Is it Thanksgiving Break yet?

It is that time of the semester when you’re just fed up with school and responsibilities. I don’t know if it is the weather or the ridiculous amount of school work I have to complete but I’m more than ready for a long break at home with family and friends. Don’t get me wrong, fall at Ohio Northern is one of my favorite seasons. The campus is breathtaking and the weather is perfect! It’s a great time to be a polar bear but seriously, is it Thanksgiving break yet?

I can’t wait to spend a whole week at home with my family and friends. It seems so close yet so far away at the same time. Just being able to relax and not worry about school sounds perfect right now. Not to mention, I am super pumped about Thanksgiving dinner. It will definitely be the highlight of my break. I literally catch myself day dreaming about mashed potatoes in class… Should I be concerned? Probably, but it's whatever. 

With break quickly approaching, it makes me appreciate all the things I am fortunate enough to have. As stressed out as I am with school work, I wouldn’t be able to attend Ohio Northern and reach my goals without the support of my family. I love being a student at Ohio Northern but I also feel like I miss out on a lot at home. It makes me sad to see how quickly my sisters are growing up. Every time I go home they always look so much older and they are developing their own personalities and interests.

I’m hoping these next 20 days (not like I’m counting) fly by so I can spend some much needed, quality time with my momma and sisters.

Measure What Matters

Katie Paine, author of “Measure What Matters”, is considered a measurement expert in the field of social media. All transactions conducted today are driven by one thing: relationships. It only makes sense to measure relationships to get a realistic view of your company or organization. Building, managing and measuring relationships is essential to your success as a professional and the success of your company. Good, solid relationships, lead to profit. Focusing on building relationships should be at the heart of any company.

Paine points out in chapter one the difference between counting and measuring in terms of relationships. Counting is adding things up to get a total while measurement is taking those totals, analyzing what they mean and using them to improve your organization. For example, if you were to solely measure your success by counting the amount of ‘likes’ you get on Facebook, you aren’t going to get an accurate representation of your company. Just because someone ‘likes’ your page, doesn’t really show anything or benefit your company.

In the professional setting, measuring is crucial. You might be asking yourself "why should I start measuring? We’ve been doing just fine without it." Any company who wants to continue being successful should start measuring their relationships because data driven decisions save time and money. Measuring also helps allocate budget and staff, provides strategic planning, gets everyone to agree on desired outcomes, reveals strengths and weaknesses and ultimately, gives you a reason to say no. If you have data collected from previous programs, you gain leverage to turn down requests that would waste time, money and resources. Ultimately, you are becoming an invaluable asset to the workplace when you decide to start measuring relationships.

When you enter the workplace, ensure that there is a measurement system in place. If there isn’t, suggest starting one. Not only will measuring benefit you, but the company as well. Those who take the initiative to start and successfully implement measurement programs often get promotions for their leadership and skill set. Who doesn’t want a promotion?! All future professionals should take advantage of learning how to measure relationships.

The Latest Social Media Trend

Social media is always a hot topic in today’s society. Two big named social media platforms, Periscope and Snapchat allow you to communicate with other users in a real-time atmosphere. Periscope allows you to video-record and broadcast to anywhere in the world. Snapchat is a messaging app that allows you to take photo or video and add captions or doodles. You are able to send your creation to your friends or add it to your story for 10 seconds before it disappears.

According to Entrepreneur, AOL has recently released an app, Kanvas 5.0. Kanvas 5.0 combines Periscope and Snapchat into one mega social media platform. This live-streaming platform also adds real-time editing capabilities like drawing, adding filters, stickers or thematic features.

“Over the last five years, you’ve seen a shift from the mobile handset being a consumption experience to also being a deeply creative experience,” says Vic Singh, founder of Kanvas Labs. With this being said, Kanvas 5.0 makes for a great blend of consumption and creativity for mobile handset users.

Not only does Kanvas 5.0 provide a mix of two of the hottest social media platforms, it is also allowing users to react in real time. Kanvas users can receive notifications about or search for streams within the app. While streaming, users are able to chat with viewers and add stickers or GIF’s to their comments. Users can also promote their streams on other social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Users streams can be replayed forever with Kanvas 5.0, which is a big difference from Periscope.

Social media is always changing and adapting to fit society’s needs. It seems like everyday a new social media platform is being uploaded to the App Store. Will Kanvas 5.0 stick around or will it be another short lived social media platform? Let me know what you guys think!