Please Don't Show This To My Therapist

At the beginning of this semester, I wrote a blog about all the fun I had last spring and how I was hoping this semester could live up to it. While this spring was filled with a whirlwind of emotions, I still managed to have some fun times in the 45810. Here are some of the memorable moments that I won't be forgetting about anytime soon! The first weekend back to campus the women's soccer team held our annual “fancy party,” which is our form of formal. No dates, just teammates. It was honestly so fun getting to see everyone all dressed up and hanging out with just the team because we don’t get to do that very often. Even though I have a ton of other dresses in my closet, I went out dress shopping because I have an unhealthy shopping addiction. While shopping, I told myself I wasn’t buying another black dress. I tried on every dress in the freaking mall and what did I walk out with? A black dress. Oh well! My closet was THE place to go for girls who didn’t want to go out and buy...

          No one likes reading a textbook. Every year students log on to buy codes and books that will most likely just sit on a shelf and collect dust until it’s time to return them at the end of the semester. That’s exactly how I felt buying this book. I couldn’t understand how you put information about social media in a textbook, something just seemed off. And on top of that, it was an online textbook, something I’ve never been fond of. Staring at a screen, losing my place while reading, and forgetting my login information is just so frustrating. To me, there’s just something about having the actual book in front of me that helps me comprehend the information. Although I will say, my back did thank me for having one less book in my bag.       For my principles of social media class, we used Stukent’s “Essentials of Social Media Marketing” textbook and simulation. I had never used Stukent before so trying to figure out how to use the o...

Last week during our final week of sprin g training each class got to lead a practice. We each had a specific day we would be running training. The freshmen ran Tuesday’s training, the sophomores ran Wednesday and the juniors and fifth years finished off the week running training on Thursday. I was so excited to get to create the practice plan and I personally think the sophomores had the best training out of everyone else. It’s safe to say we really got into it. We created and printed out replicas of the papers our coach uses and even organized the drills the same way he does. However, the drills we ran were nothing like the ones he ran during the season. Instead, we played fun games the entire time. We started out with probably the best game of the entire training. It doesn’t really have a name so we just called it the communication game. And let me tell you, it was nothing short of one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Everyone partners up and while one partner is blindfolde...

          I finally completed the Stukent Social Media Simternship program for my Principals of Social Media course this week. This program allows students like myself to experience real-world digital marketing. It guides you through 12 rounds, concentrating on creating organic social posts, paid social posts, collaborating with influencers, and ultimately executing all three types of posts simultaneously. Along with creating media, you also respond to customer messages, examine company data and analyze post success to help with future decisions. You undertake all of these tasks for Buhi Supply Co., a company that specializes in the sale of a wide array of bags. Personally, I would purchase from Buhi, they have some cute products!       All-around, I think my favorite part about completing the program was getting to create my own organic posts. While I enjoyed organizing the paid posts, the rounds focusing on the organic posts were defin...

     Let's talk about the elephant in the virtual room: the hidden risks and perils of our constant use of social media. In a digital world where connectivity reigns supreme, it's crucial to acknowledge the shadow side of our beloved social media platforms. In “The Social Dilemma,” a film released in 2020, the veil over our beloved social media platforms is lifted, leaving no room for doubt. The film alternates between tech experts sharing their experiences at numerous well-known companies and a fictional family encountering the very harsh realities the experts are discussing. While the whole film is kind of disturbing, there are some points I found interesting and want to highlight.       I want to start by sharing a quote that appears about 30 minutes into the film. Since it appeared on the screen I haven't been able to shake it. It’s from Yale University professor Edward Tufte and it goes, “There are only two industries that call their customers ‘us...

     For a few years now Chelsea Football Club has been, in nicer terms, a complete and utter disappointment. They’ve been a disaster, like a dumpster fire bad. Ever since the ownership crisis in 2022 left the club in the hands of a greedy man who knows nothing about the sport, Chelsea has fallen on a swift demise. Failing to qualify for the Champions League, spending a record €435.5 million ($4.65 million) on underperforming players, manager changes every month and being unable to crack into the top 10 of the Premier League Table. Not to mention the full roster worth of players on injured reserve just on a rotation. You name the problem, Chelsea has it covered. For a while, it seemed like life was never going to get better.      Enter Cole Palmer. The 21-year-old midfielder is, as Foreigner would say, as cold as ice. Since transferring from Manchester City on Sept. 1, 2023, Palmer has carried the Chelsea franchise on his back. He’s scored 23 goals with 13 ...

          TikTok, the app that brought millions together when everyone was forced to be apart. Whether it was Charli D’Amelio's infectious dances or Nathan Apodaca, better known as DoggFace, cruising down the highway to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” there's a niche for every individual within the app's diverse community. TikTok is swiftly exceeding the benchmarks of other competing apps, making it the perfect opportunity for businesses to market with. But businesses first need to understand how TikTok has become one of the most popular apps in the app stores.       As I mentioned in my social media workshop recap blog post, TikTok’s algorithm differs from that of Instagram or Twitter. It works from negative feedback, meaning it monitors how long you interact with a video, comment or sound. The program delivers a video to your For You Page based on the videos you are most interested in, or at least the ones you’ve shown the most interest in....

        It’s interesting to think about LinkedIn as a social platform used for advertising or even a social platform. For people in my generation, LinkedIn is for professional use only, to shout out friends who got jobs or to post about professional conferences we attended. To us, LinkedIn is far from the fun, creative likes of Instagram or Snapchat and more of an online resume used for our future. It’s the ultimate personal branding tool. But if you take a step back and look at it from a business point of view, it’s not that much different from other social networking platforms.       Like other platforms such as Instagram, X (formally known as Twitter) and Facebook, LinkedIn has content strategies that businesses should be aware of when they’re creating and publishing content. A survey showed that the top two reasons people follow a business on LinkedIn were to stay up-to-date on the latest news with the company and to stay informed about t...

On Wednesday I was given the opportunity to travel to ONU’s Women in Business Conference in Columbus, Ohio. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, I had never been to a business conference before but I was pleasantly surprised with the entire day.  The event, hosted by ONU alum Stephanie Saghy and Bank of America, began with a panel of Bank of America employees. All women in higher-up positions, it was inspiring to hear their stories of how they got where they are today. None of them really began their employment journeys picturing themselves in the positions they have today which was validating in a way. I feel like at this point in my life I’m supposed to have everything figured out and I don't but hearing about their journeys made me feel better about where I’m at. Each woman offered a piece of advice with their story as well and one that really stood out to me came from Jamine Kozar, she said,  “Don’t be cool. Be yourself.” She went on to explain how after a meeting she wa...

     When thinking about children's TV, which shows immediately come to mind? “iCarly?” “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody?” Or perhaps “Victorious?” Regardless of the shows you enjoyed growing up, networks like Nickelodeon and Disney Channel held considerable sway over young viewers' lives. Yet, their influence extended beyond the screen, leaving lasting impressions on the child actors who contributed to these shows. In the compelling new documentary, “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” the veil is lifted, uncovering the unsettling realities behind the scenes of our cherished childhood favorites.       Streaming exclusively on Max, the ongoing five-part documentary guides viewers through the timeline of horrific events that transpired during Nickelodeon's rise to popularity. The timeline begins in the 1990s with the emergence of television creator Dan Schneider. Schneider is the visionary behind some of Nickelodeon's most famous shows and stars,...

          Last Friday, March 22, I had the opportunity to attend the Ohio Northern University Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) sixth annual social media workshop. As a student looking to pursue a career in marketing or communications, this workshop proved valuable. Throughout the day, I shared insights and key takeaways from the sessions I attended via live-tweeting. Here is a quick recap of my day.  The day began with a compelling keynote speaker, Amy Hertsenberg, who talked about AI-powered digital mastery. It was an amazing presentation illustrating how AI can do the smallest tasks that humans either don’t have time for or dread doing. Hertsenberg had me captivated the entire time.   Following the keynote, I delved into my first session on brand engagement. Presenter Sally Stearns talked about what she calls the three C’s of brand engagement: Connecting, Converting and Cultivating. Stearns did a deep dive into each top...

          As a part of the younger generation, I frequent Snapchat. It’s a part of my everyday life. I am without a doubt more active on Snapchat than I am on any other social media platform such as Instagram or X (formerly known as Twitter). I probably know the app inside and out. But for some reason, when I think about Snapchat, I don’t think about advertisements or shopping for things like I do when I think about other platforms. However, in recent years, Snapchat has become the place for businesses to run their advertisements and many people don’t even know.  Here’s how they did it:   Shows:       You know those random stories that pop up on your discovery page? They always have some sort of cliffhanger or dramatic title or even feature a popular artist or athlete. Yeah, those are actually paid advertisements from companies. Snapchat offers two kinds of shows: Snap Originals, which are basically mini-documentaries or T...