Student leaders and public relations professionals unite at the PRSSA 2014 National Conference in Washington D.C. this weekend. A letter from the Conference Committee states, “We encourage you to join us for five days of professional networking and development that is sure to lead to new insights and opportunities in the field of public relations. Continue reading →

Studies show that sexting among teens is the new normal. One half of teenagers admit to sexting and of the one half, one third admit to sending sexually explicit images.

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29-year-old Brittany Maynard’s days are numbered. In fact, she knows the exact number: 21 days. After being diagnosed with a severely progressive brain tumor, Maynard has decided to end her own life on November 1.

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Recently, Facebook has required all members to display their “real name” on their personal profiles. This has caused a ruckus within the LGBT community, especially those that were put on suspension or even kicked off of the site for disobeying the new policy.

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Luxy is a new Android and iPhone app that takes a spin off of Tinder, but this gem of an app is exclusively for rich people.

If you are struggling to find the person of your dreams, have LOTS of money, and want to meet other singles in a similar situation, it may be time to download ‘Luxy’.

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It’s no secret that the anxiety of the United States has risen lately with the confirmation of the first Ebola case in Dallas, TX,  on Sunday the 28th of September.  Even though we live in a first world country, clearly mistakes have been made in the handling of the situation at Texas Presbyterian Hospital. Of course we are human and these things happen, but it takes a group of public relations professionals to clean up the mess.  So, what measures have been taken to calm the people of not only Dallas but the United States as a whole? Continue reading →

If you’re thinking it’s time for a diet, think again. For those who don’t already know, the State Fair of Texas is in town. You’ll be begging to taste test this year’s new line up of fried foods. Set aside the juice-cleanse and get ready to binge because you can’t call yourself a true Texan like Big Tex if you don’t let yourself indulge.

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A new study came out asking who’s buying the iPhone 6 and the results were very interesting. The vast majority of iPhone 6 consumers are rich, white men.

According to Slice, a company that tracks consumer purchases, more than 80% of iPhone 6 consumers in the United States are male, 2.3 have college degrees, and 60% make over $75,000 a year. Because these men are making an above average salary, they are willing to spend at least $650 on a phone.

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Advertising and marketing is inherently risky particularly when humor is used to move products but social media creates additional problems in this area because of its nature.  One of the fantastic benefits of social media is the potential for information to spread even more quickly than traditional media outlets are able to put together and disseminate information.  Companies and government officials have also faced unintended consequences of social media and discovered in recent years the impossibility of “getting back” any information that has been put out there electronically.  Even when a company or person deletes a YouTube video, meme or tweet in an attempt to stem controversy, someone has generally downloaded or snapped a screen shot of the information and retains “proof” of the problem.  The power of social media disproves the adage that any publicity is good publicity as Paula Deen, the men of Duck Dynasty and numerous others can attest.

Paula Deen has been bitten by social media and suffered significant consequences twice in recent years.  In 2012 a blooper video became available on the Internet featuring many outtakes featuring Deen cussing and engaging in other behavior that is not endearing to conservative fans (Paula Deen Outtakes 2012).  Video accompanies the Huffington Post article.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/paula-deen-cursing-blooper-outtakes_n_1909159.html.  Deen additionally had difficulties related to litigation alleging racial discrimination and other behavior that countered her down home good Southern woman persona.  In and of itself the court case against the Deen family would not have been that damaging but when people discovered the content of the litigation it spread like wildfire on social media and led to a call from the general public to remove Deen’s show from the network.  Other fans rallied to Deen’s defense suggesting that the public lynching was undeserved (Lestch 2013).

For Deen, video and damning comments were posted all over Facebook and Twitter during the controversy.  In other instances when social media comes into play, negative consequences are wholly unanticipated.  One of the ways that social media has taken on a life of its own is related to highly emotional situations like an individual’s death.  Facebook has become an integral component of modern grieving as people are able to comfort each other and use pages of deceased relatives and friends as the electronic equivalent to visiting a grave.  Social can also exacerbate the negatives of the ability to send information ricocheting all over the Internet and wireless communication vehicles.  Robin Williams’ death affected nearly anyone familiar with his work as people were saddened by the loss of someone who gave so many moments of joy and cared about other people.  Williams committed suicide, however, and this creates the potential for additional problems as suicide often triggers other suicide attempts.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in honoring Williams with this picture, quickly discovered that its gesture was actually potentially dangerous.

Under the photo, the caption read “Genie, you’re free.” (Dewey 2014).  Certainly those finding fault with the Academy’s tweet are over-reacting, as people loved Williams’ in the above role but the realities of social media illustrate how very dangerous this particular tweet could have been.  “More than 270,000 people have shared the tweet, which means that, per the analytics site Topsy, as many as 69 million people have seen it.” (Dewey 2014)  And the problem with 69 million people seeing that tweet is related to how people should discuss suicide.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/08/12/suicide-contagion-and-social-media-the-dangers-of-sharing-genie-youre-free/  Those trying to prevent people from taking their lives operate under the public health standard of never making a statement that implies or outright says that suicide is okay.  Intellectually most non-suicidal adults understand the message.  Williams was a tortured soul and is now free of that pain but this type of statement is dangerous specifically because suicide contagion is a real threat to public health.  It is not unusual for several people to commit suicide when a friend or relative commits suicide.  That is why most schools in the United States provide counseling to students to ensure that no other children commit suicide when a friend or acquaintance has killed himself.

Once the information is out there, it cannot be retrieved.  Once information is out there, it is impossible to control how that information will be interpreted and whether the free publicity provided by social media will be of benefit or detriment to parties involved.  A company’s best defense against the potential downside of social media is, even more so than in the past, to try to determine all possible ways that something can be interpreted and to have a strategy in place to deal with backlash if it occurs.

References

Dewey, C.  (August 12, 2014).  Suicide contagion and social media:  The dangers of sharing ‘Genie, you’re free.’  The Washington Post, 1.2.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/08/12/suicide-contagion-and-social-media-the-dangers-of-sharing-genie-youre-free/

Lestch, C.  (August 24, 2013).  Paula Deen’s sexual harassment, discrimination lawsuit dismissed.  New York Daily News, 1-2.  http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/paula-deen-discrimination-lawsuit-dismissed-article-1.1435396.

Paula Deen outtakes:  Southern chef curses, talks “ass” in blooper reel.  (September 24, 2012).  Huffington Post, 1.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/24/paula-deen-cursing-blooper-outtakes_n_1909159.html

It seems as if every major tech company is releasing their version of a perfect smartphone.  Of course, Apple has their latest iPhone to entice its cult following, and Samsung has released their new Galaxy S5.  But a company that seems to have fallen off everyone’s radar is Blackberry.  Unless you are working for a major corporation in New York City, Blackberry phones are particularly hard to come by.  The Passport is Blackberry’s attempt to reach the masses and regain their place back at the top of the tech world.  But how does it compare to its competitors?

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Imagine a world of darkness being changed in an instant. Can you fathom complete blackness that changes to light?

A remarkable new eye implant marks the future for sight around the world. Fran Fulton, 66, lost her sight for ten years, unable to see anything at all. Now everything has changed.

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As most people already know, the new Apple products were recently released. Apparently the big screen and the new features available on the iPhone6 Plus are not the only upgrades. It turns out the iPhone is also bendable! People have been talking about this everywhere especially on Twitter by using the #BendGate hashtag. Even though this could be a problem for Apple, the public has been coming up with funny mockups that will be hard to forget.

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The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus was released just a few days ago and buyers are already finding problems with it. Everyone was excited to see the bigger, faster and thinner iPhone, but many users have found a very troubling flaw with the hardware. The long, thin, metal body seems to be prone to bending.

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Do you find yourself endlessly digging for your wallet once you reach the checkout at the grocery store? Or frantically searching for the right card floating around the bottom of your purse? Apple Pay is the answer to your every worry and revolutionizes the way you pay at the register.  Continue reading →