A smooth and enjoyable launch

This is my selection for the Top 10 Greatest Moments of PBandJterm 2014.

Photo Credit: Andy at Switch

10. Jill said to get out pen and paper: This moment established a profile of each person in the class. The number of students who couldn’t produce a piece of paper and a writing utensil was… humorously fitting for this course.

9. Marisa Lather’s advice for networking: This moment may have gone unnoticed by most everyone else, but it really opened my eyes. Prior to her comment about LinkedIn, I was only comfortable connecting with people who I have actually worked with. I never would have thought that adding other people in my industry, regardless of our relationship, could send more opportunities my way. They could post information that I would like to know, especially about job openings in our field.

8. Scott Stratten’s advice to build a platform: Scott’s message about having an excellent piece of writing go unread because the platform isn’t there really hit home. In order for my content to be seen and have an impact, I need to build my platform. Our guest speakers said it takes several years for a blog to get traction. Scott said he spent several years building an audience on Twitter before he even launched his blog.

7. Our class map: I have lived in Missouri my entire life. I have been to a few very similar Midwestern states, plus the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. To see the map of places all of my classmates have been really put things in perspective for me. There is such a huge world out there that I have never seen and that I can’t even begin to understand. Some day, when I am able, I will travel outside of the continental United States. In the mean time, I will have to live vicariously through everyone’s travel blogs.

6. Sarah Evans promised us pizza if we got #PBandJterm trending: After our presentations, two of the brands to know jumped in our conversation on Twitter. Sarah Evans and Scott Stratten started chatting back and forth with students, all with the tag #PBandJterm. To have people with such prominence in their niches take time to talk to some students was really awesome. Their interaction with their audiences is definitely part of the reason they are brands to follow.

5. Jess Leitch said to create more than you curate: Jess was able to sum up an entire week’s discussion with one concept. It is important to curate, but it is more important to create. Original content is always the way to go. As soon as she said that, I saw Glendon nod with supreme approval… This lesson was well taught by each of our guest speakers, and by our fearless leader, Jill.

4. Work ethic can sometimes outweigh actual skills: Jenn Cloud made this little remark, reminding me that all my effort will actually pay off. That’s a great feeling.

3. When Scott Stratten begrudgingly agreed to use Google Hangout and everyone jumped on the conversation, causing him to threaten to come down and beat us: No lessons learned in this particular portion of the video chat, other than Scott Stratten is a delightful human person. It’s moments like this that made this course such an enjoyable experience.

2. Jenn Cloud saying two steps forward, one step back is still a cumulative one step further than you were before: That statement is going to stick with me for as long as I have functioning brain cells. Success is so subjective, and this is the outlook I need to have.

Photo credit: JaeYong Kim

1. Things we are thankful for: I loved taking a pause to think on positivity. I particularly want to revisit my third claim to gratitude, “I love the diverse group of classmates from whom I can learn. And who can make me laugh to no end.” I have learned so much from each of my classmates. Because everyone had different backgrounds, interests and skills, I was always intrigued. Thanks for making my social media launch as smooth and enjoyable as possible!

Nelson Mandela makes the front page (a million different ways)

Every now and then something happens that affects people from all different parts of the world. These events inevitably make the front page of most major publications. Today I have looked through newseum.org’s archive of coverage for Nelson Mandela’s death.

These Page 1 designs came from papers which can usually be picked up on Lindenwood University’s campus: The New York Times, USA Today and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Critique: The Crusader

Today’s quick critique is of The Crusader, Cardinal Gibbons High School’s student newspaper. As usual, the publication and issue were selected at random. Because this issue was only eight pages, the entire paper was reviewed, and portions of it are discussed here.

Social media manager and spectacular juggler

Photo credit: voguerhythm.tumblr.com

Marisa Lather is a social media manager who knows how to juggle. Her fashionable little hands gracefully rotate a full time job, part time freelance work and a personal blog.

Who is she?

Marisa is the marketing director for Microgrid Solar. She maintains a social media and marketing strategy for the renewable energy services provider.

She also acts as a freelance social media consultant, helping clients establish and optimize their brands on various social media platforms.

Whatever free time she has goes into her blog, which is sustained primarily by images from her instagram.

Community manager and confectionary briber

Photo credit: iriefromthetub.blogspot.com

Jess Leitch is an enthusiastic community manager who engages in confectionary enticement to win over her audiences. She also has a really neat blog…

Get to know Jess

As ALIVE Magazine’s community manager, she manages content creation and all social media platforms for ALIVE and St. Louis Fashion Week.

She also runs a blog called City in a Jar, which details beauty around the city. The lifestyle blog was awarded the Riverfront Times award for the best personal blog in the area.

Hopefully our blogs can help expand her “In The Press” page.

Freelance marketing consultant and feline savior

Photo credit: blogs.riverfronttimes.com

Jenn Cloud is a super cool, cat-saving freelance marketing and social media consultant. She works in the St. Louis area, helping people develop a positive and effective web presence for their brands or products.

Annette introduced us to Jenn during her presentation, but I was still unprepared for the awesomeness that became of our guest’s presence. Oh the stories she can tell! Her speech was as inspirational as it was hilarious.

Even amorphous freaks of nature belong to a community

** I apologize in advance for the number of times I use the term “content” throughout this entry. I typically roll around on the floor like an amorphous freak of nature when words are repeated this often in close proximity to one another. Please keep in mind that content was a huge portion of this week’s discussion. All of it, really; all of this week was about content. But the true reason I keep using the term is because I wanted to be sure I didn’t leave anyone out when I was linking to everyone’s posts about content from Tuesday. (I may have gotten a little hyperactive with hyperlinks.) **

“To set yourself apart, take blogging seriously.” – Jenn Cloud

As our guest speaker noted, the way to stand out from the crowd is through creating content. Her advice resonates what Jill has been pushing all week: content, content, content.

A brand you should know: Maria Popova

Photo credit: Elizabeth Lippman of the New York Times

Here are some interesting posts I found on Popova’s blog, related to previous class discussions.

Items mentioned during the presentation:

• Seven lessons learned in Popova’s seven years of brain picking
• The literary jukebox

Items related to happiness leading to success:

• Happiness and how to live with presence
• Finding fulfilling work

Items related to creating content

• John Green’s advice for aspiring writers

Item related to consuming content

• The art-science of visual storytelling

C is for Content

Nom Nom

I wish I devoured content like this guy does cookies, but I’m a picky consumer. The sites I find myself reading the most often are news sites like CNN and BBC. I also spend some time reading stories from my hometown. I typically don’t leave comments on many sites, but I do regularly share articles. Especially

Brand yourself or be branded

Share it, post it, pin it, tweet it, twist it, flip it, bop it!

I have been forced to do many things this week that I am not used to doing. I have been tossed out of my comfort zone– over and over again.