Comments Dec. 7

Social Media Class Ending

The guest speakers did kind of support what we were learning. Sometimes when you are learning about an intangible thing, like social media, it helps for someone to come in and explain it and provide real world applications.

http://oliviaclements.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/social-media-observations/#comment-60

My company, Red Bull, did not have any complainers on their social media sites. I think it is because the product is very low risk in that if someone does not like it, they are only out a couple bucks. I can see how Best Buy would get a lot of complainers because of the stigma that they do not have great customer service.

Final Countdown

Last blog of the semester! What have you learned this semester in this course? Did you discover things you didn’t know before about social media? If so, what? What would you add to the course?

This semester I have learned that social media is more than just that thing people use to post drunk pictures of themselves and let people know when they are eating. It  has many uses. The previous are certainly two uses, but there are professional uses as well. Specifically, the discussion board this week dealing with using social media to try to find a job.

I would add to this course more research. I feel like there is a formula out there for the optimal use of social media, and I am just scratching the surface. I, and Adam Brady said something to this extent too, found that Red Bull’s Facebook posts got much higher response rates when they posted earlier in the day. I do not really know what kind of research I am talking about yet, but its would have to do with collecting data and finding the best messages to put out at the best time on the best day.

 

comments november 30

La lalala, la lalala, Elmo’s World!!!!

I hadn’t thought about Elmo taking a leave of absence. That may be a good idea to let things cool off and it would also give time to not only find the right replacement, but for the kids to get excited about him again.

 http://jameepr.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/kevin-clash-as-elmo/#comment-63

I agree that this won’t affect Elmo. However I disagree that they will have a hard time finding a replacement. It is not a particularly hard voice to replicate and I expect the show will be back at full force shortly.

Culture Clash

If you’ve been watching the news at all over the past couple of weeks then you have heard about Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who brings Elmo to life (if you haven’t, Google it). With Clash’s exit, what does it mean for Elmo? Some public relations practitioners are recommending bringing in someone else to fill the role. Is Elmo tainted by Clash’s actions – guilt by association? Ragan’s PR Daily recently posted the article “4 things you didn’t know about Sesame Street’s PR”. They state that the handling of the incident with Clash was “textbook crisis PR.” If you were a member of Sesame Street’s public relations team, how would you suggest they handle this crisis? Do you agree with the way the handled it? In your opinion, what is Elmo’s future?

 It means that they will get a new guy to voice Elmo. They aren’t going to forfeit one of their most profitable characters. Sure he will sounds slightly different, but kids will not notice. And quite frankly, it is not that hard of a voice to replicate, especially for a voice actor.

If I was a member of Sesame Street’s PR team, I would have handled it in a similar way. When someone on the show is tainted like this, you must distance yourself from him. Clash has now admitted that he is gay and likes young men, which to me isn’t really a big deal, but he is  the star of a kids show, which is a big deal. If he took part in his gay escapades in private, or at least out of the limelight (as I’m sure he did), then that would be okay because it was not well known that he did Elmo’s voice. However, when it surfaces that this is the man who does Elmo’s voice, and oh by the way he’s gay and may or may not have had relations with a 16 year old boy, then it becomes a problem. I feel bad for the him, I saw a Youtube video of an interview of him and he seems like a nice guy. However, termination was the only route to take on this matter because it was happening around a children’s television show.

Movie Comments

Movies I love

I, too, do not really get into movies as they come out. I feel like it is such an investment of time and money that I want to know if it is worth my while. I went to see a matinee with my parents about a month ago, and between the tickets and concessions, it ended up being a $50 affair. Compared to some microwave popcorn and an OnDemand movie, that is astronomical.

My Favorite Movies

I recently watched The Truman Show for the first time. The reason I watched it was because I had heard what it was about and I thought it was interesting. It did not disappoint, I really enjoyed it. It could almost be a prequel to Bruce Almighty. One other point, I have never been able to grasp the concept of a good cry.

What Movies do I Find… Good. And Why!

Movies entertain us, they make us think, they make us cry, they even make us laugh. What movies are on your top 10 list? Why those films? What is it about them that makes them unforgettable? Was it the storyline that captivated you or a particular actor in the film? What movie(s) are you most looking forward to being released?

One thing about me is that I do not particularly like these types of questions. Whenever someone asks me what my favorite movie is, I don’t know what to say because I do not have one movie in mind that I would rather watch than any other all the time. IT really depends on what I feel like.

Having said that, a few of my favorites are Anchorman, The Prestige, Moon, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Inception, you know, basic movies that I am sure just about anyone likes.  Those, by the way, are in no particular order. I like these films because they are original. I know the concept of LOTR and Star Wars follows the basic “chosen one” storyline, but they are in different settings that make them interesting with character you care about.

There are other movies I left off this list which I enjoy. Anchorman is the only comedy movie I listed, but I enjoy comedies very much. The reason I do not list more is that there are few that I enjoy throughout the entirety of the film. I don’t like the “comedy” movies that try to appeal to a mass audience and make generalized jokes.

I like movies to be timeless. The example I like to use is not a movie, South Park. It used to be a show about the doldrums of living in a small Colorado town. Now it is a satire of modern events. I enjoy watching it and I think it is funny, but I would not watch the episodes again and I don’t think that 10 years from now I will be looking back on the episode that was a parable of the Lance Armstrong situation and thinking I want to watch it again because the material will be outdated and the associations which make up the vast majority f the episode will be stale.

As a standard in literature, TV and film, you have to care about the characters. All of these movies have characters that I find interesting. If you do not care about an uninteresting character, the movie has little to keep you interested. The story, however, is also important. Good characters and a good story will get you far in the movie biz and it is what I look for.

I don’t often go to see new movies, so I am not really looking forward to anything that I can think of at this time, minus the new Star Wars which I can’t wait for. I don’t see movies based on who is in it, although it does not hurt and I will be biased against a movie based on who is in it.

comments november 9

I’m thankful for!

It is admirable that you don’t use curse words anymore. Sometimes I contemplate giving them up too, but sometimes I don’t even notice using them. I believe that it is rude to use curse words on the premise that a lot of people are offended by them. I also believe that they only have as much stock as you put in them.

What I’m Thankful for…

I also have family up north who were affected by the hurricane. They are in New Jersey, but they live about an hour inland so it was not as bad for them. Still, their facilities are not made for flooding and up there most people have basements, which would be thoroughly destroyed.

The Thanksgiving One

With Thanksgiving approaching in a couple of weeks, take a moment (or two) to give thanks for the people, places, things, etc. you are grateful for (minimum of 10). Why did these make your list?

I feel like I am in 2nd grade and we just made paper cutouts of our hand and decorated them like turkeys, now we have to give thanks.

I am thankful for my mom, dad, grandparents, our financial stability, the love my family has, the good high school I went to, the teachers I had along the way, my friends, and the place I grew up. There is not much I would change, a few things I would, but I feel very lucky to have had all of the things I did. I know everyone says that, but I still am very happy. These made my list because I feel like they are some of the instrumental things in my life that put me on the path I’m on now, one that I hope hold great promise.

I don’t wish to go into any more detail than that. It is not my style to broadcast my affairs to the public. If I have someone to thank I will do so on my own accord. A good topic to discuss, just not one I wish to delve further into.

Comments Due November 2

Phone apps

Haha. I, too, do not see the point in paying for an app. If you pay for it and it’s bad, you feel bad. I have only once paid for an app and it was because I used a trial version of it and liked it. That app (shazaam) is now free, so I can legally say that I have no paid apps on my phone.

http://oliviaclements.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/apps-are-appealing/#comment-48

Right, the most popular apps are the free ones. I have never heard of anyone raving about a $10 app. Although that sparks the question of whether or not the most poller are free because they are popular or poller because they are free.

Apples to apps

What applications (apps) do you have on your phone? Which do you use the most often? Why?

What is your opinion on paid apps? Are they worth the cost?

Do you recommend apps to your friends? Has anyone recommended an app that have added to your phone?

I have the standard apps that probably 90% of people have. Facebook, ESPN, Angry Birds, Temple Run, Shazaam. I also have a lot of crappy apps that I never use but an afraid to delete them in case one day I suddenly want to use it. I probably use the ESPN app most often because sometimes I am not in front of the TV. Mostly during baseball season to see if the teams in the Braves division lost that day. I don’t use the Facebook app too much, but that is mainly because it runs horridly on my phone.

Paid apps are cool. I think that sometimes they are worth the cost. The only app I ever paid for was $5 for Shazaam (which is free now so I feel like a moron). I use it all the time though. I do believe that the companies who let you download their apps for free but advertise on them are doing it right. Ideally there would be a free version with ads and a paid version without them so people could choose. But it seems like the company could make more money by giving their app away for free and advertising on it because it will reach more people and companies will pay more money to advertise on it. As opposed to fewer people paying a flat fee.

I don’t really recommend apps. Mainly because I don’t have any groundbreaking apps. I am more of the person who lets other people try the new apps, then when they hit gold I jump on the train. People do recommend apps to me. One guy told me to download some sports app where you can check the scores. I already have ESPN Scorecenter, though, so I did not heed hi advice. The only app I think I have downloaded based on a personal suggestion is Foursquare. I downloaded it just to see what it was all about and become mayor of some places. I stayed on it just to have the high score out of all my friends, which I do. And I don’t like to brag, but you know that building in Washington D.C.? The capital of the USA some call the United States Capital Building? I was Foursquare mayor of it for about three months this summer and into the school year.