There’s absolutely nothing better than thinking it’s Thursday and realizing it’s actually Friday! With the Byron Nelson Championship in town, I’m almost inspired to set up a tee time and work on my skills, and by “skills” I mean my ability to drink margaritas while riding in the golf cart. Before I do that, here’s a recap of my favorite stories from this week:

Pay Yourself(ie)
If you’re going to be vain, you may as well get paid for it. Pay Your Selfie, a mobile app that pays users to take a picture with everyday products, is currently booming in usage. Companies are also hopping on the wagon, as the app has proven to be effective in gathering insights on consumer behavior that go way beyond what focus groups and surveys can show. Leave it to us millennials to find a way to monetize our selfie obsession. I’ve never been more proud.

Think Before You Speak
As public relations professionals, we know the importance of people pleasing and developing good relationships. However, certain everyday conversations that may have good intentions can actually hurt our professional progress. Check out these phrases to reconsider before speaking up at meetings.

Prioritizing People
Companies are learning that it really does pay to be nice, especially towards their own employees. 84 percent of consumers consider a company’s social responsibility, including employee treatment, before deciding what to buy or where to shop. Also, brands like Chobani and Starbucks can testify that when their employees are satisfied, it results in deeper connections and elevated customer service (and it may land the company a few more media hits).

Distractor Factor
Apparently, the Chinese government fabricates more than 488 million social media posts a year in an attempt to distract citizens from bad news and touchy political topics. These posts are allegedly made by the Fifty Cent Party, a Chinese online propaganda committee that got their name from the popular belief that they are paid 50 cents per social post. I have to admire their dedication, but I have a question: don’t they know about puppy videos? I get distracted about 488 million times a year by those alone.