The Internet Personna

     I think that it is safe to say that all of us know at least one person who is consumed with social networks. I am not talking about the person who you would categorize as a "addict" or something of that nature. I am referring to that person who is one way in real life, maybe they are really shy or really outgoing, and the way that they portray themselves online counteracts with that.
    Now I am not really talking about the extreme here. There are people that completely change their identity online, for example a 53 year old man transforming himself into a 13 year old girl. But I am talking about the guy or girl that you personally know who is one of the shyest people that you know in person, but online they gain a ton of confidence and transform into a different person metaphorically. Maybe they become the joke-ster on Facebook, or the person who everyone thinks is a freak on Twitter, but in real life, they do not live the lives you have perceived that they have lived.
     I wrote a paper about this in my pop-culture class, and from reading a few scholarly journals, Ive found that people are more comfortable with becoming this "new person" online because they believe that this person is their true self and online they feel they can be their true self with out any one judging them. I find that a little weird. Why would you want to talk to people that you barely know online, and tell them personal things about yourself? Some believe that they can avoid the judgment that they feel they may receive from their actual friends, by talking to people that they barely know.
    Now, I sort of switched topics in that last paragraph so let me clear up what I mean. A lot of people create what I call the "internet persona" and then also create new lives. I do not mean that they create a life that is fake, I mean that they often find themselves talking to, or hanging out with people that they normally would not. Which is fine, but some people really loose sight of who they truly are. They are one person on Twitter, so when they get around the people they only know from Twitter they have to be that person they perceived themselves to be, but when around their other friends, they are the person that they normally are. Some say that the "internet persona" is really a mire image of who the person truly is, and others say is is an image of who the person whats to be.
      I myself know people personally, who are not who people think they are on these social networks. But in their case I don't find it a bad thing. They are both very shy people in real life, and these social networks allow them to shine. They become the sort of "cool kids," people that every one loves, and thinks is funny, or respects them, people that they would not be other wise. They are allowed to show the side of themselves that they would not be comfortable showing if the circumstances were different. In their case, they really are the person that only the people on the social networks see, but others are not the same.
      I tell people everyday that the most important thing to remember is to always stay true to yourself. But some people do not even know who they are. Do you know who you are? I mean do you REALLY know who you truly are?

Reality Tv and the REALITY of it.

    Every day that I am on Twitter, I see a tweet about some sort of reality tv show or talk show. Whether it is Bad Girls Club, or Jerry Springer, there is not a day that goes by that someone is talking about one of these shows. Now I myself am not into those type of shows, but there are so many people that are.
     What happens every day on a show like Maury? Some one is exposed in some sort of fashion, and maybe a fight breaks out or somebody ends up crying. But what is it that draws people to these shows? Why is it that even years later, people are obsessed with them? Well its simple. People like to see others make a fool of themselves because it makes them feel better about themselves or they like to see people living "the good life" because they want the same.
       I mean why else would you watch as Kourtney and Khloe take over Miami? You want to live vicariously through them. You want everything that they have, the money, the cars, the fame, so you continue to watch it. Its the same for people who are Jerry Springer or Bad girls Club fans. You love to watch as people fight or argue and make fools of themselves because you are glad that it is not you. You like feeling better than they are. You enjoy the fact that you are not on a show trying to find out who the child of your father is for the 10th time. You like the fact that two sisters are fighting for the same man, simply because it is you that does not have to endure the embarrassment.
       And that is the reason why reality tv shows and talk shows like Jerry Springer have continued to rack in the numbers. People can not move past the fact that these people on these shows cannot, in anyway benefit them. Seeing who is gonna smack who on the Bad girls club will not help you get anywhere in life, but that is what people believe. They grow to know these people on these shows and the fact that they CAN NOT relate to them, is the same reason why they continue to watch them. You watch 16 and pregnant because you yourself are not 16 and pregnant. And more and more, these shows are taking over our televisions. But hey, they're only shows right?

Obama says the war is over?!

     In late August, President Obama made a statement that America would remove its focus from the war, and start to refocus on things going on at home. The President claimed that the war was over. Is that so? It could be, but isn't it funny how that statement was made around the time things were getting heated with the primary elections? I mean think about it. Politicians have to be some of the smartest P.R people around.
    The elections that just past was one of high importance, and with the dark cloud of the war still hovering over congresses heads, things could have gone a lot different. Now I am not saying that the war is not over. I can not attest to that because I have not fought in the war, BUT politicians sure do know how to weigh things in their favor. They get on TV and tell us what we as people of this country, want to hear, and then we start to love them again.
    Pretty cool tactic though. I mean we have no choice but to believe him, he is the president of our country right? Politicians know how to get what they want in to the media when it is best for them. President Obama should have said "Hey guys, our economy sucks, but at least we wont be spending American tax dollars on useless war expenses!" But instead he beat around the bush and said America has to focus more on things that are going on our grounds (meaning the economy crisis). But hey I don't blame em. Getting people to listen to you is very powerful indeed. Kudos Obama!

Obama declares an end to combat missions

Monopoly Electronic Banking? Times have truly changed!

       



That is the new commercial for the "New Electronic Banking Monopoly." I find this very interesting because I am only 19 but the way things have changed is pretty scary. Instead of the old monopoly where you had to count out the money and use it to pay for properties and other things, you are now given cards that represent the money that you stick in to a tool that simulates a calculator and does all the counting for you.
     Monopoly is a game that a lot of parents use to help teach their children how to count and use money, and now that this electronic version has come out, the teaching factor becomes obsolete. On a better note though, this new version can make families actually want to play it more.
     I know one of the reasons I stopped playing the game long ago was the fact that it takes so long to win, and often money would be lost or my friends would cheat, but with this electronic version, those factors become cut. because the game is electronic, it takes less time to play, you do no have to worry about losing money or your friends cheating because the calculator does the counting for you. So there are both pluses and minuses to this new family game. I am interested in seeing how they will continue to change it.
 

Yes, I also report the news!

     While at Towson University I am apart of a few student groups. One of them is a news station called WMJF Channel 16 News. I am a news reporter and I am also a public relations rep for the news station. I have worked on three stories so far, and at the bottom of this post is the link to one of the stories I did. News reporting is a very different experience.
     You have to go out, and ask people questions and try to figure out what is going on and what people think about it. The first story I worked on was about the University going smoke free, which of course is something that upset a lot of people, but the story was fun to work on. I got a chance to talk to students, the vice president of the school, and some people at the health center that are in charge of cessation classes.
      The story below was about at event that was at school called "freedom festival," where basically students groups that represented any sort of political matter came out, tries to promote their groups and help get people registered to vote. The second link is to the stations first live broadcast. The first story I did about the school going smoke free is in that show. If you fast forward to about 8 minutes you will be able to see me.


Freedom square
First live show

Why The Turnpike?

I decided to name my blog "The Public Relations Turnpike" because I wanted to do something a little different. Most people who write blogs, pick a topic and that is all they focus on, but public relations is a very broad field and with this blog I intend to talk about a variety of different things, and then relate them back to public relations. A turnpike is a high way that has tolls that allow you to pass from one state to another, and in relation to my blog, the information that I will provide with, will allow you to look at one issue and how it relates to another. I will cover everything from, media, to music, to commercials, to sports, and any thing else I can think of. I hope you enjoy it.