Blogs: A learning tool

The three blogs that I chose to read and analyze were Communication Overtones (http://overtonecomm.blogspot.com/), The Harte of Marketing (http://www.theharteofmarketing.com/), and Diva Marketing Blog (http://bloombergmarketing.blogs.com/bloomberg_marketing/). These three blogs were the one that stood out the most. They discussed marketing from three different perspectives and were easily relatable to the content of classes that I have taken. Challenging me to think deeper about what I have and continue to learn in the classroom.

Communication Overtones, done by Kami Watson Huyse, discussed a relationship based type of public relations society; combining the social media networks with business, creating an ecosystem. I thought this was a clever way of representing social media outlets, as an ecosystem; it is a way that I would never really think about relating it to. The fact that it discussed relationships and choosing companies based on their ability to build, maintain relationships was a big bonus to me. Relationships should be the core; it builds a network, much like an ecosystem. We have gotten wrapped up in Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc, letting that represent relationships when interaction with people is far more important.

The Harte of Marketing, written by Beth Harte, caught my attention based on the relevance to my courses. So often classes have discussed being sales focused or marketing focused; drawing distinct lines between the two. I thought the way she presented bringing it together was creative and definitely something that will stick with me; quoting the Osmond’s, she said, “More importantly, is it possible to be a little bit country and a little bit rock & roll?” I think this concept is so important when entering the business/public relations world. It’s about finding a balance between the two stances of sales and marketing, creating an environment that works and is productive.

Finally, Diva Marketing Blog, composed by Toby, talked about the advantages of using social media tools to create a “digital bio” that can better represent a person than a paper resume. I thought the creative part was her attention to the audience composed of women and relating her ideas to shoes, something most women relate to well.

These blogs were definitely helpful and something that I would return to in the future. They put things into a relatable perspective that got my wheels turning and causing me to think outside the box. These women are clearly talented at what they do, by returning to their blogs, I can only learn more from them.

Twitter Assignment

Creating a Twitter was a great assignment that helped me understand the use of Twitter and how effective it could be. Prior to this assignment I had created a personal account for my internship. I intern with a morning radio show and part of the show is following celebrities and knowing what they are doing in their daily life. I thought that creating a Twitter would be a good way to gain more insight on the celebrities, impress my supervisors and start connecting with people, places, and things nationally.
The fact is, I never really used it for personal use; it became a chore and not enjoyable. I would follow friends and celebrities, look at their life, but not really use it for myself. I looked at is as a status and didn't want to update people constantly about what I was doing. It was not a good way, for me, to connect with people or share my life with them; I wanted something more personal.
After this assignment, however, I definitely have a different take on using Twitter. It is not just a status update about your life, it is about marketing yourself. You take what you are doing or where you are headed and make that something that people want to know and follow. The businesses that I followed made what they were doing interesting and enjoyable to follow. They left me wanting more and wanting to see what they were talking about.
I find that Twitter is becoming a necessity for marketing, advertising and public relations fields. There is no way to get what you are doing out to the masses in a better way; Twitter has made it too easy to not understand the use. Knowing Twitter and how to use it will be a requirement entering the "business world," so gaining the knowledge before doing that is huge.