I won’t get into what the video is all about — again, if you haven’t seen at least one version of it already, shame on you — but I do want to point out a great app that seems to be growing in popularity as quickly as the “Harlem Shake” called Vine. According to the app developers, Vine is “the best way to see and share life in motion.” Using the app, you can create six-second looping videos in a simple and fun way and share it through the app itself or on Twitter and/or Facebook.

For those who are interested in making their own videos (“Harlem Shake” or any other), check out Vine. And don’t forget to use the hashtag #vine on Twitter when sharing it. Maybe your video will be the next big Internet meme.

Before I leave you, I feel it is my duty as a proud University of Maryland alumna to share my favorite “Harlem Shake” video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbPPvOtn5g8. Go Terps!

“Profiles Pick” is a series of posts where we share with our readers something pertaining to social media that we think you ought to be aware of.  This could be an interesting blog post or a blogger, a clever tweet or a Twitter handle you should follow, or a video or Facebook page to check out.

Quick to jump on the bandwagon and forsake my old city you may ask? Nah. I only lived in San Francisco for a little over a year and experienced more baseball hype than football. Also, as an Ole Miss Alumna – and pledge sister of Collins Tuohy’s – I feel like I have a legit reason to continue to cheer on Michael Oher and thus call myself a Ravens fan.

WHAT. A. GAME.

After a strong start by the Ravens, Beyonce’s beyond-ridiculously-amazing halftime performance, the third quarter power outage (which I think was carefully calculated by one of my San Fran techie friends) and the nail-biter ending, I was so overcome with excitement that one would have thought I was a born-and-raised Baltimorean who bled purple.

What was most exciting about the Ravens’ Super Bowl win was everything that led up to and followed it. Not only was this my first time to experience Baltimore during a Ravens’ Super Bowl win – this was my first time to experience any city during a Super Bowl win. It was truly amazing to see how the community rallied together to support its beloved team and even more amazing to see how they welcomed them home.

On a work-related note, it was also pretty awesome to see B&O American Brasserie, J.Paul’s, The Prime Rib and The Rusty Scupper – four of Profiles’ restaurant clients – featured on the TODAY Show during a “Taste of Baltimore” segment as part of their pre-Super Bowl coverage. I’m not sure what was more exciting: watching Natalie Morales sample B&O’s Crab Mac N Cheese or Jacoby Jones set an NFL postseason record with his 108-yard kickoff return against the 49ers.

On Tuesday morning, my colleague, Amy Burke Friedman, and myself ventured downtown for the Ravens Super Bowl Parade and Party. After waiting 40 minutes to get on the Light Rail – another first for me – we successfully joined the crowd of 200,000 to celebrate the win. Below is a picture I was able to snap in the stadium. Go Ravens!

Lindsay Jordan, Account Executive, Profiles, Inc.

Here are some of the tweets that had me rolling on the floor:

• “Put thy Faith in the Lord.  Put thy money on Flacco.”
• “May the Mighty Ray-Ray smite thy Broncos of Judas Elway.”
• “Adam Vinatieri in the playoffs is like Noah in bad weather…he gets it done.”

Go Ravens!

-Jamie

“Profiles Pick” is a series of posts where we share with our readers something pertaining to social media that we think you ought to be aware of.  This could be an interesting blog post or a blogger, a clever tweet or a Twitter handle you should follow, or a video or Facebook page to check out.

Amy Burke Friedman, Vice President: Be the best teacher/mentor I can be for the younger ladies in the office who are just getting their feet wet in the PR industry.

Jamie Watt Arnold, Vice President: Be more aware of national media outlets and story opportunities in those outlets for our clients with the ultimate goal of securing national coverage.

Marianne Ortiz, Senior Account Manager:  Spend more time reading hard copies of newspapers and magazines. Reading online news is fine most of the time, but there is nothing like seeing a client’s name and photo printed in the paper.

Lindsay Jordan, Account Executive: Learn more about Baltimore, especially the different media outlets. I’ve only been here a few months and I love exploring!

Erin Culloty, Account Coordinator: Connect with media more often through Twitter by tweeting from my personal account.

Christina Camba, Junior Account Executive: Attend more networking and development events so I can learn more about working in PR.

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

As the two Internship Coordinators at Profiles, we are responsible for managing our internship program. Each semester, we post job descriptions online, reach out to Towson, UMD, Stevenson and other local schools’ career centers, review incoming resumes, and schedule and conduct interviews. It’s a lengthy process, but one that always pays off once a bright student (or two) joins us to help with everything from drafting press materials to managing media clips. In such a small office, our interns play a large role on our team and contribute to our success as a company. We are very grateful to have them!

Because of the large amount of responsibility placed on the interns at Profiles, we hold them to a high standard and truly regard them as part of the Profiles family. Through the Internship Essentials blog series, we will share our thoughts on everything intern-related, whether it is an intern success story or a tip for becoming the best possible intern wherever you should choose to work.  We hope that not only students can take something away from our posts, but other young PR professionals like us can as well.

We promise our interns benefit just as much as we do from their time at Profiles because you won’t find them fetching us coffee. Our interns’ duties include: preparing press clippings; writing and editing press materials; participating in planning and strategy sessions; developing story ideas; working with journalists, photographers and television camera crews; assisting with the management of online communities for Profiles and its clients; and assisting in the planning and execution of special events, including on-site assistance. If you think that you or someone you know would be a good fit for our internship program, we are still looking for an eager student to join us this spring on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Visit our careers page to learn more about the program and submit a resume.

– Erin Culloty and Christina Camba

With the holiday season upon us, I find myself looking at different social media outlets to find inspiration for the perfect gift ideas, crafty decorating tips and delicious holiday recipes. I, along with other friends of mine, have found the best sparks of holiday spirit and creative ideas on Pinterest. Constantly repining, I have found affordable ways to decorate my college apartment for Christmas as well as purchase gifts for family members with the pins conveniently linking me right to the products’ websites. Some of my favorite pins and boards include how to make a candy cane star, personalized wire ornaments and the perfect stocking stuffers.

More and more businesses now look at Pinterest as a huge marketing opportunity. This time of year, companies and businesses need to get in “Pinterest shape” and create pins and boards that show their own brand and create sales opportunities. Below are a few tips for brands to best utilize Pinterest’s power during the holidays:

• Optimize your pins- Write detailed descriptions on your pins that show off your company’s brand.  This will allow your pins to have more views by pinners searching for products.
• Blend in your products- Create specific boards with pins and other products your company can relate to in order to gain more followers.
• Get listed in “Pinterest gifts”- If a price description is given, the pin will automatically be placed in the Pinterest Gift Section, where many go for gift ideas.

For additional tips like these visit this blog post.

Like myself, many avid Pinterest users are heavily relying on the creative hub for ideas and ways to perfect holiday traditions. This year, Pinterest launched a holiday campaign called “30 Days of Pinspiration”. Set up like an advent style calendar, each day a company, organization or nonprofit can market their brand and display their favorite holiday boards and pins, to inspire viewers for their own holiday celebrations. This is a perfect opportunity to sell your brand, while offering holiday relevant ideas to pinners.

By using the right branding techniques on this fast-growing social network, brands can find great success from the magic of Pinterest. Happy Pinning!

– Harlee Gallo, Intern

With almost 150,000 followers on Twitter and more than 60,000 likes on Facebook, I’m clearly not the first person to discover this parody account from the young tot who enjoys “attention, cake, television, running & games.”

For this blog post, I tried to pick out a few funny tidbits from Honest Toddler’s blog, Twitter handle and Facebook page and ended up spending an hour giggling in front of my computer. That said, I highly recommend working parents to visit these when you’re not on the clock!

Here are a few wise words from one very Honest Toddler:

Do you have any parody sites you can’t get enough of? Share them with us!

- Amy B. F.

“Profiles Pick” is a series of posts where we share with our readers something pertaining to social media that we think you ought to be aware of.  This could be an interesting blog post or a blogger, a clever tweet or a Twitter handle you should follow, or a video or Facebook page to check out.

A few highlights (thus far) from my first holiday season in Baltimore include:

• Judging trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses at Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Festival of Trees. I was lucky enough to be a judge this year and had the opportunity to closely examine every single tree, wreath and gingerbread house at the festival. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. It was truly like walking through a Winter Wonderland!
• Shopping in Harbor East and admiring the Window Wonderland displays. Who doesn’t love to shop during the holidays? Even better – and cheaper – is window-shopping! The window displays in the shops and restaurants in Harbor East, which were designed by local artists, definitely put me in the holiday spirit.
• The Power Plant Holiday Light Show Spectacular. Period. I’ve seen something like this before…on YouTube…but seeing it in real life was awesome!

More holiday festivities that I’m looking forward to include:

• Old Tyme Christmas in Fells Point. I’m literally bundling up and heading that way as soon as I shut down my computer for the weekend. TGIF!
• Lighting of Baltimore’s Washington Monument. I’ve heard this “Monumental Occasion” is pretty amazing, so I won’t be missing it.
• The Polar Express 4D Experience. Is 25 too old to go to the National Aquarium and watch 4D movies? I think not.
• Miracle on 34^th Street. The holiday season simply isn’t complete without a good old-fashioned neighborhood stroll to admire the lights and decorations.

To everyone out there who’s lived in Baltimore for more than three months – am I leaving any must do’s or must see’s off of my list? What are your favorite Baltimore holiday activities?

Until next time, Happy Holidays!

Lindsay

 Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping days of the year and without some organization, shoppers will miss out on the biggest sales and best deals.  The Black Friday Survival Guide gives novice and advanced shoppers a one-stop-shop to find and organize deals for everyone on their list.

Features include:

Get notifications on breaking news and leaked ads in real time

See store circulars and advertisements

Search for deals by store or category

View discounted products and prices

Create your very own shopping list

Have a great holiday! Ready, set, shop!

With Thanksgiving coming up next week, we got to thinking about what we’re thankful for here at the office. Luckily, our Flipcam wasn’t far away!