfaction for weeks (even a year after the initial bad review went viral) before acting upon the problem was difficult for me to fathom. In all crisis communication lessons, we learn the most important time in a crisis is the first 24 hours. When I read that case study, a little part of me shuddered before reminding myself it was 2006, and times were indeed different.
It was interesting to read all of the parts in the book that were similar, though. The numerous examples given of opened communication between the high executives and lower workers, such as the Blue Shirt Nation, proves to still be a major component of reaching out through social media. There will always be people who resist the change because they are used to doing it their own way, but the idea of being able to talk to all employees and have an easy way for them to give feedback on big changes in the company is priceless in my opinion. As mentioned in Chapter 12 (regarding Jason and Hugh), our generation is part of this growing technology, and we have the opportunity to grow ourselves and our company (or future company) with it.