A Social Media Dream Come True

Interning at a company that specializes in social media has been a huge learning experience for me. Recently I did a project for ESPN that really opened my eyes to extreme sports as well as social media. The project I worked on was to get the word out about a pro BMX competition, and there were some pretty big celebrity athlete names involved. My favorite part of the project however, was setting up the opportunity for children to meet their favorite BMX professional rider. I did this all through social media. The company had kids from all over the United States write in about why they should be chosen for the chance to meet their favorite BMX professional rider. Some stories were truly touching and heartbreaking. It was amazing to me that my internship allowed myself to choose from so many touching stories. 

I never knew social media would have THIS kind of impact on me.

A Veronica Mars Kickstarter Update!

What would you do if your favorite television show was cancelled, and all you had were the DVD box sets with unanswered questions, plot holes, and loose ends left untied? Well, fans of the cult classic CW show Veronica Mars were none too pleased with the shows cancellation back in 2007. As a result fans were left clamoring for more. Not only were the fans missing the show, but the show's creator and actors were as well. The idea of a Veronica Mars movie has been in the early stages of planning for forever. The only problem: there was no studio willing to back the project. That's right, everyone involved with production was on board, all they needed was the money to lift the project off the ground. Enter social media, a vital role in raising money for the film. Kickstarter.com has made the film adaptation of Veronica Mars possible. The show's creator went to the site asking fans to help raise money so that they can once again see their beloved characters on the big screen. Everything was calculated, all he needed was for the fans to donate. 30 days were given to raise $2 million to create the film. That goal was met--in a single day. The fans have definitely spoken! With the power of social media, getting the word out about donations made a Veronica Mars movie possible. Be on the lookout for the film early 2014.

Imagine the possibilities of all of our other favorite cancelled television shows being resurrected! Social media is a powerful platform.

UPDATE:

The Veronica Mars Kickstarter.com fundraiser has raised more money than anyone ever imagined! The fundraiser officially ended Friday, April 12, and has raised $5,702,153. This Veronica Mars Movie is the highest-funded movie project on Kickstarter.com ever. This is most definitely something to be proud of. Fans made all of this possible. This serves as a simple reminder that if one really wants it, all things are possible.

What cancelled television show would you like to see hit the big screen? A Saved By the Bell reunion, anyone?

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=795984&ocid=ansent11

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/14/veronica-mars-movie-budget_n_3081119.html

Scary Movie--Scary Reviews

Everyone is critic, especially if you have social media. Scary Movie 5 recently debuted and to disappointing numbers and reviews. I stopped watching the Scary Movie films at the second sequel. Surprisingly, many others have not. One critic used social media to blast Scary Movie by saying, "Scary Movie 5 gets 1/2 star for being racist, sexist and insultingly not funny. Another commenter simply commented, "a sequel too far?"Scary Movie was just not an enjoyable film. Numbers do not lie. The film made $15.2 million its opening weekend. This is a large difference from its $40.2 million opening weekend for the fourth installment 7 years ago.

How long will it take for Hollywood to realize that people just don't want to see recycled garbage?

Kobe has joined Instagram!

Kobe Bryant is not quite the anti-social anymore. First he joins Twitter a few months back, and now last night he has joined Instagram. Bryant has an amazing follower. With less than 24 hours on the photo sharing app, Bryant already has 277k followers and 91,876 likes on a photo of the Los Angeles Times. Kobe can do no wrong in the eyes of many (including myself). It took a career threatening injury to prompt Kobe to join Instagram as well as leaving a heartfelt blog on his Facebook page expressing his frustration with the media saying this is the end of his career. Kobe is coming off as human and even more likable which is good for his brand.

Here's to wishing Kobe a speedy recovery, and welcome to Instagram!

Act Like A Lady...Think Like a Man?

What if a female joined the NBA? Well word on Twitter and all over the internet today is that just may be a reality coming straight from Mark Cuban's mouth. (owner of Dallas Mavericks) The woman in question is Brittney Griner and she has impressive stats! How would a woman in the NBA work out, though? Many commentors on blogs don't feel as if Griner could measure up in this all male dominated sport. Many have accused Cuban of setting his sights on Griner just for publicity with no intentions of drafting her. It is amazing to see how a tweet from one of the most powerful men in the NBA can stir up such controversy! I absolutely can not wait to see how this all turns out. Looks like Cuban has his sights set on June to make his final decision.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/an-nba-team-is-talking-about-drafting-a-female-college-baske

Started From the Bottom

Matt Lauer from the Today Show is mean. Atleast that's what America and the industry wants you to believe. For years now we have heard of the tales of a mean Lauer getting co-hosts fired from the show, and nasty on set antics. But are they true? A former intern turned anchor would like us to believe. A friend of this anchor has come forward on Twitter (a huge vehicle for getting one's voice heard) stating Lauer was rude to his friend during the time of his internship. Lauer promptly went on his Twitter to dispute all claims stating. "huh? Always tried to be nice to Mark. Sorry you didn't think so. Hope you're doing well." Hmm, sounds passive agressive to me. ;)

Moral of the story: watch how you treat others because you never know who they will become later, and how they will use social media to expose your mean spirited ways. And besides, you should always be nice to people anyway.

But what does this mean for Lauer's PR and already struggling image? Only time can tell.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/matt-lauer-apologizes-intern-tried-431554

Kick-start

What would you do if your favorite television show was cancelled, and all you had were the DVD box sets with unanswered questions, plot holes, and loose ends left untied? Well, fans of the cult classic CW show Veronica Mars were none too pleased with the shows cancellation back in 2007. As a result fans were left clammoring for more. Not only were the fans missing the show, but the show's creator and actors were as well. The idea of a Veronica Mars movie has been in the early stages of planning for forever. The only problem: there was no studio willing to back the project. That's right, everyone involved with production was on board, all they needed was the money to lift the project off the ground. Enter social media, a vital role in raising money for the film. Kickstarter.com has made the film adaptation of Veronica Mars possible. The show's creator went to the site asking fans to help raise money so that they can once again see their beloved characters on the big screen. Everything was calculated, all he needed was for the fans to donate. 30 days were given to raise $2 million to create the film. That goal was met--in a single day. The fans have definitely spoken! With the power of social media, getting the word out about donations made a Veronica Mars movie possible. Be on the lookout for the film early 2014.

Imagine the possibilities of all of our other favorite cancelled television shows being ressurected! Social media is a powerful platform.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=795984&ocid=ansent11

60 Days of Fitness

Rapper The Game wants to see YOU physically and spiritually fit! Using his Instagram account, The Game has recruited celebrity friends to help him get his followers in the best shape of their lives while acknowledging God for his progress along the way. 60 Days of Fitness is an awesome program to get in shape with proven results! The Game has obtained a huge following in both the celebrity world, and the world of regular everyday people like ourselves. On his Instangram you can track his progress as well as his friends. You can also find inspirational quotes to push you along the way. The only down side of 60 Days of Fitness is you don't exactly get to see the work out routine that The Game and everyone else is involved in. You will have to register at 60daysoffitness.com for that--and it comes with a price. If you have the extra cash laying around for the website (I don't), let me know how the program is, and the progress that you make!

What great PR is this for the creator of 60 Days of Fitness to have a huge hip hop star promote their program?

60daysoffitness.com

Twitter Round Up

If a person is influential in any way in pop culture, Twitter is the place to be. From athletes to A-list actors and everyone in between--here is this weeks most interesting tweets...

"Some of the toughest bridges to build in this country remain those that span our racial divides" -Russel Simmons @UncleRUSH

"Lakers up 20-16 after the first despite going 0/8 from three. #GoLakers" @Lakers

"Oz the Great and Powerful is No. 1 with 80.2 million!" -Us weekly @usweekly

"You want to be more focused? Energized? successful? Powerful? Practice STILLNESS." -Oprah @Oprah

"Spring Forward" -Barack Obama @BarackObama

"Be willing to fall down, get up, and fall again, knowing that divine counsel is only a moment of stillness away" -Iyanla Vanzant @IyanlaVanzant

"Stop looking to people to meet your needs and start looking to God. Don't make others responsible for your happiness! -Joyce Meyer @JoyceMeyer

"God dave us tomorrow for a reason" -Keyshia Cole Gibson @keyshiaCole

"Thank you God for blessing me with another day of life!!!!" -Charlamagne @cthagod

As you can see, I follow a whole array of public figures. I appreciate their awareness of God, and I especially like the inspiration that they bring to my timeline. Russell Simmons has been a long time inspiration to me, so I really enjoy the uplifting tweets that he sends out every day without fail. If you all want inspiration in your lives, I recommend these people of substance to follow!

p.s.  Twitter is also useful for updates. If you follow the Lakers, definitely follow their Twitter as well!