PeterParker_PA Visits WU

Last class PeterParker_PA, formally known as Chris Hughes came to our Social Media class as a guest Speaker. Chris is in charge of the Social Media aspects of our local newspaper, The Times Leader.

Chris explained to us how important it is for the Times Leader to send out updates to keep their followers "in the know" about current events. Twitter and Facebook allows their readers to learn what is happening in the world around them instantaneously. It's crazy to think how not so long ago we had to sometimes wait a WHOLE 24 HOURS to get news from print media, back in the dark ages before the internet allowed us to stay connected anytime, anywhere.

Tweet Deck

Lately I've been updating 2 Twitter accounts on the regular; my personal account and the Zebra Communications account. From time to time I struggled with staying up to date with my own Twitter, and adding a second account to my schedule made things even more complicated. So rather than continuously logging in and out of accounts and trying to keep up with @ replies and frequent posts, I turned to @DonnaTeachesSM and asked her:

"@DonnaTeachesSM How do you juggle multiple Twitter accounts! I've been trying to upkeep the Zebra Twitter, and keep neglecting my own :/"

She responded with:

"@Amanda4PR TweetDeck helps, but mostly it's just trial and error!..."

I decided to take her advise and create a TweetDeck account. I was set up in just a few minutes! When I first logged in it look a little overwhelming, it just seemed to be update mania! TweetDeck gave me 3 columns of updates, and 1 column of "suggested" people to follow. Seeing some of the columns were unnecessary to my needs, I played around with what I did and did not want to have in columns. I then added the Zebra account to my TweetDeck, which was just a short matter of typing in the Twitter name and password.

I need more time to play around with TweetDeck in order to fully understand what all it has to offer. However, to anyone who is struggling with juggling more than one Twitter account, I definitely suggest giving TweetDeck a trial. It seems like once you get the hang of it, it is really helpful.

St. Patty's Promo

Charlotte Russe seems to take advantage of holidays to do Twitter promotions. On St. Patrick's Day they Tweeted the following:

"You found the pot of gold! Take 25% off all reg. price items until 12am ET today only with Twitter code LUCKYTWITTER."

25% off is a pretty decent deal, and sparked my interest. Because of this Tweet, I visited their website and started bookmarking cute clothes and heels that I liked. Being the broke college student that I am, I did not make a purchase. However, not all of their followers are college students, and those of which aren't broke could take advantage of this promotion. I really wish I could have, because they have such cute clothing right now! But anyway, my point is that that particular Tweet caused me to visit their page, which I normally wouldn't do after seeing one of their Tweets. I think they would benefit by having more traffic-creating promotions like this, even if it is only just once a week for a few hours!

Layla Grace

A few weeks ago I got a random invite on Facebook to become a fan of "Rufflebutts." Curious as to what this company was, I clicked the link to the fan page to find the cutest little diaper covers for infants and toddlers. After doing some exploring on their page, I learned that they were running an short promo for a good cause - for every person that became a fan, Rufflebutts would donate $1 to a fund for Laya Grace, a beautiful little toddler girl stricken with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. Seeing this as an interesting way for Rufflebutts to gain more fans and popularity, I decided to do some research on Layla Grace.

When I Googled her name, the first thing I stumbled upon was laylagrace.org, where I learned Layla's story of her progressing disease. Saddened, but still curious, I continued to explore the site until if found the blog portion. I began reading an entry posted on February 28th titled "Not Like This." After reading about three sentences, my eyes began to fill with tears. I could feel the pain and horror in the words of Layla's father, and continued to read on about her worsening condition. So incredibly touched by that single blog entry, I quickly logged back into my Facebook to invite all of my friends to become a fan of Rufflebutts. Although from what I read Layla was not going to make it, I had to spread the word in hopes that many of my friends would also be touched by her story. I began following the Layla Grace Twitter account so I could have updates of her condition since the little girl kept crossing my mind day after day. Her parents Tweeted to her 48,000+ about her condition, and continuously asked for prayers.

You may be wondering why Layla's parents turned to Social Media as their daughter was struggling with a deadly disease. Her father explained that this was an easy way to keep them sane, friends and family instantly updated, and strengthen Layla's prayer base deep into the thousands.

Never would I have thought that Social Media could grow at such a rapid pace. Although it is such a terrible heart wrenching story, thanks to Twitter and Blogging little Layla Grace has not only made an impact on her friends and family, but the entire world.

On Tuesday march 9th this Tweet came on my Twitterfeed: "Layla went to play with the angels early this morning. Rest in peace precious Layla. 11/26/2007 - 3/9/2010." Instantly I teared up, and I'm sure thousands of other followers did as well.

Rest in Peace, Layla.

Charlotte Russe's Social Media Coordinator, Neglecting the Twttersphere?

So far it's be 6+ weeks that I have been following Charlotte Russe. Since their Twitter seemed to be inconsistent and they would go MIA for days at a time, I was under the impression that CR did not have a designated person hired to take care of their different forms of Social Media.

On 4/12 CR Tweeted: "Social media coordinator Lexie has a closet full of these Scoop Neck Basic Tanks..." Proving to me they do have a person designated specifically to work on their SM accounts. This confuses me, in that if this is Lexie's job, why does she seem to let the company go days on end without a single tweet? Ironically after seeing this Tweet about the Social Media Coordinator, CR went missing for two days once again in the Twittersphere. When I Googled the company I didn't seem to find any type of blog or anything that this coordinator would be producing.

What other duties do you think Lexi has, if she isn't keeping up with the most visible forms of SM?