Real-Time Chapters 10-12

The things that stood out most to me in these chapters were the ways companies reached out to their customers throughout their transactions. Having a personalized hotel visit adds a sense of luxury and makes you feel as if you are a valued customer. Receiving benefits for participating with a hashtag or other form of media branding peaks interest and raises awareness of the company. Companies need to realize that every person they come across has the potential to be a customer or has been a customer in the past, meaning that they should treat them with the utmost respect and consideration. This sort of treatment will stand out to people and make them remember you as a pleasant experience.

At the local independent coffee shop that I used to work at, we were instructed to greet everyone upon arrival and to thank them as they left. Believe it or not, even these small gestures stood out as something that made our store more likeable compared to the other two locations in our area. Our emphasis on customer service and providing a pleasant experience earned us die-hard loyalty and raised company morale. To this day, I brag about how much I love that job, even though no one in Ada knows what River Road Coffeehouse is. At home, everyone I meet seems to have a story about how nice the employees at River Road are. Even as a small family-owned business, the way we take care of our customers sets us apart from anyone else in the region.

I will always love Del Monte for this funny tweet to my boyfriend!

Social media is one of the best ways to reach out to potential/past customers even when they are not physically with you. Having a well-maintained and responsive social media presence ensures that people will recognize and remember you, for better or for worse. Nowadays, experience sells more than a product does, so it is important to take initiative and begin your experience early.

Until next time!

Kathryn

I Am Not a Dancer

For the second time this school year, I volunteered to understudy for a guest artist dance show. A week ago today (so on Jan. 23), three members of Ballets with a Twist arrived on campus. They auditioned campus dancers in the morning, announced the cast around noon, and immediately began rehearsing. Over the course of four days, thirteen Ohio Northern University dancers learned a nine minute long professional dance piece to be performed on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31.

ONU dancers performed a piece called Champagne in the cocktail-themed show.

I came to ONU with only a few months of formal dance training under my belt. However, I fought to become a dance minor so that I could have priority for class scheduling and try to catch up to my peers, many of whom have been dancing for several years. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, the theatre arts department here is very good about bringing in guest artists to train with. In this particular case, Ballets with a Twist came in to set a piece using a combination of their company members and ONU dancers, then performed an entire show from their repertoire.

Though I was not cast at the initial auditions, I volunteered to understudy for the performance, meaning that I would be a part of the entire rehearsal process and be prepared to take the place of another dancer if circumstances required me to. Luckily, the artistic director and choreographer of the company, Marilyn Klaus, was so impressed with my eagerness to learn that she added me to the piece. I did the exact same thing for the fall semester of 2015 when the Taylor 2 dance company made a similar visit.

From these experiences, I have learned an incredible amount about myself and the world of dance. The visiting company members that helped to set the piece were incredibly kind and helpful, praising my strengths and helping me improve upon my weaknesses. Every day before rehearsal, we would have a 90-minute warmup based entirely on technique. The fresh perspective worked wonders for me; I began to feel things in a completely different way than I ever had before and benefited from it. One of the company members, Aengus Ortiz, told me that I was "dancing with a whole new body."

Though I am far from considering myself a dancer, I love the experience of working with professionals and having the opportunity to suck up as much information from them as I can. Of course, I also benefit from it as a resume builder and a networking opportunity. The company is based out of New York City, an artistic hub. I befriended several of the dancers, including one who actually offered to help me find an internship at the PR firm that she works for when she is not touring.

Despite the late nights of rehearsal and my aching feet, working with the Ballets with a Twist company has been an incredible experience. I think it might be within my best interest to volunteer to understudy for every dance show that comes through Ada until I am skilled enough to finally be cast the first time around.

Until next time!

Kathryn

Social Justice and the Media

Wednesday, it was announced that Ferguson, Missouri reached an agreement with the Department of Justice concerning the city's police force. This story follows up on the riots that took place in late summer 2014 after the death of Mike Brown. His death began a social media revolution concerning police brutality and its relationship with racial discrimination. After images of Brown's body lying in the streets went viral, Ferguson residents began protesting. The city's police force reacted violently with riot gear and tear gas, causing uprisings that lasted over two weeks. Since then, several other cases of unwarranted police brutality against people of colour have been brought to media attention, sparking social justice reactions such as the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Protesters in Ferguson

The recent social media attention on police and blacks is a great example of the way that technology has changed the way we think. Personally, I find it terrifying to think that police brutality has been going on for decades with little to no attention. Without social media spreading news like wildfire, we may never have been made aware of such a daunting issue in our society. Social media changes the way that we think- whenever something is happening, people jump to take a picture or video and post it to whatever platforms they prefer. This means that there are numerous first-hand accounts being shared with the world in mere moments. Suddenly, people can not get away with the same things that they did before. Like Kasy said in her recent blog post, Big Brother is watching.

It blows my mind how social media has been turned into such an influential tool for news and grassroots movements. The United States are still reeling from Brown's death and more examples show up every day, all thanks to the immediate access to information. Issues that have been hidden for years are very suddenly being brought to light. The world is changing as quickly as technology is, with new ways to communicate discovered every day.

Until next time!

Kathryn

Additional information regarding Ferguson's agreement with DOJ: NBC New York Times USA Today