Ranking Social Media

This week, I explored digg.com, as usual. I think this is my favoite social media site to find news. I find it easy to "digg" through news that I am interested in and weed out stuff that I could care less about. I decided to search for new social media stuff. I came across a blog that rated the Top 10 Social News Sites, according to their appearance and layout.

I was extremely pleased when Digg.com came out as number 3 in this bloggers opinion. I find this site so easy to use. But the best part about the article, was looking at the other social news sites I have yet to explore. First, I checked out StumbleUpon, which appeared similar to digg. Every story had a brief sentence or two describing the article along with a picture. But despite the easy layout, the unfamiliarity and difference from digg, turned me away.

Next, I looked into Mixx and loved it! Rated number 1 in the blog I read, Mixx is the perfect site. There is a poll on the right hand side that changes everytime you vote. First, there was a political question and then one about the popular TV show, GossipGirl. How fantastic! Similar to Digg, users can rate stories by voting. Also, on the home page, you can enter into a search bar labeled "What are you interested in." After entering a topic you want to see news on, the home page will stay the same, but there will be additional stories beneath the search bar pertaining to your interests. Definitely check out this Web site because it is now my favorite social media site!

I think it is awesome that people are blogging about news sites because I can now look at multiple news sites that I never knew existed. With the new sites I found, I feel like I will be able to get a better variety of news from multiple sites and become a better informed blogger. Everyone should look into these sites!

Let's Chat About Ethics

I have been trying to start my paper on ethics for three days now, but I just can't seem to pick a topic. First, I wanted to write about social media and how ethics plays such a large role. Yet, after reading the past winners, I realized that I needed something more meaningful. Not only would winning $5,000 be nice, but I wanted to examine my life. I know I have been faced with multiple issues of ethics. Day in and day out, everyone is faced with ethical issues. After realizing this, I wondered how I became the person I am today despite all of the unethical experiences I have been exposed to and if I am even as ethical as I think.

The things I want to write about may hurt others. Even though they are all true, they might affect someone else's feelings and I am not sure if I am okay with that. I know they will make a great heart-wrenching paper, but should I air someone's dirty laundry out for my benefit? Is it ethical that I am even thinking about doing it both to win and pick apart the person I am?

So I am in a dilemma. I am not sure what to write about because the topics I want to write about might hurt others, therefore making me unethical in the end. Jeez, this will be a tricky paper.

Social Media Changing the World

Written over a year ago, an article I found titled Digg Life: How Social Media Will Change the World hit the nail on the head with the direction social media will go. The first half of the article discussed many aspects of social media we have already studied. It highlighted how "the masses" such as the users, decide what pieces of information are important. Everyday people just like you and me can have a voice as important as popular news anchors. I loved one part of the article where it explained that information on the Web is now made popular based on "how good you are, not who you know." I think this is a great point regarding to media, but not networking. I think with jobs and internships, knowing people is still key, but when focusing on getting your blog out there, it is based on how well you write.

The most interesting thing in the article discussed politics. Since this article was written over a year ago, it was when the presidential election was just beginning to start up. Digg began discussion about a social media Web site solely for politics. I think this would have been a fantastic idea so people could voice their opinions and other citizens could look at issues from multiple view points. With the election now over, I have yet to see a site such as this. I feel as though many people did voice their opinion but there was not one site where you could look at multiple opinions at once.

Overall, it's crazy to see how people predicted social media would be such a big deal years ago. I can only imagine where it's going to take us in the future.

Coke Down

I was taken back by the fact that when searching for Vault, a soda made by Coca-Cola, the Web site made by Coke didn't appear for over twenty-five pages. But, the fan-made page was the first result. This astounds me. The mere idea that consumers have this much power with the break out of the Internet and blogging is insane! Karkovak was able to launch not only one, but two, popular Web sites dedicated to different sodas that significantly. Coke used to be a company that did not embrace consumer fan clubs and opinions. Karkovak completely changed Coke's opinion and helped them to use consumers as a benefit. Karkovak, in a round about way, helped Coke to alter their Web site and make it more user friendly.

Citizen Markerts really demonstrated in this chapter the power the consumer now has with the advances in the Internet. As a Generation Y, I have had access to the Internet since I was in ... maybe 6th grade? I have always used it solely to surf the Web and to connect to AIM. When MySpace came out in high school, I joined that networking site. And then Facebook, I signed on as soon as I could. Since being in college and especially a social media class, I have truly seen the endless possibilities the Internet offers. Everything from blogs to consumer feedback to Web sites dedicated to the revival of a soft drink, the Internet is limitless. I am excited to see how public relations and marketing take on the Internet in the upcoming years and I hope, with my major, I play an active role in my profession. Ready or not Internet, here I come!

How You Can Save a Life

More Construction?!

First, the new pharmacy building. Next, the Inn. Now, new affinity. I am not sure how much more construction I can handle! With the Inn, I would walk to class and all you could hear was Spanish music and construction workers yelling. I was more than excited when ONU was finally finished building at the beginning of this year. And I will give it to them, the Inn looks sweet, but it took forever to complete. And instead of waiting until this upcoming summer to continue new construction, ONU has begun clearing land and placing pipes for a new affinity. I think it's great that they are finally building more housing because this has obviously been a problem for years, but do they really need to start during week 9 of fall quarter? Right out my window, I can see all of the machines and hear the terribly loud noises. I'm not sure if I can handle this for the year. Even when I walk to class, I pass by newly constructed fences with men creeping around them talking about the most random things that I really don't care about. And if that isn't bad enough, their work begins around 7am. Or at least that's when I can hear them. What better to wake up to then a bulldozer?

And with next week being 'dead week,' I don't think my sorority can handle the noise. We all like to study in our rooms and that just doesn't look like it will be able to happen due to the noise. I wish ONU would be more considerate. They know finals are coming up, why couldn't they wait to begin their construction? Or at least warn the two existing affinity buildings about what is happening.

Who is going to live in the new affinity anyway? You have three sororities and honors housing at the moment. I think ONU should have just moved the three sororities and given us Greek-style houses somewhere new on campus and used our current affinity houses for housing. I guess this is due to my bias of being in a sorority and knowing ONU pulled a fast one on us. When I was a freshman, affinity was brand new and it was the first year of DZ living there. And I was told by our seniors that the house we ended up with is not what we signed on for. We were supposed to have a Greek house, columns and all. The works. But ONU claimed multiple things such as they didn't have enough time and since only two sororities signed on, they couldn't follow the original plans. To me, this is completely unfair. I grew up with contracts. My dad owned five companies at one point. He hired people to build and excavate all the time. He always drew up contracts and if they were broken, it did not go unnoticed. He made sure the people he hired followed through with what they said they would, otherwise, he would sue them. I would like to see the contract DZ signed with ONU about our housing. I am sure something is broken but ONU is so shady about everything. I am sure they have burned the contract or something. My goal before I graduate is to get to the bottom of the DZ housing issue. Because right now, I live in a 'sorority house' with multiple RA's in dorm style rooms with construction lingering constantly outside my window.

Shady ONU. The small friendly school I once fell in love with is no more.

The New Rules of Week 9

I will admit I am a bit of a nerd when reading our books for social media. This week, while deep into The New Rules of Marketing and PR, I pulled myself away and decided to look at some of the Web sites Scott was talking about. First, I went to Cervelo. Now, I don't like bicycling. In fact, I actually hate it. My dad used to take us out west every summer and we would bike around national parks for hours. And even though I am not a fan of cycling, I know good bikes and what matters. This Web site was really easy and instead of just reading about how fantastic their marketing strategies are, I got a look at them first hand. One of my favorite things Cervelo has on the Web site are reviews. You can click on either the 2008 or 2009 bikes. Then, under these categories, you can click on over 10 different bikes. On each bike's page, there are so many details such as price, what professionals have them, where they have been featured, highlights, and then reviews. These reviews are from various magazines and Web sites who have critiqued the bike. I love that Cervelo connects the consumer directly to positive media about their product. I think the review section would be even more sweet if they included a place where customers who have purchased bikes can write their opinions.

Aside from just looking at bicycles, I checked out Amazon.com. And until I read chapter 2, I never really noticed how helpful this site is. I signed in under my mom's name and as soon as I got to her home page, Amazon already provided suggestions for me including movies and books. And surprisingly, they were things I am or would be interested in purchasing. I clicked on "A Charlie Brown Christmas," because who doesn't love this movie? And Amazon not only told me details to the movie and showed me what other customers who liked this product bought, but Amazon showed me what other products were often bought at the same time as this movie. For those of you interested, it was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

I completely agree with Scott that these two Web sites take the new rules and really apply them. I think it's time for some online shopping thanks to Amazon. I feel like they want me to be happy with my purchase and be aware of my choices and the variety they offer. And I sent my dad, the bicycling enthusiast he is, the Web site for Cervelo. Maybe a new bike will be make him happy enough and I won't have to ride with him!

Clean Up In Aisle 9

Who doesn't love Rock Band?  And Rock Band: World Tour is the newest addition to the Rock Band collection.  Released on October 28th, the new video games was being sold everywhere!  But one store, Circuit City, seemed to have things a little mixed up.  After reading Consumerist, I came across an interesting experience one customer had while trying to purchase the new game.  Instead of the game being priced at $189.99, the computer rang it up as $10,000.  Now that is a huge difference.  After having to wait for over an hour and talking to managers and multiple people in the Circuit City chain of commands, the customer found out he was being lied to and Circuit City was being dishonest in more ways than one.

In my mind, this is a great example of public relations.  The poor public relations person for Circuit City most likely had to smooth out the waters and discover what really happened.  

Has anyone ever had a terrible experience at a popular store, maybe not as drastic as this, but similar?

Time Flies ...

BAM! I was just hit with the realization that I am a junior. A year from now, I will be looking for jobs. This summer, I will have an internship. In a little over three months, I will be 21! I am an upperclassman. I just cannot fathom this. In a few weeks, I might be a grand big in DZ. Which is crazy! I remember when I was a freshman and talking to juniors, mainly in DZ. They seemed so scary and intimidating. Yet, they were poised and classy. I looked up to them so much. They really appeared so much older. And now, living on the first floor of the house with my pledge class, I really do not feel like a junior. I only have two years left at ONU until I face the real world.

As if it isn't bad enough realizing I will be graduating in less than two years and could be called 'gbig,' looking back, things have already changed so much on this campus. When I came as a freshman, the Phi Kap house was on fraternity circle. White Bear just got remodeled. The location of the new Inn was the home of scary apartments. Affinity was brand new. Brookhart was given a make-over. Sororities and fraternities weren't watched like hawks. Klondike was still cute and cuddly. Two years later, all of this is completely different. I can't even imagine coming back and seeing more drastic changes. When I talk to freshman now, they have no idea what the old Klondike looked like or that there used to be more than six fraternities.

I honestly just can't grasp that things have changed this much. And that I am growing up. I don't believe all of this is happening and that everything is moving so fast. People always said it would, but I didn't truly understand that until this year. I just want things to stay this way. As much as I wanna grow up and get into the real world, I want to stay in college forever!