Meet The ‘Popular Girls’ At School

In each ‘school’ or market their is a different ‘it’ girl. In the entertainment industry for example, one could argue that Disney is ‘it,’ and when it comes to information and technology that Google is at the head of the class. While their are plenty of businesses that feel that they deserve a piece of the pie, what it comes down to is who is sitting at the head of the table.

As a ‘popular girl’ one of the most important things is protecting their interests. If a new girl shows up at school and they are deemed a threat to the popularity of the ‘it’ girl, one of two things could happen. The first is to bring them into their own group which would allow them to shape their popularity, and the second would be to push them out of the picture. While these options may seem unreasonable and rash, the same tactics are being used by large corporations all the time. When a company sees a competitor enter the market that directly challenges their business they will take measures to protect themselves. Take for example the deal in 2005 that saw Disney buy Pixar for an incredible 7.4 billion dollars. While many may scoff at the price tag that Disney had to pay, Disney realized that by acquiring Pixar they were not only locking up all the creative talents of Pixar, but they were also preventing others from gaining from them.

Making Enemies Is Part Of The Game

Just like Chess and Jenga, the business world can also be thought of one giant game. Each move made will either bring you closer to victory or defeat. While companies like Microsoft and Apple may be considered to be the ‘popular girls’ of the business world, that doesn’t meant that they haven’t made enemies along the way.

Be it directly or indirectly, each step that the company takes means someones gain and someones loss. Although no one likes making enemies it is a fact that can’t be avoided. What makes it worth it is the rewards that come with being popular.

Using Social Media To Become Popular The Right Way

From tying your shoes to driving a car, someone always has an opinion on which is the right way and the wrong way. When it comes to becoming popular, people will give you a million different ways on how to accomplish this, but none can guarantee you it’ll work. Still, their are things that people will agree on as far as what the wrong way is.

Thanks to social media sites like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, everything we say and hear is shared with the world. Because sites like these are such powerful public relations tools, it is important that businesses, and personalities alike learn to not only use them effectively, but also responsibly.

A great example of a large company that is using social media the right way to increase their popularity is Whole Foods. While they are not the only ones, at just over 1.3 million followers on Twitter, Whole Foods was one of the first corporations to embrace social media and use it not only as a community building tool, but as a way to expose themselves to the world.

If you heard that the popular girl didn’t use Facebook, YouTube or Twitter would she still be the popular girl? Probably not. Part of what makes her the popular girl is that she is someone that reflects what is trendy and ‘in.’ Because social media platforms are becoming such a large part in the way we interact with others, in the business world, part of being on top means being able to understand how to use them along with what peoples perceptions are of you as well as how to deal with your community.

The Power Of The Popular Girl

Imagine that you are software development company and all of a sudden Apple decides that they want to be ‘friends’ with you. Aside from feelings of happiness and disbelief, you will also feel lucky. How often is it that a company like Apple will decide to be friends with you? From your friendship, the opportunities are limitless. From the possibility of creating new applications for their operating systems to the new network connections that you will be able to get, being friends with the ‘popular girl’ has its perks.

For most businesses and entrepreneurs, having the chance to work and be friends with the ‘popular girl’ is a dream. The popular girl can take an idea that would take many years to develop and market and do it in half the time.

Always remember: doors open a lot easier when you have the ‘popular girl’ on your side.

Do you work 9-5, have a family to take care of at home and feel like the world is on your shoulders? If so you might be a superhero. Don’t believe me? Well I don’t know if I would either. As a child I learned from watching Saturday morning cartoons and reading comic books that superhero’s were these ‘god-like’ characters that would save the girl and defeat the bad guy. They didn’t have families, they didn’t have jobs, they were just superheroes.

In the 2004 Disney blockbuster hit, The Incredibles, we are introduced to the Parr Family. The Parr’s are a reflection of the average American family in that they face many of the same issues that family’s face. From the struggle to spend quality time with family to money issues, The Parr’s resemble a ‘real-life’ family that most people can relate too. As we all know though, Disney puts a twist to it all. The Parr’s are actually superheroes trying to fit into society. The movie may seem like another made for kids movie, but it has a deeper meaning to it. While its messages may not be as obvious as such movies such as Crash, it is able to connect with society based on its stereotypes and social messages.

You Are A Superhero

So you probably still don’t believe you are a superhero, but that is about to change. Let’s take the character of Bob Parr who is also known as Mr. Incredible. Mr. Incredible used to be a famous superhero known for saving lives everyday. The movie fast forwards fifteen years later, to Mr. Incredible and his wife, Elastigirl, both of whom have adopted civilian identities and attempt to live a “normal life”. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl also have three children who also have super powers: Violet, Dash and baby Jack. The movies main plot focuses on the struggle of Mr. Incredible and his desire to return to super hero work which has been outlawed by the government due to too many failed “rescue attempts” by heroes.

Believe it or not, but you may be closer to Mr. Incredible than you think. Mr. Incredible’s powers are super strength. While the audience may just see this as his special ability, there is more to it. In the family unit, Mr. Incredible is the father or “head of the family” as some see it. As the “head of the family”, society has stereotyped it where the father has to be strong and able to support the family, thus Mr. Incredible’s powers exemplify that. During college you work hard so that you can get a good job and be able to support a family if you so choose. In essence, you have worked hard in college to become a ‘superhero.’

Mr. Incredible isn’t the only hero in the movie that you can relate too. Elastigirl has powers that represent the stereotype of the mother in a family. As the mother of the family, we as a society have the generalization that the wife or mother should be able to be flexible and able to handle many different tasks at once. For example, being able to pick up the kids from soccer practice, cook dinner, clean up the home and more. Elastigirl’s powers are being able to stretch herself far distances just like a rubber band.

Not only do the parents have powers that convey the stereotypical family roles, but the children do as well. There teenage daughter Violet has the ability to make herself transparent and create a shield around her. This ability of hers is parallel to the typical teenagers by society’s standards. Her ability to make her self transparent relates to a teen’s insecurity at her age and their lack of confidence, and the shield that she is able to create, correlates to a the wall most teens build around themselves as they feel they need space. The son in the movie, Dash, represents the stereotypical 5-7 year old boy. Dash’s power is the ability to run lightning fast. In the movie, we see him full of energy and eager to use his powers when ever needed. His powers represent the energy that 5-7 year old boys have at this age. During this age they have the most energy and are always running around. The last family member of the Incredible family is baby Jack. At the end of the movie we see baby Jack exhibit different powers. He changes from a green goblin to a fireball to rocket in a matter of seconds. This scene is trying to show that baby Jack’s powers are not yet determined because babies are always growing and changing. The scene where he changes powers is just an example of a baby’s growth and change.

You may not be the able to lift a train with just one finger nor run at the speed of light, but you are a superhero in your own respect. If you carry responsibility, you work hard to support others and you aspire to be the best you can, then you are a superhero. You don’t have to stop bullets or beat up bad guys to be a superhero. Sometimes being a superhero just means being average.

Started in 1991, the Disney Vacation Club was founded on using the basic ideas of ‘timeshares’ but with a different approach. Staying true to the Disney tradition of quality, hospitality, and creativity, Disney has turned the Disney Vacation Club into one of the top timeshares in the world.

How does it work?

Similar to timeshare, the DVC (Disney Vacation Club) allows members to purchase ‘points’ that they can use toward there stay at any DVC resort. This is just one way that Disney has been able to seperate themselves from other timeshares. In the past, when an individual would purchase a timeshare they would have to set a date for which they would travel during that year. If they did not travel during that time during the year, in essence they would have paid for nothing that year. For the DVC, they allow you to ‘roll over’ your points to the next year.

So for example, if Mickey Mouse decides to buy 150 Points, then each year for the duration of the timeshare, he will pay X amount for 150 points each year. If he doesn’t use the points, he can transfer or ‘bank’ his points, as is the term used by DVC, to the next year to be accumulated. For the family that knows they will be having a large family reunion at Disneyworld, this is a great way to save money on accommodations.

Another great part of the DVC is that you can take multiple trips during the year as long as you have points. Also, if you don’t have enough, Disney allows you to borrow points from the next year.

Disney has broken each of there resorts down based on point values. Some resorts for example may only need 20 points a night during June 10-15, while another resort may require more or less. Cost wise, the ‘points per night’ is less than if you were to book the rooms on your own with no DVC.

Only Disney Hotels?

Another great part of the Disney Vacation Club is that Disney offers accommodations at more than 500 different hotels around the world not including there own Disney Resorts. Points may also be used on the Disney Cruise line.

Best Deal?

For the family that is looking for a way to save money on family trips, or even the family or couple that is just looking to travel, the Disney Vacation Club offers all of us a chance to be part of the Disney Family. From there affordable packages to there Disney promise of quality and innovation, Disney has re-invented the idea of a timeshare, and turned it into a ‘vacation club.’