My Very First Podcast

I created this podcast as an effort to educate others on the benefits of Greek life on college campuses. Feel free to listen in!

Focusing on the Goal

As I was reading chapter 10 in The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott, I quickly came across the soccer comparison. Scott stresses the importance of remembering an organizations true goals, rather than the "to-do list" of smaller goals. For example, Scott reminds us that "leads," "clips" and "T-Shirts" will not be found in a company's mission statement. In this gentle reminder to focus on real goals, Scott uses young children playing soccer as an example.

I have a 6-year-old brother who plays soccer, so I got a laugh out of the comparison. Young kids playing soccer is very entertaining, sometimes in a painful way. Parents and coaches really do shout out instructions like, "Go to the goal!" Kids really still focus on the ball, too.

With this cute little comparison and my previous experience watching little ones play soccer, I think that keeping my focus on the goal rather than the ball will be just a bit easier. Listen up, PR and marketing people, and focus on the goal, not the ball.

So, How Was Your Weekend?

On Mondays, it seems to be customary to ask about others' weekends. When people asked me about my weekend, I reflected and recognized that I had a really great weekend at Ohio Northern.

On Friday, I stayed in and tried to get some homework done. I failed miserably at doing my homework and instead, went to Taco Bell and watched "Halloween" with some of my house mates. I had a great time getting into the Halloween mood, although, I had to comfort my friend Liz, who doesn't "do well" with scary movies.

Saturday was extra busy. I went to a pumpkin patch with the Alpha Xi's and our new members; we got to ride a cute little train! After returning to campus after the train ride, I started getting ready for Kappa Phi formals. I was my room mate's date. After we were dressed and ready, we went with some friends to Applebee's for pre-formals dinner. (Yeah, 2 for 20!) Finally, we headed to SoSerene, a banquet hall in Wapakoneta, Ohio. I had one look around and fell in love with this place. Not to mention how very helpful the owners are. After seeing this place, I honestly said that I wanted to have Alpha Xi formals there, too. The hall is a gorgeous pool house overlooking a pond, complete with amazing view and impressive patio space outside. Seriously, check this place out! http://www.soserene.net/index.html

When guests began arriving, the party really started. We had great music and great friends all around, and of course the beautiful surroundings. After a good long night of dancing, I caught up with some other friends to tell them about my night. More good times were had all around.

The next day my room mate, my house mates, and I all spent most of the day chatting about our nights and sharing inside jokes. No one really wanted to do anything but enjoy the company, you know? So Sunday night was when I finally got some work done, and some today too. All in all, a great weekend with my very best friends here at ONU.

What’s up in PR? ONU is!

Professionals and students in public relations are anxiously awaiting their respective International and National Conferences in San Diego, California (PRSSA http://www.prssa.org/conference/) (PRSA http://www.prsa.org/IC2009/) . In two weeks, we will all be headed to beautiful California to meet, greet and learn from one another about our awesome career paths. Because conferences are so quickly approaching, Public Relations Society of America has announced their award winners for this year. So at Ohio Northern, our Public Relations students have been glowing with pride over our beloved professor, Dr. Steve Iseman, APR, Fellow for his “Outstanding Educator of the Year” award. We have always known that he is outstanding, but seeing that he is being recognized through a prestigious award is pretty cool. Now, everyone knows how awesome Dr. Iseman is!

The Outstanding Educator Award is tough to earn. The Award recognizes a PRSA member who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of public relations education. Dr. Iseman makes the 39th educator to ever win the award. The criteria to receive Outstanding Educator is that the individual must be nominated and must show excellence in teaching, research, involvement with students and involvement in the profession of public relations. Congratulations, Dr. Iseman, your students appreciate all of your hard work!

Here are some articles about Dr. Iseman:
Faculty Focus
http://www-new.onu.edu/node/16530
PRSA Fellow
http://www-new.onu.edu/node/14951

Balloon Boy

Okay, I give in. I was trying to let this one settle without blogging about it, but I can no longer ignore the shenanigans of Balloon Boy. I remember seeing the first news of this story while sipping on some coffee, but because the volume is very low on the TV at Northern on Main, I wasn't listening. I saw the balloon (which was shaped like a UFO) and thought, is CNN really reporting on a UFO hoax? Wow.

Later I found out that the issue with the balloon was not its shape, but what it was (thought to be) carrying. Apparently, the Heene family (parents especially) created a hoax in order to get publicity. The family was previously on Wife Swap and must have wanted more of the limelight. According to CNN, the parents called the media before calling emergency services. People from all around the Colorado town were worried for the Balloon Boy, trying to help, being glad it was not them. Then, the Heene family began taking interviews. In one very telling interview, Falcon (Balloon Boy), says, "I thought we did this for the show," when asked why he did not come out of the garage after hearing his parents calling. Immediately the father is tense and has nothing to say. I actually laughed after I watched that interview, because I knew that the father must have been thinking, well crap, were caught.

Often times, we hear about good public relations and bad public relations. Mostly, we hear about the bad. Well this balloon incident was not just bad, it was downright awful. The Heene family did something that no decent public relations practitioner would do. They used their own child in a hoax that if were real, the child could have died, for publicity. How low are people willing to go for fame? I bet the Heenes are now wishing they had just hired a professional, since they could now be facing criminal charges. The one-liner wisdom I take from this story? Hire a public relations professional first, and you won't have to hire a lawyer later.

Here's the CNN article, be sure to watch the videos, too:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/colorado.balloon.investigation/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

Weekend Away From ONU

Being back at ONU with week 7 in full swing, I have been telling many of my friends about my awesome weekend. This weekend I went home for the first time since I arrived on campus (7 weeks, considering that I came back early). For me, not being home in this long stretch of time is a record. I am quite the homebody, and my family is probably my most favorite thing in the world. When Friday came around, I was surprised when I didn't really feel like making the drive to my first stop, Kent State University. I had already made my plans though, so of course I was going; my Kent-Staters were excitedly waiting to see me.

Of course I wanted to see everyone from home who I love, I just didn't really want to make the 3 hour drive in the disgusting weather. Once I got to Kent, which is always an adventure because the buildings there all look the same to me, I Then Jimmy and I went to my friend Sami's room, because she is an RA and was on duty. At Kent, when an RA is on duty, they are not to leave their building, at ONU, residents are lucky to find said RA, just saying. Anyway, after picking up some Taco Bell, because no trip to Kent is complete without a TBell run, Jimmy and I went to Sami's room. We all caught up with each other and acted silly while we ate. Since Sami was on duty, we had to go on rounds with her. Rounds at Kent are intense if for no other reason than Sami's building, for example, has 8 floors. The most we have here are 3. Kent keeps me in check when it comes to how small and protected ONU really is. The next morning, I ate breakfast with Jimmy and Sami, packed up, and headed home.

I went to my mom's house, because we (mom, dad, and I) have an understanding that my mom misses me like crazy when I am gone, and she needs to see me as soon as I arrive. I said hello, hugged everyone, spent some time talking to mom, and headed to my dad's house for home made chili. My dad's chili is the BEST.

I spent a good 4 hours at my dads house, sitting by the fireplace and catching up. I then headed back to my moms where we had game night. Game night gets pretty intense around my house. All of my brothers and sisters were there (5 of them) as well as my aunt, uncle, and their 4 kids, plus 4 of friends. We had so much fun.

Sunday, I watched the Steelers beat the Browns (like we didn't see that one coming) and then headed to watch the kids play soccer. My 2 sisters and my youngest brother were playing. While all of the games were extremely entertaining, my favorite was Christopher's (he's 6). Watching kids in Kindergarten play soccer is one of the funniest experiences one could have. The field and the soccer ball are miniature, and the quarters are only 5 minutes long. Watching Christopher was especially hilarious; he is the kid that is doing everything but playing soccer. The ball could be right in front of him, and we felt lucky if he even noticed. I loved that if he did kick the ball, my family and I acted like he had made a goal. We were obnoxious, and every time we yelled his name, he looked to the sidelines and threw his hands in the air, saying, "WHAT?!?" Oh, man, do I love that kid.

My weekend ended with dinner at mom's house and hugs for everyone. I didn't get back to ONU until 11:30 at night, but I didn't care, I had an absolutely fantastic weekend.

Podcasting and Marketing Pitches

In "The New Influencers" by Paul Gillin, I have been reading about podcasting. Honestly, previous to my reading, I had very little knowledge on the subject. I had a general idea of what a podcast is, but I now have a better understanding. For example, I didn't know about all the different subjects of podcasting, or that Whirlpool has an "American Family" cast that has nothing to do with Whirlpool appliances! (Link to American Family podcast http://tinyurl.com/ygl7so7 ). I am now more interested in the world of podcasting thanks to the great examples and fun facts from Gillin.


As I my reading progressed, I found information about educating the customer, rather than preaching to the customer. Thinking about marketing flops on podcasts, my juvenile mind drifted to a show on Nickelodeon. The show in my mind is not a traditional podcast, it is actually a video cast.


iCarly is the mystery program I am thinking of. More specifically, I am thinking of an episode where the iCarly gang is approached by a company to promote shoes. The group of kids agrees, signs a contract, and gets paid as well as free shoes, of course. The night that the promotion happens, everything goes fine and iCarly viewers go ahead and buy the shoes. Here's a link to that clip http://www.icarly.com/iVideo/index.html#vid1441


Later, though, the group of kids discovers that TechFoots (the shoes) are terrible pieces of technology. Viewers quickly point out the same feelings toward the shoes. Being loyal to their viewers, the iCarly gang creates an episode that exposes the poor quality of the shoes. The episode script is careful not to violate the contract with TechFoot and mostly uses sarcasm and satire to bash the shoes. Here is an "after" clip http://www.icarly.com/iVideo/index.html#vid1439


While this example is not a serious one and is fictional, I believe that what happened on iCarly is realistic. The company that wanted endorsements was paying the cast to promote a new product rather than letting the casters experience the shoes for themselves and talking about them casually. Later, iCarly followers discover the bad quality of the shoes and revolt, much like real bloggers and podcast followers would do. Then, the cast of iCarly decides to be loyal to it's viewers and creates a response. To me, this kid's show gives a good example of transparency, my favorite reality of the blogosphere and apparently, podcasting.

Homecoming Weekend

Life at ONU has been pretty exciting for me lately. I just got some amazing new members in Alpha Xi Delta, funraising efforts for PRSSA National Conference are going well, and this weekend was homecoming! Of course alumnae and friends began filling campus and the surrounding areas on Friday, and the buzz of a busy campus had everyone excited. Students and alums blended together well this weekend from what I could see.

My homecoming weekend was pretty similar to the ones in my past. On Friday, I made sure to socialize, saw some old friends and reminised, and made some new friends too. Then I woke up early to help put together the Alpha Xi float (always a good time). This year Alpha Xi's float won second place! Later, I hung around with some Alpha Xi alumae at our Teddybear Tea. I had a really good time meeting old sisters and hearing their stories and looking at scrapbooks to see them point out a photograph and say, "Oh, I remember this!" Saturday evening, I enjoyed the spoils of a victory on homecoming weekend and socialized even more.

Today I mostly napped. I have had a head cold bubbling under the surface since formal recruitment, and today is the day the germs seem to be winning. I'm hoping that my immune system can get the defense together and go for a win soon.

I had my third ONU homecoming this weekend and I hope to have many more in the future. The excitment and the strange large amount of people in Ada makes me happy. All in all, I had a great weekend here at Ohio Northern.

What is Twitter?!?!?

I was just trying to think of a great topic for a 'what's up in PR' this evening, and so I began to type into Google.com, "what is new...." I didn't get past what, because Google finished my question with the number one search. That search is, "what is twitter." Here is the link to the search: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=0&oq=what&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4ADFA_enUS343US343&q=what+is+twitter
I must say, as soon as I saw that come up, I smirked a bit. Actually, I laughed out loud.

As a user of Twitter, I sometimes get picked on by the non-believers. I talk about Twitter in public and I use Twitter from my phone. I am often the butt of Twitter jokes in social circles of people who are not familiar with Twitter. Here I am now, knowing a secret of the non-believers. It is not that the people who pick on me for using Twitter actually hate the site, they just don't know what Twitter is! Some may very easily know what Twitter is, but don't really like the idea of the site or would rather stick to other social media. HOWEVER, people are obviously curious.

Am I taking this Google search a little too far? Maybe, but in the world of public relations (my world), being the top search on Google is a HUGE deal. So good job, fellow tweets, I would say that we have been talking enough to make quite the impact.
In case you are not familiar with twitter, here is a link to check it out! http://twitter.com/

Bear-fighting Grandma?

Believe it or not, a grandmother from Colorado scared off a bear from her bedroom with nothing more than a decorative pillow. Must have been a pretty scary looking pillow! Seriously though, I was on Digg.com checking through some headlines when I saw this story. Here's the link
http://www.wesh.com/news/21170915/detail.html

Basically, a mama bear and one of her cubs entered a residence and began eating the food from said residence. The grandma scares the mama out of her room with the pillow. Enter owner of the house, the grandma's son. He planned to get rid of the bear, until he noticed the mama bear as well. I was entertained until the end of the story when sadly, the bears who did not show fear of humans lived and the others did not.

Thank you http://digg.com/ for the intriguing post. I will continue to enjoy them!

Bid Day

For women in Greek organizations, Bid Day is one of the best days EVER. This year, I got to experience my first Bid Day as a sister rather than a new member, and I loved every minute. The weather was cold, we were riding in trucks, we were soaked to the bone by the Fraternities but I couldn't have been more excited. Today, I felt like I had whiplash and couldn't turn to my left unless I turned at my waist, but after a great Alpha Xi sister let me use her heating pad and another warned me about my medicine taking, I am feeling a little better.

The very best part of Bid Day is getting new members. I am so ecstatic to be able to share the love and secrets of Alpha Xi Delta with these girls who of all the sororities, chose to join mine. I imagine that almost every Greek girl feels the same about her own chapter and new members. My new members seem so excited to be around and because of that, I am more and more excited the more I get to know them.

I wish that every woman could experience Greek life and find what I have found in A-XI-D. For now, I will focus on my new girls, but next, the world.