Public Relations 411

Twitter

2009-11-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

After recently setting up my Twitter account, thanks to the pushes of my professor Ellen Mrja, I have began to understand that Twitter is not only a personnel application but can be a useful tool for many business. Chris Bogan's article 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business describes how Twitter can take business to new heights without added expenses or misuse of time. Bogan's main ideas include:

Immediately start using Twitter Search this application lets you listen for your name, your competitor's name and any related words.
Be wary of always pimping yourself. Your fans will love it but others will tune out.
Share the human side of your company. You are own Twitter for a reason and that means you value the public and honest conversation.
Comment on other tweets and retweet to build a strong community.
Twitter at company events etc. This will help create a backchannel for all your followers to listen.

Twitter is a revolutionary site and I am happy too understand why I need to participate and effectively help my future business.

PR on the Web

2009-10-25T21:15:00.000-07:00

In research class this past week we have been discussing how to write effectively on the web. With the help of readability expert Jakob Nielsen and his article "They don't" I have learned the following:

Use short sentences

Use active verbs

Do not use a lot of phrases, clauses and punctuation

Keep paragraphs short. One or two sentences

Use half the words that you might have used in a print story

Use bullet points and lists

Sound like a broadcast story

Use principles of search engine optimization

Use key words effectively in your lead and throughout your story

Long stories should contain subheads

After taking in consideration of these rules I have rewritten Robb Murray's article 'Politics of Food,' other hot topics at Women and Spirituality Conference.

Women and Spirituality Conference

Vandana Shiva to disucuss "The Gendered Politics of Food"

MANKATO, Minn.-Minnesota State University, Mankato, will be featuring more than a 100 workshops and a keynote speaker at the Women and Spirituality Conference on Oct. 31.

Physicist, author and international leader Vandana Shiva will discuss "The Gendered Politics of Food" at 11 a.m in the Centennial Student Union Ballroom.

Shiva who has received the Alternative Nobel Prize and Earth Day International Award is an expert on biodiversity movements and an outspoken critic of biotechnology and genetic engineering.

Shiva has been described as an environmental hero and has helped founded Navdanya a national movement to protect resources and promote organic farming.

For more information and registration forms visit http://bit.ly/3enP6s

Corporate Blogging

2009-10-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

While reading about corporate blogging I came across Ian Lurie's blog post "How to Write a Really Crappy Business Blog". This blog post described 13 easy steps to create a terrible blog and lose any customer respect in the process. I think it's important for businesses to understand that they can't get caught up in selling a product rather they should be a resource and enable valuable conversations. In Laurie's post three of the steps really stuck out to me. First talk about yourself. Second write badly. Third don't care. These steps might seem ridiculous but are often used in corporate blogging. I really liked Lurie's blog because it showed corporate blogging at its worst and challenged them to use their blog as a means of speaking directly to their customers.

Blogger Relations

2009-10-14T09:56:00.000-07:00

Blogger Relations like any relationship is a two way street. Brain Solis the co-author of Putting the Public Back in Public Relations stated that blogger relations is built on respect, understanding, communication and information. PR professionals I think need to understand that their "audience" is not there anymore. They can't hassle bloggers without putting in the time and research to understand who they are. Adam Singer who also commented on the importance's of blogger relations made a great point in saying that in order to truly understand bloggers you need to become one yourself. I totally agree with Singer that if you know how something ticks you can use that as an advantage. Singer also emphasised the importance's of providing content in a pitch that is both remarkable and marketable. Singer has gotten me to realize that I can't just stop working hard when I find the correct people to pitch too if I pitch a boring topic I just wasted an opportune moment. Blogger Relations like any relationship needs to be worked on daily and I truly think the time spent on improving is definitely worth it.

Conversation Prism

2009-10-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Today in class we took a look at Brian Solis "Conversation Prism" which basically represents all the social tools, services and networks. Solis stated that we should find ourselves in the center of the prism whether we are observing, listening or participating. Being that it's so important to particapte in the social media I find this tool so helpful!

14 Key Skills & Attributes for Public Relations Professionals

2009-10-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

It's so hard to try and measure yourself up without using any personal blinders. Most of the time I don't want to face the facts and still use the excuse that I will learn it tomorrow. After reading Dave Fleet's blog I feel comfortable in saying that I already have some of the skills necessary to become successful as a new PR grad, but to say the least I need allot of improvement. I feel that my communication skills, work ethic, productiveness and writing are key's to my success but what really scares me is the other skills I am lacking. It's really interesting to see that most of my needed improvements come from the skills related to online work. I say this because I am part of the "Internet generation" where we as a whole are more connected to online than any other age group. I feel that I need to take social media more seriously and learn the tools that it has to offer. I have to stop putting off twitter and learning about micorblogging, SEO and coding . I have waited to long to not become in tune with what online has to offer and I can't just wait around any longer.

Social Media Addiction Rap

2009-09-30T12:23:00.001-07:00

Understanding the Past

2009-09-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

"You have to know the past to understand the present" this was stated by Dr. Carl Sagan who was an American writer and scientist. Today this quote is more evident than ever in the changing spectrum of PR. I am currently reading the text "Putting the Public Back in Public Relations" by Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge. This book has helped me to understand the true meaning and value of public relations by recognizing and understanding PR's founding fathers. The founding fathers of PR are Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays. These men could be consider manipulators or spin doctors but both agreed that PR is a two-way street and about building relationships. Today more than ever with the expanding social media/web 2.0 its evident that PR practitioners are losing focus of their original foundation. PR today is throwing "messages" at "audiences" without determining their targets needs or their channels of influence. If you think about it PR has always been about building relationships and using meaningful communication if we can grasp that today our future will live on until tomorrow.

Creating a Culture that is not Afraid to Fail

2009-09-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

When I think of the word "failure" a bitter taste comes to my mouth and I pray that I will never become one of those. After reading Beth's Kanters Blog about "Creating a culture that is not afraid to fail" I have come to the conclusion that from day one we have been taught the wrong way to except failure. As you can image allot of organizations become receptive in joining the social media because of the fear of failure. Many set unrealistic goals or don't have a strong strategy to become successful in the main stream. They become quick to proclaim that the social media doesn't work and they were dumb for even trying. What I want to know is where do these attitudes come from? and why are organizations so quick to give up? As it was stated in Beth's blog "change happens when the desire for gain is greater that the fear of loss". I believe in order to fully emerge yourself/organization in the social media you must throw away all what you learned about failure and look at it as a chance to learn.

Beth gives some ideas in her blog that I think are important to remember while joining the social media. First, get rid of the fear of failure. No one is perfect and you can't expect everything to run smoothly on the first try. Second, make learning the norm. Third, emphasize what works and roll with it. And lastly start out with small changes and gradually reach for the stars.

I hope by having a different outlook on what "failure"is will allow me to be more acceptable in the field of change and the desire to keep learning.

Code of Ethics

2009-09-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

What is ethics? How do you learn to be ethical? Today in class we answered these perplexing questions dealing with the code of ethics during research. First to began any research project you need to make certain that all particpants involved are aware of it. Second, the participants need to understand that they can withdrawal at anytime and that their answers will stay confidential/ anonymous. Lastly, as a researcher you could come across proprietary issues with the outsourcing organization that may lead to making difficult decisions on how far you are willing to go to protect your participants.

This final step of protecting yourself or others is really what ethics is all about. If you are willing to go the extra mile and take the fall for others I believe that you have made the right decision. By being willing to showcase the "golden rule" and not think solely about yourself you will be looked upon as ethical by your peers, business clients, family etc..

The Machine Is Us

2009-08-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

My first blog posting is a reflection on the You Tube video "The Machine is Us/ing Us. This video explains (ironically through text) how the web has changed its writing formats to allow its users to search, communicate, teach and link anything together. This video did a spectacular job in showing that the web is only as strong as the people who use it. We as a consumer can become are own author, artist, critic etc. on the web which allows us to influence and communicate with others. By looking at this video it's pretty obvious to see that Public Relations needs to be highly concentrated on the web and in social media. There is no way we could possibly reach all are target groups effectively and influence their behaviors if we are lacking two-way-communication. PR along with journalism has to take a giant leap in leaving old tactics behind, but I guarantee by joining the social media PR will keep thriving forever.