Farewell LASC..We did it!

It seems absolutely crazy to me that I have actually completed my Public Relations concentration here at Georgia College. It feels like just yesterday I declared my major, and was sitting in Bob Lee’s Principles of Public Relations class. Although the last few years have flown by I have definitely learned a lot. After countless press releases, newspaper articles, interviews, group projects and lots of events I can say I am much more prepared for the real-word than I could have imagined. Ending my PR classes is definitely a bittersweet feeling, but there are a few things I will definitely take away from this experience.

1. Never trust people…without a written agreement! (I think Ladies Lawn night can agree we learned this the hard way.)
2. You can not procrastinate in Public Relations, and waiting until the last minute is never a good thing. (You can’t do an interview in the middle of the night and deadlines will always sneak up on you.)
3. Never be afraid to talk to people. (What’s the worst that can happen?)
4. People are almost always willing to help you. (So don’t be afraid to ask!)
5. Always introduce yourself to people. (It helps build your network, and it couldn't hurt, right?)
6. Details are important and you can never be over-prepared. (Especially when it comes to event planning!)
7. Don’t sweat the small stuff. (Something will always go wrong the day of event, but not freaking out is imperative. Take a deep breath and figure it out!)
8. Delegation is key! (You can’t always do everything by yourself.)
9. Write everything down or you might forget it! (My planner is my life saver.)
10. LASC is the best J (Never EVER have SC at an event!!!!!)

The Magic of Macy's

My mom has worked for Macy's for the past 30 years. She always talks about all the great things they do, but I never really knew exactly what she was talking about. When I started looking up Macy's Corporate Social Responsibility I was pleasantly surprised on all the information I found.

When I was younger my sisters and I would wake up early at least one Saturday a month to go do events for "Partners in Time." We would do fun things like Habitat for Humanity, Special Olympics, helping the elders, Susan G. Koman Race, AIDS Walk, feeding the hungry and much more. I got to meet all my mom's work friends, and I had a great time volunteering too. "Partners in Time" is just one of the many things Macy's does to help out the less fortunate. Corporate and store employees are encouraged to spend some time on the weekends doing projects to make a difference.

Macy's is also heavily involved with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Currently, they are running the Believe campaign. Kids can bring letters to Santa over the holiday season and drop them in special mailboxes inside their local Macy's. For each stamped letter to Santa Macy's received they will donate $1 to Make-A-Wish, up to a million dollars.

Another program they are involved in right now is the "Thanks for Sharing" campaign. Macy's shoppers are encouraged to pay a one-time enrollment fee of $25. For each enrollment, Mac’s will donate $10 to many local and national charities. Once enrolled in the program 10 percent of every purchase until the end of the year is accumulated into a voucher. In February, Macy's will mail the vouchers in the form of a “Thanks for Sharing” card redeemable at any Macy’s or macys.com.

Other than charity evolvement, Macy's also is doing their part to keep their company eco-friendly. Some of their recent accomplishments include:

- Increase our use of renewable power sources (solar, wind, etc.) eight-fol by 2010 (from 2006 levels)

- Reduce the amount of paper we use by at least 20 percent by 2010

- Increase the percentage of recycled (10 percent PCW or higher) and/or third-party certified paper we use by 20-fold by 2010 (from 2006 levels) to at least 50 percent.

As you can see Macy's really does to their part in helping out. They are a huge company, and maintaining good CSR is vital to their survival. Even in these tough times it is still priority for them to continue to share and give.

Crisis Management

Part of being a Public Relations professional is knowing what to do when things go wrong. There are so many different approaches to take when things go sour, some more effective than others. I recently discovered how a company called Vermont Teddy Bear Company handled a crises they encountered.

Vermont Teddy Bear Company decided to release a "Crazy for You" teddy bear around Valentine's Day a few years ago. They did random surveys, polled people and did questioners to see what type of teddy bear people would like to see in their product line. This particular teddy bear looked similar to mental health patients. It had on a straight jacket and was designed to be "crazy" looking. When the mental health rights advocates discovered this bear they were infuriated. The immediately wrote to the company asking them politely to take this bear off the market.

The Vermont Teddy Bear company kindly refused. The "Crazy for You" teddy bear was bringing in so much revenue they did not want to discontinue it. They assured the group that they had done surveys and testing on the bear before it was released and no one seemed to have a problem with it. Despite the Mental Health rights advocates plea to discontinue the bear, the Vermont Teddy Bear company continually and openly refused. After the bear sold out around Valentine's Day, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company agreed to not reproduce the bear any longer. Although some may say this situation was not handled properly, it may have turned out to be the most profitable option for the company.

This is just one example of how to handle a crisis. Some crisis problems I can remember include the Wendy's finger in the Chile, the peanut butter contamination, the Tylenol tampering, Jack in the Box meat problem and the Value Jet to Airtran rebranding transformation. Although these were all different situations most of these companies did a great job recovering from their crisis. We learned the basics of how to react in a crisis.

Always put the public first and be honest because people will always find out the truth. Be the first to make a public statement about the crisis before others do. Be very accessible to accommodate the media. Communicate with them frequently on the state of the situation. It is important to designate a single spokesperson in order to make sure all the messages conveyed to the public are identical. Make sure to monitor ALL news coverage and act immediately if something is falsely interpreted. This was a very educational chapter, and it was fascinating to learn all the different approaches to crisis management. It is always good to investigate these options in case an unexpected crisis comes my way.

The Real World!!!

If you feel like you are ready to graduate and get a job in the real world, this article might change your mind. After reading the article titled, "Job Market Turns Much Worse" I am getting a little apprehensive as graduation approaches. The title of the article pretty much gives away the ending, things out their just aren't good right now. A staggering statistic gives the article a depressing tone right from the beginning,

"Only six in 10 of the graduates had full-time employment six to eight months after graduation. That is the lowest level of full-time employment reported by graduates of the nation’s journalism and mass communication programs in the 23-year modern history of the Annual Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication Graduates."

That's a little scary..60% had jobs? That seems crazy!!!

So what am I going to do about this crashing job market is the big question?

I have been considering this for a while now, especially after doing my summer internship. I have come to the realization that if I am going to find a job in this economy it isn't going to be by filling out an online application. Jobs in today's faltering economy are found by networking. I need to talk to people in the Public Relations world. Let them know that I am qualified and intelligent and ready to take on the world. Random job searching and resume sending is really not going to do much to stimulate my job search.

The job seeking isn't going to be for the weak. I learned that through my internship search. It was hard enough to find an unpaid internship, I can only imagine the possibilities of finding an actual job. I am not someone who gives up easily, and I will not settle for a job bagging groceries or bussing tables. I will network, network, network and search until I find a job in this economy.

I have also been contemplating the idea of grad school. Although this obviously requires a little more school I think it might be the most practical choice at this point in my life. I definitely do not want to end up unemployed in the next few months, and going to more school is not an idea I am totally against. I kinda like college :)

but what can I do?

Today while I was picking up some things in Wal-mart today some of the lights suddenly tuned out. I might not have even noticed until one of the associates mentioned something about energy conservation. At first I was a little surprised that a huge store like Wal-mart would turn off its lights in the middle of the day, but then I thought about what a good idea it was. It was extremely sunny outside, and turning off the lights really didn't make much of a difference at all of the lighting of the store. Wal-mart is really doing their part in not only saving themselves money, but in helping the planet too.

Sometimes the climate crisis our country is in can seem a bit overwhelming. It may seem like there just isn't much we can do as individuals, but I think there are a few small steps we can each take to help out.

1. My dad replaced all our regular light bulbs with CFLs, also known as compact florescent light bulbs. These light bulbs last to much longer, which is extremely convenient in areas like our laundry room and garage. Not only do CFLs last longer, but they use about 75 percent less energy than standard light bulbs.

2. Turn off your computer and night and/or use a laptop. Just turning off your computer can save you about $90 of energy a year. That's a lot of power! Laptops use about a tenth of the wattage it takes an average desktop to function.

3. My new personal favorite is cloth grocery bags. Not only does it help the planet, but you can fit so many more groceries in each bag. No more ripped grocery bags from that heavy milk!

4. Walk or Bike..if you can! Sometimes it's just not possible, but sometimes it is. I bike to practice every morning (at West Campus) , and I have grown to love it. It's so much more freeing than riding in car. Biking is a really great thing to get involved with. Try it out!

(If you don't have a bike check out Craig's List, for some sweet deals on used bikes)

5. Write on the back of paper, and use recycled paper! We all know that PR majors are ALWAYS making flyers. There are recycled paper trash cans in both Lanier and Terrell hall. It's a great place to go to find some nice clean paper to make your copies on. No one is going to see the back of those flyers anyway. Save a tree!

I know I can not end this crisis on my own, but I will do my best to conserve and save the planet in my own way. This years Blog Action Day topic really brought this to my attention. I hope to become more aware, and do the small stuff to help our country!

Ladies Lawn Night is a Success!

Ladies Lawn Night has been a huge learning experience. When i heard that the campaign was planning an entire campaign for the CW's two newest shows I will admit I felt a little overwhelmed. I remember picking my group, and knowing we had to get started planning immediately.

After doing research we formulated the plan for our big event "Ladies Lawn Night." The madness of event planning began quickly, and I pleased to say that the event went extremely well.

We directed our event directly at girls, specifically younger girls living in the dorm. We had a fashion show, a jazz band, lots of local boutiques, the school radio station and of course a big screen to show Melrose and 90210. While planning we still had to do some MAJOR publicity to get word out about this big event that we had been working so hard on. We used every possible medium to reach girls on the campus of GCSU. My group was so amazing working on this project. We had no problems with anyone not doing what was asked. I think we all equally wanted this event to be a success!

Now that the actual event is over there are a few BIG things I want to take away.

1. Details, details, details - You can never be over-organized or over-prepared

2. Never trust anyone, and ALWAYS double check EVERYTHING - This makes me sad, but I definitely learned my lesson

3. Sometimes simple is good - enough said.

4. Ask - I feel like so many sponsors helped us out with this event and all we had to do was ask. I was really surprised.

5. Be flexible - Sometimes things don't go exactly how you have it planned, but it's ok to just roll with it.

I could really go on and on, but that is just a short list for now. Doing a campaign from A to Z is definitely not for the weak! Now that the event is over it is time for the infamous CAMPAIGN BOOK! I better fasten my seatbelt... here we go!

What do I say about Ethics...

It does seem like this has been such a hot topic lately. Last week I blogged about astroturfing, but never actually shared my opinions on the issue. I guess I am just beginning to realize that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are just so many grey areas when in comes to the mass media, including Public Relations. I am about to be thrown into this world, and it's up to me to decide what I believe on these issues.

Unlike some of my classmates I do not think I could do a job every day that I was not passionate about, even I was making the big bucks. I want to work for a company that I feel confident in, one in which I am proud when I tell people who I work for. I do not want to have a guilty conscious or cheat people out of anything to make more money. I want to be a part of a company that follows a code of ethics and is honest with its customers. Honesty is very important to me.

However, I do realize that Public Relations (along with many other fields) is not a field that you usually start off with your ideal job. I understand that I may have to start with a job that I am not extremely passionate about, but that can change over time. Life is way to short to hate your job every day. I couldn't handle that, no matter how much money I was making.

Although I do not necessarily feel called to go into the mission field, I do know I want to do a job that helps people. Ideally I would like a job with as much human interaction as possible. I would like to think I made a difference in the world regardless of the amount on my paycheck. I would rather live a modest lifestyle, and have a career I love. I genuinely love to be around people, and I want to treat them the way I would like to be treated.

All of that being said, I am not willing to compromise any of my moral standards for more money or a better job. My family has instilled a core set of values based on what God desires for my life, and I definitely know then difference between right and wrong. I don't plan on doing anything illegal or immoral to make it in the world.

Astroturfing? What in the world...

After reading last week's case study on Ethics in Public Relations Campaigns, I found this blog post on the PRSSA website to be very applicable. It focused on something called astroturfing, which basically deals with employees or interns posting biased pre-scripted reviews on websites for their own company.

This blog post highlighted this subject matter by reviewing the recent case with the iTunes app store. Their PR firm, Reverb Communications used their interns to monitor the website and post positive reviews without mentioning the company they were affiliated with. According to a company called Techcrunch interns monitoring web reviews is a common practice, but this situation crossed the line of ethics.

According to the blog (and Wikipedia) astroturfing can be defined as, “formal political, advertising or public relations campaigns seeking to create the impression of being spontaneous ‘grassroots’ behavior, hence the reference to the artificial grass.”

Obviously, if interns were posting these comments they were not "spontaneous." I feel like this blog post directly paralleled to what I read about in the Ethics chapter of my textbook. Its pretty cool when you realize the things in your textbooks are real in the PR world too. The post gave a few other examples of unethical practices such as sneaking gift cards to sway bloggers, PR representatives in city council meetings and false opposition letters.

The final part of the blog post stressed the importance of our own personal ethics. Even as interns and young business professionals we need to be aware of how much this is going on and do our part to stop these unethical practices.

Looks like I have a lot to do...

This article really helped me discover what valuable skills I will need in the real-world of Public Relations. There were 14 Key attributes listed in the article. Some of the attributes I felt comfortable about, but others i definitely need to work on. Since I'm a SENIOR now (ah!) I need to be able to better evaluate my strengths and weaknesses.

After reading the article I came to a few conclusions regarding the different attributes of a PR professional that I am confident in. These skills aren't perfect, but I definitely feel they are my best selling points

1. Communication Skills: I love communicating with others. I feel I am good at expressing the way I feel, and being able to communicate effectively with other people. I feel that communication is the KEY to any good relationship.

2. Work Ethic: I definitely have a strong work ethic. I will not quit on a job until it is done. I like to be a team player, even if that means staying late.

3. Attention to Detail: I am a perfectionist especially when it comes to school work or any work I did this summer with my internship. I read, and re-read until I know things are the way I like them. I look into every aspect of a project to make sure it is complete and correct.

Some of the things I am not so sure about are:

1. Coding: I am not really sure how any of this works. I do not know much at all about HTML, PHP and VBScript at all.

2. Blogger Relations: I could definitely expand on my blogger relations. I only have friends in our class, but this really needs to change.

3. RSS, RSS Readers: I'm not exactly positive about how these work either. I need to figure this one out before I graduate for sure!

It looks like I have a lot of things to discover my last year in college. I want to really work on these 14 attributes before applying to jobs in the REAL WORLD!

I'm a Senior?

It amazes me to think that I am even writing this. I feel like I just came to college yesterday, and I was the one asking for advice. I had absolutely NO IDEA what I wanted to major in when I came college, and I think that is a common mistake. Everyone always says not to worry about that, and that you have plenty of time to decide. Luckily, I just went with something that seemed interesting to me and declared Pre Mass-Comm. Some of my friends waited to declare a major, and now find themselves behind. Most programs are at least two years, so the earlier you declare a major, the better.

One thing I definitely learned last semester is that it's never too early to begin networking and looking for a summer internship. No one is going to hold your hand and help you find an internship. You have to take the initiative to search for internships you are interested in, and find connections in the PR world. The more people you know, the easier it will be to find an internship.

Networking did not come to my naturally at first. I was overwhelmed by meeting so many people so quickly and all the social networking you have to keep up with. Now I realize that it's all just another part of PR. I learned that people are so much more willing to help than I thought. If you do a good job for people, they are usually more than happy to help me in the future. I was so afraid to ask at first, but now it comes much easier.

Obviously I have learned how to manage my time much better. PR is not a major where you can just stay up late trying to get everything done. You have to accurately plan out pretty much every hour of your day because a lot of the work involves other people. I have learned to just do things while I'm thinking about them instead of putting them off for later. My planner is my life saver, and I would probably cry if I lost it. I must write EVERYTHING down. If it doesn't make it in that little book, chances are I will totally forget it.

The last thing I have learned over the past three years (and I'm still learning) is that it's ok to say no. Sometimes I feel obligated to do things merely because they need to be done, whether they are my responsibility or not. I agree to do things that I shouldn't just because I feel guilty if I don't. Although I definitely still struggle with wanting to do everything, I do think I'm getting just a little better. Sometimes it's ok to just to simply say NO... well ok...maybe :)

Ha! I guess I still need to work on that one...

Here we are on the first day of college, and now I'm a senior? How did this happen?

Events, Running AND Public Relations?

I feel like I learned more about the real-world event industry over the summer than I could ever learn in a classroom. My internship was with a company called Corporate Sports Unlimited. The company had three main divisions; Corporate Events and Meetings, The U.S. 10K Classic and the World Children's Center. Since I had such a wide variety of interests CSU allowed me to split my time at the internship between the separate divisions.

I began my internship working everyday in the events division. I got to attend all the event planning meetings, site visits, sales calls and much more. The VP of this division, Bob, made sure I was included in every step of the event planning process. Some days I would help research venues or organize activities for the events. Other days I would be out of the office meeting with our clients or actually working at events. One of my favorite parts was getting to go to so many events. CEM does so many events, and I had no idea corporations spent so much money to make their employees happy. Over the course of the summer I worked at family appreciation days, team building, picnics, carnivals, lunch parties, snow cone parties, ice cream socials and sponsor luncheons. CEM produces so many different types of events, and it was exciting for me to see how these events are planned and executed in the real-world.

The other divisions I worked for were The U.S. 10K Classic and The World Children's Center. The U.S. 10k is a huge (12,500 participants) road race in Cobb County on Labor Day. All the money raised from the U.S. 1oK goes toward the World Children's Center, which is the non-different profit division of the company. I really loved everything I got to do to help with the race because running is something I am extremely passionate about. It was really cool to work with my boss Stephanie in designing things for the race and helping her pull little details together for race day. I got to have some interaction with sponsors and see how some things work in the non-profit world. It was definitely a lot different then I expected.

About a month before the race (August 16th) the World Children's Center hosted a huge Gala for all the race sponsors. I got to do a lot of work helping prepare for this. It was neat because the Gala was similar to the athletic auction, except with a MUCH larger budget. They had hundreds of items for the auction, and tickets were $200 a seat. The event took place at the Cobb Galeria Center and the presentation was breathtaking. I was absolutely amazing at how lavish everything was, and it reminded me how much I love event planning. It felt great to know I had helped put so much together for this event.

Overall, I learned so much from my summer internship. I realized that doing PR for road races or triathlons is definitely something I am interested in. It was a great experience getting to work with an events division and a non-profit division all under the same company. It was just neat to combine so many things I am passionate about.....Events, Running AND Public Relations! What a great combo!

Oh, and if you don't have plans for Labor Day...check it out!

PR in Action...Younglife style!

Younglife is a high school outreach ministry. Every week Younglife leaders spend hours contacting high schoolers and spending time hanging out with them. We go to lunch, soccer games, track practice, chorus concerts and anything else we can to get to see the kids. Every Monday the leaders hold an event called club. Club is when all high school kids come to a meeting place and the leaders plan things for them to do. We act out characters, play games and sing songs, and one of the leaders shares at the end. (I know it sounds a little lame, but we always tell the kids they have to try it before they knock it.) 

At the end of the year all the leaders work together for the final club. We combine all the characters from all the clubs to make a big musical called the opera. Last Monday Gatewood Younglife held their annual Opera. Seven of the leaders wrote out their own script, gathered costumes, and rehearsed the opera over and over. We were all really excited to get to share all the opera with the kids, but we had to use a few PR techniques to get the word out...  

Now a little clip from the Opera. Enjoy...

This social network is getting a little crazy...

I officially just joined my SIXTH social networking website, and I have a feeling it's really only beginning. Pubic Relations people LOVE networking. Although I do feel like all these websites are getting a little crazy I was actually very impressed with the PROpenMic website. 

PROpenMic was almost a bit overwhelming when I first logged in. There were so many options I just didn't know where to begin. First I updated my information and chose a theme for my page so it looked presentable. Then I began to explore the website further. I saw a link to post your resume, and I thought that seemed like a good idea. 

I posted my resume, and then continued to click around. I found a list of internships, and jobs which would have definitely been useful during my internship search. I will be using that next year when it comes time to find a job. After clicking around a little more I found this article  about a PR Campaigns class at Auburn. 

I found the article to be very encouraging because this semester I have been doing PR for MBC-4, the GCSU news show. When I first started the position I was starting from scratch. They had never had a PR person, never advertised and had absolutely no budget for me to work with. It has definitely been a challenge, but I feel like MBC-4 has come a long way. This article gave me some great new ideas to publicize the show. If I end of working with MBC again I will definitely have some fresh new ideas next semester. It really is incredible what all social networking can be used for. 

Overall PROpenMic seems like a combination of a lot of the social networks I am already a member of. You can create a profile, chat with online friends and add pictures like Facebook. You can write posts and publish them like Blogger. It updates you on the latest PR news like Twitter. It has a place to look for jobs and internships like LinkedIn. It is really just a fantastic combination of social networks all rolled into one. 

Athletic Auction 2009 is a SUCCESS!

Planning the Athletic Auction for 2009 only assured me that event planning is what I want to do post graduation. When we got the motorcycle assignment months ago I couldn't exactly picture it, but Saturday night everything really came together. 

Our class worked so well together under the three AE's for the event. We stuck to out timeline, and everything went so smoothly. At no point did I feel extremely stressed out about anything. I think that is because we were very well organized about everything we were doing. The AE's assigned everyone an equal distribution of work so we all felt like we were contributing to the progression of the action. 

One thing I did learn from the auction was that even professionals mess up sometimes. One of my tasks was to get the T-shirts made for the class. I took the design and sizes to the place before spring break and he said he should have it ready a week later. When the week passed I sent him an e-mail to check up on the shirts, and he responded saying that the shirts would be ready the 10th. Considering that was the day before the auction I asked if we could push it back a day to the 9th. He said that would be fine. 

When I went to pick up the shirts the next day everything was wrong! Not only was the design huge on the front, but they had made up blue shirts. I have no idea how he got this idea. They didn't even have enough black shirts in the store to make the shirts that day, but they said UPS would deliver them the following day. I was just extremely thankful that I had pushed the pick-up date back a date. The owner of the T-shirt shop personally called to apologize and ended up giving me the blooper shirts, and everything worked out great. I learned a valuable lesson about how everyone makes mistakes and sometimes it is just better to plan ahead!

The thought the actual auction was a complete success. Our class worked great together, and everyone got along flawlessly. All the guests at the auction seemed to be having a great time which made all of our hard work totally worthwhile. I even got to be Thunder the Bobcat for a little while, but I won't say that was my favorite part of the night. 

Overall the auction was an amazing experience. We sold more tickets than ever before, and raised the money needed for the scholarships. I can't to plan the next event! 

The search for an internship continues...

I will not give up until I find an internship! I began my search back in February, but I guess that was not soon enough. I have sent out my resume to approximately 30 different companies, and I have gotten very few responses. 

The search for an internship has definitely been very educational. I feel like when it comes time next year to search for a job I will remember a few key things: 

1. Connections are KEY! 

Anyone who I have contacted and I have been able to mention a name of someone they knew, has been much more successful. People that know the same people I do are much more willing to work with me, and meet with me. Unfortunately I am just beginning my network of PR professionals in the real-world. I am excited to expand it with an internship this summer. 

2. Persistence is important! 

E-mails are not enough. Unless it says specifically states "no phone calls" sometimes I think it is a good idea to call. One lady e-mailed me and asked me to call her, but I had to call her multiple times before I heard back from her. These people are really busy so they need a few reminders too. 

3. It's never too early to start looking for jobs/internships

There is so much out there it can be overwhelming. You need to have an idea before you just start applying at random places. Maybe if I would have focused my search more into one aspect of PR I would have been more successful. I am currently going through a list of event planners in the Atlanta area. 

I have two interviews set up for Monday after I go home for Easter. One with a lady with the City Club of Buckhead and one with a company called Corporate Events and Meetings. I am excited about both of them, and hopefully one of them will be a success! 

My first PR interview

After I already published my post for the week I realized I wanted to write about my first PR interview. Last Monday I interviewed with a company called 360 Media in downtown Atlanta. I found the company online, and decided to apply for their internship. I sent in my resume, and a few weeks later got an e-mail about scheduling an interview. 

As the day came closer I began to get a little nervous, but I felt prepared. I made a mini portfolio and clipped a few of my best Colonnade articles, some things a did for TheraPups, an ad I designed, my best flyer and my resume. I pasted everything on nice paper got some page protectors, and bought an official looking binder. I felt much more confident walking into my interview with all my best work in hand. 

I arrived at the interview with plenty of time to spare and got to sit in the trendy little office waiting for my interview to begin. I absolutely loved the originality and sleekness of the office. Everything was so eye-catching and vibrant. It seemed like it would definitely be a really neat place to work. 

My interviewer came to get me about 20 minutes later, and took me into another well-decorated room. I really liked the attitude of everyone there, and it really made me feel at ease. She began by asking my what I was looking for and the experience I had already had in PR. She then asked my strengths and weakness, and went over a few things on my resume. She then proceeded to tell me all about 360 Media, and how they are very passionate about what they do. One thing I found extremely appealing about the company is that they only take on clients that they are excited about. She said they don't just take on a client for the money, but they want to make sure they are enthusiastic about the project. 

Overall I would say my first real interview was a good one. Whether I get the internship or not it was definitely a great experience. I felt well prepared, and really enjoyed getting to learn about this company first hand. I can't wait until I do get an internship (this one, or another) and I get to start seeing how everything I have learned in all my classes works in the real-world. 

TWEENS...What do they really want?

We have all been through those awkward in-between years otherwise known as the "tween" days. You are no longer considered a kid, but you're just not quite an adult yet. People in public relations and advertising have been trying to crack the code on this age group for years. What exactly does this age group want? 

Marketers and advertisers spend hours agonizing over what this highly sought after age category is into, especially the girls. These girls may seem young, but they are actually highly lucrative. They play a huge role on advertising, marketing and PR campaigns. Marketers are constantly attempting to decode the best way to reach these girls? 

Television? Phone? E-mail? Snail mail? Text? Facebook? Social media? What exactly are these girls into, and what exactly do they want? 

I found this article regarding the struggle among professionals to get inside these girl's minds. The author highly recommends that we stop trying to think about what these girls want, and just simply ask them. She goes on to write about how most "tween" girls are not as tech savvy as the general population. We must constantly be aware of this when trying to reach this target audience. Actually, the article said that only 84% of young girls even know what Twitter is, so forget tweeting them...

Overall these girls care about many topics that adults may not be aware of. A majority of them are much more aware of the world around them then we may assume. Marketers need to stop making assumptions about these girls, and start actually asking them what they want. 

My next career move?

I came across in article on the PRSA website about big career moves. Of course with the economy how it is right now most people are just attempting to keep their jobs. For a lot of people changing careers or climbling up the corporate ladder is something to think about for the future. Job retention is the main thing on everyone's mind right now. 

Some people may feel like "staying off the radar" is a good choice, but the article states the contrary. If your area in the business is slow, volunteer in other departments. Find something to help out with within the company, whether it is in your expertise or not. 

It seems like a simple concept, but this article really helped me put things into perspective. It really gave some great advice about broadening your career expertise. The author wrote about how vital it is to have a variety of skills when searching for a job, and how now is actually a great time to take advantage of that. 

I really like how this article puts a positive viewpoint on something that many people may consider to be a negative aspect of the business world right now. I will definitely take this article into consideration while working at my internship this summer. If my department is not exactly flourishing, I will do my best to make myself useful elsewhere. I want to get many different experience and skills in the field of Mass Communications as possible. The more areas of expertise I can gain the better off I will be when the real job search begins. 

Tipping Point: A Real Life Success Story

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell really helped me realize how little things can make such a big difference. Throughout the book Gladwell gives example after example of people who focused on what seemed like small details, but eventually evolved into huge success stories.

            The Tipping Point is that one moment in which an epidemic is born. It is the exact moment in which you realize something minor has turned into something major. A Tipping Point basically explains how things that were once just a thought in someone’s head develop into something huge. The Tipping Point is the climax of the story itself.

            Gladwell’s book addresses many key factors on reaching the Tipping Point. His theory is that every Tipping Point can be explained by three rules: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. Each of these rules had a lot of great advice about reaching a Tipping Point.

            One thing that could help us with the Athletic Auction is the Law of the Few. It explains that if you relay your message to the right people it will inevitably spread. There are people Gladwell calls, “connectors.” These are the people we need to ensure are helping us spread the word about the auction. We need people that know people. Connectors are those people that seem like they know someone through everyone. The more connectors we have on board the more people we will have at the auction.

            The next law Gladwell goes on to explain is the Stickiness factor. In the book Gladwell uses the examples of two shows that are very sticky for pre-schoolers. Not only are these shows entertaining, but also educational. These shows didn’t just becoming successful overnight. Stickiness takes a lot of labor, tests and revision.

 For the Athletic Auction we need it to be sticky. This is not going to be an easy task, but I think our class can do it. I believe we already have a great theme. The theme is something people can relate too, and that is sticky. We must ensure that the guests feel like they are included and welcome that night from the moment they walk in. We should definitely go all out with the “Thunder Rolls” theme.  It is vital that everything goes along with our theme and everyone has a wonderful time. We want as much to go along with the theme as possible..  We want people to have a night to remember. We want the theme to stick, and we especially want people to come back next year.

            I would say that of the three types of people Gladwell describes, I would like to think I am a connector. The main characteristic of a connector is simply knowing a lot of people. I feel like I know a fairly good amount of people just by being involved in a lot of activities on campus. I keep myself busy, and try to remember the people I introduce myself to. I definitely love meeting new people, and introducing new friends to old ones. I like hooking people up with people they might have something in common with, and I enjoy seeing people make new friends. I feel like I am learning how to network a lot better as I get deeper into the field of PR as well.

            I could definitely see some correlations between Tipping Point and all of my new social applications. These things are just another way to spread the word, or to hear what others are saying. Facebook reminds me of Law of the Few because it compares to an electronic combination of a mavern and a connector in today’s society. If you put something up on Facebook I feel like your entire network of friends is aware of it within hours. People check Facebook, a lot. Putting something on Facebook is like telling something to a mavern who will in turn relay that message to a connector. The word will spread, and fast.

            I am not positive I have reached my own personal “tipping point” as far as social networking goes. I will continue to use these networking tools and keep you posted!

            

Shrinking News Hole and PR

As I was reading through some things on the PRSA website I found an article on the shrinking news hole in today's society. Although the diminishing demand for print newspapers is not new news to me, I found this article to be very interesting. 

One Newspaper in particular, The Rocky Mountain News, published it's last issue earlier this week. This was just the end for this publication to a very long bad string of events. The print side of media just continues to go downhill in this economy, and the future is not looking bright. This news is not just effecting the print side of the media, but the public relations side as well. The article addresses some new changes that all PR professionals must be aware of.

 The first point touched on in the article was that news is no longer a product, but a service. We as PR professionals must help our audience find information, react to it and use it. Next the author wrote about how news organizations and Websites are no longer final destinations, but more of a gateway to more information, which I feel is definitely true in today's world. People are always looking for more opinions and information on the subjects they are interested in. 

Another great point made was the narrowing in subject matter of the media. Last year,  more than 25 percent of the news was about the election and the war in Iraq. Issues like education, race and religion filled less than a single percent. This statistic was not a surprise to me. It seems like back in the fall the only news was about the election.

 The author's final point was the topic of the media moving from story to story very quickly. "Breaking news" tends to rush the media in to find out the details before the story can be fully developed. 

What does all this mean for us as PR people? The article claims that historically speaking public relations flourishes as changes like these. Despite the fall in the economy, hopefully public relations will not take as huge of a hit. However, we must be aware of the changes going on within the world of print media to adjust our PR tactics for the future to better help our audience. 

Real World PR!

I would definitely say that my experience last Friday at Real World PR was very beneficial. I had a really great time, but felt like I really learned a lot at the same time. 

The day started early when we all met over at Lauren's at 5:15. We piled into her car and headed to the conference center in Atlanta. Two short hours later we arrived to Real World. I really did not know what to expect, but I was pretty excited to get the day started. 

We began with breakfast and a question and answer session with three experts from CNN. It was awesome to see these three people who were extremely knowledgeable on the subject of social media and the evolving state of media in general. It was really neat to see these people so well educated on the things we learn about everyday in class. 

Next we moved into our first session. I picked a session on internships since I am currently in the process of looking for one. It was great to hear from people actually doing the interviews on the things that they find important. They gave some really helpful advice on interviews, resumes, portfolios and networking. I felt like they were very open and honest and really wanted to help us find an internship that was beneficial to us. 

The next session was on Non-Profit PR. Non-Profit PR is something I am considering so it was good to hear the pros and cons of the field. One of the women worked for Cox Communication, one for a children's museum and one for YMCA. All of these are very different branches of Non-Profit so we got to hear a lot of diverse information. 

I found the session after lunch to most beneficial for me personally. We got to sit down with a PR professional one on one and they helped to critique our resume. The lady that helped me actually was the CEO of a small PR firm and she really helped me change some things around on my resume. She told me the things I needed to focus on and some other things that could be left off. After we went over the resumes she just gave me a little advice about networking and applying to internships in general. I really enjoyed the little bit of time I got to spend with her. 

Finally I went to a session on event planning. I was really excited to go to this session because event planning is something I am definitely interested in right now. All three event coordinators stressed the importance of staying organized at all times and paying very close attention to all the details. I loved hearing them talk about their budgets of thousands of dollars that they have to work with for events. It was cool to see the similarities that their job has with what we do in class planning the Mass Comm mixer and the athletic auction. 

I would say the main thing that I took away from real World was to NETWORK. Every person I talked to emphasized the importance of making connections with others. When the day began I was not so sure about talking to strangers, but as the day progressed I slowly became much more conformable. I hope to soon be a pro networker! 

Kids and the Internet

I don't think I realized that kids on the Internet was becoming such a big deal. I can remember when we first got a computer I really had no interest in it until the say we got a game called "Rollar Coaster Tycoon" Has anyone ever played that? My sisters and I would race to the computer room to see who would be able to get on the computer first. About the time the newness of this incredible game started wearing off the days of AOL instant messenger began. I remember spending as much time as my parents would let me chatting online with my friends on AIM...

Tonight I was reading this article about kids and the Internet. It pointed out how the Internet is used much more for entertainment for kids than actually communicating which seems to change as we get older. According to the article, 71.1% of kids between the ages of 6-12 used the Internet within the last 30 days.  Most of these kids accessed the Internet from their home computer, followed by their school computers and then computers in bookstores and libraries. 

Most of these kids (81.2%)  said they used the Internet to play games. However this number did decrease with age as kids began using it for things like watching videos, homework and listening to music. 

Interestingly enough, the most popular sites for kids were television sites like Disneychannel.com, nick.com and cartoonnetwork.com. This shows how much kids are influenced by what they see on television. Most of these kids were driven by some sort of ad on television to go check out their favorite station's website. 

All of this really makes me more aware of the younger generation becoming even more technological than my generation. As PR people we need to be aware of this and how it effects our target audience. The younger generation is contributing to the evolvement of media as we know it today. More and more people are using the internet as their primary source of information, entertainment and communication. 

Another new social network!?!

As I was looking at PR Week online I noticed an article about another new social network. I think I am becoming more aware of all the social networks out there since I have been joining so many. The site is called the Daylight Network.

PR Week explained that the new network is political in nature. It allows users to follow governmental money, make predictions on the administration and suggest non-government responses to the economy. The creator of the site, Aaron Day, says his goal for the site is to help figure out a way to get out of economic crisis using a wide range of solutions. Day wants to attract people to his site who have been impacted by what's happening with the economy. He said,“People are turning to the Webs and blogs [in response to the failing economy]. There is this large mass of untapped energy with ideas for debate.” 

I support Day's new idea for a political blog about the economy. I think it is important for all of us to feel informed about what is going on with our government. I think sometimes the media tends to hype the problems of the economy which creates even more problems. It is vital for us to be accurately informed about what is going on in our economy so we can make wise decisions for ourselves. I think this website is a great tool for everyday people to network with other everyday people within our economy. This website could really be a great tool in helping the US get out of the economic crisis. 

Twitter!

I would say my experience with Twitter has been a good one so far. I am really glad that I got started a little last semester. I felt like that helped me to become familiar with the site. I am still not quite comfortable with constantly posting what I am doing for the world to see, but I am getting used to that. I like seeing what other people are doing, especially the people in our admin class. It makes me feel better to know that they are busy and stressed sometimes just like me. 

At first I did not see the point in using Twitter for PR, but the more I use it the clearer the purpose becomes. Almost everyone in the professional PR would has a twitter which makes it great for networking. 

I am starting to learn some other really cool things about twitter. I joined runners world on twitter and they have had some really cool posts about making a running soundtrack, different workouts, and even one about a new record marathon time for someone running in a clown suit.

I have gotten used to adding random people as my friends, and they almost always add me back. I guess it is a mutual understand that people on twitter have. I am starting to like the twitter community a little more.  

Reflecting on "Everything I need to know I learned by competing in Triathlons"

Jennifer P. Brown wrote a very interesting article in the last issue of Public Relations Tactics. She related her experiences in PR to her experiences with triathlons. I found the comparisons she made to be extremely informative and interesting. I have participated in a triathlon, and plan to do another this May. She makes some fascinating points about the similarities between the two. 

She begins by writing about how it matters how you train. I would say this concept is fairly simple. You would never want to show up for a triathlon unprepared and the same goes for the 

PR world. Athletes who are not prepared risk injury, and unprepared PR professionals risk burning out or losing career opportunities. Brown recommends taking time to prepare by participating in professional development workshops of attending seminars to prepare for life in PR world. 

Her next point is about learning from the experts. She writes about how few triathletes are experts at swimming, biking, and running. However it is good to get advice from people who do have an expertise in one of those three areas. She parallels this to PR by saying PR professionals should ask questions specific to a client or company to better understand the content which we are working in. 

Her fourth and fifth points are about taking care of yourself and staying hydrated. This can easily be related to both elements because I think it's easy for people to overtrain, or over work themselves. She just elaborates on how we work best and think most effectively when we take good care of ourselves. 

Next, she writes about knowing when it's time to move on, and respecting those who were there before you got there. She begins with explaining the four different triathlon distances, sprint, olympic, half iron, and iron. Most people, including myself, who decide to do a triathlon start small and work their way up. Brown says this is a good plan for triathlons, and in the PR world. Some people do start up leading departments and agencies, but their beginner mistakes are magnified. 

Lesson six is about remembering to breathe. Remembering to breathe seems simple, but when you start out too fast holding our breath becomes an unconscious decision our body tends to make. The same thing is true for our profession. When we try to rush through a project our thinking suffers and our companies and clients pay the consequences. 

In the seventh lesson Brown writes about every brutal uphill having a refreshing downhill. I can remember riding in my bike during my triathlon up a massive hill, but there was nothing better that finally reaching the top, and coasting down the other side. The same is true in PR.  Brown says sometimes things can get crazy, but there is always a refreshing downhill. It is important for PR professional to keep their  head up and keep pushing to reach the top of that hill. 

The final lesson is titled, when it's no longer fun, quit (or change priorities). When a triathlete becomes so concerned with training and nutrition that it becomes an obsession the sport is no longer fun. You must return to what initially drew you into triathlons. Brown writes that our careers should be the same. She concludes by saying that our experiences should be fun, and challenging, just like a triathlon. However when it's not anymore, professionals should think about changing, whether it be in the company or the field. I think this is great advice.