Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Social Media News Release

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Blair Toungate
St. Edward's University
Communications Student
Email: BlairL84@aol.com
Blog: http://blairl84.blogspot.com/



St. Edward's Commmunication Student Seeks Career in Social Media

Anticipated Graduation: December 15, 2007

Austin, TX - December 4, 2007


St. Edward’s University Senior pursing Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Coursework has included Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations

Completed an internship in Social Media at Verysupercool Greetings LLC during the Fall semester of 2007

  1. Developed social media sites for company

  2. Prepared, shipped, and hand delivered orders to customers

  3. Assist supervisor with creating press releases

  4. Provided administrative and other miscellaneous clerical tasks for supervisor

Completed an internship in Promotions/Communications at Clear Channel Radio throughout the Fall semester of 2003 and Spring semester of 2004

  1. Promoted all six radio stations at off-site events

  2. Interacted with radio listeners

  3. Set-up Audio equipment and sets for the station

  4. Recorded meeting minutes


MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS:



Download
Another New Citizen
Download
Wayne's World Product Placement

I was born and raised in Austin, Texas and have grown to completely love the city. I have attended St. Edward's University, also in Austin, for the past 3 and a half years while pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Communications. My focus in the Communications program is Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations. Social Media and Internet for PR, PR for Non-Profit Organizations, and Advertising Campaigns are some of the courses I have excelled in. Outside of my academic studies I enjoy playing women's fast pitch softball, spending quality time with family and friends, and taking care of my two animals, Skyla and Puma.



















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Monday, December 3, 2007

Top 100 Social Media and Social Networking Blogs

Of course we have learned so much about Social Media, PR, and the Internet this semester in class. I honestly think it's one of the most beneficial classes I have ever taken. It has encouraged me to become a more passionate blogger and has sparked my interest for other social media and networking sites on the web.

I came across this site that has the TOP 100 Social Media and Social Networking Blogs. There are several categories listed throughout the site so you can take your pick of what interests you the most. It has some pretty interesting and informative stuff I tell ya! Check it out!
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Monday, November 26, 2007

iTunes U

So all college students know what iTunes is, and there are all kinds of fun things associated with it. Well iTunes just got that more fun because it now has iTunes U. I came across this article from the LA Times called "The iPod lecture circuit" and it talks about iTunes new program.

Since we made our own podcasts, we all know what one is. Also, since Professor Martinez came to class and took us on a Second Life field trip, we all know that it's possible to tune into class lectures online. However, iTunes U lets you choose a university and listen to lectures about various topics within a podcast. Some of these universities are top schools in the U.S. like Stanford and Berkeley and have tons of available lectures to tune into.

You should definitely go to iTunes and check out iTunes U because it's pretty spiffy!
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Are you a social media addict?

I found this site that talks about the Top Ten Symptoms of Being a Social Media Addict. Just thought it was pretty funny and interesting, so I wanted to share it with you guys!

If you admit to doing at least half of these, I think you qualify as a social media addict!
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Blogger Boot Camp!

"It is easy to become a blogger, but it takes special skills to be an effective one."

I completely agree with that statement. We have learned throughout this course how effective blogging can be, whether it's personal, school related, or business wise. It's interesting to think that some people might not be good at it, but in order for blogging to have the effect you want you must know what you're doing and do it well.

I came across this website that talks about DeVry University, in Westminister, CO, hosting a Blogger Boot Camp on January 15, 2008. When I first read the title I thought it sounded silly, but after reading through the page and finding out information about the boot camp, it seems like it could be extremely beneficial.

There are going to six instructors ranging from online consultants and writers to different CEOs of technology and media companies. They are going to cover all topics concerning blogging, such as the history of blogging, why it's important, RSS, the latest trends in blogging, the future of blogging, and more.

It has now been months since we began taking this course and I think I finally realize how incredibley useful and popular blogging is all over the world. I think it's great that other universities are giving people the opportunity to learn this type of information because blogging is the next big thing...well, it kind of already is. If you read through the page, you'll see how intense this Blogger Boot Camp really is, it's pretty impressive.

Anybody who's anybody is blogging!
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Tuesday, November 20, 2007

College Humor

So this is not related to class, so I won't be counting it as a blog post, but I wanted to just show all you guys this video.

I don't know what college students have time to come up with this stuff, but it's really creative. If you have some free time and want some entertainment, check it out!

Watch it here....Harder Bodies Faster Stronger. It's also on YouTube I'm sure. Let me know what ya think!
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Google Blog Search

So lately I've been really into browsing and reading other people's blogs, and I came across Google Blog Search. I don't know if anyone has seen this before, but it's pretty cool.

You can type in any word, name, or thing that you want and search all of the blogs online. Google is probably one of the best things ever invented, and I know as college students we all use it almost daily. Now that blogging has become one of the biggest things on the net, I think it would be pretty useful to use Google Blog Search to find out lots of interesting info.

I think this site is not only great for students, but for businesses wanting to search for blogs online as well. Also, I know a lot of people have mentioned starting their own personal blogs outside of class, so it's great for personal use too. Sometimes just reading what other people have to say about things can be pretty interesting and useful at times. Check it out!
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Monday, November 12, 2007

Podcasts and Radio Shows

A few years ago I interned for Clear Channel Radio. I worked remotes for all six stations: KISS FM, Jammin' 105.9, 1500AM Sports, KVET, KASE, and 102.3. My favorite station to work for was 96.7 because I loved the morning show and the DJs.

Almost everyday I look at Bobbybones.com and just realized how great things have become for radio. On their page they have detailed lists about what happened on each of the show, podcasts, their Myspace page, and even display tons of videos from YouTube. Many of these videos are from different segments they do on the show, competitions/contests, and various events mentioned on the show.

I have shown a lot of these videos and news stories on this site to some of my friends, and not only do they visit the site almost daily too, but they have started listening to the show as well.

It's amazing how far social media, technology, and the web have come today and this is one perfect example of how beneficial it is for something like a radio show.
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Social Networking Sites & Security

Is it possible to be protected when it comes to Social Networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace? Recent ad on BBC News titled "Facebook Security" states that security on these popular social networking sites should be automatic.

In the article, Dawn Teller, talks about how her identity was stolen online. She logged onto her online bank accounts and thousands of dollars were overdrawn from her account. She sat and thought about how someone might have accessed her information online and mentioned that her Myspace and Facebook pages displayed her name, birthday, address, and other miscellaneous personal information.

Yes, as well all know because the majority of us have our own Facebook or Myspace pages, you can keep things private. However, the question is, should these social networking sites automatically do it for us? I think so. I don't understand why so many people want thousands of people they don't know looking into their personal information and lives.

The article goes on discussing how they created a fictional character with a Facebook account and tested out different things within the sites. They asked 100 strangers to be friends and out of that 100, 35 said yes. All of these strangers got to see this characters personal information, such as address, name, and even phone number.

All in all, I just think people should be careful about who they are talking to on these sites and what their reasons are for using them. I personally do not put up any personal information on my sites other than birthday or email, but who knows, maybe that is even too much. What do you guys think about security on Facebook and Myspace?
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Defining the Social Marketing Landscape

Jeff Petry (Marketing Director) from the Austin company, Powered, and Patti Freeman Evans (Senior Analyst) from Jupiter Research are going to be discussing social marketing on Thursday November 29th. They are going to be discussing all sorts of topics concerning social media, such as:

Social marketing trends to watch in 2008
Differences in social marketing technologies and vendors
Pitfalls to avoid when planning your social marketing strategy
Benchmarks for measuring your social marketing programs success
Features and functions to leverage for your social marketing program

They will also be discussing Pamorama, Powered's most recent social commerce platform.

This "conference" is titled "Getting Into the Game: Defining the Social Marketing Landscape."

Check out the link, this would be a great opportunity to learn more about social media and see what changes might be coming in 2008! I think it would be pretty interesting to see what else could possibly be added to this immense world of technology. It's only going to be about 45 minutes long, so if you have time and are interested you can reserve your seats online at the link above.
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Sunday, November 11, 2007

MySpace and Music

I'm sure everyone in class knows about how music works on Myspace, but it's just crazy to me how Myspace has become such a great networking site for musicians.

The famous artist Colbie Caillat was discovered on Myspace. She created her own music page on Myspace by putting up her most recent hit "Bubbley." In time, she was contacted by a producer and is now played all over the radio all over the nation. She is just one example of how this social networking site can be used for great things and make someone's dreams comes true.

Many people think Myspace is just a place to chat with friends or waste time, but it really can be used for networking of all different kinds whether it's business, music, advertising, or just keeping in touch with friends. So for those who think it's pointless, think again!
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Sunday, October 28, 2007

The Poor Dog Just Needs a Good Home!

I know it's been a couple weeks since this took place, but did anyone hear about what happened with Ellen Degeneres and the little puppy Iggy? If not, here is the video from her show of her explaining what happened...Ellen Video.

Well now people are making death threats to the dog shelter Iggy came from, talking bad about the shelter, and creating a bad reputation for the place. In my opinion, the shelter did what they had to do, but I think it was wrong to send a policeman to get the dog without giving the family notice. Also, even though Ellen did the wrong thing, at least she admitted to doing so.

The one thing I'm curious about is if she should have acted the way she did on her show that day when she explained what happened. As you can all see she was hysterically crying and could hardly spit out what she had to say. I know she was upset, but by acting that way on national television, so many people are now incredibley ticked off at the this dog shelter because they feel sorry for Ellen because she cried on TV.

How do you think the Ellen PR team should have handled this situation? Also, what do you guys think about the dog shelter getting death threats because of the way Ellen acted on TV? I honestly feel bad for the dogs at the shelter, it's not their fault Ellen screwed up.
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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Another New Citizen Podcast

Hey guys, check out Another New Citizen's first podcast created by Cassandra, Cameron, Andrew, and myself for Internet and Social Media for PR.

Click below to check it out!
Another New Citizen

I enjoyed doing the podcast project for class, not only did I learn a lot by how to make one, but it was fun too. I just think it's crazy that I know how to make my own little radio show and post it on a website! All of the effects and editing is a pretty cool process too. I hope I get a chance to do something like this again sometime because it was awesome.
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Monday, October 22, 2007

Mommy Blogger

It is so amazing to me how people can become pretty much a celebrity by using the internet to reach people. Anyone heard of the mommy blogger yet? Well, if not, this article explains it all - Mommy Blogger.

Mother, Dawn Meehan, of six children sat down and decided to blog about her life and experiences about what it's like to be a mother. We all know there are millions and millions of mothers out there, so she can relate to quite a bit of people. As it turns out, her comical stories about her children and her life as a mother has become quite popular. She entered the blogosphere about 4 months ago and today she gets nearly 30 million hits a day! Can you believe that? I had no idea fellow moms had that much time to even get on the internet and blog because being a mother is one 24/7 busy job.

Anyhow, it's pretty interesting, they are calling her an "accidental blogger." It's just crazy to me how people can become their own celebrity on the net so quickly...what do you guys think?
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Monday, October 15, 2007

The Talkers

Chapter 8 of The New Influencers, titled "The Talkers" is a great chapter to read concerning podcasts and how to make one. I'm sure as many other people in class, I had no idea how to make my own podcast until reading this chapter, watching the apple videos in class, and playing with the apple program Garage Band all last class period. We listen to podcasts for homework assignments and I'm finding that they are all over the web as well.

This chapter helps to explain podcasts, how they can be made, and why they are important. It talks about an example with a man named Joe Carpenter and how he used his podcasting abilities to talk about his love for wine. He now has his own site and has become quite a success. It's just amazing to me how far technology has come, and that it's so easy to create your own show about whatever you want by making a podcast.

Ever since I saw the podcast assignment, I was a little intimidated by it, but now I'm excited. I think it's going to be awesome making our own shows and doing everything on our own!
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Digg.com

I know we have talked about this site a couple times in class and read about it in our book, Citizen Marketers, but I wanted to blog about it because I think it's pretty awesome. Digg.com is a website that has blog posts, videos, podcasts, and pretty much everything else about what is going on in the world. I kind of compare it to Perezhilton.com. It's like Perezhilton.com except instead of talking about celebrities and a bunch of random famous people, it has information about everything that is going on in the world. Digg.com is for everyone, not just crazy young gossip people that obsess about celebrities' lives. You know how if a new singer is posted on Perezhilton.com they become almost instantly famous? Well it's the same thing on digg.com. Once it's posted on the site, millions will go check it out.

Just thought it was kinda of cool, and for those who hate Perezhilton.com and are concerned about more important things in this world, check it out!
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Blog Action Day!

Okay, so a few weeks ago I posted a blog about Blog Action Day. And what is today? October 15th, Blog Action Day! So I am taking this opportunity to blog about the environment.

First off, I have an internship with a small business called Verysupercool greeting cards. One of the coolest things about my boss is that she wanted her greeting cards to be earth-friendly. All of her greeting cards are printed on 100% post consumer waste paper. Also, New Leaf Paper keeps track of how much paper and how many envelopes the company uses so we know what valuable resources are being saved. No other greeting cards companies do this, which is what makes her business so special and unique. Also, it helps within the PR aspect because there are so many businesses out there we try and sell the cards to that are earth-friendly and are extremely concerned about the environment. Producing earth-friendly cards has been one of the biggest successes of Verysupercool. Verysupercool greeting cards were also pictured in "Modern Dog" Magazine as number three on the list of things that are "green."

Everyone else in the class should blog today for Blog Action Day, you still have time!
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Sunday, October 7, 2007

PR Web Direct

So I came across this website, PR Web Direct. It's pretty interesting and kinda cool for public relations. Basically this website is a place to write, send press releases, and get free press through a PR news wire service. It's just a different type of method for press release distribution, online press release distribution. Pretty cool, huh? The service allows users to expand online distribution through this site. Users can take advantage of the expertise of the PR Web Direct staff in scheduling and submitting distribution. They also offer several other services that you guys should check out. There is tons of information on the site, so just check it out for yourself to learn more at PR Web Direct.
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Chapter 5

I enjoyed chapter 5 in our book, Citizen Marketers. I liked the example with Coca-Cola and the old green Surge drink. It just comes to show that companies really need to start paying attention to their customers in all aspects. Whether it's from feedback online, by phone, or from mail. I really think that most companies "pretend" to listen to customer's comments and really don't, but maybe it's changing. Different blogs that talk about certain products and big companies such as Coca-Cola really should be looking out for these types of sites. It's important to be completely aware of what's being said about your company so you can provide any explanations necessary about a positive or negative comment made. This chapter was mainly about the internet blogging that goes on on the web. Also, it explains different aspects and approaches companies can take in order to handle situations dealing with what is said about them on these blogs. I admit that after reading this chapter and just from information heard in class so far this semester, I am definitely thinking that looking up blogs or reviews about an item before buying it is a great idea. Oh, and a note to companies out there...pay attention to your customers comments because without us you are nothing!
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Sunday, September 30, 2007

Jackie Visit

I decided to write about our visit from the author of Citizen Marketers, Jackie Huba. Honestly, I wasn't sure how entertaining or interesting her presentation was going to be because some speakers can be pretty boring, but I think it turned out pretty great.

I loved the videos that she showed us in class, especially the chicken mcnuggets rappers. Who would have ever thought that someone who takes the time to rap about chicken mcnuggets from McDonald's? Then to find out that they don't even like McDonald's is pretty wierd. Jackie just gave this perfect example of how sites like youtube or myspace can really make a difference when it comes to social media. These two guys made a random rap about chicken mcnuggets, posted it on youtube, then were actually contacted to do a real commercial and get paid for doing it! Who would have thought it would turn out that way just by posting a simple little video on youtube?

Jackie did a great job of explaining topics discussed in her book and how Citizen Marketers are effecting the web and society outside of the web. I loved the example of the cable guy that fell asleep on the couch as well. I just wanted to share my thoughts about her presentation, it was informative and much more entertaining than I had expected.

Can't wait to read more of the book!
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