The Random Ramblings of Lauren

Toronto mayor Rob Ford is quickly earning a reputation worldwide for being a bit of a trouble maker. In the past two weeks the politician has been under constant fire from the media with accusations of alcohol and substance abuse, as well as his poor ethics in handling the matter. Rob Ford’s lack of filter around the press and public has become a news sensation, leaving many of us at the edge of our seats waiting to hear of his next big blunder. But love him or hate him, it has to be said he is not your conventional politician. Ever since the story exploded onto the news a fortnight ago, Rob Ford has relied heavily upon tactics of avoiding blame in order to portray an honest and innocent persona. The mayor claims he had no recollection of his actions as he was in a “drunken stupor” at the time. As if being extremely drunk as well as taking drugs, somehow makes things better. Surely if anything that makes matters worse… Throughout the scandal his ethics and behaviour in han...

So today I want to talk about something serious. Something that isn't going to be light-hearted reading - and for that I apologise. This isn't going to be a funny little philosophical blog about my thoughts or grumbles about life or observations about society. And if that's the type of post you are looking for, my dear readers, then click away now. Because today I need to talk about something that has destroyed thousands of lives, homes, families and livelihoods. A disaster of record scale. A tragedy. I am talking of course, about Super Typhoon Haiyan. Even before Super Typhoon Haiyan struck on Friday morning, forecasters warned it might be the strongest storm in recorded history. Predictions were made that it would be 3.5 times more ferocious than Hurricane Katrina -- and big enough to stretch from Spain to Sweden. And they were right. The typhoon hit the Philippines on Friday the 8th of November, affecting over 11.5 million residents. It is estimated to have...

Hello again my lovely readers! It's been a while since the last time I posted, so my apologies. I guess I got a little wrapped up in my own little world, and forgot the importance of taking a little time to sit down and clear your mind. Blogs are an amazingly useful tool, even for something as simple as giving you a chance to vent all those niggling thoughts in the back of your brain. It's kind of like spinning plates... You get so caught up trying to keep everything going and try so hard not to let anything fall, that you don't give yourself a chance to just be yourself. But once again, I digress. Here goes. So in the second year of university, I think the biggest thing I've learnt is what NOT to do. Unfortunately I learnt the hard way, but on the bright side, hopefully by reading this you will have the sense to avoid making the same mistakes! And although some may seem like obvious blunders, it doesn't take much to make something appear like a great idea. May...

What are the most important things in a relationship? Personally it's love, trust, respect and care. But believe me when I tell you that finding someone who can offer you all of those, is no mean feat. However that's not such a problem with friends! I promise this isn't some girlish drawl of "Oh men suck, I'm going to be single all my life", and neither is it some dig at any previous relationships. It's simply me acknowledging what took a long time to realise - That the love of a friendship can be just as rewarding as the love of a relationship. There is nothing more comforting than having a good hug and a motivational talk, or a spontaneous act of generosity from a best friend. It doesn't matter if you're having a great day or a terrible one, the company of your friends makes it better. Unfortunately, there comes a time in life when we find ourselves stuck in a depressingly exhausting situation with someone we care about. Yet there is...

Respect, courtesy, manners, good-heartedness, chivalry... Whatever you want to call it, there isn't a person out there who doesn't appreciate a little bit of it every now and again. And for good reason! Respect is one of the best ways of showing someone you care. But yet for some reason, it’s becoming a dying art. Maybe I’m just over-analysing something trivial (I tend to do that) but nothing annoys me more than being polite and respectful to someone, and having that taken for granted. In society today arrogance chokes the air, and the streets are crammed with dreary busy-bodies too rushed to take notice of the environment around them. We live in a frantic, filthy, jungle, where everybody reeks of their own self-worth and treats each other boredom and condescending disgust. If you haven’t noticed what I’m talking about, think back a little… Maybe you’ve opened a door for a stranger and they storm through without even a hint of a glance in your direction - That...

Have you ever had super-powers? Or taken a trip to the bottom of the ocean? Or been so rich you could buy everything in the world? How about ever turning up to school naked? I'm going to guess you've never done any of these things in real life. But in your dreams, all this and more becomes a possibility. When you think about it, dreaming really is magnificent. At night all that freedom and fantasy locked away in the brain escapes from the realms of reality and takes control. We are unleashed from the boring confines of our average lives, and discover a magical place where the only limitation is ones imagination. I don't know if anybody else has ever woke up in the morning astounded by the influence and control of dreams, but for me it's a regular occurrence. Last night for example, I had a dream that I had the power to fly. (Someone reads too many fantasy books!) The astounding part being the amount of detail and depth my imagination had managed to create. Fr...

Now I have to admit I'm a little bit of a geek. Nothing too embarrassing, but I do have annoying tendencies to correct all my friend's grammar, mutter Harry Potter curses when in a bad mood, and quote Big Bang Theory from memory. Hot stuff, right? Confession over, what I wanted to talk about today is the slowly emerging trend of nerdyness appearing on social networking sites like Facebook. I don't know if you guys have seen it, but more and more recently people are flaunting their geeky knowledge. And even cooler, using it as a pick up lines! If you have no idea what I'm ranting about, don't worry. Here are some examples... Harry Potter: "Are you using the Confundus Charm or are you just naturally mind-blowing?" Star Trek: "I've been told I have the cool sexual prowess of a Romulan" Mathematical: "You and I would add up better than a Riemann sum" Pokemon: "Are you a pikachu? Because you are shockingly beautiful" Supe...

Controversy over the specific role and responsibilities of the Public Relations Industry has been argued by many, due to the significant overlaps with the Marketing, Advertisement, Journalism and Publicity trades. But in essence, one of a PR practitioner’s biggest tasks is successful communication of the corporate image in order to maintain a strong reputation, build a positive stigma, and gain loyalty to the company. Communication can be focused internally (within the company e.g. employees, management, investors etc.) or externally (to the public, consumers, stakeholders etc.). In addition, the benefits of this allow the company to keep their customers and their workforce consistently informed, as well as providing the opportunity to receive feedback which allows them to improve their business. One of the best tools of communication is Organisational Narrative, which tactfully portrays a “story” of an organisation's ideal image to the public, and in doing so helps to evolv...

Okay so this is a subject that comes up a lot, I know. But it's something that really grates me, that even today, in our ever-developing society, we struggle to accept homosexuality as part of our culture. Straight, gay, bisexual or transgendered. Four categories that we are all pushed and prodded to file into, just because of a difference in who they are attracted to. These sexuality groups define people every day, and why? Because it has become 'normal' for us to do so. But judging others based on who they are interested in is trivial nonsense. Honestly I have literally NO idea why some (I’m talking about a small minority here) treat homosexuality like some disgusting disease to be avoided at all costs. In today’s culture it should be acceptable, but people still can’t stand to see a gay couple walk down the street holding hands, without flinching or staring. The number of times I've seen people pull faces and walk away, it's daft! I can promise you, ...

There are many channels of communication available in the PR industry, and exponential technological advances providing us with more and more ways of staying connected, it is inevitable that this will only boost the opportunity to communicate with the public. Resources such as the press, publishing, television, radio, internet, word of mouth, and much more, allow Public Relations practitioners to form a relationship with the public. Selecting the most appropriate channel of communication relies greatly on factors such as the demographics of the target audience, the campaign budget, the image of the company, etc. For example, a fashion company may be more interested in using print publishing to produce glossy magazines showcasing their brand and products, as well as the internet to provide a constantly accessible and updated gallery of their stock. However the fastest growing channel of communication recently, that is becoming a more and more commonly used tool and has sparked ...

So, unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past decade, I’m sure you’ll have noticed the revolution of the internet, the media and in general almost all aspects of life, by social networking. It is now a must-have tool for everyone from teenagers, to huge business corporations, to small private businesses. Everyone is clambering to jump aboard the Twitter train, or hop on to the Facebook express. And it’s no surprise why, with the huge benefits of free advertising to an audience of billions of users and almost limitless potential. However with the ever growing presence of social media, one must pose the question… Does it have the potential to make the role of a PR practitioner redundant? One negative of the power of social media, is the threat of bad reviews reaching a much larger audience. Whereas previously an unsatisfied customer could potentially speak to friends and complain, they would possibly only have the power to influence the opinions of a handful of pe...