You Need to Calm Down

We finished our internship simulation this past week. Overall, my biggest takeaway from the experience was that it was very time-consuming. At the start of the internship, I would spend upward of two hours working on the posts and studying the information given. Something that helped a lot was keeping a document of notes from the past weeks. Something that was difficult was only doing one round and then the next week I forgot what worked well. Searching for the best photos to use as content was the most time-consuming part. Most photos cost too much money. The free ones were not the most marketable. We had very limited options. There were a few select photos that worked well. I liked how in the organic posts section we were able to plan when the posts were posted. I did not like how in the paid content we could not chose the times and days the posts were posted. I think that being able to find the best times was something that helped my overall goals. The paid posts were the most successful rounds for me. I did not do too well on the influencer rounds. I wasn’t the lowest, but I was on the low end. The influencers were so temperamental. One round the bargaining would go well and then the next would go horribly. I didn’t get the hang of it and the benefits were not worth it. The last rounds we had the option of posting all the different types of content on all the platforms. I did not realize until the second round of the section that we didn’t have to, but that it was an option.

Overall, I learned a good amount of information about social media marketing. I think that it is a lot of work though. The amount of time it takes to complete the internship along with the other things that come with the class was quite a lot.

The Taylor Swift song that I relate to the simulation internship is “You Need to Calm Down” because some of the influencers need to take a chill pill.

Christmas Tree Farm

After the race!

Happy Thanksgiving break! I know it was much needed. This break has been very restful, but I can’t help thinking about all the stuff I need to get done! Senior semester is going way faster than I expected it to. Anyways, the first thing that I did on break was run another 10k! My friends Madeline and Xixi competed in it as well. We were able to train for about a month for this race. I think it was their first time running a road race 10k, but they have both competed in the Buck Fifty. It is a much longer relay race that goes on through the night and into the morning.

Friends!

The morning of the race was very cold! I had forgotten my gloves, but it ended up being a good thing because I wore too many layers. I would rather be warm and then shed layers during the race than start super cold. Zach and I were in the first group to be released. We started running with the 8 minute and 30 second pacer group, but I broke away from Zach after the second mile. Zach is a good sprinter, but I think I’ve got him in the distance races. I kept the 8:00 pacer group in my sight, but I didn’t pass the flag holder. The middle two miles felt like the longest miles of my life. They were full of straight aways where I couldn’t get the energy to pass people. The course for the 10k was combined with the 5k at the end of the race. Which was not the best choice. In the end, where I should have been giving it my all, I was trying not to pummel little children walking in the 5k. I finished in 48:58. My best time yet! I was proud of myself for not throwing up afterwards too!

Overall, Thanksgiving break was spent hanging out with family! I enjoyed being home and seeing my siblings. My favorite thing about break was getting our Christmas tree! We went to our local farm and cut a tree. We took it home and set it up. I am particular about how we go about decorating our tree. I think it is best to go lights, garland and then ornaments. Zach’s family puts up lights, ornaments and then garland! I think it looks like the tree is too wrapped up when you do it like that.

I didn't have photos of the tree

Christmas Tree Farm is the first original song Taylor Swift has put out. She has previously released a Christmas album, but they were all covers. The song is just the perfect mix of cheer without being annoying. As we have learned in class, I am not a big fan of Christmas music, but I do like this song.  

invisible string

Reading the chapter on TikTok was interesting. It was weird to read about a platform that I saw come into existence. I joined TikTok in high school. I distinctly remember making a TikTok with my friends when I would spend the night at their house. My friend, Samantha, went on a trip for her birthday. I was able to go along, and I have the memory of us making a TikTok in the bathroom engrained in my brain.

The first time I leaned in to TikTok was during the pandemic. It was during the summer when the trends took off. I completely leaned into making the clumpy coffee that was trending. I followed the workout videos that went viral. I got my little sister to join as well! We would set up our yoga mats in front of our living room television. Then we would pick a video to watch and work out together. I also remember skincare took off during the summer of the pandemic. I had not known about the levels of skincare before that summer. On the one hand it was informative to learn all about different skincare products. On the other hand, it was over consumption being promoted. I liked learning about new products and seeing the results from a real consumer.

I worked a lot and did a lot of nothing which is why I think TikTok was able to be so successful during this time. I remember a couple more trends that were from that summer. There was one where people took photos with bed sheets over their heads in random places. One of the most memorable trends was the start of “things that just make sense.” It was people showing things in their life that functionally make life easier. It was also the opposite, people showing things that absolutely do not make sense in their life.

At a random mall

Bluebird Cafe

The most important thing that came out of the pandemic was folklore by Taylor Swift. My friends and I took a trip to Nashville because our senior trips were cancelled. We had been planning for about a month and the morning we were leaving for the city; Taylor announces folklore is dropping that night. I was ecstatic. We drove to Nashville, and it was so much fun! I got to visit where Taylor was discovered, her high school and got to see the outside of her museum exhibit. We stayed up to listen to the album and it was surreal because in invisible string she mentions centennial park which is in Nashville. The next day we were able to go to the park and listen to invisible string. The whole trip was a dream and we found most of our destinations from TikTok.

Is It Over Now?

Happy Veterans Day! I was surprised when we had class on Friday. Most of the colleges around Ohio Northern University had the day off from school. Every Veterans Day Zach and I go to restaurants and stores that offer Veterans Day discounts. Last year we went to a bunch of traditional restaurants to get the most out of the offers. This year we only went to a couple places nearby. We went to Bob Evans for breakfast. There is a Veterans Day menu that Zach chose from, but I just got coffee and something else. We went to get a free smoothie and free ice cream. Zach was thriving. It was a fun time.

OSU Game!

Zach and I also attended the Veterans Day football game. It was so cold! We walked in the freezing cold to the stadium. We have a tradition of getting a big block pretzel. It hit the spot! The game was okay. They played well, but I expected them to play better. It was still a good game! It will be an interesting rest of the season. Zach and I headed out before the game was over. We were so cold, and they were winning by a lot so we thought nothing else exciting would probably happen. We were right! They didn’t score in the fourth quarter!

I ended the weekend with a movie night! We watched The Greatest Showman. I loved this movie when it first came out! I went to see it multiple times in theaters. We made hot chocolate and Christmas cookies! They were very good! I know its not Christmas time yet, but the cookies are always very delicious!

Movie Night!

In other news, Taylor Swift is back on the Era’s Tour in Argentina! I love that I can see content from her again! She had to postpone a concert because of rain, but she is in Argentina all weekend! We received some new photos and videos of her and Travis Kelce at the concert! It was so fun seeing the photos of them happy and in the company of Taylor’s dad. He is famous for giving out guitar picks!

The song I chose for this post is “Is It Over Now?” I cannot get this song out of my head! Since first listening to it a few weeks ago it has been on repeat! I love the upbeat nature of the song. The lyrics have so many references to Harry Styles and Taylor’s relationship. I love the line about coffee dates.

Shake It Off!

One thing that stood out to me while reading this chapter was the effectiveness of businesses being on YouTube. I thought YouTube was only for content related to gaming, music or vlogging. This chapter made me think about the usefulness of long form video content to big brands. What determines if content should be on YouTube is the target audience. It does not make sense for some brands to be on YouTube, but specialized content can be a big driver.

This chapter on YouTube reminded me of the prime days of YouTube content. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with a few content creators on YouTube. Safia Nygaard was someone I followed throughout her career on the platform. She started out working for Buzzfeed. After a few years she started her own channel. I loved watching her try on crazy outfits. I liked her makeup combination videos. I would genuinely look forward to when she would release more content. I fell away from watching her because she started posting longer content, but less of it.

OG holo taco

Another content creator I followed was Simply Nailogical. I was obsessed with painting my nails in high school. I would paint my nails, and the next day paint another design. I found her through a popular video that went viral, but I stayed because she was so funny. I also thought it was interesting that through all of it she kept her full-time job. Cristine Rotenberg went on to make her own nail polish brand! I was lucky enough to get her very first release. I stopped watching when I stopped painting my nails all the time.

super girl nails

Something I still do on YouTube is watch reaction videos. I love watching reaction videos to Taylor Swift albums. It is cool to see other people’s reactions to your favorite songs. I especially like it when people react to music videos. I enjoy looking at the tiny details of them and it is interesting to see other perspectives.

The song I picked for YouTube is Shake It Off! It was Taylor’s top watched music video on YouTube when it was released. It also created a lot of buzz around her first release of 1989. The video contained pop culture references and real fans dancing with Taylor. I thought it was funny because the public had made fun of Taylor for her dancing, but then she made a whole video on how she doesn’t care and is going to dance anyways. 

Bejeweled!!!

Another busy weekend! I feel like I have not had a weekend to myself this semester! I enjoy being busy, but I also like to curl up into a ball and chill while watching a movie. 

Dinner peeps!

Northern Christian Fellowship (NCF) and Kappa Phi had events this past weekend. NCF had Over/Under which was an overnight event for underclassmen. A few upperclassmen were invited to learn about mission opportunities within Central Ohio Cru. Ohio Northern University students drove down in two groups. My car was the one filled with people going to the Kappa Phi event after the NCF event. The others drove separately. They had alumni of the program speak about their experiences within the organization. It was cool to hear from a variety of perspectives. It was interesting to learn how the program influenced their career choices later in life. It was also just nice to get dressed up and enjoy community with friends from other campuses. The food was catered and they served cheesecake for dessert. My group decided to go to Swensons after the event. I was stuffed, but it was nice to spend time with friends.

Painting!

When the event was over my car drove to Athens. Kappa Phi Gamma Get Together (GGT) was being held at Ohio University.  GGT is a gathering of Ohio Kappa Phi alumni and active members from all over Ohio. It was at ONU last year which made it much more convenient. I had not been to Athens before, so I was excited to see the campus and city. My car arrived late  because of the NCF event. The alumni were headed to bed when we arrived. We met the two ONU students who arrived before us and played a few games. We headed to “bed.” By bed, I mean the floor. We were sleeping on the floor of a church. We were on the third floor in a room with no doors. The other actives from other schools were already asleep.

Deer!!!

The next day we had a full schedule of activities to attend. My friends and I went on a run in the early morning and saw a beautiful sunrise. We also saw deer! We saw two groups of them! My friend tried to pet one, but it ran away. During the day we attended events and socialized with people. I got a little burnt out from talking to so many new people and not getting much sleep. It was fun and entertaining. The theme for GGT was Barbie. I am not the biggest Barbie fan, but it was cute to see the alumni excited. One of the alumni recreated an old Barbie outfit.

Awards!

The Taylor Swift song I chose to embody this weekend is Bejeweled. I think it just gives sparkle and shimmer. I also love the visuals in the music video. I think Barbie would approve.