And Here We Go......

Welcome everyone to my personal blog. I'm really looking forward to sharing all my insights with you, and I would love to hear your comments. Blogs are all about voicing your opinion, so let's look to do that as much as possible. ENJOY!





Tuesday, March 22, 2011

The Concert For Life

In 1995, my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor and was only given 6-8 months to live. But his strength, will, and love for his family helped him survive 2 more years before he passed away in late 1997....I was only 8 years old. I have very few fond memories of my father, and it's sometimes hard to listen to my older siblings tell stories, laugh and tell their favorite memories of him because I know that I didn't get to spend as much time with him as they did. But every year, there is a time where I hear a lot of new stories from the many people whose lives my father touched....

In 2001, my older brother, Matt Wessel, was a senior in high school when he found out that one of his fellow classmates, Kate Pedersen, was diagnosed with cancer. Her classmates wanted to do something to support her fight, so they approached Matt with an idea. They asked if he would be willing to perform a benefit concert for the American Cancer Society in Kate's honor. Matt, who experiened the loss of our father from cancer 4 years earlier, agreed to perform. The concert was called "The Concert For Life."


The concert was held at St. Paul Apostle Church in Gurnee, Illionis, and it was so successful, that it has since then become an annual event. Since 2001, the concert has grown in size and in money raised. Each year, the concert touches the hearts of all those who attend. As the event continues to grow, more and more people will be moved by this special evening of music, love, and hope.

My brother Matt has continued to be the main performer since the concert's inception. While he understands that the concert was put together to support Kate and her fight against cancer, my family and I can see that the concert holds a much more personal meaning for him, and for all of my family. Every year, the concert is a time where Matt can open up his heart to the world and let everyone see the emotion he has felt since our father passed away 14 years ago. It's a time where Matt and my family can sit down, enjoy the inspirational music and reflect on the the father we lost too soon. And it's a time of rememberance, passion and hope.


The word has gotten out about the concert, and like I said, each year it continues to get bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Well, this year's Concert For Life was held last week on Sunday March 13, and the early total of money donated is $43,000 (which will continue to increase as receipts and funds are still being sent in). Overall, the Concert For Life has raised over $320,000, which has been donated to the American Cancer Society.

I guess what I'm trying to say through all of this is that, while the Concert For Life was started to benefit Kate Pedersen's fight against cancer and all those who are battling cancer, I believe my older brother wished to perform the concert as a tribute to my father, as well. While the money is being raised to support the American Cancer Society, Matt wanted it to be a time where our family could come together, reflect on our father, and share this time with each other. And for that, I cannot thank him enough....

"If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, we'd walk right up to Heaven and bring you home again..." - We miss you Dad and you will live on forever in our hearts....


Monday, March 21, 2011

The Grammys Turn Heavily to Social Media

SUMMARY

In one of my past posts, I discussed how the State of the Union address began to utilize social media. Well, this trend is continuing among major national events, as the 2011 Grammy Awards took on an impressive and extensive social media campaign. The campaign involved many aspects, such as geolocation, mobile, web, social media and augmented reality.

The 2011 Grammys' social media campaign was called "Music is Life is Music," and it centers around the idea that everybody has a musical journey with memories tied to certain songs and locations. Here are a few of the initiatives taken on for the social media campaign:
  • A Foursquare-esque app called the MusicMapper (mashup of Google Maps, SimpleGeo, and Rdio) that allows users to tag locations on a map of their current city with songs and notes
  • Users could share their tags on MusicMapper with others via Twitter and Facebook
  • MusicMapper highlights concert venues via Foursquare and allows users to add photos of artists and local venues via Flickr
  • A "Music is Life is Music" micro website where users can tag locations
  • Several well-known artists have had their musical journeys mapped on MusicMapper, including Eminem
  • An app that has QR code reader in which users can unlock exclusive Grammy content via codes on outdoor advertisements and print material. Within the app, 8 previous Grammy performances will be released
  • An app that features an augmented reality view that allows users to see all of the tags associated with a location
  • A 3-day Virtual Pre-Show called GRAMMY Live on Twitter, YouTube and Grammy.com
  • Twitter tracker with hashtags where users could follow updates on everything related to the Grammys
ANALYSIS

The Grammys in 2010 took a major look at the power of social media and did an excellent job in incorporating a social media campaign into its operations. But last year, the campaign, which was titled "We're All Fans," was built around user-generated content. TV spots were user-generated and a website was made that integrated real-time content from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

But this year, the Grammys wanted to make its social media campaign more interactive among users so as not to make it passive, like last year's appeared to be. This year, users have been able to contribute to the data themselves. This represents the shift in communication that social media is helping to create. No longer are people (users) just waiting for updates and contents from operations (such as the Grammys). Now, they are starting and contributing to the conversations that are being had around the event.

Overall, I feel that the Grammys utilized social media very effectively. When it comes to music, music is a facet and a part of everybody's lives, whether they realize it or not. Music is a way for people to express themselves, and now, they get to share those expressions and feelings with others around the world. The social media campaign used for the 2011 Grammys took a major step forward from the campaign used for the 2010 Grammys. People don't just want to give their take on music and express their ideas; they want to be able to share their take on music and express their ideas WITH other avid music fans. This year, the Grammys allowed for this through their revamped social media campaign.

I don't really have any suggestions for the Grammys on how to improve its social media strategy because its such a young venture for the major event. This was only the 2nd year that the Grammys have utilized a social media campaign, and thus, the Grammys are still in the early stages of settling on a social media campaign. But with the many advancements in social media that will continue to come about as time goes on, I would recommend that the Grammys continue to test out new platforms and cater to the trends that take place (as it did this year with making the social media campaign more interactive). I would recommend that Grammys continue to utilize the ever-growing geolocation platform, as more and more people are beginning to utilize this aspect of social media. Also, I would recommend that the Grammys build a Facebook page and YouTube channel (with songs from the nominated Grammy artists for users to listen to). These are 2 channels that are highly used by the public and avid music fans, so having a presence on these social media platforms would be an essential key to success in the future for the Grammys.

SOURCES




Friday, March 11, 2011

The Adjustment Bureau & Battle: Los Angeles are Worth the Trip

I feel it's an appropriate time to blog about something that doesn't involve solely social media. And as an avid movie fan, I couldn't think of a better topic.

I have been called a movie addict by many friends and by my family. I have a knack for seeing a movie and then quoting it for the rest of the night upon returning home. But now at college, I have found it difficult to find time to head to the movies with friends and family because everyone is busy. This has resulted in me not seeing nearly as many movies as I have had my heart set on. Thus, I have opened a Netflix account and watch movies when I can.

While Netflix is great (I will undoubtedly continue to use it), there is nothing like seeing a movie in the theater. These past two weekends, I have had the luxury of returning to the cinema to see two great movies that were at the top of my "to-see list." First, last weekend, I saw The Adjustment Bureau with a few of my siblings and in-law.

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It's a movie about a group of people that control the fates of mankind, and how a couple in love has to fight for their right to be together. It's a great thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. While I thought it was a bit short and could have been a little bit more daring, it's a movie that I would highly recommend.

Tonight, I had the luxury of seeing Battle: Los Angeles with my stepdad.

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For the past few months, I have had my heart set on seeing this movie and have been looking forward to it. However, within the past few weeks, I have read some harsh and negative reviews about it. It made me question if it would be worth seeing. But when my stepdad asked if I wanted to go see it with him, I jumped at the opportunity. And I must say, I'm glad I did. Battle: Los Angeles is about an alien invasion unlike any other seen before on camera. I won't give much away about the movie because it's something that's definitely worth seeing. The special effects, graphics, and musical score are incredible. All of these aspects worked together to create a very enjoyable movie that had me biting my fingernails until the very end. I highly recommend this movie.

There you have it. Two movies I highly recommend. And while it was fun seeing these movies, I have a lot more on my "to-see list" that I have to start finding time for.