Goodkind of a blog

Just a little update about me. I know I haven’t posted since the summer, but things have really picked up for me. I have an internship with the City of Auburn Parks and Recreation Department planning Auburn CityFest. It is Lee County’s largest FREE outdoor festival. I have been busy planning! I have had the opportunity to put my PR writing skills to the test this semester with various news releases, spots, contracts, etc.

With the event approaching in 12 weeks, let’s just say work is a little crazy! I am also taking my final PR class at Auburn University. We are planning a campaign for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County. Busy, busy, busy!

 If that isn’t enough, I picked up another job to help offset the costs of my new puppy, Jack. I am working for a general contractor as an administrative assistant. It has been a great way to brush up on my Excel and website skills.I am loving having a puppy around. He is a Lhasa Apso. He just turned 3 months! Potty training has been a trip I must say, but we have gotten better! He can successfully sit and shake. I will post puppy updates soon!

  But for now, I am counting down the days until graduation. May 10th 2008! I can’t believe I will be a graduate. Look out world, here I come!! Until next time…

I think that one of the smartest decisions that the March of Dimes, or the charity whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing premature birth and infant deaths, has made is to start this contest through YouTube.

YouTube has become such a staple in society. It is such a wonderful outlet for companies and individuals to use. I saw this article in a PR Week article ran this week. I am impressed how big of a role social media is beginning to play.

I am always checking YouTube for the latest video posts. It is such a great way to get any message out there. I think that this will help promote this wonderful cause especially to the younger generations who rely on this website often.

When I think of freshness, I do not think of Red Lobster. I have always looked at Red Lobster to be a chain, mid-grade restaurant for seafood lovers who do not want to spend the money to eat at a nice establishment.

Now, Red Lobster is wanting to change its image. They are emphasizing the freshness of products and the chef’s culinary expertise. Now I don’t have a problem with them trying to change their image, if they are going to uphold their freshness promise. They have begun featuring fresh fish of the day. Sounds like a good idea to me!

I must hand it to Red Lobster because their cheese biscuits are amazing, but I hope that they can take this “everyday seafood” idea and transform it into something that will entice consumers to want to eat their food.  After 40 years of business, they have to change something to stay in the game. I could sure go for some crab legs, so I think I might go check it out. I’ll report back.

As the end of the semester is winding down and the stress of Robert’s final project sinks in, I decided it was only appropriate to reflect on what I have learned. I can’t emphasize how beneficial this class has been. Not only have I learned various computer programs, but I have also had the opportunity to jump into social media.

I applied for an internship this past Friday planning Auburn’s City Fest, which is the largest event Auburn holds. Keep your fingers crossed! I have my interview next week. As I was working on my cover letter and resume, I was impressed by how much this class has enhanced both.

I have also become more aware of the effect of social media. I notice things I would have merely looked over before. I also have really enjoyed reading PR Week and Odwyer.com. Both resources have kept me in tune to what is happening in the PR world which I hope to bring my new knowledge to after graduating in May.

Although it has been a tough five weeks, I am ready to push to the finish line. The knowledge I have gained will help me in the future to obtain the career of my dreams. It will not be completely finish until Monday afternoon, but I am extremely proud of the things I have done.

To check out my page: visit www.saragoodkind.com  — Any feedback and comments are ALWAYS appreciated.

For this posting, I just want to vent about something. Being from Atlanta, I am always proud of our sports teams and players. I think that for the most part we have been well-represented — until now. I am appalled by the actions of Michael Vick.

I can’t believe how heartless he is treating those dogs like that. I come from a family who has more than taken care of our animals. We have had two pit bulls. They are wonderful, loyal dogs. Sure if you train them to fight they will. I mean can’t you train a dog to do tricks?

I am proud to be from Atlanta by the decision of the Falcons to possibly make Vick sit out for the remainder of the season. Thank goodness. I’m glad that they are using some common sense. This reflects well on the Falcons, NFL and the city of Atlanta.

I am anxious to see how this all turns out. I mean it just seems like one thing after another that is coming Vick’s way. I hope that this doesn’t turn out like most athletes who aren’t penalized for their wrong doings.

I was searching through the PR Week website trying to find something inspiring to write about for today. I came across a short synopsis of Conrad Black facing up to 30 years in prison for obstruction of justice and mail fraud.

A blurb in this article caught my eye. It said that the LA Times is planning on putting ads on the front page of the newspaper. I was stunned by this statement. Although the LA Times experienced a rough financial quarter, does this mean other newspapers could start to do this?

I think that this would be a shot in the foot for the LA Times. Although they would make money from selling the advertisement section for the front page, wouldn’t it detract readers from this news source? The newspaper has become known for its ads and such on Sundays, but could this become a daily thing?

I think this wouldn’t be a smart move on the part of the LA Times. I believe this would cause a problem in the readership of newspapers which have already taken a hit since the domination of the Web. I know as an avid newspaper reader myself that this would be enough to turn me off from reading.

I decided to write this post after reading an article in PR Week about the new TV series Hot Ghetto Mess, or HGM, which has become controversial despite the fact it hasn’t even aired. I agree Gina McCauley, author of the What About Our Daughters Blog, on her idea that the show is furthering “all the stereotypes you’re now suddenly trying to combat, you helped create.”

I agree with the idea that this show and shows like it are only enforcing the racial stereotypes and slurs in and outside of the target population for the show. I think that shows like this expose people to new ways to poke fun at other races, genders, or classes.

I think as a country we have worked so hard to bridge the gap and create an “all men are equal” mentality. Our country was founded on this principle, and I think it is difficult to uphold these standards if we are cutting other groups down in the entertainment world. Let’s face it…the entertainment industry has taken over so we must work to be politically correct in all areas. This was recently evident with Don Imus. I think that we need to better sensor ourselves.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am the first to laugh at a good joke, but when it is at the expense of someone else or offends another group that’s where I draw the line. Hopefully this show will not cause too much controversy. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

According to a column in PR Week written by Keith O’Brien, Apple and JJ Abrams (the creator of TV hit Lost) took the road less traveled in regards to marketing and product releases. As reiterated by the title of the article, in most cases, the key to a product launch is no secrets. Not in the case of Apple’s new iPhone or Abrams’ new movie due to launch in January 2008. Instead, these high profile companies chose to keep it on the hush.

Although this works for trusted names such as Apple and Abrams, I don’t think other companies should not follow these guidelines. Most of the time for companies, keeping a secret is not the proper way to launch a product efficiently. Instead, I think that these “secrets” should be shared if you aren’t a company whose name is parallel with the product’s quality.

It is always a risk to launch a product blindly without revealing anything to keep the consumer’s interest. Smaller companies who do not have the pristine reputation have to give a sneak peak in order to not lose the public’s eye. I think that the competitiveness of the market for a certain product is also a factor in the amount of secretiveness. I believe that the more competitive the market for an item then more should be revealed about the product and vice versa.

For example, Nintendo Wii gave consumers the opportunity to test the system. Nintendo is also a large, respected company, but I think this really helped jump start this innovative gaming system. Since it was a new technology, it was smart to give a sneak peak. Wii’s became extremely hard to find and still are sold out at most electronic stores. Way to go Nintendo! I absolutely have a blast whenever I play Wii sports – I suggest tennis or bowling.

I think in order to yield the greatest results companies should stick to the traditional approach of marketing unless you are daring and extremely popular like Apple or Abrams’.

Being an Atlanta girl, I am always interested in what is going on in the bustling city I call home. Georgia is definitely on my mind as I grow more excited to go home this weekend. I thought it was only appropriate to tie this blog into my upcoming weekend plans.

 In an article in PR Week, I was impressed by the technological advances that the Crowne Plaza in Atlanta has made. IHG, or InterContinental Hotels Group, has joined Second Life. I was unsure of what Second Life was all about. I decided to do some research and found out about this virtual world. You can check it out by clicking here.

Crowne Plaza opened virtual conference rooms, called ”The Place to Meet Island”, for rent. These are targeted for the smaller business who don’t have their own virtual meeting space. This virtual meeting room is modeled to look like and have all the normal amenities of real world meeting rooms.

I think this is a smart business move for IHG. The virtual world is quickly developing and will continuously to do so. This idea of a 3D web will eventually emerge into a necessity for companies. The usage of social media has skyrocketed, but will this catch on the way it is intended?  I guess we will have to sit back and watch.

I spent much of my Saturday and Sunday watching Wimbledon. Roger Federer and Venus Williams cleaned up on the courts. I got on a sports kick. These two athletes are so unbelievable and talented. With Barry Bonds inching closer to Hank Aaron’s record, I thought this blog was appropriate. Today, PR Week ran an article about performance enhancing drugs. It focused on the attempts of cycling to regain the respect it had prior to all the talk about steroids.

I was extremely impressed by their newest campaign. Instead of ignoring the obvious problems, they have decided to address the issue and declare that cycling is once again a ”pure sport”. The International Cycling Union is requiring all Tour riders to sign a pledge declaring they are clean, and in the event they are proved to be using PED (performance enhancing drugs) then they will be fined the amount of their salary.  Wow, this is certainly a way to get athletes’ attention. This is certainly a way to bring back the charm of cycling. It is a difficult sport and so much of its reputation was tarnished with the doping problems.

For larger sports such as baseball and football, it isn’t necessary to use this as a campaign or even touch on the subject. These two sports are still bringing in major money and are part of our culture, but isn’t it frustrating to watch it not be sound its original fundamentals? I would rather see less homeruns and have more raw, pure talent. I know that most athletes are not using these drugs, but the ones who do are tainting the sport.

I only hope that what cycling has decided to do can be an example to other sports. A record set by legend Hank Aaron is on the verge of being shattered. The two players, Aaron and Bonds, come from two totally different worlds. To me, Aaron is the definition of raw talent and Bonds is falsely impersonating a hero. What about all the young children who look up to stars like Bonds? How does one explain to a child that their hero is using drugs to obtain his talent? It’s a sad reality that I hope will straighten out eventually.