AND THAT'S A WRAP ... KINDA

Well if you made it this far, you should just keep reading.

Laughing OUT LOUD. If you ever laughed at one of my blogs, I thank you. You did exactly what I hoped for when I started this for my Social Media Principles class.

We are wrapping up our semester and our professor, Dr. Aggie, gave us a prompt to write our last blog, our favorite and least favorite parts about class. The memories I made from this class exceeded all expectations and I realized my minor in social media is way more than just being able to tweet and post content.

My Social Media Principles class was filled with a lot more than blogs, AP quizzes, book assignments and very difficult quizzes. During this course, I found an attachment to TikTok, I learned all about my classmates and professor's life and I realized social media is really cool.

When I think about this class, it's hard for me to pick something I didn't like but I guess I will go with the "typical" answer. I didn't like the "quizzes" over the two books. Dr. Aggie, likes to call them quizzes because it makes it less intimating but in reality, it's a test over the two books we read this semester. I completely bombed the first "quiz" but I bounced back and now sitting at an 89.91% in the class.

(P.S. Aggie does NOT round so I need extra prayers I don't miss more than two points to get an A.) 

This class will forever hold a place in my heart and I think my favorite part was the fact every single class was different and unexpected. Whether we were learning about dance moms, making a TikTok, wondering if Ca$h Money was going to show up or deciding which cruise to go on, this class was just FUN and I'm going to miss it next semester. The people brought a light to my life and always put a smile on my face.

I found a new love for blogging and I plan to keep this blog updated because I want to be able to remember everything. I realized blogging wasn't a chore to me and I want to do everything I can to make people laugh.

Lastly, Dr. Aggie is a queen and I'm convinced this class was my favorite because I met another person to be loud and obnoxious with. Aggie, you are my spirit animal and I'm so happy to keep bugging you for another year.

QUARANTINE ACTIVITIES

We have been in quarantine for six weeks and I'm still going strong with finding new activities to do each week. I know a lot of people are losing their minds so I hope some of my ideas are worth trying to relieve some stress.

Last week, I channeled my inner 10-year-old self with sidewalk chalk. Abby is on an arts and crafts kick and the weather is getting nice so we are spending a lot of time outside. We found really awesome and bright designs on Pinterest and wanted to try it out. We decorated the whole front sidewalk in rainbows and it was the perfect photo opportunity.

It was my friend's birthday and I wasn't able to celebrate with her because of social distancing so we went to her house and sent her a little message with the chalk. We said happy birthday through opposite sides of the sidewalk but I think it made her really happy and it give us an excuse to see different humans for once.

We also had a paint and sip night. One of the girls in the house is a going to be an art teacher so she was able to walk us through the night. The girls decided on painting their house in Ada, which is super meaningful to them so I loved the idea.

It was really fun to have a night dedicated to being together and all doing the same thing. The whole project took about three hours and this house is filled with perfectionists so you can imagine how slow it took us to draw, paint and sip.

I haven't been living in this house for very long but I participated in painting the house because I have made a lot of memories with the girls the past six weeks. I'm excited to look back on this painting and remember all the times during quarantine.

SOME GOOD NEWS

Last week, I wrote a blog about how my sister and I are filming a show called Some Good News Ada. We got the idea from John Krasinski and after posting our first episode, we have felt a lot of love and support from our friends and family.

We posted our first episode to Instagram and received feedback and amazing comments from a bunch of different people. We haven't heard from John Krasinski but there is still time! If you haven't had the chance to watch episode one, here is the link to check it out.

Episode one was really challenging. Abby and I didn't really know what we were doing and I was worried about people not liking the idea. It took us such a long time to set up and film, I was worried the rest of SGN episodes were going to be just as challenging.

But thankfully, episode two went a lot smoother and it didn't take us much time to film and edit. We were able to involve other people by making them our wildlife experts and meteorologists. Yes, we did a segment about the black swans on the tundra and a weather report.

I don't want to give too much away and I would rather have people watch the show than read about it in this blog but I don't think you'll be disappointed. I have enjoyed researching for SGN because I'm able to see what Northern students are doing and it's so cool to spread the good news.

Selfishly saying, one of my favorite aspects to this show is I'm able to do it with Abby. We have always been super close but quarantine has brought us together even more. I'm sure if you asked Abby, she wouldn't admit the same but that's ok (kinda, not really).

But in all seriousness, no matter how hard things get, there is always room for good news in the world. So here is my 10 second plug ...

If you have any good news or know of someone with good news, please reach out to @SomeGoodNews_Ada on Instagram and share with us! We would love to feature you on the show and spread positivity throughout the university.

SCHOOL WHILE QUARANTINE

We are one month down of being in quarantine and I'm very excited for it to be over and have school be done. Online classes started about four weeks ago and it was a huge adjustment. I've mentioned I'm a enneagram type one, which means I'm very organized, structured and don't like it when my routine gets messed up. So you can imagine how anxious and worried I was when all this started happening.

I had a lot of things changing with classes, basketball and my social life so I had to quickly adapt and get on a new routine. I figured out my life for basketball and friends. My basketball team is doing zoom workouts three days and week. And I'm loving my life here with my housemates doing fun quarantine activities.

For school, I have to find motivation to get my stuff done and it is really hard because the weather is starting to get nicer. I am taking five classes this semester and only two of them I have to go to via zoom.

All of my professors are helpful and consistent when it comes to the syllabus so the classes aren't changing too much. I really miss going to class because I was able to see all my friends and professors. I enjoy talking a lot during class and one of my professors enjoys muting me on zoom so it's basically the same thing.

As you know, I'm living with four other girls and three of them are the same major and we have the same professors but just different classes. So sometimes I sit in on their classes so I can talk to the professors and I have learned different things by listening in on those zoom calls.

Once I adjusted to the online school, I was good to go but I really do miss seeing people's faces every day. I'm hopeful school will start in the fall so some of my professors don't have the power to mute me.

ONU SPORTS TAKES ON A TIK TOK CHALLENGE

Last week was D3 week for all student-athletes and the week was filled with stories and photos of student-athletes at Ohio Northern. It was really cool to see athletes show their love for the school and the prompts for each day were different. I was able to participate on the Friday prompt of #ONUGivesBack.

I talked about the time when I had the opportunity to participate in the 2nd and 7 Foundation, which promotes reading by providing free books to kids in need. I loved being able to contribute to this program because it allowed me to pay it forward and be a positive role model. Getting to see the elementary students and answering questions was a great experience and this was my favorite volunteering service as an ONU athlete.

The other day my friend, Katie Wade, reached out to me about doing a Tik Tok dance with an athlete on every sports team at Northern. We wanted to post the Tik Tok dance to wrap up D3 week and it was really fun getting everyone together to participate in it. The rules of the dance were the last dance move had to be the first dance move of the next person.

I give Katie all the credit on this, she really crushed the project and the final cut looks amazing! She posted the Tik Tok to Twitter and it started blowing up! Everyone loved it and it was a great wrap up to D3 week for Ohio Northern student-athletes.

If you want to check out the Tik Tok, please click here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

SOME GOOD NEWS (SGN) ADA

If your fans of the office and enjoy hearing about good news in the world, you should check out "Some Good News" by John Krasinski. He explains in his videos how it's important to spread good news during times of crisis and I think his dry humor is hilarious.

He has posted 3 episodes and each episode is about 15 minutes long. SGN is an immature news show and he grabs news from twitter by using the hashtag #SomeGoodNews. He acts as a news anchor and he gained a large following based because people want to be featured on the show.

He has different segments every time and his goal is to bring positivity to the world. He features celebrities including Steve Carell, Emily Blunt (well that is his wife), Lin-Manuel Miranda and Robert De Niro.

I was so inspired by SGN with John Krasinski I wanted to create my own news show. So Abby and I decided to create SGN Ada. We have been gathering research and creating a script to film and post by Monday.

SGN Ada will be about the students of Northern, the village of Ada and worldwide good news. While working on the first episode, I realized SGN was a lot harder than I thought it would be but I'm excited to film, edit and post for people to watch.

The goal of this is to hopefully become viral (haha just kidding, kinda). But in all seriousness, we want ONU students to direct message us good news about their lives so we can share it with everyone who will watch the show. I think it would be really cool if John Krasinksi finds us and talks about SGN Ada on his episodes as well.

All of the episodes will be posted to Instagram in the form of an IGTV video. I am very excited about this and I hope a lot of people will follow along with SGN Ada! If you have any good news or know of everyone with good news, I encourage you to reach out to SGN Ada.

EASTER SUNDAY

This Easter was spent in Ada, Ohio with Abby (sister), Hannah (housemate) and Joe (Hannah's boyfriend). Everyone else went home to their families but we decided to stay in Ada, cook a meal and be a family. It was really a great time and WE COOKED A LOT OF FOOD. 

Abby and I made a list (well abby made a list) and we went to Aldi to pick everything up. We had a lot on the menu but the best part was we bought a ham for $8. So we had ham, cheesy potatoes, salad, rolls, cream corn and carrot cake. I know you're probably thinking, "How much did Emily actually cook of that?" The answer is pretty much none of it unless you count helping put the ingredients together for the cake. BUT I did clean all the dishes so I promise I wasn't just sitting on the couch. 

We started the morning by watching a church service online. We watched One Church and then I watched another service called Rock City. Both of these churches are in Columbus and my faith is very important to me so being able to worship God during quarantine is amazing. 

I also made everyone in the house get dressed up in their Easter outfits because I'm a firm believer in look good, feel good. Plus, I wanted to take Easter photos and they turned out beautiful. We all wore a shade of blue and I was loving every second because it was aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

The food was amazing but the company was even better. I planned a zoom Easter call with all of my family members and it was great to see them. This was not how I envisioned Easter going but I focused on the people around me and the truth of Jesus granting us salvation! 

I will remember this Easter Sunday forever and it will go down as one of the best. I hope everyone had a great Easter with their quarantine team.

MY FIRST EVER SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE FOR ONU FOUNDERS DAY

Ohio Northern University was founded on April 8, 1871. That means the best school ever is 149 years old, YAY! Due to students and faculty not being on campus, all the events for Founders Day had to be moved online. I'm sure this caused a lot of stress on the Office of Alumni at ONU but I was able to help promote ONU Founders Day through social media.

I was asked to create an Instagram challenge. I really didn't know what to do but after brainstorming with a few people, we thought of the #ShootYourShotChallenge. I watched a Tik Tok about people copying each other's dance moves so I decided to turn the Tik Tok into basketball. So this means my last shot had to be the first shot of the people I tagged.

I was able to set up the whole challenge at the freshman dorms basketball court and I gave a whole promotional introduction to the amazing women we were honoring this year for Founders Day, Helen Ludwig. Helen coached all women's sports at Ohio Northern so the goal was to get all athletic teams involved in the challenge. I tagged every sports team on Instagram and I tagged one athlete per team for this challenge.

This was so fun! The challenge really took off and it made me really happy to see people participate on Instagram. We used several hashtags including #ONUFoundersDay, #ShootYourShotChallenge and #PolarBearPride.

Ohio Northern Founders Day might have been different this year because of Coronavirus but we came together as a school to support each other and show our love for this school. As a school, we engaged 12,500 different ways on social media and raised $67,229 with 248 donors.

EASTER EGG HUNT AND BRACKET NIGHT

Well, I've been updating you guys on my quarantine life during the Coronavirus so I'm going to continue writing about everything I'm doing so I don't forget someday. I'm still in Ada and I'm having a really great time making memories with the girls in this house. We have a quarantine calendar and plan different events every night to keep us busy. This past week, we decided to have an Easter egg hunt on Monday and a bracket night on Tuesday.

The Easter egg hunt was so fun. There were six people included on the hunt and we each got our own color Easter egg. Of course, I picked light blue. We set boundaries around campus to hide our eggs and it was pretty difficult to find them all. If you find some eggs in the fall, they are definitely from our Easter egg hunt! It wasn't a competition on who could find the most eggs but I did find the most at 14. Easter is one of my favorite holidays so it was nice to have some sort of normality during quarantine.

The bracket night is another activity we decided to do and this has been our second bracket night. Basically, it's a debate over different and interesting categories and you pick one and debate it. The first bracket night we did was different kinds of cereal but on Tuesday we debated furniture. The final four included a bed, kitchen table, bar stools and a desk. Bed was the winner but we decided it wasn't fair to have bed in the debate because everyone will always choose bed.


If you like the idea of bracket night, here are some topics you can debate:

• Disney princesses 
• Disney villains 
• Drinks (non-alcoholic)
• Dips 
• Best TV show theme song 
• Fruit or vegetables 
• Condiment/Dressings 
• Donuts 
• Types of shoes 

Being stuck in quarantine isn't as bad when you plan your nights with the people your stuck with. Stay tuned for more activities coming up!

3 TYPES OF OUTCOME IN SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT STRATEGY

In Chapter 10 of "Social Media for Strategic Communication," Karen Freburg writes about the importance of measurement and evaluation in social media. This chapter gets into the numbers and math behind a strategic plan.  According to The International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication, there is a framework to follow in social media.

One of those areas is outcomes. Outcomes show how well the audience receives the messages. There are ways outcomes can change people's views, attitudes or behaviors. Outcomes effect the content and messages from the audience. Outcomes include reaction, feedback, coverage, actions and advocacy. There are three different types of outcomes to measure:

1. Cognitive outcomes are measured if the audience is able to comprehend what you were trying to say in the message. It explains the knowledge and information being presented and evaluated by the people seeing the content.
Metrics to cognitive outcomes:
      - comments
      - questions
      - response time

2. Attitudinal outcomes are measured by the responses of the audience's feelings, perceptions and attitudes. Think about a time when you saw a post and had an emotional connection to the story, this is an example of attitudinal.
Metrics to attitudinal outcomes:
       - personalized messages in response to content
       - sentiment and tone of shares and comments
       - reactions

3. Conative outcomes are measured by the behaviors exhibited by audience members after seeing a post on a social platform. This outcome shows a direct action taken based on the message shown to an audience member.
Metrics to conative outcomes:
       - sign-ups
       - ambassador, endorsements and influencers
       - website traffic

When you put cognitive, attitudinal and conative together, a company is able to formulate a smart and strategic social media measurement plan to add to their campaign or program.

I GOT APRIL FOOLED

My least favorite holiday of the year is April Fools' Day. I think it's probably because I'm extremely gullible and hate being scared or surprised by anything. My roommate LOVES this day so I'm always extra conscious around her but I thought I was in the clear this time because we aren't together.

I thought very wrong.

As you may know, I am spending some time at my sister's house during this quarantine and because I just moved out of my apartment on-campus, everything is in my car. I keep myself entertained the majority of the time but little did I know she was planning a prank during the day and got her roommates involved.

After Abby and I finished up with dinner, she went out to her car to grab something and came back inside asking me questions about where I put all my stuff from the car. I had no idea what she was talking about because I didn't take anything out of it but it finally clicked in my head of "oh my god, someone broke into my car."

I was in panic mode. I was running around trying to find shoes and I finally got outside to my car and realized all of my stuff was gone. I was on the verge of tears when I turned around and saw one of the roommates recording me. I WAS MAD. I threw my keys at Abby and chased her around the car and finally got her on the ground.

The prank was evil but it was impressive. The house did a great job and I respect them but I'm over April Fools' Day. Take a look at the videos below for a good laugh about my gullible self.

Hats off to those who love this holiday.