http://yasminehorton.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/424/#comment-92

Valentine’s Day also comes with some of the most ridiculous gifts.  It drives me CRAZY to walk through Walmart and see the life-size bears and stuffed animals.  I’m sorry, but they are horrendous and impractical.  If you’re the kind of guy who thinks I want that in my room, you’re wrong, and you’re probably not my type.  Is is mean to say that I don’t like the type of girls that are into that?  And I definitely don’t like the guys that think that’s a good gift.  Save yourself the time, money, and embarrassment, and do not buy a giant stuffed-anything.

Good gifts are gifts that could be given year round.  Something that is thoughtful and not last-minute.  Here are some examples of what you should or shouldn’t do if you’re having a hard time differentiating.

Good Gift: Anything thoughtful.  If you know this person so well, you know what (if anything) they’re expecting.  A romantic dinner?  A piece of jewelry?  A home-cooked meal and movie in?  A night out downtown?  I’m sure you’ll figure it out.

Bad Gift: A box of chocolate, a teddy bear, and a card.  Oh thanks, did you run by Walgreens before coming to pick me up?  It shows.

I have definitely received my fair-share of horrible gifts.  And depending on how well you do or don’t know the person, tell them what’s on your mind.  Or better yet, warn them ahead of time, before they made the mistake.  Even if you have to awkwardly laugh as you walk by a Valentine’s display in good ol’ Statesboro Walmart, make the point of saying, “I never liked giant stuffed animals.  What am I going to do with a six-foot hot pink dolphin?  I’d much rather just have a romantic low-key night…” DO HIM A FAVOR AND DROP HIM A HINT!

Even though this goes against my being…
From a public relations standpoint, if I worked for a company that relied heavily on Valentine’s Day sales, I would focus on targeting suckers who think that girls really want, or need (oops), the 100-sampler chocolate box or the “I love you” teddy bear.  I would make my commercials as lovey-dovey as possible, and trick viewers into thinking that their special someone will fall in love with them if only they buy our Valentine’s Day package.  Offer discounts if multiple items are purchased.  Jack up the prices.  Everyone else does.  But check locally and make sure you’re the lowest price around.  Just know who you’re targeting.  That’s my best advice.

http://rebekahkatherine.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/social-media-the-new-wave-of-pr/#comment-66

Today, anyone can blog, post, or share whatever they choose to.  Everyone has the opportunity to have an online presence, with or without a college degree, specialty, or expertise in the field.

I think it’s great that moms have started “couponing” websites helping thousands of others, and that people have created comedic blogs with hilarious content.  This has all come from the openness and freedom that the internet and social media has offered to people the past decade.

Companies, on the other hand, need to hire PR experts to run and maintain their social media sites.  These experts know how to handle crises, post tactful and truthful comments, and what the public wants and needs to hear from a specific company.  A company, as well as the individual, could be heavily impacted in a negative way if something wrong were to be posted on any one social networking site that represented the company.  With the internet, almost everything is permanent.  If something is posted incorrectly, it can go viral in literally seconds.  There is not much room to screw up!

Overall, the changes have had a positive impact on the PR world and with social media, but there are also more dangers present than ever, and it’s imperative to make sure the right person handles a company’s social network.

http://rabeler.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/book-vs-movie/#comment-82

My favorite book to movie adaptation is definitely Harry Potter.  I started the books in 5th grade, and every time a new book came out, I would get it the day of the release and stay up doing nothing else but reading until I had finished the entire book.  Of course the movies didn’t come for a few years later, so I had anxiously been waiting for them to come out, and they definitely did not disappoint me.

Movie adaptations are usually pretty good.  Most of the time they’re not detailed enough, but they hit the most important parts.  The only frustrating thing is having a picture of what someone looks like, then the director casts someone that doesn’t fit the part one bit.

Now that I’m in college, I don’t read any of the books to the movies (like Twilight–Sorry Mrs. Groover!)  I don’t have the time in my crazy busy life.  Ideally, if I have the time, I’m a reader.  But now that class, work, and internships have taken over, I’m a total movie-goer.

http://bhumphries.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/bucket-list-revisited/#comment-70

1. See the 7 Wonders of the World

2. Visit every continent

3. Make a difference in someone’s life

4. Swim with a whale

5. Experience the Northern Lights

6. Sky dive

7. Build an igloo

8. Hug an elephant

9. Be a wife and mom (one day)

10. Get into law school

Getting into law school is an immediate short term goal.  The others can happen with time.  Obviously I love to travel, so as long as I’m well-traveled by the time I’m old, I’ll have had a happy life.  I also really have a passion for helping people, and if I can make a difference in someone’s life or improve it in any way, that’s something I’d love to do as often as I have the opportunity to.  I am so amazed by space and the ocean, that’s where sky diving and the whale come in.  I’ve never been around tons of snow, so that’d be something neat to do once (and once is probably good enough )  And of course, I want to be a wife and mom one day.  That’s an ultimate goal I’ve always had.

A Social Media News Release (SMNR) is the typical and well-known news release revamped for the world of online media.  It is easily found, can be forwarded, blogged about, commented on, etc.  Essentially, a SMNR is giving a typical news release its very own website and URL address that anyone in the world (with internet access) can access.  SMNRs contain links and tags, making them easy to find with a simple search engine inquiry, and they are designed with the online world in mind.  SMNRs appeal to the new generation who understands the need for change, but they also appeal to traditional journalists as well as bloggers, online communities, and consumers.

Advantages/Disadvantages

There are several advantages of a SMNR that make them so appealing.  For one, like I stated above, they are easily forwarded, commented on, linked, etc.  They are distributed and forwarded via twitter, e-mail, facebook, digg, and any other social networking outlet imaginable.  This makes it very easy to distribute your news release.  Thousands can see it in seconds…something that takes much longer with traditional news releases.  They are easily created, accessible to anyone, and make sending and received news releases much easier.  But accessibility comes with a cost.  Because SMNRs are so easy to make, any one could create one, and send out spam or false news.  SMNRs can be taken advantage of and used for nonethical purposes.

Uses

A PR practitioner should consider using a SMNR if they feel like mixing things up a bit or need to provide linkability and easy access.  They’re very different from their traditional parent news release form.  They meet modern journalists’ needs while providing something a little different to their audiences.  SMNRs are great for companies introducing new products or services, announcing big financial or corporate news, and achievements or apologies.  SMNRs can be used for a plethora of topics, and are quickly becoming the “it” thing to do.

Templates

The following websites will help you create a Social Media News Release

• http://www.prxbuilder.com/x2/
• http://pressitt.com/

Examples

Here is an example of a SMNR that an organization has created:

• http://pressitt.com/smnr/Wind-Energy-Stock-Clean-Wind-Energy-Tower-Inc.-OTCBB-CWET-Files-Patent-for-Advanced-Construction-Using-Precision-Adjustment-Joining-and-Strengthening-Techniques/5965/

Here is a SMNR that I have made:

• SMNR–Zeta Tau Alpha

I created that SMNR to distribute information on Georgia Southern University’s Panhellenic recruitment process (aka RUSH).  It’s specifically about the Zeta Xi chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha in Statesboro, and how female students can sign up for recruitment.  The goal of my SMNR is to attract as many girls as possible.  Recruitment is only successful if there are many girls participating.  The more news coverage and information there is about the process, the more people will hear about it which will boost curiosity and in turn (hopefully) increase registration.  My target audience is any Georgia Southern University female undergraduate students that isn’t already a member of a Panhellenic organization.

Tips

Here are a few tips for creating your own SMNR!

1. Use one of the websites listed above to create a free account and start the simple and guided process of making a SMNR
2. Use a catchy headline.  People won’t read your release if the title already sounds dull.
3. Be clear and get to the point.  No one likes to scroll for pages and pages.
4. Provide all necessary information.  If your SMNR seems incomplete, it will not get forwarded or bookmarked.
5. Lastly, BE CREATIVE!  Creativity and clarity are key to attracting readers.  The more readers, the higher chance your SMNR has of being forwarded and getting hits!

Information provided by:

• http://www.realwire.com/servicesSMNR.asp
• http://www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-releases-everything-you/

I like that you can follow who you want, so your home page is customized towards you and your interests.  Mrs. Groover recommended that we follow PR professionals, and they definitely have some great advice/things to say that I couldn’t get elsewhere.

Twitter is definitely a valuable tool for public relations people because its a great networking tool and allows people to branch out and try to make contact with others that they’d normally never have the chance to.  It’s different from facebook in the way that I can follow someone and read their posts even though I’d never “friend” them on facebook.  (Peter Shankman, for example)  Twitter also offers free advice and tips to people learning (like me) as well as free publicity for corporations.  It makes it easy to “follow” the latest news with a company, or just find out what’s going on.

I will continue using twitter after this assignment.  After the last assignment, I definitely didn’t abandon twitter completely, but I have not been on it and reading/tweeting as much as I could have to be a more active twitter member.  I kind of forgot how cool and interesting it was.   It’s like a personalized news page just for me, and I find some of the most unique/random things on my home page.  Maybe now I will use it more regularly!

My twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RachelLeaFloyd