Time Out Is Not Good Enough
By Cheval John
Classes resumed at the North Harris campus of Lone Star College System today after a shooting took place yesterday that left three people injured.
According to a report from CBSNews.com, investigators said that it all started from a fight before it escalated to gun fire.
Harris County police, North Harris campus police, etc. arrived at the scene within minutes and evacuated everyone from campus.
Carlton Berry, who were involved in the shooting, suffered gun shot wounds and is in stable condition.
He was later charged with aggreviated assault and is still in stable condition.
With the heated debate of gun control, the shooting received national attention from major media outlets from NBC to CBS.
Many would use this as an example to say that if teachers were armed with a guns, they would not be this wide spread shooting.
Some legislators in Texas and Arkansas are even trying to get a bill passed in their respective states that would allow those who have a license to carry a concealed weapon on universities.
They believe that it will solve everything and keep the campus safe.
Personally, I believe that the reason why we have all of these shootings at schools across the nation is
because these same people that are causing these massacres having received discipline at their home while they were children.
It seems like if a child does something wrong, the parents put them in “time out” to think about what they had done wrong instead of spanking them.
What they don’t realize is that they are allowing their child to get away with stuff that by the time they grow up, they believe that they can get away with anything and continue to be a menace to society.
On the other hand, the police are doing their best to control the crime and in a way are doing the job that the parents should have been doing in the first place.
I really think that this nation needs to get back to the good ole days of spanking their child while they are young because if they don’t, the schools will continue to be a war zone.
If you agree or disagree with this commentary, please leave a comment below.
Websites Are The Home Base For Business
By Cheval John
A person has just started a new business and they are looking to attract new customers.
They understand they don’t have the funding to buy ad space on billboards.
They understand one of the ways to market their business is by being featured on media outlets.
The first thing they might do is hire a public relations firm to pitch to major media outlets.
The only problem is major media outlets are not interested in them because they are not big enough.
It might seem like a good idea because major media outlets like CBS, ABC, etc., have major national reach.
It would be better if they would focus on getting featured on niche media because:
1. They Have Targeted Audience.
People who follow a niche media are passionate about the subject.
They invest their valuable time to follow what the reporter or blogger from the niche media are talking about.
2. They Are The Original Test Tasters.
If you have a product or service, they are willing to see what you are about.
They are willing to put their own reputation on the line because they believe that you are the real deal.
3. You Don’t Have To Go Through Gatekeepers.
If you want to reach out to major media, you have to pitch yourself to someone and convince them you have a story that will generate interest.
If it gets approved by that person, they have to pitch your story to their editor for the final approval before they could air it.
The biggest advantage with going with a blogger, all you have to do is pitch your story to them and if it is good, they will immediately write about it.
4. You Will Featured On Major Media
You might thing this is counter to what I am saying earlier.
It is not because shows from major media outlets are looking for content everyday because they have to fill in their time slots.
Most of the time they look at websites from bloggers/niche media outlets to find their story.
If it interests them, it will be featured on their shows and voila, you will be featured on a major media outlet.
For example, this person who is living in South Korea was featured in Black Enterprise website recently.
What was interesting: the story was first featured on a blog called,”Black Girls Learning Languages”
So if you are convinced about avoiding the major media when first starting out your business, here are some tips to stand out:
1. Have An Active Social Media Presence
Whether it is Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, you have to be on there because most of your audience are on there.
2. Share Valuable Content
Do not blast out promotional posts only because that will give the impression you do not care about them, but only about making a sale.
3. Share Your Competition’s Content
If you find that their content resonates with you, share it with your audience.
What that does is let them know you care about them.
Even if they end up buying a product or service from your competition, they will remember you because you were willing to be a giver.
In the long run, you will end up receiving business due to your generosity.
4. Create A Website
Your website should be the main hub for your business because it is your real estate.
If you focus your business only through social media, it could end up costing you.
Social media is rented land and what we have seen over the years is algorithms being changed because the owners of these social media sites want the audience to stay on their platform as long as they can.
If you are a marketer and all you are doing is spamming the audience on the social media platform, they will run away.
And that is not what the owners of the platform wants.
If you have a large audience on the social media platforms and you base your business from that, when the algorithm hits, you lose a large share of that audience and your base revenue.
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