Looking Back On My Year

As the second semester of my sophomore year comes to a close, I am starting to think back and remember all of the good times I had and memories I made. Moving to Ohio from Alabama is not easy and no one said it was. Transitioning from a big city in the South to a small town in Ohio was a huge change. I didn't know what to expect at first, but after spending a whole year here I can say that it exceeded my expectations.

Of course like any other college student, there were times this year where I wanted to sit in my room and scream at how stressed I was or how tired I was from staying up all hours of night. If i could give one word of advice from my past year here at Ohio Northern, it would be to just get out of your comfort zone.

A lot of people say they don't want to leave their hometowns or they want to atleast be close to home, and that is how I thought at first. I am very close to my family so it was hard to leave them, but I knew change would be good for me. I had never really been out of the South much, so deciding to move up north was risky especially because I wasn't used to snow. I learned pretty quickly that I don't like snow. However, without stepping out of my comfort zone I would never had met the people I did and build the strong friendships I have now. I would never have had the opportunity to play tennis for such a great team and travel to so many places.

I'm not saying you should move colleges and live in a different state across the country, but from experience I would advise everyone to try and step out of their comfort zone. Try something new or go to a new place. You never know how it can change your mindset on the world or even your life. It changed mine and I can't wait to see what my future in Ohio has in store!

Find Out What Your Employees Trust

As I move on to Chapter 9 of "Measure What Matters", I begin to learn more about businesses and how they are measured. This book gives a lot of helpful hints on measuring, understanding customers and even understanding your own employees.

What do your employees really trust?

Of course, we like employees to learn everything from official sources, but that isn't always going to be the case. So, you  need to use your research to find out the influence of individual sources of information. Talk to them when you are getting coffee or on break for some sources. Use either a formal survey or a focus group to find out what channels employees trust.

One study done revealed that engineers in a telecommunications company only trusted information they received electronically and inherently distrusted information delivered in big corporate meetings.

In the end, your employees will have similar and different opinions. These are just a couple of suggestions that Paine claims work for getting information out of your employees and seeing what they trust.

Three Important Things In Public Relations

I decided to change it up a little this week and talk about public relations. Normally I like to write about social media, but I feel like people need to learn more about PR. I recently came across an article from Chron that gave me a better understanding and some tips I want to share.

What is Public Relations?
Having a career in public relations means your work is always in the spotlight. The key is sharing information with the public to raise awareness and to create a positive image for your client. Success requires three skill sets.

1. Communications Prowess 

• To be successful in public relations you need great communication skills. You must be able to act professional which means field questions with ease. Written communication is equally important. Your messages should be clear.

2. Exceptional Attention to Detail 

• Word choice is critical in public relations. The wrong word can cause a positive statement to spin the wrong way. Little things like remembering the names of people you interact with can take you a long way. 

3. Proficiency in All Media 

• While paper may be more comprehensive, electronic media open new doors to creativity. Blogs, tweets and posts should be an important part of your public relations campaign.

As you can see, public relations is so much more than just talking to a client. I learned a lot from this article because I never really knew a lot about public relations, and I hope you learned a few things from these tips as well. 

Netflix Movies You Should Be Watching

As I mentioned in my bio, I love Netflix! Netflix is a website where you can search hundreds of movies and TV Shows and watch as many as you want for about eight dollars a month. It is a great deal and a great site! If you are new to Netflix or never know what to watch, then this is the post for you! I am going to share with you a few movies from different genres that I think are most definitely worth the watch!

1. "Can't Buy Me Love" 

• If you are looking for a romantic comedy with a cute twist to it, then this is a great one especially because it has Patrick Dempsey as a fourteen year old! This film is about a nerdy high school kid who loans the popular girl in school money for an outfit, so she asks how she can repay him. He asks her to be his fake girlfriend for an entire month. At first she's embarrassed, but soon realizes he may be more than just a some nerd.

2. "The Den"

• If you want to scare yourself and are into horror films, then watch this one! This is about a young woman who is studying the habits of webcam users for a project, but then witnesses a murder online and becomes the killer's next target. 

3. "The Waterboy"

• This movie is also a comedy if you are in the mood to be cheered up or looking for a laugh. This movie features actor Adam Sandler who is the water boy for a successful college football team. After the coach witnesses the water boy beating up a player who teased him, the coach adds him to the roster as a linebacker. 

These are just a few of many great shows worth watching on Netflix, but I just wanted to share with you a few of my favorites each from different genres! I would love to know if anyone has seen these movies or what your suggestions for good movies are. 

Steps to Conducting a Social Media Content Analysis

As we move into Chapter five and six of "Measure What Matters", author Katie Delahaye Paine begins to talk about conducting a social media content analysis. It can sound very confusing, but luckily she gives a brief introduction and an easy to follow eight step process on how to conduct it.
Here's what she says:

1. Find the content.
2. Determine the type of conversation taking place.
3. Determine the visibility of your brand. 
4. Determine who, if anyone, was quoted in the item.
5. Determine sentiment and/or presence or absence of recommendations. 
6. Determine what, if any, messages were communicated. 
7. Determine positioning on key issues or battles.
8. Quantifying the authority of the writer or poster. 

Each of these steps come with a lot of description and information on how it applies to conducting a social media content analysis. According to Paine, ideally you would use a good statistical analysis package such as SPSS or SAS to determine correlations between conversations and web traffic or other outcomes. By keeping up with these steps and looking at trends over time, conducting a content analysis will come easily and you can read more about these tips and other great advice on measurements and social media through the book, "Measure What Matters". 

Custom Geofilters

Snapchat is one of the most popular forms of social media today, and is constantly improving. Geofilters are part of this improvement, and what Snapchat is known for having. What is a Geofilter you may ask. Geofilters are special overlays that communicate the "where and when" of a Snap in a fun way, whether you're sending it to a friend or adding it to "Your Story". 

I really enjoy this feature especially when I'm in a cool place like the Bahamas or Alaska. It lets my followers know what I'm doing and where I'm doing it. Geofilters can also be customized! This is good for weddings, birthday parties, or any special occasion. It is almost like having your own hashtag on other social media sites. Maybe some of you are now interested in how to create your own Geofilter. Well, let me tell you how!

1. Go to the On-Demand Geofilters page.
2. Click on the Create Now button.
3. You will be asked to log into your SnapChat account.
4. You will be asked to download templates and read the submission guidelines 
5. Use these templates to create your On-Demand GeoFilter
6. Add your texts or logos and create it in whatever way you like
7. Upload it to Snapchat after saving the file to see what it would look like
8. When it is finished, choose next to choose the time and dates you want your filter on
9. Draw a geofence around the areas you want your filter to reach
10. Your filter will then go into review, and you will receive an email confirmation

However, these filters are not free, but definitely affordable! Snapchat offers these filters for about $15-$20 a day depending on how complex your filter is, and how stretched out the location is. I think this is well worth the money for an event like a wedding or party, and adds a little fun and personalization into it! Would you get a custom Geofilter?

Easter In Oxford

As many of you know, I am not from around here, I am from Alabama. This means I am not able to go home much and haven't even once this semester. Easter was this past weekend and because I couldn't go home, I decided to join my friend and her family in Oxford, Ohio for Easter break.

Oxford, Ohio is a small town located about half an hour outside of Cincinnati. Oxford is home to the college Miami of Ohio which takes up most of the town's population. I had a great trip and this was definitely a great experience for me. I don't get to see a lot of Ohio, and I like when I get to go to places like Oxford that I've never been before. It is a cute town and one that I would definitely visit again!

Easter weekend means getting to be with family and most importantly, lots of food. However, I think we ate a little too much this break and I'm sure a lot of you can agree with that! Oxford has a lot of local restaurants and chains like Chick-Fil-A and Skyline, but the place we ate the most at was at the Cincinnati mall. We went to The Cheesecake Factory which is a heart attack waiting to happen. It starts off with bread then leads to your main course which is already at least a thousand calories, and to top it off you can get a slice of cheesecake for no less than a thousand calories. Good times!

Altogether, I had a great trip with my friend and her family, and it was so much better than just hanging in Ada all weekend. I would love to know how many of you Ohioans have experienced Oxford as well.

Measuring Relationships

I recently entered Chapter four of "Measure What Matters" in my social media class. According to author Katie Delahaye Paine, "the fundamental goal of public relations is to build and then enhance ongoing or long-term relationships with an organization's key constituencies." This section of the chapter begins to talk about measuring relationships.

Paine provides the credit for these steps to authors Linda Hon from The University of Florida and James Grunig of  The University of Maryland who worked together to write "Guidelines For Measuring Relationships in Public Relations".

Hon and Grunig identify six distinct and individually measurable relationship components:

1. Control Mutuality: The degree to which parties agree on who has the rightful power to influence one another. Stable relationships require one to have some control over the other
2. Trust: One party's level of confidence and willingness to open oneself to the other party.
3. Satisfaction: Each party feels favorably toward the other because positive expectations are enforced.
4. Commitment: Each party believes the relationship is worth spending energy to maintain and promote.
5. Exchange Relationship: One party gives benefits to the other because the other has provided benefits in the past or is expected to do so in the future.
6. Communal Relationship: Both parties provide benefits to the other because they are concerned for the welfare of the other. 

According to Hon, Grunig, and Paine, these are the six key components to measuring a relationship that everyone should follow. It helps ensure each party that they are communicating in the right way and building stable relationships. What do you think about Grunig and Hon's theory?

iPhone 8 Rumors

As an avid Apple lover, I was curious as to what the next iPhone would be like. I currently have an iPhone 6s, so my upgrade would be for the next phone to come out, the iPhone 8. Everyone knows that each time Apple releases a new phone, it has bigger and better features than the previous phone. I was searching through some articles and came across one by "MacRumors" giving information and hints on what the next iPhone will consist of. Here is what I found.

The iPhone 8 will include:

• Touch ID and camera built directly into the screen instead of a Home button.
• Consist of a 5.8-inch display with an area dedicated to virtual buttons replacing the Home button
• Thinner device that consumes less power with a better display and higher contrast ratio
• Re-adopting a glass body instead of aluminum
• Water resistant
• Features like wireless charging and facial and gesture recognition

These are just a few of many rumors about the new iPhone 8 which is said to be released in Fall of 2017. Personally, I am so excited for the new phone and can't wait to see what Apple has in store! What do you think of the new iPhone? Would you get it now that you know what it might include?

ONU Special Olympics

This past weekend, I had the privilege of working with the Ohio Northern University annual special olympics. The special olympics is a program that Ohio Northern puts on every year held by the SAAC where they raise money for the special needs program in the area.

This event lasted a couple hours where the participants were able to try different sports and learn new techniques and drills. They then challenged themselves in these events. This consisted of events like softball, running, soccer, etc. I worked the soccer station where my tennis team and I cheered on the participants as they scored goals and learned some new drills.

At the end of the event, there was a raffle for all the participants. Each Ohio Northern athletic team made a basket full of good prizes with a different theme. For example, the tennis team made a beach themed bag which included beach toys, sun tan lotion, sunglasses, and more. The director of the event then drew names out of a hat, and each participant chose the basket of their choice.

Being able to see how happy this made everybody was a moment I will cherish forever. I am so happy I was able to work this event, and it makes me feel good to give back and raise money for a great cause. I was able to meet some great kids and their parents while hearing some of their stories.  I will definitely be working with this event next year and look forward to it!

How To Leverage Your Measurement Results

This week in my social media class, we transitioned into chapter three of "Measure What Matters" by Katie Delahaye Paine. Chapter three talks about many measurement ideas including "How to Leverage Your Measurement Results To Get What You Want".

According to Paine, "You will never be as powerful or persuasive as when you present your results to your bosses, plan your presentation according to what actions you might want them to take."

In order to do this you must:

• Ask for money. Clients will want additional budgetary dollars immediately after presenting results just on the strength of their measurement programs. 

• Get commitment. Show them a chart to indicate the potential disaster if they don't go. 

• Manage timing. Present your results in graphs and charts that show changes over time. 

• Buy influence. Use your results to win over other departments over your point of view and approve programs. 

• Get outside help. You may want to ask your bosses for additional help to achieve the results you desire. 

• Just say no. You can say no by showing the manager a chart demonstrating, for example, that a press tour communicates your key messages more effectively. 

These are just a few of many tips Pain provides people with. I am looking forward to learning more about measurement in social media and marketing as I continue reading "Measure What Matters".

Learning To Enjoy Time

Am I the only one who thinks the semester has passed by so fast? I don't even know where the time has gone. It feels like I still just got back from Christmas Break.

When I was in middle school and even high school, I would always complain about the days going by too slow and feeling like it will never be Summer. It is a whole different case here in college. I feel like my college career is flying by, and I don't know how I feel about it. I am currently a second semester sophomore, and I can't believe it is about to be my junior year.  I do not feel that old. I think the reason my time seems to be going so quickly is because I keep myself busy. I have the same routine day after day. I go to my classes, get lunch in between, go to practice, go to dinner, and then do homework and fall asleep. I never have time to just sit around therefore I think that is the reason it feels like time is getting away from me.

However, this week especially I have learned to appreciate time. I am trying to enjoy every day and make the best of it. A good friend of mine from high school passed away this week from a car wreck, and it reminded me how life can be taken in just a second. Instead of worrying so much and hoping time will go faster, I am going to try and slow down and enjoy each day.

I know this was a different kind of post than usual, but my mind has been everywhere this week. I would love to know if anybody else feels like this semester has flown by. And to all of the seniors, it's almost your graduation time! I was always told college goes by quickly and I never truly believed it until now.

Facebook Live

Facebook is one of the biggest social media platforms which is improving everyday. One of the features of Facebook I find useful is the live streaming option called Facebook Live. Facebook Live is common amongst other social media platforms including Instagram, but Facebook is where I have found myself watching these live videos the most.

For example, one time my sister was in a championship volleyball game that I sadly had to miss. My cousin decided to Facebook Live stream the entire game for me. It was as if I was actually there because I saw exactly what was happening as it was happening.

As you are streaming, it will tell you who is watching your Facebook Live video and show comments people are making throughout the video that you can reply to. Hearts and emoji faces will appear in your video flying through the air which signifies each like or reaction you are getting on your live stream.

Facebook Live is an easy to use feature and very interesting! I have found it useful many times even including the live election poll and even a live countdown to Christmas. Have you ever used Facebook Live? I would love to hear your thoughts on it!