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[katlynnmillerschool]

Great post! Very informative I love your idea about them putting more people on shirts! I would most definitely buy a Madam Currie shirt! I love it.

Gap: Yesterday and Today

It was the late 60’s San  Francisco was a place where sweet grass permeated the air; a new generation occupied its streets and wore flowers in their hair and lots of jeans. Donald Fisher and his wife Doris had a vision as hippies walked the streets. It was to sell them his brand of jeans. The first store was opened in 1969.  The Gap [Point 1] name was adopted from the term “generation gap” that the hippie generation was quite different from their parents. 

 Soon Gap became more than Levi’s; it was to emerge into the fashion world with its own particular brand and meet each new generation’s needs through each decade. Yet, what made Gap unique and dominate began in 1998 when Hip Hop helped launch Khakis for Gap with music by Bill Mason. In that same year, men and women in Khakis swing danced which not only helped their clothing line but also brought back swing. In 1999 one of their commercials line danced to the country beat of Dwight Yoakim singing “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, swooning audiences to buy their brand. 

 They were king and Gap ruled the world, selling their brand globally. The Gap connected to its audience and those 90’s dancing commercials caught the world by storm. Their commercials spoke to their audience through a rhythm that each cultural group understood. They are a long standing corporation whose family includes Old Navy, Banana Republic, Athleta, Intermix and Weddington Way. 

With the evolution of social media [Point 2] things changed and Gap moved into this new arena bringing their customers into a more intimate relationship where they interacted and also talked in real time on Facebook and Twitter. YouTube proved beneficial because customers can view their brand. The feedback with these social media outlets gave Gap customers the ability to give this company thumbs up or thumbs down. In either case it helped set the tone for what the audience wanted.

Sharing conversations in real time changed the feel and look of Gap. Social media for any company will make it a perfect marriage or grounds for divorce. Gap does have its competition in this new social media world. With so many different fashion sites on line and less cost for clothing than Gap and its sister stores can be disappointing to say the least. In 2016, Gap is trying to regain their fashion identity even though Instagram didn’t work the way they wanted.

 Gap Inc. [Point 3] is very ambitious and has a strategic message by becoming involved in social issues. They have forged an ideal that bringing environmental change and human rights changes within their company and in their ads sends a positive voice globally that Gap is deeply embedded into equality.  Because of their commitment, Gap has received the non-profit Catalyst Award in March of 2016.

In 2007, Gap began P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement) which helps advance women (who make their clothes) by teaching them or advancing them in their skills for a better life. Many of these women have benefited through P.A.C.E. by becoming more confident in who they are.

 Then in 2009 when a contractor in Africa dumped toxic chemicals into a landfill for certain fashion brands, Gap was one of them. CBS picked up on the story and found that the nearby river turned a deep purplish blue making the water extremely dangerous. Stakeholders in the company put pressure on management for an outcome that would benefit the environment, the people and Gap itself. Gap made a 360 degree turnaround.

Gap [Point 4] has had its ups and downs within the fashion industry.  Gap started losing its crown after 2000 due to people’s fickle taste in the clothing industry and at this point Gap’s quality was lower then the expectations of its audience. Most will go to Gap’s sister stores for cheaper prices but those who could afford more expensive clothes would buy at Nordstroms. Gap was in a dilemma.

 Gap changed its course and entered the new social media world which helped them to wear their crown again. Gap can be found on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Corporate blogs.

 Gap not only listens to its stakeholders as it did in 2009 but Gap also listens to its audience on Twitter, Gap Inc. @GapInc.  It tweeted that after feedback the designers went back to work to change their brand in a more innovative way.  Gap Inc. is using a pop up on sustainable products on Facebook  and on its Corporate Blogs  you will find on Tumblr  advertisements on their sister store Old Navy and its reasonable clothes.

 Keeping their commitment to equality, Gap produced a video called, “Branding the Gap,” the corporation’s catchy phrase to advertise their brand brought together a diverse group of people expressing a message that diversity makes a culture flourish but also by using white blank tees to symbolize individuality. In other words, who every wears it expresses their own brand. I found that to be a brilliant ideas selling tees yet expressing a philosophy of different cultures, different genders and different life styles.

Keeping their tradition to support humanitarian issues Gap has helped when disasters strike and at this site they have given to the three Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the recent earthquake  in Mexico where they have donated 2 million in relief.  

Gap Inc. sells children’s brands of clothes. Their YouTube Gap ad become so popular because the teacher was filling their minds of children with a positive outlook on life and believing they can accomplish anything they want to. Whether this will sell more jeans or children’s clothes is up in the air but this message of empowerment is important and Gap’s message of human rights has become a positive brand for their ads.

 That said, [Point 5] recently there UK Company had produced an ad for tee shirts for children with Einstein for boys and Social Butterfly for girls. These tee shirts have caused an uproar on social media. 

 Although Gap has tried to justify their tee shirts by saying that they were trying to promote individuality. It appears by the outcry that sexism is still alive. Maybe they could have done some social media research instead. According to “Social Media Marketing,” they might have used focus groups within Facebook Groups to view their new tees (Tuten, Solomon, Pg. 283).  This would have saved them much chagrin in the long run.

 I would recommend to keep Social Butterfly and spell Einstein correctly but add more tees for individuality; such as, Madam Currie, Harriet Tubman, Alan Turing, Neil Degrassse Tyson. Then have each tee with a small booklet that tells about each of these people. Children will not only be wearing tees but will learn something as well; that they can achieve greatness in their own way.

 However, Gap Inc. is a global corporation and keeping track of each company in each country can be trying. I do believe as in the past Gap has had ups and downs yet it is still a King or Queen within the fashion industry. Gap will recover from this if they use better marketing strategies with their audience. For example, Sentiment Analysis would give them a more emotional reaction by a focus group to their line of clothes ahead of time (Tuten, Solomon, Pg.270).   Then they would be able to understand if emotionally they receive a positive or negative reaction before they present the line globally to all customers.  It is important to  pay attention to the people by listening as they have done in the past to their audience only this time do more research before some of the products hit the fashion market.

Works Cited

 Tuten, Tracy L., Solomon Michael R.: Social Media Marketing.  Pearson Education, First Edition, 2012/Copyright, 2015 by Tuten, Solomon

[katlynnmillerschool]

For my final assignment I have chosen Lush cosmetics. Lush cosmetics has amazing products ranging from bath bombs to tooth paste. They are a company that offers all natural handmade products, vegan friendly and 100% against animal testing. They donate money to local charities in the community and help people from all walks of life all over the world.  

Introduction:

In the early 80’s Mark Constantine and Elizabeth Weir started a company by the name of Constantine & Weir. The company came up with many bath and beauty recipes and were sold to a supplier called “the body shop”. Eventually the body shop padi 11million pounds for the rights of Constantine & Wier’s recipes. With the body shop buying all the formulas Mark and Elizabeth could not open another shop for five years, so they started a mail order company names “Cosmetics to go. The company ended up being sold.

Mark and Elizabeth ended up partnering with Mo Constantine, Helen Ambrosen, Rowena Bird and Paul Greaves and started hand making cosmetic products up stairs and sell them downstairs in the shop. They had been buying fragrances from another company, but found out the perfumes were not always pure so Mark decided he would create the perfumes himself. The launched a competition to give the company a new name and one customer suggested LUSH, which is defined as being fresh, green, and verdant. The name stuck. In December 2010 Mark and Mo Constantine were awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours list, for services to the beauty industry.

Why is social media critical to what they do?

Lush Cosmetics is very active on all of their social media platforms. Social media is critical to what they do because that is where they do most of their marketing. They use all of their social media platforms to reach out to their fans and interact with everyone. Their Twitter alone has 325 thousand followers. They also take advantage of Youtube and Instagram because most of their products are known for how pretty they are with all their rainbow colors, so they use these platforms to show how pleasing to the eyes their products are.

What industry are they in?

Lush is part of the beauty industry. They make cosmetic products and self care products. The beauty and health industry is huge and Lush keeps on top of it by using social media accounts and interacting with their fans as much as possible.   

What are the norms/standards for social media use in that industry?

The norms and standards for social media in the beauty industry is to promote your products, but not interact very much with fans. Such as Neutrogena which is a company I do not personally use very often but know people who do use their products but they have 47.5 thousand followers on Twitter and retweet some tweets but it does not seem like they interact with their fans very much where as Lush will retweet or even like or reply to comments you have made to them.  I think that is a big thing Lush has over other companies in the health and beauty industry is they communicate and interact with people which makes the company feel like a small home town company even if it's a huge world wide company, they still take time to interact with their customers. They also follow a good amount of people back on social media which I always think is a nice touch.

Overall social media use:

From what I can tell Lush has been using social media for a while they have been using Twitter since July 2008, Lush first YouTube video was posted 10 years ago ( 2007) I could not find out how long they had been using LinkedIn or Facebook. I also could not figure out how long they had been using Instagram because I scrolled all the way back to October, 1, 2014 but they there was an error loading and I got frustrated and didn't re try. They show a lot of pictures of their products because they are ascetically pleasing. 

What platforms do they use?

Lush cosmetics have every social media account you can think of. They have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr,  Pinterest, and they even have a snapchat!  So it is very safe to say if you want to connect with Lush on social media you can.

What platform do they use most?

I looks to me that the Lush Cosmetics company are very active on every social media platform. They interact with their fans on everything and post multiple posts, multiple times a day. Their instagram has 3.9 million followers, 1784 posts, and they follow 1,800 people. Their Twitter has 325 thousand followers, 250 thousand tweets, and they are following 5,678 people back.

What are their strategies and/or objectives?

Lush Cosmetics strategies and objectives are clear first and foremost of course they want you to be seeing, thinking about, and talking about their products which is why they mostly post product photos. Secondly and just as important they want to get the message out that people should fight against animal cruelty. I feel like they have a very good balance of both objectives on Twitter. Scrolling through their Twitter history it looks as if they have a photo of a product, talking about a new seasonal product, or posts about #Savebcbears and bill S-214 which will make animal testing banned in Canada, they also have human rights posts such as the Lush staff joining #WalkForReconciliation and a post thinking of Las Vegas victims. So i think their social media objectives are well rounded. They also have a product called charity pot where all the profit from the sales go to a charity or gets put back into the community and the money staying in your town.

Social commerce strategy:

Wail I was researching I came across this article http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/6-key-components-effective-social-commerce-strategy  I feel Lush uses a lot of these tactics in social media.

How do they encourage and facilitate influence and impressions?

Lush encourages and facilitates their ideas of helping others and being kind to animals by the use of social media and they way they create their products they are very open about everything they do and you can even go on tours of their factories. Every product is handmade by someone so no two products are exactly alike.

The create engagement through their content and interact with their fans. But most of all Lush relies on word of mouth, i would have never stopped in to the Lush store at the mall if I didn't have a friend tell me how much she loved their bath bombs. I tell people all the time how much I love Lush products and bubble bombs and have turned multiple people on to Lush. In fact even in this class Frances is now wanting to try Lush which I’m super excited for her to try. Word of mouth is so important to a company! They also have user generated videos with reviews of how much they love their products and their favorite ones. There landing page has everything laid out on it and is very easy to use and navigate.

Are there critical relationships with any groups or individuals?

Lush cosmetics has partnered with SO many charities, foundations, and people it's unreal.  I will link a page so you can see all of them but some of my personal favorites they have partnered up with are: Redefining Refuge which is a non profit service that helps sexually exploited and trafficked girls,FaunAccion which educates and empowers animal rights activists, and Missouri Prairie Foundation which conserves prairies and promote native plants in communities for future generations. Here is a link to the rest! https://www.lushusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Lush-Site/en_US/CharityPot-Partners#sz=15&start=0&pid=partners&sort=new&type=all

Data:

Lush cosmetics has good reviews as a company in general and on individual products. I use a site called influenster quite often. It is a website where you try different products and leave reviews. Lush received 4.73 out of 5 stars based on 12,256 Reviews. https://www.influenster.com/reviews/lush-cosmetics

There are a lot of youtube videos giving reviews. Here is a video of one of my favorite Youtubers talking about her top Lush products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gN6GAlJdzc

Here is a link to a buzzfeed article top lush products: https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallykaplan/im-a-lush-for-lush?utm_term=.riz33nVnb#.towvv8n89

Here is a link for Lush’s top products which all have reviews and stars. http://www.lushusa.com/best-sellers/

Here is a link for reviews on total beauty: http://www.totalbeauty.com/reviews/brands/lush

Assessment and recommendation:

All and all I think Lush cosmetics has it all they are a well rounded company on and off of social media. They give back to the community and interact with their fans and customers. They are a very “glass door” company you can visit their factory and see how everything is handmade. They also tell you where your money is going when you buy products such as the charity pot products. They have a huge following on all social media platforms and are on every social media platform available. I think it is very interesting they are on snap chat, which most companies are not so that sets them apart.

I don’t really have much advice for them they are doing amazing as a company on and off of social media they have partnered with a lot of groups and foundations and I feel like anyone who knows much about Lush knows they are trying to make the world better and spread their message of kindness for everything.

References:

Lush wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lush_(company)

Lush Twitter: https://twitter.com/lushcosmetics

Lush Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lushcosmetics/

Lush Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5229458

Lush Tumblr: http://lushcosmetics.tumblr.com/

Lush Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Lushcosmetics/videos

Influencer Lush review: https://www.influenster.com/reviews/lush-cosmetics

One of my favorite Youtubers talking about her top Lush products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gN6GAlJdzc

Buzzfeed article top lush products: https://www.buzzfeed.com/sallykaplan/im-a-lush-for-lush?utm_term=.riz33nVnb#.towvv8n89

Lush’s top products reviews and stars. http://www.lushusa.com/best-sellers/

Total beauty review: http://www.totalbeauty.com/reviews/brands/lush

Lush mission statements: http://www.lushusa.com/Stories-Article?cid=article_we-believe-statement

Information on Lush charity pot: http://www.lushusa.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Lush-Site/en_US/Charities-Show

Lush landing page: http://www.lushusa.com/

Lush animal testing policy: https://uk.lush.com/article/animal-testing-our-policy

[katlynnmillerschool]

Klout score assignment #1

I actually only received one retweet tweet whole seven weeks! Haha! I had tagged Robert in a post with a picture of my us smoking some pork to make pulled pork. I tagged him because he had previously shared some amazing looking food on his smoker which of course made me crave smoked meat. I believe this post received the retweet which came from Robert because I tagged him in it directly. Also because he is a smoker enthusiast also. He had actually did his slogan post on a smoker and can appreciate an amazing looking meat. Ha. So he retweeted it so others could also see it.

[katlynnmillerschool]

Klout score assignment #2

As I have previously mentioned my class was amazing and super interactive so most of my posts got at least a little interaction. The tweet I had tweeted that received no response was my third ever tweet. I had tweeted “camping for the first time in years! #Excited.” I received no interaction with this tweet. I think I had this problem with this tweet and other earlier tweets because it was early in the class and not everyone had got everything together yet, nor did we all know how to properly use Twitter. I also only used one hashtag because I was new to Twitter also and didn’t often use hashtags on Instagram. I now use hashtags often. I have definitely learned in this class you get out of social media what you put it. If you don’t contribute much you won’t get much in return. I feel if I would go camping again and post about it I would receive more interaction because everyone is a lot more confident and confortable using Twitter and other social media platforms.

[katlynnmillerschool]

Klout score assignment #3

I had quite a few tweets that received a good amount of engagement. I was very fortunate to have amazing classmates, that engage a lot more than I thought we would. I interact so much more with people than I thought I would, I love it. The tweet I had tweeted that revived the most engagement would be my nec Easter egg post from the live lecture. I had posted about my boyfriend Adam being the most important person to me with photos of us together. I had three likes and two comments on it it was also a cross post from tumblr which I also had likes and comments on. I believe this post was my most interactive because it was not an assignment rather than me sharing a personal part of my life. I really enjoyed reading and commenting on others tweets and learning about what’s most important to them. I think it makes us feel more connected and “real” to learn about each other’s lives instead of just reading their School assignments.

[katlynnmillerschool]

Klout score assignment #4 Part A & B:

A: In the beginning I had 0 followers because I had not previously had a Twitter. I started following my classmates, and they started following me back. I also have seven other accounts that are not classmates now following me. Most of which are self promoters and what not. I currently have 24 followers and I am following 31 people. Of course I have noticed the more active you are and the more people you follow the more followers you receive. 

B: I mostly follow my classmates, but I also follow Lush, Ulta, and Urban Decay which are all cosmetic brands and stores that I love. I also follow a couple of bands that I really like and a couple people that I find interesting. But the two categories I follow most is beauty and music. 

[katlynnmillerschool]

Klout score assignment #5

When I first made my Klout account my score was at 10 which I’m pretty sure is the lowest you can go. Ha. I linked it threw my Twitter and Instagram account. Threw out the next seven weeks I became a lot more active on Social Media I really enjoy interacting with my classmates. My score peaked a few weeks ago at 42.99 which for me I think is pretty awesome! But I have become less active and it has fallen a little bit to 41.75, but that is ok it is still higher than 10! I have learned you need to be active on social media everyday to get a higher score and have more influence. I like Klout and being able to have a number to know where you stand in the social media world, it even tells you the most influential times for you to post which I think is cool too.  

[katlynnmillerschool]

gentle reminder

if anything ever gives you a bad feeling, please try your best to walk away from it whenever you’re able; there is no need to explain or make sense of it if you don’t want to - it’s your life, so please try your best to do what makes you happy

[katlynnmillerschool]

Week 6: Fake News

I completely think that Facebook and other social medias had a pretty heavy hand in persuading  the election. This is because most people or at least people I know get most of their information about what is going on in the world from Facebook. Which is awful because of all the fake news that is out there. People should take the time to research things and know not to believe everything they read on the internet and especially everything they read on Facebook, but unfortunately most of the time people will read a story that reaffirms their beliefs and share it with others. Even if it seems super unrealistic, people will completely disregard facts if it helps to prove a point and reaffirms what they already believed. At my job they have a saying that their main goal isn't to get new customers, but to keep the ones we already have and I believe this applies here also. The fake news stories don’t want to necessarily convert people onto their side but keep the voters they do have.   There was an article of fake news I remember seeing all over my Facebook news feed about Hillary Clinton and how she was dying and had a body double which lead to the Trump supporters on my Facebook to saying she was untrustworthy and isn't even her showing up to her events so she isn't fit to be president. It turns out it was a woman by the name of Teresa Barnwell who has worked as a celebrity impersonator of Hillary sense 1993 was in the same area as Hillary which is what lead to the mass confusion. Another fake news article I saw a lot of was Donald Trump was part of the KKK, this is because at one point his father was arrested near a rally, but he was not in a robe or actually arrested at the rally but I think someone just heard he was and spread it. Also his arrest was in the 1930’s and was his father rather than Trump himself. There was also an article I found interesting on my news feed about two very different titles on a newspaper covering the same story. Which I believe could be classified as fake news because one of those headlines are fake but it wasn't on social media so this shows fake news is in the real world also. We need to be more careful about believing what we read on the internet without fact checking. Just because something helps give you “facts” to support your view doesn't mean they are correct, or facts at all. I believe the main key take away to help spread the fake news out of  “the 5 take aways about the state of social media” article is the fact that digital spending went up 20% from last year, and more of it went to mobile advertising verses desktop, because most people use the internet mostly of not solely from their cell phones, so of course all articles want to be mobile friendly. I actually know a good amount of people who don’t have desktop computers, only their cell phones. Here is one of the links to the story of Hillary having a body double: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/09/13/internet-thinks-hillary-clinton-has-body-double/90297312/Link to one of the Trump KKK stories and explaining it a little more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-family-history-donald-fred-and-the-ku-klux_us_588e549de4b0cd25e4904a3f Link to snoops about different news paper headlines: http://www.snopes.com/wsj-different-trump-headlines/

[katlynnmillerschool]

gentle reminder

you are amazing; you’ve come so far, look at you, you’re surviving, and i’m proud of you - you’ve done a good job, buddy, and you are loved dearly

[katlynnmillerschool]

Week 6: Follow a Journalist

I have chosen Kimberly Guilfoyle as my journalist. She is the co- host of “The Five On Fox”

Does this journalist appeal to you because you are a digital immigrant or a digital native? Why?

I am a digital native so I like everything to be on social media, Kimberly Guilfoyle doesn't really appeal to me from a digital native standpoint as she is a digital immigrant and only uses her platforms as ways to promote her new book she just released, and the television show she is on, or that she is appearing on. I also believe her target audience is a tad older crowd than I am.

Based on the number of followers, do you think the journalist has a lot of online influence?

Kimberly has a pretty large following. She has the three main social media platforms; Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. She has 202 thousand followers on Instagram and from what I can tell her Instagram is mostly just the same photo of her in her news chair, but each day so she is wearing different outfits. Her Facebook page has 743,462 lines and 720,330 followers. I’m not sure the difference between a like on Facebook and a follower but those are both impressive numbers. Her twitter also has huge numbers with 1.2 million people following Kimberly.

I definitely think Kimberly has a pretty big online influence because of all of her followers on each social media platform, but also each post on everything has a lot of likes, comments, and re tweets. Kimberly has some tweets that has thousands of likes and hundreds of comments and re tweets.  

Do you think the journalist is savvy on social media? If so, why? If not, why?

I believe Kimberly is savvy on social media because it really seems like she knows her target audience, and knows what to tweet to keep them interested, such as Donald trump mentioned he enjoyed her book so she tweeted about that and retweeted his tweet.  She was also voted US Weekly's most stylish in New York, so she tweeted about that and tagged them in it.

Does this journalist help market their news organization online?

Kimberly for sure helps market her news organization online. Her Instagram is full of photos of her in her news chair with a caption about tune in tonight! Her twitter and Facebook both have a lot of posts and tweets about what shows she will be appearing on and promotion on her main show.

[katlynnmillerschool]

Week 5 Viral Challenge post.

For week 5 viral post I have chosen to do the #DropAndGiveMe10 challenge. I am not going to lie, I struggled a good amount on this assignment. I originally picked the mannequin challenge but as I was researching it it seemed so superficial and dumb it is where people freeze randomly in groups, it did not promote anything or any change in the world. I wanted to find a challenge that truly was making a difference in people's lives, as the ALS challenge has. So I started searching for a different challenge to report on and at first I came across the give them 20 challenge which is around the same idea as the drop and give me 10 challenge but you do not donate money and it is to help find jobs for veterans and is suppose to show people the challenge veterans face trying to find jobs when they are back home. Which I also think is a wonderful idea. But feel the challenge is poorly executed so I moved on and continued searching. Eventually I came across the drop and give me 10 challenge and I have dedicated to chose it for my assignment. I really liked the idea of a challenge giving children scholarships and educational opportunities that they may not have gotten to experience otherwise.

As I began to researching the drop and give me 10 challenge I have learned that it was founded by the Fallen Patriots, which is a 100% non profit organization that uses all of the donations(direct quote from the websites mission statement) “to provide college scholarships and educational counseling to military children who have last a parent in the line of duty.”  Something else that I really like about this foundation is the fact that on their main page you can see their financial audits for the year which I think is really cool and shows they are not hiding things. All in all I think the Fallen Patriots is a wonderful foundation and I hope that the drop and give me 10 challenge resurrects and goes even more viral than it had in the past.  

How to:

The drop and give me 10 challenge was created by the Fallen Patriots. There are four steps to completing the challenge.

Step one: Decide how much money you are going to pledge for each push up you can do.

Step two: Film yourself completing the challenge. In the video also challenge three of your friends to complete the challenge also.

Step three: Post your video online on different social media sites such as; Youtube, Facebook, twitter, or Tumblr. Use the hashtag #DropAndGiveMe10 challenge.

Step four: Make your donation.

Here is a video example of someone doing the drop and give me 10 challenge. He pledged $2 a push up and did 10 push ups so he will donate $20 then he challenged 5 people to also do the challenge instead of the regular three.

History:

The Fallen Patriots Foundation was founded in 2002 by David Kim, who had served next to Sergeant William Delaney Gibbs from the 7th infantry division in Panama, who was killed just 5 five days before Christmas in 1989. He had left behind a wife and unborn daughter. David Kim was inspired by Sargent Gibb’s sacrifice and that is why he founded the Fallen Patriots foundation in 2002 when David Kim returned to the United States.  

Facts:

Research conducted by The Lucas Group has found that an estimated 20,000 dependents have been left behind by troops killed in the line of duty over the past 35 years needs some financial assistance.

97% of casualties are mean, leaving single mothers to care for their families. 63% of surviving spouses make less than 50,000 a year.

The Fallen Patriots foundation has helped almost 800 kids go to college. The Fallen Patriots Foundation has also donated over sixteen million dollars financial aid and educational opportunities since being founded in 2002.

But does it have a viral SPARK(T)?

I had actually never heard of the drop and give me 10 challenge until I was looking for charitable challenges on Google. It did go viral, just not as viral as the ice bucket challenge had. I believe that the drop and give me 10 challenge has the potential to go as big as the ALS Ice bucket challenge did.

If we think about SPARK(T) the drop and give me 10 challenge has it.

It is Sharable. You do the challenge in a video form and challenge three of your friends to do the challenge also. ( it has the same snowball effect aspect that the als challenge had)

It is Participatory. Everyone can be challenged to do the video and everyone can share it.

It is Authentic. It challenges you to do push ups, and sponsor yourself. How many other challenges do you know that has you do push ups then donate for each push up you can do?

It is Relatable. Everyone knows how high college is and most people deeply appreciate people in the military.

It has a Kick. It has a hashtag ,people can watch it. It does not have a wikipedia page, yet but the Fallen Patriots have a Twitter page for the drop and give me 10 challenge.

It also has the Time aspect. Because there is no other viral trend or challenge going on right now that I know of. There is a lot going on in the world right now, but I do not believe it is anything everyone is talking about like crazy so right now would be the time for a mass viral challenge like the drop and give me 10 challenge to happen.

Sources:

It was actually kind of hard to find information on the #DropAndGiveMe10 challenge because apparently there is also a drop and give me 10 exercise challenge and information on that popped up a lot. So if you would like to do some more research into the #DropAndGiveMe10 challenge I would suggest always using the hashtag because that is where I had most of my luck finding information on the challenge. Most of the information in the post if from the Fallen Patriots website.

Link to the fallen patriots website: http://www.fallenpatriots.org/#home

Link to Fallen Patriots mission, history, and financial audits: http://www.fallenpatriots.org/who-we-are  

Link to #DropAndGiveMe10 page: http://www.dropandgiveme10.net/

Link to #DropAndGiveMe10 Twitter: https://twitter.com/dropandgiveme10

Link to more YouTube videos of the Challenge the first 7 are of the challenge: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=drop+and+give+me+10+challenge

Link to Huffingtonpost post about the challenge:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/03/bear-grylls-give-me-10-challenge_n_7487234.html

[katlynnmillerschool]

This is such a lovely post! So many people focus on the negative in life and forget about all the small things threw out the day that makes us happy. We forget to be happy and find beauty in the world, which is super easy with all the negativity that is going on. I love this challenge, I defiantly want to participate in it! 

100 Happy Days | Dmitry Golubnichy | TEDxZurich

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[katlynnmillerschool]

Walking in the Shoes of the Homeless-Week 5

Each day when I drive my car I see them on the side of the road. Sad faces holding sign for help, for a way out. The homeless seem to be growing in numbers. They set up camps gathering together as a tribe or alone trying to survive in this world. Not all of them are drug addicts, or suffering from mental illness. Some have been depleted of their possessions and lost everything due to an illness like cancer. While others have lost jobs and couldn’t make payments on rent and bills. Some have run away because of abuse within their home. Still others do have a job but minimum wages have kept them from affording a place to live.

Through the years my daughter and I have stopped and sometimes have given them money and other times have brought cold water and something nutritious to eat. We found out that they could use a blanket or something as simple as a toothbrush. We tried to advise them to go to a shelter. One woman was afraid of the shelter she said, “It wasn’t safe.” We found out that in many shelters there are bedbug infestations, food that lacked nutrients and only filled their stomachs but didn’t give them the vitamins to stay healthy and energetic. Even the staff was not always compassionate but treated them unkindly.  

Yet is being on the street safer?  To many of the homeless community, it is, if you are lucky and gather with a group that you trust where each one will look after the other and their belongings. Weather can be a dangerous factor. One can say Arizona is sunny but heat reaching up to 115 in the summer is a killer. Heavy rains during the monsoon can destroy their homesites which are made of cardboard boxes for those living on the street. Eating food from a garbage can is unhealthy. Standing on a street corner begging for money is humiliating. Being harassed by nearby neighbors and anyone passing by and the police do not try to solve the issue instead they just add to the problem by arresting them or telling them they must leave. All this takes a toll on these people’s health, physically, mentally and emotionally.

It happened here in Arizona. A camp in Mesa was disrupted and the Veterans who served this country were told to leave. Many were homeless not due to PTSD but they were not able to get jobs or housing due to their physical disabilities. One can only wonder what is wrong with our politicians to not reach out to help the homeless community and veterans. Instead, after saying yes that they could stay the people who run our state government changed their minds (they can use a new mind) and the vets who have gotten support from people with donations, now would have to move on with no help from the politicians we all voted in.

The homeless are vulnerable and they must suffer from stress, anger and unworthiness because of how they got here and of not knowing what the next day will bring.  If any one homeless tries to get work what address do they give?  The street they live on? Or the shelter where they share a room with a few other individuals?  Many want a better life in order to feel safe and bring back some sanity and self-esteem into their lives.

Maybe it is as if these individuals are invisible to our society or are considered the outcasts of society and are looked upon with distain instead of compassion. This in the long run would make it difficult for all of us to reach out and help these people who are in need.  These opinions and messages that society tells us what is right or wrong makes people tend to judge a certain group without knowing the facts especially with the homeless. The stereotype of the homeless drug addict is what most people see the homeless as. There are some but most did not want or expected to be in this situation.

This happened to one of my daughter’s students. She noticed that this girl was falling a sleep in class and that led her to find out what was going on. The girl left home due to violence but she also could not afford a place to stay and was sleeping in her car because she only was working for minimum wages at night. My daughter spoke with the school and though them and her they found a place she could stay. It was just a room to rent but it kept her off the streets and she graduated and is now going on for her nursing degree.

The next time anyone of us stops to give a homeless person a donation. We all need to take the time for just one moment and do more then just ask them their name. We should ask them some questions about themselves. And make them feel human again. I did that and the man told me that he was ok he even built a good shelter for himself and invited me to come see it. I declined politely. Yet, I wonder if I had gone maybe I would understand more what it was like to be him what it was like to live on the street. Instead I looked at this video to see what it like to look into a day in the life of someone homeless.  

It makes anyone realize that this kind of situation can happen to each and everyone of us. Maybe instead of sitting in our home with the feeling of safety and comfort watching a day in the life of someone homeless we could spend a night sleeping on the streets as if we were homeless and get an idea of what being vulnerable feels like. Then daring a friend or friends to do the same and having that friend get another person to do it. Could this catch on like the Bucket Challenge or would it just remain invisible like the homeless themselves as we walk pass them or drive pass them each day.

Mike Binder (film director) said, “The Holidays are a rough time for the homeless, but it is a year round problem we have to solve.”

[katlynnmillerschool]

For my live lecture Easter egg I chose my boyfriend Adam. He is definitely the most important person to me. We have been together for 8 years and he keeps me going and encourages me when I want to quit.

[katlynnmillerschool]

Unfortunately I will be at work wail the live lecture is going on, but I will make sure I watch it after work! Enjoy guys!

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[katlynnmillerschool]

Thank you professor Molly! 😁

For week 3s ‘braking bad’ tumblr post assignment I have chosen the lays “Do us a flavor” contest.

In 2013 Lay’s potato chip company decided to do a contest where fans could get involved and create their own flavor of chips, which would then be voted on and put on the market. If your flavor was chosen you would not only receive bragging rights for having the best idea for a chip, but also a cash prize of one million dollars. People went crazy thinking up all kinda of crazy ideas! Ranging from the first years winner of cheesy garlic bread, to some crazy ideas such as moldy couch. I know I was trying to rack brain trying to think of something witty and tasty, unfortunately I couldn’t think of anything appetizing enough! Lays had now made the contest a tradition, every year the flavors get wilder and wilder. With the success of the contest in the United States, Lays Canada also hold the same contest annual now.    

The “seed” of the lays campaign worked for sure! They wanted to and are able to get people talking about lay’s potato chips. Weather its what crazy flavors could people are thinking up, or have you tried so and so flavor. People are talking about lays. Which in return they would release the top three voted chips. Which you do by going to lays social media accounts or their website. This years top three finalists are: Everything Bagel with Cream Cheese, Crispy Taco, And Fried Green Tomato Chips. I personally voted for everything taco, because that sounds amazing! Also apparently they are already out to try, so I will have to check them out.

Here is a link to 2014′s finalists I chose to link this years list because I feel like mac & cheese should have beat out wasabi ginger, and was wondering if anyone else agreed. Ew! : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/16/lays-new-flavors_n_5592413.html 

Here is a link to lays Wikipedia page talking about the contest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lay%27s

Here is a link talking about the 2017 flavors: http://www.refinery29.com/2017/07/164052/lays-do-us-a-flavor-finalists-2017

Here is a link to the do us a flavor official page: https://www.dousaflavor.com/

And just for fun here is a link to their official twitter page, they are deffintelly using all social media to get their word out about the contest: https://twitter.com/LAYS