My parents seem baffled by the concept of social networking.  And I’m sure I’m not alone in saying this.  A couple of weeks ago, my Dad asked me what the value in Twitter was.  As someone who isn’t a very inspired tweeter, I surprised myself with my answer.  Twitter is the Walmart (I mean this in a non-evil-corporate-giant kind of way) of social networking sites.  In other words, it’s a one-stop-shop. 

If I want news updates, Twitter has them.  If I want to know what my friend did after finding spinach in her teeth while on a first date, Twitter tells me.  If I want to see mobile pictures taken at the scene of a plane crash, Twitter will link me to them.  If I want to tell CNN’s Rick Sanchez that I think Michelle Obama should plant zucchini and not yellow squash in her White House garden, TWITTER LETS ME!  It’s liberating.  And it’s the ultimate way to connect with people, companies and organizations, while also filtering out tweets that aren’t pertinent to my info-shopping Twitter trip. 

As KSU professor Bill Sledzik says, you have to have a bit of an ego to really enjoy Twitter.  But I’m adding a new component to that.  If you love Twitter and you haven’t the ego, then you’re likely an information pack rat. 

But I’m not here to school you on Twitter.  I’m sure if you’ve made it to this blog, you likely don’t live in a vacuum and have heard “Twitter” just as many times as I have today (three to be exact.)  So, because we all clearly know the value of social networking, the question we’re left with is: What’s new?  And, I think I have the answer: www.SendMeHome.com.

Networking nomad

SendMeHome is a unique social networking site that allows members to register an item, protecting it from loss, and enabling owners to send the item across the world and co-write a blog about the item’s travel.  It’s a twist on an older pen-pal concept that the Internet really spices up.

Okay, so the site is clearly in its beginning stages.  But it’s a great concept that could be used by anyone and everyone — including the PR pro.  Take a look at the site set-up below.

 The bio.

The map.

The chapters.

In this blog, Andrew is hoping that his unopened can of Mountain Dew makes it to Bill Gates.  His objective is to send the soft drink to people across the country that are starting up their own businesses.  People who receive the can are instructed to photograph it in several places, post start-up tips on SendMeHome.com and briefly describe the trials and tribulations they’ve overcome in creating their businesses. 

“I’d really like this to make it to Bill Gates. If you can pass it on in the direction of Bill Gates, that would be preferred. If you know Bill Gates, or if you know someone that knows Bill Gates, please send it to him!  I am hopeful that when complete, this story will serve both as an entertaining read, and as a guide for future entrepreneurs about what to do – and not to do – while starting a company. It will also hopefully give other people an idea of what it’s like to start a tech company,” writes Andrew Lee.

Lee writes in his bio that he is the co-creator of SendMeHome.com. 

Once you tag an item with the SendMeHome.com ID sticker, it is protected by a special code that links back to you, designed to ensure that your item is ultimately returned.  When someone receives an item you’ve sent, they list their location, which flags the item on a map, showing the numerous cities, states or countries the item has traveled to.  Each person who comes in contact with the item creates a chapter on the blog about their experience with the object. 

So if you think this is an off-the-wall concept, there are weirder posts to be seen, including the travels of a Teflon pan in which recipients are asked to use the pan to cook and enjoy bacon.  Thankfully, the author of this post (Lee again) urged those who used the pan to wash it before forwarding it on via mail.

Here are some of the more interesting posts that might get your PR brain a-stirrin’:

• The Lonely MINI Cooper: Owners of Mini Coopers are asked to post pictures and stories about their cars and where they’ve been.
• Marshmallows in a Bottle: Recipients are asked to post the worst product they’ve ever seen, and send the tagged bottle of marshmallows to columnist Dave Barry so that he can include the list of horrible products in his column.
• Webcam MUSIC VIDEO: People are asked to create videos of their best dance moves and post them to the site.

The concept of sending a product from person to person around the world, asking them to create an online thread that illustrates their experience, is genius.  It builds a community, it builds friendships and it creates a PR professional’s dream — free publicity.  This site is a launching pad for viral marketing campaigns.  It can be used to market people, items and concepts.  And lucky for us, it also has an application on Facebook, making the scope of a possible campaign even larger. 

HUNGRY TECHIES: A LITTLE FOOD FOR THOUGHT

How would you use SendMeHome.com in a PR campaign?

Montreal, Quebec, 1992–  In a red brick duplex on Bellgrade Avenue, Linda K. Linville sat, pouring years of academic experience into an 8-inch Macintosh desktop.  Her work, a compilation of worksheets, tips and study guides, would soon become the textbook “ASAP: Academic Skills Achievement Program,” published in 1994.  Today, the book can be purchased new on Amazon from $41. 47 (+ $3.99 shipping) to $168.06 (+3.99 shipping).  

Really?  One-hundred-sixty-eight dollars and six cents?!?! 

Okay, don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely proud of my mom’s work.  If you don’t believe me, check out the compliments I left her on Amazon in 1999 (also note that one person felt my five-star rating was not very helpful.  Can’t say I blame them — I was 11-years-old and clearly biased).  While many of the tips and tools my mom talks about in her textbook are still relevant to this day, many newer study methods go unmentioned.  In 1992, my family was one of the lucky few who owned a computer, and having the Internet in our home wasn’t even an option.  “ASAP” outlines none of the benefits of online study guides, the Internet or even computers in building study skills. 

So how can a company charge such an outrageous amount for a textbook this outdated?  Well, we all have to learn. 

I think it’s safe to say that every KSU student feels the crushing weight of textbook costs, especially in today’s down economy.  But is using the Net to purchase cheap books the way to go?

Fowl bowls: A result of textbook eating

Cyber Space, April 1, 2009– The Web site Chegg.com, self-proclaimed as the “number one online textbook rental company,” says it saves students “65-85%” on textbook purchases.  Not only does the site offer extremely low prices, but it also offers a pre-paid shipping label for you to return the book, and it plants one tree for every book you sell, buy or rent.  Does this sound too good to be true in the world of money-hungry textbook sellers?  Well, if you think it’s unusual, it gets even weirder.  

On April Fools’ Day, Chegg issued a press release picked up by www.prweb.com.  The release detailed the launch of a new line of edible (not audible) textbooks called Text-a-Licious.  According to its site, it offers 21 flavors, including “Apricot American History” and “Limeberry Linguistics.”   I’m strangely reminded of Eric Carle’s book for children where a famished caterpillar eats through the very book it’s printed on from beginning to end.  But we’re humans, not insects — and we’re also educated. 

Photo taken from www.neonmonkey.com.au/brand/Jedko-Games/.

“After extensive studies conducted by former Stanford researcher Dhruv Sampat, Chegg.com has developed a patent pending formula that breaks down the complex compounds found in rental textbooks into an edible form.    Now not only will Chegg.com help college students save money on textbooks but also on food expenditures. During the clinical trials students who were given samples of economic textbooks applied with the digestible formula immediately reacted with severe cases of diarrhea and stomach cramps. After further research, Chegg.com determined that the side effects were corollary to economic recession and not a result of the formula itself,” says the PR Web article.

So the economic recession is to blame for unsatisfactory bowl movements occuring after the consumption of Chegg.com textbooks?  Perplexing. 

Photo taken from www.Chegg.com.

Another oddity: When I visit Chegg’s site, which boasts about the eco-friendly development of edible books, I am unable to find a price for the product, a way to purchase it and what book titles are even available.  Seem fishy?  I thought so.  So, I asked the friendly automated assistant, Nina, to shed some light on the advertised books. 

(I apologize for the copy-and-paste job below, but Adobe Reader wouldn’t allow me to copy a full-page view of the chat.)

Nina :
Hello, I’m Nina, an automated chat agent, and I’m here to answer your questions about Chegg. Just type into the box below and click Send to get started.
You :
What are text-a-licious books?
Nina :
I’m not sure I’ve understood. Could you please rephrase your question?
You :
Do you really sell edible textbooks, and if so, how can they be purchased?
Nina :
Do you mean?:
How does Chegg buyback work?
Can I buy the books I rent?
Can you tell me if the book I want is available?
What textbooks are eligible for buyback?
You :
No, Nina, that is not what I mean.
Nina :
I’m listening. How can I help you?
You :
Are the Text-a-licious books you advertised real, or are they a spoof?
Nina :
Click on one of the following statements which best matches your situation to obtain a response. Do you mean?:
Can you tell me if the book I want is available?
Will Chegg ever send me e-mails?
Where is My Account?
You :
None of these.
Nina :
I’m sorry if this isn’t what you’re looking for. Could you please rephrase that?
You :
Nina, you suck.
Nina :
I don’t appreciate that kind of language. Let’s get back to our conversation, please. How can I help you?
You :
Sorry.
Nina :
It’s OK, I’ve already forgiven you!

PR technology leaves students with uneasy feeling

Kent, Ohio, 2009– While technology is a fabulous tool for PR professionals and students, it must be used properly and honestly to be effective.  It is not wise to market Web sites that aren’t transparent or to crack illogical jokes in online press releases.  This makes the product or service promoted seem unreliable. 

ETHICS ALERT: I suggest you don’t visit sites or purchase anything from sites that encourage copyright infringement.  It’d also be a good idea not to provide publicity to these companies.  Sure, we’d all like to save cash on textbooks, but getting fined for illegal downloading or getting scammed into buying a bogus product online seems a bit pricier in the end than the traditional path.  If you’d like to save money in a down economy, I suggest visiting Shantae Rollins’ blog, Recession PRofession, for some tips.

Hungry Techies: A little food for thought

Would you purchase, rent or sell a book on Chegg.com?

Gross. And scary. April 1, 2009, is predicted to be the ultimate doomsday, seeing millions of locations infested with an insidious creature and a worldwide spread of viruses. But don’t grab your Raid bug spray or your herbal antiviral drugs (if you’re weird enough to take them). Instead, you’ll need to arm yourself with Norton Antivirus, McAfee, or another spyware/firewall software. Lucky me, I just purchased my Norton 360 today.

So what is it that has caused me to ramble on, scaring you half to death? The pandemic? No. But if any newspaper or online news source is interested in publishing my famous pandemic story — denied by the Daily Kent Stater a baker’s dozen — please feel free to contact me at alinvill@kent.edu. It’s an avian diamond in the rough. Okay, so back to the topic at hand, which is Conficker.

Get the Conficker off my compicker!

A malicious worm, Conficker, is being used by Internet thieves to hack into computers and extract owners’ personal (primarily financial) information. While evil Malware is no new Internet foe, the span and possible power of Conficker is what has users and even experts in a tizzy. On a 60 Minutes special, “The Internet is Infected,” it was reported that more than 10 million computers across the world have already been infected. So what does this infection mean? The problem is that experts aren’t sure, and as Conficker grows, its possible crushing impact grows as well. But the spy or spies who have created the fearsome worm have only added links, stretching it from computer to computer across the world, and have yet to set it into action. So, as Conficker lies dormant, we worry and wait for April 1 — the date Dr. Frankenhacker is predicted to release his creature.

“With one click, the worm’s creator can instruct it to suck sensitive data, like bank passwords and account numbers, out of millions of computers, or launch a massive spam attack to clog up the works. The newest targets of worms are social networking sites,” says a CBS article.

While browsing the Web for some Conficker news, I came across the PC World article about Internet searching, “Search for ‘Conficker’ Could Lure Virus.” Again, lucky me that I installed an updated Norton Antivirus today.  So a word of caution: Don’t visit suspicious sites in your quest for Conficker updates.

For more information, check out the 60 Minutes episode where Lesley Stahl reports on Conficker and the Internet experts battling the worm.  Below is part one of the series.  Visit YouTube for the full (not quite 60-minute) show.

What’s this got to do with PR?

Plenty.  This worm is being posted as a link on Web sites, including social networking sites, personal sites and even company sites.  In fact, corporate networks are currently the primary host of the bug.  Once the worm is on your computer, it records keystrokes, which means that it can decode your passwords to otherwise secure accounts.

So, here are some tips for PR students, professionals, and heck, anyone else who uses the Internet.

• Like I said before, try to refrain from typing “Conficker” into search engines, as it may cue up Web sites with the virus attached.  Not good.
• If you don’t have an updated antivirus program, invest in one.  If you run a Web site or a blog, it’s not very nice to put your clients, customers or readers at risk.  So let’s try not to spread the infection.
• Turn your computer off when you’re not using it.  According to experts, if your computer is inactive but logged onto a network for a long period of time, it is more susceptible to contamination.
• Don’t stop social networking, but if you see a suspicious link on Facebook – even if it’s from a friend – DO NOT CLICK ON IT.  If they’re a good enough friend, pick up the phone and verify with them that the link is good.
• If you’re buying something online, especially a large business purchase through a large business bank account, seek another method of transaction.  It’s really just not safe.
• You’re a PR pro, right?  So let your friends and family know about Conficker — especially those who may not be very tech savvy.  If you purchase an antivirus, see how many devices it can be downloaded to.  If it’s more than one, share it with someone.  They’re expensive and we’re all living in the same shaky economy.
• Aside from scanning your own Web site for any odd links, tell your clients to do the same.  Remember that larger corporations are at risk.  They should also check their internal networks.

Creepy, crawly Conficker

So, now that I’ve scared you half to death, I must let you know that there are those who feel Conficker is not the threat experts are predicting.  In my opinion, it’s better to be prepared than to be scammed.  And as for you, well, you can judge for yourself.

“Television is the first truly democratic culture — the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want.” — Clive Barnes, British drama and opera critic for the New York Post.

While I am still thoroughly terrified by what people typically want, I’m wondering whether or not TV will remain the “truly democratic culture” Barnes knew it to be.

With the new economic stimulus package beefing up government wallets, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will be able to resume the distribution of coupons that help reduce the purchase cost of TV converter boxes.  According to an Associated Press article, when the NTIA reached its spending ceiling for the coupons, it “was still able to mail out coupons, but only as old ones expired.  It’s accumulated a wait list of 2.3 million households.” 

Will these coupons last?

Who knows!  I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see.  It’s a step in the right direction, though.

Remember the old cell phone you had?  My family’s first was an ancient Motorola flip phone that creaked when you opened it.  It was a big, awkward black square that had an extendable antenna.  There were no cool ringtones on it, no texting capabilities and forget any camera functions.  But boy, did that thing last!  In fact, we had it for five years without a single complaint (except maybe its diminishing “cool status”).  That honking phone accompanied teens to the mall, parents on long road trips and even survived a few days with a CVS pharmacist after we forgot it at the counter.  If we left a cell phone somewhere today, we’d notice it missing in a matter of seconds. 

M6BJFO: My six button just fell off

In the new millennium, we are forced to update our phones yearly.  This is partly due to growing technological advancements such as touch screens, Bluetooth, Web, e-mail capabilities and high resolution cameras.  But it’s also because the darn things break every other month.  The bottom line is they’re just not made the way they used to be, and consumers are noticing. 

The cell phone has taken a technological leap from a safety and communication device, to a fashion and status statement.

When a phone breaks, many consumers have only two choices: buy a refurbished (or previously wrecked) phone that typically doesn’t function 100 percent, or buy a phone before your two-year contract is up and pay for it with an arm and a leg – maybe even a head.  While phones are racking up cool new features every few weeks, they’re also losing the essentials: battery life, durability and the ability to CALL PEOPLE!  So wouldn’t this cause swarms of dissatisfied customers?  Yes and no.

GEWTW: Give ‘em what they want

While older generations of cell phone users are looking for reliability and usability, young adults are the primary market, and their demands are quite different.  Broken cell phones provide teens and young people with an excuse to upgrade to cooler, newer phones.  It is here where cell phone publicity and marketing campaigns have come into play. 

LG Electronics, maker of the LG Lotus cell phone, hired PR firm Ogilvy to help communicate with their target audience – youth.  According to a Brand Watch article published July 2008 (view source below), LG and Ogilvy’s aim was to market their phones not as advanced technology, but as fashion pieces.  In accordance with this goal, LG’s campaign for the Lotus partnered with fashion designer and winner of the 2008 Project Runway competition, Christian Siriano.  LG employed the fashion icon in part to design a scarf inspired by the purple, flowery phone, which he wore at last year’s New York Fashion Week. 

Photo taken from http://forums.techarena.in/portable-devices/1058574.htm.

 Take a look at the video LG and Siriano produced to promote the phone and scarf.

More recently, the wireless service provider Cricket and Samsung Telecommunications America unveiled the world’s largest operational cell phone – a humungous replica of the Samsung Messenger – in downtown Chicago. The nearly 15 feet long, 13 feet high, and 3 feet deep cell phone is a Guinness World Record winner. Cricket and Samsung are inviting all citizens to text for free on its full QWERTY keyboard. 

Photo taken from http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/cricket/37233/.

While publicity stunts like this seem to be giving consumers what they want – fashion and brand-spanking new technology – it is my personal opinion that it won’t suffice for much longer.  Consumers may be looking primarily for cosmetic features, but that doesn’t mean that companies should let quality fly completely out the window. 

Ok.  So, maybe as consumers we’re asking for a lot: a reliable phone that looks cool and is oozing with special features.  But PR and marketing campaigns are only going to work for so long.  And I believe that promotional campaigns like the LG Lotus scarf and the massive Samsung Messenger will soon become a way of the past.  In today’s economy, cell phone companies can’t afford to bank solely on PR – they also need to produce reliable devices.

Source: Brand Watch. “Case study– LG Electronics,” Marketing Event. p. 68, 119. July 1, 2008. (Lexis-Nexis)

A little background info

It is debated by social scientists and technology experts alike whether or not we will ever bridge the digital divide.  And the question still remains.  The digital divide is a break between the Internet-haves (those who can access and use the Internet for education, employment and communication resources) and the Internet-have-nots (those who have little to no access to the Internet and its many functions).  Research has shown that low Internet diffusion rates are typically found in specific groups of people: women, non-Caucasians, low income individuals and those living in inner-cities, among several others. 

And the gap just gets bigger

While many people already suffer from a lack of Internet access, they now face the added threat of losing their access to television too.  What am I referring to?   The digital TV transition.  You’ve seen the commercials – we all have.  If you have an analog TV, time is running out to update or purchase a digital converter box.  The DTV transition is designed to improve audio and visual functions of television, but it may further disadvantage the already very disadvantaged. 

Many U.S. citizens are finding themselves unable to scrounge up enough cash to purchase the converter box needed to keep their TVs still running.  For those who can’t afford to pay $50 to $70 for a converter, the  government set up a coupon program to reduce the cost.  But citizens are finding that these nonrenewable coupons expire in 90 days.  The government has also reached its $1.34 billion ceiling for the digital transition, halting any further distribution of coupons.  Congress pushed the original transition date back several months to June 12, in hopes that more consumers would be able to switch over before the change. But will it be enough time?  I don’t think so.

So what happens to those who still can’t make it in time?  Most of these people are the same people who have little to no access to the Internet and to print media.  If they also lose TV, they’ll essentially lose all connections to mass communication.  They will become a U.S. society of unreachables.

“A recent Nielsen report shows 4.5 million U.S. households would be unable to receive television programming if the transition were to occur right now,” wrote Wainwright Jeffers of WALB.

For those of you who will be able to access digital TV on June 12, the following YouTube video details the benefits.  Keep in mind that this video was made prior to the Congressional date change, so it refers to the February 2009 transition date.

What this means for the PR professional

Without the media, PR becomes a very small, insignificant field.  We need the media.  We rely on it to reach our key publics, brand our clients and communicate our goals.  If there’s a growing population of Americans that we cannot reach, the success of our campaigns decline.  Some campaigns may not even reach the majority of the intended audience.

I can’t stress enough the seriousness of this issue.  As communicators, it is essential that we reach out in every way we can to those who want – but may not be able – to listen.

Pictures can be very private, sacred memories.  But on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, they’re practically passed out to strangers.  So why is it that members of Facebook are in an uproar over new terms and conditions that give the multibillion-dollar owners rights to the publication and circulation of content posted by users, including pictures?  A breach of trust. 

Photo taken from http://www.sindhtoday.net/technology/6257.htm.

But you say, “Abbey, they’ve already posted horrifying pictures of drunken frat nights on Facebook, giving thousands of Internet users the opportunity to see and even use these photos.  What trust could they have relied on in the first place?”  Touché.  But while many Facebook members add friends willy nilly and upload pictures willy nilly, there’s a false sense of security that comes with the ability to block people, limit the number of “friends” who see your pictures, and grant partial access to those you may not want knowing you went out Thursday night instead of showing up at Floppy Burgers for your 3:00 p.m. shift. 

What’s all the fuss about?

“You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.” 

Facebook Terms and Conditions are leaving many with a bad taste.

Well, the fuss is that Mark Zuckerberg, owner and creator of the 175-million-member site, has reverted back to an old set of highly unfavored terms and conditions, potentially exposing members and risking their privacy.  Another sticky issue is that a very important clause of the old terms and conditions has been removed – the ability to fully delete your Facebook account.  Poof! Gone.  Not to say that it ever worked like that to begin with, but members would like to think that once they delete their social content from the Internet, it’s not still floating in some creepy corner of cyberspace with evil-minded strangers.

The PR behind it all

To remedy the angry protests, Zuckerberg has issued a statement that Facebook will allow members to vote on whether or not the terms and conditions will stand.  To officially change the contract, 30 percent of members (or a whopping 52.5 million) must vote against it.  Now is that a genius PR move or what?  I think it is.  It’s enabling consumers to play a governing role in their online community. 

But that’s not to say that Zuckerberg’s actions go beyond reproach.  The number one rule in all public relations endeavors is: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.  Allowing members to vote on terms and conditions would work in most places and with most people, but with teens and young adults, the results may be a little shaky. 

Firstly, it is a rare Facebook bird that actually reads the terms and conditions, heeds the security warnings and takes the time to vote on such matters.  If 52.5 million members don’t vote, Zuckerberg’s decision isn’t going to be met with great applause.  The issue of voter turnout could prove to be dangerous in maintaining site membership.  Another problem that Zuckerberg will be Facebooked with is that, in many cases, the trust has already been damaged. 

If Facebook could propose such a change – such a breach of trust – what’s next?  Internet Apocalypse, I’m sure.

Obvious:  PR is not a static field.  It’s changing with new media.  And what should we do?  Well, we should jump on the bandwagon and change right along with it.  Even if you’re not a twittermaniac, a PhotoShop fiend, an Apple groupie or an avid YouTuber, there’s some kind of technology for each and every one of us PR folk.  And lucky for those not yet technologically savvy, there are search engines that can seek out your technology answers in .71 seconds – and sometimes even less.  From Bill Gates’ house to the White House, it’s a paradigm shift.

iNaugural change

So maybe Al Gore invented the Internet, but Barack Obama sure did master it.  This presidential election changed the way we as citizens connect to political figures, and the way we as PR practitioners address public affairs.  Obama’s Internet campaigning captured a younger generation largely unreachable in past elections, and helped to bolster funds greater than any nominee before him.  And quite frankly, the PR behind his campaign may have at times outshined the politics.  So what was his formula for success? 

Social networking + YouTube videos + blogging  =  a whole lot of cash flow and 8,538,559 more votes than John McCain.

“One of my fundamental beliefs from my days as a community organizer is that real change comes from the bottom up.  And there’s no more powerful tool for grass-roots organizing than the Internet,” Obama told NY Times reporter Brian Stelter.

Hear that non-profiteers?  The Internet’s the answer to your grass-root needs.

Photo taken from http://www.baracksipod.com.

YouTubular campaigning

One of Obama’s biggest successes in Internet campaigning was his use of the video-sharing site, YouTube.  When you type “Barack Obama” into the YouTube search engine, the first thing that comes up is a link sending you to Obama’s official Web page.  There, you can access streaming video of his Feb. 9 press conference, along with nearly any other Obama appearance you’d ever hope to find.  When it comes to search engine optimization, that’s just genius. 

With more than 1,832 “authentic” Obama videos to view on YouTube, people can get a little lost.  But no fear.  All videos have been organized into categories on his Web site for easy navigation and use.  And for those who like to have a little fun with their politics, they can also join Ellen DeGeneres and our new president in dancing to Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.”  Crazy, I know.

Don’t give up now, Barack

You’ve got 279,687 followers, and you can’t tweet but once a month?  Come on now.  Despite the win and the growing list of tasks that come with a failing economy, it’s in Obama’s best interest to STAY CONNECTED.  Not to mention it’s just good netiquette.  I’m thrilled to see on Facebook that one of Obama’s favorite bands is the Fugees, but it simply will not cut it.  I want more. Why is it that my daily Obama updates have turned to monthly updates?  Even his once-booming Twitter account hasn’t been attended to since Jan. 19. 

As members of Generation Y, we’re constantly in need of updates – be them tweets or Facebook alerts.  Having a campaign that’s so geared towards us and our modes of communication, and then forcing us to drop our Obama-obsessions cold turkey seems almost cruel. 

Hopefully once all the boxes are unpacked and the White House doggy is potty-trained, he’ll be back on the Web for good.