The GPhone

At this point almost everyone has heard of the GPhone. Or at least the concept of it. Right now thats all it is but supposedly this thing could hit shelves and leave them just as fast as early as first quarter 2008. Currently the best look you can get at the prototype is in simulated designs on consumer blogs but it is fun to imagine what the possibilities of a gadget like this could have. The fact that Google owns YouTube and this Blogger only makes things more interesting as to what type of content you could be holding in the palm of your hand from anywhere in the world. The linked blog on last100.com certaintly fills my head with dreams of one day owning one and at least holding out for now on the iphone. It is said that Facebook, MySpace, and other social networking sites would be fully functional miniature versions of themselves on your phone. This thing would revolutionize the world!

The GPhone

Mondays with Drew

I am a huge Texas football fan and sometimes I cant get to my television to watch SportsCenter for the latest updates. God forbid, sometimes I cant even get there to watch the games. Fortunately, Mack-Brown-Texas-Football.com has provided me with an answer this season. Mondays with Drew is a weekly broadcast exclusively over the internet on this website that I can go to 24/7 and catch up on whats going on with the Horns. The star of the show is Senior safety Drew Kelson, #4. He goes around campus and interviews various athletic staff, players, and fans. I dont quite know whether or not Kelson will go pro in the draft, but he may have a career in social media somewhere!

Mondays with Drew 11/5/07

Pure Volume

Pure Volume is one of my favorite social media networking sites because of the fact that it is based exclusively on music. I am a huge music fan, especially alternative punk and emo rock which is what they specialize in. You can actually create your account and start adding favorite bands immediately. Once you have built up a pretty good library of bands, you can go and see who else likes the same bands and link up to their favorite list. The home page features a daily rotation of editor's and listener's choice bands for you to sample and at the bottom there is a top played bands list. Many of the bands on this site are unsigned and are willing to give away their music for free download to get their name heard. This is one of the best resources I have ever come across for up and coming bands and I encourage everyone to at least go and browse for a while on it. It has an excellent search browser where you can go and sort through their entire library by genre.

Pure Volume

Social Media Tips & Tactics

I found this video on YouTube that gives some really great tips for successfully entering the social media world. It features Valerie Jennings, CEO of Jennings Public Relations & Advertising. She gives some great advice on how to use RSS to your advantage in getting your content on the web. This is definitely a video for anyone looking for an entry level public relations position.

Yahoo! Widgets

Yahoo! Widgets are a really cool little tool that you can completely personalize to your own style. A widget is simply an interactive interface with which you can view some type of content. It can also be a search engine implemented right onto your desktop or an hourly weather report with the click of your mouse. Yahoo! Widgets are one of the most extraordinary however because of the elaboration of some of these. I currently do not have them on my computer but I have used the program in the past. My only complaint with them was that they were too cluttery but it appears as though they have fixed that issue and are now offering a very clean, compact system that you can download for free instantly. There are clocks, countdowns, miniature control panels, and more for your convenience and pleasure. Check it out and add these new wave inventions to your desktop today!

Yahoo! Widgets

PR Christmas List

I found this really cool list of things that this blogger really hates about Web 2.0, even though he points out that there is much to love about it as well. He includes in his list a code of ethics over the general content of Web 2.0, a crackdown on Facebook's immoral practices, a social media wiki training program, and many other items. This is a blog on socialmediatoday.com which looks like a really awesome blog actually, I think I might sign up on it. It leaves an area for commenting right there on the page as well as a neat little section for all your bookmarks. It looks like though after some snooping around that this isnt a completely public, free forum. Anyways take a look at this list its kind of funny.

PR Christmas List

Las Vegas

I am going to Las Vegas for New Years this year and I am going to be competing in the World Series of Beer Pong III. The reason that this relates to social media is that I completely set up my entire trip on this website that the creators of the tournament set up. It is unique in the fact that I did not just pay a fee and sign up, but actually created a team name and linked up with my room mate who is also my partner. All the teams that are created go into a pool with the ones who have finalized registration and you can actually add an image to your profile and talk trash on the forum. Not too long ago anything like this would not have been possible. Any type of sporting event or vacation package required an over the phone or face to face interaction to book. Even in the modern internet era, you are just starting to see fully interactive sites in ways that were never thought imaginable before. I just thought it was really cool how this trip did not just involve signing up but gave the participants something interesting to actually get from their registration.

BPong.com --Our team is called Blue Chips

Weston Twomey seeks Public Relations career

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Weston J. Twomey (Agency)
St. Edward's University
Public Relations Professional
Email: wtwomey@acad.stedwards.edu
Blog: http://westonj.blogspot.com
Website: http://myweb.stedwards.edu/wtwomey

Weston Twomey seeks Public Relations career

Weston Twomey is trying to find a place to utilize the talents that he has developed through extensive coursework in the social media realm of public relations. He has been exposed to many of the new technologies out there, more specifically those in Web 2.0.

Austin, TX -- December 3, 2007

Vice President, campus Communication Society, Fall 2005 - Fall 2006

Completed introductory public relations course in Spring 2007

Completed advanced social media public relations course in December 2007

Participated in a semester long blogging project in which an academic blog was created and maintained

Created, edited, and linked a podcast through RSS on personal blog

Created, edited, and linked public relations web video on personal blog and YouTube

Created a fully functional website in an emerging technologies class with video and javascript

MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS:

Download
Public Relations Web Video - Austin is changing...

Download
Second Life Podcast

About Weston Twomey - Weston Twomey is a December 2007 graduate of St. Edward's University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication. His specialization focus was in Media Arts, PR, & Advertising. He has experience leading an on-campus organization with a two and a half year tenure as the Vice President/Recruitment Coordinator of the Communciation Society. He has extensive coursework in all of the communication fields with very recent work in the social media variety. During his last year at St. Edward's, Weston Twomey created two websites as well as posted a podcast and several web videos. He was born and raised in Austin, Texas.

RELATED LINKS

Facebook

Social media networking site.

My Blog
This is my blog.

PureVolume
My favorite social media music networking site.









Technorati Tags:
public relations | social media | emerging technologies | communication

Second Life Podcast

Audio

Social Media Web Video

Facebook Marketing

I came across an article about the Facebook marketing schemes that we discussed in class and found it very interesting. The New York Times article talks about Facebook is using its members as mediums of consumer marketing. If you are logged into the social networking site when you make a purchase from one of its sponsors, then your profile will identify that purchase and announce it in your news feed. Invasion of privacy? Maybe. The reason why Facebook has utilized such a powerful tool is because word of mouth is the most influential weapon that marketers have in reaching their target market. The article closes with the idea that Facebook marketing is successful because you know exactly how old and what gender each user is, making them easier to segment.

Facebook Marketing

Executives on Web 2.0

Many executives are now scrambling to get into the Web 2.0 arena that has become an arms race. Many organizations and individuals have already exploited the beneficial aspects of social media on the internet and numerous others are hanging by their coat tails. A certain blogger has given his opinions on the issue and is saying that corporations are in regret at this point for having joined the club so late in the game. Social media was originally viewed as a guerilla technology that would never make an impact in the mainstream. The one thing that shouldnt have suprised anyone is that consumers have turned to word of mouth by way of the keyboard to figure out what their next great expendature will be.


Executives on Web 2.0 blog

Astroturfing

Astroturfing is something that has come along with the Web 2.0 craze and many are taking the proper steps to minimize it when possible. Astroturfing is when you make a comment on something or blog on a topic posing as a general consumer when you are anything but. Many corporations have gotten into hot water over this recently including Wal-Mart, who hired a couple to travel across the country and blog nice things about their company and its employees. In the UK, flogging as it is also called, is being legally banned in order to stop the flow of misleading information in the social media realm.


Banned in the UK!