“Measure what Matters”

As I have now finished this book, I can look back at the value it has.  As the landscape of social media constantly changes, this book may become outdated within the next few years (in terms of some its recommended methods) but as of the moment, it is a great tool for PR practitioners.

The perception a business has is the most important thing.  A business’s image, whether good or bad, can single-handedly determine the success or failure of said business.  It doesn’t matter how ethically upstanding the business may be.  If it has the public perception of being morally corrupt the business will suffer.  This is why measuring public perception is of utmost importance.

With the rapid development of interactive social networks over the past decade or so, communities that businesses market to have become more blended and connected with one another.  Business perception from one community can leak into another community due to everyone being connected, especially with a website like Twitter.  Due to twitter’s real-time updates and design, people don’t necessarily have to go looking for information, as it may be found by accident. 

Another significant point in measure what matters is monitoring public perception to see how two competitors are viewed.  When measuring, a benchmark is always needed, as is a meter of success.  Therefore, if a company can have a better perception in the eyes of consumers, this would be a benchmark as well as a method of measuring success. 

The foreign language of sleep

What is sleep?  Sleep is something I don’t partake in anymore, that’s what.  As of this moment, I have gone a little more than 33 hours straight without sleep.  If you know me personally or have read some of my previous blogs, you may know I am no stranger to staying up all night or going long periods without sleep.  Most college students are more adept to it than others.

It’s kind of a cultural thing in college to undervalue sleep.  If I use a lot of caffeine and stay active I usually can stay awake for as long as I need to.  But I’m sure it depends on the person.  Over the summer I had similar experiences to this.  I worked three jobs (more or less cause two of them were part time) and had one instance where in a span of 72 hours I had 7 hours of sleep.  Even without working, a healthy dose of sleep over three days is between 18 and 24.  It was a kind of living hell at certain points, especially when working third shift. 

Right now though, there’s just under two weeks left of school, or should I say, “under two weeks left of not sleeping.”  There are probably many other students who are in similar circumstances I am.  After all, misery does love company.

The Cosby Nightmare

Bill Cosby, a stand up comedian who has seen profound success in his life of comedy and television, is currently the target of several accusations of sexual misconduct from several different women.  The allegations range from serving alcohol to and then molesting minors, forcefully kissing women and then date rape.  As of the moment, 21 different women have come forward claiming Cosby drugged and raped them.  One of the accusers, P.J. Masten, claims she knows of at least 12 other women who are frightened and too embarrassed to come forward.   That would put the potential number at least 33. 

Several of the women who have come forward against Cosby are former Playboy bunnies or were affiliated with playboy, either working in one of Playboy’s clubs or being an actual model for the company.  Cosby is accused of a variety of despicable actions, most of which consist of drugging and then raping women.  Cosby was no stranger to playboy and was always welcome at the Playboy mansion.  He and Hugh Hefner have been close friends for decades.  One of the girls accusing Cosby of misconduct, Judy Ruth, says she was just 15 years old when he molested her at the Playboy Mansion. 

Cosby’s lawyer has denied all accusations, saying they are “completely false” and claims they are attempted extortion.  Not much has been said from the Cosby camp besides this.  The public accusations have supposedly inspired a lot of private conversations among former Playboy models.  Masten claims some of these women have personally texted her and said they were victims of Cosby, too.  It will be very interesting to see how Cosby will respond if more women come out and accuse him, the man accused of being a “serial rapist.” 

If you want to read more about the Cosby scandal, you kind find it here. 

Thanksgiving break

I found Thanksgiving break to be very enjoyable.  It provided a time to relax and recharge after a couple of difficult weeks.  It seemed for some of my classes professors wanted to get some things out of the way before the final few weeks of school, which was probably a good idea in retrospect.  Besides the all-nighters I had to endure sometimes, it wasn’t all that bad because I expected it. 

Over break, I was both lazy and productive at the same time.  To my surprise, I actually did work on some schoolwork.  But then I slept until one at least every day besides for Thanksgiving, when I slept until about noon.  I have a feeling I’m not the only returning student who did this though. 

I was also able to spend some time with my family and friends from back home and my favorite football team (the Eagles) won on Thanksgiving day which made it all the better.   In addition, I may have actually finalized my spring break plans (see previous blog, “vacations on breaks”) which is especially exciting for me considered I’ve never traveled on spring break. 

The one downside, it went unbelievably fast.  It’s hard for me to believe how fast it went.  However, when I look at the date and realize that there is only a little more than two weeks left in the semester, I’m left wondering where on earth this semester went, let alone the fact I’ve posted 40 blogs counting this one.  Thanksgiving break, along with this semester, have gone incredibly fast.