Social Media Strategy

My strategy for Cinemark theaters involves utilizing different forms of social media outlets. I would use Twitter to run contests, thus increasing brand awareness and getting the patrons actively involved. I would also use Twitter to advertise upcoming movies and to post trailers via YouTube. This brings me to YouTube. I would use this site to pull content such as trailers, behind the scenes footage, and othet movie related content and put it on the Facebook and Twitter pages. This brings me to Facebook. I would create a page for the theater so people could join and “fan” the theater. Facebook would allow me to post content, create discussions, and get a buzz going about upcoming movies, events, etc.

Social Media Strategy

I am working in conjunction with Tinseltown 17 movie theater in Austin. I am working closely with the General Manager Tony Kelly to help develop their Twitter and Facebook accounts in order to draw in a new audience as well as expand the current one. I will utilize both formats to hold contests, inform people of different events, and keep people aware of what’s new with the theater. Advertising upcoming movies, current movies, and special showings will be easier when using the social media platforms. I will start out by building the base of followers first, and then using them to help me spread the word.

Competitive eating…training phase (sort of)

Here are some photos of recent training sessions!

Horribe bowling!

Here is a video of me bowling…quite terribly I might add. I guess 9 pins is better than 0?

Future of Social Media looks Bright

Social media as we know it today is just beginning to come into its own. It may seem like it is in full bloom and being used to its full potential, but the tip of the iceberg has just been tapped. The potential uses for social media and networking is being pushed to the limit right now, with sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and even Myspace leading the way. The uses for social networking have moved far beyond the trivial uses that high schoolers used them for in the past. Now businesses and corporations are beginning to see the practical uses of social networking, and the demographics of people that can be reached through the use of this technology. Niche social networking sites are beginning to pop up, that cater to a certain demographic of people. Communities are being created online to foster specific goals of specific companies, and it is transforming the way we do businesss. Advertising, news, and even personal networking is being moved and channeled through online mediums, and the reliance on traditional media is waning. We have only just begun to see the use of social media and social networking as we know it today.

Silver not an option for Canadian hockey

The Canadian people are having a blast hosting these Winter Olympics, but veiled underneath the joy of hosting the world’s greatest collection of sporting events is a tension and a pressure that mounts with each tick of the clock. The pressure on the Canadian hockey team to bring home the gold is undeniable. Coaches may try to downplay it, players may try to brush it off, but it does not hide the fact that the pressure and expectations are there. Canada must bring home nothing short of a gold medal in these games for these Olympics to be a success. Never mind the first home gold medal won earlier this week in Moguls, or the climbing medal count. One medal and one medal alone is the heart and soul of the Canadian people. Hockey gold. This may well be the greatest assembly of players that Canada has ever put together. Sidney Crosby, arguably the greatest player in the game today. Martin Brodeur, one of the most decorated goal tenders of our generation. The list goes on. Fact of the matter is, they must get through a rough gauntlet of equally talented teams including the Swedes, the ever powerful Russians with NHL All Star Alex Ovechkin, and an upstart US team that looks to recreate the Miracle on Ice from the 1980 Sarajevo games. Truth of the matter is, Canada is headed to a one on one with rival Russia in the Gold Medal Game, and the entire country will shut down to watch the spectacle. What could be better for the sport of hockey? Sid the Kid, and Ovechkin, facing off for the Olympic gold, Crosby and Canada skating on home ice…are you kidding me? This is what movies are made of, not real life, right? We would be blessed as fans to see such a spectacle, and mark my words, the entire country of Canada and parts of the northern US would shut down to watch that game. But if the gold does not go home to Canada, these games will be seen as an epic failure. So let’s hope that doesn’t happen, because I don’t think Canada could take it.

Mac V Windows

Much has been made about the rivalry that exists between Mac and Windows. It is almost a Civil War mentality between the users of both formats, and neither can accept the other’s points of view. It is almost comical to see how fired up people get over their respective brands, and how devoted they are to staying true to either one of them. Apple has seen it’s fair share of failures, and before the arrival of Steve Jobs, Apple was all but a forgotten name in a land of Bill Gates run computer dominance. Nowadays, however, Apple is the leader in innovation and technology, and has a stranglehold on the market that Windows longs for once again. Much of this credit needs to go to the brilliant minds working at Apple, but also to Jobs, who singlehandedly turned that franchise around. His management style is a complete 180 from that of Gates, and that may be a contributing factor as to why Apple is so successful. Yet, Gates is still the richer of the two, with a fortune of almost $50 billion. Where as Gates seems to be the more mellow of the two, Jobs is a strict boss who inspires nothing but the best from his employees. Now, is this inspiration drawn from fear more than motivation? Maybe, but whatever tactics Jobs has been using, it achieves results. Apple employees have long said what a strange relationship it is between them and Jobs, where Jobs will be almost a zealot and inspire true greatness from someone, or criticize them so harshly over the strangest things that it has the employee second guessing their employment status at the end of the day. Like I said before, though, whatever tactics Jobs uses, it has worked, as Apple leads its competition into the 21st century and beyond. Meanwhile, Gates has gladly given up the role as forefront leader in the computer game, and has focused much of his attention on philanthropy, and using his mass wealth to help others that are less fortunate. Gates has donated a large portion of his fortune to his charities, which cannot be said for Jobs. However, Jobs is more career driven at this point in his life, where as Gates is more worried about politics and world happenings.

Introduction

Hello world, this is the maiden voyage of my very first blog! Welcome to the Red Zone! I will be blogging about various and random sports happenings around the globe, as well as random assignments for my Social Media at Work class. I hope everyone enjoys reading this, and feel free to leave your feedback.

For my initial assignment, I need to comment on a couple of videos that I viewed in my social media class. We watched “The Internet: Behind the Web”, which was a video chronicling the rise of the Internet as a force in our modern world. While a bit outdated, it was very informative and interesting. Did you guys know that the Internet started out as a connection between 12 or so computers? And at one time, there were like 50 websites? Crazy! I can’t imagine life without the Internet now, so thank you Al Gore! (Just kidding)

The next videos we watched were 2 YouTube videos that were a collection of random facts and figures about the Internet. Pretty cool. Very interesting stuff here too, and I love how they were put together. I embedded them below for your viewing pleasure.