Ferguson and Twitter

A very informative BuzzFeed article illustrates how Twitter was used during the Michael Brown grand jury decision.

These are geotagged tweets that either mentioned Ferguson or used #Ferguson. BuzzFeed points out that the usage significantly increases around 8:30 when the decision was released. “There were over 3.5 million tweets about the Ferguson decision Monday night.”

I think it is incredible to put this Twitter use into an illustration. Of course, Twitter is still used to share opinions about Ferguson, even after this grand jury decision. I see at least one tweet on my timeline every day about Ferguson. It will be interesting to see the role Twitter plays in this current event.

Universities: Who is their target audience?

That’s a trick question! Universities have target audiences. Reading Chapter 14 of “Measure What Matters” by Katie Payne made me stop and think about just how many audiences colleges have to think about.

Payne lists the following as the “typical audiences” (211) of higher education:

Faculty, staff, deans, alumnae, students, parents, prospective students, parents of prospective students, donors, federal government, state government, local elected officials, local community, local media, national media and trade media

That's a pretty hefty list. I can't think of a company that has this many different groups of people to target.

I never stopped and thought of all these audiences, their different “needs, wants, expectations and desires” (210) and how the university must respond to them. Each of these groups are different ages, have different levels of education, varying salaries, etc.

Identifying these groups is the first step in measuring programs at the higher education level. After identifying, the college must prioritize the audiences. All of these audiences mean measuring their responses as well. No wonder college PR departments are so busy!

CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

It’s that time of the year again! Time to start listening to Christmas music!! Some people usually wait until after Thanksgiving, but this year I was cranking my Christmas Spotify playlist a few weeks before Thanksgiving. This music is too good to only listen to it for a month! Here are my top 5 favorite Christmas albums:

(Throwback) Honorable Mention:

N*Sync- Home for Christmas

Favorite song- “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays”

5. Family Force 5- The Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant

Favorite song- “Christmas Time is Here”

4. The Maine- …And a Happy New Year

Favorite song- “Mr. Winter”

3. Straight No Chaser- Christmas Cheers

Favorite song- “The Christmas Can-Can”

2. Relient K- Let it Snow Baby, Let it Reindeer

Favorite song- “In Like a Lion (Always Winter)”

1. PTX- That’s Christmas to Me

Favorite song- All of them! Go buy this right now!!! There is not a bad song on this album. Below is their original song:

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Every year since I can remember, I have watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade every Thanksgiving morning. Whether it is by myself, with my brother or my whole family, I always enjoy curling up in my pajamas and watching the show.

As I’ve grown older though, the magic of the parade is slowly going away. Now the balloons are just advertisements for upcoming movies and I can see right through the lip-syncing performers. The parade is also just a big advertisement for Macy’s, with its name EVERYWHERE.

I did, however, enjoy the performances by the Broadway shows. Those are usually my favorite. The show I will see in NYC this month did a performance, so that was fun to get a sneak peek! I also really like the marching bands because I can relate to them and have been in their shoes before (not in the Macy’s parade though).  

Although the magic may be fading, I think I’ll still continue to watch the parade each year.

One Direction Lamps?

A funny thing happened in the Twittersphere during the AMA’s on Sunday. As the Buzzfeed article describes, a 50-year-old man tweeted this:

Of course the One Direction fandom saw this tweet through the AMA hashtag and freaked out. Thousands of fans started replying and retweeting him. Jerry Riekert saw this as a business opportunity and tweeted some pictures of his homemade lamps. He then asked for opinions on his work and ideas for a One Direction lamp.

This event is very similar to Alex from Target. One simple tweet catapulted this “simple man from New York who makes lamps” into Internet stardom. Never underestimate the power of Twitter or the One Direction fandom. Who will be the next Twitter star?

Do you trust me?

Katie Payne discusses trust, how it influences a business and how it needs to be present in a crisis situation in Chapter 11 of “Measure What Matters.” Payne says, “Trust is the key to building and defending your reputation,” which I completely agree with (170). Customers support brands that they trust.

Payne then breaks down Grunig’s three areas of trust- competence, integrity and dependability/reliability.

Competence is “the belief that an organization has the ability to do what it says it will do” (172). Can the company carry out tasks effectively? Can the company compete and survive in the marketplace?

Integrity is “the belief that an organization is fair and just” (172). Is the company honest? Ethical? Open-minded?

Dependability/reliability is “the belief that an organization will do what it says it will do” (172). Does it carry out its promises? Does it act consistently and dependably?

I feel as though these words sometimes get thrown around in mission statements and advertising, but they are so important to building a solid customer base. If you have a solid customer base that believes in your morals, if a crisis arises, it will be significantly easier to resolve.

#GMM

Good Mythical Morning!

This is what I hear every time I watch a Rhett and Link video. For those of you who don’t know, Rhett and Link are a comedic YouTube duo. They have done a wide variety of things, including writing, directing and producing a documentary, partnering with local businesses to make commercials, writing and producing songs, releasing a clothing line and producing five videos a week on their morning talk show, Good Mythical Morning.

I recently started watching Rhett and Link videos because I saw them on Grace Helbig’s podcast. I’m so glad I did. I am a huge fan of Good Mythical Morning and watch it every day when it comes out. So, here are my top 5 GMM episodes.

5. Ice Cream Sandwich Challenge- Rhett and Link do a bunch of challenges like “Will it Taco?,” “Will it Pumpkin Spice?” and “Will it Cereal?” but this one is definitely my favorite. They try ice cream sandwiches with cheddar cheese, lettuce, seaweed and melted crayons.

4. The What If? Game ft. Daniel Radcliffe- Sometimes Rhett and Link have guests on GMM and the best (and probably most famous) was Daniel Radcliffe.

3. World’s Hottest Pepper Challenge- Carolina Reaper- As the title suggests, Rhett and Link eat the Carolina Reaper then wait 10 minutes before any relief from dairy products or anything. It may look like they are acting, but they are most definitely not.

2. The Floor is Lava (Game)- I love this video because every time they say “The floor is lava!” I just start laughing. They also relive their road trip from North Carolina to California and share how they kept the trip interesting.

1. Rhett and Link Join Blue Man Group- Rhett and Link go behind the scenes of a Blue Man Group show and play “Fancy” on a PVC instrument. Definitely worth a watch!