Are you interested in becoming Accredited in Public Relations (APR) or learning more about professional accreditation? If so, check out FPRA’s brand new video APR: Your Future, Your Career, Your Opportunity.

FPRA's Vice President of Accreditation & Certification Jeff Nall, APR, CPRC walks viewers through the accreditation process and the variety of resources available to help you prepare. There is no better time than today to sharpen your skills and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace!

View the video here.

If you're considering sitting for the Florida Public Relations Association Certified Public Relations Counselor exam, or have questions about the CPRC process, you can find more information in the video CPRC: Your Career, Your Future, Your Leadership Opportunity by FPRA 2008-09 VP of Accreditation and Certification Jeff Nall, APR, CPRC.

View the video here.

FPRA plans to offer live blogging of its 71st Annual Conference in Boca Raton this summer. Last year's conference blog was a tremendous success.

The conference blog will feature session recaps, photos and interviews, as well as posts that provide an insider's look at an FPRA conference.

We are looking for conference attendees who would be willing to serve as volunteer bloggers. Are you interested? All you need is a laptop computer and the ability to write. Don't worry about the blogging part... we'll show you how the blogging software works and get you set up with a Wi-Fi account at the hotel.

This year's conference will take place on August 9-12 at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton. If you are interested in blogging, please contact Chris Gent at cgent@kua.com or 407-933-9836.

This year, FPRA’s Annual Conference theme is "PR on F.I.R.E."! Annual Conference speakers’ topics and activities will all fall under: Foundation, Innovation, Reputation and Education.

Watch the promo video...

Josh Hallett, member of FPRA's Dick Pope/Polk County Chapter and new media strategist for Voce Communications, was involved in EBay's use of Twitter to live blog from its analyst day. Read about it in this week's edition of PRWeek:

SAN JOSE, CA: EBay used Twitter to live blog its March 11 analyst day, possibly the first organization to do so. In preparation, the company created new social media guidelines for reporting material information that drew on the expertise of its legal and communications teams, which it announced on its blog March 6.

Chief eBay blogger Richard Brewer-Hay posted the Twitter updates throughout the analyst day. He called it a “successful” event that drew fresh audience engagement.

Brewer-Hay told PRWeek that he received many new followers after announcing what eBay planned to do. “Going into this weekend, we had 700 followers. By [the morning of March 12], we [had] over 960,” he said.

The audience included analyst firms, PR agencies, IR bloggers, and other members of the media, Brewer-Hay continued. During the course of the analyst day, he posted more than 140 Tweets.

The goal for its social media push is to become part of the conversation on all of eBay's platforms, said Jose Mallabo, director of corporate communications for eBay. Besides the eBay auction site, the company has a number of other sites and services, including PayPal and Skype.

“We... have media, analysts, [etc] that cover us, [and] we had to start engaging in... dialogue that's been happening without us,” he added.

EBay began using its blog, eBay Ink, to cover quarterly earnings results four quarters ago, and Twitter for earnings three quarters ago. However, this was the first time that it put into place its new social media guidelines, which include prefacing Tweets with cautionary language. It also launched a legal page on its blog to further describe cautionary statements.

The guidelines were developed internally. EBay works with Voce Communications on its social media strategy.

The National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) has been working with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and its members to integrate new media into the IR process. Social media gives companies “a bigger microphone,” said NIRI president and CEO Jeff Morgan. But Twitter's 140-word count poses new questions that blogs did not.

“Trying to get your message out and not creating confusion is really a challenge,” he noted.

Tonya Garcia, senior reporter for PRWeek

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrongly accused tomatoes of being the source of a food-borne outbreak of salmonella in June 2008. Americans stopped eating tomatoes, and Florida’s industry sustained losses of $100 million as tomatoes rotted in the fields and sat in warehouses and in trucks.

Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, will be the guest speaker at this month's Orlando Area Chapter luncheon. He will discuss what the industry did in the first several days of the crisis, how the situation played out, and what is being done to ensure a similar debacle doesn’t happen again.

The luncheon will take place at the Citrus Club in downtown Orlando on Thursday, March 19. Registration and networking begin at 11:30 a.m.; luncheon begins at noon. This is a joint luncheon of the Orlando chapters of FPRA and PRSA.

Register online at www.fpra-orlando.org.

The event will include hors d’oeuvres and one complimentary ticket to Footloose: The Musical, immediately following the reception. This celebration is open to both FPRA members and non-members. If you are a public relations or marketing professional working and living along the Treasure Coast, this is great time to find out what FPRA can do for you.

“From our humble beginnings in 1984 as the Indian River Chapter to the strong and vibrant Chapter we are today representing public relations practitioners from Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties, many things have changed in our Chapter throughout these 25 years,” said Linette Trabulsy, president of the Treasure Coast Chapter. “But one thing remains constant – our dedication to our members. Throughout our history, FPRA Treasure Coast has offered and continues to offer public relations practitioners many opportunities for professional development through seminars, accreditation and certification, networking, local and state annual PR competitions, leadership and an annual state conference. I’m proud to lead this Chapter through our anniversary year and look forward to many more successful years to come.”

The cost to attend the 25th Anniversary Celebration is $25 per person. Reservations can be made online at www.fpratreasurecoast.com or by calling Cara Perry at (772) 873-3339. The Sunrise Theatre is located at 117 South Second Street, Fort Pierce.

For more information visit: www.fpratreasurecoast.com.

The two veterans shared their insights on the changing face of journalism and how reporters and public relations professionals are adapting in these new media times. The reporter turned the tables on workshop participants by asking them for their thoughts on a recent education rally.

The next day, Reed wrote about those responses in this news article:

Matt Reed: A lesson in PR for schools debate
February 26, 2009

But let's not forget the sheer size of that motivated crowd (I estimated 5,000, others saw 7,000 to 10,000). The organization behind it -- parents, district employees, and sports and band boosters -- holds more political significance than if the town-hall meeting drew a random sample of voters.

Great job, Space Coast Chapter!

The Ford Motor Company is one of America's iconic brand names recognized worldwide: one of the so-called 'Big Three' U.S. automakers - the other two being General Motors and Chrysler - all presently embroiled in U.S. government actions to support the industry with a proposed $14 billion bailout, without which General Motors and Chrysler say they risk ruin with Ford saying it may need funds in the future.

While this business backdrop sets the scene for mainstream media headlines and reporting, Ford continues to communicate and engage with its stakeholders and other interested parties, employing the full spectrum of tools and channels as appropriate.

It's the area of social media and communication that is the prime focus of this interview with Scott Monty, Head of Social Media at Ford's worldwide headquarters in Dearborn, USA.

In this conversation with Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz, Scott talks through the events surrounding a Ford fan site and alleged counterfeit Ford parts, how criticisms of Ford's legal moves blew up across auto-enthusiast and other websites and blogs in a 24-hour period, and the key role Twitter played in enabling Scott to rapidly defuse and help to successfully address those criticisms.

Scott also talks about The Ford Story, and offers five critical tips for any communicator embarking on deploying social media in the enterprise.

Download the podcast here (16MB).

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