Good Night iPad

When you typically walk into an office space, you have a pretty good idea of what you are going to see; rows of cubicle, computers, printers, and a little bit of personality scattered throughout. When you walk into GannettLocal’s offices, you never know what you are going to find.

Not only do we love to infuse our work spaces with our own personality, as evidenced by these pictures…. But you may also see things we have received from clients and the small little touches that convey our personality, typically in a fun, and sometimes geeky fashion.

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

A quick trip down “Social Row” reveals that in addition to family photos, the cubicles are decorated with dolls, books, and some fun, geeky posters reminding us of some common writing mistakes that we might come across as well as the rules to Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock (which everyone needs to be reminded of now and then!)

Correct Semi Colon Use

Not only do these small touches showcase our personality, but also contribute to the over arching culture of GannettLocal. We are not a company that demands everyone to march to the same corporate drummer, but instead celebrates the individuality in each of us.

In the spirit of the GannettLocal Culture, your challenge, should you chose to accept it, is to figure out whose cubicle each of the items pictured today are found!

Team Edward

For more insight into GannettLocal culture, check out our Green Eyed Girl. She’s all over the web, and she has plenty of secrets to share! Catch her on:

- Facebook

- Pinterest

- Instagram

- Twitter

- Foursquare

Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. But, regardless of your political affiliation or views on President Obama, it’s hard to deny his accessibility and apparent understanding of how to connect with the socially savvy. He doesn’t seem stuffy or old-fashioned and he understands the importance and power of social media, unlike many other politicians who seem like they would probably have a hard time checking their own email.

With the State of the Union speech approaching, the Obama administration has announced yesterday that the President himself will be hosting a Google+ Hangout on January 30, giving us regular folks the opportunity to submit our very own questions to the president. A select few lucky people will get the chance to actually partake in the live hangout.

In a day and age where user-generated content is king and people have unparalleled access to personally engage with brands and companies using social media, it seems only fitting that we should be able to engage with the CEO of the United States this way, too. By giving the public an opportunity to interact with the president in a more casual and personal way, we feel a sense of community and camaraderie – our voices are being heard.

As someone who makes a living off of social media, it’s refreshing to see politicians, who usually seem so disconnected, tapping into the outlets that actually matter to my generation. The Obama administration appears to understand the importance of this as in recent months the president’s presence on social networking sites has blown up—creating accounts on Tumblr, Instagram, and Google+. Next thing you know, Obama will be pinning pictures of his favorite cupcakes.

By amping up these social efforts, Mr. President has presented himself as not only current and relatable, but also as the kind of guy we would actually want to hang out with (pun intended). To take part in Google+/YouTube’s “Your Interview with the President,” submit your questions on the White House’s You Tube page.

If you follow me on Twitter (@mariakonopken), Facebook postings, or simply talk to me in my offline life, it is no secret I am a huge sports fan especially when it come to the Arizona Cardinals. And while my team will not be making the trip to Indianapolis for the big game, nearly 150,000 people will be descending on the city to see the New York Giants take on the New England Patriots.

It can almost go without saying of those 150,000, most have never been to Indianapolis, let alone a Super Bowl. And while this chaos is nothing new to the NFL, this year they are taking a different approach by creating a Social Media Command Center. In short, the purpose of the Social Media Command Center is a group of Social Media Strategists in Indianapolis who, through Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms will respond to fans with questions on events, directions parking, tourism information, and other inquires. The patron doesn’t need to say “Hey I need help parking,” but will search for keywords and phrases. The Command Center is launching today and will run through Super Bowl Sunday.

In my opinion, I think this is an amazing idea. Not only could it help people stay safe and lower frustrations during Super Bowl week, but also helps in promoting a city more than any book might. From restaurants to attractions, one can explore a city they may have otherwise missed.  I recently tweeted asking what there is to do in Indianapolis to test out their response time, so we will see how it goes.

To measure the strengths and weaknesses of the Command Center, researchers from Ball State University will be conducting a study. In an e-mail to Mashable.com, Michael Holmes, director of the center’s Insight & Research Unit, stated the Command Center is an example of the “the ubiquity of social media and the absolute necessity for companies, organizations and communities to use these tools to improve their relations with their customers, audience and citizens.”

If this new Command Center is as successful as planners are hoping, it could change the future of Social Media for major events, and could help better inform the general public if anything were to occur.

How do you think this will change future major events?