How I Plan on Increasing Motivation Before Spring Break

It’s the Thursday before spring break and there is still so much I have to get done before I can finally leave campus. For starters, I have 2 exams and 2 quizzes to get done and I haven’t studied for any of them. Normally this wouldn’t be too much of an issue, but like I said it’s the Thursday before spring break and motivation levels are at an all-time low. It’s virtually impossible to sit down and find the motivation to study for these exams. All I can think about is not having to do anything related to school for a whole week. To make matters worse, many of my more fortunate peers have the opportunity to leave campus early and get a head start on their spring break adventures. This makes it extremely hard to sit through class when I know many of my friends have already started their spring break festivities.

Writing this blog is the first step towards finding motivation for these next two days. I’m hoping that by starting with this blog post I will be able to jumpstart my brain into becoming more productive over the next two days. It’s like when a professional boxer needs to “get in the zone” before a big fight, I need to get my brain in the zone to get everything done between today and tomorrow. Music is also going to be an essential part of getting into this productive state of mind. Basically, I am going to put on a pair of noise-canceling headphones, crank them to max volume and force myself into my own little bubble. This will allow me to eliminate any outside distractions such as my roommate or other friends passing through my room. Although music is usually my saving grace when it comes to studying, sometimes it isn’t enough to bring me out of my lackadaisical funk.

In rare cases when isolation through music isn't enough I turn to extreme measures. These include waking up at 5:30 a.m., brewing a full pot of coffee, turning my phone off and forcing myself to sit down and grind through whatever it is that I am working on. I don’t know what it is, but there is just something about waking up super early in the morning that has a serious effect on my productivity levels. My best guess is that when I wake up at 5:30 a.m. the subject I am studying is the only thing my brain is focused on and there hasn’t been an opportunity for my brain to be exposed to any distractions that I would normally face later in the day such as an upcoming assignment for a different class or maybe a cute girl I saw earlier in the day. I also believe the high amount of coffee hyper focuses my brain on whatever I’m studying and allows me to look at it from different angles and come up with answers that I never would have even thought of before. Although this practice can be highly beneficial, it does take its toll on my body for the rest of the day. After an early morning of grinding, I am usually dog tired for the rest of the day and must squeeze in naps whenever I can to avoid passing out in the middle of class. I wouldn’t recommend this practice to everyone, but if you are like me it is a great way to get a lot of stuff done in a short amount of time.

Things to Consider Before Working in Social Media

The use of social media has become integral to almost any business or organization in today’s society. Not only are these businesses or organizations using social media to promote a new product or service, but they are also using social media to research potential employees and job applicants. Hiring managers who look up potential employees on social media are just as interested in how you present yourself online as you do in person. As social media becomes more widespread throughout the business world, more and more social media positions are being created in companies and organizations. Once created these jobs are constantly evolving as the various social media platforms evolve, so it is important that whoever is filling these jobs is not only willing to evolve along with the social media platforms but also truly passionate about social media and willing to fully invest themselves in the position. 

If you are interested in working in social media, there are certain employer characteristics you must consider before you can decide whether or not your social media skills will be an asset at that company or organization. The first thing you need to look at is a portfolio of the work the organization has done on social media. You want to figure out what kinds of things the employer is posting on social media, what platforms they tend to use and who is generally responsible for the things posted on social media for the company. The next thing you will want to asses at the company or organization is the overall culture of the workplace. This is true in any job position, not just work in social media. You want to make sure the work environment offers you opportunities to grow, learn and contribute to the greater good for your clients. You should never find yourself working in a toxic environment because this will severely inhibit your ability to perform your best work. 

 

The last thing you need to consider is the organizational structure for social media use by the company. Basically, you need to understand that the position you report to defines the skills and attributes you need to include in your work on social media. For those reporting to a chief marketing officer, you will need to be able to highlight the market team’s goals, objectives and language for reporting and creating content. If you are reporting to a chief editor in the journalism field you need to understand the writing, reporting and research requirements as well as the importance of deadlines. Social media use varies from company to company, from job title to job title, so it is important that whoever is working in these positions is willing to adapt and learn the best ways to utilize social media for whatever company or organization they are a part of.

Kuumba Fest at Ohio Northern University

Last night I had the distinct pleasure of attending Ohio Northern University’s Kuumba Fest. Kuubma Fest is held by the Black Student Union every year during Black History Month. The event was held in the Bearcave located in the McIntosh Center and lasted from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. With an emphasis on creativity, Kuumba Fest offered members in the surrounding community a place to showcase whatever talents they might have. Performances included group and solo musical acts, spoken word poetry, ribbon twirling and even a competition to see who had the best waves in their hair. Along with an impressive showcase of various talents, Kuumba Fest also held two different fashion shows which were both quite untraditional in nature, while also being highly entertaining and informative.

The first fashion show starred members dressing in the fashions of influential African Americans throughout history such as Josephine Baker and Trayvon Martin. This take on a fashion show was very interesting and provided a lot of information that I have never been taught before regarding the African American community. The second fashion show depicted several variations of the “blackout” style. Members wore different styles of all black clothing such as black jackets, black sweat pants or black jackets and some sort of accessory that wasn’t black such as bright yellow shoes, a gold chain or earrings or a red hat. Kuumba Fest was unlike any other ONU event I had ever been to and it was a very eye-opening experience that I look forward to participating in next year.

 While attending Kuumba Fest, I took the opportunity to live-tweet highlights from the event. I wanted others in the community to not only learn about what Kuumba Fest was but also to keep those who were interested caught up on the action from the event. You can catch up on what happened at Kuumba Fest by viewing my Twitter profile, @NykQwik. The tweets containing information about Kuumba Fest are marked with the hashtags #SMspring2019 and #ONUKuumbafest. 

The Best Thing to Happen to Me at ONU

Today I am going to tell the story of the best thing that has ever happened to me while attending Ohio Northern University. My story began in October of the last school year. My roommate and I were walking back from the cafeteria when we noticed something quite out of the ordinary. A group of fellow students was all huddled around each other looking at something hiding in the bushes. This intrigued both my roommate and myself so we moved in closer so we could see what the other students were looking at. As we snaked our way through the small crowd we finally were able to see what everyone was so interested in. Sitting in the middle of the crowd was the smallest, most precious little creature I had ever seen. Curled up underneath a bush was this tiny little kitten paralyzed in fear cradling a piece of a chicken tender. I took one look at my roommate and I knew we would be taking that kitten back to our room that night.

Getting the kitten back to our room is a whole other story in itself. The entire walk back to our apartment that kitten put up one hell of a fight and spent the whole time clawing and scratching at whoever was holding her. When we finally got her into the room we decided to give her a bath in the sink. Let me just say this was a terrible mistake. I literally thought I was going to lose my life that night. Once we finished up cleaning up our little garbage kitten she did everything she could to hide from us in the apartment. After about an hour of some pretty intense hide and seek, my roommate was able to coax her out from underneath his bed with a handful of food. At this moment she did something that completely surprised us. Not only did she come out from underneath the bed, but she proceeded to eat the food directly out of my roommate’s hand. As soon as she did this we knew she trusted us and we could begin building a relationship with this innocent little creature.

Naming this kitten was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do as roommates in our three years at ONU. Our first crack at naming the cat was pretty pathetic, we came up with a name that was truly quite a mouthful. Kodak Cat the Girl Cat was our cat’s name for the first two hours she spent living in our room. It wasn’t until she got comfortable with us when her true personality starting coming out. Not long after she ate food from my roommate’s hand, the kitten started chirping and meowing at us in a very sassy manner. We didn’t know what to think, but we did know that we had to change her name. She needed a name that truly embodied her personality and characteristics. After hours of careful consideration, we decided on the name Lil’ Momma. This name has a certain amount of funk to it that fits the spirit and personality of our cat perfectly. 

 

Now that Lil’ Momma has been living with me for a little over a year, she has become the single greatest thing in my entire life. Every morning as soon as I open my bedroom door she is sitting right outside of it waiting for me. I am then greeted with a few loud meows and some aggressive rubs against my leg. She then follows me around the apartment all morning, keeping me company while I get ready for my day. I’m not sure what Lil’ Momma does all day while I am at class, but I know as soon as I get home she comes running from whatever spot she was napping in and greets me as if it was the first time she has seen me in years. No matter how rough of a day I might have had in class, it all goes away when I come home and see my fluffy little ball of joy.

Why Building a Personal Brand is Important

In today’s internet-based society, building a likable personal brand on social media is just as important as building relationships in the real world. Personal branding can simply be defined as the practice of people marketing themselves and their careers as brands. Personal branding is the means by which people remember you so how you present yourself on and offline to potential clients and customers is very important. One of the biggest examples of personal branding in society today can be found in the presidential election system. Every four years, two candidates develop a personal brand around their name that they then proceed to “sell” to the American public. Presidential candidates use personal branding to connect their names with certain businesses and social issues that they think voters will respond to. By the end of the campaign, both candidates will have developed a highly distinct and specific personal brand that high lights everything that the candidate is passionate about.

Personal branding is not something that is reserved for celebrities or other high-profile members of society. In fact, personal branding is something that many people are engaging in through their use of social media in their day to day lives. Because personal branding is something that should be used by everyone on social media, there are certain things everyone should know about personal branding before they start implementing it into their lives.

The number one thing a personal brand should do for the user is to communicate and express the user’s values, skills and personality. The personal brand is just an extension of the user and should be used to enhance the person's presence on social media and in real life. A strong personal brand can also have a strong impact on your ability to get the best jobs and promotions in your career. In the 21^stcentury nearly everyone has established some sort of personal brand on social media so it is very important that you create a strong personal brand that is unique to you and the things you are passionate about in life. This will help you stand out against the crowd of other personal brands that are flooding the internet. 

Personal branding also allows users to find others who are passionate about the same businesses or social issues. When you publicly align yourself with certain issues such as birth control, others will be more likely to associate themselves with you or your social media profile. While building your personal brand it is extremely important to be honest and authentic when choosing which businesses and social issues to align yourself with. If you pick something that you are not truly passionate about others will easily be able to pick up on this and you look like an idiot on social media. For example, it would be OK for someone who is passionate about weight lifting to share motivational quotes or workout videos, however, it would not be OK for that person to share information that they have no expertise in such as the best way to apply your make up in the morning. When building a personal brand its best to just stick with what you know and this will allow you to create a meaningful personal brand that represents yourself in the best way possible to others.

YouTube's Rise to the Top

Over the years, four main social media platforms seemed to have risen to the top: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. The first three platforms are all quite similar. They offer a place for the user to conveniently post longer, well-thought-out statuses that can be accompanied by pictures or videos. There are key differences between the three such as LinkedIn is mainly for business professionals and Twitter statuses are generally much shorter and concise than Facebook posts. The general layout of these platforms became the basis for many other social media websites that have come and gone such as Myspace and Foursquare. Back in 2005, a brand-new social media platform was created that was unlike any other social media site of the time. This legendary social media platform goes by the simple name of YouTube. When YouTube was first created it was the first website on the internet dedicated to video sharing, and now it has become a staple in our society as a place to find the newest music video or the latest Presidential speech.

YouTube took the country by storm when it was first launched, and it didn’t take long for the young social media platform to grab the attention of other tech giants and eventually the world. The video sharing platform started off with very humble beginnings with its headquarters being located above a pizzeria in California. Less than a year later, YouTube was already being sold for a whopping $1.65 billion dollars to arguably one of the biggest websites on the internet, Google. Even though the site was still relatively small and hadn’t even reached the UK yet, Google saw great promise in the platform and realized the unlimited potential for a video sharing website in the growing world of social media. It wasn’t until after Google bought YouTube that the platform reached the United Kingdom and eventually the rest of the world.

Today, YouTube has earned its place among the top four websites in the social media industry. With over 1.3 billion people using the site, 5 billion videos are watched every day and around 300 hours of video are uploaded to the site every minute. The longer YouTube has remained on the internet, the broader and more diverse the content available has become. YouTube has always been known as a great place to find and share music videos, but over time it has become a place to find videos on just about any topic imaginable. With vlogger and gamer channels becoming increasingly popular, people are actually starting to get paid for content they create and thousands of people have made lucrative careers out of posting videos to YouTube. YouTube is changing the way the world receives its news and information and could very possibly eliminate the need for traditional tv providers in the near future. A survey conducted by Google in 2016 revealed that 6 out of 10 people prefer online video platforms to live tv. Google’s 2016 survey also revealed that on mobile devices alone, YouTube reaches more 18-49-year-old users than other broadcast or cable tv network.

My Extravagant Spring Break Plans

As we move closer to the first week of March, excitement for spring break is spreading across ONU’s campus. In pretty much every class I go to I can hear my peers discussing their big plans for spring break. The most popular destination discussed is by far the beautiful state of Florida, however, I have heard people talking about going to Vegas, California, New York City and even places you would never even think of such as Utah. This is awesome for the people who are actually going on these trips, but if you someone like me, it sucks because I know I won’t be going anywhere exciting for spring break. Last year my friends and I got the entire trip planned out but when it was finally time to actually go on the trip no one had the money to pay for their share. It was devastating, but life moves on. Although I won’t be heading anywhere exotic for spring break this year, I do look forward to making my first trip back home since returning from winter break. Who knows, maybe I’ll even take a dip in the crisp, 33-degree water of Lake Michigan. 

With New Buffalo, Michigan being a popular tourist destination in the summer, you would think it is just as popular for spring break. Wrong! Even if it is 80 degrees outside during the week of spring break, the water temperature is still barely above freezing. New Buffalo remains a ghost town until Memorial Day weekend. In the months between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the town of New Buffalo literally doubles in size as tourists from Chicago flood in and take over the town. This is a major part of New Buffalo’s economy and the town depends on this tourism every year to survive through the winter when there are only 1,876 locals left in the town. Over half of all the businesses close during the winter months, leaving practically nothing to do for those stuck there in the winter. Unfortunately, spring break is technically still in the off-season of New Buffalo so I will have to be creative in finding things to do during my week off.

Most of the time when I go home for spring break the first half of the week revolves around me being camped out on the couch binge watching whatever show I am into at the time. Once I get bored of doing this, I usually try to find some sort of landscaping work to do so I can come back to school with a little bit of money in my pocket. I always try to use the money I make over spring break to do something either fun or nice for myself that I normally wouldn’t do without the extra cash. This year the main priority is Apple AirPods. I have been wanting a set for about a year now and this spring break will provide the perfect opportunity for me to raise the funds to make this extravagant purchase. Maybe when I graduate and start making big boy money I will actually be able to go on an exotic spring break trip to Cancun or Hawaii. But until then, I’m just going to focus on living my best life here at Ohio Northern University.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Facebook

There are many different forms of social media available today and each different form can provide different opportunities for the user. However, Facebook is by far the most popular social media platform in the world. With an estimated 2 billion users at the end of 2017, nearly 1/5 of the world’s population is on Facebook. Not only can individuals use Facebook to connect with others around the world, but businesses can use the site to market new products and reach out to potential customers. There are several key advantages and disadvantages to using Facebook and it is important that users know how to take advantage of these to get the most out of their use on the site.

One of the biggest advantages of using Facebook is the ease of searchability on the site. Facebook incorporates a high-powered search engine on the site that makes it very easy for users to locate other individuals on the site. Unlike other social media platforms, there are no funky-user names so as long as you know someone’s first and last name you have a very good chance of finding their profile. The same concept applies to locate business pages on Facebook if you know the name of a business all you have to do is search for that exact name and you should be able to find the page associated with the business. You can even search for groups on Facebook making it easy for users to come together around a common cause, issue or activity, or any other area of interest. 

Another big advantage of using Facebook is the freedom users have when creating their posts. Facebook recently updated its status limit to 63,206 characters, giving the users plenty of space to get there point across without the pressures of a tight character field. This is a key difference Facebook has over other social media sites such as Twitter, which has a limit of 280 characters per post. Facebook offers this same level of flexibility and freedom when uploading photos, making it one of the most popular photo sharing websites on the internet. You can post multiple pictures at once to a single status, or create an album if you want to upload a substantial number of photos. Facebook allows users to tag other users and locations in photos, making it easier for others to find the photos once you have posted them.

The biggest disadvantage of using Facebook today is the lack of privacy users experience while using the site. Not only can you find more information about someone through their Facebook page than you could through talking to them directly, but Facebook also reserves the right to use any of the information offered by users for content curation and personalized advertisement generation. Many users view the latter as an invasion of their privacy and have become quite upset with Facebook and its use of personal information. Unfortunately, this is something everyone agrees to as part of the terms and conditions required by Facebook and there is really nothing users can do about it. However, users can control the amount of information available to other users by adjusting their privacy settings and being very mindful of which information they decide to share.

Ivy Lee, a Pioneer in Public Relations

When compared to the other aspects of business, Public Relations is one of the youngest and most important aspects of business to be studied today. Merchants and entrepreneurs have been around since the birth of Christ, on the other hand, Public Relations really didn’t get its start until about a hundred years ago when Ivy Lee opened a “counseling office” in 1904. Just two years after opening this office, Ivy Lee invented one of the most important tools for a Public Relations professional, the press release. At the time, Lee had been working for the Pennsylvania Railroad who had just experienced a serious workplace accident. Rather than waiting for reporters to publish their own version of the story, Lee decided it was best to take ownership of the accident and sent out a press release before reporters had the chance to speculate. This turned out to be a very smart move for the Pennsylvania Railroad and allowed them to maintain an honest, trustworthy relationship with the public.

Ivy Lee’s work with the Pennsylvania Railroad was just the beginning of his career in Public Relations. His most notable accomplishments came from his work with John D. Rockefeller and his oil empire, Standard Oil. The Rockefeller’s were facing severe public descent after Rockefeller’s son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., ordered the Colorado National Guard and Colorado Fuel and Iron Company Guard to forcibly put down a coal miner strike in the mining camp of Ludlow, Colorado. Unfortunately, this led to the massacre of an estimated 21 miners and their family members. Following this incident, the public viewed the Rockefellers as an extremely wealthy family with absolutely no regard for the common working man. Not only was the public extremely resentful towards the Rockefellers, but the press was having a field day ridiculing the Rockefeller family.

This is when the Rockefellers turned to Ivy Lee and his expertise in crisis management in incidents such as the Ludlow Massacre. Lee decided that the best way to save the reputation of the Rockefeller name was to present the family in a more humanized version that the public could associate with. This called for John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the one held mostly responsible for the massacre, to go out and personally visit the Colorado coal miners and their families. In these visits, Junior would pass dimes out to the children, inspect the living conditions of the camps, attend social events and listen to the grievances of the miners and their families. Lee’s advice on handling this terrible event single-handedly saved the Rockefeller reputation and marked the beginning of a new era for the Rockefeller name.

With the help of Ivy Lee, the Rockefeller name became synonymous with philanthropy. It was Lee’s strong guidance and influence that lead the Rockefellers to construct the Rockefeller Center and Metropolitan Opera. Without the help of Lee, the Rockefellers may have never begun their philanthropic efforts and the family name would not carry the same meaning it does today. Ivy Lee’s work with the Rockefeller family was very influential and can be regarded as the building blocks for the Public Relations industry we know today

References:
http://www.seo-pr.com/public-relations-history
https://www.nku.edu/~turney/prclass/readings/3eras2x.html

My Unusual Collection of Shorts

It’s official, predicting the weather at Ohio Northern is as easy as trying to predict the winning Powerball numbers. Just last week we were caught in the middle of the polar vortex, which brought a wind chill of -40 degrees. In less than a week’s time, the temperature has literally risen by 80 degrees. Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves, it’s still only 40 degrees outside, but that feels a hell of a lot better than the frigid temperatures of the polar vortex. This was all I needed to justify busting out my favorite pair of short shorts. What a time to be alive! Not only are short shorts some of the most comfortable things you can wear, but they also make you feel like a rock star when wearing them. After all, how many guys do you know wear short shorts to class when its only 40 degrees outside? On days like today I think it’s safe to say that I was the only one on the entire Ohio Northern campus wearing short shorts.

Short shorts weren’t the only odd article of clothing I got to break out this week. This warm weather has also blessed me with the opportunity to dig my cutoff shorts from the depths of my dresser. Growing up cutoff shorts were a staple of my wardrobe, but it wasn’t by choice, it was by necessity. Throughout my entire life, I have spent years riding skateboards, longboards, BMX bikes, and even dirt bikes. Over these years I had my fair share of wipe outs and with these wipeouts I have ripped more pairs of jeans than I can count. Rather than just throwing them away or walking around with holes in my pants, I just decided to turn them all into shorts. Pretty soon I had more cutoff shorts than actual jeans in my closet. Of course, my mom hated this dingy style of mine, but that only made me want to wear them more.

Fast-forward to my last three years spent here at ONU. Not much has really changed, short shorts and cutoff shorts are still my favorite things to wear. I love my crazy shorts so much that I have learned to hate wearing pants. The only time you will catch me walking across campus wearing long pants is if its unbearably cold outside or I have to wear a suit. Any other time you can catch me rocking short shorts, cutoff shorts, or at the very least above the knee shorts. Some people might think I’m crazy, but I think the more time I spend here on campus, the more acclimated my body will become to freezing temperatures and brutal winds. By the time I graduate I’ll be able to rock my short shorts in the coldest of temperatures.

How to Avoid Being Clueless on Social Media

Appearing clueless to your followers is one of the worst things you can do as someone running a social media page. It is very important that you avoid looking clueless to your followers at all costs. Most of the time, people have no idea that they are coming off as clueless on their social media site and continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. The reason for this is that many of these mistakes are quite trivial and often go unthought of when a person is designing a social media page. For example, using too many hashtags at the end of a post can come off as clueless. A high number of hashtags at the end of a post shows that the user is trying to cheat the system or that they have no idea how a hashtag works. Two to three well thought out hashtags at the end of a post will have a much greater impact than 10 frivolous hashtags.

Another common mistake people make is not changing the stock cover photo on their profile. It doesn’t matter what social media site you are on if you do not change the stock cover photo it will appear as if you do not understand how the site works. A social media page is essentially your resume to the rest of the world, if you do not appear competent on your page no one will give you the time of day. Keeping this in mind, it is also important to avoid using profanity in your posts because you may come off as inarticulate. 

It is also important to never declare yourself an expert or guru on a certain topic. After all, there are no true experts in the world and you will just come off as arrogant by doing so. Continuing on from here, it is very important to never try to boss people around on social media. Your followers don’t want you telling them which pages to follow or what posts to view if they wanted this, they would have you manage their account for them. Lastly, you should never ask people to follow you, but when they do, you should make it a priority to thank them. When doing this you want to come off as genuine as possible, do not write the same cookie cutter message to all of your new followers.

These are just a few things to keep in mind to avoid coming off as clueless on your social media page. There are other aspects that are just as important to avoid this, but if you apply these concepts you will be well on your way to managing a competent, knowledgeable social media page.

Podcast Interview with Marketing Professional

Yesterday I had the unique opportunity to interview Mr. Schwerer from Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. Mr. Schwerer is the marketing and ticketing representative for Cedar Fair at Cedar Point Sports Center. In an over the phone interview with Mr. Schwerer, I was able to learn a little bit about what he does at the company, what Cedar Fair Entertainment Company does, and what kind of marketing activities are used to promote the various parks under the ownership of Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. One of the most interesting insights I was able to gain from Mr. Schwerer was how Cedar Fair Entertainment Company handles the marketing of 11 independent parks spread across the country. Mr. Schwerer explained the importance of healthy competition between these parks and how it leads to increased sales at each of the parks. It was a pleasure speaking with Mr. Schwerer and I want to thank him for the time and information he was able to offer.

Interview Questions:

 

Question 1 – How did you obtain your current position at Cedar Fair Entertainment Company?

Question 2 – As a marketing and ticket representative what does a typical day look like for you?

Question 3 – Do you use social media in your marketing efforts?

Question 4 – If social media is used, what platform do you use and what kind of information is posted?

Question 5 – Are there noticeable results from using social media in your marketing efforts?

Question 6 – I noticed on your LinkedIn account that you have a BA in Communications, is there any cross over between this and your current marketing position?

Note: I would like to say that not all of these questions were addressed in the interview. As our conversation developed, I decided it was best to let my questions develop naturally based off information discussed by Mr. Schwerer.

Link to Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/user-687280177/podcast-interview-1-cedar-fair-entertainment-company