Back To The Grind

Back at uni again after a never ending three weeks off, seemed like a lifetime ago that we broke up now though!

Back to the house in Sunderland, which is still falling apart but now we have mice, yes plural, two of them to be precise. Currently avoiding the mousetraps and poison we've had down, so I was maybe thinking of naming them seeing as though they will probably reside here permanently if the landlord has anything to do with it.

Any ideas are welcome! If I get enough suggestions I'll make a vote and see who's name wins.

It seems about time I cleared all the mess from one area of my room I haven't seen since January - my desk! Get that sorted and fill it right back up with books and notes to get a little further into the monster mountain of essays to be in beginning 14th May.... Good for me I actually did work over Easter and got a good head start on some of them.

So to the other thing on my 'to-do' list - find a place to live preferably before 30th June, otherwise I will be moving home, which is not what I want really. It's nice to visit but not for good, not yet anyway. Endless lists of places that are too expensive and places that are in awful areas. Not many to choose from - I am in Sunderland after all.

There you have it, I've been here for three days and already I am moaning "WAAAAHHHHH"

Ashley

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Three Magnificent Men

This is just a short post to tell you all about three people I know who are doing a 1000 mile bike ride over 20 days through Europe. All in aid of the charity Royal British Legion. Further details are here.

Any donations would be welcome and rest assured none of the donations made will go towards paying for this trip as that has come out of their pockets.

So if you want to donate anything you have spare go and visit http://www.justgiving.com/3magnificentmen

Ashley

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Bragster

A couple of weeks ago I was directed to another ‘new’ social media website, only this one is less about following celebrities or really discussing much with friends other than who is cooler!

The site is Bragster and as it says on the home page “Jackass meets Facebook” and after signing up a few weeks ago I’ve had a good look around it and here’s the gist of it.

You sign up, enter you details and then you’re good to go – the next step is what the site is all about. Uploading pictures or videos of you doing something stupid ‘a dare’ and the others on the site tell you if it’s cool or not, therefore earning you bragging rights.

So, after this you can then dare other people to do something – they reply with their image or video and you say ‘cool brag’ or ‘lame brag’ you decide.

There are loads of videos to watch and people to talk to, and even dares where you can win things, such as this guy winning $1000 to legally change his name to Chev Chelios from Crank. Watch it!

Then there is the Tango dare. Bragster dared Tango to print their cans upside down and slap the Bragster logo on the can! Check out the video.

Anyway I would advise you all to go sign up have a giggle, and get yourself earning some bragging rights. It’s interesting and a great procrastination tool! Enjoy!


Ashley

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Easter Breaks and relaxing...

So I'm almost half way through the Easter break - the mist has descended on the North East and the sun has been stolen. Great. We get two or three nice days and then get punished by being barely able to see the house next door but one!

What with all the work I'm doing I thought I'd take a break to laugh at some kid getting 'owned' by an exercise ball. I honestly bet you laugh!



But there are more - I find it funny. Kids are stupid HA!



That is pretty much what I've been getting up to lately, laughing at that stupid kid and his stupid exercise ball.

Hope everyone else is having a lovely break!

Ashley

Blogger Advocacy – Pros & Cons

In MAC299 today we are discussing how blogger advocacy is being used commercially and how people are now being paid to blog about a product or brand name.

I’m going to discuss what I think the positives and negatives of using this new type of ‘social media’ within marketing and Public Relations.

Firstly, I think that the negatives include things such as restrictions to the blogger, in the sense that they have to curb their own thoughts and stick to the brief they have been given. This can inevitably have an effect on the content of the blog and whether or not it is a true representation of that person and what they truly think.

Also, it is an important piece of the puzzle that the bloggers themselves are influential, that they have contacts and people that take an interest in them, enough so that their blog will be read, otherwise it seems pretty pointless.

However, some plus points for commercial blogging is that it is a different way of marketing a product or brand, in a more realistic way, something believable and that potential customers can interact with – they have the opportunity to comment on what the blogger has said and converse with them.

Despite being quite regulated it is still possible for the writer to be creative, and honest giving a better view of the brand or product to potential customers. These commercial bloggers will never have the same freedom as people who blog for fun but they can still show who they are through their writing and opinions.

I think that this type of blogging is a new and exciting way forward in marketing and would personally love to be paid to blog, working to a brief can sometimes help form a structured post, instead of the incessant ramblings of a student!

To see some other thoughts and views on this topic, and even an example go see Our Rutland Correspondent.

Ashley

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