Summertime, and the living's easy

     Ever since Nicole started her LA blog, it has inspired me to possibly start writing in this one again. I feel like this is the new and improved Xanga ("Summer 05 is like WOAHHH! =D" ..haha Lisa/Stephanie).
     This summer I'm living in Austin, and it's absolutely amazing. I would be so sad if I had to stay home in Dallas for another summer. I miss my family, but Richardson can get sooo boring. Austin is kind of backwards though. Lots of stuff going on during the week, and then the weekends are a little more laidback. I keep myself busy working at Bartlett's with Callan. 5 days a week! I like my schedule, but it sucks that Callan and I never get to work together. All of the servers (mostly all guys) are either really sexy.. or gay. or both. But everyone is really fun!
     So summertime has been fabulous and all, but I'll leave you here until I can think of something more interesting to update about next time.. just wanted to test this out again for now.

Churches capitalize on online communication

We all know that business use public relations to promote their image to many different publics. Even celebrities use public relations to create a personal brand image. Increasingly, religious institutions have picked up on this trend and used it to their advantage.

As Americans increasingly turn to the Internet each day for almost any need, churches have revamped their traditional means of promoting their mission and its goals. Spreading the gospel has suddenly grown to a whole realm.

Only a few miles The University of Texas at Austin campus, The Austin Stone Community Church has proved to be a master at public relations. Known as the Austin Stone, the church has a Twitter and a Facebook. To watch videos of the church’s events, members can visit their vimeo site.

As if keeping up with the church on its social networking sites isn’t enough, The Austin Stone also posts its sermons online each week, via an iTunes podcast or an RSS feed. So even if Sunday plans interfere with attending services, you can get the sermon on the go. The church strives to provide the utmost level of convenience to promote the word of the gospel. With college students providing a large audience to the church because of the proximity to campus, the church has realized that utilizing technology keeps them in the know.

Austin Stone has not one blog, but seven. Blogss include God, Gospel, Mission, the pastor’s blog, the Missional Community Blog and the College Blog, among others. For the financially-minded members of the church, there is even a Money Matters Blog where tips about how to spend Gospel-centered finances wisely. You can find a full list of Austin Stone’s blogs here.

Each Friday, the Austin Stone also sends email updates for information about the upcoming week’s sermon and events.

Walt Wilson, Founder of Global Media Outreach for Christian 2.0, describes the move towards Internet outreach as “not a replacement, but a communication platform. We need to add it to everything we do as Christians. Technology is here to serve us.”

Skates And Stardom for Lysacek

Evan Lysacek’s reputation skyrocketed to worldwide fame during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics when he beat the defending champion of Russia to bring America gold. Lysacek currently competes on Dancing with the Stars, alongside partner Anna Trebunskaya. They are early favorites, but how is Lysacek using public relations tactics to secure beneficial self-promotion and publicity?

 To promote his partnership on Dancing with the Stars, he has his own separate blog on People magazine’s web site. In today’s update, he describes the excruciating pain of dancing on two broken toes. He insists that he will not let the injury thwart him in any way though. “”As for my toes, I’m not worried. I will tape them up and hit the floor with the same 100 percent effort I give in training,” says Lysacek. “I will not let them steal my thunder!” This optimistic tone sits well with readers that admire his dedication and enthusiasm.


To keep fans updated with his skating schedule, Lysacek updates a blog on his official website. He connects with the audiences by detailing the events of each exciting day. Lysacek also updates hisFacebook and Twitter page regularly with news about his Stars on Ice Tour.


With this many blogs, it’s as though Lysacek never leaves his whereabouts a mystery. As if cashing in on social media isn’t enough, Lysacek was also able to celebrate Evan Lysacek Day in Naperville, Illinois on March 26. What’s next?

Sasquatch Dave keeps Austin weird

Any student that attends The University of Texas at Austin is familiar with the city’s eclectic reputation. Shirts line the stores on the main road bordering campus, known as “The Drag,” that say, “Keep Austin Weird.”

Hippies and homeless people sprinkle themselves along the peripheries of campus, but perhaps the most well-known of them all is a middle-aged man that goes by the name of Sasquatch Dave.

Dave usually stands on the busy corner of 24th Street and Guadalupe Street. As students hustle to make it to their next class on time, most can’t help but giggle when they see Dave’s daily attire that consists of a tie-dye shirt, a fisherman’s hat, denim shorts and either a red clown nose or, more recently, a pig’s nose.

As if Dave’s ensemble wasn’t enough, he holds a cardboard sign each day that asks an embarrassing question, states a random fact, or tells a joke. Dave is a prime example of the overused saying that “it’s the little things in life that matter.”

Rumors circulate that Dave isn’t homeless after all, but simply a man in search of seeing more smiles around West Campus, or maybe just nothing better to do. Either way, he has learned to promote himself significantly more in the last year.

Dave has a self-titled album at Waterloo Records a Twitter page, and a Myspace page. As more articles are written about him and his efforts to bring happiness to locals, he strives to get more attention in the public spotlight. Dave doesn't directly ask for money from passersby, but with this growing use of public strategies tactics, I'm convinced that more people will be inclined to support his quest to bring smiles to the faces of stressed students. One of Dave's personal favorites... "God made your butt."

Bieber means business when it comes to self-promotion

Public relations superstar, Apolo Ohno? Oh yes!

During the 16 days of the Vancouver Olympics, my roommates and I sat glued in front of the TV screen almost every night to watch whatever sporting event that happened to be on at the time.


Whenever we weren’t home, we made sure that the coverage was being recorded on our Tivo. 


When I’m forced to miss the live action, I religiously keep up with my favorite athletes through their social networking sites, especially Facebook and Twitter.

I became a fan of Apolo Anton Ohno on Facebook and began following him on Twitter . Ohno updates every day, and it makes me feel like I have my own personal connection to this American superstar.

As if winning eight Olympic medals wasn't enough, I applaud his public relations strategies. He proves to be a great self-promoter and has built a strong and positive personal brand.

Ohno has a section on his official Web site that includes links to find him on Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, Twitter, Digg, Wikipedia, and YouTube.

"I am ready. No regrets, No fears, no hesitation. Enjoying every minute. I'll give my all for USA. And smile every step of the way,” said Ohno on his Twitter site on the day of the opening ceremonies in Vancouver.

It’s inspiring Tweets like these that keep me coming back to his sites and reposting his quotes. He stands out and makes me want to watch his races and TV interviews.

His win on the 2007 season of Dancing With the Stars proved that he’s a man with many talents. Adding his successful use of public relations to his repertoire, I’d say that many athletes could take a note from Ohno.