Rockmelt, the new web “WOWser,” does just that.  I was blown away and a bit overwhelmed when first opening the page. I, along with mostly the rest of the world, can’t come close to being active on all of these sites and now they have all been integrated into one.

Rockmelt allows its users to choose which applications they would like included on their sidebar and makes the customizable outlets easily accessible without having to alternate tabs to stay updated. Each added application allows users to chat with friends, check notifications and automatically sync to their favorite sites all at once.

Not only has Rockmelt integrated hundreds of applications, but they included added features, enabling users to network even further.  The built-in chat gives users the ability to stay connected even if they’re not on Facebook at that time. The share button creates a shortcut to share content directly from any page straight to the medium of their choice.  Is this all a little over the top?

With technology in the world skyrocketing, you can’t expect much less. But how much further will the social media world go? Rockmelt was created in 2010 and has just begun to take off due to the company’s recent accessibility to the public. Will the internet savvy users take this expansion and run with it or reject the all-in-one package?

Each and every time I heard the beginning of the commercial begin to play on my television, I immediately changed the channel and felt like writing Old Navy’s branding and marketing department an email. How did they get it so wrong? My disgust for the commercials reached the point that, although I wasn’t one of Old Navy’s most loyal customers prior to this advertising campaign, I refused to step foot in an Old Navy store or purchase merchandise from the brand. Old Navy no longer represented anything I was interested in as a brand, as I associate the name with an obnoxious, corny and juvenile commercial. I felt as though Old Navy misunderstood its customers causing a loss of my attention and patience, which was most likely a national phenomenon.

Although there are many factors to consider based on my eventual disinterest of Old Navy as a brand due to their “The SuperModelquins” commercial series, such as the commercial’s target audience and my interest in the brand prior to viewing this commercial, there is something to be said for taste. If you’ve never seen “The SuperModelquins” commercial series, you can view them here and form your own opinion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8t390QBbog

Have you had a similar unpleasant experience with an advertisement that changed your judgment of a brand? I’d love to hear about it.

As we know, China does not have a movie rating system, but the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) is responsible for censoring scenes of obscene, violent, and other inappropriate content. During the huge blockbuster of James Cameron’s magic epic film Titanic in 3D, Chinese censors removed the famous scene in which Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jack, sketches a nude Rose, played by Kate Winslet.

This is where the joke I mentioned above comes into play: a Chinese cinemagoer posted a piece of Weibo content (Chinese type of Twitter) trying to humorously express his displease of the censorship cuts, writing a tweet along with a hashtag of “#FakeNews”:

Considering the vivid 3D effects, China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) feared that viewers may reach out their hands for a touch and thus interrupt other people’s viewing. Therefore, SARFT has decided to cut off the nudity scenes.#FakeNews

No one could believe that this evident joke had been spread incredibly fast worldwide in the coming days, with people copying and pasting the message while leaving out the hastag, “#FakeNews” while inadvertently making the statement true. ABC News and Hollywood Reporter referred to it in their press release as a credible source, with the ridiculous part being that even the Film Director, James Cameron believed it to be true.

When there is no barrier between the Internet and the media, it is hard to distinguish the truth among rumors. Social media is an evolutionary tool to post news while spreading rumors. While learning of this story, I could not help thinking, are we immersing ourselves in the fake news pool?

Some of you may remember when Penn State’s infamous head football coach, Joe Paterno, was in the hospital for his declining health when several false reporting’s were made of Mr. Paterno’s death via Twitter. For sensitive reasons such as this one, reporting through social media still needs to be taken with a grain of salt, although it surely is developing into a revolutionary method for receiving news. What do you think about social media as a news source? Weigh in here.

But, the classes are only half of the picture. In the rat race of the PR-intern world, the babble about who is interning where is constant. When I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in PR, I found out quickly that you can’t get virtually anywhere without some good, old-fashioned experience. And so, the search for the perfect internship began. With the competitive nature of the industry, finding an internship can be almost as daunting as finding a real-life job. Thankfully, I found myself interning at Kidd Group, where I learn the ins-and-outs of the industry from some of the best.

All of the challenges that the typical college PR intern encounters serve as great preparation for us to enter a career rated 7th on the list of most stressful jobs in America. This must all sound like a complete nightmare to those who may not be in the business, but anyone who loves the PR industry knows that all of the hard work pays off in the end. Learning little insights around every corner about consumers, companies, and the world in-general is thrilling for a knowledge seeker like me. In PR, you’re always on the cutting edge of the next big thing, whether it’s about social media, technology, fashion, or anything under the sun. The beauty of PR is that you can work and learn in any industry you want. The new and exciting innovations and freedom of variety serve as little reminders as to why we stay in the crazy world of public relations.

A question mark may be raised in your head: what does the housing market have to do with China’s young generation? Before answering this question, it is worth mentioning that in China, property ownership does not mean land ownership as it does in the U.S. According to Chinese Law, property ownership is similar to a land-use right which in the case of residential property, expires after 70 years (40 years for commercial property). The countdown begins on the date that the real estate developer signs for the land, and not on the homeowner’s date of purchase. So, why does there exist such zest for real estate?

America’s idea of home can be expressed in the phrases “Home is where the heart is,” or “Home is where you hang your hat,” while China’s traditional version of the saying is, “Home is where your house is.” The worldwide real estate bubble collapse from 2008-2009, which has cooled down China’s property prices. With this cool down, however, the younger generations of the Chinese population are still under immense pressure when it comes to purchasing property. Today, when a Chinese young couple gets married, the first thing they are expected to consider is purchasing a home, while the subsequent questions are: “When do I buy?”, “Where do I buy?”, “How can I afford this?”  However, owning a home comes first and foremost, while the details of attaining a home are put off as an afterthought.

Chinese housing prices hovered high, despite the housing collapse as compared to international levels. An example of these astronomical prices was a one bedroom, one bath, 180 square ft. condo-style unit in Beijing’s Chaoyang District in 2010, which sold for USD $57, 000 or $1,044 per square meter. An additional example for married couples with one child and live-in in-laws, was a two bedroom, one bath, 328 square feet condo-style unit in the Chaoyang District, which sold for $287,000, or $2,800 per square meter in 2010. Unfortunately, an overwhelming majority of urban Chinese young employees found it impossible to afford the elevated home prices because they were unable to make wages to pay for the homes and to compete with other nations.

Housing questions come after questions of social abnormalities. Young couples break up routinely directly before their wedding day due to this difficult and forced housing issue. This issue also forces young women to only consider potential male suitors who “meet the mark,” while young men prefer to delay their marriage due to the inability to pay for the down payment and mortgage loans.

China has a long way to go when it comes to providing accommodations for its 1.3 billion citizens. Although one clear problem lies with China’s resources to construct the “hardware”- the actual property, the country’s development cannot continue without also upgrading its “software”- people’s beliefs that a house is a place for living, and not a symbol for love.

Two years ago, when I came to the U.S. to study, I found that I was half right. It is true that the majority of my American friends find it entertaining to talking about on-air movies, but I quickly realized I was wrong about assuming all U.S. citizens were rich just because they went to the movies. It turns out that movie tickets were not as expensive as I imagined, especially with the student discounted price of $6 – $7 dollars/movie.

I personally love watching movies. After having seen so many well produced films from Hollywood, I couldn’t help but wonder what is going on in the film industry across the Pacific Ocean — in China.

Before China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, only 88 films had been made on Chinese land. Under the WTO agreements, 20 foreign films were allowed to be imported per year and foreign cultural enterprises were allowed to enter the Chinese market by establishing joint ventures, with a shareholding of up to 49 percent. About10 years later, the number of China produced films surged to 526 in 2010, and domestic box office revenues rose 64 percent to a record of 10.17 billion Yuan ($1.6 billion) according to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT).

The boom of Chinese culture industry has been closely linked with the expansion of cinemas, and more cooperative opportunities with overseas film producers and global film studios, especially those from Hollywood. Hollywood studios have a very developed process of making films. Tips for the success include, but are not limited to, exciting scripts, famous actors, advanced technology, in addition to a wide distribution and consistent marketing. However, is it considered a success if the Chinese film industry is simply copying that of Hollywood?

The answer is NO. Facts show that Hollywood republications made for Chinese audiences felt unrealistic and ‘over fancy’. Only those with a superb plot were highly rated and got positive feedback.

There are certainly gaps between Chinese cultural enterprises and their overseas counterparts, however, with the first Chinese film company to go public on the Nasdaq, Chinese are not only committed to producing high-quality Chinese films, but also devoted to distributing them well. Hopefully, in the near future, Chinese movies could be a channel for the world to learn more about this country with its 5000 years of history and its splendid civilization and culture.

For years I have been mesmerized by the young children I see with smart phones in-hand (I’m talking ages fourteen and under) asking myself, “Is that phone really necessary at that age?” I do acknowledge the fact that over half of parents believe that a smart phone is only necessary once their child drives, which I can understand a little bit more than a ten year old with access to the Internet. Perhaps I am seeing this subject with a touch of bitterness, based on the fact that I JUST received my first smart phone at the age of 23, after patiently waiting many years for my first real job to justify the price and necessity. But at the same time, I can’t help but wonder how these technologies and access to all-media will affect our younger generations. So I ask you: How do you think it will or has affected these children today and in the future?