Social Media Savvy: My Online Activity

Last semester I made my debut in the wonderful world of social media. I started out a little skeptical, but with each week of blogging and tweeting I got better and better. This semester I am much more active and aware of social media. Not only do I tweet and blog, but I have created a PROpenMic account, a LinkedIn account, and have started to subscribe to many more relevant, interesting, and informative blogs on my RSS feed.

While I do not coment much on ther people’s PROpenMic pages, I do follow the stories on the home page and through the emails. I have connected with several people through the site and I hope to keep doing so.

This semester through Twitter I have been so much more aware of my followers and who I’m following. I have learned to be comfortable with following somebody that I don’t actually know in real life, and even tweeting them. This semester has completely changed by attitude towards social media.

Through my RSS feed and my own personal blog I’ve learned how important it is to express my thoughts and feelings and share them for others to ponder over themselves. I’ve also learned not to be afraid to comment or share my opinion on other people’s posts. Bloggers love comments. That’s all there is to it.

This semester I have really found my place in the social media scene, and I hope I can keep up with my online presence and even expand that presence in the future.

It’s a Great Day to be Alive…

…”I know the sun’s still shinin’ when I close my eyes.”

You may or not be familiar with Travis Tritt’s song It’s a Great Day to be Alive, but this tune is the perfect description of today, April 22, 2009 for many reasons.

1. It’s EARTH DAY!!! Today is a wonderful day to go green and be proud of it. Even if it’s just by turning all the lights off for an hour, recycling that aluminum can when you could have more conveniently thrown it in the trashcan, or maybe cutting your shower a couple minutes short you you have helped save our planet today. The fact that it’s Earth Day leads me to my next reason why It’s a great day to be alive…

2. There’s PR EVERYWHERE today!!! Earth day is an absolutely wonderful occasion for just about any organization, society, club, or individual to make some sort of positive statement reflecting themselves, their company, or their industry by acknowledging that they appreciate mother nature and are making efforts to be as green as possible. For example, just by making their website green for the day, Clemson University has acknowledged Earth Day and made it known that they are conscientious of our planet Earth. Another example of the use of Earth Day for PR is the NBC morning talk shows  The Today Show, and Live with Regis and Kelly participating in Green Week. Each show has done various segments on how to be more green along with slightly altering the sets of both shows to acknowledge the green theme.

3. The third reason why I believe today is A Great Day to be Alive is because it’s my 21st birthday. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am 21 and ready to conquer the world. Watch out, HERE I COME!

What other Earth Day PR campaigns or tactics have you witnessed, experienced, participated in, or maybe even come up with today? Do you think it’s wise for companies and individuals to acknowledge Earth Day?

Keep me posted

Comment on Chris Brogan’s Post “The Undiscovered Country of Presence Management”

While catching up on my Google Reader I came across this post by Chris Brogan. As this semester is winding up this post was really great in summing up almost everything we’ve learned about having and maintaining an online presence. No it doesn’t go into minute details or cover all of the “what ifs”, but it’s a great “in a nutshell” description of companies and their online presence.

I enjoyed and commented on this post and I recommend that you definitely check it out!

Clemson Soccer Coach Trevor Adair Gets a Red Card

Last week for my bad PR example in Stakeholder COMM class, I touched on the issues that Clemson University Men’s Soccer Coach, Trevor Adair, has been facing. I’ve done several posts on PR and image restoration in the athletic world, so it will be very interesting to see how this case is carried out.

I know this is not a very well known case seeing as it’s taken place in the small town of Clemson, SC, so let me start by telling you exactly what happened.

Early last Saturday morning, Trevor Adair was arrested at his Clemson home on charges of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature following a domestic dispute. At 2:30 am on Saturday, April 12 Clemson City police arrived at Adair’s home where he and several others were in the front yard. Adair was arrested and taken to the Clemson City jail where he was later released on a $10,000 bond. A report released from the police department accuses Adair of assaulting his two daughters as the result of an argument. Clemson University has placed Adair on a leave of absence in order to face these issues.

As of now, the only thing that has been released concerning the matter is this statement from Clemson University Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips:

“I visited with Coach Adair on Saturday, and this is an extremely difficult situation for Trevor and his family. I have placed Coach Adair on a leave of absence so he can address these issues. We recognize the charges are very serious in nature.”

The way I see it, this statement is much too vague for the seriousness of the situation.

It neglects to address several key issues such as: Is the leave of absence paid? When will he return? Will he be fired? What further actions do both Adair and the University plan to take concerning this matter? What about the future of the Men’s Soccer program while Adair is on leave? Are his daughters alright? Will there be any type of corrective action take?

The statement is also extremely vague, and mentions things that are pretty much obvious. Clearly this is an extremely difficult situation, clearly he needs to address the issues, and clearly the charges are serious. We’re not stupid. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure those things out. What next?

If I had been the one to respond in this situation, I would have made sure to answer more of these questions. I realize that the situation does not need to be blown out of proportion, or made any bigger of a deal than it already is, but there does need to be a little more light shed on the situation if both Adair and the University are to come out on top of the situation.

What do you think of the statement released by the Athletic Director? How would you respond? If you were Coach Adair what actions would you take?

Keep me posted

Tweetertainment: Celebs and Stars on Twitter

Lately, I’ve started to follow several various actors, athletes, singers, news anchors, TV shows, movies, and entertainment gurus on Twitter just to see what they have to tweet, and judge whether or not I think it’s a good or bad idea for these famous figures to be on Twitter. Some of these celebs include Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk), Demi Moore (@mrskutcher), Ryan Seacrest (@RyanSeacrest), Perez Hilton (@perezhiltson), Good Morning America (@GMA), The Today Show(@todayshow), Al Roker, (@alroker), Monsters vs. Aliens (@mvamovie), Shaquille O’Neal (@THE_REAL_SHAQ) and more. I’ve come to three main conclusions.

Before I share my conclusions though, I want to make one thing clear. As far as my observations show, these figures aren’t on Twitter for a major PR campaign but rather just to hang out and tweet because they want to.

My first conclusion is that these celebs and entertainment figures being on Twitter can’t hurt them. It’s really just a way for them to connect with viewers, fans, scope out what the competition is saying, and put themselves out there. Now, on the other hand, these tweeps should not be posting obscene profanities or other inappropriate thoughts or questions for their followers to see, and if they are, they’re ruining their image.

My next conclusion is that if the celeb is not tweeting for him or herself, they should not be tweeting at all. It’s pretty obvious when a celeb has someone tweeting for them, and this makes me as a follower feel betrayed. Not that I know these celebs individually, but I feel that if I’m respecting them enough to follow them on Twitter, they should respect me enough to Tweet for themselves instead of having someone else ghost tweet for them. In other words, I don’t want to hear what someone else thinks Britney Spears has to say. I want to see what Britney has to say for herself.

My final conclusion is that celebs and entertainment figures are more enjoyable to follow when they tweet on their everyday experiences or things that us normal, down to earth, everyday people can relate to. I like when Al Roker tweets about tucking his kids in, and I like when Shaq posts an inspirational quote for followers, and I like when Ryan Seacrest tells me about the crazy lady he just saw walking down the street. Yeah yeah, it’s interesting to know that the Grammy after party was a  blast, or that you’re so excited about winning Entertainer of the Year at the CMAs,or that your concert was sold out, but these celeb tweeps become more appealing when I can relate to them on a more normal and personal level.

Do yo follow celebs on Twitter? If so, who? What do you like or dislike about the way they tweet?

Keep me posted

A Little PR Never Hurt Anybody

…Especially in the middle of a Recession.

News flash: The economy is crumbling, and we’re in a recession.

That said, companies and industries of all types and sizes are struggling in all areas, even advertising and marketing. The way I see it, this economic downturn that we’re experiencing is actually benefiting the world of PR. Now that companies, individuals, and businesses are cutting costs and lowering budgets, the PR pros finally have a chance to shine as companies are more frequently turning to more cost efficient or even free publicity. Typically, PR pros are looked upon negatively, but perhaps this negative stereotype will start to fade as PR becomes more of a crucial standard in budgeting and business plans from company to company.

What do you think? Will PR become more prevalent as the economy gets worse? What affect do you this may have on the future of the PR field?

Keep me posted

It’s Not Delivery. It’s Digiorno…on Twitter

It seems as though  I hear of a new person or company who’s looking to build their brand on Twitter each and every day. Today, it was Kraft and their frozen pizza brand, DiGiorno.

DiGiorno’s debut to the Twitterverse was brought to my attention by an “Issues and Trends” email that I received earlier today through PRSA. These daily emails kindly point out various happenings and news in the world of PR, more specifically, social media. I stumbled across this post, and couldn’t help myself but to post about it.

It seems as though in the past two or three (or four) months, there’s been an uproar of new individuals, companies, corporations, news empires, etc. joining the Twitterverse, and I must say…I LOVE IT! I love the fact that these companies are taking the time and effort to keep up with the fast paced society we live in. They’ve realized that TV commercials and newspapers/catalogs/coupon booklets/billboards just aren’t cutting it anymore as far as advertising and publicity goes. These smart companies, and even more importantly the smart individuals behind these companies are realizing (just as I have recently) that it’s important to jump on the social media bandwagon before it gets too late!

Tom Moe, Director-Marketing for Kraft’s DiGiorno brand was the one behind DiGiorno’s social media debut. He says, “We’re always looking for the newest and most relevant places to be in both areas, and we thought this would be a great offer to combine with Twitter.” This “offer” that he’s referring to is the pizza that DiGiorno will supply at area tweetups in hopes of gaining even more of a response both in the blogosphere, the Twitterverse, and through WOMM. DiGiorno will admit the their PR agency, Weber Shandiwck, is still trying to work out details of who will post what and when. But on the other hand, they’ve already decided that they will measure their progress and success based on engagement and participation at these tweetups, and then by how much blogging and tweeting is produced as a result.

While they’re still a little fuzzy on what makes an influential tweeter, they’re on the right track, and that’s something you can’t blame ‘em for!

What do you think of companies using twitter and other social media outlets? If you approve why? If you disapprove why? Would you attend a DiGiorno tweetup? What could DiGiorno do to make the best of its online presence.

Keep me posted

76ers Reach Fans Through Twitter

I recently discovered an article in the sports section of the USA Today referring to the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers recently entered the Twitterverse. According to the article the 76ers have come to realize that Twitter is an excellent tool to make communicating with friends easier. Tweets made by the Sixers are written by their new media and public relations staff and often times offer information about games, practices, fan deals, etc. Vice President of Marketing for the Sixers says, “We’re hopeful that it’s something one of our players wants to do…we’ll help them out.”

I think this is a great PR Example for several reasons:

• Good to know that the even the sports world is trying to hang in the social media world
• The Sixers’ use of Twitter shows that they are in fact making efforts to connect with fans, and hear what they have to say through replies
• The Sixers are also hoping that other players will start using Twitter as a stem from this first account.

I want to hear from you! What other sports teams are on Twitter? Do you follow any? What do you think these sports team should be tweeting about? Good or bad idea?

Keep me posted!

Comment on Madison’s Views Post, “Well Known Companies on Twitter”

Check out my comment on fellow classmate Madison’s blog “Well Known Companies on Twitter“. Also follow @SharpieSusan on Twitter!

Everybody’s Reading Newspapers Like They’re Goin’ Outta Style

…possibly because they are.

Recently on Clemson’s campus USA Today has come up with a new initiative known as the USA Today Collegiate Readership Pilot Program (woah, that’s a mouthful). The program offers both USA Today and The New York Times in several central locations around campus including the post office and dining locations.

I saw the newspaper stand yesterday while walking through the post office, and while I did grab a copy of USA Today, I couldn’t help but to ask myself  ‘Is this program really for the students?’ Of course, it’s wonderful for students to be exposed and have the opportunity to read two of the nation’s most prestigious newspapers, but students can do that online. This leads me to believe that this “collegiate” readership program isn’t really so “collegiate afterall.

My speculation is that readership for USA Today and The New York Times are probably down due to several factors (that I really haven’t researched, but seem quite evident including online readers, people cutting out unnecessary expenses aka newspaper subscriptions, etc.), therefore they’re looking to new readers and audiences. And in this particular instance they’re hoping to gain more of a “collegiate” readership.

This collegiate readership program sounds like a good idea, but is it really? If you think about it us college kids are the ones who’ve grown up with computers, have always had a computer, and when we need to know something or figure something out, we go straight to the computer. I know I personally catch up on news and read several different newspapers online each day, and I’m sure I’m not alone. Yes,as collegians it’s nice to have real copies of these publications at our finger tips, but unfortunately you can’t teach an old dog (yes, I’m referring to college students) new tricks like actually picking up a newspaper and reading it. It’s a noble effort, but I wouldn’t count on a major boost in subsricption to these publications from the 18-22 year old bracket.

We all know the newspaper’s on its way out. Do you think there’s any way to save newspapers? How do you feel about the USA Today Collegiate Readership Program?

Keep me posted!