L'Oreal: Because You're Worth It

L’Oreal is the world’s largest cosmetics and beauty company and includes products that range from makeup and perfume to hair and skin care products. L’Oreal produces several well-known brands such as Lancôme, Maybelline and Redken. L’Oreal’s mission is to “help men and women around the world realize that aspiration, and express their individual personalities to the full.”
The early beginnings of L’Oreal started in 1907 when a hair color formula was developed in France. Eugène Schueller was a young French chemist who developed this hair color in his home and then sold the finished products to local hairdressers, with the only colors available being fiery red or coal black. In 1909 Schueller eventually formed a company for his products and registered it under the French name “Société Française de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux,” meaning “French Society for Inoffensive Hair Dye.”
The 1920’s began L’Oreal’s growth spurt. By now, L’Oreal’s products were available in a total of 17 countries all over the world with a mere three employees working for the company. The end of World War I also played a big role in the success of L’Oreal due to the fact that women were taking more pride in their looks and shapely and bolder color hairstyles were the latest fashion.
Because of their widespread growth, the number of employees at L’Oreal increased by thousands over the next several decades and the company continued to grow. Today, L’Oreal is the producer of a wide range of products and is working on new ones every day.
L’Oreal is noted for its involvement within the community. They have launched worldwide campaigns throughout several different countries to help the communities around them. They have also taken initiative to help the community from within their own workplaces. As stated in a 2008 company report, last year L’Oreal cut their overall energy use by 3.6% and they cut their water use by 6.9%. Their Green House Gas (GHG) emissions were cut by 6.6% and their waste was cut by 4.9%. These are some of their major ways that they have cut back in their own workplace with an entire list located on their website.
L’Oreal plays a big role within their local communities. On their website, people can find an entire portion that is dedicated to local initiatives and how they are giving back to the community. At the factory in Indonesia, L’Oreal has increased their product output by 62% while at the same only increasing their energy consumption by 29%. This has done a lot to help this area and was achieved by making small changes within the factory.
In Europe, L’Oreal has started a Promoting Diversity Laboratory. This lab includes 15 international companies as well as several associations who are all proactive in the fight against all types of discrimination. Organizations that are involved include the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), the International Lesbian and Gay Association and the European Disability Forum.
In the United States, L’Oreal implemented their first Employee Volunteer Day in New York in 2006 to help support the communities where the company does business. They partner with volunteer group, New York Cares that matches available volunteers with the charities who need them. In Cranbury, New Jersey, L’Oreal’s local employees have raised money for breast cancer research since 2004. This specific distribution centre lost two employees to the disease and ever since have been supporting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. They have hosted “Because Your Dog is worth It Too,” the charity event that brought together over 5,000 people and 2,600 dogs. At the event, pet owners could have a fun-filled day with events such as a costume contest for their pet, a dog wash and dog diving into a pool. In 2007, this event raised over $65,000 for breast cancer research and over the last four years they have raised over $225,000.
L’Oreal is also very involved in the fight against Ovarian Cancer. They have been involved with this since 1997 and over the years have raised more than $18 million dollars for the fight. They help to promote awareness of ovarian cancer as well as promoting advances in research. To support their involvement with this cause, L’Oreal has created a line of makeup that is called the “Color of Hope” cosmetics collection with $1 from the sale of each item going to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF).
Another great way that L’Oreal has become involved in the community is with their Women of Worth program. With this program L’Oreal recognizes, celebrates and supports women who make a difference within their communities. This program celebrates women all over the United States who are helping to better their communities.
Strengths of L’Oreal’s involvement in the community include, first of all, that they take initiative worldwide. They don’t just focus on one town or community; they do what they can to help each of their communities and benefit them in a positive way.
One weakness that definitely could have hurt this company if they had not changed is that they once tested their products on animals. Fortunately L’Oreal chose to stop this in the late 80’s and they have not tested their products on animals in over twenty years.
Opportunities for this company are far and wide. Because L’Oreal produces such a wide variety of products, they have the opportunity to excel in each product line. They have already created a new line of hair-care products called Ever Pure, which is a 100% Vegan product. They have also come out with more pure lines of makeup and they have the opportunity to create “cleaner” products with any of their product lines and also products that support local causes.
The only threats that could be possible for this company is the other cosmetic and beauty companies that they are in competition with. L’Oreal will have to continue their great community involvement in order to stay in top in this competitive industry.
As a whole, L’Oreal is giving back to the community in a large number of ways. They are doing all they can to ensure that consumers associate their name with a positive connotation. By getting involved worldwide, they have proven that they are her not only to sell their great products, but also that they truly want to help those around them.

Times Talk

My Times Talk was on Wednesday, Nov. 4 and was facilitated by Dr. Sandra Jordan who is the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. This was her first Times Talk and she did a great job. The topic of discussion was "Big Time College Athletics: Win at all costs?" We discussed everything from whether or not GCSU could support a football team and several different aspects of the big universities and their huge involvement in college sports. The main article of discussion was about the Binghamton University Basketball team and that their star guard, Emanuel Mayben might be kicked off the team. He was caught in early September for the sale and possession of crack cocaine.

The discussions were all very interesting and it was insightful to hear input from a diverse group of people. We had several professors and students of all different majors, including GCSU's new Athletic Director, Wendell Staton.

To promote this event, I created flyers that were posted all over campus, wrote a press release and created a Facebook event. The Times Talk had a great turnout of about 19 students and professors, so I feel like I did a good job promoting this event.

Entering the "REAL WORLD"

It is a very scary time to be graduating and entering the job market. Every time I tell someone that I am graduating in December, I get pity and "oh it's such a bad market." Personally though, I am fairly confident that I will not have too much trouble finding a job.

The article is a very scary one especially since it is pertaining to our major in specific, but I am still confident. My best friend graduated from Valdosta in May with a degree in Public Relations. She had an interview her last week of school and ended up getting the job right away. She is working at the Art Institute of Atlanta in the Admissions Department. Her starting salary is very impressive and I think she has already been given a pay increase because she has done such a great job.

Having close friends who have been successful in the recent job market really gives me hope. I am currently sending my resume out to everyone I know and all of my neighbors and my parents friends as well.

I will probably be moving back to Atlanta come December to broaden my horizons and experience the city! I am looking forward to getting back into a faster paced life, but the downside will be living with the parents for a little while, but hey, what else is there to do in this poor economy? I will take a free place to live and free meals any day! And plus, 80% of graduating college students have recently moved back home due to the poor economy. It will be a big change, but I know it's for the best!

TV to Talk About, Music to Jam About

TV to Talk About, Music to Jam About. This was the slogan for our CW Event. We chose to have our event on front campus on Thursday, Oct. 8 from about 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. We had two different acts on stage and also had chips and salsa from Chili's and cookies too. Our main draw for our event was the raffle. We had about $600 to $700 dollars worth of donated items that we raffled off. We had a wide range of gifts to, from hair care products to some of the newest DVD's, as well as gift certificates to several local restaurants. As a whole, I thought our event turned out very well and it was a great success.

We did have a few things that didn't go as planned though:

-We had two performers, Blake Whitworth and The Whales. They did an awesome job, but they were late. I feel that if they had gotten to the event on time (4 p.m.), more people would have stayed for our event. Most of the people were there when they got out of class earlier at the event and the music didn't get there til about 5 p.m. or so.

-We should have taken into consideration that it was the Thursday before Fall Break and most people were already headed on their way to their weekend plans. The only reason we chose this date is because that's when the bands were available. It was our last resort and somewhat poor planning.

-The main thing that ticked me off was before our event even started. Alcohol Awareness Week was going on at the same time as our event, which we were told when reserving our space on front campus. We never though twice about having to reserve a SPECIFIC spot on campus. Well just a little FYI, you have to specify. So, we get to campus to set up and we are given a small space right on the bobcat in between Atkinson & Terrell. We continue to set up and run into a confrontation with the girl in charge of AAW who said we were taking up too much space and interfering with her activities. The way she approached us was very rude and demanding. It was a good experience to have to deal with someone like this and be able to reason with them...but trust me, I was FURIOUS!

I think it is always a good idea to ask, "What could we have done better," after an event. This is what I came up with, but I am still happy with the turnout of our event.

Ashlee Simpson Case Study

Ann & I had the class read the Ashlee Simpson case study for our presentation on Chapter 8. The main point of Chapter 8 dealt with crisis management and how celebrities and famous athletes need to brand themselves in a positive way and react quickly when a crisis occurs.

Ashlee Simpson had a lip syncing fiasco one night on Saturday Night Live and could have handled it a lot better. At the end of the show she tried to blame it on her band and that they started playing the wrong song and then on TV interviews she claimed that she had not been feeling well before the show and she had a sore throat.

This event caused a lot of people to lose some of their respect for Ashlee due to the fact that she would not just admit that she had planned to sing along with a track. Tons of performers do this at their concerts and I think that if she had just come out and admitted to her mistake that people would have gained respect for her fessing up to her own mistake.

Celebrities choose to be in the spotlight and have their name known everywhere. Therefore, they need to act in a respectable manner. It is sickening hearing about all of the trashy female celebs who make fools of themselves in public.

I read a quote the other day that stated, "Not only are you representing yourself, but also your family's name." I found this to be very insightful and so true. I just wish these celebrities who make fools of themselves would realize how childish they make themselves look.

Team Taylor

I was shocked to see Kanye casually walk onto the stage as he did. I have never been a big fan of his, but now I have no use for him. People are saying it was a publicity stunt, but I don't agree. Kanye has never been surrounded by positive press. First thing that comes to my mind is when he got into an altercation at an airport a few years back. I think he is just an angry person.

So that is my personal opinion. I realize that he has apologized several times, but that still does't take back what he did. I think the fact that he did it to Taylor Swift shocks people more than if it were someone else. She is a very young girl who is always surrounded by positive press.

As MTV has posted a long article about this on their website talking about how people are creating spoofs of this event. So I say, Team Taylor....it woud not surprise me one bit if someone created shirts for this either!

PR: Do I have what it takes?

I think Dave Fleet's 14 Key Attributes are directly on target and I feel that I qualify for most of them.

I have always considered myself an "o.k" writer, but my confidence has grown over the last few years. Writing for The Colonnade really helped me to realize my talent and I now feel comfortable classifying my writing skills as "above average."

My communication skills have increased drastically after my internship this past summer. I am now more comfortable talking on the the phone with people while our world's more personable means of communication are slowly disintegrating. Until about 10th grade, I was deathly shy...I know, it's very hard to believe, but I was. Looking back, I never thought I would get my degree in a field that requires so much communication with people on a daily basis. I am very proud of myself of how outgoing and personable I have come and consider my personality one of my greatest attributes.

I know every one says this about themselves, but I really do have a great work ethic. I will not quit until everything is finished just right. This also goes along with pro-activeness. When I began my internship there was a ton of stuff I did not know, but I would try and figure it out on my own. If I had any doubt, I never thought twice about asking a question though. This kind of leads into my attention for detail. I want things done right, and as I said above, I won't stop working until things are perfect. I am a perfectionist which can sometimes drive me a little insane :)

I need to work on my use of social media. Ging, I'm trying my best to keep up with the blogs:) They are just not my forte. As I talked about in a previous blog, I am a person who likes to stay on the go, all the time. I prefer social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook where I can vent/update my status in one sentence and that is all that is allowed! Being able to write THIS much is overwhelming to me. BUUTTTT...I am trying.

Some of the terms on Dave's "new" list I have not heard of...but don't worry. I am about to use my search skills on Google to find it out for myself (proactiveness) haha.

Til next time,
hopefully next week . . .

What I wish I knew now. . .

Over the past four years I cannot believe how much I have matured!! PR is definitely the major for me even though it took two other majors for me to find this one. I was originally Marketing but realized I would never survive with the math that was required. Then I was Early Childhood Education because I love kids, but there is no way I could do that for the rest of my life.

The main thing that I have learned from PR is DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! I am the one who alway puts everything off until last minute and then I stress out when I rush to finish assignments. PR is all about time management and planning. If you do not have a set plan, you will drive yourself crazy when everything is due last minute.

Learning to accept criticism is key. People will give you constructive criticism and do not get offended...take it with a grain of salt and apply what they have told you. PR is all about meeting peoples' needs so listen to what people have to say.

I have also learned the MAJOR importance of NETWORKING. Social media are key these days and you cannot be a successful PR Professional without networking. I am on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, PR OpenMic & I have my blog. I learned the importance of social media this summer at my internship with getting the Milledgeville CVB on Facebook, MySpace and eventually Twitter.

I absolutely love being a PR major and cannot wait to get into the real world!

Milledgeville Convention & Visitors Bureau

This summer I was lucky enough to get an internship at the Milledgeville Convention & Visitors Bureau and I could not have asked for a better experience. I began working the middle of May and worked half days until my Spanish 4 class was over.

I cannot believe how much I learned in one summer. I worked on everything from simple media requests for local magazines to helping plan and execute this year's Deep Roots Festival. I got to write a few press releases and design a few different things that I am still working on. I updated all of our websites (we have around 4) and kept up with all of our events coming up and made sure all of the times/dates and other information was correct.

One of my favorite parts of my internship was getting to interact with all of the visitors and getting to know them. I was surprised to see how many visitors we had on a daily basis, but I loved getting to tell them about Milledgeville and fun things for them to do. I ever got better with my "direction-giving skills," which were somewhat pathetic before (and still kind of are, but they are better). Not only was it fun getting to help people, but it also really improved my confidence. Most of you would find it hard to believe that I used to be deathly shy and could not carry on a conversation with a stranger to save my life. Now, that was about 6/7 years ago, but this internship helped me to become more confident with conversing with new people which is crucial in the PR field. This was definitely one of the greatest aspects of my experience.

I was also given the opportunity to attend regional meetings and partake in very productive meetings concerning budgets, advertising, new websites we are working on, etc... I really appreciated that everyone treated me as an equal and not just as an intern with no ranking. The meetings definitely expanded my knowledge of the tourism industry which I have grown to love. Working with the other CVB's and visitor centers within the middle Georgia (Historic Heartland) area has really been an awesome experience.

My co-workers were (and still are) the highlight of my internship. I have formed great relationships with each of them and I feel as though this is one of the most important things in any work environment. If you do not get along with your co-workers, chances are you will not like your job. The four other ladies that I worked with all summer were incredible and treated me with the utmost respect. They appreciated every little thing that I did and never failed to tell me how appreciative they were.

I have enjoyed my internship so much that I have decided to stay and work through the fall. We have two BIG events coming up that everyone needs to check out!
**The first event is the Deep Roots Festival (formerly known as Sweetwater). This is Oct. 24 from 10a.m.-11p.m and the bands line up will be announced Wednesday (before class) the 26th at noon on the Tony & Philip Radio show on Z97.
**The second one is our 9th Annual Haunted Trolley Tour. It will run Oct. 26 thru Oct. 29 at 6:30p.m. and 8:30p.m. each of those nights.
(Sorry had to get my little plugs in)

So, come take a trolley tour one day soon and visit me at the CVB!

Magnolia Promotion

Magnolia Park Apartments is currently running a promotion where you can win a free trip to Cancun. Since the promotion began, leasing has increased over 10%. Take a tour, sign a lease and your name will be entered into the drawing!

PR Open Mic

PROpenMic is not really what I expected. Well, I'm not really sure what I expected, but I like it. It reminds me a lot of Facebook with the "news feed" on the profile and home pages and how it tells you when you make a change to your page/picture.

I was really overwhelmed having to join another social network! I already struggle with the four that I have, but I'm getting better. I think PROpenMic will grow on me, just as the others have. I have especially come to appreciate Twitter.

The thing I like the most about PROpenMic is that it is made solely for us people in the PR world. Whether you are a student, professor, or practitioner, PROpenMic is waiting for you to join! This really helps to keep the information concentrated on the site to information that pertains to all of us and that we find entertaining and useful.

So, all in all, I just wanted to say, "Thanks Ging," for opening my eyes to ALL these other networking sites that I know will be a great help not only now, but also in my future career!

BLOG-star in the making

Ok.  I am trying very hard to get better at blogging.

I think my problem is that I am always on the go.  I hate sitting still and I am always running errands, at the gym, tanning bed, store...you name it, I've done it today!  I like having tons of stuff to do and staying busy.  Sounds weird, but while most people consider running errands to be a task, it is one of my favorite things to do :).

I do love my computer and using it, but I'm not one to just sit down for hours and blog/tweet/facebook.  No thanks.  I almost have to force myself to make time to check e-mail and keep up with my social networking.

I think the reason I have such a hard time with blogging is because you actually have to sit down and take time to think of what to write, and then actually write it! On the other hand, Twitter and Facebook are more "Check and Go" social network sites.  I love the fact that you can only post 140 characters on Twitter.  It's as if it was made for me!  I do update my Facebook status fairly often, but I usually just get on to see what other people are up to...not like a stalker or anything haha.

We'll see how it goes.  I am putting in a conscious effort in becoming a blog-star though.  As i said in my last blog, "Practice makes perfect!"

Tip, Tip, Hooray . . .

       I found Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point," to be an easy read.  As I'm sure many of us felt when we were assigned this book to read, I automatically assumed it was going to be boring that I would have to lock myself in a dungeon with no windows to be able to finish it.  I was very wrong though. 

      I consider "The Tipping Point" to be a certain point that cause a behavior to "tip." As Gladwell states on page 7, "Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do."  I think that the tipping point is largely based on the environments that the epidemic is exposed to.  Along with his example of the spread of syphilis, good things can spread just as easily.

     Gladwell breaks his book down into the Three Rules of Epidemics, the first one being the Law of the Few.  He states that certain people in our society are responsible for the spread or "tip" of epidemics.  In the STD example, Potterat interviewed 768 people from a small community did not spread gonorrhea to any other persons or just to one. That left the other 168 people responsible for transmitting the disease and causing the epidemic to grow.  In the Paul Revere example, the Law of the Few was viewed in a positive light.  Revere's social personality was able to stimulate the people while Dawes's was not.  Gladwell also states that we do not recognize these people enough within our society.  The Stickiness Factor is the second rule and the Rule of Context is what he calls the third rule of epidemics.  I found it very interesting the ways that Gladwell broke these sections up and enjoyed all of the examples that he used within each.

     In order to make this year's Athletic Auction "tip," I think that it is crucial that we focus on the "stickiness" to make an impact on the our guests.  Gladwell states on page 132, "There is a simple way to package information that, under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible.  All you have to do is find it."  I think this quote fits perfect.  We want the auction to be somewhat simple and we do not want to have way over the top decor and props, but at the same time, we want our guests to get the WOW effect.  We want to impress not only our guests, but also the people that we are working with in the athletic department.  We want to leave a lasting impression so a few years from now, Dr. Carter's will be introducing her PR admin class to the auction project and she will always use our class as an example.

     There are three different types of people that Gladwell talks about in the Law of the Few section and they are the Connectors, the Mavens, and the Salesmen.  The Connector he refers to as someone who is known in society and has a connection with tons of different people.  Their relationship is not close as a best friend or anything, but more of a connection; someone to call up for a favor.  The Mavens are the helpers and the teach others what they learn.  The Salesmen are people with outgoing personalities that allow you to feel a connection and closeness right after meeting them.  They can quickly become someone that you are close to, but they have that ability in gaining peoples' trust after a short amount of time.  Proceed with some caution with the salesmen!

     I consider myself to be somewhat of a Salesman.  I realize i just kind of bashed them in the paragraph before, but I consider myself to be very outgoing and always wanting to please others.  If I come up with an idea that I think is just fabulous, I will run with it and make anyone else see it my way.  I definitely get this from my dad.   He works in the insurance business and never meets a stranger.  He is so friendly and outgoing and can hold a great conversation with anyone.  I like to persuade people and think that I am somewhat effective when it comes to allowing people to see things through my point of view.

     Social media in the Public Relations world is crucial, as we all learned at Real World.  I want to try and be more of a "connector" and to broaden my contacts and form some type of relationship with those important people.  In my Principles of Advertising class last semester, two ladies from and ad agency came to talk to us and I specifically remember one of them talking about how she would keep contact with all of the people that could potentially help her in the future whether it was a simple phone call once a week, or grabbing lunch.  Making and more importantly, maintaining relationships is crucial.  I feel that blogging and Twitter allow us to keep up with people and maintain our relationships.  I still feel that face-to-face communication is more important and makes more of an impact, but with the social networking craze in our society today, if you're not involved, you are losing tons of business and connections every second of the day.

       I am still working on tweeting more and blogging more often than our weekly assignments.  It is something that is definitely taking time to get used to, but as they always say, "Practice make perfect."  I think it is great that Dr. Carter has introduced us to Twitter and blogging so that we can help our future employees benefit from our knowledge.

DJ Ashley

Last semester I did my practicum with The Colonnade and unexpectedly ended up realizing my passion for writing. This semester I was at a loss for what I wanted to do and thought I would go out on a limb and try the radio station. Well, for my practicum this semester I am a radio DJ for WGUR. I have to admit, I was REALLY dreading it at first, especially because I got a late start with it into the semester. Things are really looking up!
I have my own radio show every Wednesday night from 8-9p.m. At first, I was absolutely clueless about everything. There are so many buttons to push, computers to use, and rules/guidelines to follow; I was overwhelmed.
Yesterday was my third radio show and I am loving it! I have decided to go with an " Ashley's Top 10" theme. Last week I talked about the top 10 downloaded songs on iTunes for the week and yesterday I talked about "10 ways to live a healthy life." Having my own show on the radio gives me a chance to talk about things that I find interesting that I think other people will benefit from.
I am so happy that I took a chance with my practicum this semester and it is going great. This will be something else that will be impressive to put on my resume! I am glad that I am getting a feel for many different jobs. Writing for The Colonnade and working for WGUR have both turned out great and I feel so lucky to have these experiences.

PR Real World

I absolutely LOVED PR Real World this past Friday.  Getting up at 4:30 and driving two hours was NOT fun, but they had a nice breakfast for us once we got there.  It also makes it better when you like all the people you are with (PR Admin :)) 

I also really like that we got to choose which sessions we wanted to attend every time.  The first one I went to was about internships and it offered me tons of useful information and interview techniques to remember.  This was great since my internship is coming up this summer!

At lunch, we sat with two ladies from UPS.  They were telling us all about what they did and introducing us to new people.  They were so nice and it was refreshing to sit with such outgoing and real people!

I got a lot more out of Real World than I really expected to and I am so glad I went!  I am already looking forward to next year, since I will be looking for a job then!

So, I'm trying to get an internship at Cuscowilla for this coming summer and I am very excited! I have worked at Reynods Plantation for two years and just love the setting out at Lake Oconee and would love to live out there.

Jamie Murray, a former PR student here at GCSU is who I would be working with and I also previously worked with her at Reynolds, in the same golf shop before she graduated.  Event planning is something I know I would really enjoy, the only downside being that it involves working most weekends.

I'm still keeping my options open, but I am really hoping that this will work out.   I'm excited to have a grown-up job this summer :).

This week, I found an article on a new website that MSN is starting.  The website is called Wonderwall and it is all about celebrity entertainment and news.  I know we all love hearing the latest celeb. gossip, but do we raelly need another entertainment news source? We already have the 24/7 tv channel, E!, and all the shows like Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, Access Hollywood, I could go on and on.  And all of these shows have their own websites too.

I think that our society has become addicted to celebrities and cannot get enough.  What some people forget, is that they are people too and do NOT want to be bothered every second of their day.  Granted, celebrities are public figures, but give them a break sometimes.

The paparazzi are everywhere these days, following the stars and many times, putting them in dangerous situations.  If I were to have people with camera's following my every move, I know I would go crazy!!

I just think it is ridiculous that a website that is often known for its news, feels the need to have celebrity gossip website.

There are several celebrities that I do not care for, but I still think they deserve their right to privacy and this website is  just one more way to exploit their lives.

twEEEting

Twitter is growing on me, slowly  but surely.  I am still trying to add more people and find people that seem interesting to me.  I have to admit, Facebook is still #1 on my list right now, but Twitter is right behind it.  I like that you can add people based on your interests, even if you don't know them.  I recently began following many PR professionals who are in the fashion industry and I love reading what they are tweeting about. I love fashion and clothes and it's neat to see what's going on in the real fashion world from a real PR professional.  I have also added many country singers, as well as Shaq.  I really enjoy reading Shaq's tweets because they are straight and to the point.  I am trying to use Twitter a lot more and I'm sure that once I start following a lot of people who interest me I will begin to use it more than Facebook.

Social Networking

Online social networking is one of the main ways that people communicate these days.  Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogs, most people use at least one of these social networking sites for some reason.  Not only do these websites keep you informed of many things going on, but they also give you a chance to get out information that is important to you and also keep in touch with tons of people.  It is also a great way for companies to form more personal relationships with their clients/customers.  I am following The Home Depot on twitter and it gives customers a chance to say what they do/do not like about the company and to list any complaints that they may have.  I think this is a great way to reach they customers in a friendly, personal way.

My Very First Post

Don't worry y'all, I have arrived!

Find me on Twitter....ashLmurphy

See ya!