Fantasy Football 2012

It’s official. The NFL announced this past week that the official start date of the 2012 football season is on Wednesday, September 5, 2012.

 

That means we only have this much time left!!  NFL Football Countdown

 

So, of course now is the time to start compiling stats from last year and surfing the Internet for predictions. Fantasy Football drafts will be right around the corner! I found this great article on BleacherReport for top 10 picks this year. Here is the list:

1. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
2. Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans
3. Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens
4. Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders
6. Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
7. LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
8. Maurice Jones-Drew (MJD), RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
9. Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers
10. Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans

I agree with the majority of this list although there were a few surprises. First, I’m kind of surprised that Cameron Ward’s list doesn’t have a top pick for a WR. I understand that RBs generally offer up more points in Fantasy Football, but if you have the right WR at the right time, you can get a ton of hallelujah points. Also, Philip Rivers? Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy and he supposedly runs the “No. 1 Offense” in NFL (even without his top receivers and OLmen in 2010) but I don’t think we can judge his performance based on the return of his best players. I definitely think he is a top pick, but not #1. We shall see.

In the end, it all comes down to one thing: how lucky you get in the draft. I know some leagues enter the teams manually while others use a random draft or a live online draft. I prefer the latter….until you get stuck with the second-to-last pick. Draft time reminds me of this funny picture:

Keep an eye out for injury reports, practice updates, and predictions over the summer. Good luck everyone!

Gainesville Sports Commission

So, I’ve been interning with the Gainesville Sports Commission since January and it’s great! We’ve had events almost every single weekend with so many different sports ranging from track & field to basketball to hand gliders and archery. I’m having a blast writing all of the press releases and contacting media. I’m also handling all of the social media. I will be photographing a few upcoming events so expect more sports pictures!

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Word Cloud

Okay, so maybe it’s a little nerdy but I think word clouds are amazing! I just recently discovered them and I’m having so much fun using them. They are great for getting the “big picture” and can really help a client pull out the main themes of your public relations campaign.

In our campaigns class, our client is a local cultural organization. We had a survey of members last week looking for ways to improve and I used a word cloud to show the client what their members were saying. Of course this is only a supplement to the plethora of quantitative and qualitative data we have, but I think it’s a really neat idea.

Isn’t it just the neatest little thing?! #PRGirlProblems

And the Oscar Goes To…..

I think just about everyone is tired of hearing about the Oscars by now. Let’s be honest, you only watched it to see the dresses and hope someone trips. I was only half-listening in on it (because really, who has the attention span for that?) but I am very happy with two of the awards.

It should come as no surprise that Octavia Spencer won Best-Supporting Actress for her role as a maid in “The Help.” She definitely deserved the award and her reaction would have moved anyone to tears.

Perhaps the biggest award of the night was Best Actress, which fittingly went to a beautiful and talented woman. I should probably add a disclaimer here about how biased I am because I have a huge girl crush on Meryl Streep, but who doesn’t love her?

I swear if I could emulate any one person in my life it would be her (the real her and some of the parts she’s played). I have yet to see “The Iron Lady” (GASP!) but so far my two favorite movies with Meryl as a lead character are “It’s Complicated” with Alec Baldwin and “The Devil Wears Prada” alongside Anne Hathaway. Both of those movies were phenomenal.

Overall, the night was uneventful and the dresses looked like they always do but I was at least happy to see two very deserving, talented women win awards. Until her next movie comes out, I’ll just be sitting here watching Meryl Streep movies in case anyone wants to find me.

Public Relations: Food for Thought

There is no doubt as to the affect social media has had on public relations; it has changed the shape and the scope of our profession. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have opened up lines for dialogue and allow practitioners to interact with their patrons in new, exciting and creative ways. However, in recent years, the attitudes of customers have changed. According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer, publics are more skeptic and much harder to please. Which begs the question: what will public relations professionals use when Facebook and Twitter become boring and obsolete? Even now, we are seeing a trend with young people disassociating with the messages disseminated on Facebook; In a focus group conducted by my group for a class project, students they automatically delete mass invites to events, “un-friend” business accounts etc. because they find them impersonal and annoying ([Focus Group] University of Florida. 2012).  How do we, as practitioners, continue reaching our publics as the slowly drift away from us? The thing I like most about the field of public relations is the adaptability and fluidity of options. This question can’t and doesn’t have to be answered with one response; it is merely food for thought….for now. Personally, I think that rapid technology advancements and the aging of our publics will evolve into some new, stimulating media platform that we have yet to encounter. Sure, it can be difficult for some to leave this question unanswered but the key point is to realize that change is inevitable. The public relations practitioners that realize and internalize this fact will be the ones who jump at the next new trend while the rest will still be dwelling on questions unanswered. As the storytellers and mediators of the consumer world, we must remain vigilant and positive in our quest to create, harness and utilize social media.

Public Relations

Courtesy of Duffey Communications – Atlanta, GA

The Mayonnaise Jar

The Mayonnaise Jar

‘When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.”

 

 

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – God, family,
children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are
important to you…” he told them.

“So… pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

Gator Fans

Lake Wauberg

So after I went around to a bunch of places in Gainesville with great natural scenery, I wanted to continue the picture-taking raid I was on. I’ve been trying to figure out how to capture light naturally in my photos; especially with sun rays. I ventured out to Lake Wauberg with my photography buddy, Kassie, on Sunday. The shots I took are below – check them out and let me know what you think!

Side note: all of the photos on my blog are natural and non-edited unless otherwise stated – meaning they come straight off the SD card. No photoshop here.

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous – Aristotle

I had a chance to take off with my friend Kassie and visit a few trails and parks in Alachua county to play with my camera in the wilderness. We first visited San Felasco Park on 43rd where there are quite a few paths back in the woods and a very similar place called Lobblolly. The pictures from that adventure are below.