Mar

30

We’ve Moved!

March 30, 2011 | | 1 Comment

Thanks for visiting our blog! We have moved to another blog location. Please visit us at : http://www.tehamagroup.blogspot.com/

Again, thanks for reading!

Dec

14

I Have an App for That!

December 14, 2010 | | 3 Comments

About a week ago I hopped on the Android train. For the past two years I have been working with a BlackBerry Storm and have been BlackBerry programmed to simply just text message, e-mail and talk. Applications or “apps” weren’t the easiest to find on my phone or use, so of course I never used them, but now they have been dumped all over me.

I used to make fun of my friend with his iPhone, because whatever we did — be it searching for a restaurant, wondering what the song on the radio was or fighting our way through traffic — his answer was always, “I have an app for that.”

With the purchase of my new Droid Fascinate came three pages of already programmed apps waiting for me to give them the final OK with the click of the install button, and me dreading how to figure them all out. Then, the Verizon technician showed me the “Market” button, which took me to the app store, so I can purchase up to 170,000 more applications! My first thought was, “Why?”

But, it didn’t take me long to become addicted. Of course I downloaded the essentials like Facebook and Twitter, but my curiosity got the best of me and I have discovered a whole new world of smartphone.

After an hour of app shopping, I started to research this growing trend and found some really useful and fun apps that I knew I just couldn’t live without.  The 60 Second Marketer provided me with the “100 Top Mobile Media Applications,” and as I read through them I realized how useful some of these apps might be.

These are just a few of the apps I found I personally can use in my life to help make it more entertaining, less stressful and more successful.

The first one on the list that got me excited was the Bump app which allows to you share almost all your information with someone else that has the same app. Pictures, contacts, calendars and more can all be shared by simply “bumping” your phones together. I love this app, because I recently lost my phone and I am currently enduring the pain of re-entering everyone’s phone numbers one by one.

MobiTV is a great app for entertainment purposes. I know I am probably not the only one out there who has their favorite TV shows they like to catch, but lets be real I am usually stuck searching for re-runs because something came up during the original scheduled time. This app lets you watch full episodes of multiple TV programs, news updates and live sports whenever you want to, and after all the traveling I have done this year this app would have come in very handy during layovers.

I love going to the movies, but it never fails that I lose to the urge of having to get up and go to the bathroom right in the middle of the movie. So, when I found the runpee app I almost peed my pants! This app has several amazing features. First, you can select what movie you are going to see and it will give you selected moments of when the best times to run to the bathroom are so you don’t miss any climactic elements. Second, you can set a timer with the app and it will alert you of the pre-selected pee times. Finally, the app provides a small summary of what you missed in the movie during that rush to the bathroom.  With this app I can indulge in the $6 soda without worrying about missing the best parts of the movie.

 As a public relations professional it is important for me to stay updated with what is going on in my local news as well as in national news. The AP Mobile app allows me to link my phone to local news broadcasts along with the option of receiving national news updates. I can receive updated news alerts, and stay in the know with everything going on in the world without having to turn on the TV or open up my computer.

I don’t think I will ever get through all 170,000 apps, and it is a good thing because I know I would probably overload my phone with everything they have created. But, now that I have updated myself with the latest and greatest apps that are available, I am proud to say that I will be the one telling my friend, “I have an app for that!”

-Kaitlin Leard

Dec

13

Yakety Yak Kanye’s Back

December 13, 2010 | | 5 Comments

Last year’s Video Music Awards proved quite eventful. Not only did Taylor Swift win the VMA’s Best Female Video award, but was subsequently insulted on stage with millions watching. Kanye West stole her limelight moment along with her mic, to insist Beyonce instead should have won.

Kanye tried to make amends for his outburst, but many fans are still disappointed. He admits fans do not just dislike him but hate him. Unfortunately, this has not stopped him from sharing his opinions.

Recently he appeared on the Today Show, one of the most watched morning programs in America, with Matt Lauer, and responded to clips of when he had called Bush a racist. He later tweeted saying he was exploited during the show. When on stage for a performance at the Bowery Ballroom he went on an all-encompassing rant about about Taylor Swift, Matt Lauer and George Bush.

With the recent release of his album and continued controversial public outbursts, Kanye’s record sales have not reached as high as they were projected for the first week. His previous album, “Graduation,” boasted 957,000 in the first six days. However, his Nov. 22 release, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” only had 496,000 sold the first week.   If he plans to outdo his previous sales and win back fans, perhaps he should try to improve his public image rather than continue to defame it whenever he opens his mouth.

Swift on the other hand, who also recently released a new album “Speak Now,” has enjoyed much success in record sales and rave reviews. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it was the fastest-selling new record in five years. Swift, victim in much of the Kanye controversy, has ultimately benefited from the publicity.

Swift has bounced back, but can Kanye now do so as well and censor his tongue?

-Kathleen Dazzi

Dec

13

Procrastination: Perfection in Disguise

December 13, 2010 | | 5 Comments

Today I checked my Facebook at least 45 times. I also managed to clean out half of my e-mail inbox, reorganize my bedroom, scrub my toilet and bake some banana bread.

I didn’t do all of this as a result of some sudden rush of productivity or because my life would end if I didn’t use my browning bananas today and only today. No, instead I was exercising my expert ability at something everyone experiences from time to time – procrastination.

Of course I had more important things to do than to make sure that I wasn’t missing some earth-shattering update on my Facebook news feed. I could have been writing a five-page response to Janet Malcolm’s “The Journalist and the Murderer”… or this blog. But of course, the idea of sitting down to write something that seemingly sounds so simple became a giant mental block for me.

And then I was shown this post, written by Diana Adams, a woman in a position similar to my own.

Procrastination is an ailment experienced by any type of writer anywhere in the world. For some reason, we put off tasks, big and small, for later, telling ourselves that we’ll get it done on time, but for now we need to watch the latest episode of Modern Family.

In researching why people procrastinate, I learned that a lot of procrastinators are also perfectionists, which may sound odd but in reality makes quite a lot of sense.

According to the University of North Carolina’s Writing Center, perfectionists procrastinate because they have such high expectations for their work, and are often afraid of not meeting those standards. Often, perfectionists would rather put off the work or not do the work than do something that doesn’t meet their standards.

This made me think about myself – if I were to meet myself on the street, I probably wouldn’t peg myself as the “perfectionist type.” But when I started to think about my thought process as I begin a new project, I realized that I do hold somewhat high standards for my work, and anything sub-par is something I don’t want to even have to face.

Of the 10 tips Adams lists in her post on overcoming procrastination (such as cleaning your work space or rewarding yourself when you’re done), she highlights that it is necessary to let go of being a perfectionist and work through your fears.

Just do your best and let go.

-Jenn Leslie

Dec

12

Redesigning Design

December 12, 2010 | | 2 Comments

This morning, I was browsing through my social network when I noticed that a friend had a blog about her life. Instead of writing what she knew and providing a couple of photographs, she presented her personal journal for the public to see. The interesting part of this was that her journal is all images, and very few words. I pondered this for a little while, and decided that I need to do this. Not only do I like to consider myself a designer, but wouldn’t it be refreshing to think in images instead of words?

Working at a public relations firm, we can get caught up in what we are trying to say and portray. Using the wrong word to describe a situation could destroy a whole publication. Using pumpkin orange instead of russet red gives too much of a Thanksgiving vibe. So I started thinking more, and what if, as a single person, I took design to a whole new level in my life and made it art instead?

Design Sponge is a great website that covers all realms of anything design. I browsed through it over my coffee, and discovered that I am not the only one who feels this way. For me, keeping my design skills confined to a Macintosh computer and the walls in my house aren’t enough. Humans are expressive beings. Why not express ourselves through what we wear, our office, our food, our gifts, our furniture, our pets, our journal or our already preexisting artwork?

It’s not quite January, so I can’t make a New Year’s resolution, but it is the holiday season. I believe this is the perfect time to express myself through other forms of communication. I am going to redesign my outlook on design. It might be refreshing to use the word bumbershoot, or cerulean. Maybe instead of red, we could use peacock blue.

Why not?

-Nicole Landini