My Goals after Graduation

My Goals after graduation is basically in flux right now.  I have treated college as a resume builder I have compiled a serious work resume over the years and a Bachelors Degree would be like the icing on the cake.  I have 5 1/2 years of Military work experience after I received my Honorable Discharge, I then worked 3 years overseas contracting as a Logistics Coordinator and Fuels Accountant.  I have applied and looked at so many jobs in this my old field of Fuels and even with my work experience its really not enough to get a managerial position.  Most Managerial positions in this field and many others require either 15 years of work experience or a Bachelors degree, so decided to get my degree.  With my 8 years of supervising/leadership experience I think that me graduating with my degree would make me even more hire able.

Another thing that Im looking into doing is going back into the military as an officer.  I would like to do this on a reserve basis and still be able to work in the civilian world also.  My father actually does the same thing and even gets paid by the military and through his GS job.  He double dips and makes a good living.  I think that I might go along that route because money and financial stability is the ultimate motive.

I also have a dream of owning my own non-profit organization.  I currently volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club through a company called AmeriCorps.  I have made a lot of connections throughout the years and a couple of people within the B&G Club organization have offered me permanent positions with the company once I graduate.  They even told me that they are opening 2 more Boys and Girls clubs and they need someone to run them I really believe that I am a front runner for one of those positions.

I can go in a multitude of different directions once I graduate, I think that really I'm just going to enroll in school for my MBA and shop my resume around!!!!  All I can say is show me the Money!!!!

PR Writing and Advertising

Throughout this semester I have learned a lot when it comes to Advertising and PR writing.  PR writing is so diverse and can include a multitude of different things, such as PSA's, Press Releases, or even Feature stories.  I would say this class has been difficult for me because my style of writing is extremely conversational.  I tend to write as if I am speaking to my computer, so my sentence structure is not the best.  I am in no way an English major and I believe that if I was to go into PR writing that I would need an editor to look over my work first.  My lack of sentence structure and grammatical errors have cost me alot of points on 1 assignment in particular in this class.  During the semester we had to write a feature story on a made up company called SuperGlobal.  In doing so I made the terrible mistake of writing the company Superglobal instead of capitalizing the G in Global.  This costs me half of the points on my assignments.  Ever since this occurred though I make sure that I proofread and check my paper for uniformity when it comes to company names or names in general.

Another thing that I have learned is that PR writing like feature stories, and press releases are purely factual and not opinionated at all.  This was kind of difficult for me because the part of writing I would like to go in is sports writing.  I want to be the next Skipi Bayless.  I like to give my full and honest opinion but i do understand that its a time and a place for such things.  One of the press releases that I chose to write about over the semester was the death of Joe Paterno and the ceremonies that were being held in State, Penn.  I wanted to speak on the fact that once he was fired by the University his body and heart just shutdown and ultimately he died of a broken heart.  I would have loved to write about that but that was not the assignment.  I have no problem with sticking to the script and I feel as if I am an adaptable type of person but I feel as if expressing my opinion and sports writing is my niche.

All in all I feel that I need to work on a few things as far as sentence structure but that can be solved by me having an extra set of eyes on my work before I send it out.  This class has taught me alot and has kept me cautious about the small things in writing.  This class has taught me formatting and the importance of being more vigilant when I write something.

Writting For Social Media

Over the last few years the vast majority of Americans have willingly turned into followers.  Our lives have been consumed with hashtags, and follow me @ has seemingly become the new goodbye.  Social Media has officially taken over our lives.  I finally gave into to this realization when I was watching a NCAA Men's Basketball game on CBS. Every time they showed a players name or stats, they also showed their twitter name.      Even companies have turned to twitter for marketing purposes.  The need for Social Media writing and image management is at an all-time high.  

Companies can do so much with Social Media. The control or the manipulation of social media can be beneficial to companies in a number of different ways.  Companies are using things Social Media to connect with there consumers in a more direct and personal way.  Instead of searching the Sunday papers for coupons, companies have made it possible for you to receive coupons and sales alerts instantly by liking their page on Facebook or Twitter.  This not only creates more of a personal connection between the company and the consumer, it also makes others want to join so they can receive the special benefits also.  

Companies also use Social Media for advertising purposes also.  Once you like a companies page or follow them on twitter your page becomes flooded with advertising and shameless plugs.  There's a saying in the entertainment business that goes "there's no such thing as bad publicity" and the same thing goes for advertising.  As long as companies can be seen consistently on your news feed they feel like they have won.  If Pepsi keeps you thinking and seeing Pepsi eventually you're going to go out and buy a Pepsi whether it be consciously or subconsciously.  Companies also use advertising through Social Media to build anticipation for new products also.  Apple has been promoting the iPhone 5 for a year now and it still hasn't came out.  Every time a new feature or idea is added Apple puts a video or link as its status.  Companies also get to receive feedback from there consumer's faster than ever.  Since Facebook and Twitter allow you to tag, comment and re-tweet, companies know instantly what their consumers think of them and their products.

Companies also have the enormous task of managing their image on line.  It is important for companies to put out a positive image of their company and be both inviting and inclusive to their consumers.   Companies should post things like donating money and community involvement.  A company is only as good as its brands name.  A company is only as good as its 1st impression when your hear that name.  If a company can affect its public image in any way form or fashion they have to do so, and social Media allows them to do just that.