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.