Social Media: Integration

According to socialmediaexaminer.com, “Social media integration is becoming a big buzzword this year. As social media marketing matures and starts playing a bigger role within marketing campaigns, businesses are beginning to see that social media can be integrated into many channels.” Social media has changed business plans. To be successful, you have to be connected with social media somehow. Social media is giving the company vital, honest feedback about a certain event or product. A majority of companies have a Facebook presence. Now, other social media are forming that cater to a more specialized category, such as mashable.com, digg.com, stumbleupon.com compiles news, Foursquare compiles places, slideshare compiles slide shows; and USTREAM and YouTube compile videos. The list is getting bigger and bigger. Social media is customizing, and so are businesses. This allows them to focus on a particular consumer group. This allows businesses to prioritize their markets.

As social media and technology evolve in marketing, integration will be evident. Marketers realize that one-way communication is dead. You have to use two-way communication. If people are going to invest their time or money with a product or service their voice wants to be heard. Consumers do not care about what message you want to give out. Social media focuses on getting the message that consumers want to hear, before they hear it. It seems very difficult, but social media has made the task a little bit easier. The problem now is taking all the information in and realizing what is useful and what is not.

I believe social media would add strength to any marketing platform. Integrating it into what a company is already doing can only be a positive. Social media gives a positive impact on to consumers because their voices are being heard. It expands the reach of a business product or service. “[Social Media] is yet another channel to be incorporated into an integrated communication strategy, rather than addressed on its own. And it can provide unique insights into the consumers who can now use earned media to build brands alongside marketers,” according to socialexaminer.com

Water: We take it for Granted

“Americans consume twice the world average in water, massive amounts are wasted in households, manufacturing, agriculture, and landscaping-massive amounts that could be conserved through proper monitoring and accounting,” said Jaymi Heimbuch.

We use water for more than drinking. We use 40 liters of water to make one slice of bread, 10 liters to make a sheet of paper, and10,855 liters to make one pair of jeans. Water is used for everything, and we tend to take it for granted. One out of eight people in the world does not have a safe water supply. Half of the world’s hospitalizations are caused from water-related diseases. This is a major issue.

Global industries use 20 percent of the world's water supply. Americans use 46 percent, and the Chinese use 25 percent. Water affects everyone and every business. There is only 2 percent of fresh water on Earth. Out of the 2 percent of fresh water, we use 70 percent on agriculture.

What will we do when the water becomes scarcer? It is scary to think about. It could ignite civil or world war. According to worldwatercouncil.org , more than 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries. We can live without oil and other resources, but water is a necessity. We must have it to live. The average human can go about a month without eating, but you can only live seven days without water.

In America we have a tainted view of the world. People are dying everyday because of lack of water in America, and we waste water, with no concern. Our daily habits and routines are wasteful. In other countries people would never let water run while brushing teeth or shaving. In other countries, some people only have a certain amount of water? Could you live off of 5 gallons a day? I doubt it. Let's be more conscious and try to conserve water.

Do the Right Thing

This week in my PR case studies course we read a book called "Do the Right Thing," by James Hoggan with Richard D. Littlemore.

It was an easy read. Hoggan takes different case studies, and analyzes them to come up with PR strategies and tactics that can help individuals grow as a practitioners. Hoggan also leaves the reader with lessons that should stay with practitioners throughout their careers.What stuck out in my head after reading the book were the golden rules. #1 Do the right thing. #2 Be seen doing the right thing. #3 Don’t get #1 and #2 mixed up. These golden rules are the simple but most overlooked rules in PR.

Today’s public simply does not trust the media. We have created mistrust and doubt with the public, but Hoggan explains different methods in rebuilding their trust and sustaining a good reputation about yourself and maintaing credibility.

Oil companies and Big Tobacco companies know that the public does not trust them. They consistently lie to the public for their own gain. Over the years oil companies have told us they were looking for new resources for clean, reusable energy but they weren’t. They paid officials and regulators to tell the public that they were doing the right thing, but subsequently they weren’t. Big Tobacco companies told the public that cigarettes are not harmful, and to add some sort of security to their claims, they hired scientists and doctors to sell the lie to the public for the right price.

Hoggan is trying to expose them for lying to the public and cutting deals with doctors, scientists, politicians and regulators.’ In the book, Hoggan says oil companies are endangering our system of democracy. If other companies join the bandwagon of lying, finding the truth will be difficult.

Hoggan & Associate's blog http://www.hoggan.com/blog/, also is another resource for a breakdown of the book. At the blog page breaks down the different tactics and strategies. They have made a TIP series of blogs that tell you brief insightful, information to better yourself as a PR practitioner. The blogs are very useful to know the trends in the PR profession and show practitioners the right methods to do the right thing.

"Cool Digital Stuff"

In my PR Research and Strategies course, we are required to present "cool digital stuff." “Cool digital stuff” is new up-and-coming websites and programs on the web, such as Foursquare and Fring. My classmates and I presented tips to sites we use and sites that are on the rise. I recently stumbled upon a great new social network. It is called Second Life.

Second Life began in 2003 and is a 3D virtual world accessed online. Second Life is a program of opportunities and no bounds. Second Life also has a Teen Second Life for people under 18 years old. Second Life can be used as a chat room for friends as well as a place for conducting business meetings with someone on the other side in the world. It also has voice chat and virtual classrooms. You can shop, travel and create or trade services.

Designers use Second Life to share their designs with other designers for reviews of their work. Colleges are beginning to have virtual tours on Second Life. This site allows anyone to see exactly what the campus looks like. Also, you can buy or trade virtual property.

You can do almost everything in Second Life that you can do in real life, minus murder.

The unique thing about Second Life is that you have no objective. Your avatar does whatever you make him or her do, and the Second Life grid is constantly getting larger.

What I like about the virtual world is I can recreate myself. I can do all the things I wish and want to do. It is a great place to begin new ideas and creations that I may have. Not only does it allow me to create them, but it allows the rest of my virtual worlds to see it and access it. I can get instant feedback to evaluate or adjust the idea.