October, 2012 | BIGfish Tech PR Agency

Yes, College Degrees Are Still Valuable!

Posted on October 24, 2012November 17, 2020 by BIGfish

NBC’s ‘Today Show’ posed a question this morning that we thought was a no-brainer: Is a college degree still worth the cost? With more than half of recent college graduates currently jobless or underemployed, many are asking whether that valuable piece of paper (also known as a college diploma) is worth the investment.

Here at BIGfish, we believe–hands down–that a college degree is worth the cost and time. Here are our thoughts on why:

College teaches you the basic skills you’ll need to succeed in any job. Sure, some classes may seem useless at the time (and some probably are – do you really need to take a class called “Technology and Culture: Virtual People?”) However, for every seemingly useless class you take, you’ll also take a class that will prove vital once you’re out in the so-called “real world.”

Employers want to hire college graduates. Here at BIGfish, we are MUCH more likely to consider hiring you if you have a bachelor’s degree than if your highest level of education consists of a high school diploma. This isn’t snobbery by any means – we just fully believe in the importance of a college degree for one’s educational and personal growth. On top of that, college provides students with countless learning opportunities, including internships and extracurriculars, to obtain the necessary real-world experience it takes to land a job. Having experience working with clients under the direction of an advisor or mentor is especially important for job seekers in the marketing and public relations fields.

A college degree is statistically proven to pay off in the long run. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a worker with a bachelor’s degree will earn $2.3 million on average over a lifetime, while someone with a high school degree can expect to earn $1.3 million over a lifetime.

For every unemployed college graduate, there’s about three times as many unemployed high school graduates. According to NPR, as of August 2012 the jobless rate for recent graduates had dropped to 6.8 percent; but the unemployment rate for recent high school graduates with no college was at 24 percent.

Maybe this makes us biased, but BIGfish’s President, David Gerzof Richard, doubles as a professor at Emerson College! So of course we like college degrees.

Check out this cool infographic from Degree Jungle for more information, and let us know what you think – is a college degree still worth it?

Boston Herald Features Beaver Country Day School for Lemelson-MIT Grant

Posted on October 19, 2012 by BIGfish

BIGfish client Beaver Country Day School was featured in today’s Boston Herald for receiving a $10,000 grant from the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam program to build an automated robotic vehicular independence system to help people in wheelchairs with everyday tasks. The team at Beaver was inspired by Ann Bevan Hollos, a wheel-chair bound middle school dean and teacher at Beaver Country Day School, to develop a device, which (unlike current wheelchair backpacks and tethered trailers) will wirelessly follow the user via motion sensors and a Microsoft Kinect sensor. The InvenTeam created the hands-free device, named JARVIS, to carry up to 40 pounds of cargo after watching Hollos struggle to carry awkward or large objects while in her wheelchair. To read the entire article, click the photo or click here.

gdgt Live in Boston

Posted on October 18, 2012 by BIGfish

BIGfish was the media sponsor for this year’s gdgt Live event in Boston, and it was a very successful evening! The event, which was free and open to the public, took place last night from 7-10 pm at Bijou Nightclub & Lounge in downtown Boston, just around the corner from Emerson. The BIGfish team spent the evening helping out at the Wrapsol table, checking out lots of new gadgets and technology from the various sponsors, and enjoying the fun atmosphere and free food and drinks. This was the first time since 2010 that gdgt Live has come to Boston, and we were happy to welcome our gdgt friends back to Beantown!

Check out all of our photos from the event by clicking here!

Beaver Country Day School Awarded $10,000 Lemelson-MIT Grant

Posted on October 18, 2012 by BIGfish

BIGfish client Beaver Country Day School was featured in today’s Mass High Tech for receiving a $10,000 grant from the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam program to build an automated robotic vehicular independence system to help people in wheelchairs with everyday tasks. The team at Beaver was inspired by Ann Bevan Hollos, a wheel-chair bound middle school dean and teacher at Beaver Country Day School, to develop a device, which (unlike current wheelchair backpacks and tethered trailers) will wirelessly follow the user via motion sensors and a Microsoft Kinect sensor. The InvenTeam created the hands-free device, named JARVIS, to carry up to 40 pounds of cargo after watching Hollos struggle to carry awkward or large objects while in her wheelchair. To read the entire article, click the photo above or click here.

Popular Mechanics features LiquidPiston

Posted on October 17, 2012 by BIGfish

In addition to being featured in GigaOM today, BIGfish client LiquidPiston was also featured in Popular Mechanics for unveiling its new multi-fuel-capable rotary diesel engine, the X2. The article explains LiquidPiston’s design by describing it as a “Wankel rotary turned on its head.” To read the entire article, click the photo or click here.

GigaOM Features LiquidPiston

Posted on October 17, 2012 by BIGfish

BIGfish client LiquidPiston was featured in GigaOM today as it unveiled its new diesel engine, the X2. The X2 engine is smaller, quieter, and more efficient than standard diesel engines and will be available as a beta prototype for outside testing by the first quarter of 2013. To read the entire article, click the photo above or click here.

PC World Features Wrapsol for Protection from Screen Smudging

Posted on October 16, 2012 by BIGfish

“Fingerprints everywhere! Are we ready for 4 million dirty Windows 8 touchscreens?” PC World featured the constant battle consumers have with fingerprints on their electronic devices in an article published today. Luckily, innovative screen protectors manufactured by companies like Wrapsol can help prevent your screen from being tarnished with unsightly smudges. Read the full article by clicking the image above or here.

How Advertising Took Over the Green Monster

Posted on October 11, 2012October 13, 2020 by BIGfish

Today’s post comes from BIGfish President David Gerzof Richard.

This season’s poor performance by the Red Sox provided me countless hours to sit in Fenway’s stands, staring blankly at the Green Monster. As a season ticket holder and a Emerson College marketing professor this experience, in the midst of peanuts, beer, and an occasional Red Sox win, got me thinking: Has the Green Monster always been a massive wall of advertisements? My team at BIGfish and I decided to do some research on the famous wall that has become a landmark at Fenway Park.
A quick search online told us that the Green Monster wasn’t always green–in fact, the original wall was plastered with advertisements. Built in 1912 as a part of the original ballpark, it was known simply as “the Wall” and was made of wood. In 1934 the wooden wall was covered in tin and concrete, but the advertisements remained. It actually wasn’t until 1947 that the advertisements were removed and the wall was painted the classic green color it is today.
Believe it or not, starting in 1947 the only signage allowed in the park for more than 20 years was a billboard in right field promoting the Jimmy Fund, an official team charity benefiting cancer research.
In the late 1960s brands began advertising within Fenway Park once again, but it wasn’t until the new millennium that advertisements returned to what’s now known as the Green Monster. Since then, Fenway Park has slowly populated the legendary wall with advertisements.
We put together the slideshow below to illustrate the gradual appearance of advertisements on the Green Monster over the past 12 years. As you can see, in 2000, there wasn’t a single ad on the Green Monster; the ever-present Citgo sign remained visible behind the wall, but no ads were actually on it.
In 2001 and 2002, an innocent Boston Red Sox logo was painted above the scoreboard. Barely noticeable.
Cut to 2003. This was the year that 269 seats were installed on top of the Green Monster, giving ticketholders a unique perspective of the field. Along with those new seats came two new logos: billboards sprouting from the Green Monster advertising Sports Authority and Volvo.
Since then, the Green Monster has gradually added more and more signage to its green canvas. Click through the slideshow to see the changes. Today, we can spot 12 brands on the famous Fenway landmark.
Have any of you diehard Red Sox fans noticed this gradual change to the Green Monster? Do you think it cheapens the legendary wall, or are advertisements the norm at ballparks these days? We just hope Fenway doesn’t become known as “Volvo Park” one day…

BIGfish on Fenway Green Monster Advertising from David Gerzof Richard

Check it out — this post was featured on BostInno!

BostInno Features BIGfish President David Gerzof Richard's #ESM Class

Posted on October 11, 2012 by BIGfish

Image via @AndyisTweeting

Did you know that BIGfish President David Gerzof Richard doubles as a professor at Emerson? His social media class – known on Twitter as #ESM – is tasked with using social media to connect with a celebrity each semester. Just yesterday, BostInno published a feature on this semester’s class, who is hoping to recruit either Patriots superstar Rob Gronkowski or Boston movie star Mark Wahlberg to come teach their class. Last semester, the class successfully brought Chad Ochocinco to Boston; will they be successful this time? Read more from Lauren Landry’s article on BostInno by clicking here.

Month: October 2012