Writing for New Media

At first the title of this course scared me…”Writing for New Media.”  The word “writing” was the key word.  But after browsing the syllabus, I was relieved.  The class turned into more about online creativity and design.  This ending up being something that I have a great interest in.

I have become a social media fiend over the passed two years.  From my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and foursquare accounts, I have become more connected to my iPhone.  Yes, I know people didn’t think this would be possible, but it has become more of an extension of my arm.  Analyzing the effectiveness of a marketing campaign to the creation of social media accounts are all important things to know when entering the current job market.  Since graduation is approaching fast, I feel that this class has certainly helped feed my social media bug.

It’s always interesting to receive input from other people.  With social media, it’s just that: input from human beings.  In class, it was great to see the approach each person took to his or her viral marketing plan.  Each person had different experience and was seeking different outcomes.  Personally, my viral marketing plan had a slight impact on the PA Breast Cancer Coalition, but wasn’t as successful as the outcome of the great Fimmano vs. Alleman Facebook battle.

For my personal website, I juggled with different approaches.  I started by wanting to create a blog to having an online portfolio to an online resume.  I finalized my current website to be an online resume with examples of my work.  I also have links to my social media websites to show my involvement.  In the future I plan on expanding my website to include more, but for now, it achieves my goal: assisting in the search for a full time job.

To all of the seniors, good luck on the job search!  To all of the underclassmen, good luck with the rest of your time at Etown!  And to Dr. Helb, thanks for always helping out even when it may have been a common-sense question!

For my viral marketing project, I highlighted a campaign called “Rep. Scott Boyd’s Pink Hair for Breast Cancer Challenge.”  This campaign is a challenge from Rep. Scott Boyd for $10,000 to be raised for the PA Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC).  If the goal is met, he will dye his hair pink for the first home run derby on July 1st.

The overall goal is to raise $10,000 for the Coalition.  With this campaign, I wanted to reach out to people outside of the primary audience of the PBCC.  I created an event page on Facebook for the campaign.  This page was a way to spread the message to non-conventional constituents.  All of my personal Facebook friends in addition to the friends of the PBCC staff were invited to the “event.”

At the time of this posting, there are 61 people “attending” the event with 122 people “maybe attending.”  With this event, it will appear on the Facebook homepage of those who are attending or maybe attending until it ends on July 1st.  This serves as a reminder for people to take a look at the campaign page.  Prior to the creation of the Facebook event, a total of $475 donated.  At the time of this posting, a total of $640 has been donated.  As a bonus, the Facebook Page has increased its connections as an indirect benefit.  At the beginning of the campaign, the page had 2,171 fans.  Now the page has 2,252 fans.

The campaign will continue until July 1st to try and raise $10,000 for the PA Breast Cancer Coalition.  The PBCC is doing a push to encourage its Facebook friends to invite 10 friends to donate $10.  This way it can increase it’s fan base on Facebook and reach additional people.

My Website

For this project, I have been working on my personal website.  This website has a blog, my resume, and will feature my portfolio.

I utilized a template for the beginning layout of the site.  I modified certain aspects including color and functionality.  Some features are not behaving properly, so I am still analyzing the CSS to change this.

As for the portfolio part, I am trying to figure out the best way to showcase my work.  At first I had it listed by the organization where I performed the work.  Now I am moving toward listing it by the type of work.  I am still in the process of finalizing how this will appear and testing a few things out with it.

No one wants to be a fail whale.  Yes, that is my first Twitter reference in this piece.  But it’s true.  No one wants to be clueless about the next best thing.  I signed up for Twitter and didn’t quite understand it.  I didn’t understand why people would want to know what’s going on.  After tweeting a couple mindless things, I let Twitter go.  Then I started working at the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition (PBCC).

When I started at PBCC, I was working on a fundraiser called the Pennsylvania Home Run Derby.  One day, I was working the phones trying to register teams and it struck me.  There was not a way for teams to follow the Derby after they participated.  There was not a way for sponsors to see how their money was spent.  There was not a way for those who could not participate in the Derby to still enjoy it.  That is when I constructed the campaign entitled ‘Follow Intern Kevin.’  This campaign was built to cover the Home Run Derby in its entirety in easy to update ways.  As the primary content manager, I posted TwitPics on the road, tweeted during the events, posted pictures on Facebook and Flickr after the event, and gave a summary report on our blog.  All of these social sites fed into the Home Run Derby site.  This way people could easily gain all of their Derby knowledge without having to navigate several sites.

Let’s rewind to June 2009.  The idea was pitched to our Pat Halpin-Murphy, our President and Founder.  She absolutely loved the idea.  I then presented the campaign to our Board of Directors.  They could not believe how all of this could be done with two devices: my iPhone and laptop.  Later that day at an annual luncheon recognizing our top supporters and advocates, our President introduced me as the Coalition’s “Chief Twit.”  From that day forward, the “Chief Twit” has been utilizing Twitter to reach out to survivors, advocates, and fundraisers across the world.

Personally, I use Twitter as my own sounding board.  I have connected with new people and created new relationships that have helped me over the past year.  Working professionally for PBCC, Twitter has become something else.  It has helped us raise money.  It has connected us with hospitals.  It has connected us with comparable programs in other states.  And it has connected us with state legislators.

Twitter has become a staple method of communication at PBCC.  When discussing promotion of an event or program, Twitter is now a part of this conversation.  When I started the ‘Follow Kevin the Intern’ campaign, I didn’t know what I had created.  But hindsight is 20/20.  And now, the Internet is PBCC’s oyster while still having an area for my mindless rants.

Kevin Smith is a senior Communications student at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA. During his time at Etown, Kevin has focused his studies on Corporate Communication. Upon his graduation in May 2010, Kevin hopes to start his career in the social media field or as a professional event planner.

Kevin is actively involved on campus. He is the current Publicity & Marketing Chairperson for Student Senate. In the Office of Student Activities, Kevin plans events for up to 1,000 students while also promoting all of the office’s events through online media. As the Assistant Editor, Kevin designs, writes, and manages the Conestogan Yearbook. He is also involved with the Admissions Office as a Campus Tour Guide. Kevin also spends time at the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition as the Social Media Coordinator. Through his position, he has created a publicity campaign called ‘Follow Kevin the Intern.’ This campaign allows website visitors to follow the staff around the state during the month of July for the Pennsylvania Home Run Derby.

Kevin was born in Harrisburg, PA in 1987. He has lived in the suburbs of Harrisburg since then with his mother and father. Kevin graduated from Trinity High School in 2006 and St. Joseph’s School in 2002. When he isn’t working on a project, you can find Kevin spending time with his friends or creating another project to keep him busy.

Truncated Version

Kevin Smith is a senior at Elizabethtown College. He studies Communications with an emphasis on Corporate Communications and will be graduating in May 2010. Upon graduation, Kevin hopes to begin his career in the social media field or as a professional event planner. Kevin is actively involved in many aspects of campus including Student Senate, the Office of Student Activities, the Conestogan Yearbook, and the Admission Office.

Home town. These two words, according to dictionary.reference.com, mean “the town or city in which a person lives or was born, or from which a person comes.”  My current permanent address directs people to a location in Dillsburg, PA.  I did not grow up in Dillsburg, but rather in a suburb called Mechancisburg, PA.  I moved to Dillsburg when I was in 6th grade, but to me, Mechanicsburg will always be where I grew up.

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Dillsburg Borough was incorporated as a town in April 9, 1833.  Captain Matthew Dill is credited as the first settler of this small town.  The 2000 Census showed a population of 2,063 citizens.  The area of the Dillsburg Borough is only 0.9 square miles.  However, there are outlying areas that still possess the 17019 ZIP code.  Our house isn’t in the borough proper, but rather in Carroll Township.

In the area, Dillsburg is famous for two things: The Pickle Drop and Farmers’ Fair.  The Pickle Drop is Dillsburg’s version of NYC’s Ball Drop.  Mr. Pickle is decked out with a top hat and cain and descends from the top of the ladder firetruck.  (Again, I did not grow up here, just moved here.) Take a look at the 2009/2010 celebration below.

The second thing that makes Dillsburg famous is the Farmers’ Fair.  There really isn’t much to say about an event that will celebrate it’s 95th occurrence this year.  Actually, there is.  This five-day-long fair has events that include the Fair Queen Pageant, Old Time Cross Cut Saw Contest, Cattle Contest, and Ladies Barn Yard Olympics.  Side note: the only time I have participated in Farmers’ Fair was when I dropped off my mother’s peanut butter fudge.  She was entering it in a contest.  She won. I believe she was awarded $50 cash.  Or maybe the goat that is now living in our backyard.  I can’t remember.

Dillsburg is a part of the Northern York County School District.  I did not attend Northern Middle or High School, but rather St. Joseph’s School in Mechanicsburg and Trinity High School in Camp Hill.  Thirteen years of private school (twelve of them, I wore a uniform) is something that I wouldn’t change.  I learned a lot about myself and got to know my teachers well because of the small class sizes.  This is probably why I enjoy Elizabethtown College so much.

One place where I formed fond memories of living in Dillsburg includes Haar’s Drive-In.  Packing up the car and heading over for a double-dose of motion pictures certainly is a favorite pastime.  Oh!  And you can’t forget about Bruster’s Ice Cream!  Having the first one in Central Pennsylvania was a big deal.  And hanging out with my friends and family on a summer evening certainly was a treat!

I’m unsure if living in the suburbs all my life has led me to pursue living in a city after college.  But I do know that I don’t think I will live in a concrete jungle for the rest of my life.  I have fond memories of playing hide-and-seek-in-the-dark in the backyard and being close with the neighbors.