Well, this is my final blog post for my Social Media Principles class. Any blogging I do from now on will be on my own terms. I've enjoyed this blog, but I have to say, it'll be nice not scrambling around Sunday night to find blogs to comment on or news stories interesting enough to highlight with a post. For this blog, I wanted to reflect on my semester.
Yes, I know many of you are probably tired of my slight complaining or cries for help on other posts. However, for this post, I'm not going to talk about the negative parts of this semester. Honestly, you can only hear someone complaining about their life so many times before wanting to stab their eyes with a fork. As I would like to keep my eyes intact, it's time to look at the silver lining.
The first obvious one, I made it! I guess that may be celebrating too early, but it's now dead week, and I'm still alive, so that's definitely a plus. Sure, I would've liked to get more sleep this semester. And if my future self is reading this at 2 a.m., stop procrastinating and go to bed. Honestly, you're not slacking for going to bed early. Are you really going to get anything else done? Didn't think so.
Now, I already made a post about how blessed I am, so to differ from my earlier post, in this one I'll offer some advice to others out there who may be in my situation. I know it seems impossible. People tell you to take time for yourself, but you barely have time to sleep. How are you even supposed to think about yourself? You have clubs, homework, work, friends and grades to occupy your worries.
Take a deep breath. God never gives us more than we can handle. Things will work out in the end. If you don't believe in God, believe in yourself. You know what you're doing. And always remember to laugh. Find someone or something to surround yourself with that brings a smile to your face. It isn't always going to be the same person or thing, but find something.
My last piece of advice is to remember why you're stressed. Yes, you're stressed because you over promised yourself. But WHY did you over promise yourself? Because you love those organizations. Because you need to graduate on time. Because you love to be involved. Whatever your reason, keep that in mind as you spend all night finishing an assignment. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself. You'll make it through, and sometimes finding humor in the fact you waited until the night before to finish a huge assignment will help you get through the night.
So, take a deep breath and finish your assignment. Watch one too many episodes of a TV show. Spend too much time talking to your roommate. Don't be afraid to spend an entire day solely with a significant other. Whatever it is, make sure you find your silver lining.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
The Use of Craigslist
This story is much different than that of the documentary "Craigslist Joe," in which a man uses the website Craigslist to survive for a month across the country. Instead, this story is about those who took a life using Craigslist.
We are told all the time about dangers online because of people like this. These newlyweds killed a man who responded to their Craigslist ad because they wanted to kill someone together. I cannot possibly begin to fathom their thought process. However, understanding their thought process won't reverse any part of their crime.
If you read the full news story, you will notice the ad he responded to was calling for "lonely men" to engage in a "delightful conversation" for $850. So, some may say he had it coming. He was married and had a family, so it's his punishment from straying.
I send my deepest regards to his family, and I hope the killers are properly sentenced for their crime. They are precisely the reason why parents are so worried about kids spending so much time online.
So, what happens to websites running completely online, like Craigslist, when stories like this come out? How do they respond to the negative image?
Perhaps, one thing that helps is that they aren't responsible for those that post or respond to any listings through their website. The world is a confusing and sometimes dark place. It's up to others to look out for themselves and keep their own safety.
Another thing that helps their reputation are numerous satisfied users and a documentary like "Craigslist Joe." Honestly, if you haven't seen the documentary, it's worth a viewing. I laughed, I cried. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And it's these kind of accounts that help the website stay running. Whenever your business is mentioned in a negative way, it's always important to check in with audiences such as these. Make sure they still know you in no way were involved in the unfortunate event. Maybe even go as far to reach out to the victim's family. Whatever the step, they need to respond in some way. The article was in no way placing blame on the site, but many audiences could be lost without any assurance from the company.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Measuring to Know Your Audience
In Chapter 14 of Katie Paine's Measure What Matters, she talks about the importance and steps to take when measuring in higher education. She told the story of a college paying high stakes simply for not understanding their audience and measuring their reactions. The town surrounding a university overtime became hostile toward the school, so when a new soccer field was proposed, the townspeople let everyone know how they felt. Because of this, the soccer field wasn't built, the $6 million was turned down from a generous alumni and the president of the university resigned. Seems a bit much for a soccer field, don't you think?
To these people, it wasn't just about the soccer field. It was the way the university proposed the soccer field. Rewind a couple years, and the homes in this town would be filled with faculty and staff from the university plus families with students enrolled in the college. What was the need to publicize and weigh in on opinions that were already involved in the planning process. Overtime, these staff and family members had to sell their homes, bringing in an entirely different audience. This is what the university failed to understand. They could no longer say something was going to be built in town. The citizens wanted a vote. They didn't want to be told what was going to happen.
That's completely understandable. It's almost equivalent to the ever popular parents' reasoning of "because I said so." No one likes being told what to do. Because the university didn't measure, they didn't realize that's how they sounded to their townspeople. They were simply thinking in the best interest of the college. If they had presented it that way, I'm sure the town would have agreed. Instead, they had no soccer field or president, and that seems like a bigger mess than just trying to measure at the start.
To these people, it wasn't just about the soccer field. It was the way the university proposed the soccer field. Rewind a couple years, and the homes in this town would be filled with faculty and staff from the university plus families with students enrolled in the college. What was the need to publicize and weigh in on opinions that were already involved in the planning process. Overtime, these staff and family members had to sell their homes, bringing in an entirely different audience. This is what the university failed to understand. They could no longer say something was going to be built in town. The citizens wanted a vote. They didn't want to be told what was going to happen.
That's completely understandable. It's almost equivalent to the ever popular parents' reasoning of "because I said so." No one likes being told what to do. Because the university didn't measure, they didn't realize that's how they sounded to their townspeople. They were simply thinking in the best interest of the college. If they had presented it that way, I'm sure the town would have agreed. Instead, they had no soccer field or president, and that seems like a bigger mess than just trying to measure at the start.
Monday, November 25, 2013
You Need to Know What Others Believe
There has been much information about dealing with a crisis. Making sure it's dealt with in a timely manner, reaching out to certain customers and media and ultimately making sure your side of the story is heard.
However, not much has been covered on how to deal with the after effects of the crisis. Yes, we may be able to see a decrease in negative coverage, or a decrease in coverage at all. But how do we really know if the customers will come back to the company?
Katie Paine discusses how to measure this in Chapter 11 of Measure What Matters. Dealing with a crisis is one thing, but what about the aftermath? She suggests overnight polling in either an omnibus or telephone poll. Telephones polls can be costly, but it is still less expensive than putting a full page ad in a newspaper like The New York Times.
After a crisis, the company's reputation could take a turn for the worst, or the main customer base could be unaffected. Paine gives the example of a sponsor for the Olympics years ago that had a crisis a few weeks before the game. Through these polls, they discovered their main customer base was not only unaffected, but still supportive of the company. If this survey had not been done, the company could have spent millions trying to win customers they already had.
Like Paine has been saying in most of her book, measuring can be extremely time consuming and expensive, but it will save time and money in situations to come. If the company doesn't have customers that believe in their product or organization anymore, obviously work needs to be done to win back these customers back so the organization can continue to grow. If the customers still believe in the company, then what's the point of spending mass amounts of money to win back customers when rewarding loyal customers would be much cheaper and more effective?
However, not much has been covered on how to deal with the after effects of the crisis. Yes, we may be able to see a decrease in negative coverage, or a decrease in coverage at all. But how do we really know if the customers will come back to the company?
Katie Paine discusses how to measure this in Chapter 11 of Measure What Matters. Dealing with a crisis is one thing, but what about the aftermath? She suggests overnight polling in either an omnibus or telephone poll. Telephones polls can be costly, but it is still less expensive than putting a full page ad in a newspaper like The New York Times.
After a crisis, the company's reputation could take a turn for the worst, or the main customer base could be unaffected. Paine gives the example of a sponsor for the Olympics years ago that had a crisis a few weeks before the game. Through these polls, they discovered their main customer base was not only unaffected, but still supportive of the company. If this survey had not been done, the company could have spent millions trying to win customers they already had.
Like Paine has been saying in most of her book, measuring can be extremely time consuming and expensive, but it will save time and money in situations to come. If the company doesn't have customers that believe in their product or organization anymore, obviously work needs to be done to win back these customers back so the organization can continue to grow. If the customers still believe in the company, then what's the point of spending mass amounts of money to win back customers when rewarding loyal customers would be much cheaper and more effective?
Sunday, November 24, 2013
50 Years Since JFK's Assassination
Friday marked 50 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Flags around the country flew at half-staff to remember this past president and honor his memory. Aside from this, a ceremony was conducted not only in Washington, D.C., but also in Boston, Dallas and Runnymede, England.
Pictures are shown in the article of JFK's granddaughter during the memorial in Runnymede. A crowd gathered around the Dealey Plaza in Dallas for the ceremony to honor JFK. Also, Parkland Hospital, the hospital in which he passed away, had a short morning ceremony. In Boston, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum featured a video commemorating JFK. They also held a moment of silence at 2 p.m., the estimated time of his death.
In Washington, D.C., Jean Kennedy Smith, JFK's sister, laid a wreath at his grave in Arlington National Cemetery. Attorney General Eric Holder also paid his respects Friday, as he had many times before. On Wednesday, Preside Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paused during the wreath laying ceremony to pay their respects to this president.
From the clips I've seen on television, almost the entire news day on Friday was dedicated to remembering that exact day 50 years ago. Kennedy's secret service man was interviewed, and the pain in his eyes was so heartbreaking. Even 50 years later, he seemed to blame himself for JFK's assassination. Much news was also given to the fact that Jackie Kennedy's pink suit is still locked away from sight 50 years later. Under the wishes of the family, this suit is to be locked away until 2103.
So many news stories were posted on and before the anniversary of JFK's assassination. News sites made sure to post stories from different views and different types of stories. I think it's such a great idea for news sources to make sure such a large event in American history can appeal to many different audiences. For those more worried about clothing than the actual event, they have the story of Jackie Kennedy's suit. For those interesting in reading an eye witness account, they have a story about a boy who witnessed JFK's assassination. Within each story are links to many other stories about the event. You could spend hours on just CNN's website and not even read every story. All of these stories are written so many different audiences can be informed about such an important anniversary in our nation's history.
Pictures are shown in the article of JFK's granddaughter during the memorial in Runnymede. A crowd gathered around the Dealey Plaza in Dallas for the ceremony to honor JFK. Also, Parkland Hospital, the hospital in which he passed away, had a short morning ceremony. In Boston, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum featured a video commemorating JFK. They also held a moment of silence at 2 p.m., the estimated time of his death.
In Washington, D.C., Jean Kennedy Smith, JFK's sister, laid a wreath at his grave in Arlington National Cemetery. Attorney General Eric Holder also paid his respects Friday, as he had many times before. On Wednesday, Preside Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paused during the wreath laying ceremony to pay their respects to this president.
From the clips I've seen on television, almost the entire news day on Friday was dedicated to remembering that exact day 50 years ago. Kennedy's secret service man was interviewed, and the pain in his eyes was so heartbreaking. Even 50 years later, he seemed to blame himself for JFK's assassination. Much news was also given to the fact that Jackie Kennedy's pink suit is still locked away from sight 50 years later. Under the wishes of the family, this suit is to be locked away until 2103.
So many news stories were posted on and before the anniversary of JFK's assassination. News sites made sure to post stories from different views and different types of stories. I think it's such a great idea for news sources to make sure such a large event in American history can appeal to many different audiences. For those more worried about clothing than the actual event, they have the story of Jackie Kennedy's suit. For those interesting in reading an eye witness account, they have a story about a boy who witnessed JFK's assassination. Within each story are links to many other stories about the event. You could spend hours on just CNN's website and not even read every story. All of these stories are written so many different audiences can be informed about such an important anniversary in our nation's history.
NCA 99th Convention
Friday was an absolute whirlwind. The day started with presenting in a panel on why Jenny Walton is an awesome professor. We could've been there for days, but there was another professor being recognized, and the session was only 75 minutes.
Then, Molly Eickholz, Northern alumna and panelist at Jenny's recognition, presented her research on how advice can affect someone after their partner has committed an act of infidelity. She talked of positive and negative face and how different advice strategies can affect these faces, in turn having an effect on their mood. The research was very interesting, and she did a wonderful job presenting the information.
After that, it was time for lunch and my presentation. I put the final touches on my PowerPoint and went through our maze of a hotel to find the room in which I was scheduled to present. My session was a poster session. This means it was set up similar to a science fair. About 50 scholars had either posters or a PowerPoint to attract attention from other scholars roaming around the area. Those presenting were assigned a number and given a section of bulletin board. Coincidentally, Jenny Walton and I were right next to each other, which was perfect! The two of us ended up talking for most of the session, as not many people were roaming around. Probably because no one could find the room! (The hotel layout was an absolute mess.)
Sunday, Jeni Kmic presented her research on a Twitter analysis of the 2012 presidential candidates. In my opinion, she did an incredible job. She had great research and was very engaging toward the audience.
Now, we both changed out of our professional clothing and are ready to head to the airport. Washington, D.C. has been nice, but I'm ready to head back to Dayton and start my Thanksgiving break! I'm just a few hours and one plane ride away!
Then, Molly Eickholz, Northern alumna and panelist at Jenny's recognition, presented her research on how advice can affect someone after their partner has committed an act of infidelity. She talked of positive and negative face and how different advice strategies can affect these faces, in turn having an effect on their mood. The research was very interesting, and she did a wonderful job presenting the information.
After that, it was time for lunch and my presentation. I put the final touches on my PowerPoint and went through our maze of a hotel to find the room in which I was scheduled to present. My session was a poster session. This means it was set up similar to a science fair. About 50 scholars had either posters or a PowerPoint to attract attention from other scholars roaming around the area. Those presenting were assigned a number and given a section of bulletin board. Coincidentally, Jenny Walton and I were right next to each other, which was perfect! The two of us ended up talking for most of the session, as not many people were roaming around. Probably because no one could find the room! (The hotel layout was an absolute mess.)
Sunday, Jeni Kmic presented her research on a Twitter analysis of the 2012 presidential candidates. In my opinion, she did an incredible job. She had great research and was very engaging toward the audience.
Now, we both changed out of our professional clothing and are ready to head to the airport. Washington, D.C. has been nice, but I'm ready to head back to Dayton and start my Thanksgiving break! I'm just a few hours and one plane ride away!
Monday, November 18, 2013
Connecting with the Employee
Most of public relations talks about connecting with the customer. After all, they are the one driving your business either up or into the ground with their purchase choices. However, another group of people can cause business to go haywire: employees.
In Chapter 10 of "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine, she talks about how to measure effective communication with employees. Her beginning section was especially intriguing to me. She talked about employees being bombarded with messages throughout the day. For a typical employee she describes, this person reads countless blogs, listens to the news, talks to friends and colleagues and visits with their family. In the process, this employee might also take time to watch a television show and play a game on the Internet. How in the world is an employer supposed to break through to them?
Paine gives a detailed account in her book. However, I've been astounded by how much attention has been given to engaging employees. In every book we've read for Social Media Principles, there's been a chapter on communicating with those who work with you. I had never truly thought about it before, but of course it makes sense. If an employee is unhappy with the way they are treated in a business, they could retaliate and ruin the reputation.
Consider the Domino's scandal a few years ago. The employees posted videos of themselves putting ingredients in pizza no one would ever want in there. They then posted these videos online. When Domino's heard, they fired the employees and sent an apology video out to the public. Great job to Domino's for effectively handling the crisis. But what caused the crisis in the first place? Well, the kids themselves could have been searching for a way to make trouble. But they must have thought they would get away with it. Maybe they wanted to get caught and be fired, but my guess is they just did it thinking the higher chain in Domino's would never find out. That's because the higher chain in Domino's never communicated with the part-time employees making the pizzas.
It's always important to make sure everyone in the business knows they are valued. From part-time employees to the CEO, everyone needs to feel they are part of the fabric that makes the business happen. Otherwise, some people feel they aren't important and don't care about the business. And isn't it better to have someone selling your products that truly believe in it? As opposed to someone just talking to the customer with no real concern of the business as long as they get paid for their hours.
In Chapter 10 of "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine, she talks about how to measure effective communication with employees. Her beginning section was especially intriguing to me. She talked about employees being bombarded with messages throughout the day. For a typical employee she describes, this person reads countless blogs, listens to the news, talks to friends and colleagues and visits with their family. In the process, this employee might also take time to watch a television show and play a game on the Internet. How in the world is an employer supposed to break through to them?
Paine gives a detailed account in her book. However, I've been astounded by how much attention has been given to engaging employees. In every book we've read for Social Media Principles, there's been a chapter on communicating with those who work with you. I had never truly thought about it before, but of course it makes sense. If an employee is unhappy with the way they are treated in a business, they could retaliate and ruin the reputation.
Consider the Domino's scandal a few years ago. The employees posted videos of themselves putting ingredients in pizza no one would ever want in there. They then posted these videos online. When Domino's heard, they fired the employees and sent an apology video out to the public. Great job to Domino's for effectively handling the crisis. But what caused the crisis in the first place? Well, the kids themselves could have been searching for a way to make trouble. But they must have thought they would get away with it. Maybe they wanted to get caught and be fired, but my guess is they just did it thinking the higher chain in Domino's would never find out. That's because the higher chain in Domino's never communicated with the part-time employees making the pizzas.
It's always important to make sure everyone in the business knows they are valued. From part-time employees to the CEO, everyone needs to feel they are part of the fabric that makes the business happen. Otherwise, some people feel they aren't important and don't care about the business. And isn't it better to have someone selling your products that truly believe in it? As opposed to someone just talking to the customer with no real concern of the business as long as they get paid for their hours.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)