Reflection of an overbooked semester

You know how can overbook a concert or a movie by exceeding capacity? That's kind of what I did with my semester.

I have been absent from this blog, save one post, for the semester. This blog, among other things, was neglected by my due to spreading myself too thin these past four months.

I thought I could do it all. Turns out I was wrong.

At the beginning of the semester I was a double major with a minor enrolled in 16 credit hours, 3 hours of undergraduate study, a brand rep for ReadyU, an outreach coordinator for the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) of Virginia Tech and President of the Public Relations Student Society of America. I barely had time for myself, let alone all of these activities.

At the end of September, I finally decided to drop a class, easing myself down to 13 credit hours (still 16 with the undergraduate study). I invested myself in all of these opportunities thinking all these activities were great opportunities and my resume would be amaaazing.

Well, when you overbook yourself it takes its toll. I couldn't focus on everything, so the work I was doing was only mediocre. I barely managed to scrape by doing all of these activities, and certain things (like my personal life) were placed on the back burner. I managed to get everything done, though, and I don't think my GPA is actually going to suffer that badly, somehow.

In an effort to de-stress myself next semester and put more effort into my activities, I've decided to drop my minor. Really, it's just a cognate (a term made up by the Comm Dept that allows you to make up your own minor). At VT, there's no such thing as a minor in Marketing & Management. There's not even a marketing minor anymore. Although I only have two classes left, those two classes next semester would be adding much unnecessary stress.

I've also decided to not continue as a brand rep with ReadyU. While it was a great opportunity to get more experience in marketing and event planning, its just not my priority right now. Someone else who needs the experience deserves it.

I am continuing with (what will soon be) my dual degree in Communication (PR) and French, as well as my position as outreach coordinator for HEVT and my undergraduate research (which will be Independent Study next semester). My New Year's Resolution is to be more committed to the activities I am involved in, but also leave time for myself.

Happy Holidays!

Glow Out TONIGHT with ReadyU!

This semester, I am a brand ambassador with ReadyU, Procter & Gamble's college platform. My job is to market ReadyU's brands, such as CoverGirl, Pantene, Olay, Old Spice and more to the student population on Virginia Tech's campus. I do this by hosting different events to engage the students on my campus and get them excited about ReadyU.

ReadyU's next event is taking place tonight from 7-10 p.m. in the main area of Downtown Blacksburg. Read below for more information!

TheReadyU “Search Engine” Scavenger Hunt is going full-steam ahead and taking over the downtown area of the Virginia Tech campus on TONIGHT from 7 p.m. to midnight. Students will race to the cyber finish line while uncovering clues about the Virginia Tech campus and scoring ReadyU prizes and coupons along the way.

As teams arrive to every pit stop, they must perform the appropriate tasks to rack up as many points and check-ins as possible. Lead the pack and win the “Search Engine” Scavenger Hunt Grand Prize, ReadyU products and campus gift cards. Hit the gas and don’t look back!

Students will race to the four following prominent campus locations:

· Squires fountain
· Moe’s
· Top of the Stairs
· Jimmy John’s

Teams will first check in at headquarters on the corner of Main St. and College Avenue to get started!

Join the amazing race and have ReadyU help you live your college years in the fast lane! Check out the pictures and videos of your pit stop at www.facebook.com/readyu.

FINALLY!

When I logged in this morning to my Twitter account, I was immediately bombarded by this giant announcement:

I don't know about you, but I've been wondering when the day was finally going to come that Twitter would became savvy enough to implement their own picture function.

Before, if I wanted to upload a picture from my computer, I'd have to go through Twitpic. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't that big of a hassle, but you are going to encounter people who don't think the process is worth it and would rather post the picture on a site who's function is easily embedded, such as Facebook and now Google+. For Twitter this wasn't great news either, as Twitpic is a client site, so people were navigating off of the Twitter site to post photos.

I'm aware that a large percentage of people who are uploading pictures to Twitter are doing so via smartphone. I could be wrong, but I believe the majority of these pictures are ones that were taken directly from the phone and easily uploaded with the click of a button. So this new picture function will not affect people who upload solely for that reason. I do use my phone a lot to upload pictures I have taken, however, when I want to share a picture from my computer, it is usually from a website. Now Twitter has made it a whole lot easier to share pics from the web for me and anyone else who falls into this category.

I have no doubt that this new feature was in part a strategic move against Google+. Last month, I read an article from Business Insider debating whether Google+ would be a bigger threat to Facebook or Twitter. The argument was that most people who were able to get in on the early field trial were treating the new platform more like Twitter than Facebook. The "circles" feature rivals Twitter's "lists" in the sense that you can selectively choose who you are receiving information from. However, "circles" goes one further to let you decide who you want to see what you are posting out there. Google+'s "resharing" feature is pretty much a copycat of the "retweet" feature introduced by Twitter (however, it is important to note Facebook's "share" button as well).

In this sense, Google+ was able to beat out Twitter by allowing users to easily embed a picture into their post. They still have the upper hand on video embeddings, as Twitter has yet to offer this, but both offer geo-targeting functions and link embeddings. Although Twitter has (somewhat) recently restructured their links by shortening them within your tweet to provide more space, it still takes up a certain amount of characters. And of course, there is no character limit to your posts on Google+. But hey, that was the original idea of Twitter in the first place wasn't it? It was meant to be no longer than the length of an SMS text.

The Role of Social Media in the Criminal Landscape

The recent events of the Osama raid has gotten me thinking about the increasing role of social media being used as a source of data, evidence, proof, etc in situations such as government take-downs or criminal cases.

TIME magazine reported that a resident of Abbottabad, Pakistan, who just happened to live a stone's throw from the Osama compound, actually detailed the event via Twitter without knowing what events were occurring.

Upon learning what he was reporting on his Twitter account, Sohaib Athar, the Abbottabad resident, tweeted, "Uh oh, now I'm the guy who liveblogged the Osama raid without knowing it." And while some might be excited about living out their 15 seconds of fame, Athar didn't seem to be jumping for joy:

Athar unknowingly, yet successfully, detailed the attack from a civilian's point of view and became a reference point for many media outlets and civilians just looking for more information on the raid.

This is what got me thinking about the role of social media: how are platforms such as Twitter and Facebook increasingly being used to detail attacks or provide evidence in trials?

According to The New York Daily News, Twitter was being used as evidence in a murder trial in January 2010. The suspect, Jameg Blake, reportedly had "beef" with long-time friend/victim Kwame Dancy that possibly led to the latter's murder. The NY Daily News reported, "A police source said the messages may be subpoenaed to bolster the theory that there was bad blood between the two old pals." While tweets alone are not nearly enough to convict someone of a crime, this just goes to show how social media platforms are beginning to play a role in these types of situations. The Tech Herald reasoned that while this is most likely the first time Twitter has played a such role, "...as most and more people flood the various social sites with comments, opinions and even arguments, this might not be the last time Twitter is linked to a criminal case."

Federal Computer Week also reported how social media is being used to catch criminals. In an article dating April 5, the publication described how police forces are combing through social media sites for evidence or for information on how to track suspects. According to FCW:

On the flip side, the article also argued that police officers need to be careful about protecting themselves on these sites. Because gangs are becoming more savvy about social media platforms, they can look at photos to recognize officers and track GPS postings, which leaves officers more prone to an attack.

Some police departments have been efficient at using social media platforms as a source of PR to boost the public's morale.

I'm interested to see how these social media sites will continue to shape the landscape of the criminal field.

Quack Quack, AFLAC!

Aflac announced the new voice of its fair-feathered duck friend yesterday. Thirty-six year-old father of three, Daniel McKeague was chosen out of a pool of over 12,500 applications.

Aflac fired comedian Gilbert Gottfried after he tweeted some ill-mannered thoughts about the tsunami in Japan last month. According to Ad Age, Japan is Aflac's largest market, so they were wise to dump the not-so-funny comedian. Shortly after, Aflac launched a campaign titled "Answer the Duck's Call" to find the new voice.

Tom Amico from Kaplan Thaler Group, one of Aflac's agencies, was a bit of a jokester when asked what he was looking for during auditions. "I'm just looking for somebody who makes me laugh, so it's very subjective. And then I hope to impose my subjectivity onto... the American people." But in all seriousness, he said, "We want it to sound similar, but different."

Well, look no further. McKeague's slightly burlier voice is not, in my opinion, too far of a stretch from Gottfried's annoying duck quack.

McKeague is a Minnesota resident and a sales manager of a couple local radio stations, so his voice is already used to a bit of local fame. Below is a video of him receiving the news he is the new voice of the webbed-toed icon.





My favorite part about the video is the fact that CEO Dan Amos, President & COO Paul Amos and Senior VP-CMO Michael Zuna are all hunched around a desk bearing American and Japanese flags. Aflac is sending the right message to their Japanese viewers by telling them that the company, and its new voice, don't support the tweets by Gottfried.

Many people were worrying that no one could replace Gottfried's signature quack, but I think McKeague will do just fine. Want proof? Check out the commercial that aired last night debuting his Aflac quack:

Google's "Like" Button

Last month, Google announced it will be incorporating its own version of the Facebook "like" button- called the "plus one" button. After they failed miserably trying to beat out Facebook and Twitter with their Google Buzz platform, Google will be using the plus-one button to yet again take on these social media empires.

I think the plus-one button will be more successful than Google Buzz, however, because Google is utilizing it for general search engine purposes. Users can use the plus-one button to vote on search results they find useful and then have the opportunity to share this on Google platforms such as Gchat, Gmail, Google Reader, Google Buzz and Twitter.

I was unaware of this last platform being included in the new plus-one voting system and was semi-creeped out when I noticed that one of my Twitter followers had shared the link on her Twitter.

I was Googling the PRSSA National Conference and underneath the link, I noticed my friend (and trustee PRSSA VP for next year) had liked the link as well. Then Google asked me if I was "sarahkilbourne." This really got me considering I wasn't even logged into Twitter at the time!

Sorry the image is a bit pixelated.

In my opinion, this move should work well for Google, not to mention the organizations or businesses who's links are being voted on because consumers always trust word of mouth over any advertising that a company can produce.

Google said they will eventually integrate the plus-one system into their search algorithm so that human votes will have an impact on search ranking. I've heard that companies can pay to have their links show up higher in the results; I'm not sure how true this is, but this new system would overrule that, replacing it with a heavier impact coming from human votes.

In an article appearing on the Ad Age Digital website, Google's Principle Engineer for Search Matt Cutts said, "When someone recommends something, that's a pretty good indicator of quality...We are strongly looking at using this in our rankings."

So far, that's the only plus-one vote I've seen so far, but I'm excited to see it show up more often in search rankings.

Starbucks is Stalking Me

I'm used to being targeted by advertisers on Facebook based on the likes and interest I list on my profile.

I am not, however, used to a) being targeted with personal information on Pandora or b) seen my name appear in the advertising.

Being the studious person I am, I was listening to Pandora yesterday while doing homework. It's pretty annoying when they stop every 20 minutes-- yes, I'm still listening. But it is a smart way to pull the consumers to the advertisements on the page.

Anyways, this is when I noticed a Starbucks cup with my name written on it and an order that was creepily similar to what I sometimes order there.


I'm sure the double tall, extra foam, caramel macchiato order was just a coincidence. But it does make me wonder, because I had to create a YouTube account to upload a video for a marketing project last year and the username includes caramel macchiato (the client was a coffee shop). Pretty big coincidence, huh? But as far as I can tall, there is no direct link between Pandora and YouTube.

Another thing to think about in dealing with consumer-targeted marketing is how far is too far? My Pandora username does not include my name, so Pandora had to have released my personal account information for Starbucks to target me in such a manor. And while giving away my first name is not a big deal, to what lengths are companies going to go to get this information-- or how much information are social media services willing to give away to make money?

The new FTC rules on social media focus on disclosure information, but should they extend regulations to consumer-targeted marketing issues?

Google's April Fools' Prank Turned into Reality

Google is notorious for their April Fools' Day pranks. In the spirit of the tradition last year, the company pulled a switcheroo with the town of Topeka, Kansas after the town's Mayor announced he was changing the name to Google for one month for "fun."

eWeek chronicles Google's pranks from 2000-2010 in this slideshow.

This year, the Institute of Creative Technologies took one of Google's pranks one step further.

Those who use the email service Gmail may have noticed last Thursday bright red text at the top right of the page urging customers to use the new Google Motion technology. One the use clicked to try out the new technology, they received a nice little APRIL FOOLS!

However, the ICT team put the idea into motion using a Microsoft Kinect sensor to control body motions. The technology recognizes basic body motions such as open, reply, thinking ahead and sending off the message. Check out the video on Mashable's site.

I hope Google puts this technology into use!

The Homesless American Girl Doll

In doing homework for my PR Case Studies class, I came across a case about how the Vermont Teddy Bear Company developed a "Crazy for You" bear for Valentine's Day 2005. The bear, fitted in a straitjacket with commitment papers, was meant to send a message of complete craze over a loved one, but instead outraged mental health advocates saying the doll encouraged stereotypes and misperceptions about mental illness.

I was interested to find out more information, so I Googled the story. Turns out the company decided not to pull the product despite growing complaints from mental health associations and ended up selling out of the product.

In any case, one of the hits that came up in the Google search was a TIME's article titled, "Top 10 Dubious Toys."

The #1 dubious product was from American Girl Co. (my favorite company in elementary school!) The doll named Gwen was, as the article describes it, "cute and cuddly and also happens to be homeless."

Many moms criticized the product calling it insensitive. One blogger lashed back noting, "The only thing obscene about this American Girl controversy is that it takes a plastic doll and her fictional biography to have everyone up in arms. Yet the real stories of homeless children crowding shelters and schools are accepted without an ounce of outrage."

Much like the "Crazy for You" bear, the two companies could have better handled these controveries. Instead of creating insensitive and offensive products for profit, the least they could have done after the complaints was donate some of the profits to homeless shelters in the American Girl case, and mental health associations in VT Teddy Bear's case.

Makes you think twice about when companies say they are socially and corporately responsible. Planting a few trees doesn't make up for offending numerous homeless or mentally-afflicted Americans and their loved ones.

Why PRiorities?

I've decided to start blogging about things I find interesting in the fields of public relations, marketing and advertising.

So... why PRiorities?

You can't have PR without establishing your priorities:
-situation analysis
-research
-planning
-execution
-evaluation

Mostly, it's just a cutesy name I came up with to try to have a creative public relations blog name.