Paper and Digital--a Match Made in Heaven

When it comes to pop culture and social media, I couldn’t love two things more.

Recently Mashable posted a story about how magazines are reaching out to social media sites in order to give their readers more of what they want and to learn more about who their readers are and what they love.

This blending of paper and digital is ultimately becoming my and many others’ guilty pleasure—not that it already wasn't, I’m just beginning to realize it.

My love of magazines goes way back to the toddler days of the annual JCPenney Christmas magazine and the American Girl magazine. Today you can find a five-foot stack of every Cosmopolitan, Cosmo Girl, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Food Network Magazine and Glamour  in the corner of my room (plus many other magazines adding to that collection). My bond with all of these magazines is so strong that I can’t bear to throw one away. For some spice, I like to throw in a few international versions of the magazines that I buy while traveling.

The feeling of buying a new magazine brings joy and excitement to my day. Whether I’m learning about 50 new ways to make pesto or what dress is right for my shape, it’s always something new and interesting.

Social media’s relatively new found relationship to magazines only adds to that excitement. ‘Liking’ a magazine on Facebook allows their news and feature articles to pop up on my news feed. Participating in their polls and sending in pictures for things like “send us a picture of you on your favorite vacation and you can win a trip to Vegas!” only makes me more interested in what they have to offer. It’s almost as if I’m part of a little magazine community.

Following a magazine on Twitter is also very similar. Glamour Magazine offers challenges, exclusive interview questions and even personal pictures from their staff. It allows you to have a conversation that you can’t have with paper.

Overall, the blending of these two mediums brings a whole new experience and feel to the magazine world. Let me know how your favorite magazine has connected to you beyond the pages!

For Best Results...

Twitter is a wonderful social media tool that allows us to give real time updates in our lives, stay connected to celebrities, and even create politic uprisings. But how can we assure that we are using Twitter to its full potential?

One of Twitter’s most effective aspects is the installment of its hashtag. Created close to two years ago, the hashtag was a tool put in place to allow the tweeter to see how many other people were chatting about a certain topic.

However, more and more I am noticing people coming up with random hashtags that only they could think of. Because of that, it’s time for a little Twitter lesson.

First of all, hashtags are like buzz words. People are actually talking about them. They can be things such as #Egypt, #Yemen, or #BritneySpears. Hashtags are usually associated with what a mass amount of people are talking about, they are trending topics.

Second of all, random made-up hashtags are not going to get results. For instance, #iparkedinthefarthestparkingspotawaymydaysucks is not going to work. How many people would honestly hashtag that topic too?

Make it simple. Hashtags as the above rule are not long and detailed.  They are short and to the point. They are usually associated with things such as people, current events and even trending phrases like #longday.

Most importantly, do not overuse hashtags. Overuse can make some of your tweets seem cluttered and spammy.  

Twitter in its full potential can be a very entertaining as well as informational tool as long as you use its resources correctly.  

I'm FINALLY Getting Used To This!

It’s that time again kids. Long gone are the days of twinkling lights and bells and “HELLO!” to massive piles of books and papers. Joyous, right?

I’d like to think so at least.

Spring Semester at Bonaventure is in full blast two-and-a-half weeks in and heading straight towards May. For me Winter Break was a relief, a new beginning, and a complete chaotic mess all at the same time. Bonas brings me back to a somewhat steady schedule filled with fast moving days and many sleepless nights.

As you may have read in some of my previous blogs, in October I started my journey towards obtaining my Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications. With a great success in my first two classes, I am now onto Financial Tools for the IMC Campaign.

It may sound like a dry subject, but being the math geek I am, I love it. Who knew I would love putting a cash flow projection sheet together?

Apart from my masters classes I am taking a few undergrad as well. My senior forum class is discussing and learning about the reconciliation in Ireland. To experience it firsthand we will be traveling to Ireland on February 25. My American Advertising Federation (AAF) class is putting together a fully integrated campaign for JCPenney. My position in the agency is the art director. So far I am enjoying it. In May we will be presenting our campaign at the World Series of Advertising in New York City. My last class is sociology. It was a required Clare course, so not something I would have picked out of personal interest (even though it will probably be good for me).

Although I have tons of work put on my agenda for this semester, I am looking forward to the ways it will benefit me. Every semester I somehow end up coming out alive with more excitement about what lies ahead!