End of 2008. December is CRAZINESS.

When I signed up for Social Networking and Business back in the Spring I thought it would be a good free elective for me because it sounds like a class that I would actually need to take...I think it should be required frankly.

Walking into class the first day I was a little nervous because I didn't know anyone and coming from SOC, I know all of the students in my year who take Public Comm classes.

I thought it was a weird compilation of students but surprisingly, I feel like our class is one big happy family now. We have been so open with eachother and find a lot of the same things funny or embarassing. I couldn't be happier with the outcome of the dynamic of the classroom.

I am happy to have learned so many social networking applications I can't even think of one to choose that stands out in my mind. All I know is that this information is like gold for my resume and interviews...and I learned it in a fun entertaining knowledgable social setting.

For all future students, I would totally recommend this class in a heartbeat. I have no qualms.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Goodbye Class Tweeting, Hello Again Old Friend!

Since this class is almost over I figured I should share with everyone that I will be blogging from Spain come January! Feel free to follow my stories on my Spain blog...address coming soon...

ROI...A concept I've heard many a time. Everyone always wants proof if their measures are actually working for some benefitt. People always need actual evidence, statistics, and research to back up why a particular means is the solution to the problem.

It's like that menality: What's in it for me?

I kind of hate that way of thinking and I'm sure everything you do to promote yourself/a business is at least somewhat worth it even if you capture one person's attention. That one person could be the biggest opinion leader!

Anyway, I understand though that "time is money" and people need an efficient way to measure their success by using a certain tool.

Happy almost-Winter! (snow, cold = my walk to school is sadness)

twitter.com/kimchiquita

Twitter is a very interesting tool. I have yet to come to terms with my feelings for it. I don't understand still why there is an importance for it especially since, as of right now, it doesn't seem as popular, or could be as popular, as something like a Facebook.

I read the news article about James Buck being arrested and how the public became informed about his situation by his use of Twitter:

On his way to the police station, Buck took out his cell phone and sent a
message to his friends and contacts using the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Honestly, I'm really happy for James Buck but if I had texted my twitter with any sort of update on my status of well-being I doubt anyone who actually knew or cared about me would see it. It just seems like a one and a hundred chance that someone I care about would be constantly checking Twitter.

On the other hand, I can understand why people would want to use Twitter for their own personal benefits. As stated in 25 Twitter Tips for College Students, I would definitely use Twitter to send me to do list updates or to use "tweet what you eat" -- it sounds so fun!

I made a Twitter and so has my roommate...check ours out and maybe one day you can save me when I've been arrested in a foreign land.

My Super Crew

I really enjoyed reading A Mind of a Hustler, the road to success starts in the streets. Every good crew in real life or in the movies clearly has an archetype like the hustler mentioned.

If I were to form my own super crew based on those stereotypes I would choose the following:

The Leader: that would be me. I would totally be the leader of the group because I would be the one founding this business adventure. I would probably open my own events business or maybe run my own restaurant. The options are endless...

The Brain: This is a tough decision. I would either pick Warren Buffet, the current wealthiest man in the US or the brain from the PBS kids show Arthur. Both seem like very sufficient picks and very outgoing.

The Anchor: I need some girl power up in here so even though the anchor is supposed to be somebody who would question your ideas and maybe have you rethink what you are doing...I am going to go with the wisdom and wit of Joy Behar or the intelligence of Natalie Portman. I feel like both would add a great deal to this team.

The Solider: Dwight Schrute from the Office will absolutely be my soldier. He is diligent, compassionate, and is willing to take a bullet for his current boss Michael Scott, so I'm sure him and I will get along just fine and he will be my right hand man.

Now this super crew may need some adjusting, but I think we will do just fine with our start up business. Plus, I will give everyone an office with a window so that we can all brainstorm separately. Because you know, if you brainstorm separately before coming together in one group you will think up many more ideas.

I think it's really important to surround yourself with people who will empower you, will be loyal, and add a new perspective to your life. Unfortunately, finding these essential people is the hardest part.

I think the Hustler's point, in dealing with businesses, is that you're only as strong as your weakest link. Being able to delegate responsibility to everyone is very important because you don't want someone lagging behind...

Who would your super crew be? Do you believe in the power of brainstorming? How would you control your crew? IRL or in the Virtual World?

photo credits:

http://pbskids.org/arthur/friends/images/rollovers/brain_home.gif

http://gurugilbert.com/wp-content/Buffett.jpg

http://cricketfeet.com/actingqs/JoyBehar.jpg

http://abreka.com/jbn/images/natalie-portman.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/content/images/2007/05/02/dwight_schrute_396x222.jpg

Just Because

¡La Revolución!

Do you think you can really make a difference? Does what you say really even matter? Well, if you're reporting on Steve Jobs' health and supposed heart attack you could have Apple's stock drop 10 points almost instantneaously.

This new found era of expressing your ideas and informing the public on "news" is creating a catastrophe for the print publications (cosmogirl just went under!) but it is also creating a new outlet for people around the world to tell the public the "truth" without biases.

Last spring break I traveled around the UK and when I was in London I stopped by speaker's corner in Hyde Park.

Seriously, going back to literally standing on a soapbox preaching to people on the street.

From Thomas Paine's Common Sense to Current_TV and iReport, people have been informing others by word of mouth for decades. Now we are just able to see numerous points of view digitally and within minutes.

Actually, there was a guy standing outside of the Chinatown metro today SCREAMING about how Christians are the most ignorant and hateful people in the world. Only in America, yeah? You should have heard the people at speaker's corner...

Networking IRL

My dad made me start keeping an excel spreadsheet of all my contacts/business cards I've ever received since my senior year of highschool. It was probably one of the best things I've kept up with because now I have a lot of contacts stored in one place on my computer.

I've been to a bunch of networking events and just with the nature of internships I've had, I meet a lot of people in a lot of cool industrys. It is absolutely necessary to keep in touch with these people because obviously it's not what you know, but who you know. Especially networking for students...I've fine tuned my elavator speech and I even have my own business cards. They are pretty snazzy.

Did you know that through the career center here at AU you can go on trips to NYC to meet with AU Alumni in high level positions in different communications/marketing fields? It's a really great opportunity and you should look into it!

It's never a bad idea to put yourself out there and grab any opportunities that come your way!