I was thirsty on my way to class the other day and decided to grab a nice, cold Vitamin Water. While browsing the flavor selection, I realized I had never tried the black cherry-lime before. After purchasing my drink and a sandwich, I opened that bottle, took my first sip, and fell in love. For those familiar with Vitamin Water, there is a funny, little paragraph describing the flavor and how it will benefit you. After reading it I found out that fans actually created the flavor on Facebook! The first thing that popped into my mind was, "I HAVE to blog about this!"

After researching this flavor made on Facebook, I realized I was a bit late with the news. Here's a video for people who did not know this happened...and I advise you all to try it! It's my new favorite :)

Kristin Chenoweth uses social media to fight back

Earlier this week, Ramin Setoodeh posted an article in Newsweek straight out saying that gay actors can not play straight characters convincingly. In the article, he mentioned the television show Glee and Broadway show, Promises Promises. Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth, who has worked on both productions, felt so strongly about the article that she took to Newsweek.com to voice her opinions on the subject.

Being a fan of "The Cheno," when I read her tweet on Twitter asking her followers to read her response, I immediately wanted to know what was going on. Not long after she tweeted about it, people such as Perez Hilton and Christina Applegate began to follow suit. I love that she took the time to defend her gay fans and co-stars using social media to make sure her voice was heard...and it was definitely heard. Setoodeh's article now has over 10 pages of comments both agreeing with Chenoweth, as well as arguing their own opinions.

Whose side are you on?

Really, New Jersey?

Okay, so it's not all of New Jersey, but a princial from a New Jersey school wants parents to ban their children from using social media outlets such as Facebook. He issued a letter to his students' parents asking them to make their children delete their accounts because, "There is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site! None." He also wants them to quit text messaging. You can read his letter here.

For one, yes, maybe middle school is too early for kids to be on social networking sites, but to ban them completely is absurd. Social media will not stop growing and will not stop being part of our everyday lives. Kids should be familiar with it and kept up to date with today's technology and its uses. If a parent gives their child permission to have a Facebook or Twitter account and let them text, he should not try to take that away.

Apple's iPad: HACKED!

Some geniuses have been able to hack the 3G version of the iPad to work on T-Mobile's network, and get this...they are even able to send SMS text messages. That's a pretty awesome discovery! According to an article on Mashable, they cut down their T-Mobile SIM cards to fit into the iPad's MicroSIM and insert them into the device. Though the connection takes a while to register, it apparently works well - just not on a 3G network.

Though Blackberry has my heart captive, I think iPhones are pretty amazing when it comes to applications. Though you cannot use and iPad as a phone, I'd love to play around with it while it is hacked on the T-Mo network.

Times Square Evacuation

Times Square was evacuated Saturday evening due to a bomb in a car, supposedly unrelated to a terrorist attack. The live webcams that stream video of Times Square 24/7 showed how deserted the always crowded area ended up after everyone was safely evacuated. Thankfully, no one was hurt and the bomb did not go off. I'm so happy everyone was safe and nothing happened. While the story is still developing, I hope the person who left the bomb in the car is properly questioned so nothing like this will have to happen again.

Here are some pictures taking during the evacuation from the webcam (more here):

Before
After
Scary!

How to be sneaky using social media!

Ever wanted to follow someone's tweets without them actually knowing you're following them? If yes, your wishes have come true! TweetStalk is a website started by people from a website called Sitening, where they make other cool web applications. All you have to do is download and install the Firefox add-on and BAM, you can 'stalk' tweets. You can even set up an RSS feed of the people you are stalking.

Have fun ;)

As YouTube would say, 'broadcast yourself.'

My social media professor has provided my class with two sites to study that help with press releases and communications campaigns that I thought I'd share. PRNewsWire definitely has a lot of offer, for a price, while some of PRWebDirect is free.

From PRNewsWire's official website:

PR Newswire provides our customers with the greatest opportunity to engage their target audiences through:

1. the largest network of media, bloggers, and Web sites
2. the highest-trafficked and most search-engine referred Web site in the industry
3. the most comprehensive social media sharing capabilities and search engine optimization for all press releases
4. unparalleled multimedia production and distribution capabilities

From PRWebDirect's official website:

For a fraction of the cost of traditional press releases or internet advertising, you can send your news release through PRWeb and accomplish the following:

1. See your news on top-tier news sites like Yahoo! News
2. Increase your visibility and rankings in search engines like Google
3. Get your news to top journalists and media outlets
4. Drive qualified, ready-to-buy traffic to your Web site

If I had enough money and I was writing a press release and wanted to make sure it got out to everyone, I'd get the most expensive package because the offers on these sites are great. If I had to write a press release right now as an undergrad in college, I'd click the "free publicity" link on PrWebDirect.