This Week In PR | No. 7

• Malaysia Airlines has seen its fair share of troubles this year. Earlier this year, flight MH370 simply disappeared while more recently, another flight was shot down over Ukraine. Since the tragedies, flight cancellations have risen and Malaysia Airlines is steadily losing profit. Many wonder if the company can recover from the two massive hits it has taken this year. (PR Daily)
• Target has also had a pretty rough year failing to fully recover after its massive security breach in late 2013. In an effort to improve upon that in the upcoming quarters, Target has hired former Pepsi Co. executive Brian Cornell. Coming in with an impressive resume, Cornell has also formerly served as CEO and president of Sam's Club and CEO of Michael Stores Inc. Hopefully this new change in leadership will be just what Target needs to turn things around. (Huffington Post)
• Though I (and I'm assuming most other people my age) have known about this "new" term for a while now, it seems to have just made its way into older circles and has become somewhat of a major story. Several news outlets have written about the phenomenon known as the "usie." If you aren't familiar with the term, it simply gives a name to the group form of a selfie. This may not be earth-shattering news, but at least now you'll be in the know. (Associated Press)
• Scary or innovative? Popular text application, Kik, has introduced a new feature they're calling chat bots. The idea is that users will be able to chat with brands in the same way that they chat with their friends. While this isn't new technology, the platform its being utilized on is. Brands are taking advantage by (what else) pushing their products to Kik users. (PRSA)
• It seems that there has been a case of mistaken identity. The New Zealand Herald recently ran a story reporting that New Zealand native and Isreali solider, Staff Sgt. Guy Boyland, was killed in a fire fight in Gaza. Unfortunately, the picture ran with the story was of deceased comedian Ryan Dunn, the Jackass star that died of a car crash in 2011. The Herald has since issued an apology to the Boyland family. (Mashable)