BS is more Damaging Than Lies.

In everyday life most of us have been in a crisis or two where there has been some BS. Some crises are larger and more important than others for example: my girlfriend/boyfriend cheated on me vs. Penn State firing their coach because he held a secret from everyone for so long.

The point I am trying to make is that BS is more damaging than lies. This was my favorite piece of advice in Katie Paine's, 'Measure What Matters'. If you lie about something eventually the truth will come out even if you are not the one telling the truth. Your girlfriend/boyfriend will eventually find out you cheated on them. Paterno eventually told the truth years later but still lost his job because he lied for so many years.

If something ever happens to you or your company that is not a good situation: TELL THE TRUTH. The truth is so much better than letting people find out from someone else or worse: the press. This can damage the relationship you have with stakeholders, your customers and even your personal relationships. Katie Paine, I must say, I'm not BS'ing Ch. 13 Threats to Your Reputation and How to Measure a Crisis taught me a ton about ethics.

Television: Yesterday's Product.

I'll admit I'm a fan of Youtube and NBC Universal Online. I go online and watch videos probably a few hours a week.  After reading a blog on Mashable I was shocked to see that U.S. Internet viewers watched a record amount of online videos in October than they ever had in a one-month time frame.

The article stated that out of 182 million video viewers in the month of October, 42.6 billion videos were viewed (that's 21.1 hours spent watching videos per user). I could not believe this number and over half of these views were on Youtube and other Google sites.

I suppose the question I really have is this going to effect the number of television viewers? Today, we can watch television shows on Hulu and put our DVDs into our computer. With economic times being so hard, will people not want to pay for cable television and save money by watching their favorite shows via the Internet? I predict that the television will be an outdated product one day. Who doesn't enjoy watching videos on the Internet and being able to skip through commercials? I enjoy this.

What Are You Truly Thankful For?

When we are younger, the majority of us would say we're thankful for having the new car or the cool bicycle our parents bought us. As we get a little older and wiser we realize that material things in life aren't as important as family and friends. 

This Thanksgiving, I realized that I am so thankful for the family that I have and how much love we have for one another. Recently, my grandma was diagnosed with cancer. For the past couple months my family and I have been supporting her as she goes through a difficult time in her life. Cancer is honestly one of the scariest things in the world because the disease comes out of nowhere. One day you are completely fine and the next minute your life is changed forever. 

Last week, my grandma came out of surgery and I had never seen her so weak. She's the strongest person I know and I had to take care of her. Helping her in and out of bed and doing little tasks for her was so strange. She never wants anyone to do anything for her, because she always wants to do things for her family. I feel like now is my time to support her in all that she has done for me. 

I wear my peach wristband everyday to support my grandma in her fight to beat uterine cancer. She has recovered tremendously from her surgery and is able to do things for herself. Her six-months of chemotherapy and radiation starts next week but I know she's going to be ok. She is a fighter and has so much love and support from me and my family. 

So, lives can be changed in an instant and I am so thankful for the family I have been given. Without the love and support that my family has for one another I don't think my grandma would have fought as hard as she did. So what are you thankful for? Think about this, because lives can be changed in an instant.

How Do Your Employers Treat You?

In Katie Paine's, Measure What Matters, we discussed measuring what employees think. I feel that this is so crucial to a company's success. If your employees aren't happy your business will not be successful. After working for Disney, I can tell you that this is so true.

Disney treats their cast members so well and keep them informed about what is going on within the company. They use social media tools tailored to different segments of their business. They use internal websites and newsletters to keep employees updated.

However, what is more significant is that they listen to their employees. Paine uses a step-by-step way to measure the success of communication with employees. The first step is figuring out where employees receive their information. Disney knows that social media is a primary resource employees go to for information. They also know that the internal employee website is trusted as many cast members do use "The Hub" to receive cast member updates.

The one thing I really like most about Disney and Paine talks about this in her book is providing your results to employees. Disney keeps cast member updated on everything that goes on within the company and I am very thankful for that.

Attention Kids. Get off the Couch and Go Outside.

Kids these days are so knowledgable about technology the new craze for preteens is Facebook and other social media sites. In a recent article on Technorati, AVG did a research study for Digital Diaries and found that most children have reached "digital maturity" by age 11. In the U.S., 53 percent of parents admitted that their children between the ages of 10-13 had access to Facebook or Twitter.

My opinion on these studies? I think this is insane. When I was 10-13 years old I was always outside doing something. I wasn't concerned about Facebook or Twitter. Now, I feel that kids are always on the computer. I have seen kids around the ages mentioned earlier on Facebook and I seriously am a little disappointed that parents are letting their children join these sites at such a young age. Let them be kids. I feel social media is part of the reason American children are obese. Kids are growing up too fast and are becoming lazier and less active. 

So, my thoughts on letting children on social media sites? Absolutely wrong. Make your kid read a book or  go outside and play a sport. Don't let them just sit on the computer or their phone all day and play around on the computer. 

Are You a Buckeye?

My weekend has been Buckeye filled. Buckeye banners, a Buckeye gnome and Buckeye mailbox are just a few items that filled the living room at my friends' apartment. Garrett and Brandon are HUGE BUCKEYES fans. I am not a Buckeyes fan and as I sat on their couch watching the Buckeyes play Penn State  I was truly in awe. The fans are absolutely crazy. Brandon literally punched a door when Hyde fumbled the ball. Crazy Buckeye fans.

Garrett and I also went to Bdubs today and again, I was surrounded by Buckeyes fans. I came in dressed up in my work attire and everyone stared at me like I was crazy. Sorry, I missed the memo about the Buckeyes jerseys, geesh. Next time I'll remember the memo. When you go to Columbus always wear your Buckeye apparel.  

And, let me repeat this: Always wear your Buckeye apparel. 

So You Want to Plan an Event?

After reading chapter seven of Katie Paine's, "Measure What Matters", I realize a successful event is not measured by how amazing a company's product is or how great an event a company is sponsoring. What really matters is that you are reaching your objective. As a company you need to first reach an objective before you can determine if your event was successful. After determining the objective we can use Paine's other six steps in measuring an event or sponsorship. As I plan my event with my internship called "The Wedding Experience", I will be sharing with them these seven beneficial steps Paine has provided. As I stated previously, the first step is to determine your objective. Below you will see the six other steps to successful measurement of events and sponsorships.

2. Determine your measurable criteria for success- once you've agreed upon your objectives, establish the specific criteria of success that you will measure.

3. Decide upon your benchmarks- compare one set of results to something else. The most meaningful comparisons are between different events or between you and competing sponsors at one event.

4. Select a Measurement Tool- Find a measurement tool that will drive results from attendees. Paine says the in-depth phone interview using the Grunig Relationship Survey is most effective in reaching clients or customers.

5. Define Your Specific Metrics- Use statistical data to analyze if your goals and objectives were successful.

6. Choose a Measurement Tool- Use different forms of measurement to see how successful your event was. Paine suggests using counting tools, survey tools, sales tracking tools and web analytics tools.

7. Analyze Your Results and Use Them to Make Your Events More Effective- Always analyze your results. Whether you analyze your survey or combine your web analytics and CRM, you need to do this so you know how to be successful in the future.

Dog is a Man's Best Friend.

Sadie and I

“A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.”- Marley & Me. 

I have always been an animal lover. My first dog was Sadie and my family adopted her from the animal shelter. I have always been an advocate for adopting pets from shelters and giving them a home. 

In a recent article on Mashable, Best Friends Animal Society is actually running a social media campaign to raise awareness about animals who are forgotten. They raise awareness by tweeting and using the hashtag #InvisibleDog, getting people to pledge online and letting pet owners create their own events on Facebook. 

I think this is a great way to spread awareness about the Invisible Dog globally. A social media campaign can reach out to thousands of people and the Best Friend's campaign has already gained over a 1,000 supporters. I think social media is making a difference. 

The Not So Glamorous Life of a Wedding Planner

This past week I traveled to Dublin, Ohio, for a wedding and event planning internship opportunity. Before the interview I was thinking the life of a wedding planner was glamorous. I don't think I could be anymore wrong. As I entered the boutique for my interview the atmosphere was just like I expected. Flowers, scrapbooks and bright colors filled the room. Then I met my interviewer, Rita.

During my interview Rita explained to me that life as wedding planner is not as glamorous as most would believe. The job requires attention to detail, management knowledge and a strong personality. I also learned that this month until January is wedding off-season which requires mass amounts of networking, referrals and selling. I will be attending at least five bridal shows in the next three months trying to get brides to plan their weddings through Devoted to Details. The most crazy event is the Columbus Bridal Show which takes place every January. I am a little terrified because I am just imagining women going crazy like in the movie Bride Wars. Fighting over dresses and vendors. Ahhh!

Despite the hectic work that bridal shows bring, I really feel this job is going to give me the opportunity to really hone my interpersonal and planning skills. My job requires me to call brides and set up meeting times through Excel spreadsheets, which I will be attending most of these meetings. During these meetings we will be brainstorming ideas with brides about their wedding plans.
I think that this will be the most exciting part about planning because I get to use my creativity to help design someone's special day.

I officially start at Devoted to Details this Monday.I am really excited to learn more about life as a wedding planner.The job may not be glamorous but the job is rewarding as you get to plan someone's big day.

Can You Answer These Questions?

In Measure What Matters, Katie Paine claims that a company must be able to answer 10 questions before they are able to measure data. The 10 questions are as follows:

1. What are your objectives?
2. Who are your program's target audience?
3. What is important to your audience?
4. What motivates them to buy your product?
5. What are your key messages?
6. Who influences your audience?
7. How do you distribute your product or service?
8. What are you going to do with the information that you research?
9. What other departments or areas will be affected?
10. What other measurement programs are currently underway?

I truly believe that you have to know these rules before you can measure an objective or goal. I am currently taking a marketing research course and these are similar to the rules we must follow. I feel the most important is rule one. You need to at least know your objective. If you don't know your objective you cannot advance any further in your research. I really like these rules and feel I should follow these when I am doing my research for my class. I am currently working with Information Technology on ways to improve communication of events to students through technology. I really feel we need to narrow in on our key targets and key messages so we can effectively measure what we're surveying. So, I say use these tips wisely and your research will be successful.

Social Media Sucks.

On Conan O'Brien last week comedian Louis C.K. basically said social media sucks. C.K. recently created a Twitter account just to let everyone know what he was up to but did not follow anyone. I think that's interesting how he does not follow anyone on his page. Also he makes fun of how everybody tweets about useless information. Like "Jesus is trending."

I found this so funny because I felt that he does have a point. People today are so consumed with social media that tweets, for example, are more important than real life. A tweet will spread faster than television news and word of mouth. Technology is taking over and I feel that in a few years social media is going to be the most popular news source.

Finally Applying for Big Kid Jobs and Internships? 5 Tips on How to Make a Good First Impression.

This week I finally applied for my first job. The job I applied for was a PR coordinator position at Universal Studios in Orlando,Fla. When applying for this position, I took the advice of Bruce Hammond an alumni of Ohio Northern University. Bruce currently works for the National Sporting Goods Association in Chicago. He gave a presenatation titled 30 tips in 30 minutes, which was very beneficial for internship and job searching. I was really impressed with his tips on the resume and cover letter.

With these tips I made sure to:

1.  Include both a cover letter and a resume. They should always go together just like salt and pepper.
2. Make my cover letter stand out. Cover letters are the first impression an employer will have of you.
3. Tailor my resume to the job I'm applying for. Keywords are important and employers will be looking for words that they feel fit the job description.
4. Be creative with my resume. Make your resume unique by using a creative design, but don't be too unique.
5. Explain in my cover letter why I'm excited about the position and why I'm the perfect fit. Don't gloat but make sure employers know why you will be beneficial to their company.

With these tips I accumulated through Bruce's presentation, I feel very confident when applying for internships and jobs. Hopefully these tips will be beneficial to you as well as you start or continue your internship and job search.

Blogging: Be Selfish, Be Classy, Be You.

I will openly admit that I am slowly becoming addicted to blogging. I am currently taking Professor Alisa Agozzino’s social media class, and blogging is my favorite piece of homework this semester. Blogging is such an informal style of writing compared to the writing I am doing for my other classes and organizations. I am able to fuse together my own opinions with opinions of other bloggers. I am able to create a story of my own, but also gain feedback from others interested in the subjects I am writing. If you are creative, opinionated and able to take feedback start a blog.

Here are five easy rules I discovered while reading through my social media books that should help you in your start-up blog:

Rule #1- Be a comment enthusiast.

So you want to create a blog, and you also want to make sure people are reading what you are writing. Well first, comment on blogs that have meaning to you. Learn about the different writing styles bloggers use, and find people who have similar interests as you.

Rule #2 – It’s all about the passion.  

Passion for a subject will make writing your blog easier. Find a hobby or a subject you are interested in writing about. However, make the blog unique. If you go for something generic like “food blog” there are going to be millions of blogs devoted to food.  Think of a way to get your blog noticed.

Rule #3- Creative layouts are winning.

A cut and dry layout never draws attention to a webpage, and it will never draw attention to a blog. Design a creative layout that will drive people to your page. First impressions are everything, right?

Rule #4- Actually be self-centered for once.

Make sure to create an about section or page. Bloggers want to know who belongs to the hands and mind that are typing the posts they read. Talk about who you are and your interests. Make your audience feel comfortable enough to want to contact you. And, make sure to include contact information.

Rule #5- Don’t play hide-and-seek.

When starting a blog, readers shouldn’t have to search for you. Make their job easier by using social media tags that will directly link them to your blog post. Tagging things such as marketing or Mashable will directly link your post to other sites and drive people to you. #prettysweet 

By honing these rules, you will create an attractive and sophisticated blog that will gain readership.