Comment on the Gen Y Guide

Originally published on PR Open Mic on May 29, 2009 at 9:11 pm.

As a preschool teacher, I found the Gen Y Guide to Web 2.0 at work very helpful. I like to believe that I’m very bright and very capable of comprehending lots of big ideas, but this hold submersion into the Twitter/blog/online class world all at once, I must admit, definitely has my head spinning.

This powerpoint presentation puts everything very simply. It’s a great mini-tutorial on why blogging is fabulous. A must see!

Thanks for sharing Dr. V!

Ethical Dos and Dont’s for PR and life

This was originally published on PR Open Mic on May 29, 2009 at 9:21 pm.

Things I will remember:

- be a public servant and responsible advocate

- listen, listen, listen

- keep a positive attitude

- remain loyal to my values and to those I represent

- hold myself and those I interact with to a high standard of truth and accuracy

- never stop learning, always research, always keep an open mind, always pursue further education

- strive to maintain integrity and credibility

- use creative thinking, espeically when faced with conflict situations

- do not lie

- do not ever assume to know anything

- adapting to situations requires flexibility and effective communication

Higher Education PR as a Career Opportunity

I originally published this post on PR Open Mic, on June 2, 2009 at 9:24 pm .

In his post, Brian Camen gives “An introduction to higher education PR”.

As a PR student at Clemson, I’m enjoying being exposed to the opportunities and career paths that working in PR offers. Thanks to PROpen Mic, we, as students, have been given free reign and free access to interview and discover as a part of our class. This one really got me interested.

Brian discusses the requirements of his job and gives specific descriptions and examples of each area which included: media relations, monitoring, crisis communication, internal and external writing, social media, and media training.

Brian states about his career, “We help promote thought leadership.” Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that process?

2 Comments

Comment by Mihaela Vorvoreanu on June 5, 2009 at 11:55am

Delete Comment Yes, this is a viable career path – and you can enjoy the intellectually vibrant campus life. If things weren’t so crazy for Cathy Sams right now (she’s Clemson U’s director of PR), we might be able to ask her about her job. I know other people at news services, and if you’re interested in meeting them, I can introduce you.

Comment by Donna W. Hill on June 5, 2009 at 10:30am

Delete Comment In our media driven world, it is so refreshing to find out that young people are drawn to this concept! It represents a higher level of social consciousness/responsibility, and that is a hopeful sign.

Photography as a PR skill

I originally published this post for a PR class on June 5, 2009 at 8:30 pm.

Thanks for pointing that out! I had an “AHA” moment when I read the intro to this post on the main page…

First, thanks to Barbara Nixon for sharing her floral photography. They were definitely a pick-me-up at the end of a rainy day!

I love photography and have been taking pictures since I can remember. I didn’t even think about its being a valuable PR skill until today, but it makes perfect sense! I have always enjoyed dabbling in artsy photography, but didn’t do it professionally until I took a job as an event photographer while attending Clemson. The company specializes in event photography for organizations and graduation photography, and they actually take what they call “PR shots” at the beginning of all graduations which they give to the school at no charge. Duh….why didn’t link this to PR before now?

I managed the company for a year and gained lots of experience in customer service and dealing with organizations and their events. I can absolutely see why photography both as an art form and as a skill can be a valuable tool for a PR practitioner.

For Barbara and whomever else enjoys floral photography, here are a few of my own:

2 Comments

Comment by Mihaela Vorvoreanu on June 9, 2009 at 10:10am

Delete Comment Lauren, of course photography is a great skill to have in PR! Imagine you have to put together a brochure, a newsletter, or need photos for a website, a blog, etc. Think how much money the company can save if they have someone who can do this in-house and they don’t need to pay an outside photographer!

Comment by Ashley Turner on June 8, 2009 at 10:49am

Delete Comment Those are gorgeous photographs! But I find your post extremely interesting. For one, you have such a great job to put on your resume (jealous me, haha). And also, the link to PR. My sister-in-law got a job with the photographer who worked at her wedding and is now taking pictures at weddings all by herself, so intense. And on their main page, they use photos they’ve taken as a promotional tool like Clemson uses pictures of graduation. I’m glad you made the link between photography and PR because I’m not sure I would have!

3×5 Thinking

Originally published (by me) on PR Open Mic for a PR Class, June 9, 2009 at 9:42 pm.

One of the things that I have found amazing as a student getting involved in PR OpenMic is the willingness and enthusiasm with which industry professionals give advice. This post, by Richard Skaare, was inspiring and motivating. As I near graduation, there are many things being done in preparation for moving into a career path. Do I go to grad school? What industries do I want to focus in moving into? In the feild of communcations, there are so many avenues one can pursue. It’s difficult to try and narrow down thoughts, desires, and capabilities. In building and tweaking a resume, I am often considering what the employer would want and what would best make me a marketable and viable employee. I enjoyed that this post gives an example of a student whose resume also focuses on what they want in an employer.

Thank you, Mr. Skaare, for the encouragement to be bold and courageous in a world that often encourages one to strive for safety. I will strive to face my fears by becoming more knowledgable. I will strive to be bold and courageous.

Twitter is being used in K-12 classrooms

This was originally published on PR Open Mic for a PR class, June 16, 2009 at 7:30 pm.

Wow. Boy, do I feel behind the times. I’ve been blogging about the things we’ve been covering in Dr. V’s PR Class this summer with Twitter being one of our tools for education. I had no idea it was being experimented with and used as a tool in high schools and even considered a possible tool for middle and elementary grades!

This blog, “Tweeting Your Way to Better Grades”, by Zach Miners was featured in U.S. News, mostly discusses the use of Twitter in high school classrooms; however, it also makes mention of it as a tool on college campuses. The article’s main objective is that students today must be able to communicate in a variety of ways whether it be a 10 page paper or a 140 character “Tweet”. The point is communication and the ability to do it effectively.

One of the ways that Twitter is being used is as a book or reading discussion forum for English classes. The point is also raised that bringing these social networking avenues that students often use outside of class (others include Facebook and MySpace) into the classroom makes the learning process more applicable and maintains more attention of the students.

I have found Twitter to be very helpful as a tool in this class. It has opened up a new method of networking, a way to research current topics in society, as well as learn about PR.

Miners has also written a related article, “Twitter Goes to College”.

Comments:

Comment by Alexandra Generales on June 19, 2009 at 6:26pm

Delete Comment Dr. V I just read your response to my comment haha- i may be only 21 but sometimes I really do feel old. I completely agree though with becoming comfortable with different types of media- this is probably the first class that I have taken that really used an alternative to blackboard. I cannot imagine getting to a PR job and not having known how to use twitter and this site. So starting to teach students to use these mediums in high school with definitely be beneficial.

Comment by Lauren Hart on June 19, 2009 at 5:01pm

Delete Comment That is so true with the privacy and safety issues. My mom, who teaches 5th grade, gets very skeptical about any interaction with her students or students families online (i.e. adding her on facebook).Also, there is truth about the possibility of Twitter being nonexistent by the time they get out of college, but something will replace it, and there are now so many ways to communicate…not only by using traditional methods, but also now through Twitter, E-mail, etc. I think it is very important that one be able to communicate effectively no matter what the channel.

When I managed the photography company, most of our business was done online or by phone. I would say we had MAYBE (and that’s reaching) one customer come into the office every two months. I was amazed at how many people that worked for me, usually juniors and seniors in college, were unfamiliar or uncomfortable answering a phone professionally or unaware of polite and professional conduct in a phone conversation. One of the things I am grateful for in education goes all the way back to being on the newspaper staff in 7th grade, when our advisor encouraged us to call and get actual professional sources for articles. It is a lesson in professionalism that I learned very young, but it is one that I find to be very valuable.

My point is, you are right about learning about new communication media.

Comment by Mihaela Vorvoreanu on June 19, 2009 at 2:27pm

Delete Comment Now, you have to keep 2 issues in mind:- there are privacy issues, and safety issues. So while it might be worthwhile to teach children twitter-like skills, it would be important to do so behind a firewall, not out there where everybody can see their information

- the most important skill is to teach children (and students) to experience and adapt to different communication media and environments. By the time they (or even you) are out of college, there might be no Twitter – but the experience of learning new communication media stays with you and helps you learn whatever media come next

Comment by Lauren Hart on June 19, 2009 at 2:11pm

Delete Comment I had the same skepticism about Twitter being used effectively in kindergarten and other early grades. I’m not sure how useful it would be. However, I think using it as a tool for discussing novels and other assignments in high school is a great idea. It is an appeal to the age group and their own social practices in combination with assigning/encouraging academic discussion outside of school. I think it is a great way to instill this kind of habit early, especially since it is required in college and especially in the “real-world”.

Comment by Mihaela Vorvoreanu on June 18, 2009 at 2:31pm

Delete Comment I’m with Alexandra here… I think you need to know how to write before you can get into Twitter… but what if Twitter provides a motivation to learn how to write?
What amuses me is that it seems this is making Alexandra feel a bit old … “when we were in kindergarten…”

Comment by Alexandra Generales on June 18, 2009 at 9:32am

Delete Comment That is crazy to me, I completely understand adding this to curriculum to keep a high schooler or even a middle school child’s attention but I don’t understand what this is going to do for kindergarten. Isn’t it interesting that the art of writing a 140 character tweet is seen as valuable enough to enter our school system. I wonder what this says about the way that our society communicates-now as opposed to when we were in kindergarten?

Comment by Mihaela Vorvoreanu on June 17, 2009 at 5:53pm

Delete Comment … yep!

Current conclusions regarding social media

Social media is a fascinating subject. There are numerous websites, blogs, journals and other resources in the online community to discover information regarding social media and its relatively recent impact on organizations, employees and online presence. At the beginning of this study, I began by asking myself several questions:

How and to what extent do HR departments and professionals screen employees before hiring by searching and examining their online presence?

Preliminary conclusions: I have spoken to about 10 different employers by mouth and Twitter… about half said they check out social networks either before or after an interview. Depending on my time, it might be interesting to look at several different fields to see if this changes. I have found multiple articles on online presence, but not published data on specifically on how often it is used by employers to screen.

Additional conclusions:

Thanks to Lindsay Olsen at the Ladders.com, I was able to find some interesting statistics regarding this:

• 22% of hiring managers use social networks to research profiles (+11% from 2006)
• 34% of hiring managers dismissed a candidate based on what they found (out of the 22%)
• 24% of hiring managers found information that was used to hire a candidate
• 77% of recruiters use search engines to learn more about candidates
• 35% have eliminated a candidate from consideration based on the information uncovered online
• 16% of executives found information they fear if seen could eliminate them from consideration of a new job.

Googling a candidate’s name to see what comes up in the search was one of the most frequent items that I came across in researching this question. Job seekers should occasionally Google their own name to monitor what “surfaces” when this is done. If anything negative is found, the candidate should contact the website and ask that it be removed.

What do they look for?

Preliminary conclusions: The employers that I talked to said that they look at the information posted by the potential employee, pictures, and content to judge professionalism.

Additional conclusions: Lindsay Olsen’s information shared some highlights on this as well:

• 41% of candidates posted information about them drinking or using drugs
• 40% of candidates posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information
• 29% of candidates had poor communication skills
• 48% of candidate backgrounds supported their qualifications for the job
• 43% of candidates had great communication skills
• 40% of candidates were a good fit for the company’s culture.

How many business organizations and what kinds of business organizations practice this?

Conclusions: This is one area that never quite developed. I did not come across many defining lines among industries that said this industry participates, this one doesn’t. This leads me to believe that all industries are in some way, shape, or form, jumping on the social media bandwagon. Because the involvement of social media is so great, I would imagine that it is affecting all industries.

How can social media be used as a tool to enhance one’s job application, professional career and networking abilities?

Conclusions: Absolutely! By engaging in the constructive use of social media, one can put themselves at an advantage by learning how to communicate in new, innovative ways. With work and diligence, these skills can be honed and can greatly enhance networking abilities and career advancement. In addition there are new positions being created everyday to engage and manage social media as well as develop new social media communities. Because of the social media boom, or what is also referred to as the development of Web 2.0, the nature of business and organizational communication is changing. By being familiar and skilled at working with social media, professionals are able to tackle a new way to communication with consumers and clients.

What does a professional online presence consist of?

Preliminary conclusions:
    Establishing a professional, clean, online presence can make one more versatile in the job market for several reasons. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, PROpen Mic and LinkedIn offer the opportunity to connect with professionals in your field. You can also connect visually through friends and friends of friends, one can ask questions, learn about job openings, etc.

Having recently joined Twitter, I have seen many job openings posted just since I joined. On Twitter, the content of postings has a lot to do with how the site functions as a tool. If one posts, say, what they’ve eaten, where they’ve gone, or some other unnecessary detail. This isn’t really using Twitter to an advantage. However, by responding with educated thoughts, a user can offer succinct opinions and share valuable information with a easily reachable target audience. The user can also “follow” other users and gain information this way. Many users post articles and information about topics relevant to a field, and users can also search by keyword.

I have not found very much information on Facebook as a professional tool, but have heard more about it as a tool to “research” potential employees. Although users can join groups associated with their company, post job history and education info, and publicly advertise, I have found that it is used more as a friendly social networking site and less used for professional networking. LinkedIn, however, is primarily for posting professional information. Users of  LinkedIn can connect with other users resulting in a professional network that can be reviewed visually. On Facebook, one can create groups to separate different types of “friends”, but those “friends” can be from any area of one’s life.

Also in researching these sites, I found the site called VisualCV.com where one can publish their Resume or C.V. as well as work samples, visual images, audio and video samples, etc. All of these components are linked on a site with a personalized web address which can be published on various social networks and exists online for employers to review. Personally, I think it’s brilliant and competitive and should be a requirement of colleges and universities. Documents from many programs can be uploaded to an online portfolio, and the visual CV can be linked to a number of different social networking sites including Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, and Twitter. It can also be downloaded and exported as a PDF to be printed or e-mailed. According to their website:

“A VisualCV is an Internet-based, multimedia resume that provides a comprehensive picture of you professionally and allows you to stand out from the crowd.”

Additional conclusions: When I initially began this project, I pictured online presence as an entirely personal thing. However, when I began researching, I realized (as more of a “Duh!” moment than an “Aha!” one) that businesses and organizations are also striving to develop effective, successful online presences as well. There are lots of websites out there with encouraging lists, tips, and recommendations on how to develop and maintain an effective online presence. Some common themes I found are:

• Work at it. Establishing profiles, developing websites, maintaining blogs, tweeting, and posting are not a onetime deal. They are in constant need of updating and management.
• Analyze and appeal to your audience. Without losing the essence of what you and/or your organization represent, appeal to your audience through words and visuals, by promoting other professionals like you , and staying on top of new information that affects your career and industry.
• Stay positive. This rule applies especially to job seekers and potential new employees. Blogging about employers- especially negatively is dangerous territory. The only people who get away with this are those that already get paid to do so.

In addition to the themes above, I have also published multiple blog posts regarding the development of online presence. One of my favorites is the 19 Presence Management Chores You COULD Do Every Day by Chris Brogan, which I plan to begin working on starting tomorrow.

 What are the effects of social media as a screening tool on college students and recent graduates?

Preliminary conclusions: Social Media is a quickly growing industry and there are professionals needed to run it and keep companies current on the various social networks and social media sites. Many companies have hired professionals simply to improve their online presence. Since they basically offer a way to conduct free advertising, companies can harness this by appointing a position to use social media to their benefit. Potential employers who are competing in a technical, global market realize this. By enhancing your abilities to use social media, and knowing how to effectively use it, one can boost their job application and resume.

Social Media is also being referred to by some as a “bandwagon”, but it does have its advantages. I can definitely see how it could be huge cost in inefficiency by being abused by employees who have access to it during the day. It also has the capability to hurt one’s reputation by the “wrong” material being posted. However, I feel that if it is used wisely, it offers potential employees, current employees, and companies a great way to expand their outreach and receive feedback in a global economy.

Additional conclusions: According to an article by Dan Schawbel in Business Week Online, “72% of companies plan to invest more in recruiting through social networks”. This means that recent college graduates should be actively developing their online presence, monitoring their current one, and deleting all of those party pictures from Facebook, or at least making them visible only to select persons. I saw an article on TechCrunch yesterday where Facebook is now the 4^th largest site in the world having grown in the last year by 157%! Amazing. I can remember in about 2004? 2005? When I was first hearing about it. In the month of June alone, it had 77 million unique visitors. Schawbel also offers tips to job seekers regarding each of the major social networking sites, and the tips seem to be geared towards younger users.

In addition to those initial questions, I looked at and blogged about research regarding:

1. Social media as an HR tool, how it is used in employee recruiting and its impact on hiring and firing practices.
2. The development and establishment of social media policy in the corporate environment
3. The developing and changing role of social media in public relations
4. Professional online identities and personal branding, as well as online branding for organizations

The amount of information that I have reviewed over the last five weeks is enough to make one’s head spin, and I feel like I have only scratched the surface. There is still so much more information out there; I look forward to my continued learning about social media and its impact on society.

Social Media Tools for PR Pros

There are so many Social Media out there, how do you know where to begin? I’ve covered several of the most popular sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Additionally, in my social media quest, I found an article on Mashable.com by Sarah Evans that gives her recommendation for 10 of the Best Social Media Tools for PR Professionals and Journalists. Since I was unfamiliar with many of her recommendations prior to reading the article, it initially made my head spin. However, after I dove in, I was amazed at the resources available out there and what they offered. Her is her (shortened) list:

1. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) – a free resource that reporters can use to query PR professionals
2. PitchEngine- this is Evans’ “favorite tool to date” which “offers a full suite of Web 2.0 tools for PR professionals and journalists (this tool is still in its beta stage)
3. ReportingOn- a social network for reporters with “around 600 reporters and professionals from around the world subscribed” (this stool is still in its beta stage)
4. Journalisted- a site “meant for consumers to search their favorite reporters and stay up to date on their work”
5. Wikis – Evans’ explains that this is a “broad category”; pages where “PR professionals can create a shared space in which to provide information to reporters”
6. Media people using Twitter – a listing of media people and their Twitter names
7. Twellow – the yellow pages for Twitter users
8. BeatBlogging.org- a tool that PR professionals can use “as a source to build a strong pitch distribution list”
9. WiredJournalists.com- “The members of the network keep up with Web 2.0 trends and share resources with one another”
10. Your Pitch Sucks – at this site, professionals and freelancers can submit their pitches “to public relations experts for a serious review”

Since I am currently a bystander and mild participant in the PR and Journalism community, I found Twellow, a keyword-searchable “yellow pages” for Twitter, and the Media people using Twitter sites the most personally useful. However, there are pros and, I’m sure cons, to all of the sites. I’m not crazy about the name of the last one; it just doesn’t really say “professional” to me, but I’m sure it gets attention. A couple of the tools are beta versions, but still tools. All of them assist you in building networks and relationships and managing the flow of information. Very cool.

For longer descriptions and screen shots of the sites, please see Sarah Evans’ article. They look nice too!

Social Media Spreads the Message

In everything I’ve read for this study about social media, words like skeptical and hesitant have appeared and re-appeared in quotes and statements by professionals regarding the use of social media in their careers. The same seems to be true for the PR, Marketing and Advertising industries. The stories continue to unfold. Well-known, credible professionals are initially hesitant to use social media but then finally take the leap and find it indispensible.

The Hartford Business Journal Online recently featured “Public Relations Pros Using Social Media To Spread Message” by Kate Farrish. The article opens by telling the leap-story of the VP of Communications for ESPN, Mike Soltys. “Though he was initially skeptical about Facebook and Twitter, Soltys, like other public relations professionals in Connecticut, are turning to social media, direct mail, e-mail, blogs and YouTube to reach their audience”.

The article also quotes Constance Fraser, the director of communications for the state Department of Higher Education, who says that social media has had “a tremendous impact on our ability to get coverage”.

Public relations professionals are employed to aid in the maintenance of relationships and transmission of information, ideally TO and FROM the professionals and organizations they represent and their publics. By engaging in the use of social media, the world opens up to PR pros. The Hartford article gives an example:

“You have to communicate with people on multiple fronts,” said Kathy Frega, director of communications for the Connecticut Education Association.

A year ago, the teachers union hired a new media coordinator who sets up Google chat groups with teachers, posts videos on YouTube and sends out e-mail alerts using the Constant Contact software program, Frega said. CEA also sets up “micro sites” to drive debate about issues such as last falls’ proposed constitutional convention she said.

“The audiences have really broken down, so you have to reach people on their own digital turf,” she said.

As my search for social media information continues, I am learning more and more that the impact on business and the way it is conducted has been incredible. Farrish’s final quote from Soltys sums it up, “The social media give you the opportunity to go directly to people,” Soltys said. “In the public relations business, it’s an important thing to play with.

Social Media vs Traditional Media: Apples & Oranges Are Both Fruit

People have opinions – good ones, bad ones, strong ones. Social media exists primarily to facilitate expression. People are able to express their feelings, values and opinions through blogs (WordPress, Blogger), photography (Flickr, Picasa), videos and slide shows (YouTube, Slideshare), “tweets” (Twitter), social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace) and other social media outlets.

The development of social media has given the mass public influence on society in terms of PR and marketing. The public has more access to express these opinions and influence the development of products, services, and ideas. Traditional media keeps the power of opinion in the hands of those whose job it is to express that opinion, PR, Marketing and Advertising professionals as well as journalists, etc.

Todd Defren makes comparisons between social and traditional media at PR Squared. He points out that the credibility and recognition of bloggers and blog content has come a long way in terms of PR and journalists. He also recognizes that not everyone will be successful in both social and traditional media, but that “the goal is to do a good job in Social Media and in Traditional Media. Success in BOTH arenas creates a force-multiplier effect.”

Again, the idea is presented that “Social Media demands 24/7 presence, frequently-updated and relevant content, a diplomatic and distinct voice.” Defren also compares traditional media explaining that it “requires careful timing, a differentiated story, a proud voice, a tightly-packaged and closely-held assembly of content, verifiable proof and articulate defenders”.

By aiming to accomplish all of these goals, businesses, organizations, and professional give themselves the most opportunity for success.