A More Chaotic Walk

 Walks with my dogs have been going well as of late. They’ve kept their composure and I’ve not had to discipline them much on our walks as a result. Honestly it’s been relaxing and makes me feel better as a dog owner knowing they can have this privilege that seems rudimentary to owning a dog. It has all been going increasingly well and it came to a head on yesterday’s walk.

 For starters, the reason I am so nervous about them going on walks is because they were attacked by another dog once while we were on a walk and they fought back and their owner called the warden on us. If we had another “incident,” they would assuredly be put down, despite it not being our faults the first time. My family has been stressed out about this for a long time, and I’ve been always of the opinion that regardless of what happened we should still let them do dog things and enjoy standard luxuries of pets.

 So yesterday I took them on yet another walk up and down our block, when suddenly a labradoodle came storming down the street at my dogs. This has always been what my family has been scared of. So naturally, I tighten down on my dogs’ leashes to keep them near me and away from the dog. The ‘doodle approached and sniffed my dogs and they sniffed back, but nothing aggressive happened. My dogs were scared at first, but they quickly realized there were no ill intentions by this lil’ guy. So what was once a gigantic fear ended up being a gigantic opportunity yesterday, and I think my dogs may be becoming less temperamental.

Workshop Time

Last week I had the opportunity to attend PRSSA’s 2023 Social Media Workshop! I’ll be honest, going into this I was not in the least bit excited. I’m a commuter so this workshop equated to being at school longer than I had to be, without me even thinking of the opportunity that was ahead of me. I couldn’t have been more wrong of my initial impressions that this would be some sort of “waste of time.”

 

I arrived late. It was very embarrassing. It had completely slipped my mind that I had a quiz for another one of my classes at ten in the morning, so before going to the workshop I took the quiz as fast as I possibly could. After that, I rushed over to Mac, ran up into the ballroom and got to the sign-in desk. Dr. Aggie was there, and she seemed happy to see me. She gave me my materials for the day, and I then was left to finding a seat in the packed room which was already listening intently to the seminar that I was late to. Naturally, I went to the nearest table which was full of women I didn’t know, asked if I could sit, and sat after being greeted kindly. The speaker was phenomenal. He was a big PR guy at Disney and explained to us what his journey had consisted of to get to where he was. He had many wise words, so many that I actually took notes on what he had to say. After this, I went downstairs to attend two more seminars, one being on podcasting and the other being on social media audits. Both of these were incredibly informative and really showcased the speakers’ expertise of their subject matters. This is where I did my live tweet assignment for my Social Media class, which actually served well in helping me remember the information that I had been listening to. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for long because I had work in the afternoon, but I was very happy that I had went and I learned a lot in my time there.

The Calmness of the Night

So a little known fact about my dogs is that walking them has been a rare occurrence for a long time. I know, it sounds bad, but it’s not as bad as it seems. I take them outside every day to play and take them on car rides whenever I can for enrichment, they are happy and active. It is solely the act of walking down the neighborhood that is viewed as risky. This is because of how excited they get. Sincerely, they get so amped up about taking a walk that they will begin to pull as hard as they can on the leash and it’s an overall embarrassing experience.

 With this being said, last night I wanted to take them on one anyway. So I did, and it was the calmest walk I have ever taken them on. They were slow, calm, and simply interested in what was happening around them in a way that is not aggravated. They were just happy to gently walk around, which is a luxury I had never experienced with them while walking. I was so happy to finally see them come around to walking in a calm way that allows it to be easy for everyone involved.

 I wonder if it was because I walked them at night. Maybe that was less overstimulating for them. Either way, I’m going to continue to try things out and see what works because that is definitely a privilege I would like them to have. I want them to have the best lives I can afford them, and taking them on nightly walks would fit in nicely with that goal. I’m pleasantly surprised at how good they did, and I hope to see that behavior more in the future.

Snapchat: A Secret Treasure

To the younger generations, many social media platforms of old have grown stale. They’re unused, undervalued, and are on their way to a grave that is dug by new generations. Snapchat is not one of these. Snapchat, though viewed as a platform that is unprofessional, is one of the most effective marketing tools on the internet.

I was at one point unaware of the success that digital marketers have had on Snapchat. I always have used the app as more of a chatroom of sorts, only to answer DM’s and text with people I’m not comfortable enough with to give my number to. Never did I bat an eye at the multitude of ads that are quite literally sneaked into my viewing. My mind is seriously boggled at the statistics I saw on the successes of Snapchat marketing. Ads are 2x more viewed than that of Facebook, they have an astronomically low cost, and they’re extremely effective in sales due to the fast-paced nature of the network.

 Not only this, but marketing with Snapchat plays into the role that I personally have lent it. I don’t like giving out my phone number, but Snapchat is a more comfortable medium for communication. The same goes for marketing. Snapchat is a very accessible, comforting platform for one on one interaction with a potential customer. This can make advertising much more personal, and can provide for blossoming relationships that are not seen on other social networking platforms. I’ve been a big fan of Snapchat for a long time, and this adds onto that respect. Snapchat is a fantastic network for advertising and their statistics shocked me to say the least.

Instagram RULES!

 In this post in particular, I want to talk about something that Meta is doing on all of their platforms (for the most part.) This is providing a shopping feature on their social media, such as Facebook and what I want to touch more on in particular: Instagram. Instagram Shopping is a very intuitive way of marketing products and partaking in social e-commerce.

 This concept is just as it sounds: it’s a place where you can shop on the actual Instagram platform. What makes this so effective, however, is the interface on which they provide it. Each line of products is able to create their own “storefront,” on Instagram in which they can put different pages of items that include the details that a customer would see on a more complicated website. It can be very personalized to be able to fit the branding for particular products, even to the point of producing themes and seasonal trends to help boost sales concerning seasonal morale. It’s convenient to both the consumer and the producer, allowing for a smooth feel on both sides of the transaction.

What is most interesting to me about this concept is the convenience of being able to purchase items directly from the social media platform, rather than having to go to a website or different address to fulfill a purchase. This is taking social media marketing to the next level. Not only are products being advertised on Meta platforms, but they are also readily available to purchase with minimal effort involved. There is no seeking anything out, being able to purchase advertised goods on Instagram is about as bare-bones as it gets. A customer sees, clicks, buys. It’s that simple, and with this simplicity comes the obvious effectiveness that comes with providing convenience to the consumer. I am absolutely in love with the way that Meta is tackling online marketing and e-commerce, particularly on Instagram.

Fun Ride in the Car WOOHOO!

 My dogs are very big fans of car rides. They always have been and always will be. Hearing the words "bye-bye in the car” immediately triggers a state of upmost bliss in them, and Sunday was no different. My day started off very lazily, I woke up and watched a couple episodes of Breaking Bad while cuddling the dogs and then began to clean the house. The process of cleaning my house is one that takes several hours as well as vacuuming expertise. So while I was cleaning the dogs took advantage of the two hours of sleep that were readily available to them. After I was done, I woke them up and that is when the fun began.

 My dad and I wanted pizza Sunday, but not just any pizza. We wanted Cassano’s Pizza in Sidney, Ohio. This is my family’s favorite pizza and the margin of likability between this pizza and the next is not close. This is a treasure to behold, and whenever we bring home one of these pies it’s cause for celebration. So, before me and my dad embarked on our pizza pilgrimage, I had the idea of taking the dogs with us so they could go for a fun ride. Begrudgingly, he agreed and I got the opportunity to tell the dogs and watch literal smiles grow on their faces. They hopped in the car and we hit the road.

 Being honest, the ride wasn’t anything special but seeing Apollo happy was. I turned
around in my seat about halfway to Sidney and I sincerely do not think I have ever seen Apollo as happy as I saw him in that moment. I even took a picture, which is in this post. It was the brightest smile I have ever seen on that little guy’s face. It made my day. After about an hour we arrived home with the pizza and feasted, and the dogs had their share was well.