Following Directions

Much of what I learned last week in class had to do with following the directions.  I learned that you have to remember your goal and message points and not let the strategies and tactics you use lead your publics AWAY from the message.

The text book we use for PR Research and Campaigns said that it is easy for a PR practitioner to keep using the same strategies and tactics for every campaign he/she does because of previous successful campaigns.  But not every message/public is the same.  Some tactics will work better for some messages than for others.

For example, in my Social Media Class, we had a discussion about how even professionals that have been designing campaigns for years can get caught up in the tactic aspect, which makes them forget what is actually a good tactic for the message they are trying to convey. 

Of course, creativity is very important, but you have to use the tactic that is appropriate for your message and audience.  If you use a tactic that “outshines” your message, your attempt ends up looking pitiful and feeble.

Friday Afternoon with Roger

Courtesy of www.petfinder.com

Taking full advantage of the gorgeous day, my friends and I went to the Humane Society of Stillwater to walk dogs.  We weren’t the only ones who wanted to take advantage of the weather…

When we got to the shelter, there were 6 dogs already out at Boomer, and there can only be so many dogs gone at one time.  So instead of renting a dog out for the day, Whitney and I played with the dogs while Jessica went and played with the cats.

I found the absolutely BEST dog ever.  His name is Roger. The sign said he is an Australian cattle dog/blue heeler/akita mix.  He was so calm, and he didn’t bark at all.  We ran around the little area behind the buildings for quite awhile.  He loves to be petted.  When you pet him, he leans up against you.  It’s so cute.  So we ran around for a little bit, and we also made friends with Whitney’s dog, Ladybug.  Roger definitely likes people and he really wanted to play with the other dogs.  When we weren’t walking around, Roger would calmly sit by my side and let me pet him.

If you are looking for a dog, there are many available at the Stillwater Humane Society.  All of them need a good home, and they deserve it.  You can go to their Web site to see which ones are at the shelter now.  Or even better, you can go out this weekend and visit them in person!  They are all so lonely!  And if you don’t like dogs, there are tons of cats that need to be played with too!

Networking Expo 2009

On Thursday, Women in Communications hosted the Communications Networking Expo in the Student Union Ballroom.  It was a good way to meet people and practice networking skills.

When I first got to the ballroom, I was really nervous.  I had never done anything like this before, so I had no idea what to expect.  It was a good thing it was only in the ballroom, or I would have passed out.

Everyone I talked to was only interested in internships.  That was pretty depressing, seeing as how I need a paying job.  Everyone was very nice though, and gave me helpful information.  Some even told me that they would take my resume and pass it out to their friends in other organizations.

One of the questions that I asked people was what they thought about social media and the ways their organization was implementing those tactics.  It seemed like most of the organizations were just starting to get used to the concept, and if they weren’t already using it in some way, they were very interested in getting started. 

I think that taking this social media class is definitely going to help me find a job.  It is a great way to reach people, and organizations are now starting to realize how important it is to utilize social media as a public relations tactic.  All the organizations I talked to were very excited about social media as a way to reach their publics.

Revelations

This week on Grey’s Anatomy, the doctors learn that they are not gods.  They can’t save everyone and they can’t go on forever.

Derek is still trying to save the pregnant lady from the last episode.  He had made a mistake during her first surgery, and there had been complications ever since.  He kept trying to save her, but by the end, he had basically taken out half of her brain.  He wouldn’t let Addison deliver the baby insisting that he could still keep the mom alive.  Addison tells him, “This has gone too far.  Even if she does live, you are creating a monster. You don’t get to play God here.”

Christina meets Dr. Campbell, the first woman surgeon at Seattle Grace Hospital, and she discovers that  Dr. Campbell has made a mistake during one of her surgeries.  Christina thinks that Dr. Campbell needs to retire because she is too old and can’t keep up with technological advances.  Dr. Hunt tells Dr. Campbell that he was discharged from the army, and that “they knew it was my time even if i didn’t.  I’m grateful to them for that.”  So Dr. Campbell realizes that it is her time to go.  She tells Christina that she feels like a god in the operating room.  That sense of power seems to be what she lives for.

On another note, Dr. Sloan is growing a heart.  Derek had been through a lot, especially since he felt so responsible for all the people dying in his clinical trials.  He seems to lose it, especially after the husband of the pregnant lady calls him a murderer.  Dr. Sloan picks the absolutely worst time to confront Derek about his relationship with Lexie.  Derek’s patience seems to snap and they get in a huge fist fight right there in the hospital.  After the fight is broken up, Lexie tells Dr. Sloan that it wasn’t worth that to make Derek so mad, but Dr. Sloan tells Lexie it was worth it.  Dr. Sloan is in love with Lexie.  Whoever thought that the “man-whore” Mark Sloan would find somebody that he cared about so deeply.  I’m in love with the new Mark Sloan.

Easy as Pie

“Scared people pay people that aren’t scared.”  -Bill Handy

Yesterday in Social Media Class, we created a social media site using Ning.

Social media sites are so user-friendly — you are guided through right from the beginning,  and it’s virtually indestructible.  I mean, if you mess up, fixing the problem isn’t that hard.  It’s pretty awesome.

Honestly, it surprises me how simple social media is.  And when you are confused, all you need to do is click “Help,”as Bill Handy, professor extraordinaire, confided to us.  And chances are if you have a question on how to do something, someone else has already asked that question.  All you have to do is do a little searching on the help page.

People Change

If I got together with my high school friends tomorrow, they wouldn’t know or understand the person I have become, and I wouldn’t undertand them either.  I can remember the things we used to do together, I can remember the inside jokes we had and how we used to act, but that was a long time ago.  We’ve had so many life-changing experiences WITHOUT each other, that it’s hard to know how to treat each other anymore.

This week in Grey’s, with the crossover event, Derek and Addison reunited for the first time in a very long time.  They had both changed so much, they could barely get along with each other.  Derek’s old friends also came back with Addison.  You could tell they hadn’t talked in a long time because when they went to the bar together, they started remembering old times and the way things used to be.  They didn’t know how to talk about the present, because none had no idea who the other was anymore.

Sadie, Meredith’s old friend, got kicked out of the hospital because she was a fraud.  She never really knew anything about medicene; she was just sliding by on others’ coat-tails.  After she got kicked out, Sadie was trying to convince Meredith to travel around Europe with her, like they used to do.  Meredith told Sadie that she is not the same person she was back then.  Her life was now in Seattle, at the hospital.  That is who she is now.  Sadie couldn’t understand that Meredith had left that life, her college life, behind.

Dr. Hunt’s ex-fiance showed up at the hospital.  We found out that he broke off their engagement through an e-mail while he was still in Iraq.  Actually, Dr. Hunt didn’t even tell her when he came back from Iraq.  She thought he was still over there until she saw him in the hospital.  When McArmy finally confronted her, she told him he had changed so much, she didn’t even know who he was anymore.

People change all the time.  When we are present when they are changing, you don’t notice that they have actually changed.  But the fact is, even when we aren’t there, people still change; it’s just more noticeable to you that they are different.  We have to remember that our friends and our family are going to go through experiences that we don’t understand.  Those experiences can change their lives completely.  Our job as the friend is to be there for them and not resist the change.

This Just In…

…school is the number one killer of social interaction.

I find it very hard to keep up with anything in my life, especially social media outlets, while I am stressing out about school.  Well, I can keep up with Facebook and my e-mail, but I let the other social media sites fall by the wayside.

Even in just those 3 days I tried to concentrate solely on studying and writing my paper, I got incredibly behind on all my social media sites, even Facebook.   It really is hard to balance school with your online obligations.  Twitter keeps me busy just by trying to filter through followers.

How do you keep up with it if you are banning yourself from social interaction?  I think that one of my problems is that I take too much time to do anything online.  I have been working on this post for a couple of hours now.  In the online world, I should be able to spit it out immediately.  After all, I can always come back and edit…

Let’s Hug it Out

This week on Grey’s Anatomy, Dr. Dixon, the heart specialist with autism, has a panic attack.  Dr. Bailey and Dr. Yang had to hug her tightly to calm her down.  Dixon said that scientifically, the pressure from the hug calmed her heart and her nervous system. 

So I started to wonder just how important a hug can be.  Can something as simple as a hug can reassure you enough so you can believe in yourself again?  I know that I’ve felt like that before, like if someone would just give me a hug, I could find the strength to keep going.  But is it the actual physical touch?  Or is it more of the fact that a hug communicates reassurance and support the hug-giver is giving to the hug-getter?

Dr. Hunt (aka McArmy) also had a panic attack when he saw some lady (identity not yet known) who obviously brought him feelings of anxiety.  Dr. Yang grabbed McArmy and held on tightly.  Even though he  tried to get away from Yang, she knew that he needed her, so she didn’t let go.  It’s important to know that there are people in your life that can save you from yourself.  No questions asked.  They just know you need them to be there.  Physically, metaphorically, whatever. 

Hugs can communicate a lot.  They can mean anything from a simple hello or I’m here for you to a complex I love you.  Is there someone in your life that needs a hug?  Don’t ask, just hug it out.

Social Media: A Whole New World

This semester I am taking a social media class taught by a great guy by the name of Bill Handy.  I hope that by taking this class I can get a better understanding of some of the concepts of social media and how I can use it to its full potential.  But I can tell you right now, it is going to take me a very long time to grasp the full potential of social media. 

A few classes ago Bill gave us an assignment to register with various social media sites.  One of those sites was Twitter.  Now, I had Bill for a class last year and all he did was talk about Twitter, so I joined, but it wasn’t until we began this class that I began to grasp what an awesome thing Twitter is.  Twitter allows you to connect to so many people in so many ways and on many different levels.  It really is fascinating.  I really don’t understand it all yet, but with the help of my social media class, I’ll get there soon.  Does anyone have a favorite social media site?

Grey’s Anatomy

By Aaron Escobar

For Bill Handy’s social media class we were assigned to keep a blog for the semester.  I was having a difficult time trying to think of something that I could write about.  I started thinking of what I do in my spare time.  Worry about the future, go to the gym and watch TV were some possible things I could write about.  Thinking about the future makes me hyperventilate, so that topic was an immediate no for me.  When I get back from the gym I usually stuff my face with junk food, so I didn’t think I would be a good advocate for that either.  So that leaves me with TV. 

I decided to write about the popular ABC Drama “Grey’s Anatomy.”  I want to look at the different ways the characters interact with each other and the life lessons you could possibly learn from each episode.  The characters on the show really are faced with decisions we can all relate to.  For instance, in last weeks episode alone, the characters had to deal with death, acceptance, forgiveness and  true love.  And those are just the over-arching themes.  There were many examples of each of those throughout the episode.

Unfortunately, this  week’s episode is a re-run, so I will start blogging on a new episode next week.