Social Media Buzz: All About Pinterest

Pinterest. You’ve probably heard of it but do you actually know what it is? Pinterest is considered to be yet another social media website. It’s a social photo sharing website. Basically, people post pictures of things that they are interested in (food, travel, jokes, memes, etc.) and you can basically browse anyone in the Pinterest universe’s profile.

So, why is this important? Companies (especially media companies) are beginning to use Pinterest to give their fans a better idea of what their company is about. The Gap has extensively developed their Pinterest board to communicate with their customers. One of their boards is called “Denim Icons,” and it highlights some of the most famous “denim wearers.”

Other companies used their Pinterest boards simply to express the company’s interests. Magazines geared towards children and families have boards that highlight “Easy-to-make meals” and activities to do on a rainy day. If people are unsure of what a certain company does, they can take a look at their Pinterest boards to get a feel for what the company is all about.

We all know just how much companies use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to promote their company. However, the Pinterest wave is extremely new, but expect to see more and more companies expanding their social media presence to Pinterest. 

LinkedIn Workshop

When: Friday, April 27
Time: 2:00pm-4:00pm
Where: Newhouse 3, room 251

Have a LinkedIn profile, but want to learn how to use it? Need networking advice? Come to the Career Development Center's LinkedIn workshop to learn more about this powerful networking tool!

Using Social Media In Your Job Search: An Event with DR4WARD

Where: Newhouse 3, room 251

When: Friday, April 20

Time: 1-2pm

We all know that employers are going to check us out on Facebook, so why not check them out! DR4WARD will explain how to interact in the professional world using social media and the benefits of using social media as a tool in your job/internship search.

PS, don’t forget to bring you iPads, laptops, smartphones etc!

Dr. William Ward, Professor of Social Media, Newhouse

Dr. Ward, a.k.a DR4WARD, is the Social Media Professor at Newhouse. DR4WARD is known for providing useful content and consistently engaging with his followers and truly "getting it" when it comes to the best ways to use Twitter and other forms of social media.

A Word to the WISE: Leveling the Playing Field

Where: Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium

When: Tuesday, April 10th

Time: 2-4pm

Women in Sports and Events Industry will be hosting an inaugural symposium that explores obstacles and issues facing women in the sports industry. The symposium will examine the skills and lessons necessary to maximize college experiences.

Laurie Orlando, senior vice president of talent and and development at ESPN will return to her alma mater to moderate the symposium.

Panelists include:

Michelle Berg-executive vice president of Team Epic

Jessica Gelman-vice president of customer marketing and strategy at Kraft Sports Group

Donna Lopiano-president and founder of Sport Management resources

Julie Nemeroff-SU Alumna and NBA hospitality coordinator and global marketing partnerships

Sage Steele-Sports Center co-host at ESPN

John Walsh-executive vice president and executive editor at ESPN

For more information, contact Kate Veley (koveley@syr.edu) or Taylor DeBolt (tmdebolt@syr.edu)

Megan Hess, Digital Editor of Scholastic Parent and Child

When: Friday, March 23

Time: 2:00-3:00pm

Where: Newhouse 3, room 251

Megan Hess (Newhouse '11) will talk about life as a digital editor at one of the most popular parent magazines! She will also discuss how to break into the magazine industry. If you want magazine advice, this is the event for you!

Hope to see you there!

Media Differences Between London and the U.S.

Three months ago, I was studying across the pond in London, England. While there, I picked up a newspaper a few times a week and did my best to read as many of the newspapers (yes, tabloids included) as possible. While reading, I noticed many differences between the media (particularly newspapers) in the UK and the ones in the US.

One of the main things that I noticed about British newspapers is, to put it simply, how vicious they are. Tabloids aren’t the only guilty ones, though. Broad sheets (traditional newspapers) tear people apart on the daily, as well. There are some people that the press worldwide likes to pick on, but the press in the UK is relentless, and has no standards as to who and how they are going to rip apart these poor people.

Also, in the US, our newspapers pride themselves on being neutral. They aren’t supposed to make it hugely apparent which political party they support and they certainly aren’t supposed to be geared towards a certain social class. In England, that’s not so much the case. I learned early on that each newspaper is affiliated with a particular political party and they are not afraid to broadcast where they stand. Additionally, I was told by one of my professors in London to take note of what people were reading on the Tube (London’s Metro) because you can tell what social class they’re in based off of what newspaper they’re reading.

Basically, there aren’t any rules in England. Newspapers can be as cruel as they want to innocent people. They can also be as open as they want. There’s no such thing as neutral in the UK.

Is Myspace Making a Comeback?

Myspace faded into darkness once Facebook took over the social media sphere. But it looks like Myspace is coming back into the fold. According to the company, Myspace added 1 million new users over the past month. In June, a team of investors bought out the company for $35 million. Justin Timberlake is one of the new owners and says the company has stopped trying to compete with Facebook. The new approach of Myspace is to focus on their platform for discovering new music artists. The site's new music player gives users access to over 42 million songs and offers the Web's largest free music collection.

It will be interesting to see if Myspace can stay alive during a competitive time in the media industry. However, Spotify is starting to limit the number of songs users with free accounts can play. This could give Myspace a new role as an online music player delivering the same content for free.