Stephanie's PR Blog

Parents and Video Games

2009-05-07T15:19:00.001-05:00

Parents and Violent Video Games

2009-04-26T08:06:00.001-05:00

I love playing video games, and between my boyfriend and I we have more than 5 video game systems. I will also admit that some of the video games we most enjoy playing are M-rated games. As enjoyable as these games are for us to play, I don't think I'd ever let my child play them until I think that he/she is mature enough to handle the content.

It's unfortunate that children these days have ways to get around their own parents' decisions. Even if they are told that they cannot have something, children have peers that they can borrow from. With the internet now a powerful tool at the younger generations' disposal, children can bypass any age restrictions on video games and movies by purchasing them online.

The ESRB has ratings for a reason, and while I'm not saying that no child should ever play an M-rated game, I am saying that parents need to be more mindful of what their children are doing. They cannot monitor their child 100% of the time, but they can make efforts to at least make sure that their child is not buying and playing these games for themselves until the parents think that they are ready. This may vary from child to child, or from parent to parent. That is why it's also important for parents to be mindful of the rules that their child's friends' parents have set.

The video used footage from M-rated video games. I believe that these clips sum up the main reasons why M-rated games are rated for mature audiences. I also used a clip from Robbie Cooper's "Immersion" case study, which showed the expressions of children playing video games. I highly recommend going to Cooper's website and taking a look at the whole project. It's interesting, and slightly eerie. In fact, I was trying to go for a creepy undertone with this movie.

There is a constant debate on who is responsible for keeping mature content out of the hands of children. Parents blame the industries that provide the content, saying that they need to make it harder for youths to obtain it. The industries blame the parents, saying that they need to take the parenting into their own hands and do their job to watch their own kids. Technically, enforcing strict regulations on purchasing media is unconstitutional, and has been attempted many times by Congress, to no avail. That is why, as much as I feel that the industries need to do their own part to enforce age restrictions, parents need to have the final authority to keep unwanted content out of their homes and their children's hands.

A Web 2.0 Revolution? Maybe Not.

2009-04-21T14:23:00.006-05:00

At first glance, this seems to be a huge leap forward of the Web 2.0 generation using technology to make a huge impact on the world. In a protest against corrupt politics, about 10,000 young protestors made their way to the capital of Moldova, organized through Facebook, Twitter, and text messages, to speak out against Communist president Vladimir Voronin.

But, as Anne Applebaum explains, the "Twitter Revolution" may not be as impressive as it looks from a social networking aspect. Just how big of an impact did Twitter have in this protest?

First, and most striking, is the number of Moldovans who actually use Twitter. As of April 7, right after the event, there were only 71 Twitter users from the area. Secondly, with more than 10,000 protestors, the massive turnout seems far too large to be organized through social media alone. In fact, further research on the organization of it all has determined that many of the protestors, some themost active protestors in the crowd, were national security guards. The preparation involved would have been too difficult for ameteurs with no governmental connections to be able to pull off, such as climbing onto the parliament roof and raising a flag.

So, was this all a massive fraud? Well, no. Facebook and Odnoklassniki.ru, a Russian networking site, were major contributors to the turnout on April 7th (although, again, the networking done on those websites was probably only enough to bring in about 1000 protestors). Even if social media was not used at all, this is still newsworthy. Perhaps people should stop getting hung up on conspiracies and look at the larger picture of citizens coming together to fight for fair politics and uncorrupt elections.

On a final note, the next time you're on Twitter, do a search for #pman. The updates on this topic are quite interesting to go through.

Rebranding and Public Reaction

2009-04-19T14:26:00.001-05:00

In my opinion, a company is only as good as its packaging. It may be the best product in the world, but if it's branding sucks it's just not going to fly. Branding is a huge part of any product, and every now and then companies get the idea that they're just not hip, contemporary, or fun enough for the times and rebrand. Sometimes the rebranding is brilliant and works in the company's favor...and sometimes it doesn't.

Last month, the SciFi channel, after 16 years, decided to rebrand. Among other things, the network has changed the spelling of it's name, ever so slightly, to "SyFy". Granted, their decision was not solely for hip or trendy purposes. The word SyFy can actually be copyrighted, something that the channel could not previously do. As UnderConsideration's Brand New site appropriately explains, "by changing its name to something that is phonetically identical yet spelled like a 3-year-old text messaging, it can become wholly ownable and mutated (pun intended) across different ventures like Syfy Games, Syfy Films and Syfy Kids".

Despite the negative feedback on the logo design and the name change, it seems as though the network is not budging on its decision. Don't despair, people, we can make a difference if we really try. Just look at Tropicana's rebranding mishap.

So, what does this have to do with PR? In essence, it is the PR rep's job to manifest branding into something that the consumer can connect to. They complete the brand, glorify the brand, and help to insert the brand into consumer culture. The question is, can good PR and marketing make up for an otherwise disastrous branding attempt?

The Many Faces of Viral Video

2009-04-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

Viral videos are defined by the Free Dictionary as "a video that spreads quickly via the Internet. It is often a short clip on a video sharing site such as YouTube that people reference in blogs, e-mails and instant messages". Note the bold text in that statement. First, a viral video spreads quickly, hence the name "viral". Anything referred to as viral suggests that it is virus-like, spreading throughout its host, in this case the internet. Secondly, these videos tend to be short and sweet. Like an annoying jingle that gets stuck in your head, viral content is usually not too long and very memorable. This isn't always the case, but very rarely does long content catch on. Lastly, the content is referenced. It is common marketing knowledge that the best advertising is through word of mouth, and viral content is no different. The more blogs, websites, and e-mails content is found on, the better.

Viral marketing is a highly valuable tool of Web 2.0-saavy PR reps. However, not all viral marketing is done by professionals. Whenever a Youtube user makes a video with a company's label on it, they are participating in viral marketing. Whether the videos these average users post are positive or negative to the companny's image is a different story.

Viral content can also be used to give attention to important messages. PSAs, news, politics, and other issues can be posted online to make more people aware of things that may previously have been ignored or taken for granted. A recent example is the viral video of Taliban influence in Pakistan. The viral video is not advertising anything, but the information is important and is now more public than it may have been before.

Austin-based Hourville Looks Promising

2009-04-10T09:02:00.000-05:00

Move over Craigslist, Austin has a new website to give you a run for your money.

Hourville, a brand new website launched only late last year, appears to be much like any other business listing online. It takes business listings and categorizes them. However, unlike those other listing sites, this one takes connections between employers and applicants a step further.

According to Austin Business Journal (available RIGHT NOW on the first floor of Moody for you St. Ed's kids), "HourVille also includes a Web-based tool that enables users to schedule appointments without going to another Web site or engaging another contact".

To better understand how HourVille works, I visited the website, still in it's beta stage, and typed in "Austin, TX" to see what was available in my area. Visually, it's a lot more stimulating than Craigslist, giving users much more of a "Web 2.0" experience. The categories are separated in three distinct columns: selling, businesses, and advertisements. I'm also a fan of the "How It Works" page, which shows you how the website works, not in detailed paragraphs, but in movie form. Fun if you're at home, but inconvenient if you're at work, school, or the library.

The Rice Alliance I.T. and Web 2.0 Venture Forum voted HourVille one of the top 10 most promising Web 2.0 companies. The premise definitely looks promising, but we'll see how this site develops past its beta stage.

Is This the Life You Had in Mind?

2009-04-07T15:35:00.005-05:00

When someone tells you to "get a life", maybe they're not really being rude. Maybe they're just telling you that you need to try out Second Life, a social networking tool that allows people complete freedom in a world as mild or crazy as only your imagination will let it become.

Second life has it's share of pros. As a networking tool, it allows strangers, friends, and even companies to come together and chat in a virtual world that is visually stimulating to keep meetings lively and offers users a chance to show off a bit of creativity. Even if you're in your pajamas at home, you can still make a meeting with your avatar in your company's Second Life conference room. Your company may even have their own island that you can jet over to in virtually no time at all. (sorry! I had to.)

However, from my own experience, Second Life either needs a complete makeover, or it is doomed to fade away. In all honesty, Second Life is the same as any MMORPGs (Massively Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games for people who have never heard of FFXI, Ragnarok, Warcraft, or any of the like) online today. You log in, show off your character, show off your virtual possessions, and get bored over time. You will slowly, but surely, abandon your character, quit paying your monthly fees, and leave your hours and hours of time and energy (and button mashing) alone to rot.

The graphics are subpar to what technology can develop today. Unfortunately, if SL does decide to give its polygons a makeover, it will be at the expense of bandwidth that many casual internet-goers may no longer have. Plus, Second Life is, in many ways, trashy. Giving people the freedom to do and place what they like in a virtual world will ultimately lead to some not-so-pleasant excuses for architecture and decor. Also, as with every MMO, the people you interact with are complete strangers who may or may not have decent grammar and manners. The content does not stay fresh enough to keep people entertained for long.

As a PR or company tool, I can see the benefits of Second Life as a conference room or marketing base. However, what meeting can you accomplish in Second Life that you cannot accomplish via video telecommunication? Why design a pseudo headquarters in a virtual world when the numbers of regular occupants in said world is decreasing steadily? Companies such as Reuters are finally getting it and closing shop on their Second Life bases.

Second Life may be a great resource for some companies, but it seems an almost unnecessary tool in a technologically growing world that has many more interactive, mature, and accessible techniques to communicate with colleagues and coworkers alike. The style seems dated, users tend to get bored and move on over time, and the whole concept seems destined to disappear soon. Sure, there are still plenty of people on Second Life, and I've poked around there myself. I, personally, found nothing really noteworthy of the program, and not even that much merit from a PR standpoint, but maybe I'm just biased because my dad was a software engineer for video teleconfrencing programs?

New Layout

2009-04-01T13:50:00.000-05:00

Hey IE fools! I'm working on a new layout, since the old one received comments such as "hard to read" and "dark" (two things a good blog SHOULD NOT be). This new one works so far in Firefox and Safari, but Internet Explorer is having problems (since when is that a new thing?)

Don't mind the layout while I work out the kinks. It should still be legible, albeit misaligned.

Big Brother's Watching You (Update Your Status)

2009-04-01T10:21:00.004-05:00

Today an article came out on Brand Republic's site about the public's reaction to government monitored social-media sites.

Now, before anyone asks, this is not an American article. This is a part of Britain's Intercept Modernisation Programme, where social networking websites would be forced to keep and release information about users' web-browsing habits to the government.

The video in the article interviews a number of civilians, most of which disagree with the idea of the government monitoring their browsing habits. They say that it is an invasion of privacy. Others remained neutral on the subject, while still others believed it would be a GOOD idea, provided that the government was only using it to uphold public safety.

This actually isn't a very recent news story. In fact, the UK government made this announcement about a week ago, but it brings up a good question that is relevant to Americans as well. Is it really right for the government to tap into your Facebook or Myspace profile to see exactly who you look at and what you do? In my opinion, I think that this idea could be beneficial, if used properly, to find and keep tabs on stalkers, and potentially weed out online predators and aid in evidence to crimes. It'd be another way that the government could keep up the rapid growth of technology that has gnawed holes in the legal system.

On the other hand, any new power placed into the government's hands has the potential of being abused. No one really likes the idea of giving the government more power than they need. The question: is this new power absolutely necessary?

Podcast Interview with Lauren Perdue

2009-03-30T14:08:00.006-05:00

On this podcast, our group (Ashley, Alex, and I) interviewed Lauren Perdue, social media expert for PeerBuzz, an Austin-based media company.

(0:15) Introduction
(0:45) Lauren's introduction
(2:35) Social media as a valuable tool for companies and organizations
(4:00) Social media etiquette on a business and personal scale
(5:00) Social media and the economic status
(5:50) Businesses' social media goals and interests
(7:50) Closing

(Click here to listen to this podcast)

Twouble with Twitters

2009-03-24T15:48:00.000-05:00

This is a really funny movie about Twitter from a new show called SuperNews on Current TV. Current always has pretty funny content, and I think this movie is perfect for people who love to tweet or for people like me who don't really see what's so great about it just yet.

One commenter posed an interesting question on the YouTube page that maybe someone more in tune with the Tweet-scene can answer for me: what exactly is so appealing about Twitter? What about people who don't really think that what they do is anyone's business? What about people who have very few friends that they keep in touch with regularly anyway? I wonder what the stats are as far as demographics on Twitter. I'm sure if I look I'll find it...but I'm lazy.

Social Media-jects

2009-03-23T12:19:00.001-05:00

I was looking at the social media blog of Roo Reynolds, and discovered an interesting post (written about a year ago, but relevant nonetheless) of the types of Social Media-jects that have graced us with their presence online. Among them are Blogjects, which all familiar with Pigeonblog know very well.

In Roo's blogpost, he mentions Julian Bleecker’s "Manifesto for Networked Objects — Cohabiting with Pigeons, Arphids and Aibos in the Internet of Things". Here, Bleeker gives a set of criteria to classify blogjects:

* Blogjects track and trace where they are and where they’ve been

* Blogjects have self-contained (embedded) histories of their encounters and experiences

* Blogjects always have some form of agency — they can foment action and participate; they have an assertive voice within the social web.

Similarly, we have Tweetjects. Tweetjects would be, obviously, objects that tweet. Since I have less experience with Twitter, no tweetjects really come to mind. Does anyone know of any? The article mentions many British tweetjects, including the Tower Bridge, the London tube lines, and the BBC, but I'd like to know of any that hit a little closer to my home in the United States.

Podcast on Podcasting 2: Delaming Your Cast

2009-03-16T17:06:00.002-05:00

(Click the blog title or here to play podcast)

On this podcast, I'll be going over the 5 Tips Steve Mac and Jose Castillo gave to "make your lame podcast castable".

If you have a Mac, I suggest playing with Garageband. It's a great program to design podcasts or jingles for your podcasts. It pretty easy to use, even if you're music illiterate like me.

...And a Twitter bird in a pear tree

2009-03-12T11:11:00.005-05:00

Only I would notice this.

It's a partridge in a pear tree. The latest design from Natalie Martinez. It's very pretty, I'll admit, but doesn't the design look sort of, I don't know...familiar?

Now, I'm not accusing anyone of plagiarism. I'm just curious. What reference did these artists take their inspiration from? Did one take from the other? Did they both get the design from an outside original source?

Just to show HOW similar the images are, I've overlayed the two together:

It'd be different if the two had similar but varied tree designs, but the EXACT SAME (minus the added swirls on the pear tree)?

I'll admit, I came across the image because I was looking for inspiration for a new blog layout. I found this image and was like "Oh wow, this would be perfect! It looks so much like the--wait a minute!"

Just one more way social networking sites influence our world.

Netiquette 2.0

2009-03-06T19:48:00.000-06:00

In a recent post by B.L. Ochman of AdvertisingAge has come out with a small, but informative, list of etiquette on Web 2.0 tools that we have discuessed thus far, including Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace. One I found most notable touches on blogger relations, and it's one that I feel we can all agree on:

"If you're a sending a pitch, (business service, PR, report, etc.) don't address the e-mail "Hey," "Hey again," "Yo," "All," "Dear [ ]," "Dear Blogger," or "Dear First_Name." Don't say "Dear Mr Ochman." Say "Dear B.L." or "Hi B.L." if you don't know me, and are too lazy to look at my photo on my blog or website, and are not sure if I'm male or female. I think I speak for most people when I say that I prefer informality to a sex-change operation."

One that hit a little closer to my own web experience came a little later down the list:

"Check Snopes.com before you send an e-mail about the inventor of penicillin who gave an apple to someone's daughter, or whatever that stupid e-mail was about that went around recently."

I don't know if you guys have had that one friend (or mom) who passes on every stupid chain e-mail along because they're worried about you, but snopes is a great source to send right back at them.

If you guys want to check out the complete list, click the blog post's title. I highly recommend it.

Podcast on Podcasting!

2009-03-05T07:40:00.003-06:00

click this post's title or here to play podcast

Hey guys, this is Stephanie and I’m streaming my first ever podcast onto my blog here. I just wanted to test it out on my own time, and what better way to do that then to make a blog post with it, right? Kill two birds with one stone.
Anyway, if you look at Chapter 12 of our PR 2.0 books, they quote Steve Lubetkin, the co-manager of Lubitkin & Company, saying that podcasts are, in a way, more effective than regular blog posts. He says that “blogs suffer from writer fatique and often an inauthentic voice”. He recommends it to anyone who is trying to reach a more mobile audience.
Although I’m not really up to date on all the latest trends, I got a great deal on an iPod nano (1st generation, of course) and have been using that. It’s so much fun digging through the podcast library on iTunes, looking for topics that interest me. You can listen to news, reviews, and even learn a foreign language. In fact, I see tons of my favorite national TV programs posting supplement materials on podcasts to better connect with their viewers.
The nice thing about podcasts is that you don’t need an iPod to listen to them. If you ever have 5 free minutes, cause I know how busy you all are, you should go browse the podcast library for yourself. I guarantee you there will be something that interests you.

Twitter Lingo

2009-02-21T19:51:00.000-06:00

Talking about twitter terms in class made me curious, so I did a little bit of research.

And I found this (and by found, I mean typed in "twitter terminology" in Google and pressed the "I'm feeling lucky" button)

I'm not going to list them all. There's far too many, most of which start with the letter "T", but I will share some of my favorites:
- twouche - Someone acting like a big fat jerk via twitter (this one just made me laugh)
- twittsomnia - Twittering due to inability to sleep, thus compounding inability to sleep (is this...possible?!
- twitterati - The glamorous A-List twitterer's everyone wants to follow
- iltwitterate - not understanding Twitter

The concept of Twitter catching on so much fascinates me. I understand the reasoning behind it, and how people like to feel this sense of connection, but it's so odd that one can actually become obsessed with checking their friends' statuses.

"I have too much to do! But I'm on twitter anyway."
"I should really eat something"
"I'm supposed to be working"
"Nope, nothing to tweet about"

Yeah, those are actual tweets I found while looking around Twitter. I'll probably forever remain "iltwitterate", since the site doesn't appeal to me too much, but it's funny to look around to see what you'll find sometimes.

As far as how companies can use twitter to connect to their consumer base, I think it's brilliant. It costs nothing to set up and companies have instant access to a good chunk of their customers. Mind you, the effectiveness relies completely on how likely the consumer group in question would use twitter. I don't see the companies behind products like "Poise", but tech-savvy companies with young or hip consumer bases have a lot to gain from Twitter.

Not Quite Hitting the Target

2009-02-17T09:00:00.003-06:00

It's a shame, too, because I was a Go Daddy customer for several years (until I realized that there were DEFINITELY reasons why their pricing was so cheap).

Yeah, so I'm touching on Super Bowl ads again. This time, though, it's in response to this article about the disappointingly sexist ad that feminist across America are outraged about.

I feel like I post a video in every one of my posts, so I'm not going to do it this time. Again, go find it yourself. You'll know you've found it when you see the video of guys watching a naked chick in the shower. Actually, that may turn up more then just Super Bowl ads...

Regardless, once you've found it, you'll see how unrealistic (if idealistic) the ad becomes. Three college aged guys have just built a domain. And, just to make this even more magical, this domain allows them to do show whatever they want. What better then to get sexy race car driver Danica Patrick to take showers over and over? Ooh, wait! I have an even better idea. Let's add one of the female faculty members at our school in the shower with her! They'll be so confused and disoriented that time and space has warped around them, and it will be so hot.

The point I'm trying to make here is that Go Daddy missed the mark. By a long shot. Sure, catering to young college guys is a market, but it's not the extent of their market. What happened to the ad of the woman with the home-based pastry company? Am I the only person who remembers that ad?

The problem with their advertising is that more people are interested in buying domain names for cheap. I'm interested. Small business owners are interested. Even some blog writers may be interested to have their own "http://www.OMGMYNAMEISHERE.com" for an affordable (sometimes $20 a year) price. They don't even try to differentiate. It's been sexy girl after sexy girl in controversially sexist scenarios since 2005.

Personally, the ads don't offend me. I've become so desensitized to this kind of debauchery that it passes right through me. What offends me is that small-business pastry chef moms don't get the same time in the spotlight as supermodels on webcams. Yeah, they tried to fix this by releasing another ad where Danica and "Ms. Schmidt" get their revenge on the college guys, but it just failed. Go Daddy, you fail.

Why Stop Because You're President?

2009-02-12T12:57:00.000-06:00

Dear President Obama,

When you were running for president, the public listened. As you shelled out upwards from $10 million a week to convince America that you were the candidate for them, they heard you. You were on every major television network in the country, spreading your dreams of hope and change and love.

Where are those commercials now?

I know you're not running for president anymore. You ARE president! Look how effective your advertising was. And now that you are trying to convince the public that this stimulus package is what is best for America, you are holding conferences left and right. But seriously, a lot of people my age don't want to sit down and watch a conference that feels set up and scripted and long and draggggggiiiinnnnggggg. You put your conferences on during prime time, when many Americans, no offense, would rather be watching Medium, Lost, Heroes, American Idol, etc.

Can you please bring back the short and sweet ads that got your point across in about 60 seconds? Honestly, Americans don't need to hear all the glitter and glam of what your saying. Get to the facts. Tell us what we NEED to know. I'm only saying this because I voted for you, and I want to see you succeed.

I know commercials aren't in the stimulus budget (don't get me wrong, I don't want them in there), but I'm sure that you have the means to get your announcements televised in short, but convincing, segments. Yes, YouTube is popular, but not everyone logs on.

The Power of the Folks

2009-02-08T19:23:00.004-06:00

According to this article on social bookmarking, folksonomy is "user-generated, social, subjective and powered by the very people involved in the act of tagging". It is the very core of information sharing online. Who knew del.icio.us, a site that sounds like it'd be a food addict's blog, would hold such power?

I recently set up a del.icio.us account for myself, and yes, it is awesome. From the small amount of exploration I found more on "HTML tutorials" than I knew what to do with. Some websites were ones I found on any major search engine, while others I had never heard of before. This coincides with another excellent point that the article points out about the efficiency of search engines:

"When you start to look for information online, very often the first place you turn to are the search engines to bring home web pages that will fit what you're looking for.

Search engines, however, are not always the best of even the most efficient way of finding great online content. Anyone that has ever waded through page after page of Google results hoping that they have hit on that elusive keyword can vouch for that.

Social bookmarking brings to the equation something that search engines can't compete with - the human touch. "

If you haven't given del.icio.us a chance yet, try it out. Type in anything, anything, and it will find something. Except something like sdicnfulmicud..don't type that.

Do you cry while punching talking koalas? Wait--what?

2009-02-03T09:21:00.003-06:00

I'm kind of going off the course topic on this one, but I don't care. I don't know how many of you guys watched the Super Bowl, how many watched it just for the commercials, or (like me) skipped the Super Bowl altogether and watched commercials online the next day. I just had to share this one.

It's gold

It's a shame that this ad didn't come out during a more economically stable time, as it probably generated tons of interest by the audience. I don't know how many people will trade jobs right now, with the economy as it is. Job security may be just a tad more important to most people than finding the job of their dreams at the moment.

Too sexy for TV? Just Put it on YouTube

2009-02-02T04:55:00.003-06:00

Last week, Slate Magazine's 'The Big Money' posted an article on the increasingly popular Durex ad that has found a comfortable home on YouTube. You can catch the full article here.

Warner and Yeomans make a great point when they say:

"There's no way the censors—be they the advertising-standards authorities in most countries or network broadcasters—would allow Durex to air any of the bawdy ads that it continues to leak to YouTube. Does it really matter?"

That's right, ads, including (but not limited to) such favorites as 'Sandwich', 'Chocolate Flavored Condoms', and 'Play O Opera'. Now, it's condom balloon animals.

Nothing sells faster and easier to Durex's young target audience than comedy and sex. Just look at the crap coming out of Hollywood if you don't believe me. Of course this ad was only promoted as "banned". More than likely, Durex knew what it was doing when it made a squeaky commercial with blown up dog-shaped condoms.

Compare that with the recent PETA reject, cleverly titled "Veggie Love", being advertised across the web recently, a (less successful?) spin on the advertiser's "sex sells" mantra. Even if it was truly banned from the Super Bowl, it got exactly what it wanted without the million+ dollar price tag. Now it's all over the internet: blogs, Youtube, news sites. They may be poking fun at it, but they're still getting it out there.

I'm not going to post THIS ad, though. It's definitely gotten more publicity than it deserves. If you want to see it, it'll probably be the first thing to pop up in YouTube with the keywords "vegetable, underwear, PETA". Go for it.

UPDATE: Yes, it is the first thing to pop up on YouTube with those keywords, followed by an 8-minute reinactment of Oedipus using only vegetables. Intriguing.