"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing started with a dream and a mouse." -Walt Disney
That's always been one of my favorite quotes, not because it is about Disneyland but because it of its meaning. One can make the smallest of a dream (i.e. small, like a mouse) and make it happen. Of course, there is always a process to making that dream happen and it may take days, or even years.
SOS Classroom, in the beginning, was simply a little dream of Coach's. Once the class actually understood the importance of the project and impact it could have, everyone jumped aboard the ship to really make Coach's dream a reality. As Coach would say, "SOS Classroom sets sail!"
My involvement in SOS Classroom has been one of those small steps into helping a dream of mine come true, as well as many other children who are on their way to achieving a better education.
My role for SOS Classroom has been helping the PR campaign, particularly with viral marketing. This gave me a first-hand experience using social media for publicity purposes. Many of the blogs I have been following throughout the summer tend to emphasize the importance of Twitter and Facebook in the digital age of PR 2.0. I attempted to read a few of these blog posts in detail and tried to put the blog author's advice into actual practice.
However, I did not maintain the Twitter site after making it; I was lost on how exactly to use the site and how to update Tweets consistently every day. The Facebook group was also hard to viral market because many of mine and my classmate's friends on Facebook are mainly college students. I searched through Facebook trying to find groups/people that identified as a LAUSD teacher, parent or student. The general results of this search were rebellious groups against LAUSD and budget cuts. I chose not to post anything about SOS Classroom in these groups because it would send the wrong message across in the publicity campaign. Like we have said many times in class, we aren't trying to fight against LAUSD; we're just trying to help them in this hard time. Even if the Facebook group still has a small membership group count as of right now, it will always be available to join through a link on the SOS Classroom website.
Although I have used Facebook excessively for the past three years, I still did not know how to use it for marketing purposes. Truthfully, I began the viral marketing campaign thinking it would be very easy, but boy was I wrong. Just because I know how to create a Facebook group or Twitter account does not mean thousands of Internet users will stumble upon the site instantaneously after the accounts are made.
As I was lost with the viral marketing campaign, I got in touch with a PR professional, Ariel Carpenter of USC, for some advice (I found her while searching Twitter for LAUSD tags). She taught me the importance of a updating Twitter frequently and using hashtags with important key terms that can be searched easily, the importance of speaking like a friend to followers on Facebook and Twitter. Her advice for a publicity video was to interview those affected by the budget cuts as well as students who have used SOS Classroom. I really wanted to attempt to take a journalistic stance with a publicity video and follow Ariel's advice, but I took a different route when constructing my own publicity video, which is explained in the post below.
Moreover, I also attempted to work on a short hype video under the instructions of my PR partner, Matt. Matt wrote the script, edited the background music and found many photos on Flickr. I found other photos for the video on Flickr as well and began to edit it on Windows Movie Maker. Matt finished the project with a better version than what I had on my computer, which was a great step for SOS Classroom publicity.
Similar to the school liaisons work, I also sent multiple e-mails out to higher-ups in education reform and in the Los Angeles Public Libraries as well as interested parties, like LA MOM's Clubs, an activist group called Inner City Struggle based in East L.A and Edutopia.org.
Working aside my PR partner Matt and Coach has been a great learning experience for me, especially by listening to conversations between both of them as well as taken any advice or tips given to me. Although I may have not made many choices myself because I was weary of what I was supposed to do and realized that working in a team is much more complicated than I had previously thought, I was able to listen to choices being made about the PR campaign. The SOS Classroom publicity team definitely helped me understand what the PR profession is all about and just how one can make a difference through PR.
The Need for SOS Classroom
When I thought about the PR profession before I started writing this blog, I generalized it as just a business profession. I never would have considered PR a "public service."
Although no one really considers public relations as a "public service" (from what I found out by interviewing around five PR professionals), one can easily make it a public service by choosing who they would like to work for (i.e. nonprofit projects/organizations). Thus, my involvement in SOS Classroom has taught me that if I end up studying public relations next year I will have the power to decide what type of causes I would like to work for without being completely sucked into corporate relations.
Working on SOS Classroom gave me a preview of what it is like to work for meaningful causes. Education holds the key to a child's future. Without it, more political and social problems could arise later with the lack of education. Because SOS Classroom helps children learn and grasp on to important subjects in school like Language Arts and Math, it is one small, small step to making the future a better place. As USC football player Kris O'Dowd said in his speech to the children at CHAMPIONS summer program using SOS Classroom, "it can help you be the great leaders that you can be."
SOS Classroom can't replace summer school, but it can help give children the extra boost they may need. With so many budget cuts in California's public education SOS Classroom has found a creative and free solution for many families.
It was simple idea, yet timely to create. There are so many free online web resources for children to use, but if they are not easily accessible no one is going to search for the sites and use them.
By tagging and searching, we have compiled all these resources in one place, which can have a great impact and be used for years to come. We live in a "digital age" where children generally know how to use computers and have access to them. Instead of spending their time on YouTube of Club Penguin, they can still have fun but learn at the same time by playing games on SOS Classroom.
It's an ongoing project that can always be updated and introduced to new children day by day. Likewise, SOS Classroom will always be google-able and thus accessible for anybody who wishes to use it.
And as for my blurb about PR and SOS Classroom, without publicity, many nonprofit causes like the SOS project would not reach the right people and audience. Even if the cause is a great purpose, it still may not be known about in the greater public without publicity. I can't say that I have been able to reach all the students, teachers and families I'd like to have spread the word to about the SOS Classroom -- and even if I only reached a few -- some of those in definite are aware of the project.
One step at a time, or should I say click at a time.
In the way beginning of the publicity campaign for SOS Classroom, I'd say early July, I wanted to make a promotional video with a journalistic touch -- you know, like a type of Video News Release. I had no idea who to interview for it, though, and due to time constraints the PR team decided on only working on a hype video, which was more like an advertisement for SOS Classroom rather than a news segment.
Later in the summer, about two weeks before summer session ended, I got an opportunity to put my idea to work. Along with the class, I was invited to join Coach and two classmates Kris O'Dowd and Martin Coleman at Hancock Park Elementary School. Coach arranged for me to rent a video camera to particularly film Kris O'Dowd and Martin Coleman talking to the children of the CHAMPIONS summer program at Hancock Park Elementary.
Thankfully, I didn't leave the USC campus without consulting someone who actually knew what they were doing when editing a video; Coach insisted that I get in touch with Mira Zimmet, USC Letters, Arts and Sciences New Media Producer/Editor. She introduced me to the basics of filming and editing, as well as how to use the camera. Without her advice, I may have not known exactly what to do. She was very helpful and I greatly appreciate her taking the time out of her day to help a student in need.
With her words in mind, and a notebook full of scribbles of what she had told me earlier that week, I ventured to Hancock Park and attempted to film everything that happened. Of course my first time filming won't turn out spectacular (as I basically video taped the whole day in only one or two different angles), but it was a trial and error process. I'm no USC Cinema student, but I can always try to be!
At the end of the day I attempted to interview children using SOS Classroom, CHAMPIONS program leaders, Coach and two Writing 340 Students: Cara Murayama and Lyndsey Hoh. I wrote up interview questions to ask them the night before, but when I got on the spot my mind froze and went blank. Just because I read articles and books about how to effectively interview as a journalist does not mean it will be easy when I actually put the words into practice!
But to Coach and Lyndsey's help with interviewing, I got some great footage with some awesome answers.
I edited all the footage with Adobe Premiere Pro after I conquered all the technological errors with the files.
I'd like to refer to the audio tracks as audiotrocious (since they worked only half of the time when trying to edit) and also would like to confirm that Technology and I, well, we just don't get along.
Sooner than later, I was able to edit a video (which still needs a lot of polishing). Take a look!
The spin I tried to take with the video was "USC Students Making a Difference," although I think it turned out to be more of a promotional video for SOS Classroom explaining what it is, its importance and just how to access the site.
Along with the video presentation, I was able to practice journalism and news writing by writing an article focusing on the direction of "USC Students Making a Difference," which I will post later to this blog once it is edited and final.
It has been a lot of work so far, but I am just pleased that I was able to edit down the some one hour and thirty minutes of raw footage I filmed to at least 5 minutes. The video has a lot of room to grow (background music, creative titles, etc.), but it definitely gave me experience I will need for the future with editing video. I think the video will be a nice addition to the SOS Classroom website because now those who look at our site will personally -- or should I say technologically -- meet some of those who worked on SOS Classroom/used SOS Classroom through hearing them speak on the video.
As I look back, I am proud to say that I finally conquered technology and won the battle between the both of us.
TAKE THAT MAC AND DELL.
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