Press Release 3: Cause Promotion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:

President and Founder Preston Parker

Cache Valley Area Investors Association

1504 Lynnwood Ave.

Logan, UT 84341

661-772-7537

Financial Independence Is Achievable For All
Cache Valley club teaches community about smart spending

LOGAN, Utah- Financial Independence is one thing that many Cache Valley residents, and Americans in general, believe is almost impossible. The idea that you could manage your funds in a way that benefits your lifestyle and allows you to work as you please seems like a dream come true. But it may be much more manageable than just a dream.

A new idea of living off of passive income rather than an active income has allowed many to achieve the goals they striven for in life while working in a career they love. One of these people is Preston Parker, the founder and president of Cache Valley Area Investors Association (CVAIA) he believes that: “Financial independence happens when your passive income is greater than your expenses.” Passive income is when you have money coming to you without doing anything, planning has already been done such as in investments.

A good way to understand how far you are from being financially stable is to ask yourself; "How long could I last if I just didn’t show up to work anymore? When your passive income is greater than your expenses, you can last forever. So now you get to do a job that you love."

According to Parker, students in their twenty's now should be able to achieve this by the time they are about 35. But, to get to that point you have to live below your means. Spend less than you bring in. If you do that for 5 years all of the sudden you have money that you can invest.

Anyone interested in becoming financially independent can begin by reading books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad, or The Millionaire Next Door. Author Dave Ramsey once said: "If you want something you've never had, you'll have to do something you've never done."

As Parker put it, “GET OUT OF THE RAT RACE… by becoming financially independent, then you get to play the fun games in life.”

Along with Parker, CVAIA has 4 other board members. If you are interested in attending a CVAIA meeting they are held every 1^st, 3^rd, and 5^th Thursday of the month at the Chamber of Commerce. More information and contact information can be found at Facebook.com/cvaia.

If people learn the right mentality and approaches to investing, they can be successful in what they desire. People should be able to spend their time doing something they love, not just a job that provides and income. Passive income largely make this possible. There are many organizations with the stated goal of helping people understand the relationship between assets, liabilities, income, expenses. They practice the methods found in the ideologies of books including Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Wealthy Barber, The Millionaire Next Door, Atlas Shrugged, The Automatic Millionaire, and The Secret.

Cache Valley Area Investors Association (CVAIA) teaches people how to increase passive income. CVAIA embraces the Law of Attraction, Law of Abundance, and Law of Exchange. CVAIA began in August 2007 and now has members from many geographical locations and from all walks of life. The members come together with the same belief: That education mitigates he risks of investing.

Media Contact: Annie Jackson
Annie.grace.jackson@aggiemail.usu.edu
(123)456-7890

-END-

Final Press Release: Image Management

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
James E. Muellenbach III, CEO
Company name:Burger Planet
Phone number: (123) 456-7890
FAX number: (321) 654- 0987
Email address: burgeplanet@gmail.com
Website URL: burgerplanet.com

Burger Planet Ready To Get Fit
Janye Peterson makes healthy changes to the new Burger Planet menu

GARY, Indiana- Burger Planet has now hired fitness icon, Jayne Peterson as their spokesperson to help promote the healthy new choices offered on the menu along side of the already loved, classic items.

The new menu will include fruit and low-carb options such as chicken and salads. "…Burger Planet cares about its customers. For more than seven decades, the company has succeeded because it put customers first. We listen to our customers. And our customers desire healthy choices, of which we offer many.” said CEO James E. Muellenbach.

The new menu allows costumers to continue enjoying the delicious Burger Planet items that they already love along with the new ones. Jayne Peterson explained how: "Well, I emphasize a message of moderation. Women can have a burger and fries now and then as long as they are active and also try some of Burger Planet's exciting new menu choices, such as the fruit packages."

Burger Planet was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1934 by James E. Muellenbach. The headquarters now resides in Gary, Indiana under the direction of Muellenbach’s grandson, James E. Mullenbach III. The company has 8,921 franchises and employs 48,272 people.

Media Contact: Annie Jackson
Annie.grace.jackson@aggiemail.usu.edu
(123)456-7890

Press Release 2: Image Management

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
James E. Muellenbach III, CEO
Company name:Burger Planet
Phone number: (123) 456-7890
FAX number: (321) 654- 0987
Email address: burgeplanet@gmail.com
Website URL: burgerplanet.com

Burger Planet Ready To Get Fit
Janye Peterson makes healthy changes to the new Burger Planet menu

GARY, Indiana- Burger Planet has now hired fitness icon, Jayne Peterson as their spokesperson to help promote the healthy new choices offered on the menu along side of the already loved, classic items.

The new menu will include fruit and low-carb options such as chicken and salads. "…Burger Planet cares about its customers. For more than seven decades, the company has succeeded because it put customers first. We listen to our customers. And our customers desire healthy choices, of which we offer many.” said CEO James E. Muellenbach.

The new menu allows costumers to continue enjoying the delicious Burger Planet items that they already love along with the new ones. Jayne Peterson explained how: "Well, I emphasize a message of moderation. Women can have a burger and fries now and then as long as they are active and also try some of Burger Planet's exciting new menu choices, such as the fruit packages."

Burger Planet was founded in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1934 by James E. Muellenbach. The headquarters now resides in Gary, Indiana under the direction of Muellenbach’s grandson, James E. Mullenbach III. The company has 8,921 franchises and employs 48,272 people.

Media Contact: Annie Jackson
Annie.grace.jackson@aggiemail.usu.edu
(123)456-7890

-END-

Social Media: Traditional Views

The first article I read was 10 Ways Newspapers Are Using Social Media to Save the Industry by Woody Lewis.
“These days, everyone knows that one of the hottest stories any newspaper can cover is that of its own demise.” What used to be the only source of world wide news, is now becoming the last source. So how do newspaper companies manage to stay afloat? By using social media of course. Everyone knows that if you want to stay in business then you have to use the latest trends to stay popular.
Twitter has played a major part in this social media trend. It is so easy for an online journalist to link their article, with a killer headline, to a Twitter post. This enables followers to scan through the different stories and pick and choose which ones interest them. Twitter is by far the fastest, and potentially most popular way to get news. It only takes a matter of seconds to send information out worldwide. And if your job is to report the news then you better learn how to Tweet.
Advertising on the internet is quick, easy and it works. There are hundreds of different outlets that can be used to promote something. For example, you can make videos, post ads, create a blog, plan an event, make a group, etc. This allows advertisers to reach millions of viewers through countless mediums which may not have been reached without the internet and social media.
The use of social media can be used to help educate those who may never have been informed on world news in the past. It allows journalists to reach a whole new audience and to target a different generation that may have been ignored in the past.
It is a fact that with changing technology newspapers must change as well.

My second article was called How Traditional Entertainment Can Use Social Media by David Card.
The smartest thing that a big company can do these days is to combine their products or ideas with popular social media tools. For example, by encouraging your costumers to “check-in” at your location on Facebook is a great way to let your costumers friends know that they use your product or are associated with your company. It is a simple way to use word-of-mouth promotion. If your costumers friends hear about you then they are more likely to come visit your business.
Discussion boards on Twitter promote talk about your product. This allows more and more people to seek information about your company and encourages more costumers or viewers.
All types of social media allow costumers to act as the promoters or advertisers for companies they use. All it takes is one good review on a popular blog to send costumers through the door.
The first step to utilizing these social media tools is to have a good understanding of them. Our generation lives on the internet so naturally we are going to use it to help us decide where to eat, shop, play, etc.

Social Media: Blogging

The first article I read, Blogs Falling In An Empty Forest, talked about how many blogs there are on the internet that have been completely abandoned. It is so easy to create a blog that everyone seems to do it. At the beginning it is easy to be dedicated and excited about blogging but as time passes bloggers begin to slack on their posting. Some find that they are busy doing other things, some have moved onto other forms of social media, and others just seem to run out of things to write about. I admit it, a lot of times I just feel like I don’t have anything in my life worth writing about at the moment.
The worry that posting anything and everything going on in your life will cause you to loose all privacy has become another issue that forces dedicated bloggers to end their posting. Nancy Sun began a blog back in 1999 when no one paid any attention to what she was saying and she could put all her feelings and emotions out there on the internet and still feel like it was anonymous. Over time she became more well known in the blogging world and eventually her friends began reading what she was writing. They completely misinterpreted what she was posting about hem and everyone else in her life and so, she eventually cut all ties with her famous blog.
Many people start blogging with the fantasy that they will make it big, eventually write a book and make millions, but at the very least, “anyone could, if not get famous, get their opinions out there and get them read.” But after posting and posting and waiting to get discovered that they usually only have maybe one or two dedicated followers.
What do all these deserted blogs mean for us now? Is blogging just a fad that will soon be over, or is there a come-back in the blogging future?

The second article I read was very different than the first. Why Can’t I Stop Reading Mommy Blogs? Is about how women all over the world admit to reading about 5 different “mommy blogs” in a day. The entire article focuses on the fact that all of these women seem to have one thing in common, they make being a stay at home wife and mother seem like a dream come true. “You are making me want kids, and I've never wanted kids!” says one reader.
These blogs have become an addiction to many dedicated followers. It is almost as if you are watching a movie or reading a book about these people who live perfect lives. I think what draws you in even deeper is the fact that they aren’t fictional. Readers compare their own lives to the picture-perfect ones they read about online and imagine that one day they will have that too even if it is not at all what they had pictured before.
“There's been a lot of talk in recent years about "the New Domesticity" -- an increasing interest in old-fashioned, traditionally female tasks like sewing, crafts and jam making. Some pundits see this as a sign that young women yearn to return to some kind of 1950s Ozzie and Harriet existence, that feminism has "failed," that women are realizing they can't have it all, after all. That view is utterly nonsense, in my opinion, but I do think women of my generation are looking to the past in an effort to create fulfilling, happy domestic lives, since the modern world doesn't offer much of a road map.” Says author, Emily Matchar.
Overall, I think that reading blogs is the modern way to get away from the life you live and spend a little while just living vicariously through someone else.

Final Press Release: Announcement

President Preston Parker, Social Media Club of Cache Valley (SMCCV)

1504 Lynnwood Ave.

Logan, UT 84341

661-772-7537

For Immediate Release: September 13, 2011

Social Media Club Cache Valley

Cache Valley Learns About Social Media

LOGAN, Utah – Social Media is a huge part of the twenty-first century, luckily the people of Cache Valley have a new club in town to educate them on how to use social media outlets.

President Preston Parker, explained simply, “we are a friendly, open, nonthreatening group of social media users, who are excited to educate the people of Cache Valley on the benefits of social media.”

The club was founded in August of 2009 as the second chapter in Utah following the Salt Lake City chapter. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month in various locations throughout the valley.

Tonight the Social Media Club is hosting a “Tweet Up” to explore the benefits of Twitter. Anyone interested in Twitter and learning how to use it is welcome to come participate. The event is scheduled to be held at Elements at 6:30.

The event is free and open to all.

Annie Jackson

twitter: anniegracej

Social Media Club Cache Valley

Media Contact

XXX

Draft Press Release: Announcment

Press Release

President Preston Parker, Social Media Club of Cache Valley (SMCCV)

1504 Lynnwood Ave.

Logan, UT 84341

661-772-7537

For Immediate Release: September 13, 2011

Cache Valley Learns About Social Media

A new club in the Valley offers education on the latest happenings in the social media world.

LOGAN, Utah – (Sept. 13, 2011) Social Media is a huge part of the twenty first century, luckily the people of Cache Valley have a new club in town to educate them on how to use social media outlets.

President Preston Parker, explained simply, “we are a friendly, open, nonthreatening group of social media users, excited to educate the people of Cache Valley on the benefits of social media.”

The Social Media Club of Cache Valley is hosting a “Tweet Up” tonight as one of their monthly meetings. The club was founded in August of 2009 as the second chapter in Utah following the Salt Lake City chapter.

The event is free and open to all.

Annie Jackson (twitter= anniegracej)

XXX

Social Media: Organizational Uses

The type of Social Media that I chose to focus on for this assignment was Skype. I found that Skype is a social media tool that is being widely used by all types of organizations. I read articles focusing specifically on classrooms and organization’s job interviews. It was amazing to compare the two and think of all the opportunities and new doors that the creation of Skype has opened for our world.

Skype Community Comes To The Classroom
By David Nagel

Skype may be a new concept for some of you reading this. Simply put, it is a live video chat which enables users to converse with other users all over the world for free. The idea is genius, especially the free part. Everyone knows how expensive it is to call or text internationally, and to be able to have a conversation with someone, no matter where they are, and not pay a dime, that’s a really good deal. Along with that, video chat is a much more personal, face-to-face way to speak to someone. You can better judge someone when you can see their actions and observe their setting.
Teachers from all over the world are taking advantage of Skype and it’s endless possibilities to help improve their lessons and broaden their classrooms knowledge of the world.
According to this article, teachers have been using Skype to share lesson plans, expand ideas and compare their class’s success to others. Teacher, Kara Cornejo explained that, “Skype in the classroom is an amazing resource to find teachers to collaborate with and to bring people into your classroom that you would never have been able to.”
Along with that they have also allowed students to use Skype. Kids of all ages are learning how to use it to speak with classmates. Teachers have even begun having “skype dates” with other classrooms in other parts of the world. This allows students to talk back and forth and compare cultures with one another.
I think this is an awesome idea. I can’t think of a more interesting way to learn about parts of the world than by experiencing it first hand. If we have the means of communication why not take advantage of them.


How Skype Is Changing The Interview Process
By Stephen Winzenburg

An interview is always a nerve-racking process but when you have to do it in front of a camera there is a whole other level of stress that comes about. What to wear, where to sit, how to act. Skype has now made it possible for long distance interviews, which used to be held over the phone, to now be held over Skype. This makes the interview a lot more personal and it seems almost as if it was done face-to-face.
This article gave a story of a professor who had to do three separate interviews over his computers web-cam. He was initially nervous about that fact that the interviewers would all be staring at him on a wide screen but he came to find that it was actually more relaxing on his part than he had expected. Not only were they looking at him, but he was also looking at them. He could see when they smiled at his answers and made notes which was encouraging.
The idea of minimizing travel and eliminating any problems that come from long-distance is great. Video chat can save organizations lots of money if they never have to fly interviewees out to them or pay for long-distance phone calls.
I have found that Skype is am amazing, helpful social media tool that has so much potential. The benefits of Skype are enormous and still waiting to be discovered by many.

United Breaks Guitars

The song says it all, when Dave Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell, boarded a flight to Nebraska they assumed their luggage would be safe with the trusted United flight staff. This however, was not the case. Only minutes after getting on board Dave looked out the window to discover that the luggage crew was tossing his valuable guitar around and had consequently broken the neck. After witnessing the destruction of his property Dave tried to talk with multiple employees about the incident but they completely ignored him.
Dave decided that if United was not willing to own up to the problem and replace his broken guitar then he would have to take the issue public. He never threatened to sue the company, he simply gave them warning that if they didn’t reimburse him he would release three songs letting the world know his story.
Choosing to ignore Dave Carroll was the worst thing that United could have done. The price of a new guitar was only about $3500 and within 24 hours of posting his first song to YouTube Carroll’s video had over 150,000 hits. It was instantly viral, and with that came the downfall of United’s stocks.
This was a bad P.R. move on United’s part. Costumer service is the first step to good public relations. If you want your company to have a good image in the eyes of the public then you must first be sure that all your costumers are happy. United had to learn the hard way that it only takes one unhappy costumer, who has been mistreated, to spread around bad stories about your company. In Carroll’s case he encouraged his fans, United costumers and any one with access to YouTube to stop flying with United.
Dave handled this situation in a really smart way. He used his freedom of speech to out the company that damaged his guitar and it was also good P.R. for his own band although it may not have been intended to be that way from the start. People who may not have know about his band before the incident were now finding out about the YouTube video and becoming exposed to his music. I’m sure that his fan base grew enormously after the videos release.
The Public Relations team of United, however, had some serious damage control to do after this. They certainly lost both costumers and value for their company. The losses far outweighed the benefits. The stock went down over 189 million in only 4 days. If you compare that outrageous number to the original $3500 that Dave had asked for it seems almost ridiculous.
The video on YouTube now has over 10 million views and continues growing everyday. Personally, learning about this story was a great lesson for me as a pubic relations student. It teaches that, once in the field, you can never take any little issue too lightly. There is almost always some way to correct problems that start small when you are working in public relations if you are good at your job and prepare in advance.

Social Media: The Big Seven

How Twitter Will Change The Way We Live
By Steven Johnson

Twitter is definitely the newest and most sought after type of social media in our world today. It is a simple idea based around a status update of 140 characters informing your friends and followers of the on-going, real time, adventures taking place in each users life. This article suggests that when it was first introduced people thought it was an unnecessary waste of time. Who cares what insignificant task you are currently doing? Why should your friends be informed of every little thing going on in your life? But since its creation, the growth of Twitter has been hugely successful and with it new ideas have come about.
TIME Magazine’s Steven Johnson tells the story of the first time he ever witnessed Twitter being used for more than just a social tool. He was able to experience a Twitter conversation, which had originally just been held between a few members of a conference, grow into a massive discussion. He watched live as people from all over the world entered the topic and shared their thoughts and opinions. Twitter was now being used as a tool to encourage live chat and added a second layer of informants.
The user friendly, social networking tool that twitter is, has made itself useful in ways that many would never have imagined. You are continually updated on everything taking place in the lives of those you follow. The information you receive may or may not be of any concern to you but, it is true that there is something, or someone, of interest to everyone on Twitter, whether it be world wide news or if you are just curious to know what your favorite celebrities are doing at the moment.
The most amazing thing I realized while reading this article was just how much of twitter was created by third party twitter users. Both the #hash tag and the @sign tagging feature were created after Twitter users began including them in their Tweets. Similar to this, mobile networks created their own applications to allow their costumers to access twitter from cell phones. It will be very interesting to see just how Twitter will impact our lives over the next 5 or 10 years.

How Facebook Is Taking Over Our Lives
By Jessi Hempel

The most obvious appeal to face book is the social networking behind it. Thanks to this genius web site, users can contact and stay informed in the lives of basically anyone and everyone who has access to the internet. The target audience for the site when it was first created was college students, ages 18 to 24, but these days, that group is just a minority on the site.
It is truly an addiction to some people. You log on with the intention to check your notifications and you end up stalking an ex, scrolling through pictures or updating statuses. Facebook allows you to live your life virtually.
The problem now faced by Facebook founder, Mark Zurkerberg is how to increase his users along with satisfying the original users. To do so he has combined forces with founders and operators of other members of the big seven such as Sheryl Sandberg from Google and Gideon Yu from YouTube. The fact that the CEO of Facebook is such a young and brilliant man is interesting. There is so much potential for him and for the site but no one has any clue what he will do with it.

Letter to Cousin

Today I received an email from my cousin who is just beginning his college career and, like most freshman, is completely clueless as to what major he should declare. Obviously my first thought was to try and convert him to the Journalism and Public Relations department so I decided to write him this letter:

Dear cousin,
It was so great to hear from you. Obviously choosing a major is a huge decision and one that should not be made lightly, but I would love to tell you a little bit about public relations and the exciting careers that it has.
First of all, public relations has a lot to do with communication. The other day one of my professors explained to me that; in the field I will act as a spokesperson for either a company or an individual to ensure that the image and message that they want their publics to see is received in the way they would like it. In other words, people who work in public relations ensure that their clients image is at its best. Sometimes this means we are on damage control for a company. It can also mean that we highlight all the benefits that our client has for its costumers. We basically work to be sure our clients are viewed in a positive way.
Public relations has a vast variety of careers in the field. You could be in charge of writing speeches, planning events, helping with advertising, fundraising, and many other things. The main skill to perfect if you are interested in public relations would be to master your writing. Every aspect of P.R. has a lot of writing involved in it, whether it be news letters, press releases, proposals or speeches. You must also be very well informed. It is important to always be the person in the meeting or press conference who knows what questions are coming and has knowledgeable answers prepared in advance.
I am so excited about my major, as you can tell, and I really hope you find an area that you are passionate about as well. If you have any more questions about P.R. please let me know. Good luck at school this year!
-Annie