Addy's Corner

  This week at Ohio Northern has been interesting. I held my first AIGA meeting, which went super well. It was a resume-building workshop, and we had a good number of people show up. This made me feel good, as this is the first event I have held as president. It might make me seem like a bad president, but I did a lot behind the scenes. However, I definitely need to start stepping up more. In addition, this week Alpha Xi is initiating our new members. This also excites me because I know one of them has been wanting to join since her freshman year, and this semester she was finally able to. I feel like these girls are such a good addition to our chapter. They are all very unique and funny. Not only that, they mesh well with literally everyone else in the chapter. This week, I also wrote a speech for Honors Day for a nomination I submitted for one of my teachers. When I found out I had to speak in front of everyone, I quite literally gasped. But, I know I'll be fine since I truly wan...

This past week, PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) at Ohio Northern University hosted an all-day workshop on social media. This not only got me out of some of my less exciting classes, but it also proved really beneficial. The workshop covered a broad range of topics under the social media marketing umbrella. The speaker who most resonated with me was Dyaton Barnett. He was extremely lively and personable, and the social media accounts he manages target 18- to 24-year-olds effectively. His passion for his career was evident in his presentation. He manages social media accounts for the Lake Erie area. Being from Toledo, I have visited Put-In-Bay and many of the locations he mentioned. Knowing the places he creates content for made his presentation particularly interesting because I understand the feeling and vibe of those places, and I believe his content accurately represents them. I found it interesting how he mentioned needing to adjust some of the messaging he initi...

I use Snapchat pretty regularly, as many people my age do. I would say by no means am I an avid Snapchatter, but I am on the platform quite frequently. So, I was not surprised when the demographic infographic showed mainly people in the age range of 18-24. In addition, the infographic shows the United States is the second-leading country of Snapchat users, behind India. This also makes sense to me because India has the largest population overall. However, I did not view Snapchat as a marketing platform prior to reading this chapter. The chapter remarks that Snapchat has a unique audience to raise brand awareness. I also didn't expect Snapchat advertising to be as successful as the chapter remarks. The book states that the advertisements on Snapchat receive twice the visual attention of Facebook advertisements. The large audience that is frequently on the platform allows companies to easily gain traction through their advertisements on Snapchat. I feel that when I view ads on the pl...

This past week was Spring Break. I thoroughly needed a break from school and stress, and that's exactly what I did. My mom and I went to Lido Beach and stayed at my step-grandparents' condo on the ocean. The location of their condo is amazing: not only is it oceanfront, but it's also a mile or so from downtown. Every morning, I would walk downtown, grab a coffee and walk back. This would always set the tone for the day, productive yet relaxing — more on the relaxing side. The rest of the day would be spent outside. Two of the days, my mom and I went to Siesta Key, which is absolutely gorgeous. The first day we went to Siesta, my friend from club volleyball texted me out of nowhere and said we were on the same beach. So, of course, we met up and caught up for a while. I learned she attends Hope College and is studying political science. She wants to go into the Peace Corps after she graduates. After the beach, my mom and I would go inside and clean up after being in the sun ...

  This week, my brain is officially checked out. This week has felt like the same day over and over again. Today, I finally had a mental breakdown. I tend to overstress myself and let everything fester until I explode. Although not a traditionally good way to deal with stress, it works for the meantime for me. I'm still figuring it out. But, this upcoming week, I am ready for a break. My mom and I are going to Sarasota, Florida. My grandpa Stephens lives on a key in the area; however, we're staying at his beach house. Last year, we were able to do this, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My mom and I go for walks each morning in the nearby town. By the time we get back, it's beginning to get warm out, and we change to go out to the beach. Then, we make up some cute, fruity water for the beach and layout. When I say this, I mean I’m laying straight into the sun, practically begging to get burnt, while my mom has on 50 SPF and is in the shade. I live by one motto, and one motto onl...

Chapter Six covers the startup and statistics of Pinterest. I was shocked at the slow start Pinterest experienced. This surprised me because I feel as humans we are very visual people, so an interface solely focusing on visuals and aesthetics of graphics, I assumed, would flourish quickly. However, Pinterest has interface metaphors that were not common at its release, such as the "pin" and "board" concepts. But, by the year after its release, the platform quickly grew to the top 10 most-used apps. Another thing that surprised me about Pinterest was its demographics. Over 70% of users are female. This is to be expected for an app that mainly focuses on aesthetics and inspiration; however, two out of three of its founders were males. So, were they expecting the interface to be so female-dominant? This intrigued me, so I decided to look around the internet to find out why Pinterest is such a prominent female platform. I found from multiple sites that the high Pinterest...