Some Christian organization called AFA is calling for a boycott of retailers that will not be using the word “Christmas” this year. They were calling for a boycott of The Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic, who have steered away from “Christmas” in the past, but have put the breaks on the boycott as word started to spread that The Gap will have a Christmas commercial this winter season.

Quote by Bryan Fischer, the AFA’s director of issues analysis:

“We firmly believe that Gap is responding to an enormous amount of pressure from the AFA network. It looks like Gap has finally decided that a recession is a bad time to take a principled stand on secularism and alienate a huge percentage of their customer base. We’re happy that they’re apparently keeping Christ and Christmas in the Christmas season.”

I find it hard to believe that the group is the real reason that they will have the ads. Maybe it is people want to be distracted this season because of the economy, and there are positive associations with the word Christmas.

Why is is that the Christian groups always have to go bizerk about using the word Christmas? Some people could careless about the season, religion aside, and just want to shop, what about them?

Artist Profile: Carlos Cortes

What was your inspiration for your piece(s): The natural beauty and energy of the river itself. It is one of the most famous and awe-inspiring landmarks in all of Texas.

What was is your favorite part of San Antonio: The River obviously. I also love the people and culture of our city. It is great to be in a city where our diversity makes us unique.

Do you have any unique ties to the city? My great-great-grandfather was Jose Antonio Navarro, a Texas revolutionary.

What other cities feature your work?

Carlos with Antonio Navarro

Do you live currently reside in San Antonio?

Once dark and neglected, the I-35 overpass adjacent to Camden Street has been given new brightness and levity by Philadelphia artist Donald Lipski.

Lipski’s school of fish are larger-than-life fiberglass sculptures suspended above the river and below the highway, seemingly stuck in traffic.

Approximately 25, 7-feet-long fish are lit from within, captivating visitors day and night.

A 26th fish is on display in San Antonio Museum of Art’s contemporary gallery, offering an up-close view of the detailing and amazing colors of these beautiful, indigenous long-eared sunfish.

Mi Rio: Eva Longoria Parker

What is your fondest memory of the San Antonio River: Spending time with my  family and my husband in the beauty of nature. It is a great place to see the Texas and Latino culture come together in one place.

What is your favorite part of the River Walk: My favorite part is the classic Spanish architecture of La Villita.

What is your favorite part of the the “Paseo del Arte” expansion: All the new art installations by such talented artists. The work F.I.S.H. is so unexpected, it takes your breathe away! I also love the ceramic installations along the trail.

What does “Mi Rio” mean to you? This river is mine and yours, it is all of ours as San Antonians. It is up to us to make sure that we maintain this beautiful space for our generation, and future generations to come.

This past weekend, Current Channel PR took a trip to San Antone for a Rio Vivo Tile Tour on the River Walk. It was a great chance for us to interact with the River Foundation’s members who support the organization.

It was also a great chance for us to bounce ideas off of Karen, and finally develop a branding message. Our branding message for the organization is going to be “Mi Rio,” or “My River”.

This will let San Antonians know that this is their river that reflects their city’s culture, taste and interests, and not the commercial tourist trap that is the Paseo del Rio portion of the River Walk. This message also gives them a sense of ownership, without their donations, the project will not happen. It will be funded by them, for them.

Those were the 26% of teens who were honest. I know that not all teens drive, but I am sure of the teens who drive, it is close to 99%. I am sure that everyone one has texted while drving at least once.

I know many a kid who was in an accident at  that age because of texting and driving.

Also hard to believe, that only 43% of 16-17 year olds have talked on a cell phone while driving.

A quote from the Mashable’s article:

Amanda Lenhart, co-author of the report, claims that teens are well aware of the risks associated with texting while driving, “but the desire to stay connected is so strong for teens and their parents that safety sometimes takes a backseat to staying in touch with friends and family.”

The “desire,” more like the addiction. How hard is it to wait 5 more minutes to text someone back? Ha ha I guess pretty strong since even I’ve done it.

What? Why?

I have heard that Twitter is becoming increasing popular in use for weight-loss programs. People are tweeting about their workout routine, how many pounds lost or that they missed a day. Many are using it for feedback and support from loved ones or from workout groups.

It makes people accountable, but also allows for positive reinforcement. But why is it necesary to share your weight and how many pounds you are from your goal.

Won’t people just become focused on their actual weight, and not the end goal, your health.

Could it encourage poor eating habits? Obsession over weight? Well, even more than people already are.

KLRN (Local PBS) Blog

A post about the documentary “Paseo Del Arte: Expanding the San Antonio River Walk.” More about the documentary its self.

My SA Entertainment Blog

A more detailed post with more history.

Both were posted in support of the documentary, airing tonight on the local PBS affiliate. I think that both posts are neglecting coverage by not putting more emphasis on Tommy Lee Jones being involved in the project. More emphasis on Tommy Lee could have resulted in more mainstream, nationwide coverage.

Let’s see how many blog posts we can get following the screening tonight!

The list that AdAge drafted really doesn’t say anything we haven’t already talked about in class.

Most importantly, it cannot and will not replace PR. Embracing social media means that PR is more important than ever. Who else is going to promote that you are interacting with your target audience? Who else within the company will actually be able to look at what is going on, know what is going on, where the venture should be headed, or what insights to gain?

Social media further exposes your company to outside forces, meaning you better be extremely prepared for responses from the inside.

Yes, you are able to interact with million of people you would have never interacted with otherwise, but you are also opening yourself to criticism you might have never expected. If you do not have a company PR policy in place to deal with dissent or crises that arise from social media, you are about to dig yourself a hole you might not be able to get out of.

The other important thing, social media can’t succeed without top management’s support. If they think what you are doing online is dumb or worthless, it will be. They must stand behind, and actually UNDERSTAND, what you are doing, and why.

That is why it is most important to implement your social media venture with organizational and marketing objectives. Why waste time just doing things? Make them matter, make them make results for you.

But most of all, learn from the people who use your product or service along the way. They are willing to share free information with you that you would have had to buy with a focus group in the past, and there are more responses than you could have imagined.