The Social Media Takeover

Social Media allows its users to share content with each other. Common examples of social networking sites are Facebook, Twitter and Friendster. These sites allow users to connect and share content such as photos, files and more. Social media have evolved into a way of life. A full 24 hours cannot pass without a student, teacher or a PR professional checking his or her own personal or business social media outlet. Social media allow two-way interaction from a sender to a receiver. Today, websites allow users the ability to communicate back and forth with one another. Social media are not just made up of social networking. Social bookmarking, social news, social photos & video sharing, and wikis all fall under the social media umbrella.


The New Influencers refers to people who are transforming the marketing world by incorporating social media efforts. In his book, Paul Gillin describes how social media can help businesses. He writes about how social media will change the way people do business and also how they live their lives.


Josh Bernoff, who is co-author of Groundswell, defines social techographics as the classification of people according to how they use social media. There is a ladder of options that customers fall under when it comes to how frequently they use social media. The categories of users are Creators, Critics, Collectors, Joiners, Spectators and Inactives. Once a company determines the percentage of customers in each categories, strategies can be implemented to reach the customers.



Tumblr

Three years ago, Tumblr was launched in New York by a team of two people. Since then, the team has grown to 10 people, and Tumblr has become the easiest, most popular way to blog, according to the Tumblr staff. Millions of people use Tumblr to share posts, pictures, audio, video and more. According to the Tumblr Web site, the average user creates 14 original posts each month and reblogs three. A reblog is when a user reposts what someone else posted. This is similar to "retweeting" on Twitter.


There are several themes users can pick for their Tumblr page. The theme colors and HTML are fully customizable. Tumblr lets its users blog from anywhere, using any form of communication. When users sign up for Tumblr, they get a custom domain name. Tumblr also lets people stay connected to other social media by allowing users to update their posts to Facebook and Twitter. According to the Tumblr Staff Blog, the site is now averaging 2,000,000 posts and 15,000 new users every day. Tumblr makes microblogging simple and more innovative.


Check out the Tumblr Web site for "30 Reasons Why You'll Love Tumblr."

Climate Cover-Up: The Crusade to Deny Global Warming

James Hoggan's book "Climate Cover-Up" is quite thorough in exposing the sneaky strategies and tactics that people and companies develop in efforts to persuade people that global warming is not a problem. The book bought the ideas behind these campaigns to light. Also, the book brings up the issue of think tanks, astroturfing and the pseudoscientists.


The chapter that stood out to me the most was Chapter 4: "The Age of Astroturfing." This chapter simply states that people relate more to grassroots PR efforts. But if a grassroots organization does not exist, then fake ones are put into place. This is where the term "astroturf" comes in because it is a name for FAKE grass. I could not understand why a person who is supposed to know the honesty and fairness of PR would develop an astroturfed campaign.


I believe that public relations practitioners need to educate themselves on global warming before they can inform the masses. It is important for public relations to have knowledge of a little bit of everything. If a PR person does not know the facts and spreads the wrong information, then there will be confusion.


"Climate Cover-Up" is an excellent book for people seeking more information on the global warming crisis. It also warns them not to believe every effort that is put together to try and combat this problem.

Framing: What's the big deal?

The strategic framework analysis approach was developed at the Frame Works Institute by a team of people who studied the world's assumptions and tested them to determine their impact on social policies. This approach pays attention to the public's deeply held views on the world and the things that go on inside it.


Put in simpler terms, framing is when the media shape the public's views on certain issues by selecting a certain choice of facts, themes and words on a particular discussion. The media gatekeepers would be the ones to send out framing messages. The whole idea behind the frame is that people will receive new information and have it build upon their existing beliefs and ideas. Framing usually creates the context in which a discussion will take place.


Public relations has an influence on how the media will discuss a product, person or idea. Framing is particular big in political campaigns. For example, if people do not take the time to research a particular candidate, the public relations person plays a big role in framing what a voter thinks about a candidate. Also, a public relations practitioner is going to frame his or her client in the minds of the public, whether the public has prior knowledge or not. Public relations is supposed to present a frame to the public so that people can filter information already known and make decisions. Spin can sometimes be confused with framing because of the way they both are made to shape the public's opinion. Spin is more of a negative way to manipulate and deceive the public instead of giving them the facts and leaving it up to them to perceive, as framing does.


Walter Lippmann came to the conclusion that people use mental shortcuts to make sense of the world. When people receive new information, they want to process it quickly, and they add it to what they already know. Lippmann calls this process "indexing." He refers to the "picture in our heads" as the end product of all the information gathered for a frame.

"We define first, and then see." -Walter Lippmann

The Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell's book "The Tipping Point" describes the interesting theory that ideas and products disseminate according to three rules of the tipping point. A tipping point is the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point. Using the tipping point theory, the emergence of fashion trends, and the spread of ideas and epidemics can be better understood. There are three characteristics of the tipping point: contagiousness, the fact that little causes can have big effects, and that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment.


The three rules of the tipping point are The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context.


Law of the Few states that there are three types of people who are critical in spreading messages and ideas and in raising awareness about products.


Connectors know many people and are very friendly. In social epidemics, Connectors help to link people together and are responsible for word-of-mouth marketing.


Mavens are collectors of information. They specialize in helping others by sharing their expertise on certain things. They are the "data banks" in a social epidemic.


Salesmen have the skills to persuade people when they are skeptical or unconvinced. Gladwell describes salesmen as "energetic, enthusiastic, and charming."


The Stickiness Factor plays a role in epidemics because it is important for messages to stick. There has to be some contagious way to make a message memorable, and it depends on the presentation and structure of the information. If the message is strong enough, the content will impact audiences.


The Power of Context states that human beings are more sensitive to their environment. The example of Bernie Goetz proves that epidemics are easily affected by the conditions and circumstances of the times and place in which they occur.


The idea of the tipping point is quite intriguing. The theory of "weak ties" stood out the most to me. It states that weak ties are more important than strong ties. This is true because our friends often share the same interests as we and occupy the same space. Our acquaintances are very different from us and therefore are more likely to know something that I or my friends do not. According to Gladwell, acquaintances represent a source of social power, and the more acquaintances you have the more powerful you are.

"The Tipping Point" relates to public relations because the three rules can be applied to a campaign. The message of a campaign must pass the test of the Stickiness Factor. It has to be memorable and strong enough to affect the target audience. The message has to be moved by a Connector, studied by a Maven, and sold by a Salesman. Also, the campaign has to be put in a certain context or situation for it to be successful. If all of these rules are carried out, the message will tip.

"Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push,in just the right place,it can be tipped."
-Malcolm Gladwell

"Success is determined by those whom prove the impossible, possible."

I've been told many times that college is the best four years of my life and I should cherish it while I can. The time is nearing for my four years to come to an end. August 2006 seemed like just yesterday when I stepped on the campus of FAMU. Ambitious, naive, willing to take on whatever task was presented to me was my attitude when I started experiencing my first semester of college course work. Surprisingly, I was able to stay focused among the many distractions that come along with living on campus of a HBCU.


Nevertheless, I will never forget my freshman year experience. It was something that I will tell my children about. I met people that I will never forget and even fostered a life-long friendship with my very first roommate. As the course work started to pick up and I chose my major as public relations, I realized that I will have to soon leave FAMU and that it is time for me to start thinking about life off of 'the Hill.' Of course, there is always graduate school.


I have pondered over the decision of graduate school for months and have come to the conclusion that I want to enter the workforce after graduation. I want to get a feel of what it is like to work for a PR department or either a full-service PR agency. Of course, this does not happen overnight so that is why I am fully prepared for the work ahead of me. Aside from keeping up with the work in my PR courses, I will be searching for jobs in the PR market in Tampa, Fla., and Atlanta, Ga. My ultimate dream is to do public relations work for tourist resorts in the Dominican Republic.


Some say when you take a break from school you will never go back. That statement is 100% opinion. With the ambition and drive that I have I will seek further education. My plan is to enroll in graduate school in the fall of 2011 to get my MBA in Marketing.


With that being said, I am fully PRepared for the work ahead of me as I start the next journey in my life. Farewell FAMU.