Archive for April, 2008
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I made a very difficult call today. I withdrew my name from consideration in a search for a job that seemed, on paper, to be the perfect fit for me. But let me back up a minute. About six months ago, I decided to pursue life outside of academia and go back to the “real” world. I began to wrap up client projects, complete contracts and stopped doing business development in anticipation of discontinuing my consulting work. I told my department chair and even talked to a lot of my students about it. A lot of things led to this decision. The frustration of balancing school, consulting and mommyhood mounted and I decided that I couldn’t keep it up and keep my sanity. A couple of difficult clients (one that decided they didn’t want to pay their bill) helped push me over the edge. I’ve applied for probably a dozen... Continue Reading
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Chris Brogan declared Monday, April 28th World Comment Day. Rather than blog today, he said, go be part of the conversation – comment on three other blogs. The suggestion picked up steam on Twitter. According to TweetScan, roughly 80 or 90 people retweeted. I saw it half a dozen times on my Twitter stream. I often talk about the benefits of commenting to students and clients alike. In fact, I require my Advanced PR Writing students to comment once a week on another blog. But, honestly, I don’t comment as much as I should. Or even as much as I’d like to. So, I took Chris’ edict and ran with it. It was hard! But, I had retweeted the announcement myself and even posted updates during the day about my progress, so I was determined to lead by example. When I finished my last comment, on Jason Fallis’ Social Media... Continue Reading
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As we approach the end of the school year, everyone always has a seemingly overwhelming number of items on their to do list. Idea Sandbox has just launched its “Prioritizer” to help you get things in order. This. is. brilliant. It’s very simple. Just enter your tasks; be specific! Then click “next steps” and the prioritizer gets to work. Giving you the choice of two of the tasks on your list the Prioritizer will help you figure out which tasks have the higher priority for you. And it works. I put in a dozen or so tasks, went through the steps and ended up with a really clear to do list that ranks the tasks in priority order. Give it a try and maybe it’ll help you breathe just a little easier this week.... Permalink
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April 27 – May 3 is National Volunteer Week. I was raised with a heart for helping people. My parents were pastors of a local church most of my life, which meant a lifetime of giving. Those lessons have followed me into adulthood. Sometimes it’s hard to create balance, but I enjoy the volunteer work I do. Volunteering is a terrific way for students to get involved with a cause that they are passionate about and to get some hands-on experience at the same time to add to their resume. This volunteer week, think about seeking a new opportunity. For students at the University of Oregon, check out 211Lane.org. It’s a local resource, sponsored by United Way of Lane County, that identifies most the nonprofits in Lane County, along with their current needs and contact information. For others, check out VolunteerMatch. You can search for opportunities near you, or even... Continue Reading
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A couple of student posts caught my eye this week. They both offer a rich perspective on transparency and I thought they were worth sharing with you. In Propoganda in an Age of Transparency, Hannah Smith offer critique on the FDLS Web site and its PR campaign. In Is American Apparel Transparent Enough, Lee Magner asks this question after he finds it difficult to trace the companies practices from crop to shelf via its Web site. What do you think? Leave a comment – or even better, leave a comment on either students’ blog.... Permalink
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I have four students in my Advanced PR Writing class this quarter. The small number due to the way that the enrollment worked for our Senior Experience program at the SOJC campus in Portland. The bloggers:Hannah Smith’s How I learned to stop worrying and love PRKatrina Heilman’s Blah blah blogNigel Vanderford’s Senator You’re No Jack KennedyJohnny Barret’s Johnny B’s PRAs is the norm, each week I’ll post a few links that I think are interesting. The students pick one and write a post on their own blog about using the linky love as a prompt. And away we go! This week’s linky love… Crisis Planning Seems Big – But How Do You Know if They are Any Good? (crisisblogger)The way our audiences communicate is changing (duh.). So it’s worth considering that our crisis plans need to change, too.Beginner’s Quick Start Guide to Twitter (from Zappos.com CEO)If you’re interested in Twitter,... Continue Reading
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Some ongoing critiques of PR “professionals” methods, some recent discussion about how we define ourselves and and constant battle to explain what I do to my parents (they’ll tell you I am a teacher) has meant I’m thinking a lot about what we do as public relations professionals and what it means to practice PR. We can always cite the “bible” of public relations, Cutlip, Center and Broom’s definition which goes a little something like this: “Public relations is a management function that seeks to identify, build, and maintain mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and all of the publics on whom its success or failure depends” That’s great, but what do public relations professionals DO? In a final-chapter manifesto from Berger and Reber’s book “Gaining Influence in Public Relations,” they give us a list of things that we DON’T do. “HEAR THIS: I am not a flack, a shill,... Continue Reading
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I had no intention to do a linky love this week. We’re still off-season for one more week in Advanced PR writing. But man! There is some terrific stuff out there this week. Note to Millennials: You Aren’t Workforce Royalty Yet (Tiffany Monhollon, Personal PR)I have been reading a lot about millennials lately. My colleagues Patricia Curtin and Tiffany Derville and I are doing research (thanks to a PRSA grant) about millennials in PR agencies. So I’m always interested in articles related to this generation. This is particularly relevant because it’s from a millennial working in PR to millennials who want to work in PR. Can PR Save the Beijing 2008 Olympics (Kevin Dugan, Strategic Public Relations)PR Crisis Expert Weighs in on San Francisco Olympics Protest (Daily Dog)Interesting news coverage and commentary this week as the Olympic Torch made its way around the world. These posts are both on the... Continue Reading
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[this post originally appeared on my agency's blog. As I phase that blog out, there are a few posts worth reposting, this is one.] I have served as the Program Chair for my Rotary club. I offered to help because I know quite a few people in Eugene who represent the type of agencies and organizations that we usually hear from at Rotary. Many of those people are my clients, former clients and friends. Presenting to civic and fraternal organizations like Rotary clubs is a great way to reach business and community leaders. I often recommend it as part of a communication plan. Part of doing the “animal circuit” (as one of our clients calls it), is that you need a succinct 15 or 20 minute presentation that gives enough background, yet still allows time for a “how you can help” message. Rotary clubs may be informal, but there’s no... Continue Reading
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My former student, Missy, works for a publisher in NYC. She’s the online media manager for Harris Publications. She sent me this email yesterday – and with her permission I post it here. I would like to casually note the “At least not the way you taught me” line in paragraph 3. I think this is a nice summary of the major gripes about PR people. These are basic concepts, kids. Be a resource and build relationships.From Missy (4/7/08): I’ll make this short. I’m kind of pissed off right now and here’s why: PR IN THE FIREARMS/DEFENSE/TACTICAL/MILITARY INDUSTRY SUUUUCKS. I don’t get it? This is the biggest industry in the U.S…. bigger than porn, car manufacturing, telecomm, any of that crap. It’s the goddamn DEFENSE INDUSTRY. And the people in PR do NOT do their jobs. At least not the way you taught me. Here’s why: 1) I have to... Continue Reading
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