My Blog Reflection Piece

Well, I guess it’s about time, huh?  I am done with finals in a little less than a week and I will be graduating in about two.  I never really thought this four year adventure would end, but not it is coming to a close.  I also never would imagine that I would be publishing and maintaining my own blog!  Thanks to the teachings of my professor Elaine Young, I have been able to grasp the overall benefits of utilizing social media, whether it be for one person or an entire company.  Furthermore, after reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s The Thank You Economy and CRUSH IT! , I have been able to transform my blog into a reflection of myself and maintain a site on my passion of current events.

When I first began this blog, I was rather tentative to approach this type of platform.  I was unsure of what I would post, how my voice would be interpreted, who would even look at my blog, etc.  However, about halfway through the semester I realized I did not need to create such a rigid guideline for myself and I began to let my actual voice be heard.  If you ask me, I think it worked based on the following:

Over this 16 day period I was able to maintain an average of at least 10 views of my site a day.  This sounds insignificant to most, but it is nice knowing people have actually viewed your work and hopefully value what you say.  With two posts on April 12 and one more post on April 14, I had people engaged with my content and the voice of my posts seemed more authentic as the language was not filtered.

Another significant part of this time period is the fact that I was able to network among peers and engage in meaningful content with users, as Gary Vaynerchuk states in The Thank You Economy.  I linked my blog to my Twitter account, tagged all of my posts, generated meaningful content, and posted often on my Twitter account.  On April 12 had the most views my blog ever had in a 24 hour period, which was 52 views.  Also, I had written a blog post about the new sport called Kronum:

A fellow marketing student and buddy of mine, Dave Armenti, actually communicated with me through Twitter and mentioned how he thought we should start a Kronum team.  A few hours later, the Kronum League Twitter account communicated with me through Twitter and thanked me for blogging on the topic.  Through the various mentions of my blog on Twitter accounts and other social media platforms, people became aware of my content and came to my site to view it, therefore leading to my most-visited day.

This blogging xeperience had had its ups and downs, but I am quite thankful I utilized WordPress and created my blog.  Although it has been a requirement for one of my courses, I will continue with my blog posts and create meaningful communication with others who share my similar passion.

Bruins vs. Canadians

Who isn’t excited for the matchup tonight at the Garden?  This heated rivalry is soon reaching its pinnacle as tonight is game one of the five game series that kicks off the playoffs for both teams.  Should definitely be an interesting game to watch since both teams, their management, and cities strongly dislike one another.  Remember a few games back when Chara fractured Max Pacioretty with that “dirty” hit?  I’m sure Montreal has not forgotten about that, or the fact that they lost 7-0 to the B’s in their last matchup in the Garden.  Even though Montreal has won the past 24 of 32 playoff games when facing Boston, playing in the Garden is extremely difficult for any team.  Even though I’m a Yanks fan ’till death, I wouldn’t mind watching the B’s roll over Montreal tonight.  Things are gunna get a little rowdy…

UPDATE: Detroit’s Future Looking Bright

In an article I read on CNN today, Detroit could have just caught the break of a lifetime.  Due to the rising value of the Yen in Japan combined with supply shortages in Japan because of the earthquake, automakers in Detroit can get their foot back in the door once again.  With smaller sedans now readily available here in the U.S, people will turn to these American automakers since Japan is out of the question for at least a short period of time.  It’s time for Detroit to show why it is the ‘Motor City’.  Here’s the link to the article: http://bit.ly/dNd4nQ

Could Kronum Revolutionize Professional Sports?

Recently while I was lost in the endless channels of YouTube, I came across a new sport called Kronum.  Handball, soccer, football, basketball, and hockey all fused into one completely outrageous game.  Honestly, I wasn’t interested in even checking the video out once I read that it was called “Kronum”, but I figured I might as well give it a shot.  Personally, I would love to get out on the field and try Kronum out.  The only thing is I have no idea where I could find a Kronum field within the next 250 miles; the field combined with the goals are pretty difficult to setup for any college kid in the Burlington area and beyond.  Anyways, its hard to describe the game so just check out the video. What do you think?

The Tale of Two Snakes

Two cities, two snakes, two dilemmas.

Back in the beginning of January, Melissa Moorehouse was riding the Transit Train in Boston just like many other individuals who use this type of travel.  What sets her apart, though, is the fact that she had a three foot Boa around her neck and was taking the daily commute like it was no biggie.  Personally, if I stepped foot on that train I’d ask her what the hell she is doing and then run to the farthest car down the line.  However, I wasn’t there and Penelope was a “well-trained” snake so this was normal activity for the two.  Unfortunately, on this day Penelope decided to “hot-foot it” and be one with nature just like she was suppose to be.  For her, nature turned out to be a crappy, dirty, rancid train car that hundreds, if not thousands of people take every day. The train shut down for awhile as workers scrambled to find the Boa, but this was to no avail.  Thankfully, Boa’s are not poisonous and train travel continued like normal for a month until she was found and rescued by her owner.  Not that big of a deal, right?  Well how about this…

THERE IS A F****** COBRA ON THE LOOSE IN NYC!

And yes, I do mean on the loose.  The deadly Egyptian cobra, which escaped from an off-exhibit reptile house at the Bronx Zoo, is apparently “contained” in the small, dark building.  Yeah, I believe that for a second; you guys can’t even keep track of the dude in his cage so how am I suppose to believe he’s just hangin’ out right next to his former home.  Did I mention the snake is so deadly it can kill a full-grown elephant in three hours and a human being in 15 minutes? Whoa.  I’m no snake pro, but the chances that the city has spare cobra anti-venom every other block is slim to none.  Even if they did, getting that poor soul who was bit by this thing the anti-venom in NYC traffic in under 15 minutes is literally impossible.

Which one of these guys would you rather face-off with?

or

Flipping the Fear

As corny as it may sound, “flipping the fear” is the advice I needed to hear in order to make it through the rest of this semester.  Walking into my professor’s office, I was nervous, anxious, and scared as to how the end of the semester may turn out; not necessarily because I am doing badly, but with all the work we are completing, things really begin to add up.  However, after talking with her for a half hour or so, I was able to get a grasp on what I can do to better prepare myself for what is to come and how to manage all my assignments.  When I walked in, as she noted, I was motivated by fear.  When I walked out, I was motivated by the future and becoming an outstanding marketer.  One must turn that fear they may have about something or someone and look at the bigger picture and overcome that apprehension.  It may take buckling down and hard work, but it will all work out in the end.  As one put it, success only comes before work in the dictionary.  Work hard and flip your fears.  Thank you, Elaine.

Detroit’s Utter Downfall

In recent news, it has been reported that Detroit has lost 25% of its population from 2000 to 2010, according to the U.S. Census Board.  Nobody really enjoys living in an old industrial city plagued by corruption and poverty.  Kwame Kilpatrick, their former mayor, was tried and sentenced with ten felony accounts, including perjury and obstruction of justice.  In 2009, 36% of the entire city population lived below the poverty line.  And for some ridiculous reason, instead of focusing on the real issues Detroit is facing, they are more interested in putting up a large statue of out of all people, Robocop.  No matter how ridiculous the city may be perceived by others, people must look at the larger picture and recognize the significance of these latest findings.  The auto industry in America is at a decline and Detroit was home to this once enormous industry.  Nowadays, abandoned buildings and warehouses scatter the city.  Take a look at these pictures of some Detroit areas.

What can Detroit do to regain its strength?  With a city that can’t even receive federal funding at the moment, who can they turn to?  Athletics?  Well, the Detroit Lions NFL team is anything but good and the Tigers have not had a glimmer of hope in recent years besides their 2006 World Series loss.  The Redwings, however, are in the NHL playoffs this year and for hockeytown U.S.A, they better hope for a successful outcome.  Good luck, Detroit.

Roast of Donald Trump…Or The Situation

St. Patricks Day – Conventional Celebration vs. Unconventional Celebration

Top of the murnin’ to ya!  Today happens to be one of the most widely celebrated “holidays” here in America and across the pond.  With Irish pride being represented everywhere one looks, it is hard not to celebrate by kickin’ a few back.  One could categorize a conventional celebration as going to a parade, drinking some beers at the bar, having friends over, etc.  Now, there are some unconventional ways of celebrating this drinking “holiday” that many people my age consider to be fun or entertaining.  Take a look at the following two videos and see if you can spot the differences:

One Hour of Twitter Data Regarding Egypt

Check out this cool video that shows the amount of tweets and retweets with the hashtag #jan 25 during a one hour timespan on February 11.  On that day and around the time this data was collected, Mubarak had officially announced his resignation.  Very interesting!