Finally! A Worthy Picture Goes Viral

Hello friends,

The time comes every week when I have to blog about something I find related to public relations. I normally find great articles on PR Daily. Today was nothing different. There was an article entitled "Candid picture of NYC police officer goes viral on Facebook." I thought that this article was so appropriate for this time of year. Christmas is just around the corner, and everyone is getting in the giving spirit. The article was about an officer in NYC that was photographed giving a pair of boots and socks to a homeless person.

If that isn't an act of selflessness, I don't know what is. A woman from Arizona visiting New York took the photo of the officer. Several weeks later she shared the photo with the NYPD and included a note.
She wrote:

      "The officer said, 'I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let's put them on and take care of you.' The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man. The officer expected nothing in return and did not know I was watching. I have been in law enforcement for 17 years. I was never so impressed in my life."

This picture was posted to Facebook, and in a few days, there had been more than 500,000 likes, nearly 187,000 shares, and tens of thousands of comments. The story has also been featured in publications like The New York Times and USA Today. Social media is the reason why this picture and this heart warming story have gone viral.

I think that this is what social media should be used for. Lately, social media has been used to launch stupid YouTube videos and careers of music artist that only care about themselves. Police officers devote their lives to society and get little thanks. I'm so glad that this man's act of kindness was recognized and shared with millions of people. 

Until next time,

Katie

Jake and Katie Project Take Two!

Hello friends,


So Jake and I worked together on another wonderful project for our social media class. We had to create a beautiful online video for the public relations program at Ohio Northern University. It discusses the great things about PR and focuses on all of the opportunities the program has to offer. In order to connect with potential students, we interviewed several current students and had them share their personal experiences about Northern and why they love PR.

 Jake and I slaved over this video trying to figure out Imovie, so I hope you enjoy!

I have provided a link to our video on YouTube.

Katie and Jake's PR Promo


Until next time,

Katie

Prayers for my Grandma Sandy

Hello friends,

I'm taking a step back from all of my papers and projects for a minute to post about something that has been on my mind all day long. One of my heroes underwent a major surgery this morning and I've been worrying about her since the moment I got up today. 

Grandma Sandy with my cousin Alyssa and Aunt Natalie

This past weekend, I had a basketball tournament in Indiana. As usual, my Mom and Dad traveled down to watch as well as my Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Phil. On Saturday, my grandma was not feeling the greatest. I would have never known because she was her sassy self at the game. The next morning she and my grandpa did not show up to my next. I was worried because that is very unlike the both of them. I am fortunate enough to have two sets of amazing grandparents that have supported me my whole life and have hardly every missed a sporting event. After the game, my parents informed me that my Grandma Sandy had been taken to the hospital because she was still not feeling right. I was even more shocked to hear that the doctors thought she had suffered a mild heart attack. My stomach dropped. I have always been extremely close with all of my grandparents and they have all been relatively healthy. In my mind, they are not old, so  hearing my grandma had a heart attack scared the crap out of me.

My dad stayed with my grandparents in Indiana because they ran tests on Monday. My mom eventually went back with my Aunt Natalie, and my Aunt Jodi and Uncle Keith flew home from Georgia and South Carolina. Thank God for cell phones, because my mom was keeping me updated the whole time. The tests concluded that my grandma had two blocked vessels and needed to have a double-bypass open heart surgery. I hate that this happened, but I'm so glad she was with my parents when it happened so she could get to the emergency room right away.

Her surgery was scheduled for this morning and I was a nervous wreck waiting for some news from my family. Thankfully my mom kept me posted every step of the surgery. I was so relieved when I got a text saying that the surgery was a success and my Grandma Sandy was doing well. My Aunt Natalie (she's a nurse) posted a very informative, but scary post on Facebook regarding my grandma's condition. 

Natalie Decker

7 hours ago

My mom had to have open heart surgery today. She was in South Bend Indiana this past weekend watching Katie play basketball and had a couple of "episodes" of not feeling well with an upset stomache and then felt cold and clammy...she agreed a trip the ER was in order. They were at Bob Evans and a waitress suggested Memorial Hospital of South Bend. Long story short... EKG, enzymes, cardiac cat

h, 2 blocked vessels that were not eligible for stents....double-bypass open heart surgery this am. The surgeon (who is awesome) said she was quite lucky because one of the blockages was 70-80% down the front of the heart and if that completely occludes it usually has a fatal outcome. (they call it the widow maker) The surgery was a success, she is in the ICU, was only intubated and on the vent for 2 hours and is currently resting. Jodi, Keith, Eric, Traci, my dad, and I are here in South Bend, grateful for all of the staff at the hospital...they have been wonderful. It's important to know...she didn't have chest pain, pressure, or pain in her arm....bu22t she did have a heart attack. Don't ignore your body...seek medical attention if "something just isn't right". Thanks to you all for your prayers...we appreciate it very much.

My Grandma Sandy is one of the most amazing women I will ever know. She has always been such a big part of my life, and I am so lucky to have her in my corner. The thought of losing her is terrifying. Even though I was worried to death about her today, I had a feeling in my gut that she would be alright. My Aunt Natalie posted this later today:

Natalie Decker

about an hour ago

"Your mom is the poster child for post-open heart surgery" . Those were the words from the nurse in the ICU, music to our ears. She worked hard to wake up and take the initiative to breathe on her own so she had the breathing tube removed in record time. She is on course and moving forward. Keith wanted to take her picture since she is now the gold standard of open heart recovery but she gave him the evil eye and a pretty convincing no. THANK YOU ALL SOOOOO MUCH for the messages, prayers, and support. You are all the best medicine we could have and we will pass on your well-wishes to mom and dad.

She is one tough cookie! Hopefully she will be able to come home this weekend. I will definitely be making a trip back to Gibsonburg to see her. No presentation or paper is more important than my Grandma Sandy. If you could, please keep her in your prayers.

Until next time,

Katie

Gobble Gobble Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello friends,

I'm sure that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Hopefully the food was excellent and everyone can still fit into their jeans. It is tradition that families get together and eat lots of food. I'm not sure about anybody else, but my family's Thanksgiving gatherings are not just meals.They are more like all day affairs.

For as long as I can remember, we have spent almost all day with my family for the holidays. We show up early, help with the food preparations and have a few drinks. My dad has always said it is rude to show up just as the food is being put on the table. He likes to get there at least an half hour early, but with my family, that is not always possible. After we eat, we always stay for about the rest of the day catching up and telling stories.

I am so blessed to have the family that I do. That sounds really cliche and I'm positive almost everyone tweeted that on Thanksgiving, but I really do mean it. Both sides of my family are very large and very close. On Wednesday, we went to my Grandma Barb and Grandpa Rod's house. My mom has four sisters and all but one of them have three kids. Most of my cousins old enough to have a significant other, so you always have to add them in too. My Aunt Mo also had her foster child Baby Joey. He has started to walk and he was into everything. The food was great and I was so happy to get to spend time with everyone.

On Thanksgiving we spent the day at my Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Phil's house. My dad has two sisters and one brother and all of them have three children. Most of my cousins are close to my age and I three of them are much younger. Two of those families live down south, so they couldn't spend Thanksgiving with us. Even though we didn't have the whole family there, the house was still full. The food was delicious, but the company was even better.

The great thing about both of my families, is that we all get along so well. We can spend the whole day together without driving each other crazy. Everyone is busy with their own lives, so we don't get to spend time together often. When we do get together, I enjoy every single minute. Thanksgiving was fantastic and I can't wait until Christmas when I can see them all again.

We had a little bit of a photo shoot on Thanksgiving.

The Jones kids

The only girl grandchildren out of nine

Until next time,

Katie

Tell Me Something I Haven't Already Heard

Can we give this shirt to Katie Paine?

Hello friends,

I had the unfortunate opportunity to read Chapter 14 of Katie Paine's Measure What Matters. Seven hours on a bus was boring enough, but this chapter about measuring what matters in higher education about bored me to tears. Katie Paine is queen bee in her field, but her book is like a broken record; she said the same thing over and over again!

As if we haven't heard about the steps of measurement in every chapter, she has the nerve to tell us about them again. This chapter presents five steps for getting an A in measurement.

Step 1: Identify and prioritize your audience.
Step 2: Define your objectives and get everyone on the same page.
Step 3: Establish a benchmark
Step 4: Pick a measurement tool and collect data.
Step 5: Analyze the data, glean insight, make changes, and measure again.

All I can say about this chapter is "Duh!" My poor classmates could recite these steps for every situation in their sleep. Katie Paine has literally beat the concept into my brain, therefore I do not need to read it any more. I know that when we graduate and find jobs, these five steps will be a part of our every day lives.All I can say is thank goodness it's over!

Until next time,

Katie

The Bears Are Off To St. Louis!

Hello friends,


This post comes to you from a bus bound for St. Louis. My teammates and I are away for the weekend for a tip-off tournament at Washington University and I couldn't be more excited. We have been working so hard since we got to school in August and we finally get to play. Practice gets really old after a while and we all get tired of playing against each other day in and day out.

The bus ride will probably be the worst part of the whole trip. It's about seven hours, and for those of you who have never had to ride on a bus for the long, it is no fun. Thank God I'm with my best friends. They make the ride much more tolerable. We made sure we brought our pillows, blankets, Ipods, movies and plenty of snacks. Everyone loves puppy chow, so we made sure to bring a few bags to share. A few girls even brought homework to work on to pass the time.

Once we get to St. Louis, we have to go to practice. This should be interesting after sitting on a bus for so long, but we have to suck it up because we play Lake Forest tomorrow night and we have to be ready to go. Once we are done with practice, we all have to get dressed up to go to a banquet hosted by Washington University. It's going to be a long day, but I would rather be here with my team then at school.

It's so hard to believe that this is my last tip-off tournament ever. Four years has gone by so fast and even though basketball has had its ups and downs, I would not trade the memories I have made with my teammates for anything in the world. These are the times that I will miss the most when I leave Northern. My team is my family, and I have loved every single moment with them.

We have set big goals for ourselves this season. Last year we came so close to an OAC championship, but this is our year. All of the seniors are determined to leave a mark on this program and finish with a championship. Everything we have worked so hard for and the goals we have set for our team starts tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last first game of our careers and we plan on making the most of it.

Our motto this year is "We decide." Only we have control over the outcome of our season, and tomorrow we will decide to start it off with a win.



Until next time,

Katie

36 Rules of Social Media

Hello friends,

I was on PR Daily News and found this wonderful graphic that contained 36 rules for social media. How appropriate right? I was really excited because all of the rules are things we have discussed in class and I didn't have to type out every rule in my blog. Take a moment to look over the graphic.

For those in my social media class, many of these rules are review. I will not talk about each one, but I will mention three rules that I liked the most.

#17. Update your page or delete it.

In the words of Michelle Govekar, "Duh!" What is the point of having a webpage if you do not actively use it? I get frustrated when I go to sites that have outdated content. It shows that either the company doesn't have the time or resources to update the content, or they don't care. If you want the target audience to actively engage with your company, your website must be up to date.

#19. Last year: pump out content. This year: optimize content.

This is such a great rule. How many of you get annoyed with a company that constantly pushes information at you that blows up your news feed, email, or Twitter feed? I know I do, because most of the time the information is of little value to me. You can reach your audience much more effectively if you send out less content that contains information that is valuable to the customer. Quality trumps quantity any day.

#32. Pinterest works.
I love it!! For those who know me, I am obsessed with Pinterest. I have also been conducting my research on a company's use of Pinterest so I completely agree with this rule. Whether people like it or not, Pinterest is a great way to engage your target audience and create brand and product awareness.

I hope that everyone enjoyed these rules as much as I did. Are there any that you disagree with?

Until next time,

Katie

Monday Morning Blues

Hello friends,

It is not a beautiful day in the neighborhood today. Not at all. I generally try to wake up on the right side of the bed every morning. I'm usually very cheery and happy all of the time. When I woke up this morning and looked out my window, I felt the exact opposite.

I kind of feel bad for Mondays because they have a bad reputation. Nobody likes Monday because it starts the beginning of another long school week. This morning, Monday didn't help its case. I woke up to cold, rainy, nasty weather. It's the type of weather that makes you want to put on a big comfy sweat shirt and lay in bed all day watching TLC. Even though that sounds like a perfect way to spend the day, I have responsibilities. So I got myself out of bed, put some rain boots on, grabbed a large umbrella, and walked to work.

When I got to work I thought it would be a normal 9:00 a.m. shift. Normally I either do homework or stuff envelopes because there aren't many families that need a tour of campus that early in the day. Oh boy was I wrong! The waiting room was full of families eager to see Ohio Northern. I was even lucky enough to give a tour to three of those families at one time. I love my job as Bear Ambassador, but I do not love giving tours in the rain. We can't control the weather, so I sucked it up and gave them a pretty darn good tour.

Hopefully my day gets a little better, because I definitely have a case of the Monday morning blues. Too bad the health clinic can't give me anything for that because I could really use a pick me up. I think I will just take a nap and try and start my day over and wake up on the right side of the bed this time.

I hope everyone else is having a much more pleasant day despite the weather!

Until next time,

Katie

The Delete Button Can Be Your Friend

Hello friends,

Today is a lazy Sunday despite the fact that I have a to do list a mile long. Give me a break. I only get one day off a week and I like to enjoy it a little. As I was sitting in my bed surfing the Internet, I came across an article on PR News Daily that I thought was relevant to what we've been learning in class.

The website included the article entitled, When Brands Should Delete Their Tweets. It was written in response to the infamous Donald Trump. If you have a television and it was on at any time during the election, you've probably heard about Mr. Trump and his Twitter rants. Let me tell you, the man just does not know when to quit. The biggest doozy he decided to put out there for the world to see was included in the article.


Thank you for those wise words Mr. Trump... Not. Regardless if you are unsatisfied with the outcome of the election, you can't say things like that. Freedom of speech does give him the ability to say this and I may share his same frustrations, but as a public figure that has millions of followers, this kind of tweet is just not appropriate. He went on to erase that politically charged tweet, but there is definitely a lesson to be learned from this situation.

The article shared a few guidelines for deleting tweets.
1. If it's an errant, "off brand" tweet, that might include offensive photos/videos, bizarre rants, or something with profanity.
2. It has typos or serious grammatical errors.
3. It was a direct message that went public.
4. If legal tells you to delete it.
5. If it's a half-finished tweet that was sent prematurely.
6. If it was deemed offensive or insensitive.

It would be too easy to say that organizations should tweet with caution to avoid any messy situations, but we all know that it can happen at any time to anyone. If a tweet does have to be erased fro any reason, be sure to post another tweet explaining the situation and apologizing to anyone who was offended. Donald Trump's reputation and credibility is a lost cause, but you and your company do not have to suffer the same fate.

Until next time,

Katie

Cut the BS!

Hello friends,


It's another week which means another couple chapters and several pages worth of notes. It's amazing how much you can type in an hour of class. We are still reading Katie Paine's Measure What Matters. This week we talked about how to measure a crisis. Everyone always hopes that nothing bad will ever happen to their company, but it is so important to be prepared for anything.

A crisis can happen at any time, but you can take steps to avoid one. If a company is smart, it will monitor what its key publics are saying and respond to any potential threats before a situation gets worse. This does not work for every scenario, therefore you have to be able to measure a crisis when you're under pressure. A company needs to be able to determine what is being said about them, what people believe about them, and what people will do as a result.

My favorite part of chapter eleven revolved around the response to a crisis. Katie Paine says BS is more damaging than lies. I could not agree more. During a time of crisis, it is so important to gain the trust of your key publics. If you throw a bunch of BS at them, you can kiss any chance of building trust goodbye. People put greater value on the character of an organization, and the way a crisis is handled says a great deal about the values of an organization. Paine says that you have to be willing to say the things that no one wants to hear. This can be the hardest thing to do, especially if the situation is the direct affect of your own screw up. You are better off telling the truth from the get go. So cut the BS and just be honest.

For those who may read this post and don't understand, BS is short for "bullshit." I didn't want to use profanity throughout the entire post.

Until next time,

Katie

Employees Matter

Hello friends,  

Happy Monday! We are getting closer to Thanksgiving break. I don't know about anyone else, but I am definitely ready for a little break from school. My social media class is still trudging through Katie Paine's book Measure What Matters. We are getting towards the end, but this book has been very informative.

This past week we talked about employees and measuring what they think. A company's employees are one of its most important assets. Katie Paine says that employee moral and sentiment are closely tied to sales and profit. It is so important to have effective employee communications. You have to ask which messages are getting through to employees, how those messages are coming across and what media are they coming from.

In chapter ten, Paine discusses six steps to measuring employees. I'm not going to talk about all of them, but I will talk about the first step because I feel like its very important. The first step to measuring your employees is understanding the environment and figuring out where they get their information. An organization can conduct a benchmark study to determine this information. Surveys can be used to determine how company messages are getting through to employees. Paine also emphasizes that you have to figure out what is important to employees. If you know what is important to them, you can tailor your message so that they are more receptive. It is also very important to understand what employees think about the organization they work for.

I really enjoyed this chapter. Most of the time you only read about how to measure your target audience and how to better communicate with them. People some times forget how important employees are to a company. Without employees, a business can not survive. It is crucial to understand your employees and what is important to them. Happy and informed employees translates to effective and productive employees.

Until next time,

Katie

Much Needed Family Time

Hello friends,

Sorry for another blog; this was a bad week for me. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Normally I wake up with a case of the Mondays, but not this week. I have not been home since the beginning of October. Basketball and school have literally consumed my life and prevented me from taking any trips home. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm very close with my family. I talk to my mom and dad almost every other day and I chat with my sister on Facebook. That's all good, but I am in need of some quality family time.

Tomorrow my brother and I are going home!! Neither one of us were proactive and got an absentee ballot, so we have to vote at our precinct in Gibsonburg. We could just not vote, but my mom wouldn't speak to either one of us. So we are going home tomorrow night and then voting early in the morning when the polls open so that we can get back to Ada in time for class.

Tuesday marks the day of the election and my mom's birthday, so we are meeting my family in Bowling Green for dinner. I can not remember the last time the five of us sat down for dinner, let alone went out to eat. I am beyond excited to see everyone. We have so much to talk about since it's been so long since I've been home. My sister and I will definitely be having a conversation. I just found out today on Facebook that she has a new little boyfriend. I "creeped" his Facebook page and I'm not sure I approve. I'm really looking forward to just sitting and talking with my mom and dad and I'm especially excited to see my dogs!

I wish that I could go home more often, but this separation makes me appreciate the time that I have with them. It's probably good preparation for the future because I don't plan on living in Gibsonburg for the rest of my life. Hopefully my coach actually gets us out of practice on time so I can leave as soon as possible. I'll get there when I get there, but I just can't wait to have all of my favorite people together at the same time.

Until next time,

Katie

I Feel Your Pain Abby

Hello friends,

Before I go on with this blog, please watch this adorable girl express her frustrations with the election.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjrthOPLAKM

First of all, how stinking cute is she? Second of all, I think every person in America can relate to her frustrations. We have been bombarded with so much political advertisement this election season. If I had a quarter for every commercial I've seen or heard about either candidate, I could probably pay off my student loans.

Every election is the same. We have become accustomed to dealing with all of the political campaigns, but this presidential election feels different. The messages are all so negative. All of the commercials are basically a way for one candidate to bash the other. Most of the information is taken out of context and the sad reality is that many people base their decision solely on these commercials. I think the biggest reason why Abby and the rest of the country are so overwhelmed is the amount of political advertisement that we have been subjected to. "Bronco Bama" and Mitt Romney have gone a little overboard. You can not turn on the television, radio or surf the internet without being forced to watch or listen to a political advertisement. My Spotify Radio and Hulu even have commercials and it drives me insane! I was actually surprised that there wasn't an Obama advertisement before the YouTube video I posted.

Maybe the advisers of each candidate should have taken a different approach to the campaigns. I think that if the ads weren't so negative and focused more on the plans that Obama and Romney have for our country, they would be better received. Poor little Abby has every right to be frustrated with the election; it's impossible to get away from it. Thankfully we vote on Tuesday and the political nonsense will start to die down. Then we can all go back to watching television without be interrupted by another commercial that is approved by "Branco Bama" or Mitt Romney.

Until next time,

Katie