Martin Luther King Jr. represented social progress, a forward-thinking society and inalienable rights for all Americans. From Selma to the State Capitol and Montgomery to the Washington Monument, King shouldered the burden of an entire people and cast himself as a beacon of hope and a voice for national change. More than fifty years later, the embers that fueled Mr. King’s fighting spirit still burn in the hearts of many Americans, though the avenues for protest have drastically shifted. Social media is the new social transformation, with picket lines established with URLs and marching crowds organizing themselves with shares and re-tweets; utilizing the unlimited possibilities that online interconnectivity has to offer.

The Arab Spring and Occupy movements were both galvanized by online activity, namely Facebook and Twitter. Both crusades shared integral similarities with the civil rights movement, an unflinching demand for liberties and rights on a universal scale, but innovation has seen the status update replace the street corner and micro-blog replace the megaphone. While the organized protest will always remain, the means for unifying the masses now exists in cyberspace, and increases the span and scope of the message.

TIME Magazine named The Protester its 2011 Person of the Year. The country had not seen such discord and turmoil since the 60’s, and the millennial dissenter came equipped with the information superhighway at his fingertips. Across the globe, videos were captured, streamed, and subsequently shared within minutes, creating a documentarian look into the day’s events and happenings. Social networks became assembly points for the politically conscious, and transmitted each communique with precision efficiency. The means had changed, but the ends remained the same.

Organizers no longer need a meeting hall or shadowy back room, all that’s required is a modem and a Facebook account; just one example of how immeasurably different the world has become in fifty years.

It’s harrowing to reflect on the atrocities that many experienced while rallying under the banner of equality. Truncheons and hoses became unfortunate motivating factors in the 1960’s, further catalyzing an inspired group to overcome injustice and prejudice, regardless of cost. In a vastly different era of societal evolution, it is important we continue to reflect on the immense sacrifices made by those who marched in the streets.  The mediums may have changed, but Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision is still thriving in the hearts and minds of Americans today.

-Carter Breazeale

PR/PR Public Relations

The New Year is a time for goal-setting. Establishing benchmarks for progress that often fall to the wayside; the treadmill gathers a Pompeiian coat of dust, ashtrays remain filled and overflowing, and interest continues to mount on the credit card from that ill-advised spree at the mall. One week into January, and many are already rationalizing the grip they’re losing on their personal resolutions, but what is the status of those of the professional variety? What outline have you set to ensure profitability and relevance in 2012?

The main item on your professional resolution list should be full-immersion in print media. Your articles and interviews in trade and association publications as well as daily newspapers and newsstand magazines establish you as the expert in your field, and put your name into the hands of decision makers and industry leaders daily. There has been no lull in the viability and power of print, and this trend will continue, regardless of other avenues. Want to increase the frequency and fees for speaking engagements? Concentrate on getting your name in print.

Want to diversify your online footprint? Become active on the litany of social media sites available.  Mashable.com just released a social media preview for the New Year, and many niche sites such as Quora and Plaxo are on the upswing, continuing to attract new users daily. Intelligent activity on the big three: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are givens, but inclusion of other social media platforms into your online cloud only serves to promote your brand and increase visibility.

Your professional resolution needs to consist of a two-pronged attack of print and online media. Print media cements you as a go-to source in your field, and social media expands the reach of your message and brand. There’s no better remedy for stress and headaches than career success, and the worry and time you’ll save yourself with print and social media will allow you to finally devote yourself hopelessly to that neglected treadmill of yours.

-Carter Breazeale

PR/PR Public Relations

The transition of the corporate realm from physical to online has been anything but business as usual.  Companies have scrambled to harmonize with an unfamiliar world that has, by all accounts, become the most important platform to recruit customers and clients, as well as employees.  The progression of the Online-Era saw the inception of scores of corporate-oriented social media websites, but two quickly established themselves as top-dogs: LinkedIn and VisualCV.  One continues to flourish and expand, and the other is quickly becoming an afterthought.

LinkedIn is trending upward in the corporate arena, with new users signing up in droves daily.  The prevailing reason for the site’s alpha-dominance boils down to involvement; along with crafting a qualifications-based profile, users have the ability to connect with others in their field; including prospective clients.  VisualCV is essentially a static online résumé which does not offer the interaction available with its strongest competitor. 

In many circles, shaking hands with the right people and corporate networking is as (or even more) important as your accomplishments and credentials.  LinkedIn is serving as an online 18^th hole; where connections are made and deals potentially consummated.  VisualCV allows you to merely project your career-qualifications; LinkedIn provides the capability to discuss them with decision makers.

A tip of the cap to Visual CV, however; they trumped LinkedIn in the multimedia game, as they allowed the hosting of YouTube and Vimeo videos: a functionality LinkedIn does not support.  For those looking for self-promotion, especially for speaking engagements, there is no better evidence of your aptitudes than a video confirmation.  Unfortunately, their visual capabilities did not translate into success.

The world of social media oft acts as a world of social Darwinism, and LinkedIn’s massive popularity and effectiveness is spelling the extinction of VisualCV.  It goes to show that online success begins and ends at the ability to interact, and while LinkedIn has established itself as the destination for the corporate world, VisualCV is looking more like Social Media Siberia.

-Carter Breazeale

PR/PR Public Relations

I’ve never been Black Friday shopping, but I like to imagine it’s something like a swarm of pre-teen girls hopped up on Redbull trying to be the first in line to purchase Justin Bieber tickets.  A swirling mass of bleary-eyed shoppers working off their tryptophan hangovers at 2 a.m. with the promise of discount televisions and ten-dollar seasons of Breaking Bad, ready to annihilate anyone who stands in their way.  Cyber Monday renders all of this rigmarole and physical danger obsolete, and in 2011 it eclipsed the profits turned in on Black Friday, hopefully spelling the extinction to the mob mentality that often accompanies this mainstay of cutthroat consumerism.

Sales turned in on Monday, November 28^th were 17% higher than on Friday, November 25^th, to the tune of $1.25 billion in total.  This massive number conveys the upward trend of consumers foregoing the deal-possessed hordes on Black Friday and instead conducting their shopping online, from the comfort (and safety) of their own homes.  Social media was an important player in this year’s Cyber Monday, with companies taking to their Facebook pages and Twitter feeds with discount proclamations as opposed to commercials and customary ads. 

Recent studies have indicated that social media marketing has surpassed traditional advertising; to the point that Cyber Monday’s growth actually mirrors Facebook’s growth.  This is no shock at all, as more and more corporations are abandoning the deserted marketing paths of old and adapting to more visible and cost-effective methods utilizing social media.  Allowing for customer interaction and a more personal experience, social media has proven a potent sales tool. 

Twitter trends and shares on Facebook allow for your product to essentially go viral; whether it’s a dirt-cheap toaster oven or your new book release.  Businesses’ spend an exorbitant amount on marketing themselves, and in years past most of this budget was allotted towards now near-obsolete means: billboards, radio and television commercials.  With the point and click convenience of broadcasting your product or brand via social media, you reach the customer quicker, more efficiently, and cheaper.

The success of this year’s Cyber Monday is a testament towards how the Social Networking Age has rewritten the business arena’s playbook.  Your holiday shopping can now be completed while browsing Facebook as opposed to in lawless shopping malls under the threat of a stampede.  With millions logging on and over a billion in sales on Monday, it shouldn’t be too much longer until Black Friday is finally waving the white flag. 

-Carter Breazeale

PR/PR Public Relations