The plan was to have a nice little video player here to show you all how to install Wordpress. After some fiddling, we need to send you over to the man who created the video. Expect a wonderful video cast focusing on the basics of Wordpress development from one of our more agile minded Social media peeps: Braden Douglass
We all have them. You can’t deny it. Whether it’s buying expensive shoes, listening to Barry Manilow, playing Farm Town on Facebook or eating cheese whiz and bologna sandwiches, we are all hiding something that we’re terrified others will find out about.
I’m about to oust myself, so judge me or judge me not. I, Julie Coln, a grown woman in her, well, uh, mid-thirties; watches Gossip Girl on the CW. As a media buyer, I know the show does well with women in the 18-24 range, which is their target audience. Don’t ask me why I like a show about a bunch of outrageously rich, self-obsessed and status-hungry teens gallivanting around NYC.
Seriously, high school kids with the last names of Archibald, Waldorf and Van der Woodsen, meeting up in their favorite bar for a dry martini after a hard day of prep school and riding around town in stretch limos. How pretentious! I tried to watch the “reality” show, NYC Prep, to see if there were comparisons to “real” high society NYC teens, but it was lame and the kids were real whiners. Boring!
I just keep telling myself its research. I mean, I am a media buyer and I have to be up on current and trendy shows, right?
And while I’m confessing, I also listen to the soundtracks from GLEE and One Tree Hill (the first season). I have them in my office if anyone wants to borrow them. Your secret is safe with me!
Until Next Time…
- Julie Coln
Being in the advertising business, especially on the design side of things, really has it’s rewards.
Not so much the kind of rewards like bonuses, new cars or even a pack of M&Ms, but the kind of rewards that give a person a sense of accomplishment and pride. It’s a unique feeling to see a business doing well because of their advertising, but even more so, it’s a thrill to see something that was once sketched in a series of thumbnails come to reality. A billboard on the side of the interstate. A colorful rack card at a resort. A glossy version of the magazine advertisement that up until that point had only been seen on a color print out. Even a logo beautifully lit up in lime green. These are the kind of rewards that are truly one of the biggest reasons I chose this profession for myself.
It doesn’t come without a lot of hard work, thought and planning though. And without all of it, the “reward” wouldn’t be as sweet.
So many visions and ideas never make it past the agency doors, and what does qualify will get reworked, some additional thought and tasty improvements. Every modification made is like the swipe of a cloth loaded with Turtle Wax on that shiny red sports car… Scouring through fonts, assembling a team of vendors, coordinating photo shoots, working with copywriters, planning with our media buyers, late nights with the account service team, wax on, wax off.
And in the end? Well it’s not a shiny red sports car I’m driving, but it’s certainly a buffed feeling of pride that I’d like to call the reward.
Kym “soon-to-be” Kozak
Software is an integral piece of the puzzle that allows us, as users, to interface with the little computers that sit in front of us each day. Who remembers the days before windows 3.1 where everything was a simple black screen and a blinking cursor? Perhaps you don’t, but this is the very moment when software became an integral part of our every day lives. How would we be able to modify documents, spreadsheets, surf the web and play games without the “awesomeness” of software?
Jumping from then until now, lets focus on something that makes this new wave of social media marketers tick. How can you interface with twitter, facebook, or the next big wave without the requirement to have a million different tabs open at once? Moreover, when you log into these services you need to actually log out of a previous user account . This can be an excruciating process for the individual who craves productivity and automation. So what is the point you might ask? Well, lets attempt to save you a little time and make your day a lot more fun. Software was king when computers were young and it frankly, still is. If you are going to the web every time you want to update twitter, you are doing it wrong (sorry but absolutely true). Many web applications are built with something called an API (application protocol interface). This “API” allows software to interface with the web and do certain tasks right from the desktop as long as a proper connection is maintained. Without further ado, lets jump right in and talk about the software you need to be using. In addition, all of these programs will cause no direct economic strife on your body, due to them all being absolutely free.
Ever wonder how Web sites become popular? How they get discovered, shared, talked about? No one can answer that question exactly, but I can tell you that People of Wal-Mart caught on and it is sure good for a laugh.
What can I say about People of Wal-Mart that hasn’t been said already..It’s a guilty pleasure. It’s almost as good as seeing the guy you thought was so hot in high school, married to a 400lb elephant. It’s that good!
When you are work in social media all day (like one of our employees, Sarah) you are bound to find Web sites like People of Wal-Mart. She came over one Friday and said “I found this website and you’re going to love it” and boy did I! There were only about 4 pages of geek, freaks and weirdo’s galore. I immediately became friends with People of Wal-Mart on Facebook and posted it to share with my other friends.
Next thing I knew, People of Wal-Mart was being covered by Ad Age, CNN and Time. All I could think was, WOW an over night phenomenon of making fun of people at a retail store, who would have thought?
The site has grown to over 50 pages of hilarious photos and captions. This is a great example of how Social Media works. I posted the Web site on my Facebook, my friends did the same and BAM! CNN is calling! That is the kind of publicity you can’t even begin to pay for! This should show everyone the power of Social Media.
-Sonja Dewees
Who knew that 26 years ago when I first started my advertising career that I would end up buying media and overseeing a media department at Benedict Advertising.
I was in college when I began my first job in advertising. I started as a secretary at the local Lamar Outdoor Advertising plant in Daytona Beach and worked my way into various positions including sales and operations during my 7 ½ years at Lamar.
My next job was at Champion Rent to Own, based in Daytona Beach. Yes, it’s true when you work for an in-house agency you get to wear many hats. I learned a lot in this job from TV production and editing to Quark Xpress and laying out flyers for weekly specials. It was my boss at the time that asked after a couple years, “So, what’s your favorite part of this job?”, as he was asking our staff to specialize in positions that we really felt passionate about and enjoyed. You may have already guessed it, but mine was media buying. I had already been buying some of the media for the company and this was an area where I felt challenged and was eager to learn more about. The company sent me to various media buying schools where I honed my skills.
The company was eventually sold and I was left to ponder… “Now what am I going to do with my career?” That’s when I received a call from Mr. Jim Benedict asking me to come in for an interview for a media buyer. A week later I started at the agency. I still had lots to learn as a buyer and had a great mentor in Mr. Benedict who shared his sharp negotiation skills with me. Now, 11 years later with a full media department at the agency I am sharing what I have learned over the last 26 years with others that have chosen media as their career.
Recently CNN posted an article, “The 12 most annoying types of Facebookers.“ Among those was one titled the “Bad Grammarian.” Now, I’m certainly not a grammar expert, I did OK in English classes growing up and in college, but I’m certainly not the first person you’d want proof-reading your writing. I’m terrible with commas and tend to have run-on sentences (which you may notice). But there are some things I just can’t overlook. The fact is, good or bad, we get a lot of information about the world, the news and our friends, acquaintances and business associates through Facebook status updates, tweets, and whatever other social media is hot that day. And it’s very true that your writing makes an impression about you to all the people who follow your updates. Now, I realize occasionally letters get transposed, or we forget a word here or there, everyone makes mistakes…but there are some things that you should just know. There are some mistakes I see repeatedly that I would like to address. These have become major pet peeves to me. Mainly the problem is the misuse of homonyms. I can’t tell you how many status updates, comments and tweets I see a day where the writer simply misuses words that sound the same. So, here is a quick run down of which word means what…
We’ll start with your and you’re. Your means possession, something that belongs to your or relates to you, “your car”, “your nose”, “your attitude”. You’re means you are. Say the sentence to yourself replacing your/you’re with “you are.” If it doesn’t make sense, then you use your. If it does make sense, then you’re is correct. A place I see this commonly misused is “your welcome.” Now, saying “your welcome” would be correct only if you are saying something like, “you’ve worn out your welcome.” But, in response to a thank you, “you’re welcome” is correct.
Next two, too and to. Two means 2, the number after 1 and before 3. Simple enough. Too means also, only use too if you could replace it with also. To is used any other time. Examples: “I’m going to the store”, “I’m going to eat dinner”, “I’m going to give the letter to my friend”, “To all the girls I’ve loved before”, “To whom it may concern.” You get the picture. If it’s not the number and it’s not also, then it’s to.
Now, they’re, their and there. They’re means they are. If you can’t replace the word they’re with they are, then don’t use it. Their means possession or relating to someone. Example: “That is their car”, “Anyone in their right mind”. And finally there, it’s used pretty much any other time. If you can’t say they are and you’re not indicating possession, then there is your correct choice. It’s usually used to indicate a place or a point of reference. Examples: “Go over there”, “We’re going there after dinner”, “Stop right there before you say something you’ll regret.”
Finally, people are afraid of the word me. For instance, someone posts a picture on Facebook and adds the caption “Betty, Judy, Freda and I at the lake.” I is not the correct word to use here, you can use me. I think that we’re taught to use I when we’re little and then assume that me can never be used again. But an easy way to remember whether to use I or me is to take everyone else out of the sentence. You wouldn’t say, “I at the lake,” you’d say “Me at the lake.” So once you remove everyone else, you’ll know whether to use I or me. “Betty, Judy, Freda and me at the lake.” Also, there is no such word as “I’s”. For example, I’ve seen people say, “Come over to Cindy and I’s house.” Don’t ever say that, that just sounds silly. The correct word is “my”.
As I said, I’m certainly NOT a grammar expert, nothing even close, but these are just a few little things that I see so often on in my online-social life. Things that are easily fix-able and will help your professionalism online.
-Stephanie Benedict
Reflecting back on the road that I have taken as a Graphic Designer has made me realize that if you truly love something and are determined to achieve it you will, and every stage and part of the path is necessary for your learning and growth.
I started drawing before starting to speak and all through my life drawing, painting and creating was what I found joy and peace in. I consider myself very lucky and blessed to have found what I enjoy and love to do and can do it as my career. I decided to become a graphic designer in 2002 and after much hard work and anticipation was accepted to the graphic design program at UCF. Although when graduated in December of 2005, I felt unprepared and timid to enter the real world of graphic design.
There wasn’t anything to lose and I had to start somewhere, so I decided to put fear aside and work towards my goal believing that the right opportunities will come my way if I stayed true to myself and consistent in my path. I moved to Hamburg, Germany and started a 3-month internship in a small design agency in Hamburg. It was my very first experience in an agency. Over 3 years has passed since and after working in the field of advertising and coming close to my 2 year anniversary in Benedict advertising I can look back and proudly say that I have come a long way since that day.
Little did I know back then, that I was laying the necessary foundations for the bigger things ahead. There is still much more left to learn and I am eager for it all. When you truly love something and want to achieve it, time, space, pain and sorrow will all vanish. Human beings are a lot more capable and powerful than they know, sometimes we forget that. “Human beings are the architects of their own environment” as professor Nader Angha a sufi master said once.
All of the opportunities that you need for your path of growth will meet you in the right time and right place. So keep the fire of love alive in your heart and never take your eyes off of your goal!
-Kerry McEachern
According to the Southeastern Conference in NCAA sports, not at sporting events. The SEC’s new policy not only applies to Twitter, but all forms of social media, and is directed to ticketed fans. For more info on the background, check out the following blog http://bit.ly/z0PBs. Quickly, fans reacted, and the SEC had to retract their statement and allow social media from the fans http://bit.ly/36s6O. Maybe they realized, “Wait, how can we control this and are we going to be citing violations among our die-hard fans and donors?” So, Twitter belongs.
Next up, the NFL and Chad Ocho Cinco, the in-your-face, more-concerned-about-off-field-than-on-antics receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals. He publicly stated that he will be tweeting from the sidelines. The NFL was quick to react that he would not, nor would any other player. It’s safe to say that he will tweet and the NFL will fine him. Fans have been going back and forth on what should and shouldn’t be allowed since, lighting a fire to forums and blogs everywhere and here’s a great example of one http://bit.ly/igZAa. Twitter not allowed, doesn’t belong, but is still going to be there. UPDATE: Ochocinco says he’ll soon launch a contest, in which he’ll select one of his followers each week, fly them to the Bengals game, and work out hand signals so he can have them update his Twitter account while he’s on the field. http://bit.ly/188dEC
So if companies, leagues, entities can’t stop Twitter, they will want to control it. Take ESPN for example, the supposed leader in sports information, now wants to have control over the info sent out via Twitter by their on-air talent, reporters and writers. Why? Because they want to make sure it serves the interest of ESPN first, which begs the question of who comes next – the fans. In a move to only allow certain info out, ESPN will lose more of it’s edge as it prepares to act more like traditional media and leaves the door open for more fan-based reporting that will definitely resonate better with the core audience – the fans. Twitter belongs, companies lose out by not adapting, but trying to control.
Twitter, or whatever the hype of day/week/year is, clearly the power is back in the individual’s hands. Companies can reject this notion and fight with trying to control the content, or adapt and learn to listen to what the customers are saying and want. Are you ready for some football (and tweets)?
There is so much you can do and see with Facebook & Social Media, the possibilities are endless.
I like to interact with it daily and see what is going on. You can stay in touch with all your friends anywhere and know what they are doing. I love when Benedict Advertising is doing something exciting like shooting a commercial for one of our clients, and I am able to see the progress. Or when pics are posted of fun events we have at the agency.
On Facebook there are interesting news feeds, funny photos, and links to important websites or just good information to read and share. People are going to Facebook and Social Media sites to consume media, learn about products or services and share their opinions.
You can make plans for the weekend also by surfing Facebook with posts of upcoming events around the area which you live. Nice!
Social Media is catching on really fast. Social media to me is: Powerful, instant defined messages delivered anywhere about products, brands, services, etc.
Lots of businesses like ours can benefit from it. I feel Benedict Advertising started using social media at the right time because our clients are loving it and jumping on board with it now. That is wonderful.
It is 10 of the top 20 destinations on the web.
Social media is where 82% of internet users watch video clips, 72% read blogs, 63% visit photo sharing sites, and 57% have profiles on social networks. It is fun to go there and see who is posting today or what is going on and to participate also.
So go tweet on Twitter, link to us through Linkedin, or become a fan of Benedict Advertising…we would love to hear from you.
I love new technology! ENJOY YOUR SURFING & VISIT SOON!
- R. Gail Moore