Welcome to Germaine Theory

  The Importance of Surfing Lessons The children are the future. They are the legacy of the men and women of today’s society. With that being said, we must be cautious of what we allow them to digest, both figuratively and literally. Technological advances have become the norm for children growing in contemporary societies. They are learning how to process information at a much faster rate than their parents. Many children are first introduced to the internet by their parents, usually with games on their phones or tablets. The internet provides them with the ability to expand their reality exponentially. They can virtually visit foreign lands and discover cultures previously unknown. Information is at their fingertips and schools have taken part by introducing computers into the curriculum. Children at many public schools are loaned laptop computers; these computers are necessary to take full advantage of the curriculum. With technology reaching into almost all facets of our chil...

  "I’m Not a Businessman, I’m a Business…Man!"  (Jay-Z)                Your brand is the thing that sticks. It is the intangible commodity that represents what you are as a person or organization. If your brand is weak, obstacles that arise will have an increased negative impact. Conversely, if your brand is strong, troubles that arise will not have as much effect. It’s much more than a first impression. Your brand involves the integrity of the choices of your organization. If you are known for things like, volunteering, mentoring, philanthropic efforts, activities, or undertakings considered positive impact actions, your brand will be synonymous with virtue. “A positive brand reputation establishes authority, builds trust and loyalty with potential customers. Ultimately, it also drives sales and growth”. (Newpath, n.d.) Things that can hurt your brand are negatively reviewed products or services and/or th...

How Effective Is Crowdsourcing Really?                Crowdsourcing is an effective way to get a desired outcome from a collaborative effort. Its approach can look very different, but at its core, it all seeks to achieve the same general result; a better outcome than the individual or organization could have produced on its own. Merriam-Webster defines crowdsourcing as “the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers”. (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) There is irony in the concept of crowdsourcing as being positive. Before the internet and the onset of crowdsourcing the idea of an individual soliciting at an establishment was considered a nuisance. Some businesses went as far as placing ‘No Soliciting’ signage at their businesses; the word always carried a negative...

  Do Your Own Due Diligence                ‘Trust me bro’ , is a phrase used in the world of financial vloggers that describes an individual making a claim with no supporting evidence. Now, the fact that this individual does not provide any supporting evidence doesn’t necessarily mean that what he or she is saying is invalid, but it doesn’t help them in the credibility department. There are reasons for sources to not be directly cited. The information may have come from a whistleblower with firsthand knowledge, but this person does not want the organization to know that they are the potential leak; their identity would be considered protected information. There could be an issue of personal safety that calls for discretion but it’s imperative that the news gets out to the public, this could be a reason as well. If there is no official, legitimate reason, and no source is conveyed upon request, it’s highly like...

  The Understated Importance of the Social Media Sensei I am a self-taught social media user. I would rate myself as an intermediate skill level on Facebook and a beginner level in pretty much everything else. I am also a 44-year-old Army Recruiter in the twilight of his military career. I am obligated to use social media for prospecting efforts in recruiting and I do not have a highly successful rate of return from that form of prospecting. Recruiters receive blocks of instruction to show uses and best practices but many of us are stubborn and stuck in our ways. I am among the stubborn, but I am also aware enough to realize that this is the future of business. If I go into marketing, public relations, emergency management or any of many other career paths, they would all involve some form of social media management at the professional level. This is something that is only going to grow and become more of the norm as organizations come to realize the importance of social media ma...

    Mobile First, but Who’s Last? What’s better than best? Digital media has severely altered the course of the newsroom. It made the newspaper, along with other forms of media seem antiquated. It is faster and more efficient than the previous methods. However, digital media is not one giant communication organism; it is comprised of many different facets and actors, all trying to out-do one another. Facebook and Google have seized so much advertising revenue from utilizing content from local media that governments have been forced to step in and create legislation to effectively save the journalism industry in their respective countries. (ACCC, 2021) There are many different online firms and organizations all jockeying for position using consumer centric data. They are looking for anything that can set them apart from their competitors. Organizations that have adopted the mobile first ideology have come to the realization that more people, globally, use their smartphone...