Emoji DIversity

In time the emoji will soon have more diversity. Big news to all those tech savvy emoji users.
 Soon there will be emojis that show a more cultural diversity, which we are now seeing come across. Instead of the yellow familiar emoji there will now be five new skin completions of the emoji ranging from a pale skinned emoji to a darer brown skinned emoji. The launch will happen in June 2015. I feel as though this new emoji racial diversity will work with our cultural diverse world. Of course like everything it takes time for things to change and with technology the culture goes hand in hand and finally since 1999 when emoji was brought to life it will come another change.

Do Away with the Catcall

Has anyone seen this viral video yet? When I first watched it was is this accurate? Is it really a view in the life of women walking the streets having to deal with daily cat calls and harassment? My questions then lead me to thinking of my sister and my girlfriend. When hearing things said to them do they think it is a compliment or do they feel threatened.
Take a look in the video and you will see there is a guy that walks beside her silently for five minutes, Is this not a threat? Who can watch this video and say there is nothing wrong with how our world is handling the situation and interaction with women. I feel that it comes down to two basic principals: 1. Young men no longer have a male role model to look up to, to show them how to interact and respect a women and 2. What we see is what we do, too many video games, television shows, and movies depict that this is acceptable.
We need to treat women with more respect and as a person rather than as a piece of meat. If roles were reversed would men like this? Yes it is nice to hear compliments on beauty and appearance, but it is in the way its done with respect. No one wants to be disrespected and no one wants to be followed and made uncomfortable to where they feel their safety is threatened.
What will you do as a man the next time you see an attractive women? Will it be the disrespectful catcall or the nice respectful approach to say hello and give a compliment? SO many guys do not realize that the simple manors we learned at an early age will get us farther in life and simply being a gentleman will never go unnoticed.

Stress and your Emotions

So these past few weeks I have struggled internally with dealing with my emotions and not knowing how to express them in a positive way. After talking to people that care and somewhat trying to get a handle on things I realized a few things. One is that a person can't hold everything in. Its simple just as Newton's Law of conservation of energy states, energy is neither lost or destroyed, it is simply transferred from one object to the next.
So with this everything I had been experiencing I was simply letting things go or push over as if nothing would bother me, not knowing that eventually it would show up later. All the energy I had stored up inside me was causing me to be a ticking time bomb and eventually if I didn't get a hold of things it would cause destruction.
Anger can cause some serious issues with someone's psyche in causing depression and making someone become distant, changing their entire attitude toward life and everything. I can attest this is me. Usually so positive with every situation I encounter I had become angry with everything now. I was grumpy all day everyday and pretty much did not want anyone to talk to me or bother me. Went from a nice person and a good friend to where my own teammates and friends I was angry at and always isolated myself. It was basically in my eyes me against the world.
What I realized is that there are people that care and that anger can't be held in, it has to be expressed in a positive way and the world isn't against you. All the stress on your shoulders doesn't have to be on you. A simple conversation with someone can take some of the extra stress away.
As a guy sometimes you need to cry and let go, its hard to admit and do but the energy and stress is not healthy on yourself holding everything in.
In researching and reading about ways to deal with stress there are several techniques and ways that are helpful

Manage Anger

Control Anger Before it Controls You

Student Athletes??

In the world of college football the fans are crazy and the atmosphere and energy is indescribable. With that being said, is it a case where we as the public start making these colleges athletes more than what they are?

Are we putting these college athletes ima pedestal and saying they are above the law? Look at Johnny Football, Jameis Winstin, and Tod Gurley, is the college like atmospher making these players believe they are above the law or don't have to follow the rules.

Some universities are falling under scrutiny after repetitive investigations happening with players. Florida State University has had another player fall under investigation by police with possible domestic violence incident. He also has another open case where during summer he was questioned to whether he was involved in a robbery of another FSU student.

North Carolina Universtiy the same thing. Recently has just been fined and had to deal with getting caught of giving athletes bogus and fake classes and giving them grades of passing with these fake classes. This is unethical and unfair to all the other students on campus that work hard. Also the degrees these student athletes received is rumored will not be revoked either.

Fall Break

While most of the student body probably went home and met up with old friends, I spent my time I. Cincinnati busting family and an exciting trip to Kings Islands. My life is pretty hectic right now with school, football, and family issues but who's isn't right? I used this little break as a getaway somewhat, o skip town and just escape. Sometimes in life we need that little reset button to just get back energized and regather ourselves and that is definitely what I used this fall break as.
Kings Island gave me the opportunity to just be a kid again. Just enjoy the day and the moment. After having a horrible loss against Mount Union the fastest thing I needed to do was just leave and clear my head. It's funny though that I possibly couldn't have chosen a better day to go. Weather wasn't to cold or windy with just a little bit of sunshine peeping through the clouds. It's late in the season as well and it was a Sunday. The lines had a maximum of 15 minutes so you could really enjoy the day and not waste half of it just waiting in lines. This was the first time that my girlfriend and I had been here so we were really looking forward to a day of excitement.

Everyone knows that if you come here it is a must that you "conquer the beast". The Beast so happened to be our favorite ride at the park. Although the roller coaster was a wooden coaster it was not scarce of speed. The high speed turns and airlifts really had our adrenaline pumping. We had to ride it at least 5 times. At a certain point during the ride you can just glare out in the distance and take awe of the beauty in nature with the pretty colors the tree leaves have and just admire nature, then all of a sudden you realize you are still battling The Beast and the ride is not over with. The new ride Banshee I must say will not disappoint and if you go anytime in the near future it'll be waiting for you. It's almost as if Banshee is challenging you because it faces you soon as you enter and is the first ride you see entering the park.

Taking pictures is always something we do together and every trip we take its a must. Taking pictures in front of Charley Brown, the Eiffel Tower and while actually on rides( I advise you not to do) is just   Another part of the day and enjoying the moment. I really needed this little escape to almost restart myself and I'm excited to get back to Ada more motivated than before.

Anyone who has visited Kings Islands before what is your favorite ride? What are your favorite things to do when visiting a theme park with friends and family?

Did Jaxson Take it Too Far?

This Sunday the Jacksonville Jaguars mascot might have taken a joke overboard with the sign made during the fourth quater in the against the Steelers. We all are aware of the Steelers infamous "Terrible Towel" and the updated case in Dallas with ebola and in west Africa. Yes ebola is a major crisis in the world today killing thousands. On the other hand Jaxson was making a competitive joke and using the current news to do so. Across the nation views on this incident were on both sides of the fence.

Against the sign:

Janelle @jpeanutOSU

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Sorry, @Jaguars and @nfl but Ebola jokes aren't cool. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Bobby Johnston @Bojo20

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@Jaguars classless. Ebola had killed thousands and still out of control and your organization thinks it's a joke

8:33 AM - 6 Oct 2014

Defense of the sign was:

Woody @Tide_Fan_1

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@Jaguars @JaxsonDeVille So Saturday Night Live can make fun of Ebola but Jaxson can't.. I don't get it..

The Jaguars did release a statement saying that they would handle the problem internally. The also stated how improve and humor has always been a key in Jaxson DeVille's success. The team was unaware of the sign made by the person who plays Jaxson for the past 20 years.

How do you feel? Was the joke a humorous and just using the ebola crisis and terrible towel a good idea or was it a idea that should not have happened?

Homecoming 2014

When you think of Homecoming you usually think of the big parties, alumni coming back in town, and the football game of course. Yes, all these did happen this weekend, but the most memorable is the fact my father, step mother, and my former roommate and his girlfriend flew from Florida to come see me this weekend. With them coming back I did want o have a huge game and do well to make them proud. Unfortunately that didn't happen. I possibly had the second worst game I have ever had. I made some crucial mistakes and I was beat in the back of the end-zone for John Carrol to win the game. Yes this is devastating and heart breaking. Even though I didn't play to well, the ones that mean the most to me, my family were there to bring my spirits back up.

Spending time with family and friends you truly love I cherish, because unlike most people that attend this university I rarely see my family. I may see them a total of two or three times a year for not long spans of time since I am from Florida. Before the game we spent time at the parade taking pictures and just watching everyone freeze on Main Street. Of course my parents were shaking and unprepared for the freezing temperatures. I ended up having to lend them a few of my coats and gloves to help them out. After the game we all went to dinner and just really bonded having deep conversations. Those don't happen much and when you get a chance to engage in them make sure you do. I love and appreciate the fact that my father is always there to support me and help me along my journey. Even though my mother and father are not together I always feel loved.

The moment which really touched my heart is when my father and step mother told my girlfriend and myself they were proud of us. When a child hears he is doing well and pretty much gets the approval from his father, he knows he must be doing something correct. Every child in the end just wants to make their parents happy and proud.

Loner Ranger

I have always been "that weird kid" as long as I can remember, mainly because I have always done things by myself or at my own little beat. My time my way. Just the way i was raised. I never will forget this phrase my father told me, "When you ride alone you can only get yourself in trouble, not anyone ever snitching on you" and "the older you become the less friends you will have and eventually it will be just you, your lady, and your family."

Recently I started thinking of this because of some things I experienced on campus. Anyone can catch me walking to class alone or doing something alone. I guess you could call me a loner. The smaller your inner circle the less likely you can get into drama or any problematic situation.
My friends always called me the odd ball because unlike them and going out and having "fun" i would like to just stay in and stay low key, somewhat off the grid. Of course I am like everyone else and I want fun, but I am just the one not to do things in a crowd. Jokes on the football team here are that its a special night if you catch me out at a party because I rarely come out at night.

From the situations I have endured I have learned to stay low key and quiet. Be seen and not heard. the loudest in the room is usually hiding something or just begging for something for trouble.

I am the Lone Ranger.

Chivalry Still Exist?

I've heard so much about how the world is changing, how people do not have manors anymore and people are so rude. I noticed this around campus this week and thought that maybe this may be the changing in times with our generation. I noticed so many  guys not holding the doors open for females this week around campus and thought why is this. Nowadays the new term "thirsty" is spreading worldwide. According to urbandictionary.com thirsty means"to eager to get something or desperate." There are different Types of Thirsty. Is social media and our generation changed so much that males are not conducting themselves with proper edicate. Is CHIVALRY DEAD?

This is a question  kept asking myself this week and decided I should talk about it on campus. I was raised that as a guy you should treat a woman with respect and seeing so many males disrespect a female this week was shocking. Whether it was at a party or just hearing chit chat.

 

I was always taught that it is woman's job to give a man something to respect, but is the man's job to respect the woman. So the question is who's fault is the reason chivalry is dead? Is it the woman, man or social media. You see over and over on social media #WCW and is this good?  don't want my daughters thinking this is the biggest compliment she could receive from a man. With the world so ever changing Chivalry is definitely something that is definitely changing alongside and I fear that one day my daughters will not understand how a woman should be treated.

NFL Domestic Violence

Here are my words and thoughts of the NFL domestic violence in a podcast. NFL DV

It is Here to Stay

Social media is here to stay forever! Although it is forever evolving there are reasons it will stay around. "Human beings are motivated to connect and share for a multitude of reason: researching, finding information and inspiration, participating, connecting with friends and for entertainment."No matter the platform of social media the principles do not change, Communication is two-way interactive, and above all sharable. this can be found on Web 2.0 technology. Web 2.0 explaination

Think of the social networks we use today and the ways in which we share information. Twitter has the retweet. Facebook allows you to share post with friends. Along with these two networks Instagram allows users to share photos and videos where they can use the hashtag to search everything that has the same hashtag. Its a way of grouping.
According to the book more than 70% of internet users participate in a form of social networks. The numbers are large enough that if it was a country it would be the third largest. Keep this in mind, social media is global and is steadily increasing everyday. When used correctly it holds its advantages, but when used in wring ways it can bring about many problems.

Do you feel social media is a tool that does more harm or good in the PR profession?

Did ONU Drop the Ball?

Do you think ONU dropped the ball? When it comes to what happened last week with the escaping of convicts from the Lima prison students were somewhat left with an uneasy feeling when the school didn't notify the campus community of what was going on. Many students like myself felt as though the school should have sent a campus wide email. The breaking news made national attention, reaching Florida where my mother tagged me in a Facebook post informing myself to be safe and aware. Personally the way I found out the convicts had escaped where through social media such as Twitter, SnapChat and the new Yik Yak. Many students were upset that this was the way they found out about the escaping. We feel as though ONU somewhat let us down and can possibly make us feel our security and safety is in question. Even though the event occurred miles away it is still close enough to Ada to where we felt some form of alert should have been sent out. IS security a question now for students?

True Support

The tough times we go through in life molds us into who we become. We tend to overlook the situation and take the good with the bad, everything in life has a balance. These past few weeks have been very tough for myself. I found out an aunt back home had a stroke. This week my uncle, my movers brother, had a stroke which left him paralyzed on half of his body. He was found alone 21 hours after having the stroke and had to be air lifted to a hospital an hour away in Huntington , WV. My mother after hearing the news was stressed out and rushed to the emergency room, which she later found out she had a fibroid in her uterus which needs surgery to be removed.

All this going on is stressful for a 21 year old college kid just trying to figure life out. Through all of his and being here in Ada, pretty much alone it was only one person I could lean to for strength and support, my girlfriend. She really helped me cope with the situations at hand and even went to West Virginia with me this weekend to visit my uncle. Even though it was tough for him to communicate we found a way to enjoy the time spent watching football making him giggle and laugh. Going there really made my mom's stress and anxiety go down a bit knowing that I would let her know how her brother was doing.

Family is a major part in my life and I am a big family man. It means the world to me and family will always be there for support. I'm blessed to have my loving girlfriend help me along the way of these tough times I'm experiencing and knowing that through everything she will always be there to support me and help me whenever it is needed. I appreciate everything she has helped me do these past few weeks and this past weekend.

Groundswell Importance

Needs to Know about The Groundswells

1. The Groundswell is interactive and is person to person. It is always changing and is consumer and people driven.
2. Listen to costumers: The customers are who determine the success of your business, so you must listen to their needs and the feedback they give you.
3. Patience: It takes time to become successful. Rome wasn't built in a day.
4. Be optimistic: Take chances and look to become bigger. New technology is always developing. Take a chance and see what is out there to help your business. Remember the groundswell is always changing so the same techniques that once worked to reach consumers may not work now. When something new consumers are going to try it out. So keep in mind being at a standstill can potentially hurt you if the company isn't willing to take a risk to reach new consumers.
5. Flexibility: Be interchangeable ad easy to change.
6. Be collaborative: Collaborations with others can broaden your spectrum and reach of customers and at the same time you and your company have the opportunity to learn new ways and experiences from the other you are collaborating with.
7. Be humble: Things don't last long if you are not humble. At any moment it can change as well you can go from being at he top of consumers list to the very bottom. The groundswell is changing remember, and consumers are always willing to change and try the new big idea.

University of Florida Security in Question

How would you feel if your daughter, sister, mother or any close female friend was attacked in the middle if the night at a place where they are supposed to feel safe? At the university of Florida recent attacks have happened at night where women were attacked but fought off the attacker and with help of bystanders at times to get away. The incident is alarming and has many students frightened and worried. Attacks bring back memories of those that happened 24 years ago easier on campus where the attacked women wear assaulted and dismembered. Memorials are still on campus of the victims of attack 24 years earlier.

One student stated, "
My mom got me a stun gun as soon as I told her about it." Students on campus do not feel safe and they are frightened. Buddy systems are put in place with the university having night escorts to dormitories. The police staff has also changed scheduling so that more officers are available at night. From a pr view it seems as though the university learned from it's prior incident 24 years earlier and is using it's crisis plan. Informing students and the community, where there is a threat and danger to the community the university must alert them which is the Clery Act.
 Vice President of student affairs stated, "This community came together, unified and I really think that the closeness that was forged during that terrible time really is what you are seeing today."


http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/08/justice/florida-university-assaults/index.html?c=homepage-t&page=3

Bus Rides

Overnight games are the best opportunity to really get to know your teammates. With a long bus ride about 8 hours long heading to St. Louis the possibilities of pranking each other, amount of storytelling and getting to know one another every high. Of course an 8 hour bus ride is not the ideal way to travel, but when you play division III football, sometimes you have to just go with the flow. Traveling wasn't too bad on the way, we stopped two times on the way to St. Louis for a bathroom break and at Indiana State University to have our normal Friday practice. On the bus ride you hear the usual jokes where upperclassmen tease the freshman that are fortunate to make the trip. Conversation is fun and loose, trying to enjoy the ride as much as possible through a cramped bus where there is very minimum leg room. Freshman are shocked to when we tell them all freshmen must sleep on the floor and they get leftovers at team meals but its just the usual newcomer pranks. Snapchat is blowing up with the endless amounts of pictures being taking and sent of teammates passed out on each other. A competition soon is formed to see who can snap the perfect picture of a teammate. All fun and games of course. The kickers on the team are the funniest of all. Passing through Indianapolis and and finally getting to St Louis was a great sight seeing place. View of the Lucas Oil Stadium and The Arch was pretty amazing. For guys from out of state it really is a first time even coming to a city like the ones we are driving to. Overall long trips have both ups ands downs, you get to bond with your teammates who most would consider your brothers. The games and movies played during the trio are always fun and then there are the times we get to mess with the rookies of the team and have little freshman initiations.

Groundswell Tapping

There is no going back> Once you have tapped into the groundswell there is no reversal, it is there forever. Remember that copying one's strategies are not beneficial for you. What works for someone may not work for you. Each company or group all has there own and individual customer and audience to appeal to. In public relations we focus on knowing he target audience so a strategy for example for Apple Inc. may not work for another company such as ESPN. One strategy to keep in mind that plays role in this is listening to the audience and what appeals to them, your customers. It is in the end the customers that make everything go round and make everything successful for the companies.

Domestic Violence Policy in the NFL

Earlier this week Commissioner Roger Goodell of the NFL announced the new domestic violence policy that would go into action. The league and commissioner came under criticism with the way the domestic violence case was handled this offseason with Ravens running back Ray Rice. Rice was seen on camera striking his now wife and knocking her unconscious by a casino security camera. Rice’s punishments were a two game suspension, a fine of $58,000 and complete an anger management program. Across the nation we felt as though it was a slap on the wrist to Rice and we all thought he would face harsher punishment. At the same time another player Josh Gordon was facing a year of suspension for the league’s substance abuse policy. In a sense was the league teaching our youth that domestic violence cases are pushed aside while cases that involve drugs are much more severe? The Rice case gave the league the opportunity to strengthen the domestic violence policy in which the first offense by any NFL employee would receive a six game suspension without pay. The second offense is a lifetime ban with possibility of an appeal and reinstatement. Instantly the NFL strengthened its policy, which has overlooked domestic violence cases. Weaknesses of the league’s new policy are those who might use the justification of the Ray Rice case and say it is unfair to have a six game suspension and even possibility of lifetime ban when there are several cases before where the punishments were not so severe.  I think the NFL did the right thing by stiffening its policy and in the end it will all pay out in the end, but right now there can be much negative criticism stating that there should have already been a policy set in  place.

ONU Football has Finally Arrived

Last Thursday the ONU football team had their first chance of the season to compete against another team, Adrian College, in their annual preseason scrimmage. This year the team is looking to continue where last year ended on a high note. Both offense and defense has many key starters and contributors returning from last year which should bring leadership and knowledge to the team. While competing against Adrian College the Polar Bears were a dominant force the majority of the scrimmage and ended up holding a 8-7 win in the live quarter that was played at the end of the scrimmage. With hopes and energy high, the Polar Bears will travel to St. Louis, MO this upcoming weekend to contest against Washington University. We will have our hands filled and adversity to overcome with key players having lingering injuries. We will also have to adjust to the high temperatures around the mid 90s with high humidity, a six hour travel time, as well as competing against a top 25 nationally ranked team and a team that was in last years national playoffs.