Location Based Services: another addiction

When I first learned about the application FourSquare I was very skeptical. I did not want people to know every place I checked in. I frankly did not want people following my every move and did not like the idea of it potentially being unsafe and people could have the opportunity to essentially stalk me. However, at this point I am completely addicted to the application and have used it both on the computer and on my Droid. Not only can you tell people where you have been in the past but you can also find places that you want to go in the future and check off them on your to do list. This is really interesting to see where you have been and where your friends have been as well. It is also interesting because if you see a bunch of your friends want to go to a particular destination it is a good idea for someone to plan a trip there. I also like to learn more about my friends and knowing where they have been in the past, makes me feel a bit closer to them, especially if we have been to the same places. Consequently, if you are being friends with someone, it allows you to find out similar things you have in common based on where you have been and where you want to go.

It also has became a game. People want to become the mayor of a place and often mayors are rewarded by a discount to a particular business. Often, places such as Bolocco offer the Mayor a free burrito on Monday's and the satisfaction of being the"mayor." Being the mayor simply means you check in to a particular location the most. Friends of mine make it a game to see who can be the mayor the most at particular locations.

I also really like this application from a marketing perspective because it brings in a lot of business by promotions, word of mouth marketing and the opportunity to perhaps see friends and go to a new place they may not have normally gone to. If a friend sees that other friends are a bar they may choose to go this bar or shop instead of another one which could lead to more business overall to the business on the FourSquare application.

A New Jersey Devil fan celebrating the Boston Bruins Cup: Stanley Cup Parade- Boston Bruins June 18, 2011

I admit it I love the Bruins. I attended the Stanley Cup Parade with my boyfriend, Brian and I had the best time! A friend of my mine got to Government Center at around 8:00 am on the Saturday of the parade day and she actually got to touch the Cup. I had touched it with my favorite team the New Jersey Devils as a young girl growing up in Albany New York. The year was 1995 and the Cup was brought to Albany, New York because both the Albany River Rats and New Jersey Devils had won the Calder Cup and Stanley Cup respectively in the year of 1995. I was happy for my friend Jenn who was super excited. I felt bad because she had saved us seats and with the craziness of the event and my lack of being an early riser, we could not actually get to her at government center.

The parade route started at North Station and went through Copley Square. My boyfriend and I walked the entire route. We started at North Station where we saw the Bruins on the Duck boat, and made our way through Government Center all the way to Copley. I was unaware Cam Neely spoke during the North Station start, because it was insane. The parade was said to have record attendance. Most streets were blocked off in the City of Boston, and it was crazy to see how the fans reacted to the Stanley Cup Victory compared to the Vancouver fans who lost the series and had dangerous riots in Vancouver. The Boston fans appeared overall, classier than the Canucks fans. The Canucks fans had a similar reaction in 1994, when they lost to the New York Rangers. Clearly, they need to take a lesson in good sportsmanship. The government, claims it was revolutionists and not fans.

We actually got a really good few and some great pictures on Boylston Street. We were very close to the Duck boats and saw the entire team aboard. It was funny because they had a duck boat for Ray Bourque and Bobby Orr, even though they were not physically on it. The crowd was so different from North Station and Copley but we thought it was important to see where the parade ended and began. The North Station was more of a blue collar crowd whereas Boylston was more classier fans. Seeing both perspectives was hilarious though!

Until next year Bruins! Way to make people "Believe."

Jumping on the Boston Bruins Bandwagon

I have offically become a Boston Bruins fan. I never thought I woudl admit it since I am diehard New Jersey Devil fan. Although my loyalty will always be with the New Jersey Devils, the Boston Bruins are a great second favoritish team! I am engaged in the Boston Bruins culture since I live in the city of Boston. They are a likeable team and I am more of a hockey and basketball fan than a baseball fan. I have watched nearly every playoff and found myself cheering like a crazy person at the gym last night. Each goal I was yelling while on the eliptical. Ironically enough, a lot of other people at Bodyscapes Fitness were cheering outloud!

I also had been monitoring the Boston Bruins Facebook and Twitter pages and other social media networks for my social media audit. I was monitoring everything Bruins related including dozens of my blogs for my social media special topics summer course. It was a really intersting project and I really enjoyed doing it. It made me feel like a bit of Boston Bruins expert in regards to social media and marketing.

I am super excited they won Game 6 and am really excited for tommorow nights game! I have my special topics in social media class tommorow, but will be going out around the North Station to engage in the craziness of what will without a doubt be an eventful Wednesday night! Either way! If the Bruins win it is gonna be insane with happy Bruins fans cherring throughout Boston. If the Bruins lose the city will be filled with depression and anger. I am really hoping for a Stanley Cup parade in Boston which will without a doubt be the coolest event pretty much ever!

TBC..............

Another favorite duck photo.......

https://umail.suffolk.edu/OWA/WebReadyView.aspx?t=att&id=RgAAAADuizhBF1srQYloPAekVOijBwCDrm%2bpZdh%2fS7nVoWlIOXKmAAAAAABnAACDrm%2bpZdh%2fS7nVoWlIOXKmAAAADk%2f1AAAJ&attid0=BAABAAAA&attcnt=1&pspid=_1307732283341_226087033

Ad Seminar: Semester long group project

Getting excited for my pirate crawl mates! Check out my advertisement I made for my graduate course: Seminar in Advertising!

Let me know what you think!

Game 5, Pirate Crawl, Hangover 2 and a social media audit......

This weekend may quite possibly rival last weekend's birthday bash, for several reasons. The Bruins have 2 wins to go before they win the Stanley Cup and I am really, really hoping for a Stanley Cup parade in Boston, because lets face it that would quite possibly be the coolest thing ever! Like everyone else in the city of Boston, I would love to see Lord Stanley on the streets of Boston! I will be going out to dinner with my boyfriend and then most likely be watching game 5 with my Bruins hat on, ready for victory. I loveeeeeeeee being in the North Station area during a Bruins victory! Nothing else could be better....That is except for the New Jersey Devils winning the Cup!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tommorow I am going on a pirate crawl!!! I may quite possibly be the oldest person at the event and on the ship except for Brian, but I really do not care all that much. A few friends were going to come with us but they had to bail so him and I are just going on our own. I am pretty sure most people will go in groups and not as a couple so that should be very entertaining. Did I mention the majority of people dress up as legit pirates? The crawl is both on land and on the water and is from 1-8. This should be verrrrrry interesting! I am super excited though and I got this idea after doing Captain Morgan for my ad seminar project last semester. Ironically enough, Captain Morgan is the sponsor of this pirate event!
For pictures from last year go to : https://picasaweb.google.com/socializeinboston/PirateCrawl2010?feat=directlink#.


If I am feeling well enough after the craziness of the Crawl I will see Hangover 2 which I have been excited about since I first learned it was coming out. The first one was not overrated at all, and it was quite possibly the funniest movie I have ever seen. Although, I may be the last person on the planet who has not seen it yet that will hopefully not be the case after this weekend!


And finally............... Sunday is Social Media Audit day: Client Boston Bruins.......

5-year Marist Reunion

Ironically, enough my 5 year college reunion is fast approaching It is coming up on September 23-25, 2011. My boyfriend and  I will be staying at a Hilton Garden Inn for the festivties. It should be fun becasue I will get to re vistit my favorte college hangouts, and hangout at the ever newish bar/lounge Shadows. This is a pretty trendy and upscale place for such a crappy area (Poughkeepsie, New York). Since I was only an hour a way and I dated a really horrible guy who lived in New Paltz after college, I attended this hot spot more than my other Marist friends who simply do not know about it ( http://www.shadowsonthehudson.com/).

A few of my Marist friends are going but not everyone. It is crazy to look back at the last five years of my life wondering what I have been doing all this time.........

However, I am super excited to catch up with friends I have lost touch with and see old friends who I rarely ever see. I am also really excited to hear what everyone is up to. A few jobs later and a few boyfriends later, I will be back at Marist telling my former classmates about what I am up to now. I will share some of my Boston stories and discuss my Master's program in Integrated Marketing Communciations program at Suffolk University where I also work as a graduate assistant and the Director of Marketing Communications for the Graduate Student Association. I will also enjoy telling them about the Junior League of Boston, an organization I am passionate about. I will tell them how I will be on the American Girl Fashion Show committee and will serve as the social media manager for the 2011-2012 year.

I am also super excited to introduce everyone to my boyfriend of almost a year who is a truly amazing guy who would make any Marist Alumna proud.  Last summer, I had shown Brian around the campus and he really enjoyed Marist College. However, this was when I did not know anyone on campus other than professors. He will now get to see old friends, and the excitement Marist College brings to everyone in the Fall. They have a lot of fun events and we will try to get as many of them as possible! I can not wait and hope a lot of my friends will make the trip for what promies to be a truly eventful weekend!

Check out for a list of the weekend events: http://www.marist.edu/alumni/home2011.html 

Where do you get your news from?

Social Media: For Small-Business Marketers, Are Fewer Channels B...: "For Small-Business Marketers, Are Fewer Channels Better? - eMarketer What do small business owners use for marketing? A recent study showed..."

I get the majority of my news from Google's homepage of through applications on my Droid. I like to look at a vareity of cities for the news including, Boston, MA, La, Washigton DC and my local paper from Albany,NY which I view on timesunion.com. I also check Boston.com daily.I agree with Nicole and Melissa that I would not purchase news, I would simply go to sites that are free. All the applications I use that give me the latest news are free, and I simply would not pay for applications on my Droid, ever. I was obessed with the Royal Wedding and got my news in every possible way. I looked at BBC online, read magazines, watched E, read different articles from boston.com and nytimes.com and read local papers to see how the different media sources covered the wedding.I also agree with Nicole that Facebook News Feeds provide a lot of updated information for me. If the topic interests me, I will research it more in depth.

Hockey Dilemma

Everyone that knows me from my childhood and teenage years has known I am a massive New Jersey Devil fan. Growing up, I would watch all playoff games and a lot of regular season games and would literally cry when my team would lose in the playoffs.My childhood room was decorated with New Jersey Devil plaques, bobbleheads and collages. This was a big odd considering what a girly girl I was back then and still am. Regarldess, I was one of the rare girls who was fashion obessed and passionate about hockey. That is the story of my life.  Even though the New Jersery Devils won 3 Stanley Cups during the time I was a very hard core fan, they still had a lot of disapointments such as trading away a lot of my favorite players. During recent years the New Jersey Devils have aliented me a bit, by trading away pretty much every player I have liked and really eliminating who I like on the team. Although, I am very loyal to this team and have worked for the Albany River Rats, and dream of working in Marketing and Community Relations for a hockey team I was faced with the dilemma of whom to root for in the playoffs.

Although, I have never offically been a fan of anyone other than the New Jersey Devils and the Colorado Avalanche, I have decided for the playoffs, since I live in Boston, I would root for the Boston Bruins. I liked the Bruins when Cam Neeley, Adam Oates and Ray Borque played for them and they are a likeable team this season. The Bruins are a huge underdog to the Vancouver Canucks and I really think winning would be great for the city of Boston. As a die heart hockey fan I would love to attend  a Stanely Cup Victory parade in my new home of Boston. However, they have to get through the Canucks in order to accomplish this. I have also decided since I want to work in hockey I would write my social media audit on our local team the Boston Bruins. It is great to see Boston so excited about the playoffs, and I loved the ducks that have Bruins jerseys on them in the Boston Common. The State House and the Four Seasons of Boston also has Bruins on them. So for now, Boston I am a Bruins fan, but feel slightly guilty about it...........

Recap of the Bday Weekend

Bday Party  
Ahhh another birthday. I am a bit crazy with my birthday. I plan it months in advance and send out Evites way to early. However, I do this simply because I like to see my friends and a lot of my friends live in New York. This is the third big birthday party I had in Boston. Typically, I have had it in either New York City or Delmar, New York. I had a great turnout this year but I really missed a lot of my Marist College friends who were busy with other things primarily weddings. Indeed, the first weekend in June was a huge wedding weekend! This was an especially important birthday because on of my best friends is moving to LA to pursue a career as a musician so it would be perhaps the last birthday celebration with me in Boston. 

This years festivties were held at Stephanie's on Newbury Street ( http://www.stephaniesonnewbury.com/ and the Mini Bar).

I knew that Stephanie's is crazy over priced but I found it very difficult to find a place that could fit 18 people. The food is very good at Stephanie's, I got a cheeseburger and was very happy with it. However, what I did not like was that my boyfriend brought me a cake, and they charge $1.50 per person. This is both crazy, offensive and completely unecessary! The bill was over five hundred dollars and it was very aggrevating since we were spending all that money to be charged extra for cake!!!!!!!!!!! Overall, people seemed very happy with the place though and enjoyed his or her meal. My birthday guests were incredibly full and found it difficult to eat the cake though!

After dinner, we went to Mini Bar. Mini Bar is an interesting place because it is both really trendy and has a variety of people that drink at the place. The crowd is never the same and often in this case they do not play music. The crowd was not that great, and the atmosphere was a bit uneventful without music, but the guests at my party made up for it! It was great to see some of my friends I rarely see and it was even better seeing my boyfriend of almost a year interacting with my various friends from a variety of different places in my life. He got along well with everyone, which made me very happy. Although, I was a bit worried to see how everything would play out with a lot of different types of personalities, everyone got along great and had fun! Overall, the party was a huge success.

June 3, 2011


On my actual bday of June 3rd, my parents and I went on a whale watch through the Boston Harbor Cruise. It was crazy because we actually waited on the wrong line because the ticket lady led us to believe we were on the same cruise as 100 7th and 8th graders, so we followed them. As we were boarding the boat, we realized we were on the wrong one and proceeded to sprint to our actual cruise. Never a dull moment in my life. The Boston Harbor Cruises have a policy where you can get a rain check if you do not see a whale. We thought we saw four, but then found out it was the same whale. It was freezing on the cruise so we kept running from the inside of the boat to the outside. At least we did not get sea sick! Just slightly.........

For lunch I went to the North End with my parents at Bella Vista, a cute, non-touristy, reasonablly priced resturant. My parents and I have an obsession with this place because it simply put has the best Italian food in Boston in our opinion. I always get the chicken picatta, partly because I am a boring eater, but mainly because it is the best thing I ever tasted. My boyfriend, then took me to the South End for dinner a lot later. Still full from lunch, I still managed to wolf down my meal at Stella's. Stella's in the South End is another place I would highly reccomend! It is pretty reasonable as well, and is really amazing!

I will be at the gym  and running every single day this week, working off the three amazing bday meals, cake and drinks!

T-Tales Part I

The only thing typical that happens on the T is that if you are coming from the C-line you will always be waiting longer than you should be. I was headed to Suffolk University, where I was trying to get some significant amount of work done for my graduate class in special topics in social media. I was on the T for about a minute, when an MBTA offical got into a screaming argument with a punkish looking guy about how he was hitting him with his bag. The guy screamed back apologizing for what he had done and continued to ask why he was picking on him when the woman next to him (around 75 was hitting him with her bag as well). I did not think it was apropriate for him to be yelling at this guy while he was in his work uniform and when millions of people hit each other with bags etc. everyday. However, at the same time I get incredibly irriated when people wack me with his or her bags, but at the same time I am guilty of wacking other people myself. The T was very crowded for 1:00 PM and I would have assumed this guy would have let it go.

The accused attacker asked the MBTA guy what his profession was in the MBTA. The MBTA guy then got all serious describing his position for about 5 minutes as a motor specialist, which I am still not sure at all what that does. The attacker then said he was a nurse. This was crazy to me because he had a very bad temper.......He works for Mass General so be warned!  After listening to these two gab on and on after screaming at each other seconds before, the old woman next to me got in on the conversation. She said she used to be a nurse and still works there part-time at a local hospital. The woman who quite possibly could have been senial yelled out where do you live to the guy who was a nurse. The male nurse (which I still find funny, I am sorry I just do), yelled at out address so practically my entire car could hear him. The woman then got excited and said she lived a few houses away on Saint Paul Street. Ironically, that is close to wear I live in Coolidge Corner. I especially found this amusing and irritating because what normal peopel would share ones address with a complete stranger and loudly enough for everyone in my car to hear.

I am all in favor of talking to make the T ride seem faster since it is extremely slow. However, I only enjoy talking to people I actually know on the T, and do not view the Green line as a place to make friends. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think Boston has enough fun, social activties that you should go to them to make friends!

I personally enjoy listening to my ipod and ignoring people I do not know on the T, but hey that's just me.

T -Tales an Introduction

I grew up in a small town Delmar, New York where public transportion was unheard of in the suburbia capital of the world; unless you lived in Albany. If you did live in Albany, you could take the bus but it was looked upon as very shady and not something you would ever want to do. Typically, drug dealers and other frightening people used that as his or her transproation mechanism. I relied on my car both in high school and college to take me everywear, I needed to go. I never thought twice about public transportation, because I always could rely on my platinum Honda 99 Accord. However, as a New Yorker I had no problem with the subway system because it was quick and came frequently.

Currently, I live in Coolidge Corner and am constantly traveling on the Green Line either the C or B line. Like many Bostonians and transplants, I have to use the T since I am not able to afford or want a car in the city of Boston. I have traveled to NYC, Washington DC, London, Paris and Germany and I find Boston's transportation the absolute worst. The T never comes, makes everyone late for semingly everything and what's worse is that no one seems to do anything about it. If the subway did not come in NYC for over twenty-minutes people would riot and it would simply not be acceptable. The MBTA needs to step it up and do something about all the miserable Bostonians that are late more than they should be because of the T. So many people are stressed out everyday before they even get to work, class or a meeting because of the T. I think Boston would be an overall happier city if they got to his or her destination on time.

The craziest things happen to me on the T and I am sure many other people can relate. I hope this can also inspire many others to write about his or her experiences on the T as well. I have decided to share my experiences hoping that whomever reads this will get a good laugh out of the T -Tales stories I will be sharing in this blog. Happy reading!

  

Resume

                                                       Deanna Bushart
                                                                          40 Browne Street Apt # 3, Brookline, MA 02246

                                                                          Cell (518) 281-1388 deannabushart@gmail.com

Education           

Suffolk University, Boston, MA

Masters of Arts in Integrated Marketing Communications candidate, 2012

Relevant Courses: New Media and New Markets, PR for Managers, Seminar in Advertising, Marketing Challenges, and Communication Research.

                                   

Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY:

Bachelor of Arts May 2006

·       Major: Communication Arts Concentration: Creative Advertising and Management, Minor: Fashion Merchandising

·       Cumulative GPA: 3.4 Honors – Community Service Scholarship, Dean’s List Spring 2004-2006

·       Study Abroad: Czech Republic, England, France, and Germany: Mini semester

Related Experience

               

Special Events Coordinator (part time Graduate Assistant), Suffolk University, Boston, MA, 8/09- to present

·       Assist in planning events, develop focus groups, and conduct market research on what law firms are looking for in employees. Conduct web-based related research, maintain lists and databases, provide logistical support in organizing conferences. Coordinate projects within education department. Email marketing campaigns, with vendor management

·       Develop alumni relations and social media networking for recent paralegal graduates including list management.

Research Assistant, Investor Group Services, Boston, MA: 2/09- 10/10

·         Conducted primary/secondary research, market assessment for private equity firms and corporate clients.

·         Performed ongoing analysis of macro data trends to track and assess case progress. Interacted daily with executives and

            staff throughout Fortune 100 organizations. Analyzed and provided feedback on survey design. Assisted in presentations.

·              

Senior Sales, White House Black Market, Albany, New York: 09/07-1/09

·       Performed visual display work, merchandising, recruitment and selection of employees, client books, sales and styling of clients.

               

Event /Meeting Coordinator, Northeast Spine and Wellness, Albany, New York: 1/06-12/08

·       Developed press releases, planned events, assisted in campaign analysis, social media and developed media relationships.

                   

Hudson Valley Magazine Internship Account Management: Poughkeepsie, New York: 9/05 --5/06

·       Assisted in development of media kits, developed co-op accounts with clientele created and designed power point presentations for clients. Social media, campaign analysis assistance and promotion development.

Market Research Assistant, Marist Institute for Public Opinion, Poughkeepsie, New York: 1/04 –5/06

·       Conducted primary research on Regional and National Issues. Received “top ten interviewers” award, April 2004.

Communications/Media Relations Internship, Albany River Rat AHL Hockey Team: Albany, New York: 12/04 – 1/05

·       Assisted in preparation of marketing plans. Email marketing list and vendor management.

·       Prepared team media guide/game programs, day-to-day monitoring of player transactions, team status, assisted media representatives in arena; helped River Rats develop pro-active public relations plans and assisted with special events.

Other Employment

Market Development Company: Event Coordinator, New York, New York: 6/06- 08/10

Marist College: Admissions Assistant: Marist College: Poughkeepsie, New York: 1/04- 05/06

Easter Seals: Recreation Coordinator: Albany, NY Summers 2001-2006

Computer Skills

Microsoft Word, Publisher, Excel, PowerPoint, U4ia, Adobe Photoshop CS, Adobe Illustrator, Indesign, Dreamweaver,

Activities

·       Junior League of Boston. Event Planning Committee: event organization and recruitment of volunteers and social media.

·       Programming Chair, Suffolk University Graduate Student Association: 2010-Present: Social Media Coordinator and event planner for graduate students at Suffolk University. Coordinator of projects including career panels and student relations.

·       Vice President Event Planner: Marist Fashion Club: 9/04- 5/06: social media coordinator, recruitment and fundraising.