My Last 2010 Post

This is my last 2010 post, to wrap up this past year.  For this blog I truely don’t know what to say or think of the last year.  Was it good? Was it bad? I am not sure; I honestly have not thought much about it.  This is what I do know about the past year

Some of the good things about 2010 are attending Loyalist PR, and finding my career path finally.  Loyalist PR is amazing not perfect but a good course.

Another Foursquare, the whole program/site I enjoy and I still think it’s an amazing thing for businesses to get into.  Foursquare could open new marketing tactics.

The top thing would be that I did learn how to blog, one go do thing about the year, if not I wouldn’t be doing this right now.  Thanks to Loyalist PR again.

With all good things, there are still bad moments.  There are many things I didn’t like about the year.  I don’t want to bring down the New Year but two are the amount of people passing away due to cancer, and the amount of problems in Belleville, Ont.

But with everything that has been said I am proud to say Good-bye 2010, Hello 2011.

H A P P Y   N E W   Y E A R S

D O N T   D R I N K   &   D R I V E

if your out tonight.

Thanking the Local People

Just a quick blog on something I had noticed over the holidays.  I had heard some talk about a dinner one of the local churches were having and I decided to attend it with my family.  My mom and her friends go to them every year, talking about the good food.  This year I had heard others talking about the Parkdale Baptist Church having a dinner and I thought I would go.

The meal was alright, the entertainment was good.  I am not sure if it was something for me, I’m just not a fan of huge crowds for dinner and lining up to eat.  I like the whole big family thing but 12 people is good for me.

I got thinking, for the locals in the area this was their family, most these people came with a one or two people and knew most the others, than I got think these dinner was what some people to forward to each year, as a kind of group get together.  I found it a good way to get out and get to know more people in your community.

I do have to thank Parkdale Baptist Church ad all other non for-profit organizations that help out this this holiday get together and dinners they provide to the communities.

A Busy December

December has been so busy.  I know December is always busy for everyone due to Christmas that month but I did not plan my December to be this busy.  My school semester ended on December 16 but my work has not stopped.  I didn’t thinking about it at the time but that day would have been two months blogging.  December is almost over now and before we know it, it will be January, so here is a little inside information on how December went.    So much has happened this December.

I tried to relax for a couple days but I was thinking to much about Christmas and getting it done and the shovelling all winter long, to add to all, I have had my internship that is coming up in the spring on my mind, I wish I could just get to work on it.

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas, and or Holiday, if you didn’t than I hope you had a good week.  My week was amazing, stressful, and fun.  Christmas was amazing and Santa was amazing to us.  I hope Santa was good to everyone else. Now Christmas is over.  Thank You, Santa, see you next year.

Another thing that has been an experience for myself in December, I started Volunteering for the Belleville Bearcats.  I just volunteered to help promote their upcoming event in January, so look for those posts soon.  I am looking to start their social media, like facebook as well so if you interested you and check them out there soon, as well.

Now with a total 4,591 Page views, I am looking to reach the 5,000 mark soon.  It’s been just over two months blogging and this will only be my tenth post in December, but sixtieth post over the time frame of blogging.  I hope you all keep reading and look forward to the upcoming posts.

Blogger Report: Where Attention is Needed!!!

This is just a quick blog to bring the attention, where it is needed most.

In my opinion my Blogger Reports are where the attention is needed, so always remember to read them.  I made the Blogger Reports to get their attention out there and help out some local people or business in the local area, for that reason you should do more then read them if there is something going oon you should attend it.  So please make sure you read the Blogger Reports

Here are some good Blogger Reports.

There is a post how Youth Darts needs members, the organization is located in Belleville, Ont. Downtown. Here is the Post; Youth Darts Needs Members.

The Most Handy Gloves I have ever seen, the Twittens.  Check them out; Twitten Hands Needed Them

One of the most important Blogger Reports are about the Canadian cancer society and there connection with foursquare and they need check-ins in December 2010.  Check out; Please Help a Local Charity.

My Experience with Community Partners For Success was  another.

Work Made Fun

This is just a quick blog on the lovely local weather we are having.  I had woke up this morning and saw all the lovely snow on the ground.  I had a dinner to go to tonight and work to do today; I had not planned on going outside today.

I had noticed a young kid shovelling snow so I thought there was no time like now to get the shovelling done.  I had gone out and help him and than done mine.  After finishing mine, I had willing shovelled a few other front paths, knowing they would never do the same for me, as they didn't, but it was a good deed done.

Once I was done the front I had moved around back.  After shovelling  a path in my backyard, a friend had stop over, and we start by making a little snow hill for the little ones and one thing lead to another and we were out there for 5 hours and cleared 5 yards of snow, that was about a foot high, into a tobogganing hill, about 10 feet long.

After playing for a while the hill was well packed down.  The snow did not look like it was going to let up so we had headed on inside hopeing the snow would keep snowing all day and over night.  As I am type this now, I noticed it has slowed down but my phone does say it will be snowing until Monday morning, I am sure the work will pack on and a lot more fun will come due to the work.

I think Belleville or some business in the local area should hold a snowman building competition, I think it would be a fun event a lot would attended to, good for local branding also, it would build your customer list.  I wish I knew one I could go to, until then I will be building them with the little one in the back yard.

Belleville, are you ready for the snow? They say it going to snow for 24 more hours and its back on Wednesday.   Other than that the say leading up to Christmas looks sunny and not to cold, so does Christmas day.  Christmas looks to be a white one this year, and a good one.

& Safe Holidays

To Everyone

Loyalist PR Christmas Get Together

Loyalist PR had a get together with the students after semester one was over, for a little Christmas get together.  In one house? This was understandable for the small classes Loyalist College has had for Loyalist’s Public Relations Course in the following years.  This year we started with 42-44 students, more than double some of the years in the past.  Personal I thought we would do it at Loyalist College but one of my classmate had suggested we could have the get together at his house, he had enough room for the all of us.  Now, my class is a wild bunch, I was sure he could not fit us all, if we did all fit it would be a tight fit.

As arrived I had to slap myself to make sure  I was not sleeping because the driveway I had just pulled into looked like something out of a fairy tale movie.  Yard as far as the eye could see, with forest all around, and mansion in the middle, I must add a dozen like 25 foot solar panels in the back yard.

The day was amazing.  We started with some socializing and exploring the giant house.  I must say the house was epic. 

The get together was a pot luck, so everyone had brought something, and I must say the food was also amazing.  The class had planed out a Secret Santa for the class to do, with the limit of a $10 dollar gift, which was another amazing idea the instructor thought of.

We all were all given a secret gift, which was a personalized 2011 calendar, from the instructor.  The day was filled with fun, song, socializing, food, and just an all around good day.

I must say thank you to the classmate that hosted the event, also opening his wine up to us, everything was amazing.

Loyalist PR is such a friendly course, but the Christmas break is needed for this student.

A Brand with Five Star Customer Service

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Customer service that is so great it can improve the product you purchased with-out you buying another one.  No, you don’t even need to return the item for them to fix it or replace your old one.  Wouldn’t you love it if that was how every company worked?  Life would have a lot less stress and line ups, it would almost be like world peace.

The Brand is Blizzard Entertainment is not a new company.  Blizzard has been around for more than 17 years.  Founded in 1991, Blizzard Entertainment is an American video game developing company.  There first great hit was Warcraft: Orcs and Humans, which was the games, which lead to all four of Blizzards successes.  Blizzards four great successes are the Starcraft, Warcraft, Diablo and World of Warcraft series.

In the 90’s Blizzard was all over the video games scene.  Warcraft: Orcs and humans started the Warcraft series in 1994, and five year later Warcraft II, was released in 1999.  Warcraft in my opinion was a #1 game of its time and blew all other away in the late 90’s.

In 1997, Diablo series started in 1997, and was a beloved game by many but in my opinion had a lot of glitch problems, which needed to be dealt with but was still a huge success in the late 90’s and still being played online today.  The game was shortly followed by its expansion series by the end of the 90’s.

Starcraft hit stores in march of 1998, and was a huge game for years, being played online for long periods of time.  Starcraft was one of the first games of its kind and took people by storm.  Starcraft was also followed by one expansion which in my opinion was good but the original was better and more balanced.

Blizzard Entertainment hit a gold mine when they release World of Warcraft , known as WoW, in September of 2001.  Since then Wow has become the #1 game online, with over 12 million subscribers as of October 2010.  The series has just released a new expansion for WoW, and the success does not look like it will be slowing down anytime soon.  In my opinion Wow is amazing, being a game addicted, Wow is not for me because I would spend 24/7 tiring to become the best, there are just too many people for me on WoW.

It did look like Blizzard had found their gold mine and were only focusing on it, to make it the best ever.  For many year it was what Blizzard was doing and don’t get me wrong they did it well, look how big WoW is now.  Blizzard didn’t give up, releasing Starcraft II in 2010 more than 10 years after the original.  They are working on a new Diablo, which I hope is amazing, it would be cool to see something replace World of Warcraft, Diablo could.

Starcraft II came out and I got it as soon as it did.  The game is amazing, its keep improving and I don’t have to do anything but downloads updates.  It is one of the few games that once you buy it you will not have to purchase anything else to play it.  Starcraft II is Epic and I can’t wait for the expansion.  You can never get bored with starcraft as there are millions of games with the one game, the new game modes do need to be downloaded from Blizzard.Net and take no time at all.

You got to love Blizzard, but i have one question for them; where is your Console? WoW and other Blizzard game  on their on consoles would be epic for decades.

Loyalist PR 2010/2011 Semester One, Complete !!

This is just a quick blog to quickly recap the first semester of Loyalist College’s post-graduate Public Relations Class (Loyalist PR).

It started out to be an experience and turn quickly to a lot of fun.  I have learned some interesting things.  I think in some weeks I had learned more in a week of Public Relations than the whole two years of Loyalist College’s Business Admin course.  In a class less than half the size as the business course, I think I have met more people as well.

The course started slow and sped up quickly, before I knew it I was blogging this post.  The last two week was more stressful than I would have like them to be, but that is life these days.  I had found out of classmate a lot on why they don’t and do like the course, which was kind of disappointing to me.

When all is said I still hope to see everyone back in the fall. To my the program is alright, better than the Business Admin program.  I do like how much the class has kind of turn into a family, and keep hosting together for the whole class.

I can’t wait for our Christmas Party/ Secret Santa out at one of our classmates houses.

Here the First Post of the Semester

Blogger Report: Twittens, Hands Need Them !!

First, I have to say, I like the name (Twitter + mittens), nice.

A friend I met in my Business Admin. Class last year, had come up to me and had shown me this product he had and his company was selling.  I got looking at them and I’m going order three pairs, I didn’t need to think much about it.  Good idea, new work.

The gloves say enough for themselves, I do think they are an amazing idea.  They have a Facebook pages ( Twitten ), in the info it says “the gloves of the text generation “

        I think they would be useful even if you don’t text, but I think they would be key for people that do text.

        Also, a great idea for a x-mas gift.  The gloves are only 19.99 CND

The product made it way to the Toronto star and explains the story more if you would like to know more. The article is “Twittens deliver frostbite-free texting” published Dec. 6 2010.

In my opinion the gloves still say enough themselves. So please check them out.  Here is the website: Twittens.ca

You can follow them on Twitter, too. @Twittens_ca

Record Breaking Loyalist PR

After being called a “PHENOM bigger than Beiber”, for the way we hosted the United Way Campus Truckload Sale.  We found out today that we are a recorded breaking PR class.

This is not a long blog post because the pictures say enough for themselves.  This is only a post on our achievements as a class (Loyalist PR).

Last year’s goal for Loyalist College was 12,000 dollars to raise and this years was 20,000 dollars to raise all being for the United Way of Quinte.

Well my class, which is Loyalist PR, with the help of a couple amazing instructors, raised more than 75% of the whole schools goal.

All I have to say is it was fun and I would do it again any time.

Congratulations Loyalist PR

Blogger Report: Please Help a Local Charity

I have a favour to ask of everyone in the local area.

While I was out doing my work from Loyalist PR, I was working on a media kit.  When I got stuck I turn to the local Canadian Cancer Society for help as I knew they had most like done many media kits.  While, I ran into something amazing and it reinforces what I was saying in my blog "It’s taking over the world,.....”.

When I had arrived at Canadian Cancer Society on 97 Hanna Court South in Belleville, Ontario, I went to check-in on Foursquare and I noticed a tip and read it.  The tip said” Ho, ho, ho! For every person that checks in to this venue between Dec. 1 and Jan. 1, 2011, DDB Canada will donate $5 to the Canadian Cancer Society. Visit www.ddbcanada.com/holiday for more info.”

I was amazed and the Canadian Cancer Society had not known about it and I had shown them it and now are looking into it.  A couple days later, I checked-in again and I get a tweet on twitter from @checkinforacure thanking me for check-in.

So my favour I ask to all with a phone, even if it’s the only reason you use Foursquare, please go check-in at the Canadian Cancer Society on 97 Hanna Court South in Belleville, Ontario and stop in and say hi, they are friends people and the check-in is for a great cause and will help the fight against cancer.

For the whole list of check-in locations, click here.

I'm Back

It has been a crazy week.  I took a longer break than I had planed but it was interesting to see the amount of page views I had a week after posting.  Now, I’m back and I have a lot of blogging to do so I hope you all are ready to do some reading.  No more class blogging.

I do have to say the week went fast.  I had so much work to do for the end of the semester it made the week seem like a day.  Blogging is not hard, sometimes it can be tiring but that’s it.  When you add it to everything else that I need to do, it makes for a lot of work.  The week was perfect for getting a handle on my work.

The break was needed badly but was not much rest, but I got a handle on my school work and did most of my Christmas shopping, so it was a useful break away from blogging.  The break wasn’t as good as i hope it would have been, had some interesting days that I would of rather not of had.

Now, this is not class work.  This is my personal blog.  I am not sure how many othesr from class will still be blogging in the future but there has been some that have already been blogging this week so I hope you find some interesting post from them, I will also still be following them, and remove the others that don’t remain blogging.   So are you ready to read? Hear come the posts!!

Thanks for the views while I was away, I am just over 3900 now,

thank you all again.

It's Not Good-Bye!!

Today is November 30, 2010 and this week is just not going my way.

I had planned on getting so many more post in before today but I just have not had enough time.

And today my final post was to be handed in before 9 o clock in the morning, so I posted: Loyalist PR Accepts the Challenge and Challenges all, as my last post.

I than posted a couple because they were some I had planned on doing but did not have time.

I was working on this on my phone today because I have not had time to be near a computer and my computer died in class today, I hate that.  With so much running around and the bus  drivers in Belleville driving crazy I miss click and hit discard to my 5 paragraphs of texting a blog on my phone.  So I waited to do some more running around and than jump on the next bus an hour later and start all over, to just come home and fix it all before i posted it.  I still blogged from a phone.

I am to guess my post this morning was the last one to be marked as it was before 9 o clock but I am not sure because we only had to post 8 posts all semester and I have done 50 so yeah I’m not  sure.  That is kind of funny but I enjoyed this, it just goes to show if one course sucks then switch to another because Loyalist PR was amazing to me.

I just have to say this has been an amazing experience blogging, I am sure I will look amazing in the portfolio, with 3,600 page views in more than a dozen countries around the world in just over a month.

Loyalist PR was Amazing.   This here proves that what they are teaching works and works well.  I knew nothing of this a couple months and ago and now look at this.  You can make money before finishing your first semester, bonus.  The semester has been a blast and I can’t wait till the next one.  Check out first post ever, view first ever blog post, here.

I do have to admit I am going to take a break for a couple days because for one; I am in the War Child Challenge, which is no social media for 24 hours and I have a lot of other work to do, but I will be bloging again in a few days.  my blog post may slow down due to it's not an assignment anymore and i will be busy with others but i will keep posting, so keep reading please.  War child challenge blog post is here.

Blogging all day would be already to get paid for.

A Recap of some blog post you should read;

#1 All-time Post: Blogger Report: Directions Unlimited's CEO

#2 All-time Post: Dear Belleville, Lock Your Doors, Bar Your Win...

#1 Loyalist PR Post: Loyalist PR & War Child: "War Is NOT For Children"...

#2 Loyalist PR Post: Is Loyalist PR a PHENOM Bigger than Bieber?

Other Post 1: The Social Revolution

Other Post 2: Paying Your Respects

Talk To You All Later!!

PR To The Rescue!!

Just a quick blog to tell you how PR can save a bad branding choose.

In Loyalist PR I have learn some interesting cases from the past and look at them kind of differently.  Had look into and learned some interesting information about Michael Vick’s case.  This was all because a fellow classmate had done an assignment on the topic and I was interested.

A little information on who Michael Vick is.  He was the first overall draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons in 2001 a NFL team (National Football League).  The highest paid player in the league at one time.  He had a huge name in the NFL as an icon and is now working on getting it back.

What did he do? It’s started a drug raid and ended him when he plead guilty for the dog fighting ring and got a suspended sentence.  It was report he killed the one that would not fight. I totally agree he should have done much longer than he did do.  he also lost 10 million in endorsements from other brands.

When everything was going on did you think he would ever play in the NFL, again?

In the end, in my opinion his Public Relations team had done an amazing job of changing the story from what he has done, to what he is now doing for the dogs to help them now.  To me it still doesn’t matter, but I will let you read in on it and have your own opinion.  Click here to read an article about his return.

He plays for the Eagles now and is on and X Box 360 game cover.  He is on the Madden NFL 10 for the X Box 360.

Huge Branding, Helps Create New Brands

The Pepsi Corporation known as PepsiCo is holding a campaign titled the “Pepsi’s Refresh Project”.

The Pepsi Refresh Project is a Campaign to “Refresh the World” as PepsiCo like to say.  The campaigns website is refresheverything.com.  The events are held one after other on different intelligently scheduled months, which they call each one a “Cycle”. 

The project is to have people post their ideas on the site and other vote on which should get the grants from PepsiCo. 

Each person that wants to post has to choose which category they would like to post under.  There are only six different categories.  The categories include health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighbourhoods, and educations.

PepsiCo used a well thought out and planned a head plan for their campaign.  Starting this campaign on such social media tool like twitter and facebook was an amazing idea.  With Social media being the biggest era of communication ever and with most growing generations living on social media, it is safe to say there was no better way to start their campaign.

PepsiCo took a huge risk pulling out of the Super Bowl ads but with the change of this being more useful was a good idea, in my opinion.  I think at the begin of the campaign the security should have been a big thing, they should have tasted it and retested it, with something as private as company plans, they should have been on top of it before it even happened.

Now, an article I found states that the campaign had problems after starting the campaign.  The campaign has been reported to have security problems are the start or the campaign.  The problem was while people were summiting posts; their private information was send to the wrong person. (Erica Schonfeld, 2010).  PepsiCo did reportedly jumped on the situation fast, by doing everything the needed to and they did it properly.

After everything i think its is still an amazing idea to inform people of this and just maybe we could get some new interesting brands and companies in the future.

So Go Vote or Post Now

@ refresheverything.com 

It's Taking Over The World, So Let's Use It to Make Money!!!!

You can’t run from it.  You can’t ignore it.

You can’t hide from it. You must join it.

Social media is everywhere. 

You can argue the fact, but you would be wrong!!

My blog post on The Social Revolution explains it, when it started with Facebook.  Facebook is an epically growing trend that will never be stopped.  Twitter capitalizing on the business world, as well as they can.

Now, move over Facebook and Twitter, here comes Foursquare.

Foursquare in my opinion is amazing for business to get involved with there are just too many benefits for a business to be involved with them and no down falls.

Wiki says Foursquare is; Foursquare is a location-based social networking website, software for mobile devices. Users "check-in" at venues using a mobile website, text messaging or a device-specific application.^[2] They are then awarded points and sometimes "badges."

Now, Foursquare is still quite new and is growing every day.  With people like myself every day helping develop the locations and checking-in everywhere, I think Foursquare is nothing of what it will be in one year from now.  There is an article that says Foursquare will overtake Twitter, for daily users.  Here is the link.

Will Foursquare become the new twitter?  It's up to you!!!

Business can team up with Foursquare, giving out awards for customers that, checks in or even creating a badge they can obtain by doing something at the store.  Foursquare also has other aspects like the person whom signs in the most in one month becomes the mayor of that location and some stores are even offering discounts to their mayors.  Here is an article on how Starbucks is teaming up with Foursquare. 

In my opinion, if a business doesn’t use Foursquare or if Foursquare is gone in a year, I will be extremely shocked, I will even be shocked if I don’t see it improve in the next month or two.  In the Future i think you will not make money without it.

Foursquare can be monitored on the computers but you need to downloaded and can be done from any type of phone to be able to check-in to locations.   You will not be able to check in if you are not in the location.

Foursquare has an option to leave tips for others to read; no matter whether they are good or bad, the truth need heard.  Foursquare will be amazing for bring bad business down and rising he better ones.

If our local store owners were to jump on these opportunities, they could get a head start on this big corporations, and maybe even be able to take more of a piece of pie when it comes to sales.

What is more important? Money or Time?  because it only takes a short time to learn these skills, which could make you much more money!!!!

I am addicted, I will become the master of Foursquare.

Loyalist PR Accepts the Challenge and Challenges all

What is the challenge?

SSSHHHH....it’s for the cause

Thanks to one of our classmates, we're jumping on the new challenge here in the Post-Graduate Public Relations Program. (loyalist PR)

The challenge is to go without social media for 24 hours tomorrow.  The event starts from 9 am Wednesday, November 1^st to 9 am Thursday, November 2^nd.

War Child was the group that had started this and challenged us.

Why? 1)War Child has challenged us 2) to see if we can do it 3) to encourage us all to connect with one another using face-to-face communication and 4) to help raise awareness for a great cause.

So let me know if you accept the challenge it includes NO FACEBOOK, Twitter, Texting or even emailing.

Silence for 24 hours.

What is the Problem in Belleville, Ontario?

I understand every city has its problems and some communities in Belleville are really good to live in but you can’t stay in your community forever.  I am not sure what the problem is with this city.  Is it that Belleville doesn’t have much?  Belleville has a struggling downtown with homeless people and all of its resources on or near Bell Boulevard; you just need to go out.

There is not much to do in Belleville for adults there is a little more but were busy trying to provide for the house.  The only thing for adults being what they call “nightclubs”.  In Belleville for kids there is nothing, I grew up here and hated it.  I am not sure why but the town has only gotten worse with time. 

Now with the national case of “Russell Williams”, other teenage murders and child criminals, I’m not sure how much longer I want to stay here to hope it gets better.  I’m in what I think to be the worst neighbourhood in Belleville and I understand I could move but with more problems happening and no improvement showing anywhere.  If I’m going to move it’s out of Belleville, Ontario.

What is the Problem with this town? Maybe it is because this is not just one problem with this town, is there to many problems?

I see; a struggling downtown that has shown no signs of coming back to life, an elementary school system with troubled kids and a problem teaching some kids to read, a high school system troubled with drop-outs and teen pregnancy, a housing system for criminals, a bus service that is overpriced and unreliable, dirt taxis, nothing for entertainment, and no hope from me anymore.

I did hear that Belleville has the safest road in Ontario.