Taking in Water - Passage about Persevering Through Life

(Quote from Jack Kerouac's "On the Road".)

I am taking in the water, the hot water.  This is condensation  solitary paradise in this grimey shower and any surface not exposed to the heat and pins of the water hitting me is hell to my body. See I always craved inconsistency. Here, the water is never just right, never. I always turn the hot faucet to the right and the cold to the left in 5 minute intervals. It would seem that I conditioned myself to not be conditioned to anything constant in my shower and ultimately in my life. I could always go a little hotter it seemed, but never, no, no, never back, never a little cooler. This is how I operated I guess, in this ceramic, steel and damp sterilized atmosphere I called paradise about every night at approximately 1:30 A.M.  My skin was glowing red and hot, and an almost euphoric sense of all things holy in tactile awareness hit me with the contrast of the heat of my skin and the cold tile floor. This was perfect, it indeed was my usual temporary paradise. See, all thing possessed their innate utopia in its own form. The cold tiles fulfilled their means to be cold as they are, as they always should be,  and my skin in essence was perfectly coy to the receptors of temperature and touch. You will tend to find as I did in this confinement, that when things are seemingly not as they should be in your life your life can always return to a safe default mode of a simple theory of all things relative of “it is what it is.” And oh, this was it.

 Don’t try to find your life at the bottom of the shower floor, watching the water droplets roll off your eyelash in your peripheral. It simply will not work. And with this in mind I simply raised myself back up off the floor just as simply as I fell to it. There was tomorrow and next week and months to be had.

I wrote the following as a simple, late night passage as I do when I try to capture moments and perfect thoughts that are made simple in one instant setting. I never have a perfect life and that never seemed to bother me. I always thought that human conditioning was a skill to be mastered through rough times and heartache. If anything I write to release and give comfort not only to myself but others who may find themselves in this sort of life wondering rut that is both beautiful and chaotic at the same time. Kerouac's work and style of expression inspires me a lot in my life and writing. My message in the end, embrace your life, you've only got one yes, but you have an infinite amount of chances.

Facebook ‘Likes’ are Worth a Thousand Words, Literally

Have you ever ‘liked’ something on Facebook? Whether its a picture, status, product or service, ‘liking’ is a simple way to show an interest in something. As a generation saturated in social networking, we may take a lot of small things like Facebook’s ‘like’ application for granted, not thinking of its true potential, especially in creating awareness. Recently, Porsche became the quickest automaker to reach 1,000,000 fans on Facebook. How did they celebrate this social media achievement? Porsche printed the names of 27,000 fans who ‘liked’ their Facebook corporate fan page onto the body of their new hybrid 911 GT3 R racecar as a thank you to their million fans who made their social network success possible. The names were chosen at random from their fans and set to a Facebook-themed design with navy blue and white accents.

I don’t know about you but I can’t think of a better way to show fan appreciation than adorning their names on a car worth well over $250,000. From a public relations standpoint, Porsche’s use of social networking to gain publicity is a great initiative for them and other companies to start adopting. Porsche even created a separate “thank you” campaign and website for their fans to see the process of the car’s creation and search for their name on the car. Not only does this campaign portray the luxury automaker as a friendly and fan-loyal company, it brings awareness to the auto industry’s current eco-friendly car trend. By combining their fan loyalty with the popularity of hybrid vehicles, Porsche gets publicity, awareness, record setting and novelty points for releasing news in an unorthodox manner. For a company like Porsche, social responsibility to the environment and social interaction with their consumers and fans are connected. Porsche’s use of Facebook is an example of how the use of social networks can create more than just a digital and perceived connection between corporations and consumers but also a literal one.

What do you think about Porsche’s social network idea? Do you know any other companies that have used social media to connect with their fans in a creative way?

Become a fan of Porsche at http://www.facebook.com/porsche and check out their “A Million Thanks” campaign at: www.porsche.com/thankyou.

http://www.porsche.com/microsite/facebook/international.aspx

Original can be read here.

Be Careful What You Put Your Name On– 'Kardashian Kard' Controversy

The Kardashians have their image and name behind a clothing line boutique, beauty products, a book, a new jewelry line for BeBe and just recently a credit card. Branding themselves with these products has mostly improved their celebrity status. However, if you think celebrity fame and name equal instant success in all endeavors, you’re mistaken. Recently, the Kardashian sisters and their company, Dash Dolls LLC, were hit with a $75 million lawsuit over the termination of their Kardashian Kard, a pre-paid MasterCard held by Revenue Resource Group LLC who reported “being severely financially impacted” over a pulled 2-year contract, says Fresno Bee.The lawsuit came about when the Attorney General of Connecticut opened an investigation of the Kardashian Kard for claims of possibly illegal and outrageous card fees to its users. The sisters terminated the contract for the use of their name and image on the card after being informed of this. 

The Kardashians have a very loyal fan base of mostly young women, who would probably love the idea of having a Kardashian credit card. In fact, Resource Group LLC reported 140,000 hits after the card was launched in November. That said, it was a strong decision by the Kardashian sisters to terminate the card because they sacrificed a possible big business venture for the sake of their name and image. 

However, the suit claims the sisters signed the agreement acknowledging the fees on the card. If that is true, it may raise some questions to their credibility as businesswomen. This situation ultimately brings up the ethical question of whether or not you should promote a product or service when you are aware of unfair terms to its consumers. 

Despite the controversy, the Kardashians are still a very strong force in entertainment and have experienced no apparent change in their fan base due to this situation. Even if it was bad publicity, the Kardashian sisters and their name remain unaffected for now.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

Original post can be read here.

Want to Get Noticed? Set a Record.

The next time you check out the Guinness World Records look past the glass eaters, world’s largest pizza, tallest people, and other weird acknowledgments and you may be surprised at what you find. In a new marketing and publicity initiative, some prominent companies are taking “getting noticed” to a whole new level. 

Recently, Estée Lauder found their way into the record books by setting a record for the “most landmarks illuminated for a cause in 24 hours.” Estée Lauder’s Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign illuminated over 40 worldwide landmarks in pink lights for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Another bold publicity move was seen with luxury hotel company Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., who set a record for the “largest-ever resistance-band strength-training class.” The Jim Pattison Group, who owns the Guinness World Records, brought on these publicity stunts by creating a new marketing records division as well as a PR division in order to help companies market their brands and gain media attention.

These bold marketing tactics certainly catch people’s attention and are entertaining, but are they effective in building awareness of the company? That all depends on what the company wants and what the company actually gets from the stunt. 

In Estée Lauder’s case, their pink illumination record certainly gained attention from the media but was probably not needed to bring attention to an already widely recognized health campaign. The company had already made its mark by being behind one of the most recognizable symbols for breast cancer, the pink ribbon. They co-created the symbol with SELF magazine, and it appears on many of their make-up products.

As for Starwood Sheraton, their world record helped in promoting their new upgraded fitness programs at the hotel, where about 270 people participated in a fitness class in the rain. This type of record-breaking publicity stunt can be beneficial to the company because it not only gains immediate attention for being out of the ordinary, but it is also a relatively inexpensive marketing tactic. According to the Wall Street Journal, Starwood Sheraton spent $120 million on their fitness upgrade at the hotels but only spent about $4,739 on the Guinness Records process. 

This trend of record breaking seems to be a cheaper and more creative marketing alternative for companies who wish to gain media attention without going through traditional marketing methods, which can be very expensive and require a lot of outside employment and time. 

What do you think about these stunts? Are they effective? Would a Guinness World Record make you more aware of a brand or product? Let us know!This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

Orignal post can be read here.

Dropbox – The Best Collaborative Work Tool You’ve Probably Never Heard Of

We’ve all been there – the dreaded group project that required sending documents and many files back and forth over email. This is not only time consuming but can really put a damper on how the group communicates and if the group work is running efficiently. From my own experiences in group projects that required a lot of file sharing, documents and emails can be lost in the sea of hundreds of emails college students receive daily. Attachments are often troublesome to open depending on certain formats and operating systems used by the sender/receiver. With all the various platforms and formats catered to each computer it can often be stressful to waste time on converting and figuring out formatting. After all we’re college students not IT technicians.

Luckily there is an extremely useful tool available for those who are not tech savvy and it’s called Dropbox. Dropbox is a free file hosting service that lets users share photos, documents and videos anywhere and with anyone who uses it. As a Dropbox user myself, I have used it to share hundreds of edited photos and proposals without having to email them to myself for back-up and keep track of changes through them. Dropbox will also always save versions of your files so that in case a file does get deleted you can restore it through the website.

Perhaps the best thing about Dropbox is that it’s a relatively simple tool to use and can be a “killer collaborative work tool” according to Lifehacker.com because of its ability to sync files from the Dropbox website instead of going to a local hard drive to access files. Lifehacker.com says “The problem with making everyone provide access to their machine for everyone else is that it’s hard to maintain and doesn’t work well when sharing a particular file with multiple people. Like the previous method, it requires some effort.”

Recently I put Dropbox to the test by using it to save a presentation for my capstone class. I found it very time saving because I did not have to go back and forth with email attachments to see changes on the presentation. Also, accommodating different group members’ schedules was difficult but using Dropbox allowed anyone of us to edit and make changes and share them easily with everyone. This saved my group so much valuable time and effort, not to mention my email being free of 20-page long threads.

So when it comes to deciding whether to sift through endless emails to access a file or to simply go to a website or application on your computer to see a file, the answer for which will save you an unnecessary technological headache is clear. Dropbox will simplify your life and work.This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

Ditch the Magazines and Hikes to the Mall and Just Get a Blog Already!

The PR fashion industry is always changing with the latest trends and yes, social media, of course. With the rise of instablogging sites such as Tumblr and Instagram, the publics' demand for instant user-friendly fashion is growing every day. Before, fashionistas and aspiring designers would turn to hard copy magazines to get their daily fix on the industry but now the content is free and shareable on blogging platforms, which have become a favorite of fashion PR agencies to see the ongoing atmosphere of their audiences. Top designers and industry gurus such as Rachel Roy, DKNY, Vogue, and Urban Outfitters have official Tumblr blogs where they not only share products and company news, but also draw out inspiration from other fashion bloggers and followers globally.

This has turned the fashion industry from an "insider only" view, when in order to be in on the latest trends, you had to either work in the industry and be connected to someone, to a more friendly and personal one where literally anyone with a unique style and love for fashion can share and be updated on content. According to PRcouture.com, fashion is no longer exclusive to only a privileged few but has "established a new way of experiencing and connecting to like-minded readers through style, outfit photos and DIY, carving out places online that made fashion personal and discoverable through weekly posts."

This surge of fashion blogs does not necessarily mean that print editorial, photography and the runway show aspect of the industry are dying, that will always be there, but it does mean that fashion is becoming more disseminated to the masses and that diversity and accessibility is a key measurement of business and success. The industry has simply figured out where a new untapped public of fashion inspiration lies and is not wasting time looking over its market and creative potential. More importantly, social media sites have started a new wave of jobs for fashion companies that are highly in need of bloggers and trendsetters to manage their social media accounts and update them on the latest street culture and style of everyone else - and what better way to hire these people than from your own pool of followers? The industry has overall become less exclusive and all together more inclusive of everyone.

So if you're in need of your daily fashion fix or just want to share your diverse style then get a blog, follow your favorite designers and get inspired! Remember, you never know what designer could be using your style as an inspiration for their new Fall/Winter 2012 line someday!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

Original post can be read here.

Battle of the Tweets – Why Corporations Can’t Just Talk It Out

Make your way around the tech blogs and you’ll find yourself reading about a “he said, she said” Twitter war involving three of technology’s giants – Microsoft, Google and Apple. No good fight is complete without an unlikely team of rivals - Apple and Microsoft, against Google in a war of words.

The dispute started when David Drummond, Google’s Senior Vice President wrote on Google’s official blog alleging that Microsoft secured winning bids on new mobile technology patents for “anti-competitive means” and that the Justice Department would look into the matter, according to eweek.com. No surprise that that this was shortly after Microsoft far outbid Google for the same patents which could give the Android, one of the leading mobile operating systems in the mobile market, a run for its money.

In an effort to save face, Microsoft fired back at Google’s “unfairness” claim with a tweet from their General Counsel, Brad Smith, saying:

“Google says we bought Novell patents to keep them from Google. Really? We asked them to bid jointly with us. They said no.”

The defensive hits didn’t end there. Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of corporate communications fired back by also tweeting:

“Free advice for David Drummond—next time check with Kent Walker before you blog.”

Shaw’s tweet included a link to a prior e-mail sent to Brad Smith by Kent Walker, Google's General Counsel, saying that Google did not find it necessary to bid jointly on the patents. Perhaps in a last attempt to avoid embarrassment from Microsoft’s retaliation, Drummond updated his blog post defending Google by stating that Google didn’t bid jointly on the patents because it would generate anti-competitive attacks from Microsoft and Apple partners against the Android market which shares a platform with Google.

Bravo if you’ve managed to follow this petty melo-drama without being confused. This back and forth banter over social media begs questions like “Is social media the appropriate platform to air corporate differences?” and “Why can’t these corporations just sit down and talk?" If we’ve learned anything about the role social media plays in corporate discord it’s that some things are better left unsaid or rather un-tweeted. Take for example Chrysler’s Twitter faux pas where an inappropriate word was used in a tweet referring to Detroit motorists from Chrysler’s social media team.

Corporations, celebrities, and anyone using social media should know that Twitter rivalries and tweets with TMI (too much info) never play out well. In Microsoft and Google’s case, had the dispute been discussed the old fashioned way with live one on one interaction, the temptation to be sarcastic would have been eliminated. The opportunity for an audience, that’s to Twitter derailed any opportunity for meaningful discourse as would be expected from such large corporations.

What we definitely can learn from all of this is that the use of social media to communicate between competitors can easily degenerate into a free for all, in which real progress will struggle to be met. Social media is a powerful tool for corporate communications, but it should never be used to air petty differences.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez

Original post can be read here.

Have You Un-Sucked Your Writing Lately?

We've all experienced that dreaded feeling of being obligated to use 'buzzwords,’ overused phrases and jargon in our writing. The term "For lack of a better word" may actually be a good thing when it comes to public relations writing. Let's face it, in the PR field we struggle to deliver a message to the public that is clear and unambiguous; a message that gets the point across and engages the public through expressive writing. The problem many of us face is how to remain creative without losing the public's interest in the organization's message no matter how complicated it may be. Simplifying the words we use does not equate to a loss of creativity but rather a broader, more comprehensible message for our audience.

Luckily, there is a tool to help those who wander in the purgatory of "fluff" words and terms. It's called UnSuck-It.com, and it may be the second best PR writing tool next to your AP Style handbook of course! Unsuck-it is a website that allows you to submit, search, define and sometimes laugh at the hundreds of examples of bad, over complicated business and communication jargon people use while identifying a better word or phrase to use. Some popular examples of over-used words the site lists along with their easier counterparts are: "Pre-Plan" or just plan, "Eyeballs" or viewers and "facilitate" or help. The site will help you and at the same time give you a good laugh with its sarcastic definitions and cynicism of media and culture today. As PR-squared.com sarcastically says in regards to the site's use - If only we could convince clients that all press releases needed to be “run through the Unsuck It filter” (read: “written in plain English”) before sending them to the wire services. Let’s work on that."

Simply stated simpler is better but often more difficult. The irony of the difficulty of finding a simpler word to use will be over once you give Unsuck-it.com a try. The word base is always growing on the site so user submissions are definitely encouraged. Remember the K.I.S.S. method folks: Keep It Simple and Short!

Could Twitter Save Tiger?

“What’s up everyone? Finally decided to try out Twitter!” was Tiger Woods’ first tweet on his new twitter account. With only four tweets this month, his twitter account has reached over 250,000 followers and substantial media buzz. Of course we all remember the consequences of his scandal – losing million dollar endorsements, pulling out of tournaments, tainted public image, etc. – but it’s been a year. Has his bad publicity gone away? Will his re-emergence into social media help his image?

According to Mashable.com on Wednesday, November 17, “Tiger’s account — which is verified by Twitter — appears to be adding hundreds of new followers per minute since his first tweet was published at around 11:00 a.m. ET.”

One thing I’ve learned from my public relations classes and textbooks is that a high number of followers, hits, and views on social media means virtually nothing because what we really care about is who the followers are, not how many there are. In Tiger’s case, it may seem that his Twitter stats are impressive and helping his public image but we don’t know this for sure. It could simply mean that he has gained a surge of followers and attention because he was out of the media’s scope for months.

What’s interesting is that Tiger’s tweets have been fairly sociable and open: “Yep, it’s me. I think I like this twitter thing. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the love” and “The best part about phone interviews is getting to wear shorts.” This is a major difference from his previous attitude towards the media. Following his scandal, it took nearly three months for him to speak to the public about it. Perhaps Tiger’s publicity team is looking towards Twitter to reach new audiences and re-build his image. To know if Twitter is helping Tiger, we, as fellow Twitter users and social media boomers should ask ourselves these questions:

• Who are the main audiences targeted by Tiger’s messages?
• What is his audience reach?
• How are the messages received: are they received in the way they are intended
to be received?
• Has overall opinion, attitude and behavior towards Tiger changed since he began tweeting?

What do you think about Tiger Woods emerging on the Twitter scene? Will this help his image? You can follow Tiger Woods at: Twitter.com/tigerwoods

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

Original post can be read here.