Obama to propose Oil and Gas Exploration of US East Coast

Article:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aVWWYe2kpGwk

I am very opposed to any idea of drilling for oil off of any coastline. I am for alternative energy. Alternative energy is safer for humans (you & I) and it has the potential to employ hundreds of thousands, which means the unemployment numbers will drop... and hopefully the deficit will begin to decrease, but I'm not that optimistic. Alternative energy such as wind turbines which also can be installed offshore and don't come with the risk of an oil leak let alone a huge spill...

I hope I am not too naive when I say that I have confidence in American companies ability to understand that we don't have to extract oil 50miles off the coast of Virginia nor do we have to drill in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. The fight for oil is an uphill battle and people need to let go. Or wake up your innovators and figure out a safer way to drill for oil in the middle of the Atlantic.

What happens if there is a spill?? You tell me. Comments & feedback welcomed!

Social Media: Educate Yourself

For anyone interested in learning more about social media and it's overall effects on the way people communicate and the way businesses operate here are a few great blogs that will get you on your way!

http://www.briansolis.com/

http://socialnomics.net/

http://danzarrella.com/

www.mashable.com

Plymouth State University & Social Media

Why hasn't Plymouth State University done more to raise awareness and educate business students about the effects of social media and how it is changing the way the game is played?

As a marketing major at Plymouth State and a member of MAPS: the Marketing Association of Plymouth State, I am eager to know why there is not a single course being taught about social media!? The only effort Plymouth State has made with regard to educating students or faculty about social media (that I am aware of) was a small "Social Media 101" presentation. It was advertised on MyPlymouth as a "Social Media 101 for faculty" event. However, I attended this presentation last Wednesday March 17 and I believe there were two other students among maybe 2 dozen faculty.

Why weren't students in the new "College of Business Administration" made aware of this?? My professor found out because I told him, and that I would be leaving class early to attend the event!

Maybe, I am the minority on campus, but I would rather spend my time reading articles on Mashable.com or finish reading Socialnomics by Erik Qualman and The Social Media Marketing Book by Dan Zarrella. However, I am obligated to spend my time working on general education assignments which have NO relevance to my marketing major or future business career!

Therefore, as a business student and marketing major why shouldn't I get credit for learning about social media? Please explain this to me. Learning how to efficiently use Social Media sites, blogs, gmail, google buzz, twitter, etc. benefits business students directly. General education courses do not. Since I already know what my major is, I also do not understand why I am required to complete certain courses that do not pertain to my major so I can graduate?

For example, Digital Media Creation, a general education course I need to pass to graduate. Great course, it's very interesting, however, it is also extremely time consuming. I have no intention of becoming a computer programer nor does this course enhance my creativity level, which I was told it was going to do since it falls into the GenED category of "Creative Thought".

Their has been other courses too, however, if you want to inspire me to think creatively, let me create my own blog and express myself to the world. Allow me to learn how to use Google Wave a real time platform that allows team members spread across the country or globe to work together, edit, revise, brainstorm, debate and finalize all in real time on project they must present a conference in New Orleans next week...

There are so many valuable tools and platforms out there that few business students or professors at Plymouth know about. This has to change. If Plymouth State University doesn't embrace and educate students about social media and the tools they can use to sort through the vast amount of information it will be the institution that has failed to serve it's students.

This is a huge opportunity for Plymouth State University to set itself apart from UNH, Keene and the majority of schools in New England!

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**For anyone who made it this far, and is interested in continuing this discussion MAPS is** hosting a SOCIAL MEDIA PANEL DISCUSSION here at Plymouth State University this Thursday, April 1 6PM in Boyd 144!

Join Erica Murphy Director of Communications & Community Relations for the Common Man Family of Restaurants, Judi Window of 311 Consulting and Jeff McPherson of SilverTech who will educate you about how businesses are harnessing the power of social media! Hope to see you there!

2010 MAPS Networking Golf Tournament!

Re: American Marketing Association Golf Tournament Fundraiser Waukewan

Attention:

The Marketing Association of Plymouth State (MAPS), the Plymouth State University (PSU) collegiate chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) is excited to announce it’s second annual networking golf tournament!

Location: Waukewan Golf Course, Center Harbor, NH

Date: Friday, June 25, 2010

Tee-Time: 10:30AM

Tournament: Shotgun

Price PP: $75.00

The AMA is a non-profit student organization established to pursue the professional development of aspiring marketing executives. The funds from the tournament will be used to help the AMA compete at the national level by attending the annual International Collegiate American Marketing Association Conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The tournament registration fee of $75.00 includes: 18 holes of golf, cart rental, and a bar-b-queue lunch catered by Mame’s Restaurant of Meredith. Prizes will be raffled off at days end and tickets will be available for purchase the day of the tournament. Prizes include, but are not limited to Red Sox baseball tickets, Meadowbrook concert tickets, gift certificates to Garnett Hill, and The Common Man restaurants.

For more information contact Adam Tranchida.

Phone: 860. 303. 6674

OR

Email: aftranchida@plymouth.edu.

Sincerely,

Adam Tranchida, Tournament Director

O'Roma

Well, it's only been a few months since my last post. Since then I studied abroad for a semester in Roma, Italy, traveled throughout Italy, visited relatives in Sicily, got to experience the final weekend of Oktoberfest in Munich, and spent Halloween weekend in Barcelona. I'm not going to go into great detail (although I would love to) about my time abroad, that will be another post-it won't be months away either. Anyway...

My experience abroad was incredible. However, while I had the chance to live and learn about Italian and european culture--they are very different--what I miss most is the people I met and the friendships that were made.

When Derek and I landed outside of Roma I had a permanent smile despite having been awake for nearly 24hrs. The Swiss Air flight lasted about 8hrs and for two relatively big guys--it was not very enjoyable (we didn't sleep at all)...

Getting back to the topic of this post, after the van dropped us off at our new home (apartment building) in Trastevere, Roma we checked in got our keys signed our $$ away and proceed inside. Now, when you hear that Europeans drive smaller cars etc. OK that's fine, but 2 person elevators?? That was interesting.

Finally, while laughing on the ride up I walked across the hall and into my new home. Derek and I lived with six (6) other guys from all over the states. Jason, Bobby and Dorian were from San Fran, Nico Texas, Nikhil Ohio, and Del Wisconsin. Until this trip I had never roomed with a group of guys who all got along--it made the trip that much better.

The entire apartment wing was filled with American students except for a few Italian families, who I feel really bad for...

In the airport we found our study abroad supervisor and got acquainted with the people who were there. We introduced ourselves to Amy, Lauren and Mike and agreed to find the nearest bar for a welcome to Roma drink!

Amy and Lauren ended up living a block away from our apartment on Pascarella (Amy said it best). We met them and their new roommates, Jill, Jen and Aly for lunch.

As I write I wish, at that very moment, I made the decision to stay for a full year. Dave Matthews said it best in his song titled, 'The Best of What's Around' he said, "it's not where, but who you're with that really matters".

I've heard this song, maybe a thousand times (for those who know me that might be accurate), and I always knew what he meant, but I never felt or understood the emotions behind it. Roma, made it pretty clear. Every person I met abroad I connected with, there was never any awkward moments and if they were we laughed about it; if someone was on the run they would still smile & wave. I don't know how to best describe it, but we were all friends on some level everyone got along with each other; we were different, yet somehow all the same. It was an incredible experience to be apart of. While, I miss the culture, nightlife, and amazing european weekend adventures, I miss the all the new people I met and new friendships that grew the most.

Until next time...

WSJ & The Groundswell

 Before I dive in here, I would like to clarify the fact that there will be no facts in this post. This is something I have thought about and pondered here and there. Nearly every morning I go to Bogues Alley and grab my breakfast and paper - if I get there early enough its the Wall St Journal (WSJ) if not the NY Times... Anyway I've noticed that most papers if not all of the major ones (USA Today, NY Times, Boston Globe...etc) have raised their rate if you buy a tangible paper usually by 50cents while they continue to provide free content online, except for the WSJ. They provide a decent amount of articles for free, but the WSJ also gives you little summaries of stories and then if you want to read more you have to "be a subscriber". 

So who's doing better the WSJ business model or the NY Times? (I've decided to make that my comparison for any research I might do). Two NY papers, with two different target markets. One is more liberal one is more conservative. Is this the difference? I guess this is where I ask what are the benefits of providing free content online vs. some free content?  I love to share articles on Facebook or Twitter (@Nesurf11). I've just decided that the WSJ business model is better and would be even better if more newspapers followed it. Here's why:

People will always share, especially the younger generation. Facebook and twitter dominate the social media realm and this exposes your business to millions of people maybe not all are going to read it, but this is free marketing for your newspaper. You (NY Times or WSJ) don't have to spend your time having employees think of genius new ways to get the paper out to your audience, because they will come to you. This goes in a different direction - brand loyalty - which I think is the main reason why paper A will eventually defeat paper B. 

I read the WSJ because I want to know what the hell is going on financially and I enjoy what I consider a moderate political view.  They talk about money and the economy which is the lifeblood of the people and to me this is most important. I would rather read an article that unlike this little babble session has a focus beyond politics. I don't want to read an article where someone tells me that Blue is better than Red or whatever. When you focus on improving the economy, well you have a focus: the economy. Whatever politics it takes to make the economy stronger is all I care about. Okay, enough of me telling you why I read the WSJ. 

Back to the real question: Will the WSJ be more profitable than the NY Times? Yes, the NY Times can only survive for so long. By providing free content online they had to raise the price (I'm sure that's not the only reason) of their daily paper. Now the number of people who purchase the daily paper will begin to shrink. When the price increases you will loose your younger readers first because we are the computer savvy generation. We are all you have left, life is a cycle. So eventually papers are going to have to follow the WSJ business model. Times are changing and businesses have to adapt or fail.

Now this means going against the consumer or does it? Not necessarily, I feel like newspapers have become overwhelmed in the groundswell. They feel like they need to provide free content, but, don't people always want the news?  I believe that people will pay for the news regardless if it free. Yes there are blogs out there i.e. Newsvine that provide a place for news stories to be posted and commented on, but where do those articles come from? Without newspapers would we have Newsvine? Maybe, but it would be a lot smaller because w/out papers we only have the media, but anyway, the bottom line is that in order for newspapers to be profitable they should follow a business model similar to that of the WSJ.    

Guerrilla Marketing, Jay Conrad Levinson

One day, this bookstore owner came to work to see that the competitor on his right had unfurled a huge banner: "Monster Anniversary Sale! Prices slashed 50%!" THe banner was larger than his entire storefront. Worse yet, the competitor to the left of his store had unveiled an even larger banner: "Gigantic Clearance Sale! Prices reduced by 60%!" Again, the banner dwarfed his storefront. What was the owner of the little bookstore in the middle to do? Being a guerrilla marketer, he created his own banner and hung it out front, simply saying "Main Entrance".

Just a little story I happen to love mentioned in the first chapter.