Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Looking at Classmates Blogs



This weeks blog allows me to think outside of my own ideas and views and read some of my classmates. This is a fun way to read about my classmates interests, through their views and opinions. I have decided to not read blogs that are not about my directed topic of PR and the social media. 
                        This first blog I found interesting was by Jess Abreu and her blog about the athletic side of PR. In Jess’s last blog she discusses the NFL Research results leading to the start of Monday Night Football which is so widely popular today. I did not know the background on Monday night football and all the big hype about it. Interestingly enough the start of Monday night football started as a research project in the 1960’s. The initiative to get more people to watch football, and have more days of football sparked the Monday night football phenomenon. 1970 was the first year television aired Monday night football which has only strengthened our entertainment in society. The number of viewers of the football is through the roof, leading to advertising and marketing advantages in the media.
All the television watchers of football on Monday nights does relate to my blogs focus of the social media and its impact.

The second blog I read about was Research Results by Mallory. We are learning all about research in the PR field and I feel that the results and how they are utilized is very important and a difficult stage. In our fast changing world today we see new technologies and new improvements everyday. All these “new” aspects need research done. Change does not happen in the PR industry without clear results. Mallory’s blog discusses the NHL’s changes being tested to see different variations of the game. This is a prime example of research and its use for results in the industry. This blog outlines the trial and error strategies at the NHL camp, before the next season arrives. This allows the reseachers (being referees and officials) enough time to decide if they should accept the changes or keep the game the same. These decisions would not happen without the proper results that were gathered through their testing.
            In my personal blog I discuss the importance of research and how there are different parts to the media world that incorporates lots of research. However the blogs that I read about the sports world and their use of research was a different spin on the research industry. With trial and error strategies like Mallory discussed through the NHL camps, and the history behind Monday night football from Jess, we all come to the conclusion of how important yet different research can be.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Research Results



This weeks blog looks at the research results that are so often used in the social media world, the value research holds. The amount of research that people do every single day is mindboggling, and most are not aware they are even doing research. The internet is so highly used with the social interaction pages of Facebook, Twitter, Blogging. Consumers use the media to impact their lives, and research is involved. When you really take a minute to think about social media and research, there is correlation. Obtaining information about someone, something, a company and more. The most obvious example for the correlation of research and social media that individuals participate in so often is Facebook. When you go to look at someone’s Facebook page you are learning about the person; where they are from, what they like to do, who their friends are. Research results right there about an individual.
Even when advertisements on TV for “after show clips and comments visit our website” from all the recent reality TV shows. When people do go on the websites (which many people do) they are ultimately getting research results. Learning more about the show that viewers do not see when watching, and getting more information about the cast and their image. Other viewers do ignore the ads about getting more information online and choose not to do research. Once consumers choose to learn more about something/someone and do this research they apply it to their lives. 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Ethical or not Ethical, that is the question.



When I think about research in the pr field I think about gathering information, evaluating information, applying the research. But I never really thought about the ethics side in research. The being trustworthy, accurate in social media. In chapter 33 our book states that when people are involved issues are involved and with mixed understandings comes ethical implications. An example from this chapter was an online survey was being conducted regarding sexual behavior. The respondents were told the survey answers would be anonymous, yet the company provided respondent-level detail and IP addresses to the client for follow-up. This type of behavior is just wrong. It simply comes down to of you say you are going to do something and abide by certain rules, do it.
            When I think social media and ethics a few things come to mind. Mainly and recently I think of reality television. In an article I read about reality TV and what goes on in front of and behind the camera one producer even says “producers have no ethical core.” The producers, in the end, are going to get the cast to do things to better the show, better profit, better for the audience.
            The characters do have to sign a form of consent before they do the show, so are producers contradicting what is in that form? Many reality shows are popular and watched by the teenage audience. What are these viewers learning from watching the show and then hearing the characters after show talk about how their actions and lives on the show differ from outside of the show.
            The TV is such a powerful media in our society today, and we should be trying to make individuals look good since they become role models for some viewers. I personally think of the reality show The Hills on MTV. After this past season one of the characters talked to cameras off the air of the show and revealed how she felt, being treated unfairly by producers. Or most of all portrayed unfairly on the show. She said she is currently writing a book to explain the real her and what was really going on. This is one way to fight back against the ethics that are deceiving in the social media world.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Blog Focus: Social Media


This semester I would like to focus my blog on the social media aspect of Public Relations. I chose to blog about this social and media side of PR because of how amazed I am with the amount of advertisements and celebrities that impact our society so heavily.
                  Today individuals of many ages are so tuned in with the internet, television that advertisments are constantly influencing consumers through products and ideas . I feel as though our society is greatly impacted by the images and actions making us want to try new things or imitate celebrities with desire.  For example something as simple as the Taylor Swift “got milk” ad gets fans of Taylor Swift to want to drink milk, to be like her. Between twitter, facebook, myspace, blogs Statuses are constantly being used by celebrities and companies, to promote and advertise things.
                  I am looking forward to focusing my blog on this subject more and finding news articles to research the advertising and social media side of PR.