MySpace Re-vamped!

With MySpace's slow depletion in value to "social media elites,"  CEO Mike Jones calls for some new changes to take place.  Some much needed changes, seeing that numbers have dropped dramatically over the last few years.  "The company is expected to make $297 million in 2011, down from $470 million in 2009, according to eMarketer(Slutsky, adage.com)."

The new Myspace 's layout is referred to as having a "Tetris style" by Mike Macaadan, MySpace VP User Experience.  The new screen broken into various segments, videos, information, pictures galore, and updates.  MySpace just might have found its new vocation.  It seems to me that Myspace is now being geared more towards musicians, artists, and celebrities.  Myspace's promotional tactics are both convenient and strategical.

In "MySpace Relaunch Focuses on Successful Niche: Entertainment," from Adage.com, Chief Revenue Officer, Nada Stirratt refers to the Glee page on MySpace and its advertising capabilities.  Glee's MySpace page is sponsored by a said name brand.  On the page guests are able to view Glee cast members wearing said name brand and are also directed to where they can purchase items to be just like Glee!  Its all about easy access to consumers!  "Connection" also jumps to mind, because it allows fans to feel like they have a little piece of  "heaven."  They connect with Glee cast member because they know what they are wearing and in turn are able to purchase the same items.

MySpace's new launch is savvy and innovative.  Circling in on musicians, artists, and celebrities-entertainment; I think will prove to be a positive note for them.  Kudos!

How prepared will we be for the public relations industry? Can I practice in Japan?

  Professor and chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland, Elizabeth L. Toth and Linda Aldoory, associate professor at the University of Maryland, conducted one of the first in-depth studies of how "us," the students are being taught and prepared for the workplace.   Dr. Aldoory said that the project built on valuable earlier studies, and “our analysis broadened the geographic scope of study and stressed in-depth qualitative discourse as a basis for its conclusions.” 


  Toth and Aldoory used qualitative methods in order to conduct their studies.  In their studies they reviewed  218 educational  institution websites in 39 countries and in 20 of those countries, they conducted 20 in-depth interviews.  In their studies, they found that "undergraduate programs almost without exception are focused on professional preparation rather than academic theory. Dr. Aldoory noted that “Internships, industry participation and course work that provides skills plus knowledge are the norm. Graduate programs are highly focused on strategic thinking and advanced practice.”  


  In my experience in studying public relations in my undergrad at Iona College and moving forward, I agree that this is the matter in which "we" are being educated.  Their research gives an accurate picture to how "we, the new age practitioners" are being molded for the workplace.


    “A First Look: An In-Depth Analysis of Global Public Relations Education,”  funded by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), is essential to the field because it is important to see how "we" are being molded and prepared.  Although geography and cultures vary, key ideas still prevail.  Molded an prepared for the workplace in the United States, can I be a "new age" practitioner in Japan?  Will my education be just as effective in the preparation for another countries workplace?  

   Aldoory said "...overall, we found many well-developed, substantive programs preparing future public relations professionals with the knowledge and skills they will need for our profession." 

The cool way to do Surveys in PR

  In a recent internship at REVOLUCION, a full-service hispanic based agency, I had the opportunity of creating suveys for research with our various clients.  A process that may have once been scutinizing and tedious was a one-two-three process with Surveymonkey.com.  "Surveymonkey makes it easy to conduct, manage and analyze research that drives our business forward (market researcher at Facebook says on Surveymonkey.com)."

  It didn't dawn on me until reading the various methods in the chapter, that at that point in time I was employing a research method in order to get responses from clients on logo creation.  Surveymonkey made it easy to put in the questions at hand with images and create various answers in which the clients would choose.  I would then submit the surveys and all the client had to do was follow a link and complete the process of the survey.  Once completing the survey I was able to get direct results.  Surveymonkey made research easy and it was extremely efficient.  By using a survey with clients, you are creating a two-way symmetrical model and then are able to put both your ideas and their ideas into projects(in this specific case, logo development).  This two-way communication was extremely effective because it lends to clear specificity with an organization and its client at hand.

Surveymonkey also allows for you to personlize the survey with your own company logos, making it fit with your company, instead of looking like some generic census form.

  The text gives fault to online surveys because it doesn't show a collaborative representation.  However, I think it is effective in the case of creating a survey for a select group of people and distributing in a timely manner.  Who reads the mail anymore?  Most of my own mail sits on my kitchen chair for weeks! It's all about technology and having things at your finger tips...if you want me to see it, send it in an email!  We are a constantly moving society and the internet, surveymonkey along with many others, employ a viable method to surveys in research for organizations.