Emily’s Blog

Juicy Campus.com is a site where college students can post anything anonymously.  When they say anything, they many absolutely anything goes.  With the sites popularity rising so are the negative effects.  On college campuses around the nation students are posting racist, degrading comments about their peers.

Alexandra Bruell recently wrote an article for PRWeek “Juicy Campus causes a stir with students.”  She talks about the controversy rising from the site.  There are over 60 campuses that are showcased on the site, allowing students to specifically target their messages.

Is this site just a fad?  I find myself asking this question.  With every social media site that appears and sticks there are many more that never see success.  You can’t help but to compare Juicy Campus to Facebook.  Facebook has seen infinite success and has no end in the near future.

I feel that Juicy Campus should be banned from campuses.  Although everyone is entitled to their own opinions is it really moral for students to be able to slander their classmates for the world to see?

The presidential campaigning has been going on for quite some time.  The candidates messages are known in almost every household.  With the elections quickly approaching though, the candidates are gearing up for the finish line.  They are covering every base to ensure the American public is informed.

In a recent article in the Opinion section of The New York Times, “To The Letter Born,” they discuss Barack Obama’s communication elements used in his campaign.  The specific focus of the article is interesting.  They discuss the typographical design scheme used throughout the campaign.

I never realized the power that Obama’s font had.  I always thought that his powerful words were enough persuasion.  Upon reading this article and looking over some of Obama’s campaign materials I realized the persuasive power of his type and design layout and consistency.  The consistency throughout gives the campaign a greater impact.

By looking at Obama’s materials it stresses the importance of small details and the effect they can have on the greater picture.

Auburn University held their annual A-Day football scrimmage this past Saturday, March 29. This annual Founder’s Day tradition provides a way for fans to get a sneak peek of the team and connect with Auburn during the off season.

When I went to the game on Saturday I found myself asking why Auburn holds this game. Is it for the players to show their skills, or maybe for Auburn to receive a pre-season ranking? Then my Public Relations mind set kicked in and I began looking at the games purpose from a new angle.

Having a football scrimmage during the off season serves many purposes. It gives fans, alumni and students a chance to stay in touch with Auburn and feel that Auburn spirit again. I think it is a great way to sustain and build the current relationship that Auburn and the Auburn football team holds with their football fans.

Public Relations is not only about forming relationships, but also about keeping the already formed ones. The A-Day game I think is a great example of this.

With everything going on currently on Auburn’s campus I find it timely to talk about crisis management. In public relations dealing with unforeseen and unplanned crises is part of the job. Any company, regardless of their planning, can face a crisis. There are always those foreseen crisis that occur and can be taken handled with a pre-written plan of action.

The tragic event that occurred last week on Auburn’s campus was not one of those crises that could be specifically planned for. While there are some precautions that Auburn’s Marketing and Communication Department had planned for in regards to a student’s sudden death, no one could have ever expected this kind of tragedy.

Auburn had taken one major precaution knowing that with such a large campus and student body an accident or tragedy had the possibility to occur. They had implemented, AU Alert, a campus wide system that students can sign up for in order to receive text messages and voice mails if a situation were to occur on campus affecting the student’s safety.

I feel that the situation that occurred last week was handled well by Auburn. There is a lot of criticism about the lack of information given to students and the information that was given was untimely. I believe that when dealing with this kind of situation you have to be careful with what steps are taken and not taken. I think that the degree of information was sufficient and was given at the right times.

Any company or university in this case, has a balance act to accomplish when dealing with a crisis. The most important thing to keep in mind is your key publics and how to protect, satisfy or apologize to them.

Twitter, a social networking site, is becoming more and more popular. Users answer the question, what are you doing, within 140 characters. It resembles AIM in its short messages and easy use. Many professionals are using the site as a networking tool, while everyday folks are beginning to find its usefulness as well.

Not only can the site be used to network and create a community, but as a tool to drive traffic to another site or blog. People are also using Twitter to find information and research. Users can build a group of people they wish to follow and track while in turn they can be followed. It is a new, exciting way to keep in touch and meet new people.

For a class, Style and Design taught by Robert French, we were encouraged to complete 48 hours of Twitter. We created accounts and then took time to become acquainted with the site and start following other classmates as well as Public Relations professionals. This gave me a great insight into the usefulness of the site. I was able to find and follow many professionals from across the map.

While Twitter is new and exciting it’s hard to say if it will last. Who knows? But, it is fun and practical and a great social media tool.

The use of on-line video sharing site such as YouTube are becoming more and more popular. Not only are people uploading their own personal videos, but companies are jumping on the bandwagon using the sites for promotional use. People, companies and even universities can create their own channels for followers to subscribe to. This is a great way to reach a large audience when they want to be reached.

Hearst Magazines has created channels for three of their magazine, including Seventeen Magazine. When I went and visited the Seventeen channel I was surprised on how much information could be found and how they took every opportunity to drive traffic to their website. They create competitions where fans can upload videos to compete for prizes. This user-generated approach is a unique way to drive traffic and get fans involved.

I think that utilizing these video sharing sites is a great way to promote something or even someone.  For my Public Relations campaigns class we are put into groups and then assigned clients to propose a campaign for.  I think that using YouTube to post videos in order to promote the client is a great idea.

With the presidential debates heating up candidates are using every media outlet in an attempt to reach us, the American public. With social media becoming more and more popular today the candidates, some more than others, are taking advantage of its easy accessibility and far reach.

Will.i.am has created and posted on YouTube a video showing support for Oboma. The video showcases numerous famous actors and musicians that recite along with Oboma one of his influential speeches. This video is a great way to reach a large audience at a very low cost and has been viewed over 3 million times. This is a great example of how fast and effective social media can be.

I feel that utilizing social media is a great way for the Democratic Party to reach their target demographic. Different audiences can be reached in different ways and not all audiences can be successfully targeted through the use of social media.

During a crisis things are hectic, people are running around and it is always hard to keep everyone updated and informed about the situation. After the recent tornadoes that devastated much of the south, Union University in Jackson, Tennessee dealt with the emergency situation in a proactive way.
Union University’s campus was hit hard by the tornadoes on February 5, destroying 40% of their on-campus housing. In order to keep students, faculty and the community informed of the situation the university posted information on their blog, Union University Recovery. The blog was set up to give people a place to keep current on the situation and learn of ways to help with the cleanup efforts. The blog also includes numbers for volunteers to call and a link to the Disaster Relief Fund where people can make donations. Along with the blog the university has also created a group on Facebook. It is a great place for people to group together and post comments about the situation. There is also a photo album dedicated to the crisis on Flickr.

By taking action and using these new media outlets Union University was able to keep everyone informed of the situation. They provided a common place where people could go to find anything and everything about the situation. They have set the platform for how Universities need to respond to a crisis. Auburn’s AU Alert system is also a great way to keep students and faculty informed. It is always important to keep people up to date with the same information in order to limit confusion.

Well, it’s now spring semester and I am in another one of Robert French’s classes! My classmates and I will be blogging every week again about Public Relations.

As a student in Robert French’s class I have learned about and been exposed to every aspect of social media there is. We have not only studied blogs and podcasts but have been given the opportunity to participate in this new area of public relations.

I was never exposed to this form of public relations and was merely mesmerized by print and television advertising. I had no idea a whole other world was out there with so much influence.

The recent article published by The New York Times on January 28 reiterates the impact blogs and other forms of non traditional media can have. The article sheds light on Target and their response to a blog, ShapingYouth.org. When approached by the blog regarding a recent advertising campaign that was seen to be demeaning to women, Targets response was short and dismissive of the blog.

I have learned that while blogs are still fairly new they are growing and people are paying attention. I think that they can have a major impact on a company’s reputation. I always thought that while not all companies are paying attention to blogging that at least many of the bigger ones were, such as Target. It is obvious now that this new form of media is getting attention since The New York Times is following it.

The article published in PRWeek on January 31, I guess was Targets attempt to save themselves from the blogosphere world that they see now does have an impact. They said that they will rethink their policy on blogs and other nontraditional media, but I feel like a decent amount of damage has been done. Yet, as always with time this episode will be forgotten because well it is Target.

This case shows that blogs becoming more and more popular and that they are not only for certain groups of people, but anyone can blog and express their thoughts and feelings.

Throughout this semester in my PR Writing class my teacher, Robert French, has emphasized the importance and usefulness of the new rules of public relations. With the semester almost over and the class winding down I have learned a great deal about public relations and all the new aspects of it and I look forward to taking advantage of them.

I was oblivious to social media before taking this class and reading David Meerman Scott’s book. I was a blank slate and open to learn everything I could about this new world of PR. I have learned all the ways to advertise and promote such as using blogs, podcasts, and media rooms among many other things.

While reading chapter 16 in Scott’s book I became aware of a few more things that could prove helpful to me in the world or PR. Scott talks about the new rules for reaching the media. In chapter 2 he had discussed the new rules of marketing and PR and it never crossed my mind that you could use the same aspects to also reach the media in a productive way.

Scott discusses the negative side of PR and how “the profession has become synonymous with spammers.” I came into this class with a misconception of what PR was exactly. I was under the impression that sending news releases and pitches to anyone and everyone was the only way to go. Throughout the chapter Scott gives advice on how to better reach the media. He discusses blogs and how important they can be. Media read blogs for story ideas so it is important to not only pitch bloggers but possibly create your own.

For a final project in one of my other PR classes we are researching a campaign and analyzing its successfulness. My group is studying the ONE campaign. Through my research I have found that they have used all the new social media Scott discusses through out his book. They make great use of a blog, where anyone can post their own stories about the campaign. The non-profit has also created a podcast, has groups on Facebook and myspace, and utilizes Flickr among other things. This example reiterates the ideas Scott discusses in the book and that I have learned in class.