See you soon...

Today marks the last day that I embark in this blog. This blog has taught me a lot about my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to communicating. Now that this quarter is over I would like the time to self-reflect and come up when a blog that encompasses me beautifully. My mind is full of possibilities on how I communicate to this world and one will be blogging. See, I believe God put me on this earth to communicate, to learn and teach from other people, and to make a name for myself that people won't forget. It won't be about my looks or clothing but my spirit and my good nature is what I believe God wants me to showcase. Taking this class has taken me out of my comfort zone by challenging me to be open. Now, I believe I'm an open book who needs to tell her story to the world. I believe when you do that your open yourself to possibilities and you never know who you can help by telling your story. As I leave I want to leave you some tips to live a beautiful life.

1. Embrace who you are, never change for anyone

2. You are worth it

3. There is nobody on this earth better than you. I don't care if your Beyonce or Joe living down the street you are somebody! 

4. Share your story. You never know who you may be helping.

Also one thing I picked up during my journey is the importance of listening. Take the time to listen to what people are trying to tell you. You never know what nugget of important information that you might miss

Again, you will see me soon. I'm not sure in what capacity but you will know my name.....Destini!

Peace, Love, and Happiness,

Destini

Bad Decisions...Good Intentions....

“An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgments simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore.” — Edward de Bono


Drake the popular rapper from Canada, coined the popular term Bad Decisions...Good Intentions in his hit song "All of the Lights. After watching the TED video""Why We Make Bad Decisions"  video I realize just how much sense this phrase means.


I'll be honest I can't count how many times I had made a bad decision about something. From relationships, life choices, money, to even picking something to eat, I have had made my fair share of bad decisions. I believe in learning for others so I'll share a story to show you a good example

In my early twenties there was a man I was crushing on hard....I mean hard! There was a party that we would both be attending in a couple of day and I made it my mission to find the perfect outfit. I searched high and low until I found a "ballerina" skirt at a local department store that I loved. The skirt was beautiful but the problem was the skirt was over $200.....yes $200 for a ballerina skirt, this price didn't even include the matching top. I had to do it and just like that I shelled out almost $300 for this outfit to empress a man. So it's time for the party and I arrive thinking he would go crazy over my look, boy was I wrong. He didn't say anything about it. I was crushed and spent the night sitting at the bar not having fun. That night made me realize that what you wear can't cause anybody to like you it must be organic because if he truly liked me it didn't care if my outfit was $20  or $200 dollars.

TED video teaches two things

Two Errors We Make 

We make two errors when making decisions:

• 1.  the odds

• 2.  the value

We overestimate or underestimate the odds that it will happen.  For example, when surveyed, people vastly overestimate how many people die from fireworks or tornadoes.  At the same time, they vastly underestimate how many people die from Asthma or drowning.  Why?  Because we base it on what we’re familiar with or can easily see in our mind, whether it’s from the media or our own experience.
According to Gilbert, estimating odds is a piece of cake compared to estimating the value. We make a couple of mistakes here.  One mistake is that we compare the scenario to the past instead of the possibilities.  For example, if you lost your ticket on the way to the movies, you won’t buy another one because you already spend the $10.  On the other hand, if you lost $10 on the way to the movies, you would still spend another $10 to buy the ticket.  In both cases, you’re down $10.  In the first case, you compare it to the past where you only spent $10 on a ticket and buying another would make it feel like you’re spending $20.
You can turn this insight into action using some quick checks whenever you need to make a decision:

• Ask yourself how you can check or better assess the actual odds of success.
• Rather than compare to the past, compare to the possibilities and net results.
• Rather than comparing against the immediate options on the table, test the value against the actual experience.  (For example, A might look better than B in the show room, but B might be a better fit for your actual scenario.)

We overestimate or underestimate the odds of success and we overestimate or underestimate how much we will actually value the gain.

Errors in Odds 

Errors in Value 

Another mistake we make is when we compare at the time of purchase, but not our actual experience.  For example, at the music store, the stereo might sound better compared to another one.  When we play it at home though, we will never compare that experience again.  In another example, we might pick a wine based on prices compared to other extreme prices on the shelf, but when we’re home we’ll just be comparing the taste.

3 Ways to Make Better Decisions 

When we can't easily verify the odds, one thing that can help sometimes is just asking some questions.  For example, if a doctor or mechanic wants to go down a certain path, I’ll ask them how many they’ve dealt with before and what their success rate is.  There’s a big difference whether this is somebody’s first time or if they’ve seen this 100 times before.

Just image if people all over the world did the things suggested in the TED video. It would stop a lot of confusion.  With that said never feel bad about making a bad decisions here are some things you can do.

• Take full responsibility. The first step you must take when having made a poor choice is recognize the part you played in a situation. It does no good at all to make excuses or rationalize or pretend that, for whatever reason, you aren't to blame. If you want to move forward from wherever you've found yourself, you have to take responsibility for your choices and actions. 
• Understand your choices. Next, it's essential that you understand why you made the decision you made. Keep in mind that this is not a time to think of excuses for why it happened; this is a time to understand why it happened so you can avoid making similar decisions in the future. Really take some time to think about why you did what you did so you can begin to move on. 
• Apologize and explain. If your decision hurt anyone else, the best thing you can do is apologize and explain. Don't offer excuses or try to play down the situation in any way. Be honest and open with those you have hurt and explain to them what you realized from Step 2. Once you've done that, it's also important to apologize to yourself and do what you can to come to terms with your decision. 
• Focus on the present. When you've made a bad decision, it can be tempting to dwell on that but, believe me, that's a waste of time. The most productive thing you can do to move forward from your choice is to focus on what's happening now. Cut yourself some slack and begin to focus on the positive things you're currently doing instead of the negative things you have done. 
  
  
• Be proactive in the future. The best thing you can do for yourself when you find that you've knowingly made a bad decision is to find ways to be proactive after the fact. Ask yourself what can be fixed or changed now. And then think about what you can do in the future to make sure you don't find yourself making similar decisions. Don't downplay the importance of taking future action. 

Nice for What?

Social Media is a great resource for businesses and owners as much as it is a great source for the “average joe.”  I can’t how many times Instagram and Facebook has made it easy for me to post something about a charity or fundraiser I’m promoting. How easy it is to get a positive message out to people and to showcase the world a glimpse of me.

 

BUT THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH SOCIAL MEDIA AS WELL…

Bullies and Trolls who make it their mission to tear down people on sites such as Instagram and Facebook. On www.bullyingstatistics.org it is reported that in 2010 there were 2.7 million children who were being bullied on these social media sites as well as 160,000 children a year that miss school because of bullying. When I attended grade school, I can vividly remember some of my peers teasing me. It hurt and it sucked and many times I would pretend to be sick just not to deal with the ridicule at times. I honestly believe if social media was out around that time that it would have been worse.

 

I’m an active Facebook user as well as Instagram user. I love following my friends as well as celebrities. I’ll be honest though there are some many people who follow celebrities and belittle them. Just recently the well-known famous comedian Kevin Hart and his wife Eniko Hart planned a cowboys and Indians theme birthday for their one-year old son named Kenzo. Some of the comments were harsh and downright rude. Here is a list of some of them:

• Throwin a "Cowboys & Indians" birthday party on "Thanksgiving" celebrates genocide, white supremacy, & slavery. R those the things u @KevinHart4real & @enikohart represent & are teaching to your child? Would it be ok to throw a Master & slave birthday party? nope #nativetwitter
• Playing cowboys & Indians has always been racist. It’s like playing slave & slave owner. Hollywood stereotyped Native Americans and that’s how people still see us unfortunately. Our culture isn’t a costume. Mexican, Black, Middle Eastern, Asian, etc - NOT a costume
• For those surprised and calling out @KevinHart4real and his wife for throwing a horrifically Anti-Indigenous Cowboy & Indians Birthday Party, don't forget this is the same asshat who said that the R**skin slur is "not on the same bar" as the N-word.
• Did Kevin Hart and Eniko really throw their 1-year-old a “Cowboys and Indians” themed birthday party... These celebrities really love their privilege to be socially ignorant.

In my option Kevin Hart and his wife meant no harm or were trying to be racist, when they came up with the theme for Kenzo birthday.  I think at times user of the sites get so passionate about something that they speak before really seeing the big picture. It’s not just Kevin heart though there are many celebrities who get called out about their looks, career, finances, and romantic relationships. There are users who think they can say anything to the celebrities because there famous.  It’s nothing like a good comeback when the celebrity responds to the critics and Kevin Hart did his with so much class. He responded as follows:

 

Why is it so hard for people to find better things to do than being negative.... Being angry is easy...Finding happiness within yourself is what's tuff...I challenge everyone to find happiness in YOURSELF. F*** negativity.

 

Now when you think about bullying and trolls your first thoughts might think about a single person being bullied but this is not always the case. Company’s get ridiculed too. Trolls will come on these social media sites and try their best to take company’s down. They feel if they do this other people will become informed and stop promoting these brands. How can you stop this? On socialmediatoday.com they list five ways companies can handle negative criticism. They are:

 

1. Listen Carefully

Stopping a problem in its tracks (and building lasting relationships) starts with social listening.

Unfortunately, an angry customer won't always speak directly to you - to ensure you don't miss important feedback, you need to track all mentions of your brand, branded hashtags, and branded URLs shared on social - whether they include an @ mention or not.

2. Remember That Response Time Matters

When establishing your target response times, know that now, more than ever, speed matters.

Common SLAs can vary from mere minutes to hours, depending on a variety of factors including your industry and your team, and are likely to fluctuate based on peak times, specific events or campaigns. But one thing is consistent across the board: rapid replies are increasingly becoming the expectation.

In fact, 42% of customers who complain on social expect a response within 60 minutes. And with sensitive issues, like an emotionally charged complaint, a slow response can leave a customer feeling ignored and stoke the flames of further discontent.

Negative sentiment can soar, and multiply - in some cases, circulating on social until it reaches media outlets - when a brand's response is seen as comparatively too slow.

3. Be Human, Be Transparent, And Never Go Negative

Brands can take the control of the situation by responding in a helpful and genuine manner. Never respond negatively or defensively.

Avoid canned responses and strive to establish a human connection.

Ensure your customer feels listened to, and don't be afraid to apologize for any inconvenience or a less-than-stellar experience to help diffuse a negative situation.

4. Respond Publicly Before Moving to a Private Conversation

When responding to a complaint on social, always reply publicly before moving the conversation into a private message.

The days of purely 1:1 communication are behind us - on social, a brand may be replying to a comment directed solely at your brand, yet this exchange is still taking place in the public eye.

Responding publicly is essential to showcasing your brand as transparent, attentive, and helpful. Only after this first step should you move the conversation into a private message in order to provide a solution with greater detail, or to ask for sensitive information, like an account number or identifying details, essential to solving the customer's problem.

Negative feedback on social can also represent the chance to turn unhappy customers into brand advocates and provide unique opportunities to surprise and delight.

5. Know When to Engage - and When Not To

Responding to social posts - both compliments and complaints - can strengthen a brand's relationship with its customer base, but comments that veer into trolling territory (comments that are racist, sexist, or otherwise aggressively derogatory) are often better left untouched.

Be transparent with your audience by including a statement of what violates your online community terms in your bio or 'About me' section, and that you reserve the right to remove any postings of a vulgar, discriminatory, or inappropriate nature.

One caveat: be wary of deleting comments. This can incite more anger, and additional comments are likely to increase - both in number and in vitriol.

If a comment is derogatory, you can report it and on some networks, like Facebook, you can hide the comment from the public. This feature lets the comment remain visible to the user who posted it, as well as to the original poster's friends, which lessens the potential for additional conflict when removing a comment from the public eye.

By using these tactics companies can stop some of the problems that are connected with social media.

Let’s treat everyone with respect!

Love and Blessings,

Destini

 

 

Blame it On the Alcohol... 

  

The summer of 2009 was epic for me. A group of friends and I formed a grouped. We called ourselves "The Secret Society." We traveled, partied, and just enjoyed life as young college students. I remember the same summer Actor, Comedian, and singer Jamie Foxx came out with a hit song called "Blame it on the Alcohol." The song was an instant hit and I remember dancing to the song at the local club. When the video was shot, there were cameos from actors. Actor turned film director Ron Howard was even featured in the video.There was one thing that also stood out besides the buffet of actors and actresses in the music video. The alcoholic drink Nuvo was placed in the video as well. This was a new drink that people were raving about around the world. Nuvo was pink and delicious. It was promoted by high class people and it was the focus on the Jamie Foxx video. Little did I know the company who produced this drink was placing the drink in the video to promote the drink. 

  

As I got older, I realized what product companies were doing they were strategically placing products on music videos, TV shows, and movies to promote consumers to purchase the items they were showcasing.  When the Jamie Foxx video premiered, I was excited about trying the new drink and went to the local store and purchase a bottle of Nuvo.  I can't even count how many times, I have bought a item due to seeing it on television.  Hubspot.com compiled a list of 13 Unforgettable Examples of Product Placements in Movies, TV & Music Videos. The list goes as follows: 

1) Pizza Hut, Doritos, Reebok, Nuprin & Pepsi in Wayne's World (1992) 

2) Reese's Pieces in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) 

3) Dr. Pepper in 90210 (2008) 

4) Ford Fusion in New Girl (2012) 

5) Coca Cola, Miracle Whip, Polaroid, Virgin Mobile & More in Lady Gaga's Music Video, "Telephone" (2010 

6) Heineken in Skyfall (2012) 

7) BMW Z3 in GoldenEye (1995) 

8) BMW Mini Cooper in The Italian Job (2003) 

9) Ray-Ban in Risky Business (1983) 

10) Volvo in Swedish House Mafia's Music Video, "Leave The World Behind" 

11) Nike in White House Down (2013) 

12) Marlboro, Coca-Cola & KFC in Superman (1980) 

13) Manolo Blahnik in Sex and the City 

As you can see product placement has been going on for ages. It’s not cheap for companies to place their products in media. It can cost anywhere from 3 to 10 million dollars, but the benefits outweigh the initial cost. For example, when Hershey’s decided to showcase Reese’s Pieces in the movie E.T., this cause Hershey’s stock to increase by 65%. By showcasing products companies can triple their profits. 

Product placement is just not for television. The popular search engine Google is racking in the big bucks as well. In Shara Tibken article:  Google makes more money from ads than print media combined. In this article Tibken states that” The search giant generated $20.8 billion in ad revenue in the first six months of 2012, while newspapers and magazines in the U.S. made $19.2 billion, according to Statista. The article also states: Google raked in $20.8 billion in ad revenue in the first six months of 2012, while the whole U.S. print media generated $19.2 billion. Very impressive!  

I’ve also noticed a lot of product placement on Instagram. Some companies use some of the most popular personalities on Instagram to showcase their products. One of my favorite personalities is  @dr.laurenelise. She is what I call a “It Girl”, an opinion leader, a promoter on Instagram. Lauren is always showcasing new products that companies give her to promote. Every week she does a video to showcase what different companies have sent to her for free. For example, just recently called Daniel Wellington sent her a watch and bracelet set.  The company is fairly new, and many people would not know about the company without the influence of Lauren or other popular personalities.  

As you can see product placement is everything!