Re-branding at its Finest: Zayn Malik Edition

Brianna Myers

Last year on this day in March Zayn Malik broke many girls’ hearts when he announced that he was leaving the international boy band One Direction. With 1/5th of the group gone, how was that going to work? Why would he do this to the masses of pre-teens and young adult women? How is he going to have a singing career outside of 1D? Fast forward one year later and Malik has released his very first solo album, Mind of Mine and it's golden. Timing is everything.

Malik took a real risk by leaving One Direction. Usually they tell you not to burn bridges in the professional world and since the split, it has been reported that he has not kept in contact with any of the other members. By separating himself from the brand because he felt as though he couldn’t truly be himself and had lost his passion for his music, he potentially could’ve ended his career altogether. Without the support of the die-hard boy band fans, his new R&B sound album could’ve flopped, but here is what he did right: He gained new fans.

In his departure from the band, there were rumors that in his new career as a solo artist he would step away from pop music and enter the sultry world of R&B. Being featured on songs with artists like Chris Brown only confirmed things and after his first single PILLOWTALK was released, it was set in stone. Say bye-bye to typical top 10 catchy melodies and open up your arms to the sweet seductive sounds of Malik’s vocals. The new songs on his album open Zayn up to a whole new crowd and it’s clear that he’s no longer making music for the teeny-boppers of his past.

My point is, re-branding is difficult. It’s a risk and in the public relations field sometimes they have to be made. In the case of Zayn, he knew that he was unhappy but wanted to continue to do something he loved. He made a complete 180 and so far, it seems to be working from him. Releasing his solo album just a year later from starting completely over is applause worthy.

Why Buzzfeed is the Best

Brianna Myers for Race, Gender and the Media

As a journalism major, my entire upper level academic career it has been preached that I should always be aware of the news. It could be print or broadcast but somehow I need to always be aware of what is going on in the world, which I agree with. As a public relations major, it is my responsibility to not be all knowing about just one subject, but to know just enough about many topics.This will come in handy later in life when I'm stuck at cocktail parties or waiting for the bride and groom to come out when I hit the age where everyone is getting married (which I think is now).

My point is, I have looked at a lot of different news outlets in the past three years. I have learned that I can't just rely on just one to give me all the facts and when it comes to something major, I must do my part and search through many news sources to get complete coverage on just one event. Although I know I can't stop here, my favorite news outlet is Buzzfeed.

Man oh man do I love me some Buzzfeed. They cover everything and I'm not even sure if they consider themselves a news outlet because they do so much. I'm going to consider them one because for the most part, that is what they do; they report. But not only do they report on world news, but they report on pop culture which just so happens is my favorite thing EVER. And it's not just the fact that they report, it's how they do it. The Buzzfeed Video segment of the company is the most diverse group of individuals I see. They frequently create videos showing how people of different sexuality, gender and race respond to things that are taken for norm. Buzzfeed continually to show that just because we have been exposed to something for majority of our lifetimes, it doesn't mean that it's politically correct. Minorities shouldn't have to be completely snubbed and labeled as sensitive just because white culture doesn't want to change their ways. Buzzfeed does an excellent job of showcasing people that other people will identify with like Black Women trying "Nude" Fashion or a girl trying on outfits that actually showed her belly fat instead of hiding it.

I really appreciate this outlet for allowing me to me entertained while also gathering news I should be aware of. I know that it doesn't cover everything I should know but for my daily quick skim of news coverage, Buzzfeed is usually my one stop shop. Not only am I learning about other cultures and people different from me, but I think it accurately helps other people understand me as a young African American woman and I definitely thank them for that.

All We Wanted Was a Dislike Button

Brianna Myers

Facebook has recently released new Reactions in addition to the old “Like” button. The new Reactions, looking similar to Apple Emojis, include Love, Haha, Wow, Sad, and Anger. They seem to be a hit with many Facebook users and due to their easy access of just hovering above the Like button.

These new emotions are actually pretty clever. It’s very awkward to Like a post about someone’s loved one who passed away. The Like button had just become a way of acknowledging a post and was very distant from the post. These new reactions allow conversations to be started and give users an opportunity to be a bit more vocal about their emotions. For marketers, they can also be a life saver. Content creators are able to see how people on Facebook react to their content before putting it on other platforms. Kind of like dipping their big toe into the pool before jumping in the ocean. If they were to see users reacting very negatively towards their content, they could easily pull it and see where they went wrong instantly. But what happened to our Dislike button?

Ever since I created my Facebook account in the 7th grade, I wondered why they couldn’t have a Dislike button. I mean you can’t like EVERYTHING. That’s annoying. I remember when there used to be Fan Pages to petition to get a Dislike button. After all these years, surely it would’ve been created. YouTube has one, but maybe Facebook didn’t want to be associated with that and wanted to be original, which luckily worked in their favor. Now that the reactions are being utilized heavily, I realize that the Dislike button would not be as effective as I once thought. The Dislike button could just turn into a way of online bullying. In a time where children are having more access to the internet at younger ages, a Dislike button could potentially be more harmful and hurtful than we imagine. Also the dislike button doesn’t really give any other initial insight. Why don’t you like this post? The reactions are able to do this more adequately.

It looks like the Facebook Reactions are here to say and possibly more in our future. I guess I’ll just have to get used to seeing four different reactions from my friends and family on one post.