TOPIC: Organizational Uses

I absolutely love the community of Cache Valley. I have lived here my entire life and have been able to rub shoulders with some amazing individuals. 

One such opportunity that I have had is to serve on the Logan Downtown Alliance Marketing Committee. It is such a fun environment be around successful business owners and other members of the community. Part of my job is to run the social media campaigns for the Alliance. It's a fun job that, for the most part, isn't hard to come up with content. Being on this committee made me wonder, how are other ways that we, and Logan City, can better benefit from using social media to interact with members of the community. 

I recently read an article by Tod Newcome titled: "The City that Incorporated Social Media." In it he talked about Roanoke, VA and their uses of social media. What I liked about this article was how simple it made social media for cities sound. 

"...accounts also act much like a 311 service. While citizens can still notify the city about a problem via a phone hotline, social media followers increasingly use the city’s Facebook and Twitter pages to query, complain or ask for help. “It’s become a highly effective way to contact us,” says Melinda Mayo, communications and media officer."

I think that Logan City does an excellent job at using social media to announce news, but could improve on answering inquiries made by members of the city and outlying neighborhoods.  Because so many more people are feeling more comfortable messaging rather than calling a city, (source) it's important for a city to have a structured communications network established. 

Another way I think cities can uses social media, is to relay important emergency information like road closures and power outages. Since people already post about that stuff on social media, if a city was actively looking for questions and could answer them quickly, it could help put the public's minds at ease. 

I also liked what this article from CivicPlus talked about: 

"Several Parks and Recreation departments use social media to remind the community of upcoming activities and classes to register for. Within the social media post they’re linking to an online registration form to boost participation by making it easy to sign up." 

If more cities, even smaller ones like Nibley and North Logan, did things like this, I think there would be more participation in city-wide events. This could lead to reduced crime (because everyone is banded together), more friendly communities, and better collaboration on future projects.

I think that all cities should have at least one person dedicated to the social media and online presence of their community to stay in touch with the members of the community and spread news and events quicker than traditional methods.

Social Media Case Reflection #2

The internet is a great place to share creativity, show-off your talents, and generate new ideas. Because of the internet information, videos, pictures, are passed around like the flu during January. People often now start conversations with "I saw this thing online" or "I read on the internet..." or "I saw this thing on Pinterest..." 

This kind of talk is generally positive for the world as it unites us, connects us, and makes us more aware of the people around us. 

Because things spread so fast online, a new generation of entrepreneurs has emerged from the dark, dusty basements of the millennial generation: YouTube sensations. While Preston Parker might not agree that these social media and internet stars can be considered "famous" I beg to differ. We've all hear of "Charlie bit my finger," "Double rainbow," "Hide yo kids" etc, and those people have definitely made money. (Most viewed YouTube videos) 

Another major YouTube sensation is the band OK GO. Their first major video included carefully timed jumping from treadmill to treadmill. They were instantly a hit. 

In their latest single-take internet sensation, OK GO created a video in zero-gravity. The video was set to launch exclusively on Facebook for a 48 hour window. But the airplane company that the video was filmed in, Russia's S7, released the video first. 

Big no-no. 

The copyright laws of the United States protects "original works of authorship, fixed in a tangible medium including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and other intellectual works." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_States)

Under this definition then, the OK GO video was original, fixed in a musical medium. By law, they owned the rights to the video. Only they had the legal capability to share it with the world. Once their video was posted, however, it became part of the fuzzy-gray line of internet copyright. (Learn more here)

How then was the airline able to release it? And what can be learned from this legal battle between YouTube, Facebook, and the producers of content? 

My first question with this case is, "How did the airline even get the video in the first place?" 

It's highly unlikely that they tapped into OK GO's deep values of data to collect the footage. The band then, I can assumed, sent the video to the airline to view before the rest of the world. That was their first mistake. I feel like the band should have kept it under wraps as much as they could. And if they wanted to send it on, they should have clarified that they DID NOT want it posted. Having clear directions and clear expectations would have prevented the airline from thinking they could post it. 

HOWEVER. 

The next part of blame I put on the airline for releasing something that wasn't theirs. They did not have permission from OK GO, therefore infringing on the copyright law. It was not theirs to use, making it blatant plagiarism. Before they posted it, they should have confirmed with OK GO that it was "ok go." In my line of business, I am often working with clients exclusively through email and I understand that things can get confusing. But a good social media manager will confirm with a client before just posting willy-nilly.  (For more information on how to be an effective social media manager read this post from Business to Community). 

In this situation, I see both OK GO and Russia S7's airline at fault. 

Another HOWEVER

The video was shot outside of Moscow Russia, making it obviously not on U.S. soil. So does that mean the copyright laws still exist for it? According to Russian copyright law (Copyright Law of Russian Federation): 

Under the 1993 law, copyright covers works of the sciences, literature, and the arts that are the result of creative activity and that exist in objective form. Neither the value nor the purpose of a work is a criterion for copyrightability. An "objective form" is any realization of a work such that it can be perceived by others in any way. Mere ideas are not copyrightable. Copyright is vested in an author automatically upon the creation of a work.

So who, in this case of Russian copyright law, was the true author? Sure OK GO filmed the video, but it was with the airline's airplane. In this case, I would still put all my case on OK GO. But as far as Russian law goes, S7 didn't break any laws.

Perhaps why there wasn't a large law-suit out, because of the international laws/regulations that were too open to debate.

I think that as the internet expands and things like this begin happening more and more frequently, there will be a change in international internet laws and perhaps a U.N. governing body to monitor such things. Because the internet connects countries and nationalities in a way never before seen, new laws, never before seen, will need to be enacted to protect the creativity of artists, musicians, and potential YouTube stars.

One last thing to be said, if you are going to post anything online, just remember that you've put out there for the world to see, use, and possibly manipulate or change. So be aware of what you post, use your brain, and give credit where credit is due and you'll be fine.

Topic: Class Cloud Assignment

On Wednesday, I had the most interesting assignment for a class. We were to tweet at someone to join in on some discussion about social media using the #socmeddiscuss. I chose to tweet at my boss, Lance Lyons, Monumetrics, and the Tailwind App.

Here is me inviting my boss:

And here is my question for the discussion:

I had hopes, because I had tweeted at them, that they would participate. However, as the class discussion began and other tweets popped up on my feed, I noticed that a lot of people had used the words "class discussion" in their tweets, driving away potential discussion. I think that that alone shows why the discussion didn't go as planned. I felt jipped in this discussion because no one took it seriously or used the hashtags appropriately.

Here is one of my tweets that I made that day:

As you can see, I tried to get a conversation going between me and my class mate, but nothing past my reply. I think that a lot of people were more interested in the not-so-interesting love affair blossoming on Twitter through the hashtag. It really bothered me that that was what people were excited about. Here we had this great opportunity to learn how to manage a live Twitter-feed, a skill many of us will most likely need in the future, and all we were concerned about was "Are you single?" That's not how I choose to spend my tuition. 

I did enjoy, however, reading the +Wendy's tweets to users. It showed me how to have creativity on Twitter, something that I struggle with when dealing with company complaints. That alone saved the experience for me. I learned that it's ok to be a little casual on Twitter, for a food brand like Wendy's. They can do that without ruining their reputation. 

My biggest struggle when replying to peers' questions, was the limited characters. Because I have so much that I'd like to say about social media and the topics asked, I could have maybe linked out to longer blog posts that summarized what I wanted to say. 

I liked doing a live feed just to see how flexible social media can get. It's crazy to think about all the different directions and voices that can be a part of this conversation. 

After the class, the next day at work, I talked to my boss and asked why he hadn't joined in on the conversation. "I didn't get your tweet!" he said "Or I would have totally participated. From that, I learned that if you really want someone to be a part of your conversation, you need to more than just tweet at them. Really good preparation is required to have successful live Twitter discussion. 

Exercise Accountability

Accountability breeds success. I'm sure someone famous said that. But I feel like it applies for this.

I am trying to lose 15 lbs by my sister's wedding in 20 weeks.

Here's how I am motivating myself:

Every time I work out, I put a "dollar" in it - to use later.

I use resistance bands and a yoga mat every morning to do a few of these HIIT workouts. Once or twice a week I try and go run at the gym but I have terrible shoes right now so my feet hurt ... a lot. Any advice or tips would be welcomed!

Here are my favorite workouts: 

Case Lot and Food Storage (March 13-17)

If you have never shopped the Case Lot sale at Macey's, you are seriously missing out. This time of year is one of my favorites to stalk up on canned foods.

Here's what my storage room looks like:

We don't have a done of space, as you can see, but I try to stock up on essentials a few times a year, just to keep me from having to buy them later. It was something we both felt we could take out of savings for. The other nice part about Case Lot, is that it lasts two weeks. So if you plan carefully, you can really take advantage of some great deals.  I've got canned green beans, corn, black beans, oatmeal, cereal, ramen noodles, soups, and chicken broth. It's definitely good to have staples. Then, after a buy a few extra, I donate them to the Cache Community Food Pantry.

My menu for this week looks like this:

M- Skinny Burrito Bowls
T- Spaghetti
W- OYO (This has turned into just whatever leftovers, sandwiches, ramen we can find)
R-Brazilian Stroganoff - I don't have a solid recipe for this yet. S/O to Roxann
F-Burgers

Groceries: $65 this week, but that's because I bought a few things from Case Lot

cantaloupe
grapes
carrots
lettuce
tomatoes
onions
green onions
turkey steaks
ground beef
black beans
canned tomato sauce
table cream (for the Stroganoff)
shoe string chips
milk
frozen chicken breasts ketchup
pasta
marinara sauce
ramen noodles


Have a great week!

Garlic-Butter Seared Pork Chops

Spring Break was just too much fun.

You'd think that because we didn't go anywhere, I would have had more time to blog, but NOT TRUE! We were busy relaxing. Bummer we have to go back to school next week...

I'm going to try and blog at least three times a week. Will I actually do it? Who knows...

Part of our week was eating dinner together at Connor's work sites. I was tired of being home alone all the time so I brought picnic dinners to where he was working and we ate there. One of the nights I made these garlic-butter seared pork chops and WOW!

Ingredients

• 2-4 Tb butter
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic (I use the stuff pre-cut because I'm lazy)
• 4 pork chops, thin
• 1 Tb parsley
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and saute the garlic until you can smell it. Place the pork chops in pan and sprinkle parsley and salt and pepper over it. 

Cook until a golden brown color. Too much longer after that and it will get tough. 

Rice, pork chops, and cantaloupe

Just hanging out at work 

And THAT'S IT! 

Simple ingredients. No time at all. My kind of meal. 

Meatball Sandwich

This is my night right now: diet Coke, caffeine free, with lime & poetry homework.

Recently I discovered that Connor loves  meatball sandwiches. I made them for him once when we first got married and they turned out eh. But this time around, I decided to just go for it with my own recipe and man did it turn out great.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen, cooked meatballs
• 1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
• slices of cheddar jack cheese
• bread - I used Asiago bread from Macey's

Place frozen bag of meatballs and marinara sauce in crockpot on high for four hours (Don't go much longer)

Serve on bread with cheese!

Tah-dah! Best marinara subs ever. And WAAAAY cheaper than Subway. I have a 4:30-7:00 class on Wednesdays so it's nice to swing home between work, throw things in a crock-pot, then have it be ready when I get home. 

Don't you like how the marinara sauce matches my red counter?

So tasty!