The Rise of Blogs

 Last week when Dr. Aggie was reading through the syllabus, I thought to myself "I'm really going to regret writing all these blogs for class." Initially, she was right, but after writing my fourth blog, I'm starting to enjoy the process of creating a place to store memories in my life. I've never been a fan of diaries or what they entail. I feel like diaries are just a hodgepodge of thoughts. Blogging has given me at least some guidance, and a path to carve for myself when writing. 

Looking more into Chapter 12, and the history of blogs, I think it's quite interesting that they have been around for already 30 years. I think the concept of blogs are going to be an important marketing tool in the future. Chapter 12 outlined how brands and businesses can benefit from blogs. There are many aspects that people overlook when it comes to marketing. For companies and big corporations, I think that blogging can be astronomically helpful. When it comes to big policies and changes in corporations, having a single space to share everything keeps everything neat and organized. Other ways that the chapter talked about is humanizing things. I think this is going to be a very important aspect moving forward for companies' reputation and image. Humanization is going to be crucial in the future with AI rapidly growing. Humanizing words in a blog post gives relief to some that not everything is AI generated. It is also heartwarming that there are people taking the time to write and explain what is going on in the company?

What are your thoughts on big businesses and corporations implementing blogs into their marketing strategy?

Snow Day

As a kid, I was always excited when my parents would break the news about a potential snow day. When our family heard that snow was coming to town, like every other family, we would start preparing to be stuck inside for a day or two. Typically, school got canceled due to cold weather, but every once in a while we had a real snow day. I've lived in Chicagoland my whole life, and each winter is extremely cold and snowy. Every year, we've had at least one "big snow" during the winter season. Usually it would be anywhere from like six to eight inches. Nothing compared to the snow we got this past week in Ada. 

As most of you have already experienced, Ada ended up getting ten plus inches of snow this past weekend. This ended up leaving many people indoors, and even snowed in a few houses. Coming from a much more populated background than Ada, I had never experienced businesses and restaurants closing due to snow. Though, I can confidently say I was prepared for the weather we received. 

Snow days are truly unique. Sleeping in until noon, playing video games, hanging out with friends and watching Netflix are all things that are great. At some point reality sets back in, and then I'm back to doing homework, reading, interviews and studying. While I enjoyed my long, four day weekend, I need to prepare to get back in the groove, and start off the second semester strong. 

Social Media's Impact On Our Lives

Growing up I was glued to the outdoors; I was born and raised in the Suburbs of Chicago. If I wanted to watch TV I would have to go downstairs and use the remote to turn it on. Nowadays, you can use the remote that is on your phone in an app. Or, you could even just watch television on your phone. The world is now in everyones hands. Times have changed. Technology is advancing and the only thing that you can do is just accept it and watch. 

Our class textbook "Essentials of Social Media Marketing" by Michelle Charillo does a great job outlining the rapid growth of social media and the impact that it is going to have on our lives in the future. The textbook mentions that 70% of the current world population uses mobile devices. Phones are not just the future of TV, they are the future of social media. This is huge for the business space. Mobile phones are a tool for most in their everyday lives, and it important to follow different trends and what people are really doing on this app. Social Media also offers a lot of promise to marketers, and public relations industries; as it is quite fascinating the trends that are happening. As well as how you can strategizing to be successful on social media. It is crazy to see how technology has advanced in the recent years, with TikTok, and Snapchat, as well as others. Now just fast forward 30-40 years and just think about what the future for social media holds along with AI. Its tough to picture but it is progressing so fast, one can only dream what it will look like!

What are your thoughts on the future of social media with AI? Comment below!

Ups and Downs

Playing a collegiate sport can be one of the most enjoying times as a college student. I am on the men's soccer team, and it has been such a blessing to continue to play the sport that has been such an influential part of my life. As everyone knows, sports are filled with highs and lows. Our team this year was undefeated, which we thought was great. Turns out it wasn't good enough to be an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Shortly after the season concluded I took a few weeks to myself and reflected on the season. In the meantime, my back (which has been bothering me for 2 years) was starting to flare up again. I usually take some ibuprofen and just brush it off, but something just didn't feel right. I ended up going to receive x-rays as well as an MRI. The results on the MRI came back, and I herniated 2 discs in my lumbar spine (L4-L5, L5-S1). The doctor said that I was out for 12 weeks and then a re-evaluation. At first, I was pretty bummed to hear the news. This meant that I wasn't able to participate in any team related events. All though I am disappointed that I can't play for a while, I'm taking the time to use this as a good opportunity to be a better leader for the younger guys on the team. I am looking forward to mentoring some of the younger kids and get them to stay in shape and prepared this off season. Looking ahead, I have my last ever soccer season next fall and I am committed to do anything to get healthy, and back in shape for my season next year. No matter how tough the road of recovery is ahead, I'm going to stay resilient and dedicated to myself and my health.