Ice, Ice Baby

More addicting than cocaine, more refreshing than a dip in a pool, meet my latest addition: Sparkling Ice. While the company has been around since 1987, I discovered this thirst-quenching drink about a year ago and there has been no turning back since. The "skinny" bottle shape (a nod to the product's zero calories and target of health-conscious females) fits perfectly in my hand whether I am at my desk or on-the-go. Although most of the flavors sound appealing, once I tried the pink grapefruit I figured "why mess with perfection". The sweet yet tangy flavor makes my taste buds jump with glee. In my opinion, it is the champagne of sparkling waters. If you haven't yet tried one of their products, I highly recommend them. I believe you can obtain their products at all major supermarkets (and Costco!) 

Click here to learn more about the company

Google hit it out of the ballpark

It is rare when a commercial brings me to the verge of tears (aside from the infamous ASPCA commercials). The "Reunion" ad from Google is both thought-provoking and emotionally appealing. The commercial forces you to think back to simpler times, times without social media and when instant connection to the world wasn't available. This technology has truly revolutionized the world by changing the ways we can keep in touch with people halfway around the world at a touch of a finger. The ad was also emotionally appealing, my heart warmed when the two grandfathers are connected again. As a spectator, this commercial appeals to our sympathetic circle by drawing upon our desire for everlasting relationships. Our main desire in life is companionship and this ad caters to this desire. It was also refreshing to see such a powerhouse company release such a emotionally-driven commercial. Cheers Google, you nailed it.

Finding my Way

Being in my final year at a university, I have begun the great search for "the first" job. While most of my peers feel trapped and pressured by this process, this research has been rejuvenating. I am in awe of the vast array of career paths that are available.

• Should I chose to work at a company and focus my energy improving one brand/one product?
• Do I work at a "holding" company to work on a diversified portfolio of industries and brands? 
• Do I want to apply for a program like Teach for America and aid underpriviliged areas in improving their education departments? 
• Should I say screw it all and apply for a position that would enable me to travel the world while I'm still young such as working on a cruise ship? 

The possibilities are endless.

Stay tuned to hear about my journey.

Eat Pray Love: Searching For My Word

In Eat, Pray, Love,  Elizabeth Gilbert embarks on a spiritual journey and searches for one word to describe herself. 

"Then he went on to explain, in a mixture of English, Italian and hand gestures, that every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read people’s thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of any given place, you would discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever that majority though might be—that is the word of the city. And if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don’t really belong there." (pg 103) 

New York was defined as “ambition”, The Vatican was “power, and Rome was “sex”. My literature professor challenged each one of us in the class to find one word to describe us - right now. Albeit, it sounds like an easy task (much more so than the piles of law cases stacking up on my desk that need briefing!). However, when I sat down to accomplish this task, I was at a loss of words. Is there really one word to describe me? I do however, agree with Gilbert that every city has one word to describe it. I realized this while visiting my friend from high school at a university in the Midwest this past weekend. After being separated from my friend at the football stadium and ended up wandering the surrounding streets, I realized my word and the word to describe the town did not align. While I had a fantastic weekend, I could not fight the feeling of not belonging, I felt irrelevant. Although, I suppose that comes with the territory of not actually attending the university, you are not supposed to feel "at home". But let's just say I was happy once I was back to the familiar (aka my bed) in Baltimore. The following is a brainstorm trying to decipher what word I would use to describe me. 

• free; yet the limitations and responsibilities of attending a university restrain me 
• independent; yet I would not be here without the financial and emotional support from my family and friends 
• creative; I’d like to think that I’m a creative person, especially considering the field I’m interesting in pursuing. But I don’t believe I am an inherently creative person
• motivated; while this it true that I’m motivated to achieve and succeed, I know far many more people to which this word applies more to 
• dreamer; yet I feel like most dreamers have more of that creative aspect. I do dream, and I dream a lot however, my dreams are far too basic for me to qualify myself as a dreamer
• believer

I believe at my current state, my one word would be “believer”. I believe in the future of tomorrow. I believe that everything will work itself out. I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that people are inherently good. 

As Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” 

I am a “believer”. I believe that I can make a difference in the world, ya’ll just stay tuned to when its my turn to dazzle the world. 

"Keep Calm and Carry On? No Thanks. I’d Rather Raise Hell and Change the World" 

Greetings

After many suggestions, I have finally decided to take the plunge and start a blog. So thank you for stumbling upon my new project. You will get a little sneak into the life of a 20-something year old college student balancing academia, sleep, and a social life. I live off my morning coffee,  obsessed with all black clothing, and suffer from deep wanderlust.

Growing up I moved around a decent amount due to my father's job, so I bring inspirations from the south in Atlanta to small town in Connecticut. A hybrid from both the north and the south. I currently reside in Baltimore for college where I am a Marketing major and Information Systems minor.

This blog will be a hodgepodge of postings ranging from fashion to branding to data mining to more personal lifestyle pieces such as recipes and destination vacations.

If you want more of something, please leave a comment. I'd love to chat.

xxx,

Kylie

It's Bikini Season, Lets Data Diet

A blogpost for my Information Systems class. Enjoy.

Data analytics can make the world a better planet by preventing human trafficking and tracking terrorists. Data analytics can also help your company make right decisions more often, however, I agree with Olenski in his article entitled, "When It Comes to Big Data Is Less More" when he addresses that firm's should go on a data diet. A data diet essentially means cutting back on the amount of data that your firm is collecting. From emails, to social media, to loyalty cards, to mobile devices, we are boggled with an influx of data that marketers don't know how to handle. The Data Revolution has begun, but we don't have enough individuals with the skills that are necessary to mine and analyze this information in order to understand and use it for our advantage.

Upon hiring, HR managers need to realize the importance of data analytics since this data can prove to be invaluable to the firm. However, for the information to be a comparative advantage, the company needs the skills to decode and create relational models. According to the keynote video presented at the SAS Analytics Conference 2012, the world's data is doubling every 1.2 years and 80% of this data is unstructured. This information is too large, too complex, and too disorganized for us to comprehend. One approach to address this issue is to go on a data diet. By minimizing data to data that only gives a company a competitive advantage can save vast amount of resources. First off, they won't be spending money on data storage which is becoming an increasingly costly expense. Secondly, marketers won't be as overwhelmed with information. Furthermore, a huge issue that arose from the popularization of big data, is the issue of privacy. Most individuals feel violated and that their privacy has been breeched since marketers know deeply personal information. However, as Olenski addresses, profoundly personal information does not prove to be an advantage for a firm. But rather they waste valuable time and money gathering this information.
Another issue that needs to be addressed is if behavioral targeting advertising benefits consumers. I know that some individuals are freaked out that websites such as google can target their ads to keywords in your emails and from your web browser history. However, I personally prefer behavioral targeted ads. Why would I want to see ads for hair growing pills when that does not interest me whatsoever. I would much prefer to see ads that interest me, such as online shopping websites, much to my wallet and father's dismay. Every day we perform almost five billion google searches, and by having personalized ads on our sidebars think about how much additional income that could potentially produce to those companies that are highlighted. Furthermore, as a Marketing major, I can see how crucial behavioral targeting can be. It allows you to target consumer's that are potentially interested in your goods or services based upon their web browser history. This means of advertising will save time and be the cost effective way to grow your business from the online perspective.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2013/04/22/when-it-comes-to-big-data-is-less-more/