Group Podcast: Adolescent Bloggers

In class we have discussed several types of people that use blogging. We mentioned individuals, corporations, CEOs, but have not really touched based on children and adolescents. For this purpose, my group members and I decided to do our podcast on this issue of children blogging. Within the podcast, we discussed specific cases of well known adolescent blogging, benefits & concerns, news reports, and concluded with a group discussion.

Listen to the podcast

Show Notes:
{Music Intro}
Introduction to Podcast “Topic: Adolescent Blogging” .5seconds
{Music}
Sherry: Article by Bob Sullivan from MSNBC.com 1min 3seconds
{Music}
Cori: Concerns & Benefits 3min 3seconds
Bradley: Controversy with Justice Samuel 4min 25seconds
Marie Osmond/Adolf Hitler 5min 26seconds
{Music}
Analee: Raising Entrepreneurs, “Carl”/“Yuga”
{Music}
Closing Discussion 7min 40seconds
Resource Mention: Blogsafety.com 9min 46seconds
Closing 10min 2seconds
{Closing Music}

Twitter vs. Facebook Status Updates

Yesterday in class, we learned about the social media technology of Twitter. Honestly, prior to class I only heard of it. I had no clue how it functioned. In order to follow along with the lecture, I decided to sign up for my own Twitter. The first thing it asked me was, "What are you doing?" This seemed suprisingly familiar. To my suprise Twitter seemed like a facebook application. I felt like it was just a whole bunch of "status updates." Just like when I log into facebook and update my status for all my friends to see, I can do it hear as well. I didn't really see the point. A whole social media based on status updates? Ok?? But as the lecture progressed, we were told that there is more benefit to it then just whats a face value. Twitter is also beneficial for political candidates to let their followers know where they are and what they are doing/planning to do. I'm more open to the media now, but I don't think I will be using its services anytime soon.

Blog Action Day: Climate Changes cause Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa

The issue of poverty is an international problem at large. A large contributing factor is the issue of climate change and governement relations.I wrote a paper in my global inequality class recently about the climatic changes, effects, and reasons for poverty in the particular region of sub-Saharan Africa. This region in particular is so vulnerable and lacks the resources to even try to pull themselves out of the poverty trap they are in. According to the Human Development Report, “Droughts in the Horn of Africa and southern Africa in 2005 threatened the lives of over 14 million people across a swathe of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa”

As we know global inequality and poverty is a devastating problem and its elimination an overwhelming task. Its contributors are far and wide. However, one large contributor the continuation of this international inequality are the very serious climatic changes resulting from global warming. While a debate continues on the causes of global warming there is a general consensus that it is in fact occuring and the emission of the greenhouse gases is at fault. By far, the industrialized nations are the largest contributors, yet they are not the only ones. Because of this and much more, Sub-Saharan Africa, considered to be the poorest region in the world, is very vulnerable and being affected in several ways.

As analyzed in the HD report, “climate shocks can trigger powerful downward spirals in human development.” The poor may have no alternative but to reduce consumption, cut nutrition, take children out of school, or sell the productive assets on which their recovery depends. Thus, single climate catastrophes can create disadvantages felt for generations.

While we would all love to believe that aid is a result of accepting responsibility and a compassionate response to the plight of those less fortunate, it must be recognized that this may not always be true. Competing political and economic agendas of the responsible nations will make negotiations and implementation of effective programs more difficult.

What is needed to do to clear this problem is unknown. The best thing to do is to work together as a nation, universe and put an end to this problem. We have to start somewhere. Sub-Saharan Africa needs our help along with every other nation in the world.

Gossip Girls Anti McCain PSA

The gossip girls stars are pro-Obama all the way. Gossip stars including Penn Badgley and Blake Lively collaborated with well-known director Doug Liman to put together a television ad. It's a 30 second spot sponosored by MoveOn.org and runs on the CW Network, MTV and Comedy Central. This pro-Obama ad features the all-star cast talking to their "parents" and their generation telling them not to vote for John McCain. It is supposed to serve as a sort of a spoof on drug service announcements. The script plays off this. A line Lively uses is "If you're ever out somewhere and you're considering voting McCain, just call me. I'll pick you up. No questions asked

Just recently released, this video is already all over Youtube. The hits are many and the message is being passed along at a quick rate.

See youtube posting:

An association based on WOM marketing?

Okay, so I thought WOM marketing was strictly the name of the game. Technologies and products that are marketed by word of mouth...You tell your friend, they tell their friend..etc. Right? Well now, there is an association based on this marketing concept. They even had a symposium coming up this November in Las Vegas. I did not know that this marketing and public realtions concept was so vastly used. After I came across this website, I decided to dig deeper and examine it.

WOMMA, Word of Mouth Marketing Association is based on promoting and improving WOM marketing by:
-->Promoting "best practices" to ensure more effective marketing
-->Protecting consumers and the industry with strong ethical guidelines
-->Evangelizing word of mouth as an effective marketing tool
-->Setting standards to encourage its use

On the website they offer resources to word of mouth, viral, buzz, or blog marketing. Whether you are looking to find case studies, reasearch, books, or whatever on the subject, they help you do it. This site is very easy to utilize and is very informative. Not only can you use the site for aid, but you can join a membership program that allows you to become part of this new technology.

To see more about what they do and who they are, log onto their homepage

No more facebook beacon please!

This past week we discussed the facebook beacon situation. When facebook set up a system that posted personal information about purchases individuals made on other websites and posted them on their feed, this created a big problem. I know that I would not want my personal purchases flaunted on the internet for everyone to see. This situation became very interesting to me when we were told about the guy who bought a wedding ring for his soon to be fiance on overstock.com and had everyone suprisingly congratulate him before he even proposed. How awful!! I would feel so enraged that I would want to sue! Although he really couldn't do anything about it because of the tiny disclaimers that you never realy even notice. What a situation! Well needless to say the whole facebook beacon situation made it to the newsroom and was taken care of. Although they do not want to completely do away with it, they are altering it. This doesn't make sense. Why alter it? Why not completley trash it? I feel more facebook protesting in the near future.

Privacy matters

For a couple weeks now we have been discussing the importance of having a clean facebook profile due to the fact that unexpected others can take a peek at our profiles unwarranted. This is for serious prospects for your future such as someone who may be highering you for a job and other serious commitments.

When we had the guest speaker in class she mentioned that we can limit our facebook profiles and other social medias to only allow certain people access to our profiles. All this talk about proofing our names on the Internet has me nervous. I immediately went home from class and set up as many restrictions I could. It is kind of scary knowing that your future can possibly be determined what you thought was one night of fun with your girlfriends out on the town (just for example). I still wonder that even if you set up restrictions to only allowing certain people access to your information if people can still get around it? Is social media really beneficial or harmful?


Click here for detailed information on how to protect your privacy on facebook
How to protect your privacy on facebook

In the Spin Room of the Election Debate

Have you ever wondered the process of the PR and spin of the election debates? During the past debate between Obama and McCain, in Oxford Mississippi, a youtube video was released by a reporter discussing how journalist and the media interact in the PR process of the campaign

The debate is being watched on televisions in the back room by the journalists while student campaigners pass out papers to journalists on the designated candidates side backing up his comments. After the debate all the journalists gather making themselves available to answer questions from the press. A specific person is selected to put the best spin, "gloss" on their candidate as "presidential." They are putting together a story for the next days press in the best way they can spin them.

Personally, I feel that this footage gives a bad name to PR. There are two sides to the room and they look for mistakes and things they can pick out to make the opponent look bad. I think thats horrible. It specifically says that they are out to pick on the opponent. The journalists and media are out to sculpt peoples opinions. I think that this goes beyond PR ethics. They are using spin instead of appropriate PR tactics