Look What You Made Me Do

 

Taylors Instagram Reset

Taylor Swift has been on Instagram for longer than I have been on Instagram. However she has not always been active on the platform. In 2017, she completely reset her entire Instagram page. This deleted tons of personalized posts from previous years. She did this to promote her next album reputation. She then strategically posted clips of a snake as a hint for the album. The song that she was teasing ended up being Look What You Made Me Do. The song was immensely popular and the music video was so elaborate. It has many clues and hints for fans to search for and find. This debut marked the first time Taylor had made an appearance in the public eye in quite a while. I think since then her Instagram brand has been different. It is now more professional. It used to be personalized posts with lots of behind the famous star moments. Now it is used to promote things and is effectively less personal. She also doesn’t allow comments on her posts.    

Single Promotion

Instagram
has always been my default social media platform. I think I have liked it in the past because of its visuals. Instagram is the highlight reel of people’s lives. Instagram only gets the best photos of the most exciting events. The platform lets users lean into creativity. Using Instagram for business is a little . I think the pros of using Instagram for this is that it allows a brand to be more personal. It gives the company the ability to become friendly and recognizable through their posts.

I think that Instagram has changed over the past couple years. They have implemented more services such as shops and reels. In my opinion, these changes have made Instagram worse. I am not a fan of how it’s changed to be more like other social media platforms. It added shops to be like Facebook. It added reels to be like TikTok. I don’t use either of those functions. I find them slightly annoying. I think that the way Instagram has changed their algorithm has made the feed odd. It used to all be one page, but now you can change between following and your list of favorites. The original feed operates on an algorithm and the following feed generates the most recent posts by the accounts you follow. I like the following option because it ensures that I am seeing my friend’s posts.

A State of Grace

State of Grace is a song from Taylor Swift’s album RED. I chose it for this week’s blog because of the title. It just reflected my weekend well. It was the opening song from Taylor’s tour that followed the album in 2013. There is also an acoustic version of this song. I like the original version better. My favorite line is “We learn to live with the pain, Mosaic broken hearts.” I don’t have a reason for liking it, but it has always been my favorite lyric in this song from the moment I heard it.

Coco!

This weekend was the first time since school started that I was able to rest and reset. I had a couple of events this weekend, but they were fun and did not require brain function. On Friday evening Zach surprised me at work and we were able to get dinner afterwards. I always feel pressure to entertain people when they come to visit Ada. There are things to do in Ada, but I didn’t have plans to go anywhere or out someplace. We walked to get Chinese food and it was very good. After that we went and ate some ice cream. I am always in an ice cream mood. No matter how full I am there is always room in my stomach for ice cream.

Zoe!

On Saturday I had two events that I oversaw for two different organizations. The first event was for Kappa Phi. It’s a Christian women’s organization that my roommates and I are involved in. I live with four other girls and we are all in Kappa Phi together. Our house is the unintentional Kappa Phi house. A bunch of the members and I made signs for the three members that were either playing in the marching band or cheering for the football game. Slightly embarrassing, but I am a senior and this was my first Ohio Northern University football game. I am just not a huge football fan, but I am learning! I recently learned that there are three separate teams within one big team. A huge revelation to me because I grew up playing and watching soccer. Anyways, at halftime we got to take photos with our members who cheer. They did so well! They had little cheerleaders with them that day who were adorable! The band was good as well! The football team lost, but they lost not as bad as I thought they would!

Diving for Apples!

The second event I had was for Northern Christian Fellowship. My team and I put on the NCF Olympics. It was basically a field day for college students. Each of the three members of my team and I ran two relay type events. We had two teams competing. My events were an apple bobbing contest and a sponge race. The apple bobbing was hilarious! I truly hope you laugh at these photos.

Apple Bobbing

The Best Day

 The Best Day is a song from Taylor Swift’s second album Fearless. In the song, she sings about growing up. It screams nostalgia. She sings about how school is hard, and how life is so unknown, but she had the best day with her mom. The biggest takeaway from this song is that you don’t appreciate your mom until you don’t have her around all the time. Till you move away from home.

The thought that comes to mind when reading this chapter is my mom fit into so many of those categories. My mom turned 40 this year and I would say Facebook is her favorite platform. She posts quite a bit on it. My mom and my aunts all love it and are keeping up with things on it. I have nine aunts by the way so like to say they all are on it is quite a feat. I mostly use it to keep up with my family. When I left for college, I started using it more to see what my family had been up to. I come from a large extended family. My mom is the oldest of eight and my dad the oldest of four. Both sides of my family meet weekly for a meal, one on Sunday and the other has been coined Monday night. We say things like, “Are you coming to Monday night?” It took my fiancé a bit to get used to the term. Not all my aunts and uncles are local, but most of them live in the Dayton area. Anyways, the point is I would watch Facebook posts from family members to keep in touch with people.

first day of school

Christmas

I think it’s interesting that as a kid being posted on social media was an accomplishment. When my mom posted an achievement I did on Facebook it meant that she was super proud of me. She was willing to show all her friends the thing that I did. Now looking back, it is a cringe worthy reminder of random things I did as a child and growing up. Obviously, what I’m going to do is look back on some random Facebook posts from my mother. The first one is from Christmas around 2020. My mom’s side of the family does a white elephant gift exchange every year. I don’t remember why I was making this face, but I’m sure it was justified. Second, this photo is from a different Air Force Marathon. I’m not sure exactly what race we did. The little dude in the photo is my little brother. He’s in high school now so not so little anymore. The one in the orange is my grandpa. He does marathons every other weekend and has always supported me in running. Next, this is a photo of me and three of my younger siblings. This was the first day of junior year. Yes, my hair is purple. My hair has been most of the colors of the rainbow over the years. Lastly, me during Halloween dressing up as a power ranger. I was obsessed with power rangers as a young person. From around age 5 to age fifteen Power Rangers was my show. I remember my dad bribing me to go to the dentist with watching the Power Rangers movie afterwards. 

Halloween

running

... Ready For It?

After the 10k

…..Ready For It? is the first song off of Taylor Swift’s album reputation. I remember this song coming out and analyzing it with my siblings. It has a ton of easter eggs in the details of the music video. It was also the opening song from the reputation stadium tour in 2018. I thought of this song because it is such a good song to run to. It just gives me energy during a run and is perfect for getting ready to race!

Me limping home

 This weekend has been so busy! It started at 3:30 in the morning on Saturday. Bright and early for the Air Force Marathon! I am not running a full marathon because I haven’t reached that level of crazy yet, but Zach did convince me to run a 10k. I have been trying to become a morning person lately, but this is not what I meant. I am all for getting up early and being productive, but not when it is 47 degrees outside. After not a great night of sleep, I woke up and headed out to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. There were so many people there! Over 8,000 people would be running across the full schedule of events. Zach and I did a quick stretch to try to warm up, but it did not help much. Soon enough it was time to start! We lined up while it was still dark out, but along the first mile we were able to see the sun rise! The first mile was really crowded, and the second one was full of hills. The third mile is where I lost Zach, but I kept thinking he was right behind me. Through the next miles I kept trying to catch people because if not I would get zoned out and slow down. I would pick a person and go get them, then pick the next person. There was a giant downhill on the fifth mile, so I used that for speed! Honestly, I was so dead by the end, but I was able to finish under my goal! I wanted to finish in under an hour, and I ended up finishing in 53:49!

Football

I have a lot of family that were also racing this weekend. My cousin, aunt and her grandpa were running in the 5k. Something that I think is cool is that the Air Force Marathon offers a marathon relay race! It is where you can have three people run the total mileage of a marathon, which is 26.2 miles! My grandpa, Uncle Patrick and my grandpa’s friend Del ran the relay race. They each ran around 9 miles total! I would love to do one of those one day in the future! I have done the 10k before, and when I was a freshman in high school, I did the half marathon. That day in high school I ran the half marathon in the morning and then went straight to homecoming.

Pretzels

After the race was over, I had to hurry home because Zach and I were headed to The Ohio State University game! I’m not a big football fan, but I will say going to games is a lot different than watching them on television. The game was good! I like being in the student sections. I feel like the atmosphere is much more fun compared to sitting with real adults. The Buckeyes were not playing their best in the beginning of the game, but they picked it up by the end! My favorite part of the game was the giant block O pretzel. It is the same size as my face.

this is me trying

this is me trying

this is me trying is from Taylor Swift’s pandemic album folklore. I need to write a whole blog on this album coming out because it is such a precious moment in my heart. However, I will save that topic for a different blog. This song has a couple of main themes, but the one that stands out is the feeling of giving it your all and not being recognized for it. That simply not giving in to depression, self-doubt or addiction is giving everything that person has to offer. I think that in life we must be careful about our words. We never know when someone is giving their all. When someone is running on fumes and one offhand comment could send them over the edge. This can also be escalated by social media. Again, it can be used for better or for worse. This is just a reminder that your words have an impact and to make sure that you are doing what is best for yourself as well.

my reaction to threads

While reading this chapter I could only think of the amount of burn out associated with social media creation. I've been managing two organization's social media pages for the past year. One of the things that stuck out to me in the chapter and in lecture was that sometimes you need a team of people instead of just one person managing it all. During the semester it is hard to juggle school, work and organization. I have found that at the beginning of each year I want to do so much and invest so much time into developing these social media pages. However, when the semester starts, I don't have the time to deep dive into the goals I wanted to do at the beginning. This chapter made me realize that there are so many layers to social media that I simply don't have time to dissect. I also realized that a lot of this planning can be done ahead of time. For example, during the summer and while on break from school. Thinking ahead to passing on these platforms for someone else to manage I’d like to set them up for success. I can give them the basic knowledge and tools that I have taken the time to put together so that they can be more successful than I have been.

Additionally, I enjoy looking into social media metrics. The data side of social media that gets into the details of how, why, what platform and when things work. However, it seems like there is always a segment of social media that seems unpredictable. Determining if the goals of the organization have been met or if the team needs to reevaluate is something I enjoy.

All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)

Leaves

It’s almost autumn! I love summer weather, but once August is over it is time for some cooler weather! This past week was hot in the beginning, but it cooled off a bit towards the end. Ohio Northern is the prettiest in the fall. Which is appropriate because orange! I love walking to class when the leaves are orange, yellow, and red. The tundra looks beautiful, and it is just all around more enjoyable. My least favorite thing about school here is that during the winter it is just so gross. It’s cold, you’re inside all the time and everything is gray. However, that is the complete opposite during the fall. One of my favorite things is to take a walk around the lake and see all the gorgeous trees.

Goofy Fall Photos

In Taylor Swifts album RED, there is this song that is just the epitome of fall in my opinion. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault) is a song that originally was just five minutes long, but fans loved it so much! When Taylor rereleased the album, she included the ten-minute version as a special treat. The entire album of RED just screams autumn. One can pick that up just from the name RED. In the song All Too Well there is mention of autumn leaves falling, cold crisp air and sipping on a hot cup of coffee. This song is incredibly heart breaking so if you haven’t heard it, I recommend it if you like feeling depressed. As sad as it is, the song has become a fan favorite throughout the years, and I am so glad she was able to release the full version. It went number one on the music charts and became the longest song to be number one. Before that I believe it was the song American Pie that held that spot for like a long time.

Apple Butter Festival 2022

Anyways, I am excited for the three weeks of autumn this year! I think it usually stays nice for a couple weeks and then gets cold fast, but I will be enjoying those three weeks. As of right now I have plans to go to a pumpkin patch, a corn maze and to carve pumpkins! October is going to be a busy month, but I love having these fall themed events to look forward to! Last year Zach made me an entire basket of fall themed activities for us to do. That was fun! I almost forgot about the clothes! Fall has the best clothes! I mean this in the best way possible, but I feel like a completely different person when I can wear sweaters, sweatshirts and boots without sweating my heart out. Also, every year around the beginning of September my mom and I start rewatching Gilmore Girls. It’s become a little different since moving to college, but we still watch it together just from different cities. The yearly rewatch is so comforting to me and just reminds me of how much I love the show. I am from Enon, Ohio which is a cute little town that closely resembles Stars Hollow. In October my town puts on an apple butter festival. I know it’s random, but it’s been going on all my life, and everyone really loves it! I look forward to it all year long! It’s October 14^th and 15^th this year so if you feel like driving down it's worth it in my opinion.

Clean: Dr. Nadia Shuayto Co-founder of Wingme Cosmetics

For our podcast assignment I had the opportunity to ask Dr. Nadia Shuayto a few questions about the use of social media during her brand launch! She co-founded Wingme Cosmetics back in 2018 with her daughter. They had trouble finding cruelty-free, vegan and good make up products, so they decided to create their own! I learned that they outsource things like photography and posting on their social media sites!

I had a class with Dr. Shuayto last semester. I had remembered her talking about her brand. I thought this assignment was the perfect chance to learn more about the Wingme! I thought that the use of influencer marketing and real-life user reviews was such a good idea! I was happy to learn that their products are now in Ipsy boxes. Ipsy is a beauty box subscription company that gives you a monthly personal makeup bag. They now have Wingme Cosmetics as one of their product options!

A huge thank you to Dr. Shuayto for letting me take up some of her time! I loved getting to learn more about her clean, vegan and ethical beauty company!

 

Link to podcast: here

Begin Again: on a Wednesday in a Café

Begin again is one of my favorite songs from Taylor Swift's fourth album "RED." It tells the story of the beginning of a new relationship after being burned by the previous. It describes a cute little café, where the guy pulls out her chair, and gets there early. The music video is the most aesthetic video I have ever seen. It takes place in Paris. It shows Taylor biking down a cute little street, going through a tunnel and gracefully sitting under a tree. It truly shows that moment when two people just click and nothing else in life matters. 

I don't know if it is the senioritis kicking in or the long weekend, but I have not been motivated to get things done. Something that has always helped me when I've struggled to do work is to get out of my usual environment. My go to is a cute coffee shop. A local café that has plenty of seating and perfect lighting. A shop that is just the right combination of busy, yet quiet enough to do my homework. Honestly, it doesn't always work to get stuff done though, but it's an excuse to get out of the house. I often get distracted by people watching. In a perfect afternoon however, I would sit down and crank out some assignments. 

Latte Art

During these study sessions, I obviously must get a drink to be a productive member of society. Plus supporting local coffee shops is fun. I wouldn't say that I am a coffee snob or anything, but let's just say that working at Starbucks has enlightened me to some particularly odd, flavored coffees. My favorite thing on this planet is a honey cinnamon flat white. A flat white is kind of similar to a latte, but it uses a different kind of espresso shot. 

Pettibone

Pettibone coffee shop in Dayton, Ohio is one of my favorite places to visit when I am home. They have an open floorplan with tons of varieties of seating. They also put so much research into the coffee beans that they supply. The shop also has local artists come and paint in the shop which is so cool to watch!

Fancy Latte

Parlor Public House

The coolest café that I've ever been to is Parlor Public House in Indianapolis. I have only been once, but I've been meaning to go back! You walk in and there are plants everywhere! They offer oat milk as the default milk option! The coffee you order comes in mocktail glasses and just feels super fancy. It has the best study atmosphere. They have unique flavors for customers to try and lots of creative combinations. During the week they close at 5PM, but on the weekends the café turns into a bar and is open later. I haven't been during these hours because when I visited, I was only able to stay for a short trip, but I think that this is such a cute business concept. 

Winans

Anyways, that is what I did, and I am happy to say it was quite successful. I bought a seasonal latte from Winans, which is an Ohio coffee shop. They have like a bunch of locations in Ohio, but I am not sure if they've expanded into other states yet. I would consider them a semi-local business. I sat down and cranked out some assignments until I was out of coffee and then I left.