Automatic Attitudinal Response

Automatic Attitudinal Response

      My automatic response mechanism has been challenged and even changed in some cases during this years Presidential Primaries. Having been a loyal conservative all my life, I never thought that I would question my commitment to the Republican Party like I am now.

     Prior to this election cycle I automatically considered Liberals to be the problem with politics. However a man named Donald Trump decided he was going to run for president and he has uncovered a corrupt system that has been abusing its power for far too long. Its coined by some as the 'political establishment' and both the Republican and Democratic parties are included.

     We have a system that was designed to trick the people and to steal the vote away. A couple weeks ago the Republican voters of Colorado were denied their right to vote, while a handful of state representatives took matters into their own hands. Behind closed doors they handed over their states delegates to their desired candidate without getting a single vote from the people of Colorado. This is not a Democracy and I was shocked to see the party I trusted would go as far as stripping our votes away to protect their own skin. The worst of all was when Mitt Romney the man I voted for and admired in 2012 spoke out against the will people, confirming to me that the Republican establishment was feeling so threatened that they didn't even care if they lost the election as long as an anti-establishment candidate such as Trump didn't get in to stir the power up.
     
     No their power is being threatened and they're going to do everything and anything to end/derail that threat, even if it means betraying the people who they're supposed to be serving.  Donald Trump has made this clear to us all as he has ran during the primaries and received the popular vote, but now is being attacked by 'Dump Trump' campaigns by his own Party!  Now  we realize, since the primaries, that we have been lied to and mislead. We as a people really don't  have a say in who the candidate for President will be.  The delegates and Party can cheat their way in legally. 

      The fact that I'm considering voting for Trump, who was once a Democrat, shows how much my automatic attitudinal response has changed. I appreciate honesty, even sometimes when it hurts, at least it seems more truthful and transparent. Trump has broken down the the barriers between the two parties that have caused our country to become completely divided, unfortunately they are all just united against him.  Are they afraid of change and possibly losing their political 'place' or 'job'? Although people are initially skeptical of Trump, mainly because of the relentless negative headlines and media attention that's made him out to be a racist, misogynist, birther, bully, etc...I think people are starting realize (as I did) that this whole thing is a scam and that we are being manipulated/controlled by the political establishment. Trump is the only candidate to have weathered through the political firestorm that normally destroys any candidate that isn't apart of the establishment. He's the only one who can restore the power to the people as it once was and is designed to be.

 

OTM Post #3: On Shakespeare

On the WNYC Studios April 22, 2016 show this comment was made, 'His words aren't our words..' but I say aren't they really?  We continue to use quite a few of Shakespeares' words still today! 

Most of us don't realize just how much we are still influenced today by the words of Shakespeare. Shakespeare coined many famous phrases that we still use today! I'd venture to guess that most of us would be surprised when we recognize that we are even using them ourselves as we communicate with each other.

Here are just a few;

“WILD GOOSE CHASE”....is from ROMEO AND JULIET, ACT II, SCENE IV

“Nay, if our wits run the wild-goose chase, I am done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five. Was I with you there for the goose?” — Mercurio

“GREEN-EYED MONSTER”... OTHELLO, ACT III, SCENE III
"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on." - Iago

 "SEEN BETTER DAYS": AS YOU LIKE IT, ACT II, SCENE VII
“True is it that we have seen better days and have with holy bell been knolled to church, and sat at good men’s feasts and wiped our eyes of drops that sacred pity hath engendered.” –Duke Senior

"FOREVER AND A DAY": AS YOU LIKE IT, ACT IV, SCENE I
"Now tell me how long you would have her after you have possessed her.” — Rosalind
“Forever and a day” — Orlando

"GOOD RIDDANCE": TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, ACT II, SCENE I
[Thersites exits]“A good riddance.” — Patroclus

"FAIR PLAY": THE TEMPEST, ACT V, SCENE I
“Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle, and I would call it fair play.” — Miranda

 "LIE LOW": MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, ACT V, SCENE I
“If he could right himself with quarreling, some of us would lie low.” — Antonio

 "IT’S GREEK TO ME”: JULIUS CAESAR, ACT I, SCENE II
“Nay, an I tell you that, Ill ne'er look you i' the face again: but those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but, for mine own part, it was Greek to me. — Casca

 "AS GOOD LUCK WOULD HAVE IT": THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, ACT III, SCENE V
“As good luck would have it, comes in one Mistress Page; gives intelligence of Ford's approach; and, in her invention and Ford's wife's distraction, they conveyed me into a buck-basket.” — Falstaff

"LOVE IS BLIND”: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, ACT II, SCENE VI
“But love is blind, and lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit, for if they could Cupid himself would blush to see me thus transformèd to a boy.” — Jessica

“BE-ALL, END-ALL”: MACBETH, ACT I, SCENE VII
“If the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease success; that but this blow might be the be-all and the end-all here, but here, upon this bank and shoal of time, we’d jump the life to come.” — Macbeth

“BREAK THE ICE”: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, ACT I, SCENE II
"If it be so, sir, that you are the man must stead us all, and me amongst the rest, and if you break the ice and do this feat, achieve the elder, set the younger free for our access, whose hap shall be to have her will not so graceless be to be ingrate.” — Tranio (as Lucent)

“HEART OF GOLD”: HENRY V, ACT IV, SCENE I
“The king’s a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, an imp of fame, of parents good, of fist most valiant.” — Pistol

“KNOCK, KNOCK! WHO’S THERE?”: MACBETH, ACT II, SCENE III
“Knock, knock! Who’s there, in th' other devil’s name?” — Porter

Social Media Campaign - Final

RUBRIC:

1. Majestic Homes Utah Inc. Official Facebook Page 

     The Facebook page I created is for a local home building company that I've worked for nearly 5 years. Its called Majestic Homes, based out of Riverton, UT. They've been around for over 25 years and survived the financial recession in 2008. Although business has picked up since then its still not producing like it did before the crash. They have great customer relations and most of their business comes from referrals. I figured if they had a Facebook along with their website, they would be able to reach out to more people and hopefully increase home sales.






     So after the first month with out advertising I started to realize that the page wasn't going to be enough by itself. Although Majestic Homes has been around for over 25 years so they're know widely to the public. So I decided to start up an ad campaign that would hopefully get our name out their to the new and younger audiences. This ad Focused only on mobile devices such as cellphones and iPads. 







    This test ads has been running for a little over three days now and I've been pretty satisfied with the results. Our calls tripled and we already had potential buyers visit homes for sale. In three days we've reached 6,381 people with 17$ spent. Today Im putting out a new ad that will target desktop as well as mobile news feeds.


    My next goal will be to update http://www.majestichomesutah.com/ which is our website that hasn't been updated in 4 years. Hopefully once this is updated customers that we have reached through Facebook marketing will be able to go to our site and see current homes and land lots for sale with further details regarding location and price.

2. Campaign Plan Includes FOUR MARKET PERSONAS (people-types targeted for clicking)

18-25 year old newly married males and/or females attempting to build their first home, but they are in an income bracket that allows them to build a more custom home.  They also are individuals who have parents and siblings who are looking to build homes that they can refer us to.

25-44 year old couples looking for their 1st or 2nd home. They want large lots with multiple rooms and bathrooms to accommodate their growing families. They are in the middle to upper income bracket and want to build a custom home designed to fit their needs and family.

45-60 year old males and/or females looking for their final dream home.  They are wanted to build a home with all the bells and whistles, one that they can retire in someday.  Some will want small lots with less upkeep and others with large/horse property type lots.  We will build to suit. 

Remodelers 18-75 year old homeowners that either can't afford to build or have a home that they love and what to have Majestic remodel.  Some are very practical and just want a good deal, others just want their home remodeled and updated and they aren't concerned with the cost.

3. Campaign Plan
I made my page compelling by adding appealing photos and updating the FB status as often as I could, adding new photos of homes that Majestic has built that were given to me by Majestic. I first began with Majestic's old logo and website, then created more interest as my next paid advertisement went out by posting Majestics NEW logo and Website I developed. I liked and responded to comments, and messages that were sent through Facebook.  I checked often with the owners of Majestic to see if they were receiving calls.  I posted photos of a current home they have for sale in Bluffdale, UT along with a phone number of one of the owners that people could call to get more information. (Quite a few phone calls came in about this home! So that was very successful!) I encouraged shares by people I knew were receiving the feeds as well. I used cross-promotional social media sites like YouTube; I included links to videos on YouTube of Homes Majestic previously built on my FaceBook page, along with posting links to the NEW Website I made. I am sending out tweets on Twitter and posting on Instagram the links to the NEW Website. On Facebook I continue to pay for advertising as well.

4. Execution of Tactics
Paid Advertising on FaceBook

1st was'Call Now' - This ad specifically targeted MOBEL DEVICES and their newsfeed - when they clicked on the link it showed and an option to 'call us now'.

2nd Contact us link - this was a contact link promoting the NEW website and targeting both DESKTOP and MOBLE DEVICES. When the link was clicked it would take them directly to my website.

3rd Cover Photo Promotion that encouraged people to like our page so they could in turn follow us.

5. FaceBook Insights Data
I was happy with how many people I reached in my campaign, and it more than doubled with my ad campaign. This part seemed to work well.  I wish that there were more website clicks, but as I continue to add to the site I am hopeful that my next campaign will gain more interest. I plan on posting pictures of the website and projects for sale to gain interest.

I was happy with the boost in people seeing my page, it more than double with my ad campaign.  Profi updates and posts of the new logo received likes and clicks and didn't cost me. So I will try that again with the new Majestic View Estates property that Majestic is beginning soon.

One thing that worked well also was the advertisement of the home for sale. I received feedback from the owners and others who had shared a link to my posts that many people were interested in purchasing the home and called for more questions about it.  

Below I have included some of the charts and insights from FB that I have been studying.  They are helping me know what I should do next. 

6. Summary of Campaign and How it Increased Traffic
Before the campaign there was no digital advertisement for Majestic. Only word of mouth referrals. The social media campaign brought phone calls in to the owners of Majestic.  Dialog/discussions and recognition of the company increased with the younger crowd, as I had planned in my campaign. On one insight chart on FB the campaigns largest audience was 18-24 year old men and the most common device used was mobile devices.  reached 4,180 The campaign has increased traffic to Majestic by reaching a younger audience.

7. Self-Evaluation of the Execution of My Campaign
I feel like this campaign was very successful.  I met my goals of updating Majestic Homes in the digital world, they had nothing on social media along with no website of their own until I executed my campaign. I also executed my goal of targeting and reaching the 'younger audience' through social media and on their mobile devices, especially males aged 18-24 who were the largest audience at 26%.  I was also successful in reaching people on their mobile devices, as per FB insight charts it was 91%. My campaign reached 4,180 males 18-24 with 154 post engagements, 151 total page views. My choice to include paid ads more than doubled the activity on my FB page.  I would like to increase the numbers of website clicks and contacts even more, and I think this is attainable if I use what I've learned during this campaign and apply that to my new websites. The posts with he most interest were my profile update posts when I changed to the new logo, and the Bluffdale home for sale post.  The owners of Majestic are very happy with this campaign and have already received phone calls and needed traffic on the Bluffdale home that they have been trying to sell for some time now. I felt like I successfully executed a continuous campaign and haven't stopped working on it, even now still to this day, after this project/campaign is complete for this class. So far THIS WEEK my posts have reached 2,477 with 51 'people engaged', 87 'contact us' ad 1 'website click'.

Sustainability Team Preparation and Presentation

  I did research on the topic my group picked - Sustainability of Natural & Built Environment and Sustainable Economic Development

  The plan we came up with was to come up with social change
one of the members of our group was a Felon - and talked about how there was nothing to help prisoners after they get out of jail. They can’t get a job because no one wants to hire them after finding out they've been in prison. So the discussion was how can they get a job when they are truly trying to live in and contribute in a healthy way to society (when they've been rehabilitated & changed after they get out of jail) The need for a program to help them get a job lined up as they are coming out of prison was discussed.

  Holly Merrill (in our group) recorded all the information that we discussed of ways to sustain it...

- Taxes or other possibilities to support it
- Public may think why should we as tax payers pay for their mistakes
- We took down numbers of how many people go back into prison after 5 years and it was thought to be approximately 50%

    After I did some of the research, and when I began writing up solution ideas after reading some of the articles and organizational things on "Sustainability & Social Networking" that our teacher posted; a new idea/possible solution came to my mind.

    I thought of an idea for help with the prisoners similar to the work/jobs that the government created after a war when rebuilding societies. Such as roads, infrastructure, etc. and I thought, why couldn't we create new jobs for prisoners in the community doing jobs similar to those that would help society (& the infrastructure) become better. Possibly help with recycling, and natural resource management...building trails in the mountains and places that would benefit the public. They could be hired by the 'people/government'... and then if they didn't complete the jobs properly or did something to violate their right to the job, like something that showed that they weren't really rehabilitated after leaving prison, then they would lose the job and have to find work on their own.

    I helped with the group discussions and research but was unable to be there to present with the group because I was at our game in California, playing baseball for our Dixie State University Baseball Team.

    Here are some of the research articles & research charts I found, included below;


    "Here's What It's Like For People Trying To Find A Job After They're Released From Prison"

http://www.businessinsider.com/getting-a-job-after-prison-2014-10

    "In the four years since he was released from prison, Richard Cobbs has applied to more than 75 jobs and gone on, by his estimate, at least 10 or 15 interviews.

    On several occasions, work has appeared imminent. Employers tell him the interview was great, but they just need to do a background check — and that's where it seems, at least to him, the goodwill he's earned during the application process goes down the drain."

    "Employment after Prison: A Longitudinal Study of Releasees in Three States"

http://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/alfresco/publication-pdfs/411778-Employment-after-Prison-A-Longitudinal-Study-of-Releasees-in-Three-States.PDF

    "Most individuals released from prison held some type of job prior to incarceration and want legal, stable employment upon release. Some criminal justice research suggests that finding and maintaining a legitimate job can reduce former prisoners’ chances of reoffending, and the higher the wage, the less likely it is that individuals will return to crime. However, most former prisoners experience difficulty finding a job after release. "

OTM #2: Anywhere But Here

            

    In this On The Media podcast "A former ISIS hostage warns that calling the Brussels attack an act of terror plays into the terrorists' game plan. Plus: an unprecedented crackdown on press freedom in Turkey." 

Are we buying into ISIS's game plan?

     He claims our main mistake is how we think ISIS is the problem, saying that the real problem is "the massacres against the Syrians"...which is kind of odd considering how ISIS has claimed to be the one responsible for all these massacres. He further explains that the Syrian Regime have killed more Syrians then ISIS but we only focus on ISIS because of the brutal ways they chose to kill. Thus ignoring the real problem which isn't ISIS but instead the Syrian Regime. Which from his point of view he is probably right.

     From my point of view the Syrian Regime has never to infiltrated America with the goal to kill as many people as they can just because we're seen as their "infidels". Yes the Syrian Regime has done horrible things to its own people, and should be held accountable. However to take them out right now would mean taking out Syria's last-line of defense, thus basically handing ISIS the keys to the country. Plus Russia has sided with the Syrian Regime and the last thing we need right now is another conflict with Russia. Neither ISIS or the Syrian Regime are innocent but for now our best option is to allow them to fight each other. Otherwise we're looking at another Iraq war were we lose 100 of thousands of American soldiers only to end up destabilize the country, which history has shown that just leads to a more radical and desperate opponent such as ISIS. America needs to take care of itself first, right now ISIS is Nazi Germany and the Syrian Regime is the Soviet Union. In order to Germany we needed the Soviet Union. This situation is no different. In order to stop the greater threat/evil we might have no option but to temporally aid the lesser of the two evils. As a result after ISIS has been destroyed, they'll owe us and we'll be able to hold them accountable for their past actions on their people.

OTM: Party People

      In this On The Media podcast, they discuss Donald Trump behavior and how it doesn't seem presidential. Also considering his brutal honesty and unfiltered rhetoric, what kind of person would support man like this for president?

       It's no secret that traditional politicians and journalists are baffled by the changes Donald Trump has brought to politics. It seems as if he can say what ever he wants and see no political backlash. The media has thrown their absolute best at Trump, yet his pole numbers just continue to rise. Traditional politicians are so careful and scripted in the way they speak that when compared to Trump they seem untrustworthy and unprepared. For example, during a GOP debate Senator Marco Rubio collapsed under the pressure and repeated a line ("Obama knows exactly what he is doing") over 5 times in row on national television, shedding light on the scripted ways of traditional politicians. 
     
     So when the public sees Trump speaking freely as ever, its as if they've finally got a breath of fresh air; even if his his rhetoric seems un-presidential. In a world that has endless access to information, the public is not as easily lied to or manipulated. So although Trump seems over aggressive at times, he also seems much more trustworthy and honest which has proven so far to be the pivoting factor in the GOP primaries.

      As for Trumps voters-they're considered the "silent majority". GOP primaries in every state are seeing record breaking numbers coming out to vote. However Journalists are left puzzled because he has broken every unspoken rule in the book of politics and they can't wrap their head around why people would vote for him. Its gotten to the point that they're bashing his supporters saying they are a rowdy, un-educated group of white, angry Americans. But the truth is these Americans are no different they any other. They just are tired of the political gridlock that has increased more than ever during Obamas presidency; leaving them believing we need someone who is tough, one that has had a successful history of leading and uniting. So in short politicians and journalist are terrified of Trump because of his unpredictability and have lost their power and influence over the people, leaving them feeling powerless.