BranchOut is Branching Out

 With April coming to an end, and May beginning with graduations and the anticipation of Senior year, I thought it was necessary for me to share LinkedIn’s new competitor. BranchOut is a new and upcoming social network that is quickly creeping up on the LinkedIn idea but has one competitive advantage over the established app: A partnership with Facebook.

After only 2 years, BranchOut has 25 million users, which doesn’t seem like a big deal compared to the 150 million LinkedIn users, but with Facebook’s 850 million users, it is only a matter of time for BranchOut to surpass LinkedIn. Especially since it has the exact same features plus more. So what does a partnership with Facebook entail? Unlike the LinkedIn application, BranchOut allows you to austomatically connect with all Facebook friends on BranchOut instead of having to individually invite or search your colleagues. Your network becomes instantly larger than it would be on LinkedIn right when you create your account.

I don't know about you but with the amount of time I already spend on social media, something that is going to make it a little less time consuming sounds like a great idea to me. I’m hoping the new BranchOut app becomes something big, and I will for sure become a user.

Not So Secret, Secret Service

Eleven Secret Service Members employees are now the center of an investigation of there actions when bringing home prostitutes to their hotel in Columbia while they were supposedly pre-screening the area for a visit by Obama at the end of the week. So my question to you is…How can men smart enough to be members of the secret service and protect the most important political figure in our country be so dumb as to think that they are secretive enough to bring home prostitutes and not get caught?

Turns out they aren’t the only ones, and now more individuals linked to the investigation are expected to resign or be fired by the end of the week. Is being part of the secret service such a lonely job that this is necessary? Not only does this make them look absolutely ridiculous, but it also says a lot about the men who protect the man leading our country. As if we needed anything else to make us look inferior to the rest of the world.

Media Mentality

After the completion of my Advertising Media project this morning, a weight has finally been lifted off of my shoulders after weeks of preparation and long group meetings, but I still seem to have the media mentality. One of the first articles that grabbed my attention when looking for inspiration to blog about was the inefficiency of advertising on Facebook compared to Twitter, yet Facebook is about to be valued at $100 billion after it’s IPO and Twitter is nowhere close to this step. After a month of extensive research about media outlets and advertisements, I wish this article would have come out a little earlier. It could have been quite helpful about 24 hours ago!

Interesting enough, seems like the big guy, Facebook, is taking some lessons from its little friend, Twitter. Twitter’s advertisements seem to have a much higher click through rate than Facebook because of their ability to integrate brands into user’s twitter feeds instead of having them off to the side like Facebook. Lets be honest…any person who has been using the internet longer than a couple weeks automatically knows not to pay attention to the right hand side full of advertisments.

From what the article reports, advertisements in a person’s newsfeed could be in the near future, so warning now: Enjoy the advertisement-free zone while you can!

Obama's Opinion

Lately, I feel like Obama has been putting his professional opinion towards his not so specialized field…..pop culture. This week Obama was featured commenting on his thoughts towards Kanye West for a second time, calling him a “Jackass” in a public interview, then was interviewed last week after making a comment that The Masters club should allow the membership as women as well as men.

Not to disrespect our President in any way, but has this always been normal for presidents to comment on pop culture and I just didn’t notice it or is this a new thing with the Obama administration? I don't know about you, but when I invision the President’s lifestyle, I don’t see there being much time to worry about anything but the worldly affairs, economic disasters, and threats of war from other countries. I understand that the President works very hard but I feel like the saying “Work Hard. Play Hard.” Refers to them playing after they are out of office.

That point aside. I wonder if anyone else finds it unprofessional and unnecessary for Obama to be calling Kanye West a “Jackass” not once, but twice to interviewers and the public.  Not that I think it is going to cause him a lot of grief or present a big crisis where everyone is offended, but I feel as if the President is someone that every person should be able to look up to at any time. He has two young daughters, and I’m sure he understands that someone in such a high status job, can have a lot of  influence no matter what he is saying. Even if Kanye West does deserve comments like that, I feel as though comments from the President on unimportant matters can make it seem to other countries that his real profession is not always his first priority.

Celebrity Shame

Recently, Whitney Houston’s autopsy results were uncovered to share with the world her cause of death and the prescription medications and white powdery substance, also known as cocaine, that ran throughout her bloodstream. It was a sad day for those who loved her and the millions of fans she had across the world.

The thing that is most sad of all is the fact that she will always be remembered by her fans as someone who overdosed on drugs and was troubled throughout a large portion of her life. Despite the 6 People’s choice awards, 6 Grammy awards, 22 American Music Awards and 30 Billboard Awards….just to name a few of her many accomplishments she received throughout her short lifetime, the last memory her fans will have of her is being pronounced dead at the Beverly Hills hotel.

Whitney Houston, along with several other celebrities including Michael Jackson and Anna Nicole Smith who have recently passed away as well, will have reputations forever tainted by their actions throughout their private life. Whitney Houston is one of the most beautiful singers, and loved by all ages and people. It is a shame that after the beautiful songs and art they have created, the world jumps on them so quickly for actions they can no longer defend.

A Trip to the Masters

Usually sporting events are a time for advertisers to jump on the bandwagon and showcase all the hard work that have put forth this season. It is no secret that major sporting events like the Superbowl, NCAA championships and Playoffs are the prime time for advertising to take place. And unlike other times, the viewers watching these events usually look forward to seeing the creative advertisements as entertainment.

If you are any type of a sports fan, it’s hard not to notice the hype that comes with the Masters golf major event in Augusta, GA that is taking place right now. Lucky for me, I will be a first time attendee of the tournament this weekend but have had a few people give me insight into what to expect, and it was, well not what I was expecting at all.

The Masters, unlike any other sporting event, Is an advertisement free environment. When you order a Beer there is no Coors Light or Shiner or Dos Equis, instead you order a Light, Domestic, or Imported Beer all on tap in a non advertised cup. The sandwiches are still $2 like back in the olden days and no one knows where the food and snacks are catered from.

Interesting enough, no phones or cameras are allowed on the premises at all, and attempting to bring one in will cause you to lose your pass for the entire weekend. Even several players tweeted earlier this week that when they arrived in Augusta their phones were going off but thanked fans for their constant support. The only way to find out about the tournament is the news flowing from the PGA, ESPN and other news stations. After the whirlwind of projects and tests and the craziness life has brought me these last couple of weeks, A step into the past where I don’t have to have my phone attached to me at every second sounds like the perfect getaway weekend.

Apple in Austin

After a unanimous vote by City council for a tax break, Apple Inc. has announced they will be opening there very own “America’s Operation Center” in Austin, TX. According to The Daily Texan, this center will create 3,600 management, distribution, and advertising jobs in Austin. That is some pretty exciting news for someone like myself who is hoping to continue on as a Texan native working in either the PR or advertising industry.

While the center will initially cost the city of Austin $8.6 million in tax breaks, the $304 million dollar operations center will definitely be giving back to the community. Having the center in Austin, TX is going to be an exciting opportunity for not only University of Texas students but also graduates. In fact, this is a large reasoning for why Apple has decided to build the center here. With the Universities expertise in all of the needed departments, it was easy to decide that the city was fully capable of providing apple with the necessary specialists to make this center successful.

While I personally do not have the computer science or electrical engineering qualifications which may very well be needed to be a part of the “operations” for apple, with advertising jobs on the line as well this center seems to have opportunities for pretty much everyone.

Lucky for Austin the deal is “performance based” meaning Apple has to meet certain criteria for job availablitity and benefits in order for them to receive the tax breaks. Looks like Apple won’t be skipping out on their side of the bargain, so all you soon to be grads get your resumes and interview skills in tip top shape. Apple is coming to Austin!