7 Steps on How to Measure a Crisis

This past week in my reading of "Measure What Matters", I found some interesting information on how to measure a crisis. Of course, no business or company wants to have to deal with a crisis but the reality is that a crisis will most likely happen at some point. A crisis is like that inevitable event that you hate thinking about but need to have a plan for just in case it happens. For example, we would like to think that a tornado won't hit our house but we need to be prepared in case one does. Always be prepared for the worst possible situation to happen.

Here is a brief description of the 7 steps on how to measure a crisis:


1. Define a Specific Desired Outcome from the Crisis:

• Getting through a crisis is the first outcome that should be desired but you also have to think about what is an "okay" outcome for your brand. Is a 10-20% drop in sales manageable for your brand? These are questions that need to be answered once the crisis hits.

2. Define Your Audiences and What You Want Your Relationship to Be with Each One:          

• Another topic that should be discussed are all your relationships with your audiences. There should be discussion on how good and bad relationships with each of your audiences could affect your brand in the time of crisis. You should also prioritize each audience so you know which ones should be given the most consideration.

3. Define Your Benchmark:

• A good way to measure your crisis is to see how it stacks up compared to others that are happening. Compare your crisis with a few others locally and see if your coverage is more positive or negative.

4. Define Your Measurement Criteria:

• Go back to when you listed the good and bad relationships with each of your audiences. Now list the benefits of all the good relationships you have with a certain audience. This will help you to set criteria on how to measure your success out of the crisis.

         Here are a few "Typical Performance Indicators":

• Percent increase in trust scores
• Percent of coverage containing key messages
• Share of desirable versus undesirable coverage       

5. Select a Measurement Tool:

• When measuring your crisis, you have to choose the most appropriate tool according to your situation. There are a variety of tools to measure a crisis.

         Here are a few:

• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• Before-and-After Polls
• Content Analysis

          Remember that good measurement can shorten the length of a crisis.


6. Analyze Results, Glean Insights, and Make Actionable Recommendations:

• This step is one of the most crucial steps of measuring a crisis. Basically, in this step you are figuring out what your results mean. You need to figure out what needs to be changed and improved. Take what happened and translate it to a strategy in order to save your brand and stay away from any more crises.

7. Make Changes and Measure Again:

• After the crisis has passed, stand by your measurement and your results. Your measurement program will continue to grow and become more respected. Make changes as needed but stand by your results. Measurement should remain ongoing for your brand.

* All of this information is credited towards Katie Paine


After reading, I found that the information provided a smart outlook on how to measure a crisis. I have taken a case study class where we studied different crises that have happened and I found that this information supported what I learned from the class. A crisis is never fun, but it is mindful to have a plan for when a crisis happens. You don't want to be unprepared and end up suffering a huge loss.

One of the steps that Paine mentions that I found especially interesting was the second step referencing how to define your audience. If there has been one thing that I have learned from being a public relations major, it is that you need to know your audience. If you don't know your audience then there is no way you will know how to market your brand. Bummer. I appreciate that Paine puts an emphasis on knowing the type of relationships you have with your audience and how this can help affect a crisis. Your audience is a huge voice for your brand so you want to make sure you maintain good relationships with them.

As I have mentioned before, measurement is important and shouldn't go to the wayside no matter what. If you want your brand to be successful, then you need to have a good measurement strategy in tact.

Explore the world of measurement and keep your brand away from having a crisis. As always, reach for the stars you high societal souls!

Word of the Day: Supererogatory
Definition: Going beyond the requirements of duty.

All the best
                                      

My Up and Coming School Year

First off, how in the world am I a junior in college? I really don't understand how time goes by so fast. I feel like I was in high school just yesterday and now I'm a couple years away from entering the real world. I would say I'm scared to death about being on my own, but I am also extremely excited to discover the world and be my own person. You always imagine what being on your own will be like but now it's fast approaching and it is time to start planning my future.

Before I get there though, I still have a couple more years at Ohio Northern University. The up and coming school year is going to be an exciting one for me. So many things happening! First off, this is the first year I won't be living on-campus. With four of my friends, I will be living in an apartment off-campus. I am beyond thrilled to have my own apartment. The apartment is not that big but I am just happy to not be living in a dorm anymore. I think this will be a good experience since most likely I will have to live in an apartment when I move to where I want to live.


Secondly, I am going to be stage managing the Fall dance show! This is pretty exciting as well. For my musical theatre degree, I have to assistant stage manage once before I graduate. Due to the fact that all of our "stage manager" majors graduated this past school year, that responsibility has fallen onto the musical theatre majors, which is why I'm the stage manager for the dance show rather than the assistant stage manager. Although this opportunity is extremely exciting, I am also pretty nervous. I have never stage managed before so this will be interesting. I have to take a stage management class once a week this next semester to basically learn about how to stage manage. Thank God that I will have that to guide me along.


Lastly, this year the theatre department has decided to have both the musical productions during the spring semester and the two productions will prove to be quite interesting. The first production will be a "new work" musical. We have yet to hear about what the musical is called but the writers are still finishing writing. The genre is supposedly more a contemporary musical, which is so exciting! The contemporary genre is more of my style, so I am hoping to be cast! The department has also mentioned that there is a possibility that the cast of this "new work" musical will be able to travel to the University of Salford and perform the show for part of their season. I really hope that we raise enough money to do this because that would be amazing. I can't even fathom how much fun it would be to travel and perform the show over seas! After that production ends, the next spring musical is going to be The Pirates of Penzance. This show is considered an operetta, so way different than the contemporary musical. I do not have any experience with singing operettas but it would definitely be a great learning experience. So I guess we will see how those productions end up turning out!


I am very excited to begin my junior year of college and continue to push towards graduation! Keep reaching for the stars you high societal souls and you'll love the outcome!


Word of the Day: Automagical
Definition: (Of a usually complicated technical or computer process) done, operating, or happening in a way that is hidden from or not understood by the user, and in that sense, apparently "magical".


All the best

First YouTube Experience

So recently I just made my very first YouTube video for my social media principles class. Wowzers. I definitely did not realize how much time it takes to record, edit and publish a YouTube video. I thought it was going to be much simpler but once you start editing you don't want to stop. So anyways, the assignment was to make a "How to" video on something. I was actually pretty excited about this because I came up with the idea "How to Do a Double Pullback". A double pullback is an advanced tap dance move. I wanted to show my tap dancing skills that I have acquired over the past year. There was only one problem: no space to use.

Although this was pretty disappointing, I knew I had to come up with a different idea. So I finally decided to do a "How to Survive College" video. I figured this would be a fun and simple way to complete the assignment. I also have been wanting to reflect on my past two years in college and share some advice to kids entering college.

So here is the final product I came up with:

Although I do wish I would have given myself more time to perfect the video, I am happy with the result. I delivered what I wanted to convey to my audience and I hope it reaches people who might be interested in the topic. My goal was to speak on something that I would have wanted to hear about when I was entering college.

YouTube still has a big presence in today's social media world. How many times have you caught yourself spending hours upon hours watching YouTube videos? I know I have multiple times. It is addicting. There is just about anything you would want to watch on YouTube. Videos are also one of the most compelling ways to tell a story or inform an audience on a certain topic. Combining audio with a visual is definitely a way to catch somebody's attention.

After this assignment, I respect the YouTubers who make a commitment to posting a video every week (or even more than that a week). There is so much time and dedication involved. I don't know if I could keep up as a regular YouTuber, but I have set it as my goal to try.

You can find my video on my social media accounts:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube

Try something new and start a YouTube channel! You could even start one with your friend. Keep reaching for the stars you high societal souls!

Word of the Day: Transmogrify 
Definition: To change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform.

All the best

How to Use Numbers to Get Closer to Your Customers

This past week, I have been reading some interesting information on how to measure your social media impact. "Measure What Matters" by Katie Paine speaks volumes on how to continuously measure effectively. Before taking this class, I didn't really know all the work that goes in to measuring your social media. There's a lot more to it then just simply scrolling down your Facebook or Twitter page. Paine's chapter on how to analyze your market and use that to boost your marketing skills contained some great tips and pointers on how to better your relationship with customers.

One way to understand your market is by setting up a Google alert for whenever your brand and products are mentioned. This is a simple way to monitor what people are talking about in terms with your brand. One important thing to remember though is that you have to consider the information that matters to your business. There will be a plethora of tweets, blog posts, etc., that you will have to read through so remember to only look at the information that matters.


When you set up a Google alert, you want to make sure you use keywords that are relevant to your market. What words are people using when they talk about your brand? This is where you want to focus.


Once you start tracking information, you will want to organize it and input the information in an Excel spreadsheet. Include information like the date, source, author and any other notes about the tracked information. This might be tedious to do but it will make it much easier to analyze your results. After some time has passed, you will start to figure out what channels and outlets frequently talk about your brand. Now you will know exactly who talks about your brand the most and then you can even narrow it down to the people who follow and listen to those accounts to get an even clearer picture.


Finally, it is important to remember to monitor your competition as well. By monitoring and analyzing your competition, you will be able to pick up on what works and doesn't work for them. This is an easy way to boost your brand. Piece of cake.


* All of this information is credited towards Katie Paine.




I found this reading pretty interesting. Although measuring entails more than what you think, this is an efficient way to monitor your brand. We are always searching for ways to find out what people are saying and this seems to be effective. Obviously this method would start being effective after a month or so rather than immediately but the results are going to be more authentic. This would be a real measurement on what people think of your brand.


After reading, there were some thoughts that came to my mind. So what if after collecting all the information, there are different opinions on what the brand should do? What if there are conflicting thoughts from customers? How do you know which way to go in order to move forward? I mean I guess there would be a majority of people thinking a certain way but I feel like there would also be a certain opinion of others that would have validity. Anyways, I think this is a great method but I would want to know what happens in that type of situation.


Continue this week and find out what people are saying! The public's opinion matters. As always, reach for the stars all you high societal souls!


Word of the Day: Tohubohu
Definition: Chaos; disorder; confusion.


All the best

Cornfields Everywhere

I have lived in Ohio for the majority of my life and cornfields don't bother me that much so attending a college where there is an abundance of cornfields, does not phase me. Sure, Ohio Northern University may not be in some big city like most colleges but the university makes up for it in their heart and drive. ONU has a loving and encouraging atmosphere, which I think students need more than some big city. Yes, it would be awesome to be able to live in a big city while going to college but I wouldn't trade Ohio Northern University for anything.

When I was in my senior year of high school and deciding where I wanted to go to college, my main priority was that I lived on a big campus where there was a variety of stuff to do. I wanted to live in a big city where I could go shopping and have nice dinners with my friends. I wanted that typical "college dream school" you see in the movies. Although these were important aspects to me, everything changed once I started visiting different colleges. I soon realized that I wasn't a huge fan of the big campus life. Everything was so far away from each other and I knew I would have a hard time if I had an early class that required me to make a 20 minute commute (I'm not a morning person). So once I visited ONU, I realized that a smaller sized campus was more my style. The campus was still spread out somewhat but I would definitely be able to make it to class if I woke up late. So far, so good.


From there, everything just kept getting better as I looked more into ONU. One aspect that I loved was the faculty provided. They were all so nice and knowledegable. I felt like I would fit in at ONU without any problems. There was no need to worry about living in a big city anyways because I was going to be busy with my studies. Once I was accepted to Ohio Northern University and its musical theatre program, the decision was obvious. Honestly, I knew I wanted to attend ONU as soon as I read my acceptance letter. I had a gut feeling that this was the right place for me. So, the next day I decided to submit my deposit. Everything was finalized. I decided where I was going to attend college for the next four years. That was probably one of the best feelings I've ever had. Knowing where you want to go and what you want to do gives a great sense of security and that brought me joy.


So has ONU been worth it so far? Most definitely. I have discovered that it is easy to become bored on the weekends but with my friends, we always find something to get into. The experiences I've had so far have been very rewarding. I have been able to work with guest directors and I have met some great connections throughout my first two years. I am very excited to finish my final two years here at ONU. Go Polar Bears!


If I have any advice for prospective students, it would be this... follow your dreams and make sure you're happy. I can't stress this enough. You will never be able to change the past so make sure you're present makes you happy. Regardless of what your friends and family tell you, do what you want to do. This is your life and your decision so follow wherever your heart leads you. That was very "mushy-gushy" but it is the plain simple truth.


Always follow your dreams and reach for the stars you high societal souls!


Word of the Day: Sniglet
Definition: Any word coined for something that has no specific name.


All the best

The Power of Social Media

We all know how big of a deal social media is nowadays. Social media has the power to take over our lives and doesn't even have to try hard. Before I started writing this blog post, I was distracted by social media for at least an hour or so. Scary stuff. It is very easy to just pick up your phone and get lost in social media for hours. According to Joel Lee, over 75% of Internet users use social media. That's pretty close to 100%.

In order to demonstrate how much social media is a part of our lives, I have a personal story to share. Two of my best friends, Michele (Sheli) and Haley, were at my house one night and we were just hanging out with each other per usual. Haley and Sheli are both pretty big fans of Panic at the Disco's music. We started talking about their new album they released and one song specifically became the topic of conversation. Haley wasn't sure what one of the lyrics actually said. So in order to get a clear-cut answer, she tweeted the lead singer of the band, Brendon Urie. Of course, we waited and waited but finally realized that he wasn't going to tweet back. I mean, he is a celebrity who has millions of people tweet him every day. What would make this one tweet special from the others?

Well, to our surprise, Brendon actually replied back to the tweet with the simple answer that the correct lyric was "car". That is all the tweet said... "car". He replied with just a simple answer to Haley's simple question. Who knew one word could literally change a person's life? Haley continued to scream out of joy since the lead singer from one of her favorite bands just tweeted her back. Who's to blame her? Of course, the tweet received many favorites and retweets from people all around the world who also follow Brendon.

A one-worded tweet received 76 retweets and 898 favorites. Wow. Of course, the person behind the tweet does influence the amount of interactivity but even at that, social media plays a big role in reaching out to people all around the world.


Here's a picture of the Tweet:

Social media in today's society allows us to do so much. We can reach out to our favorite celebrities, sports heroes, and even our best friends. Social media can bring us knowledge and help us to pass along knowledge publicly. Consider the Orlando events last weekend for instance. Think about how different everything would have been had we not had social media to keep us updated. There would not have been a fast flow of information like there was. As Americans, we expect a fast flow of information because that is the norm.

I think it is safe to say that we take social media for granted very often. We forget how much information social media brings to us on a daily basis. Don't forget to be thankful for social media. As silly as it sounds, we do rely on it every day for the information we pass on to others.

Keep using social media every day my high societal souls and educate yourself on something new so you can become a social media master. Reach for the stars!

Word of the Day: Zeitgeber
Definition: An environmental cue, as the length of daylight or the degree of temperature, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock.

All the best

Did you know? (Facebook: Edgerank)

As I continue my reading for my social media principles class, I keep coming across information that I have never heard before. This past week as I was reading in my Social Media Marketing Workbook, I read about a neat program that Facebook uses to filter through the posts you are able to view on your timeline.


Have you ever wondered why sometimes you might not see certain posts from people or pages that you follow on Facebook? The reason is because Facebook uses Edgerank. Edgerank keeps track of which pages and which posts are the most interactive, and favors them in the newsfeed across the social network. Basically, if you are not as interactive with a person or page, then you are less likely to see their posts on your timeline. Edgerank basically "ranks" the people and pages you follow based on who you interact with the most.

When I read about this, I was quite fascinated. My first thought was, "Wow, then companies must have a hard time trying to reach maximum interactivity." I mean, when people get on Facebook it's typically because we want to see how our friends or family is doing, not necesarily to see updates from different companies we follow. We interact the most with the people we follow because it is "Facebook" (emphasis on the face) not "Businessbook". Some might also think that if a company wants to increase interactivity, then they should focus on using LinkedIn, which might be a more appropriate platform to use.


The fact of the matter is that companies have to do all they can in order to receive the interactivity they want on Facebook. They can do this with various tactics:

• Sentimental Posts: This is where you're going to see the "cute animal" and the "cute kid" posts. Brands might even post about how much they support a certain cause because they know it will pull their audience's "heartstrings". The audience will then like, comment, and share the post thus increasing the brand's Edgerank.

• Utility: These are the "How to" posts. Of course people are going to love this! This means they don't have to look dumb when they don't know how to do something that might be expected of them. What an easy way to increase your Edgerank.

• Counterintuitive: These are posts that take subjects you think you might know a lot about, and show you that you really don't know anything about the subject. Basically, this is a way to enlighten your audience. Note taken: making people smarter helps to increase the interactivity.

• Fuuny: Simply put, people love to laugh. If a post can make someone laugh, then they are going to want to like, comment, and share with their friends. This is a widely used tactic on Facebook because the majority of people want to find funny pictures and videos on the daily. This can help to make up for their boring office job!

• Surveys, Polls, Contests: This is a great way to get direct interactivity. These will entice the audience big time. Think about it. Have you ever been scrolling through Facebook and you see "Find out which Friends character you are most like" or "What does your zodiac sign mean?". We all know you've done it. End of story.

• Quotes: This is my personal favorite. Going along with the "sentimental posts" theme, these are meant to be inspiring. People love posting quotes on their profile to make themselves seem more established and well-spoken. Such an easy way to increase interactivity!

• Outrage: This is another big tactic used. These are posts that makes people mad. It makes them mad enough that people will even comment opposing whatever is making them mad. A good example of this was the Cincinnati Zoo incident where Harambe, the gorilla, was shot because a young kid fell into the gorilla enclosure. This incident sparked so much interest from the public that of course brands are going to use it to take a stance on and get audience reaction. Brands will leverage this tactic in order to increase their Edgerank 100% of the time.

This information comes from Social Media Workbook by Jason McDonald.

I thought this section of reading was quite interesting. I never realized that Edgerank was used by Facebook until now. I definitely think this is an efficient way to filter through the people and pages you interact the least with. This also helps to explain the specific marketing strategies that brands might use to increase thier chance of interactivity with their audience. I guess this will be something to keep in mind if I ever decide to enter the world of social media marketing.

Now you know something you didn't know before (or did depending on how informed you are). Keep increasing that Edgerank you high societal souls and as always, reach for the stars!


Word of the Day: Cater-Cousin
Definition: An intimate friend.


All the best

The MT Experience

As you know, I study musical theatre at Ohio Northern University. I will be a Junior this upcoming fall semester. The past two years have definitely been a journey. The craziest emotional journey I have ever been on but the most amazing journey as well. I have met so many new people, discovered who I am and have even been lucky enough to meet my wonderful boyfriend. It has all come by so fast that I'm sure the next two years will follow suit.


There is such a thing, like the title of this post suggests, as the "MT Experience" (MT stands for musical theatre). MT is definitely one of the most dynamic majors somebody could choose. We have to focus on three different disciplines within the same major and give each ample time. Yes, we are all strong and weak in different areas but the goal is to put each of the disciplines on an equal playing field. Personally, I have found that I tend to rank myself in these disciplines. My strongest discipline is dance, followed by voice, and acting comes in last. Although I feel like I am still strong in the other areas, my goal is to have them at the same level as dance. We're all striving to be that "Triple Threat", which is probably why all of us are literally "insane". We might all be a little crazy but I have come to love every single person in my MT program (well, mostly everyone).

What I love about my program is that I have met people from all across the country. Some of my best friends here are from California and Texas. We even have some kids from Oregon, North Carolina and New Mexico. On top of that, one of my best friends here is from Australia! How crazy is that? Everyone has such a different and unique story, which has been a joy. Being able to work with these people every day makes everything worth while.

Here is a picture of my beautiful musical theatre class:

 

We also have an amazing faculty here at Ohio Northern University. All of my professors are dedicated to helping us grow and learn every day. The nice thing about attending a small school is that you receive more individual attention from the faculty. I have many personal connections with my faculty and I am very appreciative. I am able to surround myself with loving and intelligent professors every day. I have learned many valuable lessons from my proferssors. Thank you.


A typical day for a musical theatre major is pretty crazy. We are always on the go. Dance classes, acting classes, voice lessons, and those awful gen eds are just some of the daily classes we attend to. On top of all our classes, we have to find time to practice for our weekly voice lessons. And what about finding time to eat? As you can see, our schedules can be hectic. Finally, if we are involved in a production, then there are rehearsals every night. Rehearsals can take over an MT's life, no doubt. Finding time to do homework and finding time to sleep is the ultimate task. Oh and don't even mention when tech week comes along. We literally don't have any free time to just "have fun". We use any free time to get caught up on homework or sleep. Tech week is the theatrical equivalent to medical school residency. End of story.


Yes, my life is crazy 24/7 being a musical theatre major but I wouldn't trade it for anything else. I love this crazy life I lead. I know that I'm working towards what will be a fantastic result.

Always follow your dreams no matter what anyone else tells you. Work hard for what you want and stay focused on your goal. Reach for the stars my high societal souls!


Word of the day: Iatrogenic
Definition: (Of a medical disorder) caused by the diagnosis, manner, or treatment of a physician.


All the best

Love is Love

This post is going to have a more serious tone to it due to the events that occurred this past weekend. With June being LGBT awareness month, this couldn't have come at a worse time. With 49 human beings dead and 53 more injured, this is the deadliest mass shooting since 9/11.

The Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting has taken over social media the past few days. People are torn over this tragedy and are doing what they can to support the community of Orlando. Media has been updating the public with new information constantly. Celebrities have also been reaching out via social media to send their condolences. It is amazing how social media can help connect everyone wherever they may be. The one aspect of these events that have been unique is the amount of video footage that has been shown. I have felt such a deep connection with this story because of the personal video footage. Videos can tell a story with strong conviction. The personal accounts of the shooting that I have listened to and read about have been full of raw emotion. That is what makes this story devastating. You can't do anything but feel for the people who lost their loved ones.


Here are two videos that I found on the subject matter:

https://youtu.be/SZArf5lbiXM

https://youtu.be/qUmB18gpTTg

As I continue to receive updates about the shooting, the news becomes even more upsetting. Specifically, I watched a video that was the Snapchat of one of the victims. She was snapping the whole night in the nightclub and continued to record a video of herself as the shooting was taking place. People always say there are sights you can't "unsee" and sounds you can't "unhear". Well, this video is something I will never forget. The sound of the gunshots in the video will be pierced in my brain forever. The sight of the girl just sitting there drenched in tears and having to be silent is not a sight I ever want to see again.

These videos and accounts are storming social media. It has also been mentioned that there will also be stories dedicated to each victim killed during the shooting. The power of telling a story is something that will never go away. Thankfully, we will be able to commemorate the lives of the fallen through these stories instead of turning this event into a political debate. That's the problem. Everyone wants to sit here and argue about the situation rather than focusing on what really matters. These were real life human beings who still had so much ahead of them.

This past weekend I went to the Detroit Pride festival with my boyfriend. It was full of fun loving people all in one place celebrating the same thing. What a feeling. But after hearing about the shooting the day after just made me appreciate that something similar didn't happen where my boyfriend and I were at, especially after hearing that there was an attempt made to kill several at the LA Pride festival. I mean what is this world coming to? Why is there so much hate across the nation? Why do people have to worry about their safety on a daily basis because of who they are? I do not know the answers to these questions but I do know that something has to change. We can't keep letting these same horrific events occur time after time. It is time to change the script instead of letting it remain the same.


Although this weekend has brought immense sadness and grief, we have to raise our spirits. If we let ourselves sulk, then hate wins. We have to step up and fight for what's right and come together so that love wins instead. I'm finding there is no good way to end this post so I'll just leave you with this. Love is love is love is love is love.


Keep your heads up and remember to love one another no matter what. Reach for the stars you high societal souls!


Information Source: http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/orlando-nightclub-shooting/


Word of the Day: Vexillology
Definition: The study of flags.


All the best

How to Deal With Negative Comments on Social Media

We have all had that moment when we just want to explode on social media. Usually this is because of some internet "troll" who decided to comment negatively on your posts. Sometimes it may even be a person we know. The important rule to remember is to always keep your composure. It is never worth it to risk your reputation over someone's rude comment. Obviously, this is easier said than done. We let our emotions control our actions in the moment and then it is all downhill from there. There is a way to control our emotion and respond appropriately to negative comments. Take a look below for some rules to keep in mind when dealing with negative comments.

1. Use the Right Tools

• You have to be able to monitor when anyone responds to a post you created. Most social sites have an easy way of viewing the thread of a conversation. Sometimes you may have to set up a search for your profile name. For instance, on Twitter you can set up a search for your handle and then save it to make it easier to get to. One important rule to remember is to always monitor the comments that are unrelated to the content of your post, they still matter. 

2. Consider the Total Audience

• When you are replying back to a comment, it is important to remember that not just the commenter is reading this. Everyone who is reading the thread and see this and react to how you react to the commenter. This is why there is a dire need to remain calm when dealing with negative comments because the situation could become worse if a third party gets involved. Simply, if you stay professional, other people will notice this and disregard whatever the negative comment was.

3. Assume People Are Good Until Proven Bad

• You can very easily misinterpret what someone says because it is over social media and you sometimes might not be able to understand the intent behind the comment. Keep your guards up until you have complete clarification.

4. Agree to Disagree

• If playing nice isn't your cup of tea then you can always agree to disagree. This is the most polite way to argue because you are not attacking the commenter. Also, other people will notice that you have strong convictions and are a strong person because you stand by what you say regardless of others.

5. Go Three Rounds

• The best rule to remember is to leave an argument after three exchanges. 1) The negative comment 2)Your response 3) The commenter's response back. You have at least acknowledged their concern but not let it drag you down. 

6. Delete, Block, and Report

• Sometimes the best way to deal with an inappropriate comment is to just flag the comment and delete it. Reporting the commenter is also a clever way to end the exchange before the exchange even begins. 

* All of this information comes from The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick

I certainly agree with all of this information that I have read about this past week. As I grew up and started using social media, my mother would always remind me to respond with kind words rather than attacking the person. Like they always say, it is better to take the high road. One rule that I read about that I found interesting was the "Go Three Rounds" rule. I would always just keep commenting back and forth until the issue was resolved because I couldn't let it go. After reading though, this idea seems like a much better and simpler way to address a problem. One other thing that I found captivating in my reading.... Guy Kawasaki says that if you're not upsetting people on social media then you're not using social media right. I always thought that you want to cater directly to your audience, which is true, but sometimes you have to be bold and say stuff that your followers might not agree with. This is okay. This can lead to diverse and intellectual conversations that are meant to happen. 

So keep this in mind the next time you come across an online bully. Stay calm and collected you high societal souls and reach for the stars!

Word of the Day: Onomatopoeia

Definition: The formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.


All the best

Is Greek Life Worth It?

As we enter into college, the big debate is whether or not to join greek life. Being a part of a fraternity or a sorority has become a major staple at colleges across the country. Greek life has ended up being the pride and joy of millions of college kids. Finding friends at college might be the scariest thing to do, which is sometimes the reason why kids decide to go greek. But is it really worth all the money and time that is required? Let's take a closer look.

Personally, I was never really interested in joining greek life before I began college. It just seemed like a huge time commitment that I wouldn't have due to my double major and the other extra-curricular activities I wanted to be involved in. Of course, typical Patrick decided to overload the amount of groups he was involved in and decided to join a fraternity during the first semester of his freshman year. In the beginning I was quite excited about it because all of my friends were joining greek life and it felt like the "right" thing to do. I ended up joining Sigma Phi Epsilon after receiving bids from them and Phi Gamma Delta. It seems like a blur from the time pledging began. There were many late nights where I ended up having to stay up so I could finish my homework. Along with some other problems that came along, I soon realized that greek life was not for me. But how in the heck do I just get up and quit the fraternity?! I felt like I was going to be banished away from my "brothers" if I quit but I knew I wasn't happy so I had to do something. Timing was everything.

While the fraternity was on a suspension from the school, I had time to think about my status in the group. I finally decided to withdraw from the fraternity so that I could save money and have more time for my studies. This ended up being one of the best decisions that I have ever made. I was finally happy again, now that I had my own time to spare. Yes, I felt bad about leaving behind my "brothers" but I had to put myself first and think about what I needed. There might be some awkward tension nowadays when I pass a "SigEp" guy but it honestly doesn't bother me. I don't feel the need to explain my reasonings because they are valid to me and that's all that matters.

So to answer the question, "Is Greek Life Worth It?"... It is different for each and every person. Greek life is not for everyone so it is really just trial and error. I have plenty of friends who are a part of greek like and love it to bits and pieces! And of course greek life looks excellent on resumes when you're applying for jobs. Truthfully, the decision is completely up to you but I encourage everyone to at least give it a try like I did. Even if you're not sure about joining a fraternity or sorority, go ahead and meet with some of the members and see what it is all about. You can even bring a friend with you!

Good luck my high societal souls... I hope you find out if greek life works out for you or not. Put yourself out there and always reach for the stars!

Word of the Day: Comity
Definition: Mutual courtesy; civility.

All the best

Just "Monkey-ing" Around

Social media makes big impressions on the public. Within minutes, the next big story might be trending on Twitter and Facebook with a designated hashtag. Just like that and the entire world has coverage on what is happening. The problem is that the public receives so much coverage from social media that sometimes they might not be able to filter through the "trash". Yes, if you don't know by now, there are tons of media that give certain perceptions to the public on a given situation. Either due to lack of information or feeling strongly about a stance regarding the situation, sometimes the public might be drawn to think a certain way. This is exactly what happened throughout this past week with the Cincinnati Zoo incident.

Pictured above is the silverback gorilla, Harambe, that was shot by the Cincinnati Zoo on May 28, 2016. To summarize the events that took place on that Saturday, here is a quick description: A 4-year-old boy climbed over the fence protecting the public from the enclosure and then fell 15 feet into the mote where the gorillas were residing. There has been continuous debate on whether or not the blame should fall on the parents of the child for not watching him closely enough or the zoo for not making the best decision. But honestly, how can we sit here and judge either side when we were not there firsthand to make an informed judgment? Maybe the mother turned around for just a quick second and that is when the little boy decided to take off when he could. Maybe the zoo made the best decision they could based on the given circumstances. To make an informed judgment, you have to filter through all the biased articles. The articles and media that present the evidence in a neutral way is the best way to go. After filtering through the "trash" I found a video that I feel gives a fair depiction of the events:

As stated in the video, the situation was a sad play of events. The zoo was left with little options and did what they had to do. The gorilla had a hard time processing that the people up above the enclosure screaming were actually the child's benefactors. Harambe was doing what he felt natural and that was to protect the child from the loud crowd of people. But there is no room for taking chances, so the zoo unfortunately had to take the life of Harambe in order to assure that the child was safe.

The sad part about this is how much angst and argument this chaos has caused. With social media nowadays, you can post anything you want. So once one person says something then there is bound to be another person coming back with a response. With all of the negative comments regarding the situation, social media has taken a tumble effect and created a persona for the mother of the child and the Cincinnati Zoo. Instead of throwing blame on either party, there should be more talk of how to find a solution to these types of problems. Thinking of ways to make the barriers between the enclosures and the public more safe should be the number one trending topic rather than why the mother shouldn't be allowed to parent children.

Harambe will be missed for sure. For any more information regarding Harambe go to: http://cincinnatizoo.org/new-releases/

Thanks for reading you high societal souls. Keep this lesson in your mind this week: Stop monkey-ing around and reach for the stars!

Word of the Day: Gegenschein
Definition: A faint, elliptical patch of light in the night sky that appears opposite the sun, being a reflection of sunlight by meteoric material in space.

All the best

First Blog! (bear with me)

Well hello there! I guess this is my attempt at discovering the world of blogging. Although this is primarily for my social media principles class, I will also be using this to fulfill my curiosity of what blogging is. I honestly never thought I'd be interested in blogging, but as I grow older I seem to want to narrate this journey that I'm partaking in. Whether it be about the classes I'm dealing with, my friends, my family, world news stories, or just simply the weather, I want to voice my thoughts.

           
Just a brief description of myself... I am 20 years old and I reside in the small Ohio town of Findlay. I was born in Huntington, West Virginia on Oct. 29, 1995 and lived in Ashland, Kentucky until I was 3 years old when my father was transferred up to Findlay for Marathon Petroleum Company. So basically, I never caught the southern accent like the rest of my family... oh well. I just completed my sophomore year at Ohio Northern University where I study musical theatre and public relations. My passions reside in music and the arts. I hope to be able to perform on a big stage in the future!

Here are some of my favorites...

• Color: Blue
• Season: Fall
• Holiday: Halloween
• Movie: The Wizard of Oz
• Musical: Next to Normal
• Singer/Band: One Direction/The 1975
• Vacation Spot: Hilton Head

Now you know a little bit about me! There is a bunch more to come so stay tuned until next time. Oh and always remember to reach for the stars you high societal souls.

All the best