Standing on the Sidelines for Clemson-Louisville

Posted on October 12, 2014 by brent

This weekend it was round two of making the trip back over to Death Valley for some Clemson football. Although this time around there were a couple of major differences. First off, I was no longer cheering for the home team. Secondly, instead of sitting in the stands at Memorial Stadium, I was standing on the sidelines. Let me tell you about my Saturday…

Yesterday started off much in the same way that the previous Saturday had began. Sidney and I got up super early and hit the road at 5:30 a.m. We made it to Clemson by 11 a.m. and after a quick stroll downtown, we started to tailgate. About an hour into our tailgating I received a text from my great friend Kenny Dow telling me that he would be on campus soon. He had flown all the way from Seattle to Clemson to watch his uncle’s Louisville team take on the Tigers (Yes, his uncle as in Bobby Petrino). Sidney and I started walking so that by the time he had arrived with the Louisville team’s police escort, we could greet him right away.

When Sidney and I met up with Kenny at around 12:45 p.m. at one of the parking lots it was a cool deal for me. It marked the first time I had seen someone I knew prior to my move to Myrtle Beach six months ago. Him and I jabbered the whole way from the lot to Sidney’s family’s tailgate spot. Keeping Sidney company while Kenny and I caught up with each other was his cousin and the head coach’s son, Bobby Petrino Jr. A student himself at Louisville, Bobby Jr. was extremely nice and genuinely interested in the Clemson culture.

Kenny and I at Papa Stanley’s Clemson tailgate.

When we arrived at the tailgate, Papa Stanley warmly welcomed Kenny and Bobby and we all had a nice time visiting and getting amped up for some football. About an hour before kickoff, Kenny, Bobby, and myself headed to the stadium. You see, I was very fortunate to have received a sideline credential from Kenny. Although I have been on the sidelines for numerous football games in my life I had never been on one in a non-working role in an 80,000 seat stadium. It was so cool to watch these huge FBS players warm up right in front of my eyes and then witness the pregame show right from ground level.

Kenny and I after we arrived inside the stadium for warm ups.

The game started and let me say this: It was loud! Not to say that last weekend wasn’t loud but this weekend it was at a whole new level. The fact that the game was close, the stadium was packed, and I was on the sidelines (you hear more than when you are in the stands) helped make it a truly rocking place. Depending on what side of the field the action was on, you could find me on that side’s 25-yard line. I really enjoyed observing the sideline organization. When players came off the field they knew exactly where to go and coaches had everything down to a science. When a drunk Clemson fan jumped over the wall right in front of a Louisville sideline meeting, the assistant coaches immediately started screaming out for security. The fan was promptly arrested. They kept all student-athletes inside the player’s box as if they had erected invisible electric fences. Even when Louisville just about scored a game-winning 90-yard touchdown, coaches kept jubilant players from jumping outside the box.

I enjoyed watching the players on the sideline.

Favorite of all for me though was watching Bobby Petrino work the sideline. I got to hear what he really says to the officials and I also got to hear what officials say back. It was so cool to enjoy that type of an all-access experience.

Bobby Petrino on the sidelines yesterday.

During halftime another special thing happened. I was able to bring Sidney down on the sidelines. Kenny very kindly slipped me an additional sideline credential to let her use. Even kinder, he left the stadium with me at halftime to make the long hike to his rental car to retrieve a Louisville football t-shirt for Sidney to wear (she was wearing orange). Kenny is a die hard sports marketer so probably all he wanted to do was watch that halftime show and see how Clemson engages their fans but he sacrificed that opportunity to help Sidney and myself out. What a selfless and great guy!

Sidney and I had a great time on the sideline.

Sidney had a spectacular time with me down on the field. Although she had urges to cheer for Clemson, she was very professional and helped keep the integrity of the Louisville sideline. Her parents saw us on television and her friends and family in the stadium got to see her standing so close to the action. She too commented on how much louder it was on the field than on the sideline.

Sidney and I got to see a great ACC football game up close.

In the end, Louisville lost a heartbreaker, 23-17. The Cardinals had the ball first and goal with a minute remaining but came up just short. I felt bad for Kenny. For him to travel all this way and to come so close to seeing his team steal one in Death Valley it definitely wasn’t the way I wanted it to end. I also felt bad for Bobby Jr. He is such a nice guy and he is incredibly invested in the team. After a few minutes of cooling down time, Sidney and I went outside the Louisville locker room where Kenny and Bobby Jr. were sitting and said our goodbyes.

It was so great to see Kenny yesterday. I am thankful that he afforded me such a great experience.

Despite the less than ideal outcome, I had a great time yesterday. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to see Kenny and incredibly appreciative for the experience he afforded Sidney and I. You bet that I will be rooting for the Louisville Cardinals the rest of the season. Don’t Blink.

Eating at a Southern BBQ Buffet

Posted on October 10, 2014 by brent

All week I had looked forward to today. In celebration of the October birthdays in our office, we had decided to go eat at a very local restaurant. Much to my excitement, this certain restaurant was an all-you-can-eat BBQ/country cooking buffet. Needless to say, you can’t get much more southern than that.

We all piled into a few vehicles and drove deep into the heart of Conway, South Carolina, until we came to a modest joint called Radd Dew’s Bar-B-Que Pit. With a big pig out in the restaurant’s lawn, I knew this place was going to be an adventure.

Welcome to Radd Dew’s Bar-B-Que Pit!

We walked in and It was honestly a blast from the past. The place looked like a diner from the 1960’s or 1970’s. The tables, chairs, floor tiling, buffet setup, and the memorabilia resting on shelves made it feel like a complete time warp. We went up in line to pay first. For under $10 you got access to all the delicious southern food you wanted plus a drink. Since it was a lunch for the October birthdays, my wonderful boss paid for me.

Here is a look inside of Radd Dew’s.

Our table was already reserved for us so we hit the buffet right away. Taking a Styrofoam plate, I looked up and down the roughly 20 items in front of me. I then got in line and loaded my plate with BBQ pulled pork, fried chicken, chicken bog, green beans, macaroni and cheese, and a dish called Brunswick Stew. I went to our table and dug in. The BBQ pork and the chicken bog were both really good. The macaroni and cheese was so-so, my girlfriend and mom both make it much better. The green beans were green beans. The Brunswick Stew wasn’t bad. But what really made my taste buds delight was the fried chicken. It was the absolute best piece of chicken I had enjoyed since moving to South Carolina. You could literally taste the grease and the butter.

My first plate is on the left and my second plate is on the right.

I was guilty of going up for a second plate. Although the buffet also contained cat fish, pork chops, French fries, rice, potato salad, and other things I couldn’t come close to identifying, I stuck primarily to my favorite items from the first trip. In addition to my second helpings of fried chicken, chicken bog, and pulled pork, I also got a biscuit. My co-workers told me it was straight lard…I enjoyed it.

The start of the buffet line.

Throughout the meal, people from my office kept asking me what I thought of the different items. They enjoyed watching me dig into the southern fare. They laughed at me pretty hard because of my former misguided western belief that “BBQ” was throwing hamburgers and hot dogs on a grill. It was a fun meal and even though I didn’t want to do it to myself, I was stuffed when it was time to go.

The three birthday boys next to a pink pig. Our student graphic worker in the middle is Daniel “Scoops” Mableton and our Director of Creative Services, Rob Wyeth, is on the right.

But while the food was good, it was the experience itself that made the trip to Radd Dew’s Bar-B-Que Pit so enjoyable. Eating off Styrofoam plates, using plastic utensils, observing the locals, admiring the quirky decorations, indulging in a dining concept that I had never enjoyed before, and having a good time with my co-workers made the lunch hour a lot of fun. I felt like a real South Carolinian today and I wouldn’t shy away from taking any of my western friends to Radd Dew’s for some soul food and culture. Don’t Blink.

The Random Ramblings of a 28-Year Old

Posted on October 9, 2014 by brent

Well friends, this is my first Thursday since turning a year older. However, I am not going to let my senior status get in the way of my weekly tradition of running down random topics. So since I am not getting any younger, how about we get right to this Thursday’s wild menu?

Birthday Recap – Yesterday I celebrated my 28th birthday. After a nice day at work where my co-workers recognized my day of birth, I hustled home to get the evening festivities started. Sidney and I went to an Italian restaurant called Ciao for dinner. Just a little hole-in-the-wall joint on Kings Highway that requires you to make reservations, we arrived for our birthday date at 7:30 p.m. I had chicken limone while Sidney had fettuccine alfredo. We then went back to her place and I opened up my gifts. Next I Skyped with my family as they sang “Happy Birthday” to me right before I blew out the candles on my cake. Ah yes, my cake…Sidney baked what she called a “Candy Bar Cake.” Chocolate with a white frosting mixed with Hershey bars, I had two big slices. I had a very pleasant birthday.

Sidney and I with the Candy Bar Birthday Cake she made me.

Licensed – I am now an official licensed driver of the state of South Carolina! After jumping through some hoops and making three different trips to the DMV, I was finally presented with my South Carolina license plate on Monday. Notice how I just said “plate.” In this state you are only required to have a plate in the back, thus allowing you to have pretty much anything you want in the front. After flirting with the idea of having a custom front plate displaying my social media handle and my blog address, I decided to support my school instead and I purchased a cool looking Coastal Carolina University plate. Although a great conversation starter with total strangers who had never seen Washington state license plates before, I finally removed them on Monday night.

I am not a licensed driver of South Carolina.

I am now a licensed driver of South Carolina.

Weekend Plans – I am ecstatic to return to Clemson this weekend. Just like last Saturday I will be watching a big football game in Memorial Stadium. However, things will be just a tad different. Instead of rocking the Clemson orange again, I will be wearing red as I cheer on the Louisville Cardinals. I have the honor of watching the game with my good friend Kenny Dow. It just so happens that his uncle is Bobby Petrino, the head football coach of Louisville. Kenny is coming to Clemson all the way from Seattle to watch this game! When we meet on Saturday it will be the first time that I have seen someone I actually know since before I made the move to Myrtle Beach. After almost six months living here in the South, it will be nice to see the face of someone familiar.

I purchased this shirt online to wear on Saturday.

Candy Corn M&Ms – On Sunday morning, Sidney and I ate at a Cracker Barrel in Simpsonville, South Carolina. Because of my sweet tooth, I had to purchase a new kind of M&M’s that I spotted in the restaurant’s store. Although I have never liked candy corn, it didn’t stop me from buying a bag of Candy Corn M&M’s. I am happy to report that the candies tasted nothing like candy corn. Instead, it tasted exactly like white chocolate. Although not bad, I still prefer peanut or peanut butter M&M’s.

The package of Candy Corn M&M’s that I purchased.

Niece Update – Mikayla is now five weeks old. After work today I got to Skype her and my sister. The whole time she made cute noises as she laid on her back and moved her little arms all around. Although her grandma reported that she wasn’t very cooperative when she went to get her month old photos taken this past Saturday, she acted like a little angel during our Skype session. Here are some of the most recent images of Mikayla.

Mikayla gets cuter and cuter each week.

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Age is just a number, right? Got to keep telling myself that. I am excited for my first major adventure as a 28-year old this Saturday. Thanks for all the birthday wishes and have a great weekend! Don’t Blink.

A Birthday Tradition at Work

Posted on October 8, 2014 by brent

The Office of University Communication at Coastal Carolina University is a great place to work. One of the many reasons why I enjoy it so much is because of our fun traditions. We hold premiere parties for new shows/videos we release, we go out to lunch each month to celebrate birthdays, and quite often people bring in yummy breakfast items on Fridays. However, there is one tradition that I like the best of all.

Whenever someone in our office has a birthday, our graphics department takes it upon themselves to create a card for that person. I am not talking about a basic piece of paper folded together with some text on it. Rather, I am talking about an elaborate, creative, funny masterpiece.

This was the card made for our Media Coordinator, Mona. As you can tell, it is a play on her name.

Rob, Regis, J.D., and Ron go out of their way to make cards that look awesome and that will make you laugh out loud. Their creations always speak to the birthday celebrant’s personality. If you are lucky enough to work in University Communication, on your birthday you will receive the best card of your life.

This was the card that our Vice President of University Communication (my boss) received. It is a Twitter timeline with tweets from people in the office. There are two other parts to this card with more tweet birthday wishes.

Once printed out, the card is secretly shuffled through our various offices in a red proofing folder for everyone to sign. When everyone has signed it and the time is right, the whole communication team will go to the birthday boy’s/girl’s desk and present the card. The crowd will huddle around the person’s desk and stare. The VIP of the day will then inspect the card, usually busting out in laughter.

Some of my bosses and co-workers waiting for me to open my card.

Today my 28th birthday was made even brighter when I was presented with my card from the “Social Misfits” (aka the graphics department…their words not mine). With the whole office watching my every move it took me two lines of the card before I hollered out in hysteria. Rob and his team came up with a parody of Darius Rucker’s “Homegrown Honey” that was all about me. Piggybacking off of my brief cameo in Rucker’s music video, the card was very timely and appropriate. Please take a minute to read the front.

Here is the front of my card. So funny and creative.

I then opened the card and filling up the whole left fold was a jar of “Homegrown” honey with my face plastered on it. To the right was space where my co-workers and bosses had signed. Even though I knew a card of some sort would be coming my way, I was so ecstatic and honored with what they had come up with.

The inside of my card.

Things like this make Coastal Carolina University such a great place to work at. The effort, creativity, and time that goes into something like this makes you feel special. I will keep this card for as long as it doesn’t get destroyed in a fire. Thank you so much to the graphics team for such a neat gift. Don’t Blink.

My Top Five Emoticon Faces

Posted on October 7, 2014 by brent

On more than one occasion I have written about my affinity for emoticons (here and here). While my love and heavy use for these cartoonish images run deep, there is a subcategory that I am obsessed with the most…the faces! I completely litter my text messages with the fun and silly expressions on yellow circles. Ahhh, the small lengths it takes to entertain me.

I use a wide variety of the faces. However, some particular ones I absolutely abuse. In tonight’s blog post I would like to recognize the five emoticon faces that I use way too much (presented in no particular order):

I am a real big fan of emoticon faces.

The Classic Smiley

Who doesn’t love the classic smiley?

Let me start my list off with the most boring face to dominate my text messages. Even though it is the most prevalent and cliché emoticon, it is a classic and I love what it stands for. You can pretty much say whatever nasty thing you want in a text but if you stick in the classic smiley at the end you are good to go. But that is not the way I utilize it. Rather, I stick in the face to say “okay” or I use it in response to something funny that my texting partner wrote. I will use it if I write something that might sound hostile over text but really isn’t or I will use it at the very end of a texting conversation. You just can’t go wrong with it no matter how you use it.

Tongue Out Winking Smiley

This is a great emoticon for when you are in a silly mood.

I enjoy using this face because I think it is a sillier upgrade on the winky face without the smile. If I am making an especially outrageous joke this is my go-to emoticon. If I want to lighten the mood with someone I also might send a few of these my recipient’s way. I mean how do you dislike this emoticon? It is cute, simple, and fun.

The Scream

The Scream emoticon is my absolute favorite.

Without a doubt, this is by far my most favorite emoticon face. I love the way it looks and I love how it is so dramatic. I really think it carries with it a lot of power. Sometimes I abuse this power and overuse it way too much just because I think it is hilarious to do. But in normal conversation if someone says something surprising or if I drop some breaking news I am sticking it in. With Halloween coming up I will be using It more than usual because it fits the holiday perfectly. If you are reading this right now and you text me The Scream emoticon you will make me smile ear-to-ear.

Mouth Zipped Shut

I am not saying a word.

I find myself using this one quite a bit. Usually I select the mouth zipped shut emoticon face in three situations:
1. I don’t know what to say back to what you said.
2. I am not 100% positive what you said was the truth.
3. I want to end the conversation.

But if I send it your way don’t automatically think I am doing it to be negative. Sometimes I just send it to mess with the other person.

Overdramatic Pouty Face

I get a kick out of the overdramatic faces.

This is another face that I like to use because of its dramatic nature. One glance at it and you can immediately sense hysteria and disappointment. If someone denies me or if they report that something bad happened to them, I like to respond with the overdramatic pouty face. When people send it my way, I always immediately visualize what that face would look like on them if they were actually doing it while sending it off.

Honorable Mention:
Sunglasses Smiley Face

Sunglasses

I have taken a real liking to this emoticon. I will send it completely out of the blue during conversations just because I think it looks cool. This explains the reason why I didn’t place it in my top five; I don’t have a specific use for it, I just send it off because I dig the sunglasses look.

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So there you have it. Please know that it is always acceptable to use emoticons, especially the emoticon faces, with me. Earlier I encouraged you to text me the Scream face. How about we broaden this a little more: If you liked this blog post, send me an emoticon face. If you did not like this blog post, send me the thumbs down emoticon! Oh how I love reader interaction. Don’t Blink.

My Own Segment: The Social Circle with Brent Reser

Posted on October 6, 2014 by brent

To see my segment in Coastal Now, click here and go to the 26:22 mark

Today marked an important day at the Office of University Communication at Coastal Carolina as we released our brand new show titled Coastal Now. This program was the result of countless hours of brainstorming, debating, and collaborating. Intending to appeal more to our student population, we wanted to introduce a modernized version of our former show, Coastal Today. By modifying the show’s format, introducing hipper segments, and rolling out fresh graphics, we achieved our objective.

Here is the funny part: As part of the show’s revamp and the mission to grab the attention of our digitally obsessed students, it was decided that I would receive my own segment.

I was given my own segment. Let me introduce to you the Social Circle with Brent Reser.

Say what?! Like, seriously…I was going to be trusted with developing my own social media segment?…For the University’s news program?…And then actually present it on camera? Talk about an intimidating and humbling proposition! Although a little timid to come up with a package and then nervous to tape it on set, I went ahead and accepted the opportunity because of the amazing team I have around me.

The week before filming, I sat down with Martha Hunn, our Director of News and Public Affairs. A former hot-shot news anchor in the Myrtle Beach/Conway area, I knew I was in good hands as we started to plan my segments. Using an idea-sharing approach we talked out the beginning and end of my first two show packages. After our discussion, half my script was written in Martha’s iPad. She then gave me the freedom to write the meat of my segments myself. With the great start she gave me, I filled in the middle portions and my first two scripts for Coastal Now were complete.

The next week at the studio I felt a little nervous as I waited in the greenroom area. I watched our host of Coastal Now, Robin Russell, film her pieces and interview a couple guests. It was then time for me. I walked into the filming area and stood in front of the green screen. Our media services crew cued me and I hit it. I stumbled a couple times resulting in new takes. However, the whole time throughout the shoot I had Martha and Robin rooting me on and assuring me that I was doing a decent job. To have two veterans of the news business in your corner makes things so much easier. You know what else makes things easier? A teleprompter! It was so nice to read a script with no fear of your brain turning off and your voice disappearing.

Me on set of Coastal Now.

All the times in the past when I had gotten in front of a camera I always dreaded the end product. However, after filming my first segments for Coastal Now I actually felt good about what the outcome would be. To make it even better, I had a great time during the filming. This past Friday our office had a premiere party in the studio. We sat around a TV and munched on snacks while watching the historic first show of Coastal Now. The finished product was amazing. Our media services team did such a great job shooting and piecing the show together. Segments were fresh and fun. The 30 minute show seemed to fly by. They even managed to make me look somewhat respectable. It was cool to see a group work so hard on something and have their efforts pay off.

If you care to watch me, the Social Circle with Brent Reser starts at 26:22. I want to thank Martha Hunn, Robin Russell, David Russell, Bryan Stalvey, and Josh Chesson for the help with creating/filming/producing my segment and for all the encouragement. This so far has been a great experience and I can’t wait to help out with more shows. Don’t Blink.

My Clemson Football Experience

Posted on October 5, 2014 by brent

I celebrated my birthday weekend doing what I would want to do more than anything else: Watching football. To make the occasion even sweeter my pleasure was maximized as I just didn’t get to “watch football.” Rather, I had the opportunity to travel to a major college football destination for an awesome gameday experience.

Early Saturday morning, Sidney and I hit the road for Clemson, South Carolina. My girlfriend had arranged the whole day for me with tailgating, Clemson vs. North Carolina State game tickets, and hotel reservations. The five hour drive seemed to go quickly as we arrived in Clemson at around 11:30 a.m. After we parked, we walked through campus by legions of tailgating fans before we converged on the tailgate of the father of Sidney’s brother-in-law.

When we were walking to our tailgate, we went past the stadium. I snapped this photo.

Affectionately referred to as “Papa Stanley,” we hung out at his tailgate while enjoying deep fried pork chops, chicken strips, macaroni cheese, and cold beverages. After filling our stomachs, we went to the most popular public tailgate spot at Clemson, the Esso Club. A former gas station, the place is now a famous bar that throws one heck of a party on Clemson football Saturdays. Sidney and I went up on this wood stage structure that overlooked all the tables and activity outside. With a bucket of beer in front of us and a television showing the day’s games behind us, we people-watched and had a great time.

This was the view that Sidney and I had at Esso Club.

Upon leaving Esso Club we made a quick return stop at Papa Stanley’s tailgate and then went right to Clemson Memorial Stadium. We had to hustle a little bit but we got inside the stadium and made it to our seats right before the team took part in the most heralded Clemson tradition: Running Down the Hill. If you haven’t heard of it, the Clemson football team makes its pregame entrance by literally running down a hill located behind one of the end zones as orange balloons fly in the air. Sidney made sure I got to see this iconic college football tradition.

We made it to our seats just in time for the team to run down the hill.

Our seats were located about 20 rows up on the 30-yard line. Take into consideration that the stadium holds 81,000 people and you can probably understand that we had amazing seats. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. Kickoff was at 3:30 p.m. and the sun was shining the whole time on a 65 degree afternoon. The stadium was a complete sea of orange, making it a really cool atmosphere to watch a game in. The video board was crystal clear and the game presentation well done. In-game advertisements and sponsorship promotions were just like what you see (and as plentiful) at any other college football stadium. While not the loudest venue, the fans were very passionate and the school’s signature C-L-E-M-S-O-N cheer was always done with great enthusiasm. Fans were also very nice. One woman showed Sidney and I where our seats were and throughout the game the people around us offered up high-fives in our direction.

This was the view from our seats.

There were lots of high-fives to go around. Clemson obliterated North Carolina State, 41-0. We enjoyed watching several highlight reel type plays including a record-tying feat by one of the best defensive players in the country. Right at the part of the field where our seats were, Clemson defensive end Vic Beasley tied the school sack record by leveling the Wolfpack quarterback causing a fumble in which he caught in mid-air and returned for a touchdown. Yep, there was a lot to cheer about throughout the game. My favorite in-game stadium moment came between the third and fourth quarter when the video board showed a sweet video of the Clemson players going through strenuous workouts both in the weight room and on the football field. After numerous instances of student-athletes depicted pushing the limits the team’s “All-In” slogan flashed and the words “Fourth Quarter” appeared. It was a great way to pump up the crowd and show that the Tigers had trained all year for the most important quarter of a football game.

Sid and I in our seats. We had such a great time!

Despite the blowout, we stayed until the very end of the game. Walking back to the car we passed by countless fans getting ready for post-game tailgating. Traffic was heavy and it took us a long time to get out of the Clemson area. We drove for about 50 miles before settling in a town called Simpsonville for the night. Sidney and I went to Applebee’s where we watched the late college football games and recounted the day’s experience. This morning after breakfast at Cracker Barrel we traveled back to Myrtle Beach. I had an amazing trip and am so thankful to Sidney for putting it together. Clemson has a great thing going on! Don’t Blink.

Bo-Berry Biscuits, Clemson Football, World Series, Pecan, Mikayla

Posted on October 2, 2014 by brent

It is Thursday again! That means two really good things:
1. Tomorrow is Friday!
2. It is time for my Thursday rundown.
So how about we get this over with as quickly as possible? Here are five topics for you.

Famous Treat of the South – I recently wrote about my top five favorite fast food places. Cracking the bottom of that list was Bojangles, a chicken restaurant chain down here in the South. While I have enjoyed the standard fare for both dinner and breakfast, I had neglected to try its most famous item: The Bo-Berry biscuit. Today, Joanna, our editor at Coastal Carolina, brought in a couple boxes of the delicacy. Even though my body didn’t need for me to indulge, I grabbed one of the football shaped pastries and brought it to my desk. I savored every single bite of that frosted berry biscuit. I immediately knew why the item is so popular.

I took one of these Bo-Berry biscuits right out of this box!

Weekend Trip to Clemson – This weekend Sidney is taking me on a birthday getaway to Clemson, South Carolina, for some ACC football. The Clemson Tigers will be hosting North Carolina State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Our plan is to wake up super early on Saturday, drive over, experience the tailgating scene, enjoy the game, and then stay the night. We will head back to the Beach on Sunday morning. As many of you know, I love seeing different stadiums, no matter how small or big. I can’t wait to see the gameday experience that Clemson has to offer. Ironically, I will be returning to Clemson the following weekend for the game against Louisville. But more on that later.

Tickets and parking pass for this weekend’s game.

World Series Pick – The Major League Baseball playoffs are here! Both wild card games ended in disappointment for me so I am hoping my luck turns around now that the actual playoff series begin. My preference (and semi-prediction) for the 2014 World Series? Bring on the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers! Because I saw the Orioles play a couple games in their own ballpark this year, I am going to root for them. Last year I saw the Boston Red Sox play in their own ballpark and they won the World Series so I am seeing if I am some type of good luck charm. As for the Dodgers, I have always been a fan and I would love to see Clayton Kershaw pitch on that stage. I would also love to see World Series games inside of Dodger Stadium, my second favorite ballpark in the Majors.

Pecan or Pecan? – As I have written about before, living in a new area has introduced me to different ways of pronouncing words and to the proliferation of different accents. There is one word, however, that divides our office more than any other: Pecan. Including me, half of our office pronounces it Pee-CON. The other half pronounce it Pee-CAN. I will be the first one to admit it, the way that I say it is not how it is spelled. The way that my southern co-workers pronounce it (Pee-CAN) is technically textbook correct. I might have to change my family-taught way of saying the word phonically incorrectly. How do you say PECAN?

Mikayla Update/Photos – A couple nights ago I got to Skype with my brand new niece Mikayla while my mom fed her. She is now four weeks old and cuter than ever. My sister sends me constant Snap Chat videos and photos of her. My dad e-mails me images on a consistent basis. Technology really does a noble job of bridging the distance gap but I am excited to see her this Thanksgiving.

Mikayla keeps getting cuter and cuter each day.

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Have a great weekend everyone. Make sure to listen to “Homegrown Honey” by Darius Rucker because it is an awesome song with an even more awesome music video. Shake it down to your roots! Don’t Blink.

How Should I Utilize Yik Yak?

Posted on September 30, 2014 by brent

The newest social media phenomenon, especially when it comes to the area that I specialize in, is here. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you will very soon. Yik Yak is a community messaging service that has taken college campuses across the country by storm. Of those universities heavily engaged in the service, Coastal Carolina University is one of them. Before I go any further, let me explain the twist of Yik Yak…

It is completely anonymous.

Get used to seeing this, it is the Yik Yak logo.

The service is organized by communities. A community is an area defined by a 10-mile radius. If you fit within those parameters, you can communicate with other smart phone possessing folks also in that area. Visualize a Twitter feed for a second. This is similar to how content is displayed in Yik Yak. However, the major wrinkle is that instead of a handle identifying who the message is from, there is absolutely nothing to distinguish who says what. It is a complete free-for-all of text streaming up and down the screen with no one to attribute the content to.

When a user posts something on Yik Yak, it is called a Yak. Users can respond to Yaks. They can also vote Yaks up and down. If a Yak is supposedly voted down enough it is deleted from the community. Rules state that you can’t post phone numbers, bully other users, or fill communities with spam.

Before you download Yik Yak on your smart device let me warn you…it is not for the faint of heart. Realize that you have college students releasing every thought that enters their head with the knowledge that whatever they say is completely anonymous and carries with it absolutely no consequences. As you can probably imagine, communities that are especially active are filled with heavy sexual content, drug references, and bad language. But if you can get past all that, Yik Yak is pretty fun.

After a lot of searching, this was one stream of Yaks that I could post that weren’t inappropriate. This is from the Coastal Carolina peak and it gives you a feel for what Yik Yak is all about.

This past weekend when I was in Columbia for ESPN College Gameday I was following the University of South Carolina Yik Yak community pretty intensely. It was a lot of fun seeing what others were saying about the Gameday experience and I was enjoying interacting with fellow users. It made the waiting process go by much quicker.

However, when it comes to the school that I work for, I don’t utilize it to socialize. In fact, to be completely honest, I haven’t yet developed a social media strategy for Yik Yak yet at Coastal Carolina University. Rather, I am still experimenting with it and seeing which direction I want to take. For the past several weeks I have sprinkled CCU updates and marketing messages within our community. These Yaks have garnered both positive responses and sarcastic comments from fellow users. The main problem for someone in my position is that my Yaks carry no more credibility or significance than the dude sending out Yaks regarding the inappropriate things he wants to do to the girl in the dining hall. Whereas with every other social media service I am able to take on the respected identity of Coastal Carolina University, with Yik Yak I am just regarded as a nerd sending out G-rated messages.

For any social media marketer to turn a blind eye to Yik Yak would be a major mistake, especially those working on college campuses. Coastal Carolina University has a presence on this new service that is very involved. It is now my job to figure out the best way for CCU to effectively enter the discussion. Any ideas would be appreciated. Don’t Blink.

Making the Cut: My Cameo in Darius Rucker’s Music Video

Posted on September 29, 2014 by brent

This morning I had the opportunity to stand in front of the cameras and record a couple segments for our news program at Coastal Carolina University. Afterwards, I tweeted out a couple images of the shoot. These photos, along with my recent cameo on College Gameday, resulted in a local reporter tweeting at me saying that I was becoming famous. I tweeted back something silly and then started to eat lunch.

This Twitter exchange would become pretty ironic just a few minutes after it took place.

Right in the middle of eating my peanut butter sandwich I received a tweet from a Darius Rucker fan account (@DRucker_Fandom) notifying me that the music video for “Homegrown Honey” had been released and that I was famous (after the concert in August, I provided the account with some photos I took and since then they have always liked me). If you remember, I participated in the filming of the video with no promises that I would actually ever appear. Eating lunch with me was my co-worker Kim. I told her to pull right up beside me and I clicked the link to watch the video.

I was alerted that the video had been released by the Twitter account @DRucker_Fandom

We watched eagerly as the music video started to play. We pointed out different things and places that we recognized as the video unfolded. Halfway through the song, the big question on whether I would make the cut for Darius Rucker’s newest music video was answered. At the 1:42 mark right when the Homegrown Honey character takes a selfie with Darius you can clearly see me on the right side of the screen with a goofy looking grin spread across my face. It was kind of exciting.

I had my two seconds of “fame” at the 1:42 mark of the Homegrown Honey video.

It is not like if you didn’t know me that you would ever notice my presence in the shot. I am on screen for all but two seconds. If you are a girl you are looking right at Darius and if you are a guy you are looking straight at the Homegrown Honey. No time to notice the awkward looking dude in the far right portion of the screen. But I made the video and that is what counts…definitely a moment that made my day.

Of course the real story in this all is the superb way in which Coastal Carolina University is showcased. Aside from the bar scene, the entirety of the video is shot in our HTC Center. In the hallway shots you can clearly see the Chanticleer logo. You get a great view of the arena when it is just Darius and his band members playing right into the camera. You get a taste of the atmosphere that was generated by our community during the concert shots. And throughout the whole video, whether it was in the hallway or in the crowd shots, our students were featured front and center. Not many college campuses can say a musician of Darius Rucker’s stature filmed a music video on their campus.

The video “Homegrown Honey” produced some priceless shots showcasing Coastal Carolina University.

After all the excitement in our office settled down and the video was no longer playing on every computer in our department, I tweeted out the still shot of me in the video. It didn’t take long for my reporter friend to tweet back at me. Hmmmmm…maybe she is on to something. Don’t Blink.

Needless to say, I knew this tweet was coming.

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser

Author Archives: brent