Celebrity PR

I would love to work in the "Hollywood" industry and meet all kinda of artists and actors. I mean, who wouldn't? But after learning about PR and the industry, I wonder how it would be to do PR for a celebrity?
I saw on TV during work that Tiger Woods got into a car accident. I'm not sure what the circumstances were but it said in an interview that Woods said it was "his fault" and that he's "embarassed". Imagine doing the PR for a celebrity like Tiger Woods but then having to mediate to the world about Woods and his car accident. I guess it's like crisis control.
BUT imagine doing PR for a celebrity like Lindsay Lohan? I mean that would be ridiculous having to deal with all the stuff she goes through with her parents and her drug addiction. Her PR agent is probably stressed to the max and probably takes vacations regularly.

Lady GaGa: The Fame Monster

I'm going to the Lady GaGa concert tonight at the ACC in Toronto and I'm super excited!!
Some of the reasons why I love GaGa is because she's true and real. She writes all of her own songs and she ACTUALLY sings at her concerts. I think she's amazing and an icon. Even though she wears outrageous things and looks like a freak (haha) I think she's amazing and captures that personality of a true icon and celebrity.
Alot of her interviews are of her explaining why she does what she does and she does everything for her fans. On Ellen, she told her that she was a "freak" in highschool and she didnt fit in and she wants those who think they're a freak too, to feel free and to express who they really are and to be comfortable with their inner freak.
Kid Cudi is opening for Lady GaGa and I love him too. He's also different compared to alot of rappers and R&B artists. His music just has a different style to it and its very artistic. The way GaGas music is.
I really do enjoy artists that write their own songs and perform the way they want. I've always grown up like that and doing things my way and doing what I want. I'm not easily influenced by people so if I don't want to do something, I won't do it.
I just think Lady GaGa is a really good example for young girls in today's society about being yourself and loving who you are.

Using Social Media

The only social media I use on a daily basis is Facebook. But now that I'm taking PR, I've had to use Twitter and also LinkedIn. My friend whos in the PR business has told me that her company has told her to become more involved with new sources of social media. When I entered Mohawk I thought about deleting my Facebook after I graduate just because I thought it'd be better for me in the workforce to get rid of it cause it might be frowned upon. But as it turns out, I might have to keep it, which I find pretty funny. I think that in the future more and more businesses will find social media more and more important when it comes to hiring someone. It might even become a requirement for some jobs.

Twitter for example is a good way for businesses to get their service or product out there. We saw in class the example about this Taco Truck that has become so popular just because of Twitter. I found this youtube clip about the uses of Twitter and how to use Twitter and why people use Twitter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

I love Christmas

As much as I hate the snow, I do love Christmas.
Some of the reasons I love Christmas(not in specific order):
1. The new flavors for Starbucks coffees and speciality lattes
2. Christmas decorations (not the LED lights, I think those are ugly)
3. Toboganning
4. Fireplaces
5. Obviously presents
6. Giving presents
7. Mittens
8. Rosey cheeks
9. Hot chocolate
10. Christmas dinner!

Some of the reasons why I hate Christmas (not in specific order):
1. Snow
2. Snow
3. Snow on my car
4. Snow in the driveway
5. The way people go shopping - they go nuts
6. I'm cold even in the summer, so in the winter I'm freezing
7. Ice on the road (scares me)
8. Knowing that we have to take down all of the decorations soon
9. My nanny's applie pie she makes every Christmas dinner - she doesn't put cinnamon on it..yuck
10. SNOW!!

Tin Cup Sports Bar & Grill - Burlington

I started at my new job at Tin Cup last week. We had our soft opening on October 29th. It was just an opening where beer promo reps and friends of the owners would come in and have drinks and appetizers. Everything was free, alcohol, drinks and food was all free and we had live entertainment. It was packed! So many people came and it was a hit. All the servers and bartendars even made $140 in tips off of stuff that was free. So overall it was a great turn out.
We had our grand opening this past monday and as expected, it turned out great. We've been super busy and super popular. Before my stepdad told me about the new restaraunt opening, I've never even heard of Tin Cup. But apparently it's super popular. Almost everytime I've worked I've had someone call in and say "Hey, all I've heard were great things about your place". It's funny because I've yet to see any advertisements in newspapers about Tin Cup. It's all been word of mouth which I find interesting just coming from a public relations perspective.
So, if you're looking for a place to watch any kind of sport but also can bring your family and eat amazing food, come to Tin Cup!

Paranoid Parents

I was watching TV today and I saw a commercial for a new application where you can set up a security system in your house that sends a message to your phone to let you know when your kids or whoever else comes in the door.
As much as this is interesting and in some aspects a "good idea", I find it weird and perhaps a bit crazy. It just opens up new doors for parents to become even more paranoid about where their child is. Say for example that kid missed their bus, or got a friend to drive them back to their house and that kid forgot to tell their parents. Now their parents probably know exactly what time they come home from school, but when that time comes, theres no message. It would just create havoc and worry for that parent for no good reason.
But on the other hand, with the world today and how it is with kidnappings and what not, it is a good idea and could bring some peace of mind to parents.

R.I.P. Evan Frustaglio

Tuesday morning I came into Organizational Application class and we were discussing the news and the different stories each of has heard. I briefly heard a student say something about a 13 year old boy who died of "H1N1 flu-like symptoms". I didn't think anything of it really except that its horrible and I feel sorry for the family. About 10 minutes later I get a text message from my sister saying "Do you remember Aunt Mary's brother Uncle paul? And their son Evan?" I said "Kind of? Why?" and she said "Because Evan died of the swine flu". It came as a complete shock to me that we were JUST talking about it in class, little did I know that that little boy was my cousin.
The last time I saw Evan he was 3. My parents are divorced and me and my sisters live with my mom. So we don't really get to see my dad's family a whole lot, so I don't really remember what Evan was like.
On Facebook, there is a group based around the rememberance of Evan and there is already over 7,000 people that have joined the group. It's amazing how people can come together and help show thier condolences towars the family and their loss.
Even though I didn't know Evan all that well, he's still apart of my family.
I am sorry for their loss, and I wish them all the best.

My Dream Job

When I was little, I was a huge tom-boy. All I wore were Adidas shirts and Nike track pants and I hated dresses. I played soccer all my life and I loved watching sports with my dad. All I knew were sports. So, I wanted to be a gym teacher cause thats all I thought I was good at.
In highschool, I continued to love sports. But I also began to plan birthday parties and special outtings with my friends. So I became the person to go to when my friends and I wanted to do something. I planned camping trips, grad trips, birthdays, semi-formal get togethers etc. I enjoyed planning things, but I never knew I could do anything more with it. It was just something I was good at. Grade 12 came and in a Catholic school, Prom wasn't associated with our school. So if we wanted to have a Prom, the students had to take control over it and plan it ourselves. Usually in the past years, there would be a bunch of people who took care of this. They would divide themselves up and take care of certain things such as decorations, venues, awards, food, etc. But when it came to deciding who this group was, it was only my bestfriend and I still standing. It was 2 against the entire grade 12 class which consisted of definitly more than 150 people (including dates). We began to plan starting off with where we would have it. Then we moved on to what we'd be serving, what time everything started at, what theme it was going to be, where we could hire security. It started to consume our lives to the point where we would have to take time off school one day to drive to Liuna Station to meet with the event coordinator to talk about what we'd be serving for dinner. I remember one my friend and I went to the mall after school for 8 straight hours looking at decorations and awards. I was so exhausted, but I kept going cause I enjoyed it. By the time prom actually came, her and I were so tired that by the time we went back to the hotel for the after party, we both went straight to bed. But I don't regret anything.
At this point I still thought I'd be a gym teacher. It never occured to me to do this for my career. So I attended Brock University and I took Recreation & Leisure Studies. When first semester was over, I decided I did not want to do this for the rest of my life. So I looked at Brock's catalogue for all the different courses. I came across Communication Studies and read the career opportunities; and it said Event Management. It finally clicked! I could actually do this for my whole life - plan parties.
I grew out of my tomboy stage and began to love fashion and 'girly things'. And my big passion became weddings.
My dream job took some thinking but I definitly know that I'd love to be an event coordinator because I know I'd be good at it.

Social Media

In Media Relations class, we were discussing about content analysis and how to go about researching if your product or service is doing well. Many companies offer a survey to customers asking them how they found out about their company, event, product, etc. These ways can range from through a friend, radio, television, or a newsletter. It made me think of my mom and her fiance. They're getting married next year and she asked me if it was tacky to get her guests to R.S.V.P. by email. I said I didn't think so at all because in today's society, so many things are done online now that it's not unusual for people to R.S.V.P. to a wedding on the internet.

It also made me think about an event that my mom and my sisters were holding last night. We had an "Ugg and Tiffany Party". A group of women can come to your house and sell great quality knock-off Uggs and Tiffany jewlery at amazing prices. And the way me and my sisters got the message out was by email, facebook and instant messaging. The way my mom sent her invitation out was through posters in her office. It just goes to show how media works in different generations and how it's evolving.

New Technology

I'd like to welcome you to my new blog. This is where I'll be talking about issues in the news, issues in public relations and maybe issues in my life that I may have come across.

I'll start by talking about what I talked about today in class - New Technology. One discussion we had was on a new application where you can search where your coworkers are by using a GPS system. I don't really think that this is necessary. I think it would only be used in a workspace and I would only think it'd be necessary during work hours. What employees do on their spare time should be there business and should not interfere with work life. But I think that its still an invasion of privacy. If the employee takes a 5 minute coffee break and the boss disagrees with this, it may bring complications on a social level rather than a work level. This means that it may bring away the way the employee works and it may take attention off of the employee and how well he/she works.

Another technology that wasn't discussed in class was a new way looking at areas and houses. On google maps, you can change the screen to look 'aerial' which is a more realistic view of the landscape. But now they have a application where you can zoom in even closer and you can actually see where the person is on the land. For example, if a person were to search me at my house and I was in my backyard, they could see me walking around in my backyard. Now this I think is completely unnecessary and a huge invasion of privacy. I really don't know why this application is needed. If we have such a problem with theft, unsafe neighbourhoods and kidnapping, why would you create an application where anyone can find anyone at any time?

I just think that there are too many ways to search people and see where they are. There have been many discussions about what young kids post on facebook that could harm them in the future with potential rapists, kidnappings etc. This is just adding to that problem.

New technology is great and I think that some new discoveries can help the world do great things, however, this I think is a bit too much and can harm us instead of helping us.