A new way to test your personal health

Do you ever question how hydrated your body is? Or perhaps your personal health in general? I’m someone who is always trying to stay on top of my hydration level and keeping my body to a somewhat healthy lifestyle. While in class this week I was given a health device from a company named Vivoo which allows me to keep track of my health at the ease of a simple urination test.

When I was first given this device from my teacher, I was rather confused as I didn’t know what it was. The packaging was multicolored and very vibrant. When you first open it up you are prompted to download the mobile app which is where you view all of the test results after you take the urination test. The mobile app is extremely friendly as it asks you to enter some personal health information like your weight and height. The website is also similar to the mobile app as it gives a good description of what the device is and what it can do. From the website, I learned that the Vivoo test can measure your PH levels, energy level, hydration, and much more like your kidneys and liver. It’s pretty mind-blowing if you ask me that a simple at-home urination test can give you all of these health test.

So for anyone out there that might be looking to better their health. Vivoo is a simple step in the right direction as it can benefit you in many ways. This newly founded company is putting their users first as they want nothing but healthy habits to come out of their device. I’m not sure about all of you, but I will surely be using Vivoo every now and then to make sure I am making the correct choices when it comes to my personal health.

People are more likely to watch videos than read articles.

As we continue to move deeper into the 20th century, our understanding and usage of online media will continue to grow. Many companies and businesses are finding that certain visuals and online videos are more beneficial when it comes to advertising and public relations for the company. Before this technology boom, companies would promote themselves by either a photo or long article that had tons of words on the page. Nowadays, people have way less of a tension span, meaning that most people won’t take the time to read a long article that is promoting a company or people won’t pay as much attention to someone just reading a script, compared to someone with actual visuals for the person to see. Is this because we are becoming lazier when it comes to reading and understanding something? For me, I am almost guaranteed to stop and watch a 30-second video when scrolling on social media. When it comes to a long article, I most likely won’t stop and take the time to read what the article has to say as I’m just not as interested or perhaps the videos take less attention to understand so I’m more likely to watch the video. 

In the upcoming years, videos and the creation of content will continue to expand and grow. Today, there are thousands upon millions of videos being created every day and uploaded for the entire world to have access to as we have a handful of social media applications that are being used every day by millions of people. On the other hand, writing skills and reading skills are slowly declining as a lot of people in the upcoming generations are becoming reliant on technology and social media. For instance, more people are using actual computers compared to writing with a pencil and paper. Reflecting on that, people are just more reluctant to read an article when they can just watch a video for entertainment with much less work on themselves and almost everyone nowadays is tech-savvy.

One positive thing I’ve noticed from videos in the past few years is the amount of information they can provide within a quick 30 second or minute-long video. Consumers can take in tons of information off of a quick video compared to skimming an article for information, so if your company’s main focus for advertising and public relations isn’t in visual content. Then I’d suggest taking a new look at the stats and the future for all videos and content for this career as it will continue to grow and is practically a necessity for creating a successful company in advertising and public relations.  

10 Jobs I May be Interested in.

  1. Communications Intern 
  • SDI Clarity 
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Advertising%20and%20public%20relations&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=e38071af8f6870ae
    • Current college student or graduate studying writing, communications, marketing, public relations or a related field
    • Strong written and verbal communication skills
    • Experience in scheduling social media , and knowledge of Facebook advertising and digital marketing analytics.
    • Must be proficient in Word and Excel. Proficiency in Adobe Creative Cloud applications is a plus.
    • Self-motivated, good organizational skills, detail-oriented, ability to prioritize and meet deadlines.
    • Hunger to learn and the ability to take direction and apply it to future work
  • In order to work this intern, I will need to learn more about Facebook advertising and I will also need to learn how to use adobe creative cloud applications.
  1. Leasing Specialist 
  • Eenhoorn 
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Advertising%20and%20public%20relations&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=19be2c6a9eec3f66
    • Outstanding customer service and communication skills
    • Exceptional organization/multi-tasking skills
    • Experience in sales and marketing; ability to sell potential clients
    • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite required
    • Prior experience in property management/student housing preferred
    • Positive attitude, high energy, and great work ethic
    • Integrity; with the ability to remain strictly confidential
    • Present yourself in a professional manner
    • Willingness to accept any new challenges
    • Previous Leasing Specialist or Sales experience
    • High school diploma or GED
  • In order to meet the requirements to work for this job, I will need to learn more about Microsoft Office Suite, other than that I believe I can reach most other requirements for this job.

  1. Fund Raising Development Specialist 
  • ASABE 
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Advertising%20and%20public%20relations&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=123db2d6d25bee2c
    • Collaborative, creative networker with stellar written and verbal communication skills.
    • Experience with designing and implementing fundraising campaigns.
    • A minimum of 5 years of experience working in a fundraising role.
    • Adhere to Foundation policies and procedures.
    • Proficient with Microsoft Office. Website management experience and fundraising software familiarity a plus.
  • In order to efficiently work at this job, I will have to come across some type of fundraising experience in order to earn 5 years of experience in that category,  I will also have to improve my website management experience which I feel like is something I am currently working on in this class.
  1. Digital Sales Consultant 
  • Intellectual Ninjas
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=advertising%20agency&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=a07c4338c914913e
    • Some experience in inside/outside sales, retail sales, cold-calling
    • Positive and professional demeanor
    • Ability to build positive rapport with potential clients
    • Ability to prioritize, organize and multitask
    • Excellent written and verbal communication skills (this is important)
  • Most skills required for this job I already have, the only thing I might need to work on is long extensive phone calls between customers, besides that everything else is reachable. 
  1. Digital Asset Specialist 
  • Meijer
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=advertising%20agency&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=f3c48dbe04401ed6
    • Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing and/or Advertising preferred.
    • 3 – 5 years of retail marketing or content development experience is required.
    • Interactive content development, retail marketing, a basic understanding of Microsoft Office Suite.
    • Good project management skills. Ability to educate others, multi-task, and work collaboratively.
    • The ability to lead through ambiguity and influence and impact cross-functional teams is critical
  • I will need to learn more about Microsoft Office Suite and I will have to gain some experience in retail marketing. I could do this by taking a course that covers Microsoft office or by learning more about it on my own time.
  1. Account Executive-WXMI-Fox 17
  • The E.W. Scripps Company
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=advertising%20agency&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=a19617aca07c0817
    • Proficient with MS Office products including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
    • Ability to adhere to strict deadlines and complete work assignments in a timely and accurate manner.
    • Adaptable and flexible with the ability to shift focus in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
    • Strong interpersonal skills.
    • Good verbal and written communication skills.
    • Team-oriented and experienced in working in a team environment.
    • Excellent organization and time management skills.
    • Strict attention to detail.
    • Strong problem-solving skills.
  • I currently feel like I have all the skills needed to work this job as these are all skills that I have either obtained in college or while working as a bartender at a busy restaurant. 
  1. Digital Communications Intern 
  • Central Office – Wyoming Mi 
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=advertising%20agency&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=d00de6bf44e3c056
    • Working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in marketing, communications, advertising, or related field
    • Intermediate experience with Microsoft Office Products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) and Google Drive
    • Experience using WordPress, MailChimp, and OntraPort – other marketing services are a plus
    • Very comfortable working in Google platforms
    • Strong copywriting and proofreading skills are a must (this ranges from conversational copy to more journalist writing)
    • Strong interpersonal and organizational skills
    • Have a go-getter attitude and a strong work ethic
    • Dependable, punctual, and honest
    • Work closely with the marketing team and the graphic designer
    • Work in a fast-paced, agency-style environment
    • Maintain project schedule and fulfill demanding deadlines
    • Ability to take direction from multiple people and determine project priorities
    • Ability to accept criticism and direction positively
    • Team player, but willing to take ownership when necessary
    • Ability to contribute to marketing ideas and planning
  • I also believe I already have a lot of these skills needed to perform well at this job as these are all skills I have obtained in college and high school. One thing I will need to inform myself on is how to use MailChimp and Ontraport as I haven’t used many marketing services to this day. 
  1. Marketing Communication Skills 
  • PrestoTech Solutions 
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=advertising%20agency&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=8dd6261fe5e11b04&advn=2827052187347510
    • Strong written and verbal communication skills.
    • Must have attention to detail and effective planning, organization, prioritization and project/time management skills to meet deadline-driven timelines.
    • Ability to work collaboratively with internal associates, including management and external customers.
    • General knowledge of marketing strategies and basic analytical skills.
    • Proficient computer skills including Microsoft Office (Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word) required.
    • Experience with graphic design (Adobe Creative Suite), media production, and HTML knowledge is a plus.
    • Have strong project management and multitasking skills.
  • In order to perform well at this job I will need to learn a little bit more about marketing strategies and analytical skills as I don’t have the most experience in those fields yet. Besides that, I already have a fair amount of experience in graphic design applications and it’s something that I really enjoy creating things in. 
  1. Sales and Digital Marketing Rotational Internship
  • HexArmor
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=advertising%20internship&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=fbd68ea4a16f3865
    • Provide over-the-phone support for customers including: inventory, pricing, product information.
    • Triage inbound inquiries and determine proper team to handle (sales, operations, SDR).
    • Qualify leads and work with sales team to ensure proper follow-up.
    • Facilitate sales interactions for consumer and small markets.
    • Manage our LiveChat interactions from the Web site.
    • Keep customer information and contact activity current in SAP and Salesforce.com
    • Provide general administrative support for the sales team (information entry, reference).
  • I also believe I could perform well at this job as I took a course that covered SAP and storing information. I would also be able to manage the LiveChat interactions and work well with others around me. 
  1. Marketing and Sales Internship
  • Dealy Loved Bridal 
  • https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=advertising%20internship&l=Grand%20Rapids%2C%20MI&vjk=6a8aaacb625bfdb0
    • Familiarity with Instagram + Facebook
    • Familiarity or desire to learn more about the wedding industry.
    • Outgoing and adaptable personality
    • Other involvement outside of the classroom
    • Excellent communication skills- both written and otherwise
    • Highly motivated and focused
    • Photography skills are a bonus!
  • I think this job would be fairly easy to handle as almost all younger adults have an Instagram or Facebook account. I also have a fairly outgoing and adaptable personality as I can get along with almost anyone. I am also familiar with the photography industry as my brother has been into photography for a while now and has taught me many of his skills.

Collaborating in today’s digital age.

Collaboration and being able to work well with others is a skill that almost everyone needs to be aware of when entering the workforce. As the digital world continues to expand, so does the way we communicate with others. 

With electronics and many other forms of communication becoming easily accessible, people are slowing fading away from one on one facial communication and moving towards electronic communication like emails, phone calls, and text messages. To help further discuss this topic, I’ll be talking about how collaboration has been changing throughout the years and where it might be heading in the future. 

In today’s digital age, it’s extremely important to be able to talk to and work with other people even if you aren’t around them. This became possible and more accessible than ever with collaborating services like email and google applications like docs; PowerPoint, sheets and many other applications that empower you to work with other people. Ever since the beginning of the 20th century, emails have controlled and taken count for most discussions between co-workers. According to this article by vox, “Despite the appearance of modern communication and collaboration tools, “old-school” methods of emails, phone calls and texts still make up 75 percent of all communications with co-workers” (O’Donnell, 2017). 

Businesses are now pushing their workers to be as creative as possible and these workers are doing that by collaborating with people they work with and perhaps people in the same field as them. Today there are hundreds of online video conferences that can be attended, as well as other forms of messaging that can take place online. These online video rooms allow workers to discuss their thoughts with other people all while being in a different location as them. This form of collaboration will continue to grow in the years to come as it has created tons of success for employees who need to communicate with others all while saving time and resources. Being able to send out a mass messages to your employees is also another notable thing that will stick around for years to come as it is a way of communication that saves both time and resources as well. 

One thing to take note of is all the forms of communication that have become available. Online communication is becoming flooded to the point that there are too many ways to be able to communicate and collaborate with others. This can cause unclear or cluttered communication. Perhaps employees don’t see these messages as important as they are constantly being spammed with messages from co-workers or their employer. Perhaps this is why certain forms of communication like email, phone calls, and text messaging is still one of the most commonly used forms of communication when it comes to collaborating in the work field as it reduces confusion but still allows others to work together when needed. Overall, communicating with others while at work is a key resource and skill that is expected between most employees in order to work at the highest level with the best outcome. With that being said, I believe new forms of communication will continue to surprise us in the years to come as the digital world is continuously changing and evolving. 

The New Wave of Advertising

As we constantly involve into a more digital and creative society, many companies and people are finding better ways to get their name out there and advertise their information for other people to see. We have all seen thousands of advertisements every day, even if we aren’t trying to find them. Ads are almost always being presented to us. In order to learn more and look deeper into the advertising and marketing industry, I’ll be reviewing and listening to a few of Joe Rogan’s podcast where he discusses this topic and his thoughts on it. 

Let me ask you guys a question. How many people still watch their local television or use an actual cable box to watch tv? Probably, not too many of you. Surprisingly, television isn’t the most popular place to be entertained anymore. There are currently many outliers that are stepping in like Netflix, Youtube, and Hulu which is taking up a large amount of entertainment nowadays. For me, I grew up watching tons of youtube videos. I became addicted to certain entertainers and I personally watched them go from being a small content creator to being a wealthy content creator all by uploading videos and advertising their content and advertising other people’s content within their videos. Many of us have probably heard the line, “This video is sponsored by… followed by some company or brand that is sponsoring the content creators video. This is all apart of an advertising strategy as the company is trying to get that creator’s followers to blend and become followers of their product as well. This had become a key to success for many individuals as advertising is a booming industry that many people and companies are trying to figure out.

Video sharing concept – Uploading your videos to the Internet (freerangestock.com)

As Joe mentions in his podcast with Bill Burr, advertising on television is one of the most basic ways to do it, yet we are all so used to being presented ads while watching tv that they are having to come up with new ways to make us pay attention to them. Sporting events are playing advertisements during actual games by keeping the game in a smaller portion of the screen while the ad plays on the same screen. It almost seems like if it isn’t a “creative” or “eye-catching” ad, that most of us will just pick up our phones during commercial breaks to find something else to entertain us. Instagram, on the other hand, is a gold mine when it comes to promoting ads for other people and making a revenue off of it. Joe mentions in his podcast that an Instagram account with a hundred thousand followers can make up to five thousand dollars on each Instagram post. He also mentions that advertisement entertainment is the new way of advertising in order to get people to actually pay attention to the ad itself. 

Overall, Joe claims that he doesn’t advertise for brands as he is his own brand and claims he has made enough wealth off of that. His youtube videos automatically get advertisements put on them but for his podcast itself, he doesn’t promote much of anything as he is there to discuss things with people and promote the person themselves. 

The Social Media Boom

Social Media is a constantly growing platform where anyone can create, share, or view content that is uploaded by other individuals. This content can range from educational information all the way to pure entertainment as there are almost no restrictions when it comes to uploading on social media platforms. I tend to find Facebook more for family usage and staying connected with friends from across the world. Twitter on the other hand, is used more for discovering things that might be going on or keeping your friends updated with a 240 character tweet on how you might feel about something. Then we have platforms like Instagram. Instagram is a social media platform that is used to upload photos or videos for your follows to see. All of these platforms are very popular for teenagers and young adults as there are nearly 2.23 billion active users each month on Facebook alone.

These platforms are constantly gaining new users and people are continuously finding new ways to stay entertained on social media. Whether its retail shopping online, to being able to send your friend money over a social media app, these platforms are here to stay and continuously grow. The question comes down to; how are you going to adapt to social media and make this constantly growing device useful in your lifestyle? 

More People Talk Via Social Media than Actual One on One Conversations.

Social Media. A term that was almost unheard of if you look back twenty years or so. In today’s society, teens revolve around social media and discuss social media as a priority or something that they can’t live without. Popularity is now being based off of how many followers you have online rather than who you hangout with in person. People are in constant contact with one another even if they are halfway around the world. Social media is a constantly growing platform that allows anyone to express their feelings to people who might want to listen.

For me, social media has never been on the top of my priorities. I was always taught to cherish the conversations you have with people in person rather than trying to communicate via text or social media platforms. I still have an account on almost all social media platforms, but it’s more for the usage of staying updated with what’s going on and discovering new creative things that are being put out on social media. With that being said, I believe social media can be extremely useful when it comes to promotion and putting a brand on the market for everyone to be able to see. There has been a numerous amount of times where I am scrolling through a social media platform and an advertisement pops up promoting some clothing brand or just something that catches my attention and it has lead me directly to their website to further my curiosity and perhaps make a purchase from this company. When it comes to selling something on social media, all it takes is a little luck and exposure and the next thing you know you can be selling out of the product in no time. I find this to be one of the most beneficial things to social media. Not the ability to sell things on social media, but the ability for anyone to sell things. Anyone can make a viral tweet, or upload the next big youtube video that gets millions of hits. All you need is a little dedication and hard work and these platforms will be the guide to getting your website or product out in the public and known. 

The creator of this instagram page is my twin brother, Dylan Nelson. He uses this page to upload and show off his photography skills in hopes of people wanting to buy his pictures or hire him to shoot some photos. Give him a follow @photosbydylan1.

 Throughout the years, social media has not only become a place to be able to express how you feel, but also a way of keeping people updated with your life without them really having to reach out to you to find out. Applications like snapchat and instagram allow you to upload “stories” which keeps your followers updated with what you’ve been doing within the last twenty-four hours. I find this to be an issue in the rising as a lot of teens now-a-days are being much less social when it comes to one on one conversations. More people are pulling out their phones to update their friends rather than holding an actual conversation in person. This can hurt a lot of our youths communication skills as it’s important to be able to hold an actual conversation with someone while giving them your full undivided attention. 

Overall, social media is a constantly growing platform that isn’t going to be going away anytime soon. Platforms like Twitter and Facebook are constantly gaining new users everyday and new youtube videos are always being uploaded to inform people on how to do things or just for pure entertainment. Whether you’re a social media advocate or not, these platforms are here to stay for a while and it’s the new thing when it comes to self promotion and creating a space to be yourself.

My Online Social Rank

BrandYourself.com

The score I was given from BrandYourself.com was rather fascinating and shocking to me as I’ve always tried to watch my online reputation.

I plan to work on my online footprint throughout this semester to create a better reputation of myself within these next 90 days. Feel free to check back in at later dates to see if I have made any progress on my score.

Part 2 –

When we first started this online reputation score I thought it was really fascinating and interesting how this website could scan the web for anything that included your name and how you could also link your social media accounts so those could be scanned for content that might hurt your reputation as well.

Sadly, as you can tell, my online reputation actually went down in the past 90 days. I found it rather difficult to use the actual website to clean up my social media as it wanted me to pay for most of the services in order actually “clean up my reputation”.

On the other hand, I knew that some of my social media had content on it that shouldn’t be there. So I, myself, went into my twitter and started to delete content from middle school/ high school that my prior self would never say. I found content that talked about drinking and many other things. Although it wasn’t alcohol that was discussed, the content was still flagged and needed to be deleted.

One other thing that I think should be noted is brandyourself claims that I don’t have enough reputable info to raise my score. I found this part of my score rather difficult to improve as I have actually found myself straying away from almost all social media lately. To me, social media has been an outlet to stay connected with communities and friends. Besides that, I find a-lot of negative content and people on social media that I just don’t want to have encounters with.

When trying to clean up my score, one thing I did find interesting is the google results when looking up my name. People from all around the world were popping up with the same name as me and brandyourself would recognize that and think those people were actually me. So I went through and cleaned up that portion. Surprisingly, there was almost no information of me when I am searched on google. So perhaps that links into the last portion where I discussed there not being enough reputable information about me out there.

Overall, I found this website to be really neat as I have always cared what others think of me on social media. I’ll continue to look back at brandyourself to see if I make any improvements to my score as I work towards a better version of my online self.

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