Today someone...

There is so much that will go on today...

Someone will become a mother
Someone will become a father
Someone will buy a new shirt
Someone will receive their first promotion
Someone will lose their job
Someone will have their first kiss
Someone will have their heart broken

Today someone came out of surgery
Today someone gave blood
Today someone beat cancer
Today someone found out they had cancer
Today someone came out of rehab
Today someone had their first cigarette
Today someone woke up and saw Spencer Pratt in the mirror
Today someone had their first driving lesson
Today someone will lose their license
Today someone got engaged
Today someone celebrated their 50th anniversary


Today...

Someone received citizenship and a new start to life
Someone received a scholarship to college
Someone closed their Facebook account
Someone discovered Twitter
Someone will be a victim of gang violence
Someone made lots of money in the stock market
Someone moved away from home
Someone took their first steps
Someone took their last breath

Live life to the fullest and don't take today for granted...

Future Camp!

Although I was not able to participate in Future Camp at Humber on Wednesday, it is amazing to see how the use of social media will impact the jobs that we will have both for our internships and careers in public relations.

With regards to our personal brand plans it was shocking to see who I had gained views from and who I had received comments from aside from my mentor and classmates. Although they provided very useful insight, it was very refreshing to see someone's comments who, before posting this, would have never heard from unless I sought them out.

The use of Twitter is becoming more popular every day. We see the use of social media every day, and although I was unable to attend, my thoughts of how social media is used in a corporate setting more and more is astounding.

For the past two days, I was a part of the FIFA World Cup Trophy tour. With the 2010 World Cup just over one month away, Coca-Cola and FIFA made Toronto the third last stop on an 85 country worldwide tour, showcasing the trophy to avid soccer fans all around the city. The use of social media (Twitter in particular) was seen by not only fans taking pictures with the trophy and "twitpic'ing" it, but also by popular media sources, who were documenting the trophy's whereabouts every step of the way. From the time that the Coca-Cola-FIFA jumbo jet landed at Landmark airport, to the trophy making its way to the CBC Building, Capitol Theatre and even Muchmusic to be seen during a K'Naan interview, there was an overload of pictures and tweets that not only showcased the trophy, but the many logos branded "Coca-Cola".

In the future, I do not know what line of work I will end up in. Ideally, I would like to do something in sports PR. However, one thing is confirmed. Regardless of the setting that you work in or the career path you choose, there will always be a demand for social media. The connectivity it provides to people for business will only continue to grow.

Again, although I was not able to be there, please check out some of my peers' blogs, to hear their thoughts on their experiences with Future Camp.

Andrew Bartucci - My take on it - edgy lists and humorous twists

Aneeta Parmar - Green Eyed Moon

Zack Sandor Kerr - Pizza Friday

Shelley Burgoyne - Tipped and Pointy

Bar vs. House party

Perhaps the most common concern for any group of friends when getting together to drink is deciding whether or not they plan on on going out to a bar or staying in and having a house party.

We all enjoy going to bars, gettin' our fist pumps on and tearing up a dance floor. Personally, I love going out, but after a conversation about weighing out what makes more sense, it provoked some pretty interesting discussion between a few friends and myself over a hung over breakfast at Benny's.

It seems although we ALL LOVE going out, it really does make more sense to have more house parties than go to a bar. Here are my reasons why:

1) The company you keep (and the air that you breathe)

When at someone's house for a predrink or house party, you are (for the most part) surrounded by people you WANT to be around. You don't have to worry about bumping people's drinks and feeling bad about it, or feeling compelled to buy them a new one. You also don't have to worry about possibly getting into a fight with a steroid popping jackass. Remember, it's not where you are, it is WHO YOU ARE WITH that makes it count.

2) LET'S F*CKIN' RAGE!

If you're at a friend's house, although you may have to clean up in the morning, you tend not to shy away from being outrageous and letting loose. Although some things might break or there may be a ton of alcohol spilled in the process, you do NOT need to worry about:

• Being on your "better" behaviour because you're in a public place
• Getting tossed from a bar/club by someone significantly bigger AND stronger than you
• Having to pay for a cab by yourself because you were the only one that got kicked out

3) $MONEY$

I'll be the first to admit that I do not mind spending money at the bar (as my bank account would attest to) but, really, what are we paying for? We bring booze to our pre drink and spend money there, and unlike Laurier, where I went to school, Toronto is a hell of a lot bigger, so there's cab fare, and cover, and then I'm expected to pay $7 a drink while waiting in a ridiculous line, slowly inching my way up to the bar and making sure some douchebag doesn't cut in front of me?

...I could have just had three beers in the time it took me to write that...kinda see what I'm gettin' at?

4) MOST IMPORTANT: Drinking games...obviously...stupid...

I mentioned above that it's about the people you are with. That was just to get you to keep reading. The real reason house parties are becoming my new favourite are because of the ample amount of drinking games you can play that are much harder to get away with unless you're at an all inclusive resort in Cuba. Whether it's learning something embarrassing about a new friend in Never Have I Ever, or rubbing in the sheer humiliation of being the weakest link on your team in Flip Cup or Beer Baseball, drinking games are the BEST ways to "bond" with friends!

All in all, I'm saying that although I do love going out with the people that mean the most to me, I think I would rather party in a place where we can still have a lot of music, I can save a bit of money, I don't have to scream for a conversation, and we can achieve our original goal of the night...that is...to GET F*CKED UP and LIVE.IT.UP.

"Americanized" reality shows all follow same suit

First, Pop Idol turned into American Idol. Britain's Got Talent eventually became America's Got Talent. NOW, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares serves as the latest in reality television debauchery. Originating in Europe, Chef Gordon Ramsay travelled all over the United Kingdom helping struggling restaurant owners turn their business around to keep them from closing it.

Today, like many other shows originating in the UK, Kitchen Nightmares made its way to the United States as Ramsay attempts to help struggling American restaurant owners.

The show encompasses the common theme of American-made television, that is, to have a foreign personality (in this case British) exhibit this hard-fought, tough-love, a**hole personality! Don't believe me? Look at this type of television with British personalities and notice that with the exception of Sharon Osborne, they ALL possess that character persona of being hard-nosed and "stand-offish". Since Anne from The Weakest Link, there have been many shows that utilize this brand of television including:

• America's Got Talent - Piers Morgan
  
• American Idol - Simon Cowell
  
• So You Think You Can Dance - Nigel Lythgoe
  
• Dancing with the Stars - Leonard Gordon Goodman
  
• Hell's Kitchen - Gordon Ramsay

Listen, I'm all FOR mindless entertainment and sure, when someone gets ripped apart on national television, who doesn't feel a LITTLE bit better about themselves? If nobody felt this way, shows like Intervention and many MTV shows wouldn't exist!

*Tangent*

Back to my point, this mundane form of entertainment is continuing to overshadow the quality and useful programming out there. I mean, how many different ways can you tell someone they suck at cooking or that their outfit looks horrendous?

I'm not saying that I won't watch these shows from time to time, but if regurgitating ideas for shows that originated halfway around the world is where we stand with forming new ideas for shows, then SIGN.ME.UP.

NCAA 2010 Final Four proves NO TEAM is SAFE!

The NCAA Division I Men's Final Four basketball tournament has always lived up to its expectations. This includes, seeing highly ranked teams making an early exit in unlikely upsets. Also this year, defending champions North Carolina did not even qualify for the tournament.

So far, Kansas (1), Villanova (2), Georgetown (3), Pittsburgh (3), New Mexico State (3), Vanderbilt (4), Maryland (4) and Wisconsin (4) have all bid farewell to their seasons and the NCAA Final Four tournament. All of these teams have been eliminated BEFORE reaching the third round of the tournament (at the very furthest). This year, just eight out of the remaining 16 are ranked in the top four.

The NCAA Final Four tournament has always had its share of upsets and "cinderella stories", most recently in 2008 when Davidson, led by Stephen Curry almost defeated eventual champions Kansas in a 59-57 showdown. However it is hard to remember when the last time so many highly ranked teams made such an early exit in the tournament. My research shows that:

• In 2006 - 10 teams ranked #4 or higher in region made it to the third round
• In 2007 - 12 teams ranked #4 or higher in region made it to the third round
• In 2008- 11 teams ranked #4 or higher in region made it to the third round
• In 2009 - 14 teams ranked #4 or higher in region made it to the third round

Not since 2005 have so few top ranked teams made it through to the Sweet 16 (eight also). The most surprising bracket thus far has to be the East, which has the top two ranked teams in the region (Kentucky and West Virginia) facing number 11 and 12 ranked Washington and Cornell. It is also worth noting that #10 ranked St. Mary's has established itself as a threat with upsets over #7 Richmond and most recently over #2 Villanova.

Now it is unlikely that Washington, St. Mary's or Cornell will win the tournament, as three of the four remaining number one seeds are still in the tournament (Syracuse, Duke, Kentucky). However, it is definitely worth pointing out that this year's tournament has lived up to its entertainment standards; a tournament full of upsets, close games, and overtime thrillers!

Q: What's Victoria's Secret? (Social Media Campaign Analysis)

A: A solid social media campaign

Victoria Secret's PINK campaign is a nationwide project designed to target a younger audience by utilizing a variety of tactics to identify with today's growing online community. With over one million members, this campaign has proved very successful. Becoming a member of Pink Nation offers many benefits, including discounts on products, useful shopping suggestions and the opportunity to follow them on Twitter and Facebook. In fact, their Facebook fan page has well over two million members, making it one of the most followed pages on the entire Facebook network.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Membership is FREE! The target audience for this campaign is for University/College students, who are not the most financially stable. Thus, signing up for a free membership is much more appealing.
• A very interactive website that provides a chance to participate in effective two-way communication.
• Addressing students' love of music by listing top 40 songs that have been released that are popular among targeted demographics
• An opportunity to win a Pink Party for their respective college campuses.

Weaknesses

There were not many weaknesses in this campaign because it is free to sign up and have almost four million followers. However a few noted weaknesses include:

• Exclusive to the United States only. You must have a US address in order to sign up for Pink Nation. Victoria's Secret is notorious around the world. An expansion of membership should be taken into consideration.
• Facebook fan page > Pink Nation membership. The promotions team should be pushing membership and look to expand the 59 member campuses across the United States.

For more information on this campaign, check out the following blogs!

Aislin O'Hara - Kiss on the Lips
Casey Mundy - Casey's Thoughts
Catherine Flint - The Way I See It
Christiaan Rapcewicz - Q is for Queer
Laura Phillips - Adventures in Public Relations

O Canada...our anthem is not sexist...Get over yourselves...

So this morning on the Z1035 morning show, I was informed that along with this being Federal Budget day, that there is a proposal to change a line in our country's national anthem.

The line that currently reads "True patriot love, in all thy sons command" is under review to be changed to "True patriot love, thou dost in us command". This has only won the praise of Liberal Senator Vivienne Poy. "I am thrilled," said Poy after hearing that this change may in fact go through. In addition, Queen's University professor Adele Mercier was also pro-change. "The national anthem should reflect its population and Canada consists of 51 per cent women," said Mercier. The complete article by the Globe and Mail can be seen by clicking here.

OK Canada, where do I begin with this?

We get it. As Canadians, we are labelled with an ideology of being a country that represents diversity, change and improvement to the societal standards that, to some, may be seen as outdated and in this case, sexist. Mercier said that a national anthem that should reflect its population, and Canada consists of 51 per cent women.

However, is it really that big of a deal? For example, not a single female athlete who was standing on the podium for Canada after winning gold refused to sing that line because of the word "sons". A national anthem is about uniting a country through the powerful source of music and poetry.

I don't see the Italian national anthem being changed because the first line is "Brothers of Italy" so why should Canada? Also, it may be just me, but many times when Canada as a country is mentioned, is it not referred to as a "her"? As in, a country is something to protect, love and praise (which I feel that most men would agree are their feelings towards their mothers, sisters, wives and girlfriends).

Let's not get sidetracked though. I don't know if it is a coincidence that this issue happens to fall on Federal Budget day or not, but it seems a bit strange that on the day when Harper's government is proposing new financial strategy plans about where tax payers' money, that this issue is the one that they knew would spark a lot of conversation and one that people would definitely be passionate about. What are you trying to slip by us Harper? What do you think we won't notice in the budget? We're onto you...

All in all, I heard a recording on the Z1035 morning show with the new line. I don't hate it, but at the same time, do that many people really care?

Ms. Mercier and Senator Poy, just because you find a hair doesn't mean you have to split it. Our country's values will not be questioned because we have "son" in it. Get over it and love life. Its too short to be wanting to be "remembered" for changing one line to prove a point.

Women's rights are increasing and are being valued more and more everyday, which is a sign of how your beliefs and contributions to this issue are already successful. Don't ruin it with this.

Until next post. Live.It.Up.