E-Card Overload
I frequently use Facebook and Twitter, and one trend worth discussing that seems to be taking social media websites by storm is the electronic card. For those who are not familiar, an E-card is a digital card created on the Web, which allows people to write their own captions on select pictures. In the past year, Facebook has exploded with E-cards. And not only Facebook–Twitter, magazines, and various other media outlets are having e-cards posted onto their pages by users frequently to communicate messages to friends. It is admittedly one of the features that I enjoy when I log on to Facebook. I can count on their being at least 3 or 4 new e-card posts from friends in my Facebook news feed. Some are humorous, many are inspirational/encouraging, and some are sentimental. So what has contributed to this sudden and rapid growth of the e-card? I attribute it to the following factors:
1. They are digital and free–with the rapid increase in internet usage, anything that allows self-expression or social interaction is instantly welcomed by the new digital generation. Most do not have the time or money time to frequent hallmark to buy cards to send messages, but people can send e-cards as frequently as often without worrying about physically going to a store and spending money.
2. personalization/self-expression–E-cards allow people to put their own thoughts onto a picture and share the message with friends. Cards bought in stores come with their own pictures/captions, but E-cards allow users to personalize, and personalization is becoming increasingly popular in our culture.
3. Inspiration and/or comic relief in your stressful, busy life–The most popular E-Cards seem to be the humorous and inspirational ones. You may be having a bad day or feeling stressed out; but log onto your Facebook page and see a hilarious caption/picture or an inspirational message posted to a friend’s wall on your news feed, and you get the little push you needed to get through the rest of the day.
Given the rapidly increasing popularity of E-cards in the social networking world, perhaps organizations should start using personalized E-cards more often to communicate in a fun way to their audiences online (through Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites).
Some funny and/or inspirational E-Cards posted by friends on Facebook recently:
funny caption added to image of politician Ron Paul making a big gesture
Does Twitter Make the Job of a Celebrity Publicist More Difficult?
Actress Rosario Dawson and I on the set of one of her movies
The entertainment world is as chaotic and hectic as it is exciting and fun. Entertainers are some of the most watched/monitored individuals in society, with constant speculation surrounding their words and actions. With the rise of Twitter, many celebrities have found a way to express their personal voices. While some have Twitter accounts that are run by publicists and are primarily used for promotion, many well known celebrities have Twitter accounts that they personally run. While this allows fans to feel closer to their favorite artists, does it make the job of their publicists more challenging? I would imagine so.
Entertainment news headlines commonly read things along the lines of “Rihanna getting backlash from organization due to her recent post Twitter”; Or “Miley Cyrus’ publicist releases apology statement for recent twitter post”. Words fly around at the speed of light in the twitter-sphere, and once they have been seen/read, they cannot be taken back. I pose this question: is it a good idea for celebrities to run their own twitter accounts, or should their accounts be run by their publicists? I personally am not opposed to celebrities running their personal twitter accounts (However, I am also not a celebrity publicist with a client who loves to say controversial things. My opinion could slightly differ if that were the case).
I feel that the rise of Twitter and personal expression by celebrities brings excitement into the entertainment world, and overall probably helps their reputations and connection with their fans more than it hurts these things (as long as they do not abuse their right to self expression with countless vulgar posts). I also feel that when used correctly, Twitter can be an incredible tool for image shaping and promotion. What do you think? Does twitter make the job of a celebrity publicist more stressful when run by a celebrity? Should it be run by publicists, or should celebrities continue to express their own opinions via Twitter? I would love to hear all of your thoughts!
Data Overload: Reflection
“Information overload” is a term that was coined by Alvin Toffler, which refers to the excess amount of information that our generation receives due to various advances in technology. This excess of information can make it difficult for an individual to make decisions or comprehend issues.
We live in the 20th century, which is also known as the information age and the rise of the internet and other advances in computer technology such as search engines, features of mobile phones that provide constant/instant information feeds, and social media websites.
With the invention of search engines, we have access to virtually any information that we want to receive. We have instant access to news from various sources. When we want details about an individual or a news story that has just broken out, we can do a Google search and are instantly provided with large amounts of articles, online news publications, blogs, and various sources of information on the topic. Some of these sources are credible, while some might be biased or filled with mistakes. I have witnessed this aspect of the information overload taking effect on society and the lives of myself and those around me by causing us to make mistakes and incorrectly identify facts or sides to a story.
Another factor contributing to the information overload is the ease with which our generation can recreate and send information. We now have the ability to instantly recreate and send information through the use of email and the sharing of links to information on social media websites.
Facebook has gone even further in encouraging the information overload by creating a new feature where users are notified any time that one of their friends has read a certain news article online. For example, when I log into Facebook and view my news feed, I receive a notification that says “Paul Bauer just read an article called ‘Jersey Shore cast member reveals that she is pregnant’ on Yahoo! news”. Facebook users have the options of sharing the articles that they read with their friends, and just by clicking on a news article online all of the individual’s friends are exposed to that article.
Another factor contributing to the information overload is the increase in channels that can communicate information to us. This includes the rise of emailing, RSS feeds, instant messaging, text messaging, and telephones. We live in a generation where individuals cannot live without having email access on their cell phones. People want their phones to vibrate every time that they receive a new tweet or have a new Facebook notification. I feel that this can be beneficial in some ways, while it can also be detrimental. It can be beneficial in the sense that we are able to work faster and achieve more when we are able to instantly communicate.
With the wide variety of channels that we can use to receive information, it is both difficult and overwhelming to keep up with the rapid rate at which we are receiving the information. Receiving such a high volume/rapid rate of information through so many channels also takes away from the time that we are able to put into face-to-face communication.
What do you think? Is the information overload a genuine cause of concern for our generation, or just another concept that exaggerates the negative effects of new technology?
Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy
I recently read an interesting book called “Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy”, by Jeff Chester. Jeff Chester is the director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a Washington D.C. based non-profit dedicated to encouraging democratic expression in the digital media era. The book brought up various provocative points about the democracy in the new digital era. Chester expresses how we are being indirectly targeted by corporations and media companies who are trying to sell their products, and asks whether or not this is ethical.
We are led to believe that we have increased freedom as technology increases and the internet is becoming such a powerful force in our daily lives. However, with the growth of the internet, are we actually losing freedom? Thins such as the “AD-ID”, created by one of the many advertising associations, monitor our browsing habits and collect detailed information on us, allowing advertisers to target us more aggressively. Chester asks whether or not this is democratic, and makes it clear that in his opinion it is highly unethical and is slowly depleting democracy. I feel more of a moderate view towards the issue in that I feel that while advertisers are in some cases targeting audiences too aggressively, we still ultimately choose what persuades us.
I sincerely feel that regardless of how much an ad is forced onto my brain, if I am genuinely uninterested in the product or unimpressed by the ad, I am not going to buy the product. Advertising and marketing are meant to persuade and used to position a product in a way that makes it desirable, but they are not capable of brainwashing consumers. I ultimately felt that while he did present some interesting views and raise some interesting questions, many of the points were more radical than my personal beliefs on the subject matter. However, I still felt that the book was a good read for anyone interested in the effects that the increased use of internet and digital advertising is having on consumers and society.
McDonalds Sued Over Happy Meal Toys
A mother of two children from Sacramento recently filed a lawsuit against McDonalds, claiming that the fast food chain is marketing to children with its happy meal toys. The woman stated that she would like McDonalds to stop using toys from popular children’s movies such as Shrek. She says that her children often leave their food to get cold while they are playing with the toys. The lawsuit will claim that children do not have the cognitive ability to recognize marketing tactics.
Does this woman have a legitimate claim? I do agree that children do not have the ability to realize when something is being sold to them, which makes it unethical to tempt them with toys. However, some parents may enjoy getting these toys for their children. Asking the parent if he/she would like the toy included or not would be the most sensible option. McDonalds could also consider making toys that have some type of educational value. This way, parents can feel that the toy is providing value rather than just distracting their child from finishing lunch.
How do YOU think McDonalds should handle the issue and the negative press surrounding the happy meal toys?
Hershey Sues Mars
Hershey’s candy company has recently gone forward with a lawsuit against Mars candy, claiming that Mars’ “peanut butter chocolate promise squares” are copying Hershey’s patented packaging with their orange, brown, and tan wrapping. Mars candy apparently used an orange background for the candy packaging, which has been trademarked for Hershey’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Reese’s pieces. Mars responded by filing a counter complaint against Hershey, claiming that “orange is commonly used by third parties on packaging as a generic flavor designation for peanuts, peanut butter or peanut butter flavoring.”
Hershey is the largest maker of chocolate candy in the United States, while Mars is second. The companies have clashed before, with Mars having sued Hershey in the past.
From a public relations perspective, one question that can be asked is whether or not Mars is really at fault, and whether the company is creating a bad public image for itself. I feel that by coming out with similar packaging to Hershey, Mars may be at risk of seeming somewhat deceptive and unoriginal to the public. I feel that the company should make efforts to avoid copying anything that is patented by its main competitor, and failure to do so shows a slight lack of integrity. Mars is already second to Hershey in the business of manufacturing chocolate, and therefore should be focusing on making their trademarks as unique as possible.
source: http://www.postchronicle.com/news/original/article_212335067.shtml
Kanye West discusses his controversial actions on the Today Show
Kanye West appeared on the “Today Show” to answer questions about various controversial comments and actions that he made in recent years. One of the main incidents discussed was when he called president Bush a racist. When asked if he regretted the comment, Kanye was a bit two-sided in his answer. He stated that he did not want to use the word “regret”, and that his comments came from a very pure place. However, he also stated that he acted on emotion and that he did not feel that he had that authority to pin the president as a racist.
From a public relations perspective, I feel that it was a good idea for Kanye to appear on the Today Show in efforts to repair his image and clear up a lot of the negative feelings towards him. However, I feel that he should have put more time into preparation for the interview. A lot of his answers seemed unclear and two-sided. He seemed to get angry and defensive at various points in the interview and was not cooperative with the way the interview was run. I feel that he should have prepared a more firm explanation to give to the public. I think that overall the public will appreciate his efforts to explain himself, but that this opportunity could have been optimized more by Kanye. More preparation would have likely given him better results in reparing his image.
Arizona voters approve medical marijuana use
In recent elections, Arizona voters officially approved the legalization of medical marijuana. The campaign manager for the legalization of medical marijuana was quoted in an article saying, “Now begins the very hard work of implementing this program in the way it was envisioned, with very high standards…we really believe that we have an opportunity to set an example to the rest of the country on what a good medical marijuana program looks like.” The vote in favor of legalization won by only a few thousand votes. Those who oppose medical marijuana do so mainly because of the fact that they do not feel that it will be used only by patients who need it for medical purposes.
Due to the highly controversial nature of this issue and the fact that the state was basically divided in half on their opinions, I feel that the public relations aspect is very important. Now that medical marijuana use has been legalized, Andrew Myers, the campaign manager for the legalization of Marijuana, should focus on showing what exactly is being done in order to ensure that the drug will only be used by those who need it for medical purposes. If the public is not assured that marijuana use will be monitored and that it will be safely used, the uproar against it is likely to continue and cause division and negativity towards state government. It is crucial that the public relations campaign for this issue provides assurance and factual information in order to create and maintain peace.
Kristen Stewart is Not Happy About Her Celebrity Status
Actress Kristen Stewart, of the famous “Twilight” movie franchise, was recently quoted saying that she does not consider herself a celebrity, does not enjoy being in the spotlight, and does not appreciate the attention that her personal life gets. She shared certain undersirable incidences, such as her grandparents being concerned and calling her parents when they heard she was pregnant with co-star Robert Pattinson’s child due to false magazine advertisements. Stewart stated that being a celebrity is not desirable, and that it is “bizarre” to her that everyone is so obsessive about her and/or the movies. She also stated that she does not have intentions of becoming a big movie star.
Stewart often faces criticism from the media for not being very personable or inviting in interviews, and seeming overall unpleasant and bothered when seen off-screen. In my opinion, and from a PR perspective, I feel that being in the public eye is a part of a being a celebrity/actor. Stewart could be bringing bad publicity her way and tarnishing her image as an actress with her negativity towards the idea of being a celebrity. I feel that she should keep her ill feelings about being in the spotlight to herself, as it could show a lack of appreciation to her fans. If her fan base were to all of a sudden decline, I am sure she would want some of the “bizarre” attention back. While I do not think she needs to express constant joy, Stewart should show a bit more warmth and appreciation, and realize that many actors would love be in her shoes.
source: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978650392
