Hello Goodbye

Hello real world, goodbye college. I am sad that the comfort of the college classroom is almost passed, but I feel ready and able to concur the public relations world. Thanks to the public relations concentration in the Mass Communication department at Georgia College & State University I feel prepared to become a professional. While in the concentration I learned how to:

1. contact the media and maintain a relationship with them
2. write an effective press release with little grammar mistakes and a catching lead
3. work with a team to execute a cohesive plan or idea
4. work for a client
5. present and assemble a pitch
6. maintain social media sites
7. publicize events
8. network
9. lead, plan, execute & evaluate a public relations campaign
10. make a campaign book

These skills will make myself marketable to an employer. All I need to take is senior seminar and I will hit the real world running. Armed with my best suit, portfolio & can-do attitude I enter the professional world in five months!!

Socially Responsbile Starbucks

Corporate social responsibility means that organizations must behave ethically and with sensitivity toward social, cultural, economic and environmental issues. Corporations should blend their mission with community relations in order to create greater customer relations. Starbucks is one of the many organizations who take corporate social responsibility seriously.

Starbucks Coffee Company was founded as a neighborhood coffee shop in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel and Gordon Bowker. The first Starbucks sold high quality coffee beans and equipment but not brewed drinks. In 1987, the original founders sold Starbucks to Howard Schultz who quickly expanded the chain. That same year Starbucks opened two locations outside Seattle at Vancouver, British Columbia and Chicago, Illinois. Today, Starbucks has 16,635 stores in 49 countries making it the largest coffeehouse company in the world.

The mission for Starbucks states, “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.” This mission balances the needs and concerns of community relations. Starbucks’ commitment plan for doing business responsibility is called Shared Planet. According to their website, Starbucks Shared Planet involves “focusing on the areas of ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship and community involvement.” To go along with this program, Starbucks has three goals that involve each of the areas of focus, which will be implemented by 2015.
1.100% of our coffee will be responsibly grown, ethically traded
2.100% of our cups will be recyclable or reusable
3.We’ll contribute more than 1 million community service hours each year

These ambitious goals show Starbucks is serious about executing their socially responsible promise. In a section of the website, consumers can check the progress of these goals.

Starbucks publishes an annual global responsibility report on their Shared Planet website. In this report, Starbucks talks about their commitment to the environment and wellness, growth impacts in communities and the value of their products among other things. The report has also been informed by the Global Reporting Initiative G3 Guidelines, a set of international reporting standards which recognize sustainability. Everyone who visits the site can chose which sections of the report they want to see. This aspect is important because not all people are interested in the same issues. Scrolling down to find the section that interests you usually results on giving up but Starbuck’s clever way of customizing the report makes the consumer feel empowered.

The Starbucks Foundation is another way Starbucks uses corporate social responsibility. The foundation was made in 1997 and includes supporting “young people creating change in local communities where Starbucks has stores, water projects through the Ethos Water Fund and social investments in countries where Starbucks buys coffee, tea and cocoa.”

Shared Planet and The Starbucks Foundation are both ways Starbucks practices corporate social responsibility. Starbucks is active in reaching their goals, which proves this Fortune 500 company wants to make a difference.

PR Day

This Wednesday, November 4, the Georgia College & State University chapter of PRSSA held an event called PR Day. The chapter invited four public relations professionals to come and speak about public relations topics to students. The speakers were found thanks to our PRSSA professional adviser Carlos Campos and college adviser Dr. Ginger Carter Miller.

The event kickoff at 1 p.m. with Cristy Williams, Vice President of Communications at GE Money. Followed by Jena Simonds, Director of Communications & Branding at Streamline Consultants. Our keynote speaker was Bert DuMars, Vice President E-Business & Interactive Marketing at Newell Rubbermaid. His speech focus was on the importance and growth of social media. He also discussed the significance of creating consumer relationships. The final speaker was Katherine Mason, Account Executive at Porter Novelli. Katherine brought her portfolio to show students, which I found very helpful. I have never seen a portfolio done like hers. All speakers were engaging and extremely informative.

The turnout for the event was fair. Most importantly, all attendees were focused and attentive because all the information given by the speakers will eventually be used in the real world.

PR Day turned out to be extremely successful. Surprisingly, I was not stressed before the event. I serve PRSSA as co-social chair, so this event was my responsibility. Publicity for the event included flyers, facebook event, chalking around campus and a brief wright up in the college newspaper, "The Colonnade."

The next order of business for PRSSA is the annual Holiday get together. At this event, we recognize the new members of PRSSA and eat some tasty food. I am looking forward to it!

My Parents Were Right...

When I told my parents I wanted to study the field of public relations, they were skeptical. They wanted me to have a career in medicine or education; so, I would have job security. But I stuck with my passion. Due to the current economic situation, I sometimes think I should have listened to my parents. I have always dreaded graduating because I wouldn't be able to sleep in till 10 a.m. or wear jeans and t-shirts everyday. After reading this article, my fears of May 2010 approaching grew.

The article called "Job Market Turns Must Worse" describes the job market situation for journalism and mass communication graduates of 2008. Most of the graduates only received one job interview and were able to find full-time employment. The article states, "only six in 10 of the graduates had full-time employment six to eight months after graduation." This statistic is the lowest level of full-time employment reported by graduates in 23 years. Definitely not something a senior Mass Communication major wants to hear. This article made me think of what I had to bring to the table. Why would a PR firm hire me? What makes me so special that I can beat the odds?

Honestly, I have no idea. I am a good design - so are a lot of people. I am a great organizer and leader - so are a lot of people. This really makes me need to have a self evaluation session. I am not good at the whole "sell yourself" approach to job searching, but I need to be. I need to have more confidence in my work as an up & coming public relations professional. I do have a multitude of public relations experiences; thanks Dr. Miller my public relations professor who believes in giving her students real life experiences rather than classroom busy work. There is a start - my start to beating the odds.

The economy will improve. If anything starting my career in the worst economy ever should make me stronger in the long runI have always been an optimistic person. I am determined to prove to my parents and grandparents public relations is a serious career. . Ten years from now I will NOT be saying "my parents were right!"

Case Study

My partner and I chose the "Big Brother is Watching: Browsing on Company Time" case study, which represents the Employee Relations chapter of "Cases in Public Relations Management."

This case dealt with a newly founded company called ComXSoft, a computer products company. The company prides itself on a fun and relaxed environment. Nelson Perry, public relations director, works well with the marketing and human resource departments.

One day Perry's assistant,Larry Meyers, complains about Perry's new secretary. Meyers says, "She spends all her time on eBay." When the secretary was told about the concerns, she acts defensively, saying she is only on eBay during lunch hour and breaks. Afterward, Perry starts to take notice of the secretary's computer. He suspects she might spend more time on eBay than she admits to. Since Perry is fairly new to the job, he asks Paul Johnson, director of human resources, for advice.Perry "explains the situations about his secretary's possible abuse of office equipment for personal use." Johnson tells Perry to have a talk to his employees about the difference between work time and personal time.

Three months later, Johnson tells Perry that his employee's computers have been under surveillance with software technology that can record every Web site visited and data downloaded. Perry's computer was also watched. The research found Perry's secretary had been spending excessive amounts of time on eBay, but the secretary was not the only employee misusing company time. 20 employees were identified as excessive users.

Perry was in shock. Perry did not think this was legal, but according to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 it is. Perry began to form a plan of action bases on this employee relations issue that he will present at a management meeting.

This case raised many questions about employee relations. Employee relations are at the core of any business. If your employees are not happy they will not go above and beyond what is asked. They will do the bare minimum, which does not result on a return on investment. I believe on occasion personal email at a workplace is acceptable. One can not work eight straight hours without a little relief. Also, a company should be clear on their view of personal computer use at the very beginning.

I will be the first to admit I am not the most environmental friendly person in the world. In my day to day life, I rarely think about my carbon footprint. I realize the importance of preserving our Earth. I do not litter yet I do not recycle. I think I am like many Americans who do not fully understand how my actions are directly affecting the environment. I have always wanted to change my ways and become environmentally responsible. I have wondered what I could be improving on. Thanks to this blog I realize simple changes can make a HUGE change.

Today I am going to start being more conscience of my decisions as it relates to the environment. Here is a list of I pledge myself to do:
1. Turn off my computer when I go to bed.
2. Recycle
3. Wash clothes with cold water
4. Buy local food (I have been wanting to go to the farmer's market!)
5. No longer preheat the oven (I had no idea)
6. Inform all my friends (something easy to do)

After reading the blog, I found I actually do more things to better the environment than I actually realize. For example, I always turn off the lights when I leave a room, I take short showers, I reuse wrapping paper, I always use a water bottle I refill, I only run the dishwasher when it is full and I turn the water off when I brush my teeth. I have a feeling people, like me, do not know they are already helping the environment. When people find out they are inadvertently helping out I think they will be more prone to step it up and consciously help out the environment.

Our world's climate issues can seem overwhelming. But if everyone helps out a little bit everyone will benefit in the long run. It is really just that simple!

"What's your Scandal?"

My group came up with a "What's your Scandal?" murder mystery party for the CW Campaign competition. This idea was based on the actual plot of "Melrose Place" because during the first episode, the landlord was murdered. We thought the murder mystery would be a great way for our guests to personally interact with the plot.

To publicize for the event, we sent out a press release to school and local media. An interactive facebook group was created with trivia questions and facts about "90210" and "Melrose Place." Invitations were handed out to the main characters of the plot before the event. Also, eye-catching flyers were made and posted around campus.

The day of the event a "What's your Scandal" tie-dye took place on campus. There were three colors which represented three scandals: red - murder, green - envy and purple - affair. The tie-dye worked really well in getting the event recognized.

The big event started at 6 p.m. When people arrived at the check-in table, they received a confidential packet, which included a notepad, pen, name tag, biography of the character they would be playing and menu card. Once everyone entered the room they transformed into their character. I was pleasantly surprised by how much people got into their roles. During the first fifteen minutes, the landlord was killed. During the event, three clues were given. Each clue contained three suspects, which everyone then interviewed. Also with every clue came a new course on the menu.

At the end of the night, everyone was asked to write down who they thought killed the landlord and why. The winner was given a $20 gift certificate to Blackbird. We also gave awards out to the best actor, best liar and the murder. Approximately 45 people attended our event. A survey was distributed afterward, and the results were amazing. Everyone had a great time and most of the participates now want to watch "90210" and "Melrose Place."

My team worked extremely well together. We all put in a 100%, and I think it paid off. Each team member brought a different skill to the table, which turned out to be the recipe for success. Now all we have left is the put together the campaign book!!

Ethics and PR

Everyone has some code of ethics they follow, whether they realize it or not. Personally, my ethics are usually defined around this question, "Would my parents be proud?" I know that is clique, but I truly feel this way. My family means the world to me, and I can not stand disappointing them. I rather someone be mad at me than be disappointed! When I decided to pursue Public Relations, my family was skeptical. They rather me be in the medical field or teaching because those are solid jobs. I told them to trust that I knew what I was doing. But the truth was I had no idea what I was doing! After being in the public relations concentration for two years, I realize picking mass communication as a major fit my personality perfectly.

I base my everyday morals on my family influences, which I also carry into my public relations life.

Honesty holds the top position on my personal code of ethics. In Public Relations, honesty to your coworkers or even your target audience is key. People have to trust in order to rely. If an employer ever asked to to lie, I do not think I could.I just to not have it in me.

I feel extremely strongly about anti-smoking. I could never promote tobacco companies. I have come to this position on smoking because both of my parents smoke, and I see what effects smoking has on a person and their family.

Another ethical stand I take is treat others the way you would want to be treated. I have learned this through my public relations classes. We have all been competitors, but in the end we treat each other with respect. I find it hard for myself to be mean, which is a good and bad thing. My position in my sorority is helping me learn how to stand up for myself.

When I enter the real world, I am not naive enough the think I am going to get my dream job right out of the gate. I know I am going to have to work my way up, which I am willing to do. I eventually want to have a job that holds my interest and challenges me, who doesn't? But I am willing to do the "dirty" work for the first few years in my career. If my job does not satisfy my emotional needs, then I can do those outside of the office. But in a dream world - I would want my job and happiness to coincide.

Advertising on Twitter - oh my!

Last Thursday Twitter founder Biz Stone divulged a new "tTrms of Service" for the fast growing mircoblogging site. I have to admit when I got an email from Biz Stone detailing the changes, I disregarded the email. Afterward, I thought about what "Terms of Service" actually meant. Now that the email had sparked my interest, I went back and read it.

The founders of Twitter decided to make changes to the "Terms of Service" because they now have a better understanding of how Twitter is used. The main aspects which were changed are ownership, advertising, APIs and SPAM. The two areas that caught my attention were ownership and advertising.

Twitter is allowed to "use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute" tweets. However, the tweets belong to the person who wrote them. This statement is pretty obvious. Twitter is social networking, and it is a forum to publicly say how you feel.

It states on Twitter's blog,"in the Terms, we leave the door open for advertising. We'd like to keep our options open as we've said before." This bothers me a little bit. I like Twitter better than Facebook because Twitter does not have annoying advertisements running on the side of the page. If Twitter were to have that same feature then you would not be able to see everyone's unique backgrounds. I love how Twitter has been able to stay untouched by ads. Although, I know Twitter will eventually use advertising. Advertising is a money maker. In the end, Twitter has to do what is best for their survival.

I highly doubt the addition of advertising on Twitter will hurt them Public Relations wise. People trust and love Twitter. The main characteristic that keeps tweeters coming back is the freedom to use Twitter for whatever platform they choose. The founders of Twitter know this and will "understand that it's not about the technology, it's about how we all use the service that matters most."

Check out Twitter's new "Terms of Service."
They want feedback so give it to them!!

What to improve?

I have never been good at picking out my strengths and weakness. Self evaluation just does not come easily to me. But as an up-and-coming public relations professional I need to know where I stand and what skills I need improvement on. After reading about 14 key attributes a public relations professional should posses on DaveFleet.com , I could see the skill sets I contain and those that I need to work on.

My finest selling points are:

1) Work Ethic - When I am assigned something, I start working on it that day. I cannot rest until I know everything is perfect. Even if the perfection takes long hours to accomplish. I am a worker bee!

2) Communication Skills - As a freshman in college, I thought communication skills would be my downfall, but I have quickly learned communication is one of my strong suits. I am great at delegating, but I also never leave myself out of the mix. When I believe in a project I am presenting or a plan I am implementing, communication (vocal or written) becomes second nature.

3) Proactiveness - I listed proactiveness as one of my strengths because when I do not know something I always ask. I never let something pass me by because I do not feel like asking or looking it up. I do not take deadlines lightly. I live on time lines, even day to day! I have to know what to do next. I am not one to sit around and wait to be told what to do!

Now that I have gone through my strengths as an up-and-coming public relations professional according to the list provided by DaveFleet.com, it is now time to talk about my areas of improvement! Dun-Dun-Dunn

1) Writing - Since writing is at the core of public relations, I feel there is always need for improvement. My vocabulary is probably the weakest part of my writing. The thesaurus has been my best friend!

2) Media Relations - Even though I have my fair share of experience with media relations, contacting the media still scares me. I have always felt uncomfortable talking on the phone ( I won't even make my own doctor appointments). I have slowly gotten better with media relations. I am thankfully for the experience I have had now in college or else I would be at square one when I enter the workforce. At least im making progress!

3) Coding - I have taken two computer courses at GCSU. Both have helped me understand coding, but I feel I am still in the dark. Coding does not make sense to me. I have a lot of room for improvement in the skill of coding!

Now that I have picked out my strengths and weakness, I can spend the rest of my college career fine tuning my public relations skills. Come May 2010 WATCH OUT world of public relations!

Now and Then

When I was a freshman at GCSU, I knew right away what I wanted my major to be: Mass Communication. Most freshman do not have that luxury, but I knew I belonged in Public Relations. I thought I knew what public relations entailed - event planning. However, after getting into the program I quickly found out public relations encompasses a whole lot more than meets the eye. I have also learned a lot about how the Mass Communication department at GCSU works.

1. Get the word procrastination out of your vocabulary!!
Public relations revolves around deadlines. Deadlines are to be taken seriously and approached weeks in advance. I have been apart of three events as a public relations student, and each is structured through an efficient timeline. Start work on a project right away so you will not be struggling towards the end to produce a below par result.

2. Know how to write a press release!!
Before entering the world of public relations learning how to write a press release is imperative. Here is the recipe for a great press release - catching and informative lead, perfect AP style, proper way to quote someone, organizing paragraphs in order of importance and correct format of the press release.

3. Learn how to take constructive criticism!!
I am an extremely sensitive person. I used to not take criticism well, but I now I understand the importance of constructive criticism. Professors are not picking on you while they point out your mistakes, they are trying to make you understand how to make it perfect the next time. I have only recently taken this rule to heart, but once you appreciate the criticism it makes your work that much better. After all, criticism is not personal - remember that.

4. Get to know your adviser and classmates!!
Your adviser is your mentor. They are the expert helping you along your journey in the world of Mass Communications. My public relations class has a strong bond. I never knew that would happen. We work so close together we are practically family. Our teacher (adviser) is a huge part of this family. I believe that if our class was not as close as we are then we would not produce such great events like we have in the past. In the public relations concentration, your classmates are your coworkers, and your teacher is your boss.

5. Search in advance for an internship!!
I was naive when I starting undergoing my internship search. I thought applying to eight would be far more than enough. Let me just say I was extremely wrong. I got denied from 7 of them. The one I got ended up being too far of a commute. Luckily, at the last minute I found an internship. This process was too stressful. Make sure your search in depth for internships and apply to as many as you can. On another internship note, once you have your internship learn from it. Even if this internship was not the one you wanted. An experience in the mass communications world is invaluable.

This list is just a small insight into what I know now that I wished I knew then. Honestly, everyone is going to have different experiences in the Mass Communication department. Enjoy every minute because college will FLY by in a blink of an eye. Take it from me - a senior who cannot believe this is my last year!

My Summer as an Intern

When my search for the perfect internship began I was bright eyed and hoping for the best. Shortly after reality hit and I found myself wondering if I would even have an internship in the summer of 2009. After a few weeks of worrying, I got an email about an internship opportunity in Eatonton for The Plaza Arts Center. I responded right away. I soon had an interview, and afterwards I could not stop smiling. I had such a great feeling about the building, the interviewer and the job. I did not want to jinx myself so I kept my good feelings to myself. Finally, I received an email telling me I had gotten the internship. Words cannot say how excited I was about this opportunity.

During my summer, I got to be a part of a lot of neat projects. My favorite project was "The Meet Me at The Plaza" concert series. I was the public relations chair for the series. Before the series began, I designed and wrote a brochure detailing each performer, specifics about tickets and general information. The distribution of the brochures was divided amongst the board. In addition to the brochures, I designed flyers and wrote press releases for the three performances. I enjoyed going to the event and seeing the success of my promoting.

My first big project was to promote Eatonton’s Got Talent. This year was only the program’s second year of being at The Plaza. Since it was still new to the community, my public relations skills were truly tested. About a month before the event, I designed the flyers to put up around town. I also designed the event's programs and tickets. The flyers, tickets and programs all had a cohesive design, which helped the community recognize the event from other competing programs.

Other public relation duties entailed designing flyers and writing press releases for The Manhattan String Quart and Camp Broadway, a drama camp for children. One of the reasons I was chosen for this internship was because of my love for design. Sometimes I got frustrated with her because she wanted too much information on a flyer, but it gave me good experience learning to do what the client wanted.

My internship at The Plaza Arts Center has been a great place to get my feet wet in the public relations world. The Plaza has helped me brush up on my design, media relations, writing and event planning skills. I learned about dealing with a broad of directors and communication within a company. Next summer I plan to have another internship in Atlanta that will prepare me even more for the real world of public relations.

Eatonton's Got Talent

This video was taken at the Plaza Arts Center in Eatonton, Georgia. I am interning there this summer. I am so excited to experience my first taste into the real world of public relations at the Arts Center.

One event the Plaza Arts Center has planned for the summer is Eatonton's Got Talent. It is based on the show American Idol. The event will take place on June 6. To acquire talent for the competition auditions were held April 29 and May 6. This video was taken at the audiences. It showcases five of the people who are trying out for the competition. Lydia Ivanditti, the director of the Plaza Arts Center, introduces the video.

I have already starting publicizing for the event. The Plaza Arts Center is hoping for a large crowd because it is the same night as the Dairy Festival.

I have learned alot about public relations by taking PR Admin. I can now promote and run an event with confidence. The Athletic Auction has prepared me for Eatonton's Got Talent, and I cannot wait to put my experience to use!

PROpenMic

I can not believe I am hooked on another social networking site. This one is called PROpenMic. There is something different about this site, which stands out to me...It is purely for public relations! How neat is that? PROpenMic has taken the idea of social networking and narrowed down their target audience.

I have not gotten the chance to take an in depth look at PROpenMic, but I can already tell it is going to be addicting. But now I do not have to search through a huge data base just to get to the subject I'm interested in.

This site just open a window into the public relations world with a click of the mouse. Now that I have been actively looking for an internship, I understand how frustrating searching for the perfect internship or job can be. I am hoping this site will slowly bridge the gap between job seeker and employer.

PROpenMic can also be used as a tool to learn about more sectors of public relations. This being my first full year in public relations, my knowledge of public relations is quite narrow. I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge as best as I can, and PROpenMic will definitely help me.

Well now it is time for me to explore PROpenMic a little bit more! I'm excited.

Sold!

This Saturday my Public Relations Administration class put on the Athletic Auction at GCSU. At the beginning of the semester our class was divided into 4 teams of 3 to come up with the auction's theme. Each team did a great job of creating themes. The theme that was chosen was a motorcycle inspired lifesyle.

Our entire semester was geared toward making the auction a success. Everyone had certain tasks to make the vision complete. My specific job was to create the invitation and to post flyers downtown to promote the event. Before I knew it, it was time for the auction.

Friday morning before the auction, we began to decorate the Centennial center, which is where the auction took place. Again, everyone had a task to complete. Our class worked extremely well together to make the decorations come to life. Friday afternoon the location was almost fully decorated and we finally got a little taste of what our hard work would come to be.

Finally, the big day was here. Saturday was exciting. When people starting arriving, it as an indescribable feeling. It was the first major event I had ever helped put on. The entire night went better than imagined. I helped sell raffle tickets for the first part of the night, which was fun because I could interact with the people. The night was a great experience in event planning in the world of public relations. Luckily, we did not have to deal with crisis management.

I do not think the night would have been as fun if our class did not get along like we do. I always have a good time while with my class, and the auction only strengthen that feeling. I can only hope my future coworkers and I can get along that well (I can dream). Ha

Internet Success

It amazes me that a person's job can revolve around blogging, tweeting and other social media - alone! I started to follow many business on Twitter and one day I saw a tweet saying this is their job: to keep up with social media for their business. I really could not believe it. Something that seems so simple can be a career path? I investigated this subject a little more.

On April 3, Coca-Cola launched a office of digital and social media. Clyde Tuggle, SVP of corporate affairs and productivity at Coke said, "Our future success depends on our continued ability to connect people to our brands and our company all around the world, one person at a time." So why not create an entire office to reach that goal? After reading the article on Coke in PRWeek, I understood why companies are putting so much time and effort into social media. They want to connect to their consumers, and what better way than social media?

Social media is immediate, and it involves consumers with a product. It is free to use, as long as you own a computer. It also makes a person feel personally connected to a company and that their opinion matters. This usually makes a person more inclined to use a certain product.

Now I completely understand why a company would hire one person for the sole purpose of keeping up with social media. It really can improve the company's standings in the long run.

For me social media is a means of communicating with my peers to and to market myself to the PR world. Now I see Twitter, Facebook and blogging as entertaining and informing. I hope when I enter the professional world I can use my social media skills.

Experience

I have been working with Relay For Life since last August as there Public Relations Chair. Now this Friday, the big event will be here. I am excited to see the success of my hard work come to life. At times the job was extremely difficult because of communication issues, but overall Relay has given me my first real experience with public relations. I could not be more thankful to have worked for the fight against cancer. Especially now that my grandmother is dying of pancreatic cancer.

My experience with Relay has taught me the basics of public relations. Probably, the most important thing I learned how to do was to communicate with the local media. The city of Milledgeville is a great place to build a relationship with the media because it is a small town with limited media outlets. The main outlet I communicated with was the local newspapers. I had to understand their deadlines and formatting. They helped me get vital information out to the public about Relay with efficiency.

Among other skills, I can crack out a press release in no time thanks to Relay. I have gotten extremely comfortable with writing them and obtaining quotes. This basic skill is necessary in the PR world, and now I have lots of experience with writing press releases.

I have also learned to understand the dynamics of a committee. I had to find out the hard way who was the best to get information from and who was not the best communicator. Luckily, the committee was willing to help me with anything and everything. I know this experience will help me with future employers.

Relay For Life was a great starting point in my public relations career. I was able to build my portfolio with press releases, newsletters and published work. The experience I received with Relay will benefit me for years to come. I am hoping my internship this summer will add onto my experiences; so, I can better market myself for a job when I graduate. After being denied from an internship, I truly know the importance of experience!

PR and Hollywood

Today I am going to write about a recent article I read in "Public Relations Tactics." The article is called "Event planning intersection:where brands meet celebrities." This article stood out to me because I have also been fascinated with celebrity endorsements. Probably because I am a huge fan of movies and Hollywood in general.

The article by Dana Marciniak explains how to work with celebrity accounts and how to pitch your event or product to the media. A celebrity name can instantaneously draw attention to an event and get coverage. Hopefully, the coverage will be positive, and that is why who you chose to be the representative is crucial.

When I see celebrities on television being a spokesperson for a certain product, I stop and think if they are really using it. Especially, when a 30 year old actress is promoting wrinkle cream! Sometimes, I get frustrated when I see Tiger Woods endorsing Gillette when he already makes millions upon millions of dollars with many other endorsement deals and winning gold tournaments. Why do celebrates make so much money just for saying they use a certain product? This was my opinion pre-public relations student.

Now being on the public relations side, I understand why companies would want celebrity endorsements. It is because they are one of the best ways to get your product's name recognized. What professional does not want their product to be synonymous with Tiger Woods? It is all about maximum coverage for an event or product, and one huge way to get that attention can be through a celebrity endorsement.

The Tipping Point

In “The Tipping Point,” Malcolm Gladwell describes how epidemics can be explained by three rules: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. These rules are also the rules for the Tipping Point. A Tipping point refers to a mysterious change or point in a company or trend that usually results in something positive. My favorite example in the book is when Malcolm writes about the Hush Puppies trend because being in college, I have seen a lot of old trends come back. Wolverine, the makers of Hush Puppies, had nothing to do with its rebirth in 1994. One group of kids in New York starting wearing them, and suddenly they became cool again, just like that. Some examples of trends reappearing that I have noticed are Ray Ban sunglasses and Jellies.

For our own class project, the Athletic Auction, there are some possible ways we could make it tip. For the first suggestion, we would use the Law of the Few. Mavens, connectors and salesmen are people who spread or contain a message. “Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it,” said Gladwell. In the auction’s case, our PR Administration class are mavens. Therefore, we need to find the connectors of Milledgeville and of athletics to broadcast our message even further.

Another idea for the Athletic Auction to tip is to make the event sticky. Hopefully, our theme will play a big role in the stickiness factor because people will enjoy it and be drawn to the event. As a class, we need find out what has not stuck in years past and find ways to present the information to obtain stickiness.

As previously stated, there are three types of peopling according to Gladwell and they are mavens, connectors and salesmen. It is hard to categorize myself in any of these. The one I am definitely not is a salesman. With more time in the public relations field, I hope to become a connector. Networking will play a huge part on my path to becoming a connector, but I feel I already possess a few qualities of a connector. They are a passion for getting to know people and an interest in multiple groups. I doubt I will ever get to the level of obsession like Roger Horchow, but I feel everyone in public relations should be somewhat of a connector.

Through using social media, I have already become more of a connector. Social media opens up opportunities for word-of-mouth epidemics and many others. Now having used Twitter and my blog for a couple of months, I can say I have definitely experienced a tipping point with social media. It can open so many opportunities, and to think I found out about Twitter through a maven and connector!

Networking

Throughout my time as a public relations student, the importance of one word has been drilled into me: networking. A dictionary defines networking as "a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest."

I have only heard positive things about networking: that you can gain a potential employer, obtain contacts with media, gain vital information and the list goes on and on. To me networking is intimidating exactly for those reasons. I want to be myself when I meet a new person, but knowing I have to impress that person scares me a little. What if I say the wrong thing or do not meet their standards?

Having gone to Real World PR, I got great experiences with being myself while talking to potential employers. Talking to the first organization representative was extremely intimidating, but after awhile it seemed I was just talking like I would to anyone else. As the afternoon went on, I did not hesitate to speak to public relations professionals and ask them my questions.

First impressions are an extremely important part of networking. One does not want to seem uninterested or disrespectful. Great eye contact and a firm handshake is a great start to a conversation. Networking opens doors and windows, which would otherwise be closed if you did not make that connection. Just as important as making that first connection is keeping a relationship with that person because that connection may not payoff until five years down the line.

Real World PR prepared me for a lot of things, and networking was definitely on the top of that list.

Answers

Since the beginning of my Public Relations "career," I have had a multiple of unanswered questions. Some have been posted on previous blogs. I am happy to report after attending Real World PR on Friday, some of those lingering questions have been answered
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Let's start with my most recent question: corporate or agency? In career path track of session 2, a panel discussed the pros and cons of both worlds. They explained that an agency is more likely to hire right after graduation. Also an agency has a more fast paced atmosphere, juggles multiple clients and offers a broad experience. On the other had, corporate public relations is more structured, conservative and one can build an identity with a certain brand. I'm still open to both but agency seems in my direction.

I also heard a panel speak about internships. This session was extremely usefully because I am on the hunt for a summer internship. The panel's advice ranged from do research on the company to how to organize a portfolio. They said to bring portfolio, resume, letters of recommendation and any graphic designs to an interview. Their best advice is to start small then go big. It is all about one step and at time ... oh ya and networking!

During the afternoon, I went to have my resume critique. I picked a person who I knew would hold nothing back, and boy he did not. He gave great pointers how to arrange my resume, and how to reword some descriptions I had. I am more confident in my resume now, which is a must.

The final panel discussion I went to was Travel, Tourism and Hospitality PR. I was extremely impressed by two of the speakers who were from Melissa Libby & Associates and the Georgia Aquarium. Both of these companies involve something I love (cooking and animals). I found great potential in future internships because you have to love you job.

Real World PR brought me many opportunities to network and find internship opportunities. This event was definitely worth wild because I got to hear advice from real public relations professionals.

Baby steps

The other day I got a chance to talk with someone, Charles, who has had experience with job hunting in the world of public relations. He told me about an intense job interview he had with a big time public relations firm. Before he had the real interview, he had to pass a writing test. The firm gave him a scenario and he had an hour to write a press release on the subject. I had no idea job interviews could be like this.
Charles explained to me there are three types of public relations jobs: a firm, corporate or nonprofit. Since the time is coming for me to find an internship this information was very important to me.
I always thought I would like a public relations firm atmosphere better because you are dealing with multiple projects, and to me that seems more interesting. But would I want my internship to be at a firm? It seems those internships would be more coffee fetching and paper copying, and those are the last things I want my internship to be about. I want to learn from my internship, to be pushed and potentially get a job from that company in the future.
On the other side of the spectrum we have nonprofit organizations. In these job situations, the organization would probably have only one public relations person, which has its pros and cons. The con for me is that I like working with a team, and the pro is having creative freedom.
Finally, there is the corporate side of public relations. I honestly do not know much about, but it seems to be the best of the firm and nonprofit worlds.
I am hoping my internship, which I'm still looking for, will open up some doors for me. The internship will be the baby step into the real world, which I dread with anticipation each day. Hopefully this summer will provide some much needed clarity. There are so many options out there, and I do not know which one is for me until I dive in.

Interviews

While on Twitter, I came across a tweet by Heather Huhman about creating great interview conversation. Usually I just glance by her tweets because she has tons, but this one caught my eye. To get a great job one has to have a killer portfolio, great recommendations and an amazing interview. Out of all of those criteria the latter scares me the most. A public relations person is supposed to come with great communication skills, and I have that. But when in a small, confined room with potential coworkers and bosses I get extremely nervous and often do not do my best. This is obviously an area that needs improvement. 

Heather posts ten ways to nail an interview according to Rick Probstein, founder of TopJobLeads, on this site: http://tinyurl.com/dnlt5p.  These tips taught me a lot of important skills I will be needing in the near future. 

The most unexpected tip I read was number five. I assume the interview would be in a professional setting and complementing outside of the job topic would be inappropriate. I understand complementing on the interviewers past work but not on other matters. 

Numbers one, two and seven I have heard before this article, but the others were relatively new to me. After reading this article, I understand you should be confident, welcoming, professional and agreeable. For myself, I think a mock interview would be a useful tool to better prepare. So, I am not completely taken back by an interviewers question.

Interviews are a scary, uncharted territory that hopefully with practice and experience will not seem so bad. 

Twitter Mania Begins...

The first time I ever heard about Twitter was from Dr. Miller, of course, in Law.

I was apprehensive at first when our class was told to get a Twitter account. What was I to expect? Would I like it? Would it be difficult to learn how to use?

Now I can finally answer those longing questions after about a week of tweeting, and the verdict is...I am obsessed. I have to admit when I first started using Twitter I was very confused. I did not understand the @ replies or blind tweeds or pretty much anything. After a class discussion, Twitter finally clicked with me, and we have been inseparable since! One of my favorite qualities about Twitter is how quick it is. It's a great way to get an instant response from someone. It is simple and effective medium. Also, I have noticed, a great way to get internship ideas. I have been looking hard for some; so, it's nice getting ideas from professionals.

I am so glad I have been introduced to Twitter. It is almost equal with the time I spend on facebook, which is a lot of time! It is a great networking tool that I will keep using.

Economic Downfall

This economic recession has gotten me thinking about potential job opportunities or lack there of. My parents and friends keep mentioning how the job market will be slim to none. All of this talk got me really worried about my chances in finding a great Public Relations job after I graduate. Luckily, this changed when I read "PR in 2009 - dark clouds, but pros see a silver lining." This article gave a positive outlook on the future of PR. This news was shock to me but definitely a good shock. I figured the recession would bring all careers down, but the article addressed how all businesses need to keep the trust of their publics, and communication is the key to that trust. This news was a lift off my shoulders. It makes sense that communication will always be needed, and therefore, careers dealing with communication will always be around. I'm not saying it will be piece of cake to find a job, but it will be possible.