#MusicMonday- The Grammy's

Last night, the who's who of music gathered together to celebrate the epicness that was 2013! All with hopes of taking home one of those gold sippy cups grand awards.
This post could go in a number of different directions, from the fashions of last night to the fact that it was an extremely long show; but for now, I'll just write about the performances.
There were a ton of performances at The Grammy's and a few that weren't so memorable, but we won't get in to that.
Catch a few of my favs below:

• Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons- I'd say this performance is easily one of the best from last night. It's also a modern day Linkin Park/Jay-Z collab from a decade ago (my goodness I'm old).

• The Carter's- Pretty sure everyone was looking forward to this performance, but if you weren't then you obviously don't love yourself. Jay and Bey opened the awards show letting America know they're a little drunk in love. (SN: I really do love how in love they are. I think last night was the most PDA I've seen from them at an awards show.)

• Katy Perry and Juicy J- Although some people think Katy's set was something out of a middle school play production, I thought all the props went with the theme of her song "Dark Horse". And it looks like she's been hanging out with Rih too long. Did ya'll peep her dropping and shaking it on the witch's broom pole in the background? Hmm hmm I see you, Katy.

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Feature Friday: Shannon Sloan.

• Brea: Tell me about yourself

Shannon: I moved to Florida from Michigan when I was 18. I graduated from the University of South Florida with a major in Mass Communication and a minor in Business Administration.

After graduation, I realized I wanted to travel and I backpacked through Europe, until I was hired full-time at Great Expectations as a Communications Manager.

• B: Congratulations on being hired at the Great Expectations Children’s Museum after graduation! What does a typical day look like for you?

S: Every day is different. I usually start by looking at emails and answering phone calls. From there, I schedule Facebook posts, work on graphic design projects, update our website, plan events, write newsletters and coordinate volunteers. Working at a nonprofit means a lot of responsibilities!

• B: What do you like most about working in non-profit PR?

S: I love working at a nonprofit because I get to do something I love, while making a difference. We’re more than a children’s museum and we help provide education to Title One schools, provide free admission to underprivileged kids and help other charities with their missions. It feels great knowing that I’m a part of making this community a better place.

• B: What is your best advice for those currently job searching?

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Why Does No One Care About LinkedIn?

I can’t count how many articles I’ve read over the last month discussing the importance of LinkedIn to job seekers. And yet, I know so many students who are not utilizing the site to its full advantage. As an aspiring PR professional, I definitely need to be more active on LinkedIn.

Although I try to stray away from using generalizations, I’m 99.9% sure that if you ask anyone to describe LinkedIn, you may get “it’s like a professional Facebook” kind of response. At least that’s what I thought when I heard about the site my sophomore year. You can add connections, share articles, and ‘like’ statuses and photos. A few of the most important (and obvious) features on LinkedIn are, the ability to job search within the site and to connect with the right people.

Through LinkedIn, How to Market to Me blogger Lindsey Kirchoff, was able to land her dream job at HubSpot. Check out her story below.



In a blog post for LinkedIn, Lindsey also provided some helpful tips that helped her land a job.

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#MusicMonday: Rochelle Jordan.

In case you weren’t aware, Rochelle Jordan is a big deal. The big hair goddess reps everyone’s favorite Canadian city, T dot, and she’s making her way into the music scene in a major way.

Jordan’s awesomely filled second EP P R E S S U R E, was released in 2012 with KLSH producing the album. If those beats don’t make you starting nodding your head, you need to check yourself. Seriously. I’m not sure of another way to describe Jordan’s voice other than it’s similar to Aaliyah. And who doesn’t love Aaliyah?!

I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in 2014. If you haven’t been put on yet, I suggest you do because she’s about to BLOW UUUPP!

Check out RoJo’s newest song “Follow Me” below.

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Feature Friday: Sissy Yee.

I’m kind of taking a new direction with my blog and thought I would start  “Feature Friday” to spotlight my fellow PR folks.

This just happens to be my first “Feature Friday” victim interview. Enjoy!

           

• Brea: Tell me about yourself.

Sissy: Hi! I’m Sissy. I’ve recently graduated with my B.A. in Public Relations from the University of South Florida—while also going down an educational path in Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Business and Philosophy. It was a fun ride but I’ll admit, I’m glad to be off :P

After graduating I traveled around the world for four months and now I’m currently in Florida trying to pursue a life in NYC or London…whichever shows an opportunity to me first! I’m open to breaking into the world of PR, advertising or graphic design. Preferably something in fashion, art or music.

• B: What do you like most about PR?

S: Oooo there’s a lot I like about PR! I actually didn’t really even know what PR was until I was in the midst of doing it! I was working with a musician friend of mine, Luminary Youth, working as his manager. While doing so, I was actually doing a lot of PR work and struggling to decide what to major in when he suggested I do PR! Then I did my research and found out a lot about it and came to really like what it was.
So, what do I like most about PR you ask? The main things I enjoy about it are: it’s social, it can be free and it gives a lot of room for creative thinking. The social aspect hits me because I think it’s great that a large part of the PR world is networking and maintaining relationships. Doing this helps open a myriad of opportunities and learning about things you might not have ever thought you’d be interested in.

What I mean about it being free is that it’s not like advertising, where a company has to pay to be seen. With PR, you can just write a press release, granted it must be of worth, and it could make front page of major news outlets.

Lastly, I enjoy the spaciousness of creative thinking. I’ve always been a fan of guerilla marketing and with PR, you can implement some really interesting guerilla tactics to gain attention from the masses. There’s not many limitations with how creative one can get, as opposed to advertising where there’s usually a lot of guidelines or rules to be followed with your client.

• B: What are your career goals for 2014?

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An Ode to A Different World.

Like many twenty-somethings today, I frequently reminisce about the good old days of the 90’s. It was a simple time filled with the best of music and TV.

With shows like “Boy Meets World” filming a spin off series and talks of “Moesha” returning, it seems like 2014 is the year of the comeback. I only ask the powers that be to please bring back “A Different World”! Or, at least release seasons 2-6 on DVD because we’ve been patiently waiting. 

It’s no secret that fans want the show to return. There’s even someone selling Hillman apparel and a change.org petition to get the DVD’s released.

I’m amazed at how over 25 years have passed since the show has aired, but the topics are still relevant. In its six seasons “A Different World” managed to touch on topics including domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and race to name a few. Not only that, but there were guest appearances from Lena Horne, Patti LaBelle, Diahann Carroll, Tupac, Gladys Knight, Billy Dee Williams and countless other legends!

In 2012 during the 25th anniversary of the show, Miss Debbie Allen even tweeted about revisiting the “wonder arena” we know as Hillman.

We need to revisit this wonder arena and get my crew back.Whitley,Dwayne,Ron,Kim,Jaleesa,Mr. Gaines,Freddie
— Debbie Allen (@msdebbieallen) August 24, 2012

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