Some believe it could be a result of the influx of our parents. Their appearance is making it uncool. I agree with that to an extent. My boyfriend immediately deleted his account this summer when his mom added him as a friend. However, I have another argument.

Recently, I’ve been contemplating deleting, or at least deactivating for a while, my own Facebook account. I am in the process of applying to law schools, and I’m not sure the admissions board would like everything they could find. Not that there’s really anything that bad out there, it just makes me nervous. Earlier this week, a friend had a witty comment. While discussing the negative effect Facebook can have on our post-college success, she said, “I’m not that worried about it. It’s not like people are going to take pictures of me studying.” So true. So what if recruiters see pictures of us with drinks in our hands? If we still have great grades, what’s wrong with that? I think it’s more about the image projected by the drink in the hand. So, will I delete my account? I haven’t decided yet…but I’ll definitely be stalking myself for a while to make sure there’s nothing that could be too detrimental to my own image.

One person I follow tweeted about her ex-boyfriend calling her. Another about their drunken escapades. And another about drama at the bar. It’s one thing to tweet about what you’re doing, like laundry or studying for example. It’s a completely different situation to tweet about your personal life. This information is out there for all the world to see. Why would you want all of the world to see some of these things? Especially as college students who will soon be on the job market.

So, to my fellow tweeters: if you wouldn’t want your grandmother to read your tweets, you shouldn’t be posting them at all.

If the Facebook page caused this behavior, it is a tragedy. However, this incident proves a point I’ve been trying to make for months. Facebook should have an age limit. Facebook started out for college students. Then it spread to adults, which actually really bothers me too, but at least adults are responsible for their actions. Kids this age just shouldn’t be allowed on the site. Had adults seen this page, they would have laughed at the joke. Not beaten their coworkers. This instance in California proves that they just aren’t mature enough.

The site undoubtedly gets a lot of hits. However, how does this affect the bottom line at Office Max? I’m not really sure. In my experience, college students are well aware of Elf Yourself, while few adults are. And while I have no data, I would expect the key public of Office Max to be adults in the professional world, not college students. Also, using the site has not inspired me to go to Office Max, and I’m almost certain it hasn’t had that affect on any of my friends. Most don’t even know that it is affiliated with Office Max.

So, while the site has certainly provided me with quite a bit of entertainment, I’m not sure it’s really serving its purpose.

Last week, Kellan Lutz and Nikki Reed appeared on the Today Show. This couple is married in the movie series. Within seconds of the interview’s beginning, Kathie Lee pointed out how much the two were touching each other and asked if there was something going on. Neither confirmed or denied the allegations, but the chemistry between the two is undeniable.

So, how have these rumored off-screen romances affected the Twilight empire? They have certainly kept the public intrigued, and they have even succeeded in catching my interest. I wonder what would happen if any of those involved started dating other people??

“Good morning, the Red Cup is here this morning.”

Those who aren’t members of the Starbuck’s clan may be confused. Not I. It’s their annual holiday cup, and it’s arrival means that the holiday season has officially begun.

Yes, Halloween was just three days ago. But who cares? I’m always up for a little holiday spirit! I promptly got out of class, and speeded to the nearest Starbuck’s.

Most people probably don’t put very much thought into the cups they drink out of, but the people at Starbuck’s certainly do. They’re smart for doing so. It’s something that gets the public excited about their company, thus increasing sales, and thus adding to the bottom line.

Some may argue that a simple cup would have no impact on sales. I disagree. I would argue that a large number of Starbuck’s customers love the company and love its coffee. However, sometimes it’s just more economically savvy to make your own at home, or opt for gas station coffee instead. For this demographic, the cup brings them back. It gets them excited about the brand, and in the store.

Yay for the Red Cup!

However, news recently broke that Ashlee would soon be leaving the cast. Critics cited her poor acting–I thought she was pretty legit, but whatever. Then, Jessica took to Twitter to defend her sister and blast the show.

“CW catching up on MP. who writes this crap? I have had bad scripts to work with, but this? thank God my sister is amazing and got you some press.”

Later, she wrote, “Watch til Jan…:),” and retweeted another user’s comment, “ashlee was too good for that show and was the ONLY reason I watched, and won’t anymore!”

Well, maybe she was the main reason I started watching the show, but her absence definitely won’t keep me from watching. And that’s probably what the CW planned for all along…use her celebrity status to create some buzz, then write her off.

The show has also been using cast members from the original series to create buzz. This week, Heather Locklear will return. While none of these have been permanent, they keep viewers’ interest spiked, which is always good.

So how will Ashlee’s leaving affect the show? I’m not sure. Her character is actually pretty important for the central plot so I’m anxious to see how they work that out…

That was an understatement.

The sale was to begin at 8 a.m. Eastern time so I was wide awake and on the site at exactly 7 a.m. our time.  Nothing.  Nothing would come up.  I went back to sleep, assuming they were having problems.  When I checked back two hours later, the problems continued.

On her Twitter page, Rebecca apologized for the inconvenience and promised the site would be up in 30 minutes to an hour.  Hours went by with no word from her, and the Web site was still down.  She had hundreds of Twitter replies about the sale.  In the beginning, they were friendly.  Then people got impatient.  The Facebook page was blowing up with comments from fans.  No one knew anything, and people were angry.

Finally, at 5 p.m., eight hours after the sale was supposed to begin and 7 hours after Rebecca’s last communication with customers, this email was sent and posted on her Facebook page.

I will continue to be obsessed with Rebecca Minkoff bags, and I will still be a loyal customer. However, this event was a PR nightmare. Technical difficulties happen. We expected it. However, the fury of customers could have been prevented with more communication. An hourly update would have been ideal, but they did nothing.

Next time, be smarter.

Just as Taylor, visibly shocked by the win herself, began to thank her loyal fans, Kanye came out of no where, grabbed the mic, and shouted, “Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you.  I’ll let you finish, but Beyonce has one of the best videos of all time.  One of the best videos of all time!”

Seriously?!?  He then handed the mic back to Taylor, as if she was supposed to keep going as if nothing had happened.  My friends and I sat staring at each other as MTV awkwardly flashed to a promo clip of Tracy Morgan then commercial.

While some have questioned if the act was staged, I don’t think that was the case.  However, this got me to thinking about the brand of Kanye West.

This is not the first time his temper has raged in front of a live audience.  How does his PR team allow this to continue happening?  Is being a jerk all part of the Kanye West brand?

His apology to Taylor on his blog would support this conclusion.  Before being deleted, Kanye posted “I’m not crazy ya’ll.  I’m just real.  Sorry for that!!!!”

Today, that comment had been removed, and in its place he posted, “I feel like Ben Stiller in “Meet the Parents” when he messed up everything and Robert De Niro asked him to leave…That was Taylor’s moment and I had no right in any way to take it from her.  I am truly sorry.”

A little better than the first, but he still sounds like a jerk.

Then, on Monday night, he was set to perform with Jay Z and Rhianna on the premiere of Jay Leno’s new show.  Before the performance he came out to talk with Jay.  When Jay asked what Kanye thought his mother would think about the incident, the artist appeared overly emotional.  After apologizing some more, he left the stage to an applauding audience.

So what does all of this leave us with?  Both artists have obviously gained a huge amount of publicity from the stunt.  And all publicity is good publicity right?  Maybe that’s what Kanye’s publicist was thinking…