The Eiffel Tower Is Calling My Name. Je vais à PARIS!

[Editor's note: this post serves more as a public service announcement.]

Bonjour mes amies! I wanted to give everyone the heads up, since today would be my scheduled post for the week:

I leave for Paris on THURSDAY!

Dans trois jours! C’est incroyable!!!! (in 3 days! It’s incredible!!)

…wish I remembered more French than I actually do…

In case you haven’t heard, I am going to Paris (and newly added London) to visit my sister who’s studying abroad in France. Very excited for the whole thing: to see my sister, to see Paris and London, to have vacation, and I’ve been tres vocal about my excitement since I booked my trip (apologizes if it was too much excitement haha).

For anyone who stops by here until I return on April 12th, the content will remain the same. This week is crazy busy with packing, running errands after work, etc. and I certainly can’t promise to update while I’m away.  Rest assured, though, that there will be PLENTY to talk about when I return.  Especially marketing, product placement, advertising, social media, basically everything that I love.  Not including food, my traveling adventures, and fashion (which will be saved for my Posterous).  I will be taking plenty of notes (written and mental) with lots of good stuff for when I come back.  Never fear!

Until April 12th! Au revoir!! :) :) :)

“These Two Lanes Will Take Us Anywhere”- Themes from The Boss in Your Career

Image from Last.fm

Not-so-little-secret: I love Bruce Springsteen.

John Stewart introduced Bruce Springsteen when he received his Kennedy Center Honors in December 2009 and said, “I believe that Bruce Springsteen is an unprecedented combination of lyrical eloquence, musical mastery and sheer unbridled, unadulterated joy.  Exuberance in the act of telling stories so familiar, stories that have never been told so well or so uniquely.”

That sums up Bruce’s music making in two simple sentences.

I’ve been a fan of Bruce Springsteen since before I can remember.  Since seeing him live for the second time this past October, I started appreciating his music for more than its amazing music and simple, yet powerful lyrics.  The beauty in his songwriting is the fact that anyone can relate to the story he tells.  The songs tell stories of everyday people.  So I thought, How can I relate these themes to myself as a professional? In no particular order, I chose five songs and this is what I came up with (lyrics from brucespringsteen.net):

[DISCLAIMER- in no way am I demeaning the powerful songwriting and story telling of Bruce Springsteen.  Just a fun post to kick off the new year (: ]

“Oh oh come take my hand/We’re riding out tonight to case the promised land…It’s a town full of losers/And I’m pulling out of here to win.” -Thunder Road (from Born to Run, 1975)
The first song on one of the best albums of all time (in my opinion), Thunder Road describes the freedom and romance of the open road, which could also be the freedom in your career.  The “road,” or specialization, you choose in your field will take you wherever you want to go, which is something important to remember.  Where is the Promised Land?  Wherever you feel comfortable and where you can make a difference in your field of work.  Never settle until you get to the Promised Land.

“I work five days a week girl/Loading crates down on the dock/I take my hard earned money/And meet my girl down on the block/And Monday when the foreman calls time/I’ve already got Friday on my mind.” -Out in the Street (from The River, 1980)
This one is a little more obvious.  In the song, Bruce works hard so he plays hard.  This goes for professionals as well.  If you work hard all week, you should what you want and take your girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other/friends out for the night for a good time.  It’s a great reward for being dedicated to your job, and you deserve it.

“There was nothing left to say but I hated him and I hated you when you went away.” -Backstreets (from Born to Run, 1975)
This is probably my favorite song by The Boss.  You may ask, “Why?  It’s heartbreaking and sad!”  True, it is very much so.  Backstreets so full of passion and emotion though, let alone the piano in the beginning gives me chills.  It reminds me of when a client leaves an agency for another after a meaningful relationship.  More specifically, it made me think of the episode of “Mad Men” when Conrad Hilton moves his account away from Don Draper and Sterling Cooper to another agency.  The anguish and failure in Don’s eyes was heartbreaking, much like the lyrics of this song.  This obviously happens a lot in advertising and public relations, as it does in our personal lives as well.

“They say you gotta stay hungry/Hey baby I’m just about starving tonight” - Dancing in the Dark (from Born in the USA, 1984)
One of the reasons (among many) why I love this song because Courteney Cox is in the music video, which I think is awesome.  I feel that Dancing in the Dark is about never settling in your life.  Bruce is clearly restless about something in his life when he wrote this song and he’s trying to do something about it.  So should you as a professional.  Think your job is boring?  Try to find a new one.  Want to change your career path?  Go back to school.  If you’re not 100%  satisfied with your life, the only way you’ll be truly happy is if you make some changes yourself.  No one else can do that for you.

“Come on up for the rising/Come on up, lay your hands in mine” - The Rising (from The Rising, 2002)
The Rising was released in 2002, right after 9/11.  Obvious motifs of this album include community, rising up, and pulling through together.  To me, this song represents an office, department, or team working together on a big project.  Perhaps the project hasn’t been going according to plan, and the team needs some rallying and motivation.  That’s what The Rising is about- when all else seems lost and forgotten, if we come together, we can make anything happen.  While independence is great at times, you need to know how to work as a team and help out others when they need it.  I think that in Communications and Marketing- hell, in life- if you don’t have this quality, you will only go so far in your career.

How did I do? Do the songs I wrote about have different meanings to you?  What other songs would you have liked to see here?

Next Stop- Twitter University

Last night was the first time that I participated in a #hashtag discussion on Twitter.  After sitting on my computer for 45 minutes- without getting up for even a bathroom break- I have to say, I am amazed.

I participated (as much as I could) in the weekly #journchat, moderated by @PRsarahevans, on a discussion about journalism, blogging and how they are related and different, how FCC rules apply, etc.  Keeping all of the content Tweeted in my mind as I write this post, I think it is incredible how many people out there participate in these weekly chats.  They are a great learning tool and, even better, a great way to network with other people in your industry.  I am officially a Twitter discussion enthusiast- can’t wait to participate in Thursday’s #u30pro chat about working full-time and freelancing, which I am currently doing to survive as a recent (and broke) college graduate.

While scanning each Tweet as quickly as I could last night, I couldn’t help but notice that some participants were there for a class (didn’t catch what kind of class, I imagine it being some kind of Marketing or Communications class, maybe an extra credit opportunity).  The Tweeters made it known when they entered the discussion, as well as left, by including some other #hashtag specific to their class.

This brings me to my main point- should more classrooms use these discussions as another learning tool for students?  I feel that it is a fantastic way to put students in touch with experts and professionals in their respective industries, not necessarily MarComm.  Not only that, these participations will familiarize anyone with Twitter and how to effectively communicate through the 140 character messages, which takes some time to figure out.  I will pass along these weekly chats to my Communications professors, in hopes that it will involve Social Media more into their curriculum, if not engage their students in eye-opening discussions.

How would you use Twitter discussions in a classroom?  Is there any other Social Media vehicles that provide the same learning experience?