Cyber Monday: Whats the Deal?

Okay, I missed out on some major Black Friday shopping because I was selling some fabulous cupcakes to weary shoppers. Am I a tad bit sad? You bet your butt I am! After spending the past 3 days talking to everyone else about their fabulous steals and wonderful purchases, I am lamenting my lost chance to spend mayjah dough on fluffy sweaters, nifty electronics, and whatever else I could possibly imagine. So I was the teeniest bit pumped to actually do a little bit of internet shopping on what has come to be known as Cyber Monday.

But it's 6:42 on this supposedly fantastic day and I have yet to find the glorious steals that my friends had the chances to find on Friday. I mean while there is no replacement for coming across the most luxurious cashmere sweater at 75% off in store and racing to try it on in the fitting room, only to buy it even if it doesn't fit. Because hey, WHO CARES, when its that cheap!?! However I was at least expecting some glorious cyber steals. I am left disappointed with what I have found today!

To give a little taste of my Cyber Monday experience, here a few of the email offers I recieved:

Aveda: 5 FREE samples
Anthropologie: FREE shipping
J.Crew: 25% off ALL men's and women's sweaters (plus, FREE shipping)
Barnes and Noble: FREE shipping

So the gist of Cyber Monday is FREE shipping. OH MA GOSH!!! Who can believe it, if you spend the regular amount of money per usual you get to save about $10!! Shocking. This is a world changing offer. Mind you this is an offer that is usually offered after you spend $50, depending on the website. Excuse me, but isn't the entire point of Cyber Monday to be the online version of Black Friday. I see very little correlation here.

If I were a company that was going to participate in Cyber Monday, I would offer better deals than just free shipping. Just because you can send me by book for free Barnes and Noble, doesn't mean I am going to order from your website. I could easily walk the few blocks to Barnes annd Noble, pay the same price for the book without having to wait for the shipping time. Unlike the shopping that occurs on Black Friday, there is no instant gratification from online shopping. I bought a pair of L.L. Bean boots two weeks ago and have yet to recieve them!

I wonder if other shoppers are enticed and fooled by the offers of measly free shipping? Am I being to picky here or do people agree that retailers should take more advantage of Cyber Monday and offer better steals to increase sales?

Really, MTV? Reality taken too far...

It seems like everyone is obsessed with MTV's latest batch of reality shows, specifically Jersey Shore. I'll admit that I watch that show, perhaps may even be addicted. In fact, sometimes I find myself making what I refer to as Snooki sounds. I'll leave you to your imagination. However, I have a major bone to pick with MTV's programming. The problem lies with the network's series 16 and Pregnant and the subsequent spin-off Teen Mom.

These two series are hugely popular among not just the younger generation, but I have found that people my parents age also watch these shows. My concerns over this reality series, which depicts young pregnant teenagers and their struggles and triumphs becoming young parents and their lives afterwards, lies not with adults who watch this show (though heaven knows what they think of the world after viewing the antics on national telvision), but with other young teens who think that having sex and becoming pregnant will lead them to reality television fame.

These shows glorify both the negative and positive aspects of becoming a teenage parent. I heard awhile back that the show was created to portray the struggles of being a teen parent. The purpose of 16 and Pregnant was to supposed "prevent" kids from becoming teen parents. But since the show has blown up, the stars have become regular covers on weekly tabloids and news on gossip sites.

Prime example: Teen Mom star Amber Portwood. Her violent antics and short-fused temper have not only garnered attention for the show but have brought attention to her personal life of the show. She has appeared numerous times on gossip blog Perez Hilton, concerning not only her violent ways but her latest outing to a local Walmart with her latest boyfriend. A positive aspect of Amber's popularity is that attention has been brought to her daughter's living situation and authorities have intervened.


But my argument is this: Young teens are watching kids just like themselves achieve some fame and fortune through a tv show about becoming pregnant, which in my opinion doesn't focus on the true struggles of teen parenting. There is no way to prevent young, impressionable minds from watching what is supposed to be pure entertainment, and think that they can achieve success by landing on such a show.

Would you let your children watch 16 and Pregnant or Teen Mom?

Internship Battling

It is around this time of year when it seems that college students really seem to lose their minds. Not just because of finals, group projects, and the usual hustle and bustle, but for juniors and seniors, it's time to finalize your spring schedule. Which means one thing: securing a great internship. Usually I wouldn't find this to be so stressful. But as a senior, I hope that an awesome spring internship will lead to either amazing recommendations or perhaps securing that ever elusive fantastic full time job after the impending doom of graduation. Can you tell that I am freaking out about becoming an actual, full-time adult?!?

After going on many. many interviews over the past few years, you would think that I would have the interview process down pat. But it never fails, I always get incredibly nervous which I am ashamed to say, leads to sweaty palms. And this means that when the inevitable handshake occurs, the situation becomes quite awkward.

In fact, one of the best bloggers that I know recently posted about getting an internship!! If you haven't ventured to Ramblings of a Redhead, I suggest you drop everything, whip out the Blackberry and get there now. 

At this point in time, I am proud to say that I have secured a fall internship! But now all of the focus is turned towards doomsday, a.k.a. graduation. It's time for this little girl to find a big girl job and not return to school in the fall for the first time in my 22 years of life. Am I in denial? Yes sir, you better believe it.

At this point, I am welcoming all suggestions for my job hunt. In fact, how does one even start planning their future beyond college? Do I pick a city I want to live in? Do I make a list of all the agencies that I would like to work for? Any and all help is all welcome!! Perhaps this is like deciding what colleges to apply to, just a thought. But for now, we college seniors, must focus on getting through the next two weeks of our lives.

Going beyond the Communications Industry

 Whenever I tell people that I am graduating with a degree in public relations, I can almost guareantee that the follow up question is not going to be the typical "and what do you plan on doing with that?" but rather "uhhhh, what is public relations?" I am ultimately always disappointed with my response because I feel like I can't adequately describe all the facets of public relations. The common person automatically brings up the term "spin doctor." Or better yet, "hack." Which let me tell you really really drives me insane. Public relations goes beyond simple media relations, "spinning" reputations, and at times, crisis communications. Today with the addition of the internet and social media, public relations is about building and sustaining relationships with core audiences and bridging the gap between the corporate banner and the commonplace customer. These are among the reasons why I am so unbelievably excited to enter the public relations industry at such a critical time.

This semester I have learned many important lessons by taking what I have learned from my professors and books and using the information in my everyday life. In fact I have Joseph Jaffe's book, Flipping The Funnel, to thank for landing me my second job at SWEET Cupcakes. At SWEET, part of the mission statement is not only to provide the best cupcake possible, but also to provide the best customer service possible to gain the respsect of the customer. In my interveiw I was asked what the term customer service meant to me. Ironically enough, I had just read the chapter in Jaffe's book about the customer experience. In short, customer service is just a component of the entire customer experience. Naturally, being a public relations major I managed to pull out this term and win over the interviewer. Now I love my job and am proud to call myself a "Sweetie."

Side Note: Jaffe's book is a must-read. Click your way over to Amazon to purchase!

Moral of the story: public relations isn't just for those working within the communications field. The lessons that I have learned in the classroom, at internships and reading books have managed to get me part-time jobs that I depend on to live my champagne lifestyle on a water budget. I haven't gotten the memo that I am supposed to be leading a broke college student lifestyle.

Email is Not Dead. Nice Try Facebook

Ok, everyone. Calm down. E-mail is not dead. We've seen ideas like this before that were supposed to revolutionize the way we communicate (i.e. Google Wave, Google Voice. NOTE: these are all Google Flops). Yes, Facebook is the end all be all of social networks. The introduction of "f-mail," for those of you not in the loop this is Facebook "e-mail," is Mark Zuckerberg's evil plan to become the "King of the Internet" and challenge the behemoth that is Google. See the recent launch of Facebook Places and even more recently the incorporation of Deals in order to edge over competition from FourSquare.

In my opinion while F-mail will undoubtedly become hugely popular among Facebook users and social media savy types, but color me old school, I do not believe that e-mail is going to become extinct. While you do not need a Facebook account to use f-mail, I know many people that just refuse to have anything to do with Facebook. The "social inbox" as Facebook is calling it belongs only to friends and not to your bank, mass e-newsletters, etc. While this is a great feature, I love the excitement I feel whenever I long into my gmail account and discover what is awaiting. Will it be a business email, a personal anecdote, or the latest Groupon? If I am not alone in the world here, this is a major reason why the e-mail account is here to stay.

My point is that when Facebook chat launched, AIM and iChat did not disappear. People still use these to communicate among the office or at work and socially. Most professional environments block personal Facebook use. Meanwhile there is no way to block your work e-mail. While I do admit that yes I will probably use f-mail, my g-mail account is here to stay. 

In my opinion while F-mail will become hugely popular among the younger demographic and social media world, it will not replace e-mail. E-mail is just too ingrained in the professional world. E-mail will not go way of the fax machine and a good old stamp letter, because f-mail is just not that different.

The Power of Youtube

Social Media truly has revolutionized the way the world works. Back in the day in order to spread the word, public relations professionals went straight to traditional media. But going beyond the public relations and business spheres, social media has changed other industries remarkably. In this case, I want to bring attention to YouTube. There is more to YouTube than just cute, fuzzy cats and lyric videos. This is a way for any person to create an account and establish an outlet for their talent beyond the shower. According to the YouTube fact sheet: "Founded in February 2005, YouTube is the world's most popular online video community, allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small." I think this puts it quite nicely.

YouTube has launched several huge names in the entertainment industry. Today, the biggest name popping into mind is Justin Bieber. "The Biebs", as I so affectionately call him, just won AMA's Artist of the Year award. This just goes to show the power that thousands of preteens posses. Bieber got his start on YouTube with this lovely video. He got so many views on his videos that he garnered the attention of music industry folks and promptly blew up. Now he is the fantasy of millions of teenage girls worldwide. I am not one of them, though his tunes are quite catchy.

While YouTube has become so incredibly huge now, according to the site people are watching 2 billion videos a day on YouTube and uploading hundreds of thousands of videos daily. In fact, every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded.

My all time favorite YouTube story is about a little boy named Josh Sacco. Josh's father uploaded a video of him reciting the Miracle speech.

Yahoo's Puck Daddy does a fabulous job explaining the story behind the video and the resulting outcome for four-year-old Josh. But perhaps the best result from this adorable, inspiring video is that Josh performed an edited version of this speech at the 2010 Red Sox Home Opener. Which as any die-hard Sox fan will tell you, is a dream come true. From your living room to Fenway Park, life can't get any better than that!

Budding artists can utilize YouTube to launch careers and gain the crucial following in order to make it in today's dog eat dog industry. What I love about all social media is that it allows anyone to create a unique online voice and be heard, or not. Social media allows a creative outlet whether in the form of a microblog, Facebook, videos, what have you. People can for relationships and make friends from all over the world through social media. The power that lies within your keyboard is amazing and revolutionizing.

Personal Branding. What's the issue?

The business card is dead. Who cares about a 3x2 inch piece of card stock that gets lost in the shuffle and eventually thrown into the garbage? I may be thinking a little drastically here, but the idea holds true. My new media professor has told this anecdote a million times and I think its genius. Here it is: When David Meerman Scott takes the stage at speaking engagements he introduces himself by handing out his "business card." What is his business card? Google. Its a lot more engaging when its told in person.


If you'e been following this blog the slightest bit, you hopefully have gleamed two things. 1) I have a slight obsession with all things Starbucks. 2) Google amazes me. In this crazy world of SEO (search engine marketing, for those of you not in the COM world), digital marketing, and new media, developing a relevant online presence is mandatory whether its for a corporate or personal brand. As a matter of fact, Todd Defren, a principal at SHIFT Communications and a social media thought leader, recently blogged about personal brand conflicting with corporate brand.

As a future public relations professional I am working hard to establish some sort of online presence. I am not afraid to Google myself. To be honest, its one of my favorite activities. I swear I am not conceited. In fact, I openly ask my friends to Google me in order to see what comes up. Because for some reason in my head, the search results are not the same that I see on my own mac. (I have yet to figure out my own brain.) I blog, Twitter, Facebook, connect on LinkedIn, interact on other blogs, and created a Google profile all in the name of optimum SEO.

Here is where the difference lies between generations. My friends and I realize that drunken Facebook photos are not to be seen by potential employers, but when you're trying to establish an online presence where do you draw the line? Facebook has so-called "privacy" settings and laws that help prevent non-friends from seeing photos of you and yet when I Google myself some of these photos show up. This is NO BUENO. I can't tell you how many times I hear from my parents not to put anything on Facebook that could potentially harm my career...thank you Mom and Dad, I get it. I am a self-proclaimed social media master, thank you.


What I find so interesting is my parents do not understand anything about developing an online presence. I want them to read my blog. In fact my family is one of the reasons I started this blog. I wanted to share thoughts about the public relations and communications industry and to help them understand my future career. One night, I asked my dad to google me. Harmless, right? He refused. "I don't want anything to do with that bullsh*t." Direct quote.....ummmm, excuse me? Apparently he has not been reading my blog. THANKS FOR THE LOVING SUPPORT FATHER. He then handed the phone to my mother who was slightly more understanding. But this is when I had to explain what the act of googling is. My parents apparently have no idea what they're paying Boston University to teach me.

The question I want to throw out there is this: Are older, more experienced communications professionals having the same troubles as my parents? In class we are taught that entering the job market as young, fresh students will give us an advantage because we "get" this new social media. But as far as I was concerned, Google was rather self-explanatory. I am interested to see what sort of challenges lay ahead upon entering the full-time work force.

Inspiration. 2.0

Because sometimes we all need to take a moment. Take a deep breath and remember that everything is going to be all right in the end. Shout out to my brother for providing this beautiful quote.

Ode to the Red Cup

It's that time of year folks!! Halloween has just ended, November has commenced, and people have broken out the Christmas tunes (or in my case have upped the ante by publicly singing All I Want For Christmas Is You). I don't know about anyone else but every year I countdown to the day that Starbucks releases their annual holiday cups. For some reason, these festive red cups bring an unparalleled amount of joy into my life. If you're judging me for this statement, may I fondly suggest you go purchase a peppermint mocha and proceed to reevaluate. 

Last year's holiday cup was absolutely spectacular. But Starbucks has decided to blow away expectations and incorporate their loyal customers into the festivities. Yesterday, I anxiously got my paws around my first red cup of the season and was even more excited when I read the copy on the cup. As I sipped round one of my pumpkin spice latte, I read this "Our friends think of us as an odd couple, but we only think it's odd when we're apart. www.starbucks.com/share" WHAT BETTER WAY TO GET IN THE GIVING SEASON then to have your customers log onto a unique landing page all about your brand and the sharing and giving of the holiday season. Even better than the quotes on the cup are the "coffee cozys" that have "Stories are gifts. share" printed on them. It's sentiments like these that make me a sucker for the Christmas season.

http://www.starbucks.com/share/

Now even if I didn't have a heavy handed love affair with all things Starbucks, I would think this campaign tapped into what most consumers feel at the start of the holiday season. Even if by mid December you want to poke out the eyeballs of the every blown up Santa Claus storefront, the beginning of November finds most people breaking out Andy Williams Christmas carols with holiday fervor.

Starbucks has always had an interactive social media campaign that takes customer service to the next level. The MyStarbucks Idea campaign takes the best of online marketing and relationship building and creates a hub of online activity unique to the Starbucks brand. With the release of the red cup and the "share" campaign, Starbucks is taking the festivities beyond the usual Peppermint mochas, Gingerbread lattes and Eggnog lattes and creating a space where customers can share stories, interact via Facebook and learn more about what Starbucks is doing to make this holdiay special including "the 12 days of sharing." I think that in the future Starbucks will be one of the case studies to look to when  studying success stories about creating online conversations and building online customer relationships using new media.
As @LaurenB tweeted yesterday "When your customers are annually excited about the release of a red cardboard cup, you are probably doing a good job branding." And I couldn't agree more!


Oh and has anyone else heard about the new Trenta size? This sounds to good to be true!