Throwing it back to the 90s

It's wonderful the power social media has in today's society. As a young adult that was born in the early 90s there are many nostalgic things I will forever love and appreciate and will forever think the kiddos born in the late 90s early 2000s are spoiled and don't appreciate what's it's like to grow up without iPads. As of late, it feels as if there has been a surge of 90s nostalgia on social media. 

Perhaps this all started with the Mean Girls 10 Year Anniversary. All of the 90s babies grew up with Mean Girls and quoted it as if it were part of everyday language (mainly because it is), and celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Mean Girls is basically like celebrating Christmas for 90s babies! Social media exploded with hashtags like #MeanGirlsAnniversary or #4ForYou or #OnWednesdaysWeWearPink. And considering the anniversary happened to fall on a Wednesday, people banded together to wear pink in order to celebrate! There were even posts about the actors of Mean Girls and where they are now. 

Maybe it's all of the Buzzfeed quizzes. 90s nostalgia quizzes are common place on everyone's news feeds, like the "How Many 90s Foods Have You Tried?" quiz. (I've tried 54 by the way. Not too shabby). 

Or the big social media push for the new Girl Meets World series that's meant to be a continuation of the classic and beloved Boy Meets World series that all 90s kids grew up watching. While the new series looks subpar to be nice, the social media push behind it is extravagant and attempting to appeal to both the younger and older generations.

My favorite social media 90s moment has to involve our President and favorite pop star/actor Justin Timberlake. Barack Obama's official Facebook page posted a photo of him and Justin Timberlake with the caption "It's gonna be May." Thank goodness for that one. 

Photo via Facebook

It all makes me curious to wonder how all of these little things that are nostalgia now, would have been advertised and promoted in the 90s if social media would have been alive back then. Would Pop Rocks have had its own Twitter account? Maybe Boy Meets World would be trending every week there was a new episode? 

Regardless, as a 90s baby, I thank social media and my fellow 90s babies for joining in on the nostalgia! 

Until next time, 

Nikki Darling 

LinkedIn Stepping it Up

In the past few months LinkedIn has rolled out some all new updates to, apparently, make the site all the more user friendly.

For someone who is used to the interface of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn was a big step in a totally different direction for me. I was first introduced to LinkedIn as something I "had to to do for my career!" But upon arrival at the site, I was shocked to be looking at a site that appeared to be from the early '90s, but the professional Baby Boomers were given a site they connected with. Up until quite recently, I haven't spent much time at all connecting and interacting on LinkedIn because the user interface drove me nuts, and I feel as if other students my age would agree with me.

But this new set of website updates helps with user interface issues and makes it all the more excited for up and coming professionals like myself and my fellow college students.

LinkedIn Inbox
The first update was the new LinkedIn Inbox. The original LinkedIn messaging system not only looked outdated at its inception, but was difficult to use. If you wanted to click on a new message you had to click reply in order to just read it. Well, what if I didn't want to reply? Not to mention how it looked like the original Facebook via 2004! NO! I couldn't handle it.

But the new LinkedIn Inbox is more user friendly in the way it allows you to set reminders to email someone back and even look at your previous messages from a contact! Oh goodness, how inventive! LinkedIn is finally catching up with the times.

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But to my disappointment, the new LinkedIn inbox isn't available to everyone, nope. So someone who is so ready for a new LinkedIn update, ahem me, doesn't get one! They are simply randomly updating random accounts, and not letting people choose to update.


LinkedIn Publishing
This new LinkedIn feature is brilliant and one they should have come up with a long time ago called LinkedIn Publishing. LinkedIn publishing allows you to post things past just a basic status. To me, it feels more like a blog post tool. Professionals can use this tool to post longer in-depth pieces about whatever they choose to write about! Users can also search the Publishing function to look at posts other people have published as well. This tool allows for open communication and even more industry related information sharing amongst professionals.

But, like the inbox, this function isn't available to all users, but will be with time. Personally, I am very excited to use this tool to see people's thoughts and comments about things happening in the marketing and PR world that I might not otherwise would have had the opportunity to find out about.

It's taken a lot of people some time to get used to the idea of LinkedIn as a "professional Facebook" and many professionals still don't use it, but hopefully these new rollouts and ones I'm sure will happen in the future, will make LinkedIn all the more user friendly and appealing to professionals of all generations.

Team Treehouse: The latest and greatest in web design

PR and marketing professionals are in for a treat and an opportunity to grow their skills with the emerging tool in web design: Treehouse.

Treehouse is a website/app that teaches users how to code, build websites and apps. The unique detail about Treehouse that separates it from other coding teaching tools is that it has a mobile app, that way professionals have no excuse to not participate and can learn on the go!

In the public relations and marketing world, web design and coding is becoming such an integral part of being a professional because of the heavy use of technology in today's world. It isn't enough anymore to be able to write and communicate. Professionals need varying skills in order to be successful. Having the ability to write code and design a website is a valuable skill that can put professionals above others in the industry and give them a competitive edge when it comes to finding jobs and growing in the industry. Companies are now searching for marketers and PR professionals that have the ability to create websites or at least maintain them in order to have a successful online presence.

Photo via TeamTreehouse.com

Treehouse is dedicated to offering an experience professionals need to learn coding and web design at their own pace all while advancing them in the industry. By taking this stance, the company positions themselves differently than other code-learning sites, like Code Academy. Instead of positioning the company as one that offers coding classes, Treehouse targets industry workers that are learning to advance. This unique stance creates the perfect target audience and also allows the company to develop classes and tutorials geared toward advancing in the professional world.

Photo via TeamTreehouse.com

In order to accomplish their goal, the team at Treehouse believes in teaching through many different mediums in order to give a comprehensive education.

One of the main concentrations of the program is video tutorials led by industry professionals that are up to date with the latest findings and trends in coding and design. In order to test students and keep them accountable for the information they are learning, the program offers quizzes and challenges. Treehouse also offers a reward system to encourage users to keep working.

Treehouse offers a free month-long trial in order to test out the program to see if it's the right fit or each user. From there, a user can purchase the Basic program, which is $25 a month or the Pro program, which is $49 a month.

Photo via TeamTreehouse.com

One of the unique aspects of Treehouse is that the lessons are not only offered online, but through the Treehouse iPad app as well. This allows professionals with demanding jobs to work on the go.

A company like this is vital in the advancement of industry professional, and is extremely useful for marketers and PR professionals. In the coming years, the ability to design websites and code will be a necessary qualification for many positions and companies like Treehouse are coming out at exactly the right time.

This is definitely a great resource for PR professionals. I think I might even check it out...

Until next time,
Nikki Darling

Government Scandals for Days

ABC's hit TV show, Scandal, features Olivia Pope the IT public relations representative for D.C.s elite. Aside from having a cult following and trending on Twitter every week, the show touches on some actual issues in today's world. The show's basis is about covering up government scandals. Everything from murders to affairs to lies and cheating on elections. Olivia Pope and her team of experts take on a new scandal every episode and for the most part succeed. 

Too bad there isn't a real life Olivia Pope to cover up the government's mistakes especially one as easy as a broken website. 

When President Obama signed into action the Affordable Care Act, a website was, naturally, in the works so people across the country could have easy access to set up their accounts and get the affordable care they were promised. 

Unfortunately, the website had a few problems at first... like the fact that it just didn't work. But to be fair, all websites have user interface issues at first and it takes a little bit of time to work out the kinks. Well a couple days or weeks turned into four months, and while millions of Americans consistently checked the site to see when they would finally be able to get what they were promised they were constantly disappointed. It was until December that the website was up and functioning. And all the while, government spokespersons simply gave (for lack of a better word) lame excuses for it not working properly. 

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Right now, is when an Olivia Pope would have been useful. Because for months people only had questions. 

The woman behind the issue (and the woman who really needs a better publicist) is Kathleen Sebelius. While Sebelius claimed it was just time for her to move on, the real reason is the government scandal that she just plain old dropped the ball on. The problem is that not a single person did a good job of even spinning the story to save face. 

Well, Sebelius figured it was her time to go and resigned this past week, and Obama plans to implement another person that would be more suited for the position. 

It may not be a murder or an affair, but from the looks of it, a broken government website can cause just as much drama.  

Until next time, 

Nikki Darling 

But first, let me take a selfie

Yesterday, in a some what shocking train of events, tornado like conditions ripped through much of Northern Texas, namely Denton, Texas. Denton sustained extraneous amounts of damage from hail smashing car windshields to 82 mile per hour winds destroying parts of student dorms on the University of North Texas campus. There was terentious rainfall and overall damaging and very unsafe weather conditions. Though a tornado never actually touched ground in Denton, the hurricane-force winds did enough damage, it might as well have touched down. 

The North Texas Daily kept the students up to date during the storm and is continuing to inform the students of the aftermath of the storm. 

This is some of the damage done to West Hall, the dorm that was hit the hardest during the storm. 

This is some of the flooding that occurred on campus during the initial wave of the storm. 

UNT students took to Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date about the conditions and how their fellow students were handling the terrible weather. Students shared photos and brief stories about how they were taking shelter. 

But the excitement of the evening didn't come from the floods or the broken windshields, oh no. The excitement and drama, came when it became apparent that even in the time of a severe storm, technology and social media still seem to reign supreme.  

Tornado sirens were wailing and hail pounded and shattered, windows students huddled together to calm their nerves and make the best of the situation. All the while, the winds and storms raged, students remained light hearted and even engaged in a little "selfie" taking. As following the latest trend of the tune "but first, let me take a selfie" song, the students snapped selfies in their dorm hallways or basements of academic buildings. Twitter and Instagram flooded in tornado selfies during the 40 minutes the weather was tragic. 

One student even Tweeted Ellen his selfie with his friends, in honor of Ellen's legendary selfie that took place at the 2014 Oscar's that actually broke Twitter for a few minutes. The gust of retweets sent it spiraling out of control. UNT selfies didn't exactly break Twitter, but they gained a lot of notice during #Tornado2k14

This is simply just another example of the power of social media can sometimes far outweigh the power of external factors.

Tornadoes didn't bother them anyway.

Until next time,
Nikki

Snapchat and Nonprofits join forces

A few weeks ago I blogged about predicted social media trends for 2014, and SnapChat was one of the major predictors to be used by bigger name brands. Accordingly, a post from Social Media Today took the idea to the next level and discussed how nonprofit organizations can be using SnapChat.

One of the important goals of nonprofits is to find the idea or point that is going to capture the heart strings of their target audiences. By doing so, people are more likely to donate money to an organization they can relate to or sympathize with.

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One of the main points the article from Social Media Today discussed, is the opportunity to tell a story with the "Story" feature on Snapchat. Nonprofits always have a back story behind the organization that fuels messages and discussions. Having this option on such a new-wave piece of communication is an asset when appealing to younger generations who respond to the idea of that story.

Taking that to the next step, Snapchat has the ability to share information quickly and fleetingly. In today's fast-paced society, the idea of receiving quick information is very appealing, especially to younger generations. While bigger brands and companies are using Snapchat to offer quick deals and updates about the company, nonprofits can take the same idea and tailor it to their specific uses and audiences.

Instead of offering deals or discounts, nonprofits can use the fleeting seconds to show volunteers working on a project or people setting up for an event. They could also use it as an awareness tool. Sending quick facts and figures can not only raise awareness about the issues behind the organization, but also portray the need for people to donate, every nonprofit's ultimate goal.

This transitions into the next technique as well. Organizations can offer quick incentives through Snapchat as an award for donating funds.

There are multitudes of opportunities for nonprofits to use Snapchat. It isn't just for Taco Bell to offer deals or teen age girls to send photos of goofy faces or their kitty cats. There is some serious industry value in this app, and organizations that utilize this tool position themselves on the forefront of technology and also give themselves value when it comes to the younger generation.

Like the article discussed, story telling is becoming such a huge part of the draw toward Snapchat. It's becoming more than just a quick and goofy photo sharing medium, but becoming a real marketing and communication technique for larger companies. The story telling part of Snapchat directly correlates with the mission of nonprofits, which is to tell a story to elicit an emotional response to gain support and traction in the community.

So in the next few months and years I expect to see a lot of nonprofits utilizing Snapchat. Maybe I'll even suggest it to a few clients...

Until next time,
Nikki Darling

Taco Bell and SXSW

South By Southwest is one of the largest music, entertainment and media festivals in the country. For 10 days in Austin, Texas, bands and artists perform, celebrities make appearances and do interviews, speakers reveal new information, and there are smiles all around. 

South By Southwest is also the perfect venue for brands and companies to show off and prove their true colors. Taco Bell is spoken about often in the public relations and marketing world because of its strong social media presence and miraculous revamp of its entire brand. But it can not be spoken about enough, because Taco Bell once again showed up with full force during SXSW. 

Taco Bell channeled its inner hipster rock star during SXSW this year. Representatives from the company attended various events throughout the festival and Tweeted about the goings on to make its presence known. One of the best marketing moves Taco Bell made was to set up a make shift taxi service for bands. Yep, that's right. Taco Bell recruited large people movers branded Taco Bell style and offered free rides to bands that needed to get around the city. 

I'm sure it cost Taco Bell a pretty penny to rent those vans and drive bands around in them all week, but the price for those vans wasn't but a chump change in the pockets of the company and provided moving advertising all week all around Austin. Bands would also Tweet from the Taco Bell van about getting a ride giving Taco Bell another opportunity for promotion to a whole new list of followers. It's virtually free advertising. 

Identifying the brand with young musicians also positioned the brand as appealing to the younger generations. The company did a fantastic job of channeling the hipster mentality that is so popular in Generation Y right now. Even during SXSW it used language on the Twitter that is common among the younger generation. 

Taco Bell even developed its own brand of fun socks characteristics to the current hipster style, and gave them away during South By Southwest. 

The younger generation is much more likely to purchase Taco Bell food and products because its cheap and ultimately not healthy. The younger generation doesn't have the kind of money older generations have saved up and hasn't hit the point in their lives where health is a huge concern. They are extremely likely to pop on over to Taco Bell for a late night after after a concert or hanging out with friends. 

So being present during a festival comprised largely of the younger generation and taking communication tactics appealing to younger generations was a great move on Taco Bell's part. 

Taco Bell continues to be a prime example of a food brand doing it right in terms of communication and marketing to its target audience! Now if only the food was good. 

Until next time, 

Nikki Darling 

(All photos via Taco Bell's Twitter)