Chevron: I disagree.

Sorry for the long period of absence. A lot has happened between this summer and now, I've gotten considerably busier with freelance clients, a new internship and school. I'm trying to keep this blog up as the whim strikes me, which is what happened tonight.

You may have seen this already: http://www.chevron-weagree.com/

I'm sure there are a lot of ways to view this project. But, as a wishful Californian, I see it through the lens of Proposition 23.

When Chevron says we have "the right to a healthy environment," yet they don't give consideration to the greenhouse gases in one of the most beautiful but also most polluted states, I have to call B.S. on their public relations initiative.

This is the way I see it: a company who is partially responsible for the tragedy that occurred in the Gulf and elsewhere with oil spills. If you're going to participate in the oil business, that makes you partially responsible for tragedies that occur. You add fuel to the demand fire (if you will) and profit from the product, but when it comes to things being messy, you want nothing to do with it? No, Chevron. That's not how this works.

As a future public relations professional, I can't believe that there are people in the industry who believe this "We Agree" campaign is acceptable. All I see is a company profiting off of the sympathy we have for those who suffer from oil damage, hoping to paint themselves as another concerned citizen. True, we all use oil in our cars and all share the blame for the oil crisis - but for those who are raising money to clean up the gulf, putting in time and effort to alleviate the situation, driving efficient cars or electric cars and decreasing their need - they're at least working positively, rather than just pointing the finger.

Where's your call to action, Chevron? You don't have a petition, nor a place to donate, nor a way that the average citizen can join you in fixing the threat of oil spills or oil spills themselves. You have only a few sentences of copy, painting yourself as a good guy, as one of us.

I think you should rethink this campaign, and until then, I'll be making the few gas trips I do make for my hybrid vehicle to a different station that Chevron.

To the citizens out there - what do you think? Is this ok? Are you fine with this campaign? Does this make you want to buy your gasoline from them? Your views are surely different than mine, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Cool viral promotion for "The Other Guys"

I saw the trailers on TV, like many other people, for the movie "The Other Guys." Today, playing around on Funny or Die, I found a viral support video that unfortunately has... only about 570,000 views.

Fail, movie studio.

Will Ferrell's NYPD Recruitment Video from Will Ferrell

Is this thing on?

I apologize for the very long break in posts. Work at The Make-A-Wish Foundation got pretty busy! I recently left since school started again this week and I miss the office. It was a wonderful working experience and I learned a lot about nonprofit!

One of the things I love most about Chapman University (besides the fact that it is home to the national champion NSAC team, Circle Advertising) is that the class loads can diverse at any level. I've just left a 300-level internet communications class and now I'm headed to a beginner's Business class. After a heart-to-heart with one of my co-workers at Make-A-Wish, I think I may start taking first-year accounting as well.

General education courses have always baffled me, but I've enjoyed working in other areas of the school and refreshing skills that I haven't used since middle school (I'm looking at you, Statistics). But what are some classes that AREN'T general ed that every person, especially Ad and PR should take?

In my experience, classes I've taken that have really supplemented my degree and encouraged me to expand my view of my future industry have been the following:

1. Communications classes. This should be fairly obvious - if you want to talk to the masses, you need to know how they listen and interact. I took Mass Communications and Gendered Communication specifically.

2. Sociology classes. The impact that mass media communications, such as advertising, has upon the minds of its constituents is incredibly important not just for the purchase, but the social implications that it brings. An advertisement for Dove Beauty that encourages women to think about their bodies differently, the Old Spice man communicating with "women" right in front of their husbands, boyfriends, brothers... these successful campaigns have had a social fallout that goes far beyond the purchase. Understanding the impact they have is essential in keeping your work ethical and anticipating success of a campaign. Social psychology is an examples of courses.

3. Research classes. Social research, communication research, psychological research - the kind doesn't matter, as long as you end up learning how to write an unbiased survey for the purest nuggets of information.

What classes did I miss? I'll let you know how this accounting idea pans out...

Social Media Stalking - Keep Yourself Safe!

I read a chilling article today about a woman who was stalked by a fellow Foursquare user at a restaurant. While the situation is as creepy as it is unique, one thing that many social media users don't own up to is their own accountability in usage. I'm not saying sites like PleaseRobMe (the live Twitter/Foursquare site that announced users home departures) are at all justified in what they do; in fact, I think websites like that cross a major line that takes social media from something fostering open communication to a more fearful type of relationship. Regardless of how you use social media, I think there are four guidelines that everyone has to consider before making that Check-In, posting that Facebook Status or sending that Tweet.

1. What are my privacy settings like? My Facebook is locked up tighter than Fort Knox, and that's because the things I share on Facebook aren't meant for anyone's eyes but those of my friends and family. The best decision you can make before opening an account on any social media platform is planning what you do and do not want to share, which brings me to my next point...

2. Monitor what the news is saying about a platform. Most people know about the Facebook privacy issues that have been on everyone's lips recently, but there are still some users that had no idea. While it's easy to blame Facebook, you have to hold yourself somewhat accountable as well. Taking a moment to Google the platform and see what bloggers or news sites are saying about it is a step that you should take from time to time, regardless of what you're posting (personal or professional).

3. Self censor based on your own guidelines. I spoke earlier about Facebook being for personal use only... while it's tempting to add a co-worker to a personal-use account to share with them some photos, keep in mind your own professionalism. Do you really want your co-worker (or, if your co-worker has a nasty streak, your boss or other colleagues) to know how you feel about working late or what you did during your "sick day?" Now more than ever, social media tears down alibis for everything from work to divorces to a white lie to a friend. I'm not by any means endorsing lying. I'm just saying that by keeping home and friends on one platform and professional acquaintances on another, you'll be saving yourself from a lot of embarrassment, and helping avoid any dangerous situations.

4. When in doubt, Google yourself. As someone who routinely Googles herself to see how high her LinkedIn page is ranking, imagine my surprise last summer when I found that some ex-employees I had worked with at my parents' business were making threats on MySpace about my family and me. Obviously, lessons were learned by both parties that don't need any more discussion. However, the point is that while you may be embarrassed about typing your own name into a search engine, finding a threat to your safety and stopping it before it becomes an issue far outweighs the momentary discomfort.

While social media is fun and opens new doors in learning and communicating, there are always risks when using the platforms. By watching what you say, who you say it to, privacy agreements and monitoring your usage as well as others' usage of your name, you can keep the conversation going without worrying what the cost could be.

"Prepare for the End of the Web as We Know It"

Once again, Ad Age posts an article that is insightful, well-written and brings up new terms and ideas that help me reshape my outlook on internet marketing. Check this out...

It's Time to Prepare for the End of the Web as We Know It

I think "content snacking" is the perfect term for the most common manner that people are consuming media these days, and the three new behaviors are dictating how consumption will be evolving. Gotta love media!

Social Media "Blunders" vs. Sins

I found BusinessWeek's Six Social Media Sins today, and while it's a good article with valid points, I think they overlook the fact that these aren't sins if you don't know what you're doing on Social Media; these are more uninformed blunders.

So to add on to what BusinessWeek started, I made a list of three "blunders" that many newbies to social media make when trying to effectively spread their message.

1. Mixing messages - A twitter account or Facebook updates should have a cohesive theme to the messages (and NOT just marketing messages, like BusinessWeek warns). But if you're talking about what you ate for breakfast without asking readers without relating it somehow to your tone, then it's confusing to the readers as to who is on the keyboard - or even if it's the same person.

2. You think that followers, fans or subscribers are the litmus test of success. If you're communicating and meeting the goals that you've set for yourself, it doesn't matter if you have ten followers or ten thousand. If you're using Twitter to reach journalists and you've successfully contacted several, then you've met your goal. It doesn't matter if you only have 20 or so followers.

3. You think the more platforms, the merrier without evaluating the communication potential. You might not need a Youtube account if you don't really have relevant videos. If you're working for a certain company, for example, having a Youtube channel of just your commercials is straight marketing, and not something that will foster communication. As the article says, social media is "about engagement in two-way conversation" - so just having a profile to be on that platform without something that will create a dialogue, is really just a waste of your time.

Are there any other sins or blunders you see new people or uninformed corporations make? What's the worst mistake you've made, and what lesson did you learn from it?

Don't Fight the Conversation! Brands on Social Media

This article by Brian Solis details that on average, one in three people are talking about brands on social media every week.

Now I don't love statistics because sometimes, they confuse me. But findings show that one in three people is seeking advice; one person is making a recommendation and finally, one person just has that brand on the tips of his fingers for discussion. That's pretty powerful stuff.

For brands like J.C. Penney, who are realizing now they need to tap into this market and meet their customers where they meet. By meeting that one person in three, they can reach the other two.

How long until every company is required to have a Twitter? I'm giving it six months. For the critics saying Twitter is temporary, I'm curious to see where the platform will evolve from here.

Words of Wisdom from Dan Edelmen (via Culpwrit)

Every once in a while, a blogger makes a "top ten" list that actually has some really insightful points that people should hear. When I was reading Culpwrit, I came across a list of keys to success by Dan Edelman that was definitely worth reading. For the too-long/didn't-read crowd, here are the points I found most relevant to us as students:

1. "Celebrate your victories but be quick about it so you can get back to the game." This is especially applicable to our recent NSAC victory. We've been celebrating our win for almost a month now. However, while we've been celebrating, our new account executives have been strategizing, coordinating and learning to prepare for the new year. I hate to predict the outcome of any competition I'm a part of, but I will say that I respect the dedication of our new leaders who, while the excitement hasn't faded, already know they have to work even harder to keep our team innovative and creative. Thanks Anna Duffy, Simon Blockley and Lexi Vanni!

2. "There are three legs to the stool - family, work and community." It's hard when your work becomes your life, your co-workers your family and your office your community. But I think, as long as you're aware of all of these elements, you can still provide for a good work environment that can transfer itself into the world beyond the office doors.

3. 'Woe to the young person who fails to take notes-sure to prompt a “never do that again” comment.' My memory's already going - that's why I keep my notebook (and my blog!) consistently updated with pertinent new information, things I want to keep close and possible topics for the future. Write it down, or else you'll forget it.

This article has inspired me to look for another professional to interview, since I got such great information from Joy Donnell when I interviewed her a few months ago. Any suggestions or connections out there?

So What's a Power Pitch, Anyway?

Jamie Favreau over at Ereleases published a relieving article today regarding press contacts vs. pitch content. As someone who has all of one reporter's email on file, I was relieved to hear that as long as I was making a pitch the reporter can't say "no" to, I didn't have to have an overflowing address book.

But what does the perfect pitch look like? Sound like? And how can you fashion it to be relevant to more than one editor?

Here are the top three tips I've been told are essential to crafting a powerful pitch.

1. You researched the reporter - and it shows.
Reporters don't want a one-size-fits-all letter sent to them, because then it's apparent that they're being used. And no, just filling in their name and the paper they work at doesn't cut it, either. Instead you have to personally cite why this source and this reporter were chosen. If you saw an article that your release would compliment, mention it. If the reporter shares a certain interest with the story, make sure to highlight it. A vanilla pitch might mean a missed opportunity, so make sure to tailor it to the reporter's taste.

2. Multi-media is your best bet.
Yeah, it might feel like stalking. But if you email a reporter and hear nothing back in a prompt manner, a follow-up phone call or a phone call before the email is sent might help get the story published. I'm not saying 20 minutes after the email is sent. I'm saying give it a day or two, depending on the timeliness of the release, and then give them a phone call NOT to make sure they got the release (they probably did) but to ask them if there is a better place the release could be sent if they're too busy to deal with it.

3. Write it like a journalist!
No one wants to publish fluff, and no one wants to read it. Don't talk excitedly about how awesome your product is; sell it for what it is in an effective, public-relations-esque way without being obnoxious or seeing the product through rose-colored glasses. There are flaws, so don't pretend that there aren't (I'm talking to you, Steve Jobs & co.) but do your job in a way that isn't going to make the editor groan.

Any media people out there have other preferences or peeves? Any PR people with a tip or a secret to a great pitch? I want to hear them. Comment away!

Aw Google, C'mon.

As a beta user and big fan of Google Wave, finding this article about why the buzz as worn off and the product abandoned, really cleared up for me why it's never gone big.
Remember how it was the "future of email?" It was a trending topic on Twitter and tech nerds from all over were salivating for an invite. It was a big deal, through word-of-mouth marketing and viral buzz, the service was thriving. But without Google's official support, the buzz eventually died out and the brand ambassadors moved on to the next great technology.
It's still an incredibly useful service. Having depended on it to keep a team of eight on a brainstorm and then using it to coordinate with over 40 other students for one project, I will stand by Google Wave as an incredible service. That's why, if you're not on it and want to try it out, please comment. I still have eighteen invites and would love to get you connected with the service.

Know Your Medium (Or At Least Put a Leash on Your Spokespeople)

The Attorney General of Utah announced the approval of a death sentence on Twitter yesterday, drawing shock and disapproval from the Twitter community. I agree with the general consensus that this was an inappropriate place, and the response to it less than professional.

To reply to people's concerns about the comment with a "flippant" and then aggressive manner, shows not only an inconsistency in tone, but that the Attorney General is either tweeting while emotionally unstable (which is not recommended) or someone else is tweeting for him (which is a lapse in tone for the communicators).

At this point, the Attorney General should apologize to his followers and to the families of everyone involved in the case. To announce such an important decision on a trivial medium was inconsiderate to the families of the victims. His PR team needs to jump on this situation and handle it to control his credibility as well as smooth over community relations, both online and offline.

Twitter Task Forces & Why They're Essential

Recently, a State Farm marketing exec advised students of at the NSAC conference this year, "You can't stop the conversation - you have to let it play out and try to respond as quickly as possible." In regards to twitter communications, all it takes is one frustrated customer tweeting at the counter to get attention.

Though I myself haven't had much interaction as a consumer with brands on Twitter, today was one of my first experiences and I have to say, one of the most impressive.

I recently was involved in a car accident that has left me car-less for the past few days. My insurance company arranged for me to get a rental car from Enterprise. Through poor staffing, pickup from my home would have been long delayed. Upon arranging my own ride and arriving at the location, I had to wait for a considerable amount of time and wasn't told to bring the appropriate paperwork. While I waited, frustrated, at the counter, I tweeted: "having a bad experience at enterprise, trying to rent a car." After telling the associate of my frustration, she apologized and made sure I was more than satisfied with my rental. Everything from that point went without fault.

I returned to Twitter only an hour and a half after to find that I had been contacted by an Enterprise associate asking what went wrong, and how they could help. Only an hour and a half, and one tweet! I was really impressed with Enterprise's monitoring of their brand on Twitter. I explained that I was satisfied. That's when I realized that, as consumers, we have an obligation to report the conclusions after we complain. I tweeted my admiration of Enterprise's online support and gave credit where credit was due. It's my own fault for not tweeting that everything was resolved afterward. So before you send that angry tweet, prepare yourself for two responsibilities after the fact...

1. You're responsible to report the conclusion. Your followers and others finding brand representations online need the whole story, not just your initial dissatisfaction.

2. Give credit where credit is due. Don't ignore any attempts to make the situation right online. Even if you aren't satisfied, if someone contacts you to ask why you were not satisfied, you owe it to them to thank them for their attempts. Chances are, if you've had a problem with one associate, that's not an accurate representation of the company as a whole. Thank them for what they do well and return or don't return; you decide with your money how satisfied you are. However, don't disregard the company if it's trying to help you out.

So, well done, Enterprise! We'll see how the rest of this transaction plays out, but as for now, your associate's responsiveness and your online outreach are very impressive to me!

Pitchin' Ain't Easy

I'm starting to get involved with writing and pitching national media for a local Iraq and Afghanistan memorial, and I'm facing the same issues I've faced with my last few pitching adventures...

1. Who gets this?

2. How can I get you to read it?

3. Please, please run it? Please?

While running the press release through a syndicate would help ensure plenty of coverage and help with credibility, the price (over $400) breaks the bank for a group of locals who care about properly memorializing veterans and those we lost in Afghanistan and Iraq. On the other hand, it would take hours upon hours to personally call the editors of newspapers nationwide, asking them to pretty please run this release. It's a catch-22; either you spend a lot of time, or a lot of money; and neither features a guaranteed outcome.

Has anyone else run into this problem? How did you overcome it?

Chapman University wins the National Student Advertising Competition

(a shot from Chapman University's presentation of the "Feel Free" Campaign for State Farm; specifically, the Public Relations initiative section)

On Friday at approximately 1:45 p.m. EST, the winner of the State Farm national student advertising competition was announced. A small private university located in the heart of Orange County that goes by the name of Chapman University took the honors.

As I reflect on the past year, I can't say that I ever knew we would win. I knew we worked hard. I knew that our product was high quality and that the effort we put into the work shone in every aspect. I knew that many of our 50 person team ate, slept, breathed and bled State Farm to produce a beautiful campaign we could be proud of. It's a personal flaw, I would say, that I'm reluctant to predict the outcome in projects I'm close to, so I just believe that working my hardest is going to be the best reward I can receive. Winning only helped to verify that all of the work was worth it.

I am just so happy and proud to be part of Circle Advertising this year. I didn't think I could be more proud to be part of this team than I was last year, when I first joined; now I'm even happier. These people are my peers but also my teachers. I've learned more and been motivated more by the excellence and talents on this team than I have by many professors. How did we do it? Remarkable outreach for fundraising from communities, families and friends. Partnering with the incredible film school talents who were graduating as well. Frugal efforts on our part to get the best deals on our projects. Oh, and a strong partnership with our father club, Chapman Ad Club.

The most remarkable part of this victory is the reception we received after the results were announced. Many of the competing teams reached out to us to congratulate and compliment. They wanted to get to know our team members and spend time with them while we were all in Orlando. This speaks volumes to the fraternity and maturity of these teams, which is complementary to their talents. Each presentation that I saw had a strong, cohesive campaign to be proud of. The advertising industry can breathe a sign of relief with minds like these coming into the work force within the next few years. I can only imagine what next year's work will be for everyone, including ourselves, for the new client, J.C. Penney.

If you're looking for the future of advertising, you've found it. It's not just at Chapman University, but in all of the NSAC teams who bleed for their campaigns and produce something they are proud of.

#NSAC Goes To Orlando

This week, teams from all over the United States will bring their comprehensive campaigns for State Farm to the National Student Advertising Competition national championship, in Orlando, Fla.
The #ChapmanPRA group will be presenting our #FEELfree campaign on Friday. We're excited, optimistic and eager to see what our creative counterparts from all over will be bringing to the table.
I hope State Farm looks at their current campaign and uses the millions of research impressions and new ideas that we present to create a campaign that resonates with their target demographic.

Check out Tom Arthur's portfolio to see our commercial and our book. Wish us luck!

(thanks to Kayla Glass for her photo!)

McDonalds France: "Come As You Are"

McDonalds France released a viral commercial this week, depicting a young homosexual man and his oblivious father.

There are so many possibilities as to what the motives are for this commercial, I don't really know where to start. An appeal to the homosexual audience in France? Support of a social movement? Rebranding as a "hip" restaurant who opens its doors to the changing times? There are arguments for all of the above. But since I enjoy anything French, and things that are generally positive and accepting of all different lifestyles, I'm just going to leave you with the link. Enjoy.

Chase Community Giving: Round Deux

Since I don't want to be the BP oil blogger (there are way too many others that blog about it much more informed than I do), here's something more PR and less oily...

Chase Community Giving starts up its second round of charity donation voting on June 15. After the last round ended with fraud accusations aimed at one of the nonprofits, hopefully this time around, supporters of the nonprofits will play fair.

Unfortunately, some nonprofits were denied access because they weren't informed of the contest quickly enough. One Orange County nonprofit tried to contact Chase as recently as yesterday and was denied entry into the rankings. A search of Chase Community Giving last week showed nothing more than the fraud accusations for the last round. Why was there so much less press this time, Chase? To avoid fraudulent submissions? Or because you'd already determined which charities were allowed to participate?

In any case, a good cause (or several) is well served from the Chase Community Giving initiative. I hope to see this cause marketing via social media continue.

BPGlobalPR Revealed...

From a PR standpoint, this guy is a nightmare.

A few points that particularly caught my eye, for the "too long; didn't read" crowd...

"The point is, FORGET YOUR BRAND. You don’t own it because it is literally nothing. You can spend all sorts of time and money trying to manufacture public opinion, but ultimately, that’s up to the public, now isn’t it?"


My response to that? Look at Tylenol. Look at Apple. Look at the millions of businesses worldwide who have encountered issues and bounced back through the management of their brand. The fact is, the public believes what it wants to believe. It forms these beliefs by how the company acts in public. These actions are controlled through PR. He says forget your brand; I say, your brand is EVERYTHING.

"Don’t let people forget what has happened here. Don’t let the prolonged nature of this tragedy numb you to its severity. Re-branding doesn’t work if we don’t let it, so let’s hold BP’s feet to the fire... Right now, PR is all about brand protection. All I’m suggesting is that we use that energy to work on human progression. Until then, I guess we’ve still got jokes."

Using Twitter to make jokes about the BP oil spill is helping to create a lighthearted look at the oil spill that is obviously very important to this man. He should maybe re-evaluate the tone he's giving the disaster by joking and making it a laughable situation.

I wonder where both @BPGlobalPR and @BP_America are going to go from here?

@BPGlobalPR vs. @BP_America: Not a Fair Fight

Since 10 a.m. this morning, almost 30,000 Twitter users have jumped on the @BPGlobalPR bandwagon, giving the comical feed almost nine times the users that the real BP Twitter account, @BP_America, has. Personally, I saw the fake Twitter for the first time this morning on The Daily What. I can only imagine the other arenas in which @BPGlobalPR's link has been spread.
The @BPGlobalPR account has been live since May 19, barely a week. Since that time, it has accrued over 46,000 followers and has been listed 1,200 times. These are impressive numbers for a humor feed. My surprise is that BP has let this go on for a week.
Yes, it's fairly apparent that the account is a fake. But the bio reads, "This page exists to get BP's message and mission statement out into the twitterverse!" The name of the page is "BP Public Relations." The logo and fonts associated with BP have been modified but are still recognizable. The damage that this account could help bestow upon BP's already critical situation is massive. Yet BP has taken no action. Why not?
Well, it seems that BP's PR team has something more important to worry about: the oil spill.
Rather than fighting the internet bully, they're focused on distributing information to the public. This fake account is one element of the crisis that the PR team is letting slide, and for good reason: the bogus BP's aim, to sell "BP Cares" t-shirts, benefits the gulf through clean-up funds; buzz has drawn more traffic to BP's own Twitter feed, adding almost 400 followers in just under an hour. This fake account may actually be helping BP's reputation in the long run.
This makes me wonder if other companies in crisis have handled fake Twitter accounts in a similar manner, or have they spent time and energy in putting the faker in his place? Does anyone know of any examples?

I believe in the Internet.

It came over me today as I sat in my new apartment just how lucky I am to have the technology that I have available to me.

If not for wireless internet access, even though my school wireless doesn't have the best connectivity, I couldn't effortlessly search for solutions to small quandries. Example: trying to figure out how to use my roommate's fossil of a toaster oven.
Thanks, Google.

If not for Twitter, I wouldn't be able to easily interact with other #PR professionals, other #NSAC teams, market for jobs and have an edge over competitors for opportunities. I hate to admit it, but our NSAC advisor was right - Twitter is a force to be reckoned with, and I'm grateful he insisted we learn how to use it.

If not for Blogs, I don't know how I would spend my spare time. True, getting lost in Urlesque is a massive waste of productivity, but on the other hand, blogs such as Tumblr allow me access to new music, art, photography and other interests, enriching my life that much more. Without food blogs, I wouldn't have half as many ideas for what to cook myself, since I now have access to a kitchen. If not for Gizmodo or Mashable, I wouldn't be able to educate myself on Social Media or find the countless other blogs with important things worth knowing.

Email? I can't even begin to say how much I love it. Instant messenger, Skype, all other communication tools... I'm at a loss. I compare how far we've come, from having internet tie up phone lines and crawl at a snail's pace to now being impatient for a page to load after only a few seconds. It's really incredible.

Be a Retweet Ninja!

Looking at my feed today alone, I noticed that I've been retweeting articles like a Twitter Ninja in the night.
I'm wondering... is this helpful, or obnoxious?

Here's the deal when it comes to Retweets.

1. You should share but with reason.
If you're only re-tweeting the link but not saying why you found it helpful, you're just putting another random string of characters out into the universe.

2. Add a hashtag if there isn't one!
If you find a great article for PR that doesn't already contain a #PR, add it! How many more people will see that article because of your addition?

3. Pair it up with something else.
Facebook's on everyone's lips today, but there are so many viewpoints that it's hard to get them all straight. If you find two good articles for different sides of the Facebook debacle, post them together! Bit.Ly should be your BFF for this.

By treating your Retweets to some personalization, you're adding credibility (proof you're not a bot) to a blogger you support, and you're making a name for yourself as someone who's thoughtful and contributes to a hashtag community. That makes everyone happy.

Happy birthday, Youtube!

Youtube's 5 years old today. Go watch a cute kitten video or the exploding Diet Coke to celebrate :)

Facebook: to delete or not to delete?

Because of the recent Facebook privacy controversy, I've been on the fence about deleting my Facebook account for the second time. If you want to delete yours as part of the National Quit Facebook day (May 31), the information is all here.

In my opinion, there are three questions every Facebook user needs to answer before they decide what action they take on May 31.

How much do I share on Facebook? In the day of location-based social media like FourSquare and Gowalla revealing every time you leave your house, how can something like Facebook pose any more of a threat? One of privacy intrusions that worried me was the "public" profile that was much more public than I wished it to be. I don't particularly want random people to see the bands I love and activities I take part in, but with the new liking feature, they can see it all. I don't see how this information can cause me any harm, though. If others had conflicts of interest with their work, school or religion that can make for controversy, I can see how that would be a problem.

What kind of photos are there of me on Facebook? This one is partly your responsibility and partly that of your friends. I have some embarrassing photos on my Facebook page - not because I'm doing something illegal, or something that is socially unacceptable; just really dumb faces or days I wasn't looking my best. Do I want potential employers to see that? Absolutely not. Ask your friends to remove photos you aren't proud of, especially if they could be potentially detrimental to your reputation, and follow through to make sure they don't get posted again.

Bottom line: do I really understand what's going on with these privacy issues? There are many conflicting stories regarding the Facebook privacy gaffs. Make sure you're getting your news from a source that's reliable and has evidence to back up the claims, and not just listening to a story that's been manipulated by the grapevine.

So how do these answers affect your decision? It should be a good representation of the information you put on your Facebook page in the first place. The bottom line of this issue comes to personal responsibility. Since many people aren't fully reading or understanding the Terms of Use whenever they check the box, you have to be responsible for yourself. Passwords and protection laws and privacy settings are all well and good, but it's still the internet. Be responsible for yourself and what you post. That's the safest way to ensure that privacy changes won't trip you up.

As for me, I'm keeping my Facebook.

"Social Media Toolbox" from the Daily Dog

Bulldog Reporter, one of my favorite PR news websites, published an article recently about "tried and true" tools for the PR professional.

There are some great resources on here for public relations communications. Momentarily, I wondered why FourSquare hadn't been included. After thinking about it, though, there are few situations in which FourSquare could be used in a PR manner.

Perhaps after checking in at a restaurant that got a bad review or had negative press, the user could get a message thanking them for their patronage and present a coupon; but this seems to be more of a promotion than public relations. I wonder how much of a future that FourSquare has with promotional value, especially with the ever-changing trends of social media.

Interview: @DoItInPublic AKA Joy Donnell of 720 PR

Professionals I Love: Interview with Joy Donnell

Twitter, being the great connector tool that it is, helped me find Ms. Joy Donnell of 720 PR one afternoon. Joy's tweets included some very interesting articles, as well as RTs of other resources I began to follow as well. Joy's digital citizenship, that is, her retweeting of helpful resources and pertinent information, contributes to the #pr community on Twitter. Since she's in a field I'm very interested in, I wanted to ask her more. She very graciously answered a few questions for me, which I thought I would share here...

Besides agency experience, what do you look for in a candidate?
Job continuity is always fantastic to see. I also love to read about publishing; such as articles that the candidate has had published, blog writing that has acquired a following, great association memberships and volunteerism. [Before an interview,] I like to review a portfolio with the resume and cover letter (as well as see it during the sit down interview).

How have you found are good ways to get contacts in the media?
Get as many contacts as possible by face to face interaction. So, going to journalist mixers like those held by MediaBistro, LA Press Club, and PR Newswire can be great ways to meet journos. Another great way to build contacts and end up with things to add to your portfolio is doing pro-bono PR for a nonprofit, especially if it's a celebrity-heavy event. It gives you something great to talk about, you build connections with talent managers and other publicists and you work closely with producers and journalists. After you obtain that connection, don't forget to send a nice thank-you, like cookies or chocolates.

What are your favorite parts about working in celebrity branding? The biggest drawbacks?
Every day is different and you're constantly challenged to think outside of the box. Branding is a broad term for almost anything commercial that extends the client's image, so you really get to stretch out and try new things. There are virtually no rules.
The biggest frustration can be when you approach a brand that the talent had previously expressed a desire to work with, only to find that the talent or management have changed their minds about working with that brand.

Does a good grasp of social media mean a lot to you as someone working in entertainment, or are there other skills you'd rather see in a candidate?
Social media is lovely, but it means nothing without the fundamentals. I mostly like to see that a candidate knows how to form a strategy then craft a story, pitch it, and land it in a way that all parties walk away happy.

For more insights, good articles and advice, follow Joy at her handle, @DoItInPublic or visit her website that includes articles, speaking engagements and more: http://www.doitinpublic.com/

Iron Man II Remembers Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein

I, like millions of people across the United States, was waiting with bated breath for the "Iron Man" sequel to come out this weekend. I saw it and it did not disappoint me, whatsoever. However, this is not a movie review blog, but a PR blog, and I found something that was very interesting and I wanted to talk critically about here.
Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM in Hollywood and in this movie, passed away in August.
When he appeared in the movie, I was curious to see how it would be handled in the credits.
A simple "in remembrance" plaque before the credits? A line at the very end?
Neither. The acknowledgement of AM's passing was sandwiched between technical kudos and the designer of Robert Downey Jr's suits.
The nature of whether or not it was disrespectful is definitely open to interpretation, but I found this placement to be in accordance with how AM's passing was referenced by the makers of the film: lightly mentioned but never exploited. Jon Favreau stated in August that "We tried to make it respectful, and for people who know him, they’ll get a kick out of it, and for people who don’t, it will sort of slide by without much notice..."
I would say they succeeded. In a Google search, there are very few articles dedicated to his appearance in the film. There is almost no critical mention of the usage of his likeness. I think Favreau and the creators accomplished their goal of respect, at least from the standpoint of a fan of AM's. There was nothing more than a small and collective "oh" from the packed house when he came on the screen, and it was barely noticeable.
I think it was important for the filmmakers to handle the situation this way. To cut him out would be an expensive but also an evasive maneuver, to someone whose bit had already been publicized beforehand. Instead, they created a subtle reverence that honored him and his talents rather than exploiting this as his "last appearance," as other films with late stars have been wont to do.
Publicity handled right, along with the exquisite product placement in this film.
Say what you will about the plot, but from a publicity standpoint? I give this film two thumbs way up.

Sorry for the delay!

It's been a very busy week with interviews, meetings, class and work. I'll be back to posting regularly next week...!

I wish I knew how to quit you: Saying "goodbye" to Facebook

Gizmodo recently published an editorial about the privacy issues many bloggers and tech-savvy individuals are bringing up over Facebook's terms of use. The article seems to suggest that in this day and age, Facebook is Big Brother and it's time to fall off the grid. While I agree and disagree with the article on certain points, it certainly raises the issue as to whether or not it's time to pull the plug on Facebook. For me, this would be the second time.

There's always been the issue of addiction.
Many teens can't log off Facebook without logging back on. Hell, it's not just the teens. People have been fired for being on Facebook during company time. People have lost their jobs, hurt relationships and damaged their reputations because of information they shared. While it's nice to keep in touch with friends from far off, Facebook seems to cause enough trouble to outweigh the benefits of keeping an active account.

From a consumer's point of view, I'd much rather interact with brands on Twitter where I know I'm dealing with someone who's reading my comments. It seems that being one of a million "fans" or "likers" of a brand on Facebook is almost like a sport - see who can get the most "likes." It loses touch with the real part of social media, which is building relationships. Twitter, through retweets and replies, does this. I personally have not had an encounter with Facebook in which I've communicated with a brand and gotten a response.

So the answer I pose to myself: will I keep my Facebook account open? Probably. I quit before for some time and fell out of touch with friends scattered across the company because they don't like email the way I do. But will I use Facebook to disperse my private information and feelings? Definitely not. No more liking, no more apps. DEFINITELY no Farm Ville, but I never started that in the first place.

One last thought - the media attention given to Facebook's privacy claims has raised a very good point that many social media users overlook: the Terms of Use. Do you read it all the way through? I know I never have. Maybe it's time to start...

Social "ME"dia: Networking on Facebook

An article on Personal Branding Blog has a very helpful quiz to determine whether or not you're making the most of your social media, or just using social media as a word vomit of your pitches and products.

The Facebook questions seem to be a little bit biased toward companies. There are actually many really important actions you can take when using your personal Facebook account that help you to network and maintain relationships with colleagues, former classmates and more. A lot of them seem to slip through the cracks, so here are the ones I think are most important:

1. The birthday reminder is there for a reason. We've all done it, I know I have: we see a person's birthday reminder pop up on the right events column and immediately click through to pound out a "Happy birthday, you!" and consider it a job well done. While this is OK for people you have no desire to work with or maintain a relationship with, people with whom you've forged or hope to forge a connection, you have to do a bit more. I recommend actually sending a private message, telling them happy birthday. You can thank them for something nice they did for you, remind them of the fun time you had at a conference or meeting or ask after a personal item you had discussed previously. This shows that they're more to you than just a wall post, a public display of affection; you actually want a response to the message, you want to hear how they are.
2. Like their picture? Say it. I'm not saying zero in on the first bikini picture you see of a female coworker or say something that could be construed as inappropriate. If they took pictures at an event you attended or wished you could've attended, say something about them! Tell them how fun it looks, or ask if that speaker was as good as you heard. This starts a conversation and helps personalize your relationship.
3. You don't live online, so don't keep your relationship there. Since I was the "Facebook Girl" my first year of college, I know it well to be the person who friends everyone, comments on their walls and photos, and then can't recognize them in person. It's a huge embarrassment and, to be honest, can be looked at as desperate. Don't be like I was - do it right. If you know them online and talk with them online, you better be talking to them in person as well. Make sure your online and offline behaviors are complementary, not creepy.

So there you have it. They may seem like simple ideas, but they are often overlooked by students who want to network at 1 a.m. and have nothing better to do. If you follow rules like these, you'll be remembered as a thoughtful person, not just a social media addict.

What do you think?

I'm sure you know I have Google Analytics on this thing... I've been viewed in eight states, and it's been less than a month! That's awesome!
To my visitors - please leave a comment and say hello! If you like what you see, if you disagree, if you want to talk about a certain topic... let me know. I'd love to hear back from you and see what you think.

Make a Positive Intern Impression

I found this article about how to get your foot in the door with a company before applying to an internship. It's very useful and advice that had certainly never occurred to me before. What do you do, however, when you have the internship, and are looking to get hired? Having recently experienced this myself, I've found there are four attributes that impress employers universally.

1. You're not an intern they have to babysit. This may seem like a bit of a "Well, duh" statement, but it's more common than you might think. Some interns get to the office and get sidetracked in doing their work in the first ten minutes of the assignment. Worse, they're hard workers, but they need their work to be guided every step of the way. For many interns, they think it's a sign of making sure they get the project right; to the employers, it feels like they basically are having to complete the task themselves. This isn't to say that you should rush off and complete a project to the fullest then check with your employer; but if you can fill in the blanks with previous examples or even run a simple Google search of the project, that's going to mean a lot more than having to have your hand held the entire time.

2. No work is above you, if it's a company you want to work for. At my internship, my boss would apologize to me if I was given something menial to do, like scan and fax or fill out manual labor paperwork. However, it's doing these things without complaint that show you care about not only your job, but the company as well. You're helping save them time and money and complete a task in the meantime. One caveat - you're not a personal secretary. Don't get taken advantage of. But if there's a slow day at the office and your projects get done early, I'd advise asking what you can help them with and then accept the task with a smile.

3. Your work is consistently exceptional. Even if you're not getting paid money for your internship, you're still being paid in experience. You should own every project you are given to the maximum potential. Not giving a project your full attention or efforts is a sign of disrespect. Plus, if you're doing high quality work, they're going to want to keep you around.

4. People know you as nice and efficient. If you're sitting silently at your computer all day, it's easy to fall through the cracks. If you're standing talking to other co-workers or interns a lot, you'll look like you don't do very much. But if you can find the perfect balance of being friendly and helpful to others in your office, especially higher management, while still being an efficient worker, you'll increase your value considerably.

Bottom line? Snagging a hire after an internship is all about managing your personal brand. Sometimes the company might not have room or a position; this is an unfortunate but common situation. However, in some cases, they're willing to make a spot for you, even if it is just part time. Keep your brand idea in mind next time you're asked to do some filing, then smile and take the project. Trust me, it'll help.

http://vimeo.com/11197544

Please check out this commercial we shot for our NSAC "Feel Free" campaign for State Farm. We just placed first in District 15 and are going on to Nationals in June in Orlando. Very exciting!

Linked In, and How You Can Screw Up On It

While looking at twitter searches for #PR, I found this little number: http://bit.ly/6HQ1AQ?r=td
on a website called New Grad Life. Seeing as I'm just one year away from being a grad, and being a LinkedIn user, I decided to peruse the article, and found that apparently, I'm making a ton of huge mistakes.
Not only do I not have a personal URL (I don't think so, anyway), but I also don't have a company website for my internships and professional experience. Until NSAC gets a website, and my current job (at a nonprofit organization) adds interns to their website, it's somewhat irrelevant to put my company website on my LinkedIn page. My page is already set to public, which is both a blessing and a curse. Though it's public, I've never heard anything from anyone about liking my information or seeking an employee like me.
Aside from those, there were two points I could see I was lacking and I agree with fully.
You should be participating in discussions. Among all of my social networking platforms, it seems exhausting to try and keep up with everyone. So yes, I let my LinkedIn discussions lapse. This seems like an important place for me to channel some energy, more important than say, Facebook, but this is the place where I'm going to meet professionals and get my name out there. By not stepping into the spotlight, I'm doing a great job at existing but not contributing to the LinkedIn Community.
You should be giving recommendations, and heck, sometimes asking for them.
The first time I got on linkedIn, I recommended three of my 7 connections almost immediately. I've since grown my network to considerably larger, but failed to keep up with the recommendations. For the students I've worked with, I should be touting their successes along with my own, and in some cases, asking for reciprocation. This is something I plan to work on.

There is one part that I really didn't agree with: Not updating status often.
This isn't Facebook. I don't link my tweets to my LinkedIn profile because let's face it, LinkedIn connections don't want to hear about bands I like, reporters I'm talking to or restaurants I appreciate. The articles that I tweet about, I most often link here on my blog. I update my status once every weeks to what I'm currently looking for or what I have achieved. I think that suffices. It gives me enough personality and action without being obnoxious.

LinkedIn is definitely a platform I need more experience in and exposure to. I'm making this one of my goals: to get more active and more proficient at LinkedIn relationships.

Product Placement

I found this article on the upcoming "Iron Man 2," a film I am VERY excited for, and the product placement therein. It talks about two of my biggest loves: the Iron Man films and how advertisers integrated their products into it.
http://adage.com/madisonandvine/article?article_id=143349
Much like the infamous "Arrested Development" Burger King episode, a lot of movies and TV shows are painfully obvious with their product placement that makes it obnoxious. I don't think the "Iron Man" films make it obnoxious. It's blatantly obvious, but it's tied to the storyline in a seamless way. I can't wait to see this product placement sequel :)

Is Social Media Killing Communication?

The Bulldog Reporter, a great resource for PR professionals, recently posted an article regarding the use of social media in lieu of other forms of communication. Here's the source:
http://bit.ly/CnmNk

As I read the article, I couldn't help but notice some of my own follies but also, a few points with which I disagree. The article stated, "The Pew Internet & American Life Project found that, "Some evidence that use of social networking services (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) substitutes for some neighborhood involvement."

As a busy college student involved in clubs and organizations up to my ears, sometimes the only way to balance a busy schedule and a busy life is with social media. No time to coordinate eight people for a brainstorm session? Why not hold it on Google Wave, where we can post and reply as our schedule permits? Want to make plans for the evening? A simple "Who wants to grab dinner tonight?" tweet can illicit responses from friends or colleagues who would like to see you, without bothering them through a phone call that might interrupt them or a text message they might not get. One of my favorite things about social media is the convenience it provides. It allows people to respond to things in their own time, especially issues that aren't time-sensitive, and allows for communication with people you never thought possible. I don't know anyone at Johnson & Wales Unviersity in Rhode Island, but now I've communicated with several from the #nsac search on Twitter.

The article does present one very important point, however, about the effect on a person's social skills. Some people will post things on their Twitter or Facebook that are long and explanatory but not elaborate in person; others will present an entirely different online persona than they would appear to be in person. The key to maintaining communication on social media is authenticity. If you say it on Twitter, bring it up in real life; if you wouldn't say it in person, don't say it on Facebook. It's as simple as that. Instead of thinking of how refreshing it will be to say what's on your mind at that moment, think of who's receiving it and how it will be received before clicking "send."

As for marketers, this tactic is important, but it's absolutely essential to keep the client's tone in traditional advertising aligned with the tone of the social media communications. Just because you're communicating on behalf of the client, does not mean you should necessarily put your tone into the messages.

Reading all of these articles and having had the successes and snafus that I've had with social media, it all brings me back to one ideal that seems to be the soul of every lesson: Social media is not for everyone. If you know how to use it, go ahead; if you want to learn how to use it, tread lightly; if you are jumping in with no experience or guidance, prepare for failure.

Chapman - District 15 Champions, 2nd Year!

I am so, so proud to announce that the Chapman NSAC team, Circle Advertising, has done it again - we won District 15 competition for the second year in a row!
This week has been insanely busy preparing for competition. As one of four "hippers," or someone who has all of the answers to the judges' questions in her "hip pocket," it was my job to go through the book and find every hole in our plan and brainstorm a solution that we could present to the judges. Some of the questions our "hipper" team uncovered actually were asked, so it was very fortunate we prepared as well as we did!
One thing I constantly face in interviews is the question of whether or not I am experienced. Many interviewers don't fully understand what NSAC does - we create a comprehensive campaign from start to finish. I might be on the PR department, but I take part in every aspect, from research to promotions to creative to media. PR is just what I put the most time into. NSAC is the essential experience that employers don't even know they're looking for. And now I have two beautiful plans books that I can say placed first in their district, one of them fourth in the nation, and hope they complement my attempt to explain the experience this has given me.
NSAC is by far the smartest choice I've made since starting my college career at Chapman. It's one thing to sit and listen to professionals, take notes and imagine how you can apply the pointers one day; it's entirely another to listen to the professionals and then go do what they're doing, but with their guidance. Someone from Y&R isn't going to give someone from DraftFCB pointers on how they can improve or spill the secrets to success they've learned, so this is us taking advantage of it while we still can.
I'm so proud of our team and the work we accomplished. It makes everything feel so worth it.

iPhone 4G... Oh hello there!

I was very unsurprised to wake up this morning and find that the iPhone had been leaked. As a bit of a tech nerd, I was intrigued, but moreso in Apple's response to the situation rather than the device itself. Being as I'm on Verizon and have no hope of acquiring an iPhone any time soon, I set to looking at Apple's PR response and found... none. At least thus far.

"If you've ever had the misfortune of dealing with Apple's PR people, you know the company treats information about its products the same way Kathy Bates' character in Misery treats authors." (http://bit.ly/bW53tX)

Some bloggers seem to think that this was a marketing ploy, by Apple, to bring attention to the new iPhone and get people hyped for it. However, I doubt this to be true.

The product itself seems to be very new and complex. This could be as bad for Apple as the iPad... that customers get a sneak peak, build it up into something it isn't, and then find nothing but disappointment when it actually gets released. What Apple would be smart to do in its response, is to make sure to confirm or deny the Gizmodo feature speculations.

When I got to Apple's website a few minutes ago, ready to read their response, I found nothing. I'm really anxious to see what they have to say.

Freelance Work: Pitch those Press Releases!

I'm finding my niche in freelance work, even though I only have two clients so far. It's really fortunate that I have businesses who are willing to take a chance on me handling their publicity as well as professors who are willing to help me excel even as a student. I've found there are three important things to remember when doing freelance media pitching, especially if you're not familiar with the newspapers yourself:

1. Customize your media pitches by platform and audience. I recently sent out a press release to multiple sources with the hope that they'll contact my client for an interview. While there was only so much that could be said each time and not many ways to say it, I made sure to differentiate between small newspapers, big newspapers, magazines and blogs because I wanted to make the content relevant to the person I was contacting.

2. Don't let an online submission form scare you. There were a few newspapers that had no contact information for business editors or staff writers, and only the blank submission box to work with. When I did some research in the business section, I found several press releases ran as-is. I'm sure this is the process these businesses followed, and so I followed it as well. When in doubt, try and find an actual person who can at least forward the release on to someone who would handle it - but if you have to submit it online, just make sure you check all the right boxes.

3. Familiarize yourself to know how to speak to these editors. I've never read the newspapers I was pitching to, so I made sure to take a few minutes on each paper to familiarize myself to see who would best benefit from my release. If it's business expansion, this paper put it in Business while that paper would put it in the Local section. You don't have to go through all of their archives, but if you at can at least look at what is on their website and respect their structure, they'll be much more willing to work with you.

In other news, I'm excited to hear that AP Style has finally changed Web site to website. I've already corrected my press releases to read website.

5 Ways To Reduce Social Media Distractions

Oh Mashable, how you speak to me.

"“Insecurity work” is the stuff we do that has no intended outcome, does not move the ball forward in any way, and is quick enough that you can do it multiple times a day without realizing. But nonetheless, it puts us at ease.

The first step in reducing insecurity work is becoming self-aware. Recognize what you do in your everyday life that is, in fact, insecurity work. The second step is to establish some guidelines and rituals for yourself that provide more discipline, such as restricting all insecurity work to a specified 30 minute block every day. The third step, if applicable to you, is to delegate the task of checking on this data to a less insecure colleague who can review it periodically and report any concerns."
http://mashable.com/2010/04/15/reduce-social-media-distractions/

I'm definitely going to start trying this. I find that obsessively checking my email, my Facebook, and my Twitter only stress me out more, or make me aggravated that no one has responded yet to the message I just sent. I think I'll set myself a goal of only checking my personal Facebook and Twitter account three times per day (morning, afternoon, night) and my work email and Twitter as needed. Here's my goal, hopefully I'll stick to it. I am rebelling against social media addiction!

Ad Club Speaker: Drew Lewis

(Photos coming soon!)

Today's Ad Club Speaker, Drew Lewis, came to us from Wunderman and his own company, FusionCorp, to talk to us about his job as a new media director. Drew had a lot of interesting stories to tell us about his time at Y & R, his origins in art and the grasp he has (thus far) on the industry. He stayed almost three hours, chatting with us well after the meeting had ended. Unfortunately the turnout was dismal today, but Drew didn't seem to care. I really love the interactive Ad Club and PRSSA meetings because it's nice to get face time with the speaker and hear more about his or her climb experience on a personal level.

Another thing I love about Ad Club? The things that get me thinking. As Drew was talking, there were two points I jotted down on my iPod touch (or iPad Nano, as I so lamely jested earlier) for blogging purposes.

First of all, Drew brought up the impact of brand ambassadors. I had to admit, the power of brand ambassadors has always been something that I never really lent importance to, but now see the error of my ways. I mean, I never used to be an Apple fan. I had my Creative Zen Touch and my Toshiba laptop and Apple wasn't even on my radar. As I grew up, more and more people had iPods. I held off for a long time... my iPod Classic, now my sister's, is actually only three years old. But the power of the brand ambassadors, the hardcore Apple fans that had their products and told me that I needed them, have pretty much fueled my desire for both a Macbook and for the latest Apple gadgets - and thus why I traded for my iPod Touch. One of the biggest challenges with brand ambassadors is to get them vocal, and once vocal, keep them talking. For every person with a massive penchant for Apple, there are fans who keep quiet and may use the gadgets, but don't tell every PC user they see that, "You should really get a Mac." I see social media as the perfect venue to reach the brand ambassadors and not only elicit their help, but reward them for their loyalty and willingness to communicate about the devices. Like in Chris Brogan's "Trust Agents," people will listen to the Average Joe much more intently than they will Joe Marketer.

Another point that Drew brought up was his interaction with creative people and the effect on his own creativity. I'm by no means a creative person - I can come up with big ideas, but they aren't by any means the winning one. However, therein liesthe beauty of it: you don't have to come up with the winning one, if you depend upon others to help you develop it. By coming up with one mediocre idea, you might be providing the springboard for the winning idea. Drew said, "Being around smart people makes me feel smarter," which I absolutely agree with. When I sat in on Creative meetings during NSAC, I felt more creative; when I sat in on Media, I felt like I knew more and more about Media. Working in a collaborative environment is essential to success.

Drew was just great. As we were leaving for the night, a few people were talking about how listening to speakers like Drew, they just felt even more excited about advertising. It was a welcome shot of adrenaline to the heart after the last exhausting nine months and a good boost for the week before regional NSAC competition.

Since my #FF article earlier about recommending rather than just spurting names has somewhat sunk in, it's Friday in Idaho and therefore time for me to make my suggestions:

Here's a link to Drew's website! http://www.drewmichaellewis.com/
You already know the insights I've received from him, now go look into his work.

Also, here's a link to one of my friend's websites: http://www.howtomworks.com

Tom Arthur is one of those smart people that makes you feel smarter from being around him. He's brilliant when it comes to details - you can always see the cogs in his mind turning, even when you're just getting dinner with him. He's always on the cutting edge of technology, telling me about all of the apps I should be downloading and social media I should be using (I usually hold out for a while, but he eventually sucks me into it).

Promoted Tweets: We knew it was eventual & A few thoughts on Facebook

Yesterday, promoted Tweets launched on Twitter results. For those of you not familiar with Twitter, Twitter's "promoted tweets," or paid sponsored tweets, are now showing up in searches.

I'm sad to see that the self-motivational aspect of Twitter go, which depended on how much you could get retweeted, how many followers you could get, and how you interacted with them; that was what determined your success or failure, not your ability to pay to show up in search results.

Along with Twitter's new homepage, I see a profitable future for Twitter, one that involves more and more advertising dollars. It's hard to say if the original appeals of Twitter - one on one communication and the building of an online community - will prevail over the new advertising dollars. That's up to the Tweeple (yeah, that physically hurt me to type... won't do that again).

In other social media news, I read an article yesterday about Facebook users preferring to "like" something rather than become a fan of it. The psychology of those terms is very interesting to me, and given the extensive research I've done into the 18 - 25-year-old demographic, stems from a specific group of users. Because psychographic research repeatedly shows that Millenials prefer not to be subverted, I understand fully why the terminology of "liking" something sounds more pro-active, giving psychological satisfaction while maintaining a supportive relationship of a product or company. It seems like being a "fan" could count you as one of many, lessening the ability for the Millenial to be an individual. That's just what I've read into it, anyway.

A change I've waited for and still not seen on Facebook is, the dislike button. I remember groups springing up with the launch of the Like button, calling for a dislike button. There are the obvious PR problems of negativity that it could present, but this seems to be a classic case of The Customer is Always Right. If Facebook users want a dislike button, they're going to keep creating groups and sending emails until they get one, or they'll move onto a new platform that offers a better way for them to interact with their peers. I'm still waiting to see when it will happen, and the obligatory Facebook status updates as soon as it does. Failbooking.com and Lamebook.com will appreciate the new material.

"Face Time Beyond Facebook"

One of my biggest hurdles in social media has been mixing business and personal life. I want to put my professional opinions on Facebook, but the majority of the people who have access to my Facebook are my friends. I want to put communicate with friends through Twitter, but then feel bad for the people following me who see my back-and-forth. Learning to balance life on one platform with another has been a challenging task, one I sometimes fail to upkeep.

The bottom line, I've found, is that the rules for Twitter and Facebook are generally this: if you wouldn't tell your audience in person about this topic, you probably shouldn't post it on your page. I wouldn't tell my sister or parents about the exciting spike in location-based social media; I wouldn't tell all of my colleagues and professionals in my industry about how bored I am on the weekend. This is one of my social media weaknesses that I am working to rectify.

Enjoy the original article from the Bulldog Reporter below:

http://bit.ly/9Lpi2l

Playing Music Matchmaker

I'm a music junkie. I love all kinds of music. I can lose hours of my life on hypem.com, searching for my favorite artists and then regaling in the blog results I get and listening to artists other people like. Now that I've met some people whose music I enjoy and whom I believe in, I'd love to get them started online and see if I can get their music out there. Mashable, very appropriately, turned up this article when I was searching the archives and has given me a bit of direction as to where I can help this band go from here!

http://mashable.com/2009/02/19/musician-marketing-tools/

When I saw Last.Fm made the list, I was very excited, because I'm so familiar with that platform. Having over 14,000 scrobbles (no judgement!) I'm a bit of a Last.Fm veteran. The other arenas are new to look into.

I'm a firm believer in doing what you love - I love to help people, and I love music. This is going to be a beautiful challenge for me and hopefully helpful to the artists I respect.

StartupRoots

I read this article today and thought of my recent scavenger hunt for PR internships. I've been looking at well-established companies with big payrolls, small record labels, massive corporations and nonprofit companies. It never occurred to me that a startup company might be the place to look - a crash course in real-world experience. Upon reading StartupRoots' blog about why working for startups is more rewarding, I think I might start looking around for more startup companies in Orange County that could use some PR help. I have a lot of talents that I can use but haven't had the opportunity to, because I haven't worked at places that allowed me to get creative with my skills. A startup might just be the place to do that!

http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/04/startuproots-plays-matchmaker-startups-college-interns.php

"The Most Influential Cause Marketing Campaigns"

Lists like these are fascinating to me. It was interesting to read this article because many of the companies listed, are ones we used as our case studies for our NSAC PR Department. Project (RED) is one of my very favorite cause marketing campaigns, one of the few organizations I'm completely faithful to. They have such creative partnership ideas that are still grounded - Apple, Starbucks, the Gap - all companies that communicate with an apathetic demographic (the 18-25 year-olds) and create a passion to give back to a cause. Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty is another I admire, because it has been so resilient against media backlash and nay sayers. It might be a double standard because the corporation perpetuates the very media exposures it is trying to change via Axe, but the effort and marketing is remarkable. This article had some great older examples as well, highly recommended to the PR/Cause Marketing buffs out there (like me!)

http://adage.com/goodworks/post?article_id=142037

Fun fact of how I know I'm a PR junkie: I saw a Jack Daniel's safe drinking and driving advertisement at an Angels game... I clapped, looked to one of my friends and said, "Oh, I love corporate responsibility."

Reflecting on the National Student Advertising Competition

Getting the campaign book last year was a very surreal moment. When I first got the Tio book and held it in my hands, it was so strange thinking that all of the work we had done had culminated in this small, 30-page book. It was phenomenal to see some of my work put into print and distributed in a classroom. The feeling wasn't as exciting this year when I got Feel Free book, but not because I was less excited about the campaign. There was a different feeling this time - one of satisfaction and pride, when I flipped through it and saw how much we all have grown since last year. We keep setting the bar higher and higher as a team to do better, reach further, and perform as impressively as possible. I also felt so grateful, that I was able to work with so many bright people. There are amazing minds on our Chapman PR team: it never fails to amaze me how talented and brilliant my fellow students are. It can be intimidating at times, thinking that we'll all be joining the job market and competing for those jobs; however, in some cases we'll be working alongside one another. To be able to work with these people again one day - that's something I would love to see happen.

The PR department, itself, is a very static element of the team. Last year, it was very uncertain as to what we were needed to do, since the campaign was for a nonprofit organization. This year, it was easier because it was a corporation. We developed a social media cause marketing campaign and I'm so proud to have lead my team. They are wonderful - driven, intelligent, and resilient. It was strange to be on the PR team two years in a row with two completely different groups of people, but not a bad experience in any way. I love both the teams for what they were, and appreciate every person I worked with because of what they brought to the table: passion and compatibility. Even the times we weren't working as efficiently as possible, we were learning and we got to a place we needed to be. That in itself was a great experience to have.

Because things often need to be tweaked to strengthen a campaign, it was bittersweet to see that many of our social media ideas had to be reworked in order to fit as cohesively as possible with the campaign. Timing wasn't on our side, as it rarely is, but I am pleased with how everything turned out. The core of what our department believed in is present. I printed out a copy of the original plan and stuck it in the book for interviews, to show how well we can work with other members of the team and our directors to change ideas but keep the integrity of the inspiration.

I can't wait to go on my next interview, so that I can bring in both books with me and show them to the representative.

"10 Twitter Tips for Nonprofit Organizations"

At my current internship at a local nonprofit, I'm working on using Twitter to get publicity for a specific event. Starting out, it's been daunting - looking at less than ten followers and having trouble getting retweeted or communicating with the people that can help my cause. This article by Heather Mansfield for Change.Org has given me some really helpful tips and hopefully I'll be able to get the message out even further!

http://nonprofits.change.org/blog/view/10_twitter_tips_for_nonprofit_organizations

I'm Anti-Google Reader

I love blogs. I love to read them, to visit them. The reason why I frequent my favorites, is that it has its own identity and purpose, even if sometimes content overlaps. When I signed up for Google Reader in November, I had a realization: a lot of a blog's appeal can come from its aesthetic as much as its content.

For example, Geekologie.com.

I love this blog. The writer is hilarious and the things he features are zany and random and all things geeks love. It's a place where I can scroll through a Star Wars tattoo to a man blending an iPad to something useful, like China's newly-discovered "yeti." Reading Geekologie mixed in among posts from Gizmodo and industry blogs, made me lose the purpose that I was reading it for in the first place. Maybe it's just me personally, but I find actually visiting a blog and reading the content in its natural environment can make or break the reader's experience. It's possible to sort with Google Reader and find only Geekologie posts, but doesn't that lose the purpose? Why not just go to the actual blog? At the same time, sometimes formatting and links are lost. As a stickler for readability, I hate to see when formatting is sacrificed. Sometimes Google Reader can take a bad formatting and make it better, but it seems more likely that the original formatting was just fine, and it gets sacrificed for simplicity.

While Google is fantastic at simplifying every aspect of life, this is one thing I'd rather not be simplified. Are there any hardcore Google Reader fans out there that would disagree? What do you think?

A time for blogging

After a lot of dragging my feet and trying to focus myself on what I'm passionate about, I've come to the conclusion that I love Public Relations. I love it. I love everything about it. Sponsorships make my mouth water. Social Media makes me euphoric. Writing a press release... well, there's nothing fun about that because I'm overanalyzing what I'm writing.

I have a ton of advertising and public relations rants and raves spread across Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. I concluded that it is time to consolidate my thoughts and create a blog that presents important articles, resources and my own interpretations of the industry I'm going to join in a bit over a year.

Here's what you can expect:

Articles from various sources that I've found informative or useful. Mini-case studies that I will critique and commend after one catches my eye. Updates on my professional development, like PRSSA and Ad Club events. This blog isn't so much for everyone else, though it might be helpful - it's a way for me to organize my passion in one place.