A world of disappointment.
I don't understand why the world continues to ignore making any real changes in going green. I've been totally disappointed in the fact that both Vanity Fair and New York Times have green issues that were released and neither of them were printed on recycled paper.
I've been totally disgusted in everything that I have learned earlier in this year about non-profit organizations not actually helping their cause. This just furthers my disgust for organizations in the world and the people that run them.
More on this to come.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Eco-Friendly
I just found a list of the Top 21 television characters that are environmentally friendly:
Check it out!
It is sort of pathetic that all you have to do to be considered one of the MOST "green" characters on television is be a vegetarian. However some of them rock-- like Pheobe from Friends. LOVE her!
Check it out!
It is sort of pathetic that all you have to do to be considered one of the MOST "green" characters on television is be a vegetarian. However some of them rock-- like Pheobe from Friends. LOVE her!
Something to think about
In recent years, foreign aid to the continent of Africa by the United States and other Western countries has risen dramatically. I personally support an organization that provides HIV/AIDS relief to a range of countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc. It is a cause that I have put a lot of time, money, and energy into and have brought the issue and the organization to the attention of many people in my life. Recently, in my “AAS 341: Politics of Africa” course at Syracuse University taught by Professor Horace Campbell, my conception of aid in Africa has been shaken by our discussions and the book “The Road to Hell” by Michael Maren. After a lot of long discussions, Professor Campbell proposed that the following questions should be inquired of any organization claiming to provide aid to Africa:- Are you opposed to racism in the U.S.? Does your organization
- Are you involved with child prostitution?
- Do you operate on a parallel market (feed the black market)?
- Do you pay African workers minimum wage?
- Do you allow trade unions?
- Are you building up local capacity and planning for your organizations obsolescence?
- Do you act as any intelligence agency or informant for the government?
Interesting? I’m still learning in this department, so feel free to comment if you have a say.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Story Hour
Anybody that knows me knows that I am big into story-telling. Anybody that knows my grandfather, knows that I get it from him. Some love and some hate my ridiculous need to share long drawn out experiences of mine with everyone in the room. I’ve got some classics that I’ve told over and over to the point that I have the punch-line down pat in order to get the most laughs out of the group.
Now the thing is, when I tell stories, I like to include every single detail. I like to explain the background of the situation and personal anecdotes about the characters involved. This tendency in my story-telling appears in my writing in the form of run on sentences, rambling, and an unclear message. It is my challenge to keep the message short, direct, and to the point.
This has always been a problem for me. I remember being a little kid and laying on my mom’s bed as she got dressed and ready for her day and attempting to re-cap the previous night’s episode of “Full House” for her. She joked that it would take me longer to re-explain a program than the ½ hour to actually watch it.
I do admit some of my stories are better than others and sometimes I get ½ way through a story and realize its irrelevant, not as funny as I thought, or that I can’t remember exactly how things ended (this is rare though!). My story telling is one reason that I started a blog. Apparently I have a ridiculous need to share long drawn out experiences of mine with everyone with an internet connection.
To be a better writer and a better communicator, one must be concise. Recently during a brainstorming session at my internship my input was relied on heavily. We were discussing ideas for a product launch campaign whose key publics are college students, specifically Greek life and philanthropy groups (aka their key public is me). We also wanted to incorporate an online campaign that would hopefully turn viral like FreeRice or ElfYourself. I worked to watch my language and keep my message short without attaching a story to every suggestion that I made.
I’m actually really proud of how well I can consolidate all of the thoughts in my head to make a point simply and directly. I’m loving this blog because I am improving my writing every day in a fun way.
Now the thing is, when I tell stories, I like to include every single detail. I like to explain the background of the situation and personal anecdotes about the characters involved. This tendency in my story-telling appears in my writing in the form of run on sentences, rambling, and an unclear message. It is my challenge to keep the message short, direct, and to the point.
This has always been a problem for me. I remember being a little kid and laying on my mom’s bed as she got dressed and ready for her day and attempting to re-cap the previous night’s episode of “Full House” for her. She joked that it would take me longer to re-explain a program than the ½ hour to actually watch it.
I do admit some of my stories are better than others and sometimes I get ½ way through a story and realize its irrelevant, not as funny as I thought, or that I can’t remember exactly how things ended (this is rare though!). My story telling is one reason that I started a blog. Apparently I have a ridiculous need to share long drawn out experiences of mine with everyone with an internet connection.
To be a better writer and a better communicator, one must be concise. Recently during a brainstorming session at my internship my input was relied on heavily. We were discussing ideas for a product launch campaign whose key publics are college students, specifically Greek life and philanthropy groups (aka their key public is me). We also wanted to incorporate an online campaign that would hopefully turn viral like FreeRice or ElfYourself. I worked to watch my language and keep my message short without attaching a story to every suggestion that I made.
I’m actually really proud of how well I can consolidate all of the thoughts in my head to make a point simply and directly. I’m loving this blog because I am improving my writing every day in a fun way.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
I love his words.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I'm pretty positive that John Mayer has a way with words unlike anybody else in the world. No matter what type of mood I am in or what I am experiencing at a certain time, one of his songs or one of his lyrics can reach out to me and make me feel better, comfort me, or at least let me know that I'm not alone.
So I've been getting more and more into this new media trend and yes, it is transforming the way that news is spread, how individuals interact with each other, and having affects on almost every industry. However, it has also allowed me to deepen my obsession with John Mayer by reading his blog. I loved his latest entry and think that everyone should check it out.
"For as badass and unaffected as we try to come off, we're all just one sentence away from being brought to the edge of tears, if only it was worded right." - JM
Being grown up isn't half as fun as growing up
It’s funny when you can feel yourself grow up. When all of a sudden your actions and the way you feel remind you of someone you want to be and not the person you are… and then maybe you realize that you are a little closer to becoming that person than you realized.
What does it mean to be “grown up”? Is it something identifiable? Is it something that others can notice or is it something that only YOU can define?
I believe that it is something that you define personally. Everybody has their own definition and it could be based on actions. Actions that signify being a grown up could mean being able to pay your own rent, wake up early on the weekends, and being productive with your time instead of getting drunk or watching TV. It could also be based on milestones such as graduating from college, getting your first job, or having your first serious, committed relationship.
I’m not sure how I feel about being “grown up” or whether or not I’m there yet. I’d say it has to do with neither actions nor milestones, instead I think it has to do with emotional maturity. I don’t think I can consider myself grown up until I can deal with issues such as mistakes on my debit card, my car not starting, or being rejected by a guy without the support of my parents or a group of friends.
Yes, I’ve traveled across the world without really knowing anybody. Yes, I’m about to graduate from college and have a job lined up. Yes, I do my best to care about and think of others and their well-being in my day to day life. Yes, I bought my own car years ago, use my own money for school books, clothing, food, and any personal expenses. However, can I really be grown up if I still start crying when my flight gets delayed or I lose a favorite necklace?
What does it mean to be “grown up”? Is it something identifiable? Is it something that others can notice or is it something that only YOU can define?
I believe that it is something that you define personally. Everybody has their own definition and it could be based on actions. Actions that signify being a grown up could mean being able to pay your own rent, wake up early on the weekends, and being productive with your time instead of getting drunk or watching TV. It could also be based on milestones such as graduating from college, getting your first job, or having your first serious, committed relationship.
I’m not sure how I feel about being “grown up” or whether or not I’m there yet. I’d say it has to do with neither actions nor milestones, instead I think it has to do with emotional maturity. I don’t think I can consider myself grown up until I can deal with issues such as mistakes on my debit card, my car not starting, or being rejected by a guy without the support of my parents or a group of friends.
Yes, I’ve traveled across the world without really knowing anybody. Yes, I’m about to graduate from college and have a job lined up. Yes, I do my best to care about and think of others and their well-being in my day to day life. Yes, I bought my own car years ago, use my own money for school books, clothing, food, and any personal expenses. However, can I really be grown up if I still start crying when my flight gets delayed or I lose a favorite necklace?
Friday, April 11, 2008
Time to Learn
On Tuesday in my Public Relations Management class we had a Media Studies Master’s student come and speak to the class on “new media”. I was thrilled with the lecture, as I’d requested to our teacher that we have some sort of in depth discussion on new media. Philip Ryan Johnson came in and spoke to us and he did a really great job. He provided us with a lot of great materials and resources to help introduce ourselves more to what is available online and how we can incorporate that into what we do as public relations professionals.
Philip went over internet resources such as blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, social news, Wikipedia, and e-Books. As a young person in the PR world, older generations expect us to be well versed in all of these resources. We are the “internet generation” and although people my age may be experts in how to stalk on Facebook and find funny videos on YouTube, I feel that we aren’t as knowledgeable in how to use these things in the PR world. I think that Philip helped us to begin to look at things differently and tune us into realizing how Facebook can be more than just a place to post pictures, send bumper stickers, and stalk people we went to high school with or sit next to in class.
One cool thing: Philip said that all PR students should be blogging. On his own site, he even BLOGGED about how PR students should be blogging. I only started this a week ago, but it is comforting to know I’m thinking the right way.
Philip went over internet resources such as blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, social news, Wikipedia, and e-Books. As a young person in the PR world, older generations expect us to be well versed in all of these resources. We are the “internet generation” and although people my age may be experts in how to stalk on Facebook and find funny videos on YouTube, I feel that we aren’t as knowledgeable in how to use these things in the PR world. I think that Philip helped us to begin to look at things differently and tune us into realizing how Facebook can be more than just a place to post pictures, send bumper stickers, and stalk people we went to high school with or sit next to in class.
One cool thing: Philip said that all PR students should be blogging. On his own site, he even BLOGGED about how PR students should be blogging. I only started this a week ago, but it is comforting to know I’m thinking the right way.
Monday, April 7, 2008
A year ago this day...
With the recent breakthrough in my life of receiving a job offer (which I am still giddy about), I have decided to use this as a starting point to break some of the bad habits in my life. Today’s contribution to that was to be more active, so I enjoyed the sunny weather and went for a jog. As I’ve written earlier, another bad habit is my tendency to skip the step of proofreading in my own writing; I think this inclination stemmed from the little rule I have with my journals that I call my “no reading after the words are written” policy (which is rather self explanatory).
While my friends from abroad were here, we spent a lot of time recalling old stories from our travels to Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands, and throughout Italy. Remembering that I was an avid journal-keeper throughout the months we lived in Europe, I was asked to look through my beautiful, leather-bound notebooks to find some forgotten memories.
At first, I was unsure, but then realized that this was the perfect opportunity to start to break apart my proofreading flaws by attacking its root. It was this ritual that I was scared to break, reading aloud to my friends wasn't an issue. There is just something about the fact I got to know these girls while taking the biggest risk in my life and moving across the world alone, that allows me to show them and share with them every aspect of myself. Plus, part of the reason that I don’t go back to read my Europe journals specifically is because I get scared that I will be heartbroken at the fact that I am not there and having those experiences right now. However, this past Sunday morning with the sun streaming through my windows, my best friends that I hadn’t seen in months all cuddled up with me on my bed, and my high of getting a job offer still sky high- I knew it was safe.
April 7, 2007, 9:52 a.m.
I have lived an amazing life. The past few days have been a dream where I am still in awe of what my life has turned into. I am JUST beginning to come to terms with the fact that I live in Florence, ITALY and am just beginning to take advantage of what that really means.
While my friends from abroad were here, we spent a lot of time recalling old stories from our travels to Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands, and throughout Italy. Remembering that I was an avid journal-keeper throughout the months we lived in Europe, I was asked to look through my beautiful, leather-bound notebooks to find some forgotten memories.
At first, I was unsure, but then realized that this was the perfect opportunity to start to break apart my proofreading flaws by attacking its root. It was this ritual that I was scared to break, reading aloud to my friends wasn't an issue. There is just something about the fact I got to know these girls while taking the biggest risk in my life and moving across the world alone, that allows me to show them and share with them every aspect of myself. Plus, part of the reason that I don’t go back to read my Europe journals specifically is because I get scared that I will be heartbroken at the fact that I am not there and having those experiences right now. However, this past Sunday morning with the sun streaming through my windows, my best friends that I hadn’t seen in months all cuddled up with me on my bed, and my high of getting a job offer still sky high- I knew it was safe.
April 7, 2007, 9:52 a.m.
I have lived an amazing life. The past few days have been a dream where I am still in awe of what my life has turned into. I am JUST beginning to come to terms with the fact that I live in Florence, ITALY and am just beginning to take advantage of what that really means.
I am currently on a train speeding through the Italian countryside to a place called Gragnola to meet people I’ve never really heard of, nonetheless know. Grampy’s cousins and their children live here and I am going to meet them—yet I have no idea what to expect.
No idea.
"IDK, my BFF _____?"
On April 3rd, the Wall Street Journal ran an article by Suzanne Vranica on the new trend in advertising and marketing of featuring “text message lingo” to appeal to young customers in a language that they use. I find this really interesting because “text message lingo” is something that I find ridiculously annoying when my friends use it and if I am going to have to see it all over advertisements and commercials, I might rip my hair out.
The first time that I saw this trend was in a Cingular commercial featuring the little girl saying that she has been texting her “BFF Jill” and then their follow-up with the old lady saying SHE has been texting her “BFF Rose”. I find them rather annoying, but unfortunately I also think they are successful commercials.
The WSJ article quotes Bill Rosen, the CCO of Arc (a marketing agency) as saying, “You never want to come off as the Dad that is making Nelly references to his 12-year-old as a way to look cool.” True statement.
I think the Cingular commercials work because I think they are appealing to the older crowd by showing how absurd the use of “text message lingo” is and overly abbreviating everything. Opinions anyone?
The first time that I saw this trend was in a Cingular commercial featuring the little girl saying that she has been texting her “BFF Jill” and then their follow-up with the old lady saying SHE has been texting her “BFF Rose”. I find them rather annoying, but unfortunately I also think they are successful commercials.
The WSJ article quotes Bill Rosen, the CCO of Arc (a marketing agency) as saying, “You never want to come off as the Dad that is making Nelly references to his 12-year-old as a way to look cool.” True statement.
I think the Cingular commercials work because I think they are appealing to the older crowd by showing how absurd the use of “text message lingo” is and overly abbreviating everything. Opinions anyone?
Sunday, April 6, 2008
The grass is greener...
I love this feature on my camera that highlights one selected color. I love my Canon PowerShot S1000 camera. I love laying out in the sun. I love my roommates. I love aviators. I love this weekend.
Happiness
There were three seperate things that contributed together and made this weekend absolutely amazing. For the majority of the time I was so blissfully happy it almost hurt. A few days ago I wrote about how I was having difficulty allowing myself to get excited for things because I couldn't shake the fear that they would fall through. Well, it turns out I didn't have a reason to worry because on Friday, everything fell into a place when I was offered a job AND my friends arrived from out of town!
- I haven't received the official offer package yet, but I received a phone call around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, April 3rd letting me know that I was being offered a position in a two-year program for communications at a global corporation. I thought that I was going to cry/scream I was so excited. I have a job! I feel like I should look different... :)
- Three of my best friends from studying abroad in Florence drove up from Loyola College in Baltimore to visit for the weekend. Although I wished that a few other individuals could have made the trip and made the reunion perfecto... it really was an amazing time. Seeing them reminds me of what an incredible life I have and how lucky I am. I'm lucky to have such amazing, loving, accepting, and ridiculously fun and hysterical people in my life, and also lucky because I am able to have conversations that start with, "This reminds me of that time that we were in Greece and...." or "Remember the restaurant we went to in Switzerland..."
These two things combined together, PLUS, the sunshine that finally broke into Syracuse this weekend and made it enjoyable to be outdoors once again made me happy in every cell of my body.
- I haven't received the official offer package yet, but I received a phone call around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, April 3rd letting me know that I was being offered a position in a two-year program for communications at a global corporation. I thought that I was going to cry/scream I was so excited. I have a job! I feel like I should look different... :)
- Three of my best friends from studying abroad in Florence drove up from Loyola College in Baltimore to visit for the weekend. Although I wished that a few other individuals could have made the trip and made the reunion perfecto... it really was an amazing time. Seeing them reminds me of what an incredible life I have and how lucky I am. I'm lucky to have such amazing, loving, accepting, and ridiculously fun and hysterical people in my life, and also lucky because I am able to have conversations that start with, "This reminds me of that time that we were in Greece and...." or "Remember the restaurant we went to in Switzerland..."
These two things combined together, PLUS, the sunshine that finally broke into Syracuse this weekend and made it enjoyable to be outdoors once again made me happy in every cell of my body.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
"Life is not a race, it's a journey"
Lately I've been noticing that whenever something exciting is coming up in my life, I am AFRAID to allow myself to get excited for it because I am scared it might not actually happen. On Monday, I had a job interview that ended very promising. When I told my Dad on the phone, he told me I should be excited and to go have a beer (ha... if only I got afford some good beer to keep in my fridge). However, it wasn't my lack of good beer that kept me from celebrating. I explained that I was nervous to allow myself to be excited because it wasn't definite and then what would happen if it didn't work out?
What he responded was, "Kate, don't do that. You've got to just let yourself enjoy things while you can. When something good happens, be happy. Be happy while you can."
As it is with all fathers, my Dad is apt to having words come out of his mouth that can range everywhere from brilliant to caring to weird to complete nonsense. While I was just home for Easter, after a few drinks, my dad was discussing how he feels about rushing things when you get out of college and trying to find the best job, apartment, relationship, etc. really fast. He silenced the room and very dramatically he announced, "All I have to say about this is that.... life... is not a race... it's a... its a journey." I didn't know whether to laugh or cringe.
What he responded was, "Kate, don't do that. You've got to just let yourself enjoy things while you can. When something good happens, be happy. Be happy while you can."
As it is with all fathers, my Dad is apt to having words come out of his mouth that can range everywhere from brilliant to caring to weird to complete nonsense. While I was just home for Easter, after a few drinks, my dad was discussing how he feels about rushing things when you get out of college and trying to find the best job, apartment, relationship, etc. really fast. He silenced the room and very dramatically he announced, "All I have to say about this is that.... life... is not a race... it's a... its a journey." I didn't know whether to laugh or cringe.
However, every once in a while he says something that I think I really should take to heart. This is how I felt about his latest advice about being happy while I can.
I guess I have been disappointed so many times in the past that with everything that happens I prepare myself for the worst and don't build anything up too much. But, it isn't always easy and all week this has been sitting in my stomach as such an internal conflict. I want to be happy but I'm scared and trying to prepare myself for the disappointment. Yuck, lets just hope that they get back to me soon, and in the meantime I'll try just swallow my stomach.
I guess I have been disappointed so many times in the past that with everything that happens I prepare myself for the worst and don't build anything up too much. But, it isn't always easy and all week this has been sitting in my stomach as such an internal conflict. I want to be happy but I'm scared and trying to prepare myself for the disappointment. Yuck, lets just hope that they get back to me soon, and in the meantime I'll try just swallow my stomach.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Internet TV
One of the cries of “new media” is that the internet will become the place that Americans turn to for entertainment. “The internet is the new television” so to say. One of the things that spark this belief is the rise of the latest online series of "television" shows. Recently, I was introduced to a show called “Quarterlife” that produces installments that are usually about 7 minutes long and come out twice a week.
The show is AWESOME. My roommate and I became addicted to it and I watched about 30 of the installments in only a few sittings. It is about a group of friends around our age who are trying to find their way in the world and dealing with relationship issues, beginning careers, breaking away from their parents, etc. As college seniors, the show appeals to us. The characters are endearing and the chemistry between the cast is incredible. It is sexy, it is funny, and it is addicting. The show was picked up by NBC this year, and the installments were put together into full length episodes, however it was canceled after one episode aired (rumors are that it is moving to Bravo…?).
Although this is just one scenario, it makes me wonder what the future of internet television is. Is it really “the next TV” or will internet series continue to go through this cycle of gaining popularity and then getting PICKED UP by a television station and either flopping or succeeding in that medium.
Gawker.com had an article today about the internet television program “Break A Leg”. This independent program was offered a deal from YouTube that gave the site exclusive rights and offered to pay the makers of “Break A Leg” for their work. Gawker posted a letter from one of the producers of the show stating how they have barely received any money from YouTube, which is harming their ability to produce the show. “Break A Leg” films with a full cast, crew, script, locations, etc. Although I don’t have the details on “Quarterlife”, I am sure it is similar. So, the question is proposed that if the internet is going to be the home to the latest in entertainment programs… where will the money come from to fund their production?
A recent study by APCO on “The State of Blog Relations”, that I also found on Gawker, showed that over ½ the bloggers surveyed are ready to get paid by PR firms to write about products and services (and not necessarily reveal that they are being compensated). Since bloggers are ready to cash in on what they’ve been doing for free, it only makes sense that the makers of online series are going to want in as well... especially since the series have a cost to be produced.
So who is going to fund it?
(Dylan from Quarterlife)
The show is AWESOME. My roommate and I became addicted to it and I watched about 30 of the installments in only a few sittings. It is about a group of friends around our age who are trying to find their way in the world and dealing with relationship issues, beginning careers, breaking away from their parents, etc. As college seniors, the show appeals to us. The characters are endearing and the chemistry between the cast is incredible. It is sexy, it is funny, and it is addicting. The show was picked up by NBC this year, and the installments were put together into full length episodes, however it was canceled after one episode aired (rumors are that it is moving to Bravo…?).
Although this is just one scenario, it makes me wonder what the future of internet television is. Is it really “the next TV” or will internet series continue to go through this cycle of gaining popularity and then getting PICKED UP by a television station and either flopping or succeeding in that medium.
Gawker.com had an article today about the internet television program “Break A Leg”. This independent program was offered a deal from YouTube that gave the site exclusive rights and offered to pay the makers of “Break A Leg” for their work. Gawker posted a letter from one of the producers of the show stating how they have barely received any money from YouTube, which is harming their ability to produce the show. “Break A Leg” films with a full cast, crew, script, locations, etc. Although I don’t have the details on “Quarterlife”, I am sure it is similar. So, the question is proposed that if the internet is going to be the home to the latest in entertainment programs… where will the money come from to fund their production?
A recent study by APCO on “The State of Blog Relations”, that I also found on Gawker, showed that over ½ the bloggers surveyed are ready to get paid by PR firms to write about products and services (and not necessarily reveal that they are being compensated). Since bloggers are ready to cash in on what they’ve been doing for free, it only makes sense that the makers of online series are going to want in as well... especially since the series have a cost to be produced.
So who is going to fund it?
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