Notes By B

On March 16th, 50 Kidsave youth and potential host/adoptive families attended Weekend Miraclesâ March Advocacy Event.  This was the first yoga event for Weekend Miracles—and the first time practicing yoga for many of the adults and the youth! Salena Collins, owner of Clear Gardens Yoga Studio, led everyone in a yoga class, teaching the Vinyasa …

It is the biggest marketing day of the year, Super Bowl Sunday.  The day companies spend millions of dollars on advertising and not just on the commercials, but also social media.  There are social media teams who are watching their news feeds/timelines during the game awaiting an opportunity to spark conversation.  They are highly paid people whose number one job is to engage their followers in conversation, and talk about their brand. The Super Bowl is a great time for brand awareness; it is a chance to gain new customers/followers. 

So the game is over and it is the day after.  Most people thought the big game would be the topic of discussion this morning on social media, but if you saw the score it was a blow out.  Nonetheless, we still have the commercials to rant and rave about, but those too were just blah.  However we still have something to discuss, J.C Penney's Twitter timeline.  If you did not see the company's timeline you missed a lesson on proof reading before you press the send key. 

It is not funny, okay it is, but what really happen here? 

Many are saying someone was drunk tweeting from their account.  Perhaps they thought they could work and have a drink or two while watching the game. I do not know if alcohol was involved or not, but it looks like a cat or dog walked across their laptop keyboard.  

Whether you are writing on a post or a paper you should proof read.  After you post a tweet read it once more to check if you misspelled something and if you did please press the delete icon.  

J.C Penney claims they were tweeting with mittens to clear up the social media hiccup. 

Was this done on purpose to gain brand awareness? Did a marketing team place this on the content calendar?  Who wants to be known as the brand that cannot spell? 

On Saturday January 25, 2014, The National Black Public Relations Society of Los Angeles (BPRS-LA) hosted their first meeting of 2014- "Tune in and Turn Up: The Power of Internet Radio, New Media and More" with guest speaker Felicia "The Poetess" Morris.

 The National Black Public Relations Society, founded in 1987, is one of the largest public relations professional organizations with chapters in major media cities in America.  The organization’s mission is to be a resource for public relations professionals by providing networking opportunities, mentorships, and professional development workshops. 

The President of BPRS-LA, Shawnie Turner who is also the Manager of Public Relations at Disney Consumer Products led the informative meeting. She has taken on the task of awakening the Los Angeles chapter with a host of other PR professionals and they are looking forward to a successful and productive 2014.

 After discussing the organization’s upcoming events and announcing and electing committee chairs, Turner introduced the guest speaker, Felicia "The Poetess" Morris.  She is a community leader a radio personality and producer, and Hip Hop historian; who has been in the entertainment business for years.  Morris has worked with a number of Los Angeles radio stations like The Beat, and the Internet radio show Jamie Foxx's The Foxxhole.  In addition, Morris is currently fundraising through Indiegogo for A Morris Broadcast Studio in the heart of Los Angeles, which will house a new Internet radio station-Radio Freqz.  Please donate; no amount is too small to help build a place for the community. 

The attendees were provided with information about the current transformation of radio.  Morris discussed the shift from mainstream radio to the Internet.  She included information about Pandora, Spotify or I Heart Radio. "Over 160 million people are listening to radio on the internet globally", says Morris.  Most recently, Dr. Dre has jumped on the Internet radio bandwagon with his Beats Music streaming. This is another opportunity to provide exposure for your clients and brand. Radio Internet equates to instant social media exposure.  

Morris’s observation is as radio is changing, so does the method of marketing for publicists. One   word to respond to the change is CONTENT.  In the world of social media it is important to think content.  Content is not simple a post; Social media is about creating a campaign.  Answer the following question; what will turn the product, brand and/or client into a streaming hash tag or trending topic?  

First develop campaigns with a call to action to present to the producer or host of the radio show.  Make sure that your campaign not only fits your product/client that is also beneficial to the show.  During implementation it is important to have a list of journalists and professional bloggers to possibly feature the campaign. Morris really highlighted the potential of Internet radio.  

Thank you to BPRSLA and Morris for a great start to our 2014-year. Looking forward to many more events.  

Childhood obesity is a hot topic. Obesity not only affects adults, but also children and adolescents. According to the Center for Disease Control, 17% of children in America are dealing with obesity. It’s important to tackle childhood obesity because an obese child is more likely to become an obese adult. This exponentially increases the likelihood of developing a myriad of health problems, including high blood pressure and diabetes.

But how can we prevent a future generation plagued by health issues and disease? As an educator I know the power of knowledge.  I have been teaching nutrition classes to students for about three years.  Recently, I contacted the owner of Rise Up Youth Empowerment Inc, Tracy Malbrough, who allowed me to facilitate one of their Girl Talk Lounges.  I was honored to bring my knowledge about nutrition to the youth in my community.  

The Girl Talk Lounge on Health and Wellness began at noon on March 30, 2013 in Los Angeles.  Participants of the workshop consisted of the young girls from Aviva Family and Children’s Services. Avivia provides a safe space for young girls who come from unstable and often times abusive households. This non-sectarian, nonprofit, social service and mental health agency offers enrichment programs for their residents. Through the workshop I facilitated, I taught these girls think about the food they consume.  

  Some may argue the value of hosting a nutrition workshop for girls who undoubtedly have tremendous social and mental health concerns, however, promoting a healthy body fosters all-around health. When a young woman looks and feels her best on a physical level, her mind and emotions will follow. Using this approach, I began the workshop with information on marketing strategies used to mislead consumers and how to appropriately read food labels. Many of the girls were shocked to discover that the outside packaging contained false claims such as "real blueberries" or "100% real fruit juice.” Rather than basing their purchases on the packaging or even worse not taking the time to think about the food they consume, the girls learned to closely examine the list of ingredients to determine which foods they should really eat. After reading food labels, the girls were also shocked by the amount of chemicals found in foods they regularly consume. For many girls a big takeaway from the exercise was to avoid Hot Cheetos, which have a whole slew of unpronounceable ingredients, in favor of eat more fruit or simply drinking water.

Aside from all the talk about food, I introduced the girls to a new healthy snack. I mean, c’mon! You cannot talk about food and not actually eat. THAT IS JUST CRUEL. After the lesson, I instructed the girls on how to make a "Banana Boost,” which is half a banana with almond butter and dried cranberries sprinkled on top. Although the girls had never tasted almond butter, they all tried the snack, which they loved!

My favorite aspect of teaching is knowing that I can serve as a positive role model for my students. Although a student may not completely understand the merits of a lesson, exposing them to the material--be a more traditional academic subject or something more practical like nutrition--lays the groundwork for future use and practice. Sometimes, simply knowing that I was able to show them something new, and put a smile on their face while doing it, is it’s own reward.  In particular, after the workshop, I realized the sheer power of presence. One of the young girls approached me after the lesson and said, "Thank you. I was having a rough couple of weeks and this was actually fun. I had a good time."  You truly never know how or when a lesson will change a kid's day, week or even life.

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