Which one Wins?

For my final book blog it is my job to pick which book I liked the best. My response is eh...well...they're all good? This class is not one I need to complete for my degree, rather to expand my horizons. With that being said I thought the class was going to be different, meaning I didn't think it was going to be the background workings of social media. I thought I was going to learn other things about social media.
Regardless of my thoughts on the class, the books were equally confusing and dry. They weren't that way because they were written poorly but because I didn't have enough interest in the subject. Real-Time Marketing and PR taught me to act quickly. Share This taught me the background workings of each social media channel. Measure What Matters taught me how to analyze  each channel. Together the three books taught me what the roles of  public relations and marketing people actually does. Before I thought it was mostly press conferences and fliers. I was mistaken.
Tanking this class was for the most part fun. Although I did not love the course material, I did learn a lot, that I would otherwise not have known.

INFOGRAPHIC

https://infogr.am/smp_128infograph

It's finally over!

Congratulations, you did it. You made it though another year of cyber-week sales. This doesn't feel like a big accomplishment, but for those you have a hole burning in their pocket from the plastic piece trying to get out, you are a champion. 

Cyber week is the week following the Thanksgiving season and Black Friday shopping nightmare. Originally only started to continue sales, it has become a bit of a phenomenon. I personally think that people have taken things too far. Yes stores offer some decent sales, but for what, an over-consumeristic society? Social media is filled with similar shenanigans. Who is the latest trending star; which video made you laugh the loudest? After taking social media principles I have not only learned about the background workings of social media, but I have learned what I hate about it as well. 

Social media things like cyber week. It takes the fun out of shopping for someone. Having the christmas ads out one day after Thanksgiving makes the season, less of a jolly time. It is my hope that marketers find out that most people do not like seeing that stuff so soon, and will save it to at least December. 

My random-not-put-together thoughts about the end of the semester.

With dead week upon us, and final projects being due, I find myself in a state of confusion. I know what I need to do to be successful with my exams and papers, but this looming feeling over me is hard to shake. Part of my anxiety is fear of failure. The way my brain fixes this is procrastination, which according to research is a for of perfectionism. Either way the stress drains me and things get pushed off to another day, until its absolutely the last minute.
It is a cycle of never ending doom. I was given an assignment the third day of class that isn't due the last week of class and started it that night. Yet if you look at my files, there isn't one for this paper. I put it off to learn the information needed for it, and now that I have it, I can't seem to finish it (procrastination 101).
There is an immediate stress that comes over me with the end of the semester. Did I do well enough on my exams and assignments? Do they know which course evaluation is mine? Will I pass this semester? All these questions running though my head make me want to scream. I don't have the control to silence them, yet I do what I need to, to suppress them.
These last 2 weeks of school are my own personal form of hell. With having ADHD and anxiety my brain doesn't know which to respond to more. It's a constant battle in my head if I'm stressed or if I'm distracted. Wish me luck, because we all know I'm going to need all the luck I can get to pass this semester.

College App Time!

As high school seniors are finishing up their first semester they are starting to apply to colleges. The interesting part isn't what they see it's what university admissions see. Chapter 14 of Measure What Matters talks all about how to measure higher education.
We know from experience they send us bunch of stuff in the mail, and we sometimes fill out a survey about our visit, but we don't know everything else they are doing. I know people that say all colleges and universities are alike. However they are very wrong, Katie Paine says in order to start measuring the university college has to have some unique quality to stick out. After that is established, you can start.
First you want to prioritize the target audiences. Universities/colleges are interested in not only getting students to study at their facility, stay there and eventually support it as an alumni. Next you have to ask the questions that you want to measure, remembering that this will define you. Katie Paine however doesn't want universities/colleges to get too consumed in creating a benchmark, though peer organizations are important. She suggest having 3 comparators. Once this is all set up pick your topic, and collect the data. Think outside the box, and don't go for the easy numbers like enrollment rate verses graduation rate. It's important to know the academic environment, what people think (including what people say about you), and behavior. Finally analyze, make changes, and combine to measure.
Schools should keep this in mind when looking through enrollment applications.

Are you 'Pinterested'?

While looking at what's new in social media, I came across something interesting about Pinterest. They have launched a new visual search tool. The tool "Lets you find all those things you don't have words to describe." I saw new icon (a magnifying glass in brackets) but I didn't understand what it was for.
Being an avid Pinner this tool is fantastic. I often can't describe what I want to look up, so I will definitely be using this new feature. To use the new feature start by searching something similar to the item you are interested in, say a laptop. When the results come up, click on one to make it bigger. In the top right hand corner there will be a magnifying glass in brackets, click this and "crop" the item. The new results will be at the bottom, and you can scroll through just like you normally would.
The visual search tool seems really great especially if you are redecorating a house. The only down side I can see so far, is not being able to take a picture of something you want to look up, but like with all things they will figure out a way.
Happy pinning!

Change it Up.

Sunday was a day full of change. I like to color my hair, and not get it cut. This however is not the best thing to maintain long luscious locks. I'm so tired of my hair not being healthy so jokingly I asked my hairstylist if I would look good bald. She said no, but short hair would look good. 

So I went to Pinterest, looked up hair styles then called my mom. I didn't need permission, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't about to make a big mistake. She said yes and my hairstylist started cutting. 

After 4 rounds of cutting then styling my hair, I decided that the pixie cut was perfect. It is a huge change seeing I haven't had a real hair in over 5 years. I have been getting asked why I did it, and honestly there isn't a reason. I wasn't planning on cutting my hair, I just did.