Elementality: Evan's PR blog entries

My New Twitter Background a.k.a. Linklove

2012-02-02T19:43:00.019-05:00

I've been meaning to brush up on my Photoshop skills and my all white Twitter background provided the perfect opportunity to do so. I'm no designer by any stretch of the imagination, but I can follow a tutorial as well as the next person.

I used this tutorial: http://bloomwebdesign.net/myblog/2011/08/31/design-a-stylish-twitter-background-in-photoshop/, with the template from http://www.fuelyourcreativity.com/free-new-twitter-psd-background-template/ and the social media icons are from the genius of @alexpeattie and can be found here: http://designmoo.com/3783/justvector-social-media-icons/

The texture is from the concrete walkway outside of my apartment. I used this picture, taken this morning and was going to use it with my legs in the photo cause I like my pajama pants (Christmas gift from my lovely Aunts!) but decided it would be odd for the few people using Twitter web to visit my profile and suddenly appear to be between my legs.

And of COURSE my twitter avatar was created by the amazing @wendylyng who I can't wait to see again!

Let me know what you think of the final product.

How To Blog

2011-08-28T14:16:00.001-04:00

Update: Who am I to talk? I who have published a total of 8 posts in a year. I think this kind of conundrum is one I'm not tormented with alone. That of dispensing advice and failing to live by it or to even effectively carry it out. I would love to say I try. I would be lying.

Fight on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sit down, and write.

Some Thoughts On Influence and +K

2011-06-20T06:38:00.000-04:00

In everything I learn and read, I try to find ways to relate to other things I have learned or read. I call this association of things "connecting the dots," and while the term in and of itself may not be totally original, the practice it seems is far less common.

"Woe is me!"

+K is like Respect. You have to earn it.

When new tools come out in the social media space or in technology in general I always try to connect the dots from the online world to the real world. What do we do offline that we're mirroring with this new technology? In the real world, we assign influence to a person based on a widely-varied number of factors. They may have an impressive education, or be smart, or know "important people" (why that is in quotes is another blog post), or be a great singer, or they may have built something unique or written something thought-provoking. Regardless of why a person is assigned the label of "influential," it is something that other people have given them and not something that they necessarily commanded in and of themselves (aside from Kanye). Their position as an influential is something that has developed over time, through focused thought and endless toil. It is also built on their frequency of accuracy. You don't see too many influential scientists who are wrong all the time. Or who disregard the scientific method. In this way, I guess, influence is like what some people say of respect. To get it, you have to earn it.

This brings me to Klout's latest release, +K. Disregarding the chicken/egg question with Google's +1 (which came first?) I have to admit I was initially both put off and intrigued by the idea of people ranking each other using such an arbitrary system. But I realized after a chat with @bryanjones (holla on Twitter if you haven't already) that no only is assigning influence to a person relative to the assigner, but so is the medium with which they choose to make it known. What matters is the weight the person viewing the recommendation assigns to both the recommendation and the medium.

How does this work in real life?

For example, it may not matter much at all if I +K my aunt's (a professor of neuropsychology) profile on Klout. 1) I'm not in the field of neuropsychology so my opinion matters little there and 2) members of the field of neuropsychology may assign little if any value to a +K 3) She would probably have low numbers anyway because she only uses LinkedIn, so what good would my +K on any topic really do here?

But let's say her field as a whole regularly used social media, and my aunt as a member of this field did too. Then, it is likely that they would put great thought into rewarding +K to another, so then it means something. Or maybe a better, real life example is, if her dissertation were cited in a neurogeek journal as inspiring a new theory or form of research, then that would be the kind of influence that matters, since it means something to her, the person citing her and the reader.

You've got issues.

I guess that's where +K loses me. For starters, no one's agreed that Klout is the standard of influence for anything, social media in particular. Sure, it's great that they're working on an algorithm, and especially great that they now add LinkedIn networks into the equation, but if we assign no value to a Klout score in the first place, who cares about a more fleeting +K? They're still a for-profit company with active competitors like PeerIndex and Twitalyzer. They still have to find a way to make money from the data we give them with each +K. What will this turn into?

Also, don't we need a standard by which to measure? Especially if +K's are to be "social currency" (different than social capital? Yes. Way cheaper.) what value can we assign if there's no standard to hold them up against? Even the dollar had the gold standard at one point. Will we get to a point where we measure social net worth?

There's also the point of gaming the system. One of the comments on this post refers to "social media optimization" (what we at @bizzibiz also call it btw) and alludes to this opening the door to the potential for "black hat" practices on social media sites. I've already heard of people verbally asking for a +K. In and of itself that may not be a bad thing but if we are eventually using Klout to measure influence (I'm optimistic and hope they'll fix some of their more leering issues), how are we to know which +K's are authentic and which are bartered for something else, like a linkback? If I'm currently influential in soccer and food, what's to stop me from DMing a few of my tweeps to get a enough +K's to livetweet from the Gold Cup?

Despite my misgivens, I'm going to be toying with the +K feature this week, but don't worry, I'm being picky.
Oh and on an unrelated note: Check out this video!

Digital Life: Today & Tomorrow from Neo Labels on Vimeo.

Spiff over and out.

Have you used the +K feature of Klout? What influences you? (either IRL or online)
Share below!

Holy Move Spaceman! (A post 3 months in the making)

2011-06-06T04:47:00.001-04:00

So wow, there is sooooo much to tell you all! If you follow me on Twitter, you're probably aware that I just made a two day road trip with a couple other guys from Ohio to my new home, Scottsdale, AZ.

Goodbye Ada! ROAD TRIP!! Lol w/ @TobyDeardorff and @blburkholder. There's prolly >12 hrs of sleep between us, but we're slap happy lolSun Feb 27 11:58:14 via ÜberSocialEvan E. Roberts
erob1

A few of you know why, but like most things of this nature, I had to keep the news on ice for a bit until all of the details were worked out. But now they are, so here's the story. You won't hurt my feelings if you'd rather not read this lol.

K sweet, so for the past year or so I've been working with a great group of guys at a startup called BounceFire. It was started by my buddy Zach Ferres while he was still at ONU studying and stuff. There's a blog post out there somewhere that tells the whole story of how the company was founded, our rebranding from BounceHost etc. I'll find it eventually. So anyway, I was on board as the social media strategist for clients, and while here I've also worked on email marketing, a ton of copy writing, and internal communications for BounceFire. It's really been a blast, mostly because I always heard professionals at PRSSA conferences in session say that PR is an executive function and we need/recently gained a "seat at the table," and my first real job experience is working directly with the company's president. What's also dope is that Zach and the other guys are really open to my ideas and committed to making sure we provide not just great websites, but great marketing strategy that supports that site. I'm all about that kind of holistic approach.

So we niched to SEO, Internet marketing and website development. We did well, kept our clients happy and worked to graduate so we could see what kind of company we could build together. While we were doing all this Zach entered an entrepreneurship competition (GSEA) and went pretty far which was great. While at the first competition here in Scottsdale he met Jim Piccolo. Jim is a serious entrepreneur, and at that time (like last September I think?) he was fleshing out his idea for a new company that would franchise businesses. It must have been love at first sight or something because Jim really liked the BounceFire business model and more than that, the culture. Zach is all about Agile web development (ask him about it but get comfortable, because you'll be there for a while) but also likes a relaxed company culture. We were all pretty much working remotely and rockin it out, using Skype, although over the summer I was in Dublin in our office at the DEC quite a bit.

So initially we were just working with Jim's company BizziBiz on some stuff but we've recently been acquired under BizziBiz to do product fulfillment for the whole company. So that's what I'm doing out here; building social media and email marketing strategies for small businesses, similar (well pretty much the same) as I was doing at BounceFire, just on a much more intense scale lol. I'm stoked about this new chapter of life though, and I'm really looking forward to getting used to the weather down here. (no more #snohio!) My plan is to be back up and blogging regularly (thinking 2-3 posts a week but we'll start slow lol).

There's a ton of things I want to do out here a lot of growing I have yet to do and I'm really excited for the future.

Oh and also, our thing at BizziBiz is being the "superhero" for businesses, which means all of our email addresses are some superhero at bizzibiz dot com. I chose Spaceman Spiff, from Calvin & Hobbes. Mostly because he has some cool adventures and he's the imaginary escape for a kid just trying to find a way to deal with his world. Spiff is essentially a creation of necessity, to help Calvin cope with sucky classes (kindergarten is hard yo) and the bad food his mom cooks. But for me, Spiff is all about imagination and tackling what you don't want to do using your own creativity. I love that. So that's the dude I picked. Plus he's got some cool sayings like "The creature is a GURL!" and "1, 2, 3...LIGHTSPEED!" haha Expect me to drop some of those in from time to time. It's kinda corny but it's growing on me lol

So for now, this is where I live. Scottsdale, Arizona. It's going to be a heckuva ride.

HERE!!!! The drive to end all drives is OVER!! Cc @TobyDeardorff @blburkholderTue Mar 01 04:57:49 via ÜberSocialEvan E. Roberts
erob1

Branding = Protection

2011-05-09T03:29:00.000-04:00

I know this is only one aspect of why branding is so important, but I feel the need to explain this particular part...

Brands essentially need to shore up good will in case something goes wrong

Building trust keeps you in business.
When you have an issue, you need to be able to be trusted to fix it.
Something will go wrong.

Brand loyalty is because customers believe from previous experience that you have the best product or service or they like whatever else you do that solves their problem.
That's why building a relationship is so important.
Because when something goes wrong, you have to cash in on that good will and if you can't be trusted to fix the problem, you can't be trusted.

What am I missing here?

Memory vs. Imagination

2011-03-31T04:50:00.000-04:00

I'm currently reading "Burn This Book," a collection of essays by numerous writers, edited by author Toni Morrison. In the third essay, David Grossman quotes the late writer Natalia Ginzburg when she says

At the moment someone is writing he is miraculously driven to forget the immediate circumstances of his life...But whether we are happy or unhappy leads us to write in one way or another. When we are happy, our imagination is stronger; when we are unhappy, our memory works with greater vitality.

He goes on to say that "the power of memory is indeed great and heavy, and at times has a paralyzing effect." This to me was a crucial point and an intriguing thought to chew on. Is memory really the opposite of imagination? Enough so that it can debilitate writing ability or at the least, tone of voice? Thinking about it, it makes a lot of sense.

[photo courtesy of GangaSunshine via flickr]

Children, in their innocence and minimal life experience, show grand imagination. They draw pictures of trees in green, but also purple, orange, red and blue, depending on how they feel at the moment. Or they come up with clever games to amuse themselves, simply because nothing is inhibiting their thought patterns or better yet, no rules are guiding them. They create whole worlds of illusion, simply because there's nothing in their mind telling them that they way they imagine things isn't the way things really are.

Adults who struggle with imagination usually have a lot on their mind, at least in my experience. There's bills and jobs, news of the tragedies throughout the world or even the distractions of entertainment. For an adult to tap into their imagination, it takes forgetting every rule they live by. It takes breaking rules and reforming norms and taboos. Children imagine because there are no rules. You can't break something that doesn't exist.

In my own writing, I often look to other outlets of creativity to spur my own ideas. Whether it's other writing, art or listening to music, my imagination begins with the questions that others struggle to answer.

But what if I could imagine without those influences. How much more creative would I (or all of us really) be without the experiences I've/we've had or the rules to which we adhere? What problems could we solve if we just took them completely out of the context where they reside?

In his post on web design, Mark Boulton talks about how web content is design around the limitations of the page. But the idea of a page is from the traditional layout of print media, be it books, magazines or whatever. On the web, really these restraints do not exist, so he proposes reconsidering the design of websites to form around the content, rather than the constraints of a 2560 x 300 px page.

To me that's a fantastic start to thinking a different way. Shaping the object to the subject, instead of the other way around. I don't know how I'm going to use this yet but I think it is a unique way to go about creating, whatever it is you create.

Oh and btw, Burn This Book is fantastic. If you get the chance, pick it up. You won't be disappointed.

Thoughts On Practical Intelligence

2011-02-18T15:21:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things to do growing up was to pretend I was using the bathroom and sit on the toilet for hours at a time reading books. As the middle child in a family of five kids, there was no where else in the house where privacy was a given and I could sit in peace and quiet for as long as I wished, or at least until someone else needed to use the restroom haha.

Most recently, I've been delving into Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" and I'm very much enjoying it. I became aware of the book a couple years back, during my first internship, when it was assigned to one of the other interns for our summer reading project. He made it sound fascinating, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Time just wasn't on my side, because I've been too busy to read much as of late, aside from blog posts.

My favorite section so far has been the one on geniuses and how their environment and circumstances contribute to their success, outside of their innate intelligence. Gladwell distinguishes between two different types of intelligences in the book: analytical intelligence and practical intelligence.

As you can probably guess, analytical intelligence is the kind that demonstrates itself as strength in math and science, primarily. It allows a person to solve problems such as equations and apply formulas as solutions. Things such as logical reasoning and efficiency are also the results of a highly analytical mind. Analytical intelligence is also able to be measured by IQ, so it is inheritable (about 50%) and natural.

Practical intelligence however is more a product of nurture, an intelligence gained from exposure to experiences and situations that allow a person to gain knowledge of how to act. In Gladwell's words:

It is procedural: it is about knowing how to do something without necessarily knowing why you know it or being able to explain it...It's knowledge that helps you read situations correctly and get what you want...the presence of one [analytical or practical intelligence] doesn't imply the presence of the other...[it's] knowing how to "customize" whatever environment you're, for your best purposes.

This really stood out to me because I feel like this explanation is precisely the skill set that strong public relations students learn during their college years. When we say "I'm a people person" what we really mean is that we have a solid grasp of how to practically navigate conversations and situations to benefit both ourselves and those with whom we interact.

What I find truly fascinating is how we seem to be able to recognize those who have learned this skill, and those who have not, and sift our relationships with our peers until we have a group of like-minded individuals. Most of the people I enjoy talking with have this practical intelligence quality (and most of them enjoy a hefty dose of analytical intelligence as well).

I was telling a friend of mine recently that when I was younger, I felt like some kids had been giving a handbook (how I thought of practical intelligence) when they were born that allowed them to navigate social interactions with more ease than I. I told her that I felt cheated by not having received this instruction, and that I had to learn it on my own, through watching other kids and adults.

Obviously, I've since gained this knowledge, or I wouldn't have recognized it when I read about it. Practical intelligence (man I love having a name to call it!!) has been something I've thought about for quite a long time, mostly because of my own deficiency in math and science. I always knew there had to be another skill set that was equally as valuable. In school I learned to cultivate it. And now I know what it's called.

:)

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - I'm Broke

2011-02-02T16:57:00.000-05:00

Not for long ;)

Some Thoughts On Creativity

2011-01-06T13:05:00.004-05:00

Working in public relations, I'm often around a lot of creative people. Our mixed media industry thrives on ideas, and often times, a good idea is more likely to be acknowledged than a record of attendance or good grades in school. Creativity is the ability to think of what no one else does. To come up with a truly unique idea or point of view that makes others reconsider their own viewpoint. But as great as out of the box thinking and brilliant ideas arriving from chaos sounds, true creativity is based in a very methodical and logical process. Critical thinking: the ability to analyze a situation, problem or fact and break it down into its essence, and then to figure out why it is important or not important. Critical thinking involves asking endless questions and never being satisfied with given answers or established ways of doing things. Critical thinking is all about perspective, and a lot of ideas seem to be unique because of the unique perspective of the person who presents them.

The skills needed for creativity are really basic, and so anyone, trained or untrained, can be creative but not everyone is. Most people do not take the time to ask the amount of questions it takes to fully understand why something works or doesn't work. Creativity is an investment not of monetary value, but of time. The return can be monetary, sure, but the initial investment is the time and energy put into asking an endless barrage of questions and seeking to truly understand why things are done the way they are, and to discover if there is a better way of doing them. Creative people inherently adapt to change. They tend to congregate and thrive in areas that embrace change, which is why one can find a high concentration of creative people in places like San Jose, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Chicago. These places have become incubators for creative people, as they are home to lots of architecture, art and cultures that in affect create a global perspective for those who choose to admire them. And these are also the places from which our most celebrated contributions to the world come. The world-renowned movies, the technological advances, the fashion, and the food from these cities are just a few of the products dependent on a strong creative culture. That need is facilitated not only in the places from which these products hail, but also in the support they receive in other parts of the country.

Even though our nation is one of consumerism and capitalism, we still highly value ingenuity and creativity not only in art and fashion, but also in things like business and food. Our entire culture is built on creativity; entrepreneurialism is business' creative outlet, and it also creates jobs and opportunities for collaboration with other businesses. So not only does our society embrace creativity, we embrace and celebrate it, because it is an integral part of our very way of life.

Something Edgy

2010-09-19T16:47:00.001-04:00

Yesterday my friend Danielle from PRSSA tweeted:

When is @kionsanders going to tweet something edgy? @erob1? @TiffanyRiggs lol heheSun Sep 19 07:35:59 via webD.DuPree 杜依琳
DanielleDuPree

While this is an innocent statement at first glance, it kind of got me thinking. Why don't I tweet anything "edgy?" It's not like I'm exactly boring in my tweets - exhibit A:

OH: "Have you ever heard of Engagement Ohio? It's in between Dayton and Marion" smh #imsorrySun Sep 19 05:24:07 via Good Mobile Social NetworkingEvan E. Roberts
erob1

and I'm certainly not boring in real life. I say all kinds of things in everyday conversation that are certainly interesting, if not wholly edgy, and that might even be described as downright ridiculous. So why not "let it all hang out" online?

This is a difficult question.

On the one hand, I like you a lot, and want to get to know you more. You're hilarious. We have things in common. I want to help you with your various projects, and love having your help with mine. We're a good team.

But on the other, I've likely never met you in person. And even if I had, I wouldn't want you to have a bad impression of me from taking something I've tweeted out of context. Since tweets are only 140 characters, entire lines of thought are difficult to express. Usually (for me anyway) what is actually sent to Twitter is the conclusion of a train of thought, a snippet of a conversation, or a question from where my thought process trailed off or became stuck. And usually there are other things behind what is being put on Twitter, other driving factors or points I'm trying to make that affect what actually gets said and how it is said. That isn't really including @replies and DMs.

Also, are you really getting to know me better by reading my tweets, even if I put on full display my pension for ridiculousness? Lauren Fernandez does an incredible job of addressing a similar issue when she talks about making a "social impression." There's so much you don't yet know about me, so it might be too much to assume you'll immediately find my sense of humor endearing. Plus, I have decided to use Twitter to connect professionally as well as personally, and with that comes my responsibility to the company I work for and the organizations I represent.

So I guess that's the "why" I don't really tweet edgetastic things. Like one of my good friends says "Whether they respond or not, people always read what you tweet."

Friends Helping Friends - #erob12NYC

2010-09-01T20:43:00.002-04:00

Dear Twitter and Facebook friends,

We're friends. And over the past two years (six for my Facebook friends and actually longer since I know most in real life), we've shared lots of laughs, heartbreak and fairly deep conversations. We've worked together on various projects, using the reach of our voices to create awareness about various causes and projects.

As most of you know, I've developed a very strong interest in fashion and I have been slowly immersing myself in the culture by reading, looking at tons of photos, conversing about it any chance I can get and writing about it.

Well now I want to take it a step further. And I need your help.

A friend of mine from PRSSA is planning the launch of his fashion line on September 11, 2010 during New York Fashion Week. As an up-and-coming designer, he has asked the help of a few PRSSA connections in planning his show, mostly helping organize, etc. I want to help, and to some extent I have been, from my computer in my room.

But the day of the show is fast approaching, and I'd really like to be in NYC working with the team to produce an amazing fashion show. This would be an incredible opportunity for my professional development, as well as exposure to a side of public relations that I haven't been able to experience yet. I would serve as a volunteer PR assistant during the show. Plus I would be able to help my friend as he pursues his dreams as a fashion designer. But I have to get there first.

That's where you come in.

September 11 also happens to be my birthday - my 23rd (gosh I'm getting old).

My request is this: Contribute $1 to my GoFundMe project. All proceeds will go only towards transportation to and from New York. Food, lodging, everything else associated with the trip, I will assume responsibility for. But the tickets would be a fantastic birthday gift. Every dollar helps.

Thank you!

The Answer To The Question...

2010-06-22T08:02:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I've done a personal post on this blog, so I'm going to do a short update on my life.

I know for friends and family it has been a bit confusing trying to keep up with all the movement I'm doing. So here's the skinny. I'm currently completing an internship for college credit (yup, unpaid) at SBC Advertising. This has so far been an amazing experience, in part because I'm getting my hands super dirty in tactical PR work. Carrie (works at SBC) and my mentor Ryan have been extremely helpful and nice, and they really are taking what I want to learn and shaping my internship around that. I've lucked out twice in that respect, internship wise.

But I'm also doing PR and social media for BounceFire. Now a lot of people have been like "what is a BounceFire?" Well that link is to the website, click "the fire is starting" and check it out. But it's been a great experience too, because I'm getting to put everything I''ve learned in school, online and at internships into real, live action. I started with our Twitter page, making it less salesy and more engaging. It has taken a lot, but the more we interact and build trust within our surrounding communities, the easier it is to communicate with that trust online. Next is the Facebook fan page. Basically I want to get it to where our online presence mirrors our real life actions...scary, I know.

While I'm doing all of this, I'm living in Columbus, Ohio. I've been really lucky to meet ome great people through PRSSA, and one of them, Leah Moon, helped me score an apartment that her brother, Jon, is staying in during his studies at OSU. He went home for the summer, so I'm subleasing there. (Yes Mom, I have food.) If you want my address to send me cookies and oatmeal creampies, shoot me an e-mail (evanerobertsATgmail) and I'll happily pass it to ya.

I'm also writing for a blog, called The Nest Great Generation (TNGG). This started a while back, during the school year, initially because I was reading TNGG almost everyday and wondering how this huge group of genius got together to form such an incredible community. Well one day they posted on Twitter that they needed more writers, and I was like "um, YES!" Well that was then, and now it's grown even more to be regular part of my interaction online. My TNGG peeps are hilarious, and smart to boot, and it's really easy be around them, even though I've never met most of them in real life. I'm hoping to do a trip out there (Boston) sometime soon, so keep your fingers crossed.

Welp, that's it in a nutshell. You know where to find me.

Inside the Tweeter's Studio

2010-06-13T18:01:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things to do when I'm up late at night is watch episodes of Inside The Actor's Studio. I'm the kind of person who loves seeing these actors let their guard down and answer real, deep questions. James Lipton does an amazing job of researching the lives of guests on the show (almost creepily amazing) and there is always an interesting answer to some off the wall question he poses. My favorite part of the show though, is the end, right before he turns the actor over to the students for questioning. At this point in the show, James asks the actors 10 questions from a questionnaire created by Bernard Pivot, and their answers are always most fascinating.

I don't know any celebrities though. I wish I did, but I only know my friends IRL and my Tweeps. So instead of asking a celebrity these questions, I asked all of my Twitter friends! Well, we've waited long enough. Here are the answers from everyone who participated.

1: What is your favorite word?

@erob1 platypus less than a minute ago via Seesmic
Scott Templeman tallbonez

Stellar! Rt @erob1 What is your favorite word? less than a minute ago via web
ChaChanna Simpson ChaChanna

@erob1 Its a German word...gemütlichkeit (means coziness)-its my dads favorite word too less than a minute ago via Seesmic
Stephanie Majercik stephmajercik

@erob1 crud less than a minute ago via web
stéphanie fleur_de_lotus

@erob1'Sesquipedalian' is definitely my favorite word! less than a minute ago via UberTwitter

Natalyn Giverson ngiverson

@erob1 hooooray! as for favorite word...i'm a "rambunctious" fan less than a minute ago via Twadget
The_Nose_Knows The_Nose_Knows

2: What is your least favorite word?

RT @erob1: What is your least favorite word? (elite) less than a minute ago via UberTwitter
Kion Sanders kionsanders

@erob1 failure less than a minute ago via Twadget
The_Nose_Knows The_Nose_Knows

@kionsanders @erob1 Haha, I'm thinking "promoter" lately. less than a minute ago via web
nately nateerickson

Society RT @erob1 What is your least favorite word? less than a minute ago via web
ChaChanna Simpson ChaChanna

ohhh I love this game! Mine is moist. It skeeves me out for some reason haha RT @erob1 What is your least favorite word? less than a minute ago via web
Courtney Courtneym24

@erob1 it's a toss-up between casserole and mayonnaise.less than a minute ago via TweetDeck
Elizabeth Ballash eballash

@erob1 Lol, sorry. My least favorite word is probably "effective" or "moist". Figured I should actually answer your question, haha.Thu Feb 25 17:05:10 via UberTwitterNatalyn Giverson ngiverson

Chaffing.. Eww. RT @Courtneym24 ohhh I love this game! Mine is moist. RT @erob1 What is your least favorite word?Thu Feb 25 17:12:07 via webErica Belanger
EricaRae8

3: What turns you on?

@erob1 platypi http://bit.ly/cDq3JxThu Feb 25 16:53:31 via SeesmicScott Templeman
tallbonez

@erob1 You ;-)Thu Feb 25 16:56:20 via HootSuiteCheryl Harrison
CherylHarrison

Um, excuse me? This isn't #chatroulette LMAO RT @erob1: What turns you on?Thu Feb 25 17:01:23 via TweetDeckMikinzie Stuart
Mikinzie

4: What turns you off?

Ppl who are convinced that something they never tried will never work. RT @erob1 What turns you off?Thu Feb 25 17:05:11 via webChaChanna Simpson
ChaChanna

@erob1 In terms of...? Smoking, laziness, lack of direction, negative attitudes.Thu Feb 25 17:07:21 via webChristina D
redheadpixie22

Drunk chicks, fat chicks, drunk fat chicks, beastiality, modern art, fishing, stepping in big puddles, liars RT @erob1: What turns you off?Thu Feb 25 17:15:47 via UberTwitterChucklefck Podcast
chucklefck

5: What sound or noise do you love?

@erob1 E flat major!! :)Thu Feb 25 17:08:32 via webAudrey Burkholder
violin_plr

@ramonrivasii loves his ipod and skull candies at all times even while driving RT @erob1: What sound/noise do you love?Thu Feb 25 17:10:26 via UberTwitterChucklefck Podcast
chucklefck

@erob1 Bubble wrap POP POPThu Feb 25 17:15:43 via EchofonTJ Dietderich
tjdietderich

@erob1 Favorite sounds? Hmm... falling asleep to the sound of the ocean or rain.Thu Feb 25 17:21:00 via webHeather Macdonald
HMacdonald

6: What sound or noise do you hate?

@erob1 Used to HATE aerial bombs. I watched fireworks shows w/ my hands over my ears until I was 19Thu Feb 25 17:17:07 via SeesmicStephanie Majercik
stephmajercik

Whistling! Rt @erob1 What sound/noise do you hate?Thu Feb 25 17:17:14 via webChaChanna Simpson
ChaChanna

Alarm clock, when you're not sleeping. RT @erob1: What sound/noise do you hate?Thu Feb 25 17:18:29 via UberTwitterMichael P
MMcK3nna

RT @ChaChanna: Whistling! Rt @erob1 What sound/noise do you hate? : cotton being rubbed together. ugh.Thu Feb 25 17:18:48 via TweetDeckDouglas Paul
douglaspaul

@erob1 that's the problem with being a musician w good ears. we hear stuff most ppl don't. like the sound of an out of tune tv signal. ugh!!Thu Feb 25 17:21:19 via TweetDeckDouglas Paul
douglaspaul

@erob1 I hate the sound of someone else eating when I'm really hungry lolThu Feb 25 17:21:37 via UberTwitterCourtenay Roberts
cboogie_1

@erob1 HATE the sound of a nail file. I've been to a nail salon twice in my life out of obligation (aka gift). I was screaming on the insideThu Feb 25 17:26:00 via webHeather Macdonald
HMacdonald

@erob1 screaming kids....needless to say I'm screwed in two months.Thu Feb 25 17:26:19 via TweetDeckjaykeith
jaykeith

7: What is your favorite curse word? (Tweeps were given the option to DM me on this one, and I said I wouldn't post if they did.)

u aint nothin but a bitch yo mamas a bitch yo daddys a bitch they begot yo bitch ass bitches begett'n bitches @erob1 fav curse word?Thu Feb 25 17:36:00 via UberTwitterChucklefck Podcast
chucklefck

8: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Singing RT @erob1 What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?Thu Feb 25 17:34:53 via webChaChanna Simpson
ChaChanna

RT @erob1 What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? : dog walker. i'd get to hand w/dogs all day? awesome!!Thu Feb 25 17:36:23 via TweetDeckDouglas Paul
douglaspaul

Air balloon operator but it's somethin u have 2 apprentice at or r born into @erob1: What profession other than urs would u like 2 attempt?Thu Feb 25 17:38:58 via UberTwitterChucklefck Podcast
chucklefck

@erob1 Interior design. You?Thu Feb 25 17:39:59 via UberTwitterKira E. Young
key4387

@erob1 a chef or a TV host. Combine the two and I could be a host on the Food NetworkThu Feb 25 18:28:31 via UberTwitterCourtney Davis
cdavis620

9: What profession would you not like to participate in?

Nannying we don't even want to take care of our own children RT @erob1: What profession would you not like to participate in?Thu Feb 25 19:01:15 via UberTwitterChucklefck Podcast
chucklefck

10: Last question: What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

@erob1 "Well done my good and faithful servant"...that's what I'm hoping for at least.Thu Feb 25 17:45:36 via webJameka S. Whitten
JamekaShamae

Yes, it's true. U can hv all the cake u want, not gain a lb. RT @erob1 What would u like 2 hear God say when u arrive at the pearly gates?Thu Feb 25 17:46:57 via webChaChanna Simpson
ChaChanna

@erob1 "we tee off in 15 minutes"Thu Feb 25 17:49:39 via TweetDeckjaykeith
jaykeith

G:'Howd u sneak in? March ur happy ass dwn those stairs' RT @erob1 What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?Thu Feb 25 17:51:39 via webCourtney
Courtneym24

@erob1 hahaha touche. Nah I'd rather have a warm welcome with a big ol glass of wine and a hot angel to escort me around :)Thu Feb 25 17:59:15 via webCourtney
Courtneym24

@erob1 Well done good and faithful servant!Thu Feb 25 17:52:41 via UberTwitterCourtenay Roberts
cboogie_1

@erob1 All the shopping is free of charge.Thu Feb 25 17:54:10 via UberTwitterKira E. Young
key4387

@erob1 You had to know I would answer this one! I would like to hear, "Well my friend, you helped more people than you harmed! Come on in!"Thu Feb 25 18:04:51 via TweetDeckBryanMulvany
BryanMulvany

@erob1 "And you managed to have a little bit of fun along the way! I like that about you!"Thu Feb 25 18:05:15 via TweetDeckBryanMulvany
BryanMulvany

Welcome home. :) RT @erob1: Last question: What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?Thu Feb 25 18:25:13 via UberTwitterJason Mollica
JasMollica

'I'm gonna need to see some references' RT @erob1: Last question: What would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?Thu Feb 25 19:03:58 via UberTwitterChucklefck Podcast
chucklefck

Thank so much to everyone who answered the questionnaire, even though I originally gave no context for why I was asking. I think one of the wonderful and terrible things about Twitter is that you have access to so many people's brains, but you don't really get to know them unless you take the time to delve deeper.

Oh, and if you're wondering if I answered this myself, I did. In one tweet:

1) Mochila. 2) Blog. 3) Passionate people 4) Gossiping 5) Crunchy Leaves 6) Condescension 7) Hate 8) Chef 9) Orca trainer 10) Well Done.Thu Feb 25 17:50:33 via webEvan E. Roberts
erob1

Mellie on the Creative Peeps blog also answered the questionnaire, you can see her post about it here.

Also, thanks to @smt504 and @prtini for tweeting how to embed a tweet. The link is here. I suggest adding the bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar, it makes everything so much quicker and looks cleaner.

Answer the questions yourself in the comments ;)

Intern to-do list

2010-06-09T07:59:00.002-04:00

First day interning? Congrats! Here's your to-do list:

Find out how to pronounce your mentor/supervisor's last name.
Memorize your company e-mail address (if given one) and passwords
Memorize your extension and office number
Memorize the office address
Meet and make friends with the IT guy
Meet and make friends with the executive assistant/receptionist
Set up your voicemail (if given voicemail)
Organize your desk to your specifications
If allowed, download Google Chrome
Find tape

You probably don't need me to explain all of these, but my reasons might be a bit different from yours for doing these things. Obviously people's names are big deals to them. If you can't pronounce their name, it doesn't seem like you're paying attention, which is one of an interns most important tasks. So points 1, 5 and 6 all speak to relationship building and showing that you are attentive. Also, the IT guy and the receptionist may be the two most important people in the office for the tasks you have to complete. You want to be pals.

Memorizing the address, your e-mail address, phone extension and office number are all really important ways to idiot-proof you first few days. How do I know? Because I didn't do this and it cost me. I had to admit on a call that "yes, I'm an intern,"which I think is a phrase that marks failure. You don't want to seem any different from the employees. You want to blend in, seem like a natural extension of their team.

Download Google Chrome because right now it's the fastest Web browser. If they don't allow you to download your own browser, that's OK, but if they do, you should do it. You're going to need to multi-task and to be the fastest person in the office when doing research. Chrome is your enabler. Plus you can customize the theme to make it easy on the eyes and fun to look at all day. I use Florencio Zavala. The same thing kind of goes for your desk. You want to be able to find things quickly and also to be able to look at your desk all day since it's likely you'll be there all day, so keep an organized space. I'm the King of messy desks, so that's always the first thing I do when I get in.

And last but certainly not least, find tape. You'll always need it, and you'll never be able to find it when you do. Trust me. :)

Anything I forget? Add it in the comments!

What? Why?

2010-05-27T01:13:00.005-04:00

Why does social media take so much time? What are viable expectations for social media "success?" Why is it so hard to keep up? What should I be reading to get better at engaging? Who should I be "engaging?

If content isn't "content," what is it? How do I write it well? What's in a name? Where do I get more original ideas? How "plugged-in" is too "plugged-in?" Why do all these sites keep changing? What can I learn from that?

How do I create a "persona?" How in-depth should I go with it? Why would my company want a community? Aren't we in one already?

What should I be researching? Why do I have to use tools I don't like?

Why am I complaining?

What is the best way to get new followers? How do I politely dump old ones? What if I know them IRL? Why do so many people tweet about Twitter? Why are we so self-aware? What does this internal focus mean for (interactions with) future generations? What will this look like in five years? Ten?

Why are all those people following Rev Run?

What is ROE? No really, show it to me. Why can't I hold it? Or can I? Why do some people intimidate me (probably not on purpose) on Twitter? Why do I care? How did they get so smart? What are they reading?

What are people who aren't using Twitter or Facebook doing? What are they afraid of? Wait, are they even afraid of anything? Am I missing something? Missing out on something?

Why doesn't Blogger show a word count?

These questions aren't all mine, but some of them are. I've heard that asking questions shows intelligence because it means (at the least) you're thinking. And being social really requires some thought, especially if you're like me and are naturally introverted and a high self-monitor. But the more questions we ask about this growing tool for communication, the more we learn. That knowledge will translate into more appropriate usage for businesses and persons. Most of all, it will help us grow. Ask more questions.

PR Terminology - Say What?

2010-04-28T13:16:00.002-04:00

Update: As I've moved from the fairly homogenous world of PR academia to the business world, I've learned some new terms that I feel could be important to a PR student's education. Some of these are interchangeable with terms we already use, and being able to connect the dots will really help as our industry moves towards closer integration (we use "convergence") with other industries. I continue to update this list as I hear/learn more. Newer terms are highlighted.

Hey, fellow students!

Have you ever talked to a PR pro and were enjoying the conversation, but got tripped up on shortened industry terms that they use frequently but you had never heard?

Well it has happened to me — often enough for me to write this post.

Now you may be thinking, "Who doesn't know what CEO means?" Well some of these I included to give an idea of the hierarchy of agency life, and some I legit didn't know. So here ya go!

AOR- Agency of record

AC- Account coordinator

AAE- Assistant account executive

AE- Account executive
BRM- Brand Reputation Management

CCO- Chief Communications Officer

CD- Creative Director

CEO- Chief Executive Officer

CFO- Chief Financial Officer

CLO- Chief Legal Officer
CMO- Chief Marketing Officer

COO- Chief Operating Officer

Copy Editor- edits written pieces for grammar, spelling, syntax etc.

CPM- Cost per thousand (M=Roman Numeral)

DTC- Direct-to-consumer

Editor- Organizes articles, creates editorial calendar

EOD- End of day

Firedrill- "Drop everything" client request or project
Integration- How different strategies align
KPI- Key Performance Indicator

OOO- Out of office

ORM- Online reputation management

OTH- Opportunity to hear

PO- Purchase order
POV- point of view

RFP- Request for proposal

ROE- Return on engagement

ROI- Return on investment

SAE- Senior Account executive

SEO- Search engine optimization

SEM- Search engine marketing

SERM- Search engine reputation management

SMO- Social media optimization

SM/SoMe/SocMed- Social media

SOV- Share of voice

VNR- Video news release

VP- Vice-President

Thanks to everyone who helped with this and answered my questions!

If you have any more PR terms that you have picked up over your internship of early agency experience, write them in the comments and I'll update the post!

UPDATE: BOLD entries were added by @nicklucido post-post.

April Update

2010-04-06T09:59:00.005-04:00

I have GOT to update my LinkedIn.

--There, I made it real. --

In other news, I'm starting my capstone case study this week. It's sure to be a huge time commitment but there's no way around it, I have to graduate sometime. I've decided to do it on PRSA's Business Case for Public Relations, just because I'm way interested in how the organization representing the public relations industry would run a campaign with their members as (one of) their target audience(s).

So this is sure to be a tumultuous time in my life. But I'm in it to win it, I'll get it done.

Cheers

UPDATE: I have updated my LinkedIn page. Click above and check it out, and if we're not connected, feel free to add me. Also, I didn't end up doing my case study on the Business Case, as I was informed that they haven't finished/begun measuring the effects of it yet. I will be keeping my eye on it though, and you should too, here: http://www.prsa.org/

My capstone was on the media relations done for the Rosa Parks Transit Center by Berg Muirhead in Detroit. I received an A. Special thanks to Jacqueline Robinson for answering my questions.

With Great Product Comes Great Response Ability

2010-02-27T12:33:00.002-05:00

Corny title aside, it's true. People love to talk about brands that they love using. They will do it all day, with or without coercion or even having to be asked about the product. Marketers constantly battle about which of the immortal 4 P's is most important, but it always comes back to product. You have to sell something, and people have to buy it. In his recent video, Loren Feldman stresses this same point, although he does it with more "Grrrr" than I'm able to muster at this moment. He's a bit eccentric and social media will NOT kill a brand but basically his point rings true, that people will always respond to a great product.

Example: I'm a broke college student living in a small Ohio town of about 6,000 residents, when school is in session. That number drops to about 2,300 when school's out. It's the first day of break, I'm still here, I've got $10 to my name and I'm hungry. Now there's a Taco Bell right across the street from the school. Should be a two minute walk, no fuss, I'm fed, I keep $7 and I go about my day. Now what actually happens is, I'm 30 seconds from walking into the door of Taco Bell, when I remember Viva Maria's. This place has the BEST food in Ada, hands down. People who think Padrone's has better pizza or anything else, don't own palettes. Tremendous food. But it's a ten minute walk through slush and sidewalks that haven't been shoveled, plus it's more expensive. I flip a coin, heads = Viva, tails = T-bell. It lands on tails. I'm disappointed, and I know by my disappointment that I won't be going to Taco Bell, no matter what the stupid coin said. I make the trek to Viva Maria's and enjoy a brilliant Domenic's New Yorker sub. Each bite with the fresh tomato, Italian herbs and cappricola is like a burst of the heart of Italy right in my mouth (twss). This food is straight out of Little Italy in NY, Cleveland, or the real Italy in Europe. The people at Viva's may speak english, but their food certainly does not. Now my meal cost $7.97, and I left a dollar on the table for a tip (who says black people don't tip?! lol). That left me walking home another ten minutes, again through sludge and snow, with only $1.03 in my wallet. But man was I happy! My mouth was spazzing out over the sensory experience of my meal. My brain was writing this post. That's not because I talked with a Viva's rep over Twitter, but it is because I had an excellent customer experience and enjoyed a great product.

Social media simply gives customers and customer servers an outlet to boost their communicative abilities. People are going to talk about your company anyway, social media just lets you more clearly hear what they're saying, and hopefully you take what you hear and make your product better.

Man that was a good sub!

Why Cleveland Doesn't Suck: Photos

2010-02-19T11:42:00.007-05:00

Dear Forbes, Cleveland is a great place to live. If you lived there, you would know. We're not "miserable." You're miserable, with your little lists, cliches and photos of snowy bridges from 1982. You're like a clique of high school girls, deciding who's "cool" and who's not. Well I'll have you know that we in Cleveland have only one clique. The Cleveland one. No haters allowed.

Allow me to show you what the REAL Cleveland is like, because obviously no one has ever taken the time to do that for you.

More can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1105313@N24/

The Week Before Finals.

2010-02-15T14:31:00.002-05:00

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

That is all.

State Of The Union

2010-01-28T09:42:00.005-05:00

Of course if I stream the State of The Union address on my blog, I'm going to do a post on it. Watching the SOTU address has always made me feel like a grown-up and a good citizen, especially when I've been paying attention to the new before hand and know what's going on enough to have some thoughts about it. I noticed that Mr. President dropped a number of bombs last night, aimed at bipartisan participation in the Senate, primarily the cooperation of Republican senators. He says, "...what the American people hope -- what they deserve -- is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences, to overcome the numbing weight of our politics...," touching on the efforts of bipartisanism that he strongly spoke on during both his campaign and his early days in the Oval Office. He also acknowledged those attempting to work together, like Judd Gregg and Kent Conrad. Some of that effort towards cooperation has paid off, but there is still a lot of work to be done it seems. And Obama was not shy about calling unacceptable behavior out the Senate. He also proposed a number of reforms and presented a few ideas that I would guess he's been pushing in Washington for a while but either no one outside of Congress had heard them or he didn't think they were getting appropriate traction without being mentioned to the national audience. Some of these ideas include:

$10,000 tax credit for 4 years of college + Pell increases
Strengthening trade relations in China, South Korea and other parts of Asia and also Doha, Qatar
Increasing exports of American agricultural goods
A budget freeze in 2011 for "discretionary" government programs
Tax increases for wealthy and cuts for middle class
Requiring lobbyists to disclose contact with administrators AND congressmen
And repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

President Obama was not without his faults last night, often catering to the room which by design was probably mostly Democratic (you could see only half the room standing at certain time, while the other half never seemed to have their chance to stand) by calling out pettiness and hinderances to progress. He addressed Sotomayor's proceedings, "The confirmation of well-qualified public servants shouldn't be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual senators, "and recent Congressional election campaigns, "Let's reject the false choice between protecting our people and upholding our values." He also addressed the securing of nuclear weapons, mass-media corruption and economic and innovation competition with countries like China, Germany and India.

There were certainly some things I disagreed with last night (1 trillion spent in 1 year and recovered in 20???) but overall I pretty much get that what we've elected Barack Obama to do, he's attempting to do. And I can respect that. Plus the ending of his speech was like something straight out of a movie, "We don't quit. I don't quit," and I like movies. :)

Watch The State Of The Union Address Live!

2010-01-27T17:34:00.001-05:00

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

Watch the State of The Union Address Live here at 9:00 EST.

New Years Elementality

2009-12-30T02:41:00.005-05:00

I don't make New Years resolutions. I have always found it frivolous, not to mention a bit hypocritical, to do commit to something you should have been doing anyway simply because there's a new year in town. But this year I feel like it's a bit necessary, especially given all the change that has occurred and all of the change I hope for in the future. So here goes:

I resolve to be as helpful as my Twitter community. @grshane and @studlysergio helped me get Google Wave, @lzone showed me where to sign up to beta test Foursquare and countless other good things have happened because the people I follow and who follow me are just all around great about helping others out.
I resolve to take a chance on someone else like @buildingbrands took a chance on me. It is a very big risk giving someone their first internship and I am eternally grateful for the guidance, work and experiences I received while there over the summer.
I resolve to write more, even if it kills me and I think I don't have time.
I resolve to ask more questions. I rely on Google far too much and asking questions allows others to share their knowledge with me.
I resolve to take either an online or real class in finance and budgeting, because I suck at it.

Welp, that's where I'm starting for the new year. 2010 FTW!

Communicating PR

2009-12-24T04:29:00.004-05:00

Why is it that the industry burdened with communicating messages to the public on behalf of companies/organizations, struggles so much with communicating its own importance? That sentence, is exactly why we (PR) have such a time communicating our indispensability. It's too wordy. We talk too much. We use euphemisms, analogies, metaphors etc. to tell others what we (well some of us) spend hours on end actually doing. What is wrong with shooting straight from the hip? Instead of practicing 30-second commercials to use when networking, I think PR students should practice explaining what PR is in 15 (half the time) seconds or less. Now the goal would not be to talk fast. Any auctioneer can do that. The point of this exercise would be to accurately convey what PR is and why it is necessary, with crystal clarity to the average person.

So here I go. Time me.

PR gives the message of an organization to those who care to hear it, and sometimes to those who don't. And if they wish to be successful, PR professionals get those who care heard by the organization and those who don't care, to care.

I'm going to memorize that and when anyone asks me what PR is, that's going to be my answer. What's yours?

[update] I think it's really disheartening, for me as a student anyway, that we can't decide on an acceptable explanation/definition for PR. I mean really, some pros have been practicing for 10, 20, 30 or 40+ years and yet we still have trouble/issues/problems etc. communicating our job. We know our job. We go into work eery single day knowing exactly what we have to do. And we do it, mostly, well. So why is it so hard to explain it? Why dumb it down? What's so wrong with a technical definition, like "management function of communication blah blah blah?" I mean, engineers have a technical definition. Doctors sure as heck do. Is not our contribution just as important? Just as valuable to a company's success? I have a recent grad friend who is considering leaving (well, branching off really) the industry simply because of the negative connotations associated with being in "PR." Our inability to communicate (which we're supposed to do best) is hindering our ability to keep talent and grow as an industry. This may seem like harsh criticism but really it's frustrating. And I don't know, maybe my generation of peers will be the ones to solve this dilemma but really, I doubt it. By the time we're in a position to enact any real change, my guess is we'll all be so jaded from our experience with our predecessors that we'll concede the point and just go about our work everyday. Man that's bleak.

Industry Accountability?

2009-12-09T10:42:00.004-05:00

A lot of the public relations world has given their two (sometimes more than two) cents on the Tiger Woods situation. We all know his PR team are inside the belly of the #failwhale but what are we doing to help them? Or a better question is, do we as members of the same industry, have a responsibility to protect their reputations as competent practitioners? Does our success (or image as a necessity for businesses/brands) depend on theirs?

I'm only wondering because I know that with the new found transparency of the 2.0 world, virtually anyone is accessible to a certain degree. Members of this profession are very often connected to each other through only a few degrees, so someone with accurate knowledge of how handle this situation should be within reach of Tiger's counselors. And with all of the articles being written daily about what should be done, is anyone offering this advice to Tiger's counsel? It only makes sense.

If everyone realizes that Tiger's response and strategy is erred so far, then when does that blame fall to the PR professionals handling the situation? And if it does, when are we as their colleagues (or future colleagues in my case) negatively affected by their failure?

As a student, I'm completely interested in learning as much as possible from this situation so all comments and advice are appreciated.

Motivation...or Something Like It

2009-12-03T08:16:00.003-05:00

This was a wonderful Thanksgiving break, with good food and family. What did I do most for my short break? Why I sat on the couch in front of the TV and my Macbook of course! Honestly, between my physics class and all of the PRSSA stuff from last quarter, I wasn't motivated to do much of anything over break. But reading this post on PR Breakfast Club and talking about my life goals with my Dad, got me to thinking about what motivates me. I have never really thought about it before, partially because I was so distracted with busy work. However after some deep (and I mean DEEEP) introspection, I've arrived at the answer, the key, to what motivates me.

Competition.

I love it. It's not even a winning thing; I'm a good sport even though I'm no fan of losing, ever. But I want and often need to compete in some way shape or form.

I love the rush of it all. The drive to push yourself specifically against someone or something else and having a direct read of your abilities makes competition so exhilirating for me. I've even been known to compete when other people don't know its a competition.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a team player and have no problem staying out of the spotlight. Self-satisfaction is a much more important reward for me than external recognition [although any ONU PRSSA Exec will tell you that I like being right;)]. Friendly competition just makes things more interesting, even mundane things. When asked if I thought my internship could improve in anyway, the only thing I could come up with was that it would have been fun to have a little intern v. intern competition. Even a Scrabble (LOVE!) tourney would have sufficed.

Now like Keith said in the PRBC post, this is not the only thing that motivates me. But unlike Keith, not too many more things come to mind after about three others. Lucky for me, they happen to be fairly large things lol.

I think competition is a good motivator when harnessed appropriately and kept in perspective.

And yes, if asked, I will race you.

Why Reading Is Still Important

2009-11-30T22:08:00.000-05:00

I recently heard a fellow student say that he only reads what is assigned to him and "facebook statuses". I recently threw up in my mouth a little bit. This may be an inaccurate observation but our generation seems to have developed an aversion to recreational reading or even news reading for that matter, and I fear that it is also damaging our ability to write well. As public relations students, we need to be able to write well. Why? Because we are communicators and our success or failure depends on our ability to effectively communicate a message (our future employers') to the public, and also to accurately convey public sentiment to our organization. We have to know how to write and reading makes you a better writer. When you read, you pick up the rules of the language such as proper spelling, grammar, syntax and you also can increase your own vocabulary. Also reading gives you a deeper knowledge of the subject that you are reading about. Even fictional writing will provide you with an better understanding of symbolism, universal truths and storytelling. When asked how public relations can remedy the lack of males studying the profession, Dr. Frank W. Wylie, Ph.D, APR, Fellow PRSA said, "Get male students to learn to read and write."

So you may ask, "Evan, I want to be successful, how do I start reading?" Well it's simple: pick up a book and start at page 1!

Here are some books to get you started:

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

MicroTrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes by Mark Penn and E. Kinney Zelesne

Epluribus Unum: The Making of Burson-Marstellar by Harold Burson

The Associate by John Grisham

Also, if you want to read more online, here are a few sites that provide great content:

So am I totally off base here? Or what are some books/sites that your enjoy reading?

[Spell Check: 4 errors. Prize is an invite to Google Wave!]

Pitch This-SixthSense Device

2009-11-24T01:26:00.004-05:00

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pitch the SixthSense Device to this publication: Environmental Leader.

Environmental Leader is an online green trade publication that focuses on environmental initiatives across the world. Readers of this publication control budgets of over $1 million and collectively work for companies with over $1 billion in annual revenues. Pitches should be formatted for e-mail, and additional components such as 140-character pitches etc. will be considered, depending upon relevance and execution. Again, pitches should be well researched, and tailored to this specific publication. Pitches will be judged on three criterias: how well-written, well-researched and attention grabbing.

To submit your pitch, send it to my e-mail by Wednesday November 25, 2009 at 9:00 p.m. EST. My e-mail address is evaneroberts[at]gmail[dot]com. Good luck!

Starting the Job Search

2009-11-23T05:50:00.003-05:00

This week I am "officially" starting the search for a job for after I graduate. I know this may seem early to you all but thinking about it, I'm actually really late. See, unemployment for '09 grads rose to 4.7 percent so I not only have other '10 grads to contend with, I have to be hired over grads from last year who still haven't landed positions. So starting my search as early as possible was necessary. I have sat in on a million and a half (really more like 15 or so) sessions on the job search but it has never been real to me before right now. So what am I doing to get my search started? I'll show you.

Step 1. Update Resume

The last time I updated my resume was August 2009, when I was applying for an internship for this fall. I try to tailor each resume I send to the organization that I am sending it to. This can be tedious, particularly if you have several copies of your resume floating around your computer. I keep it simple by having a master document with my resume in one un-changing layout. Everything I have done since being in college is on it, including descriptions of positions held, summer jobs my first objective statement (which I leave off my resume now) and my skills. This way, I can just copy and paste relevant elements of my overall resume onto a blank document when I've determined what the company wishes to see. This makes it much easier to keep my resume to one page and if I need to add more to it, I have extra info in my master document.

Step 2. Determine Targets

This may be difficult depending on where you want to work. The only thing that should disqualify a company/ agency is if you simply do not wish to work somethere. To start, Crain's does an excellent job of providing lists.

Step 3. Research Targets

Learn everything you can about the companies you're targeting. I plan to build company profiles, similar to what the FBI does on each and every one of us (blog post for another time). But seriously, company name pronounciation, executive leadership, employee twitter handles, recent client acquisitions, last new hires, etc. Anything I can think of to make me more knowledgeable about the place I want to work, I plan to put in these company profiles. This is also how you know what to put in your tailored resume and cover letter.

Step 4. Announce Availability to Network

Send an e-mail to those in your network announcing your availability for employement. I would never suggest a general blast though, instead send targeted notes to groups of contacts, be it by how you know them, industry (tech, non-profit, etc.), where you met or common interests. Be sure that everyone who knows you knows that you're looking for a job. You never know where that crucial connection to your dream job will emerge.

Step 5. Post Resume on Generic Job Sites

Most companies post open positions on their own sites but do not count out sites like Monster.com, Indeed.com and even Jobs.com. These sites provide you with a wider reach than you might other wise have, and they also offer online resume hosting and provide similar jobs to ones in which you might be interested. And most jobs don't have "public relations" in the title. Search "communications" or "marketing" or combinations of the three.

With each new look, start at step 3 and repeat. Like Ryan Hines noted from National Conference, "It's a job getting a job." I'm doing everything I can think of to give myself a fighting chance. What are you doing?

[Spell Check: There are four (4) planted errors in this post. First commentor with a correction gets to guest post here!]

Pitch This and Spell Check-New Contests

2009-11-20T02:12:00.006-05:00

Hello all!

I have decided that I liked running the spell check contest so much, I'm going to make it a regular thing. Every Monday, I will post about something and place in the post three (3) spelling, grammatical or non-AP Style errors. The first three commentors to correct the errors will receive some sort of prize worthy of their acheivement. Anyone who catchs errors that are not placebo/ on purpose, will receive a different prize– maybe better, maybe worse than the first one, depending on how I feel about it that day.

Also, I am going to try to run another contest throughout the week as well. Every Tuesday I will post a person, product or idea to be pitched to a specified publication. Basic info on the pub will be given, but tailoring the pitch will involve as much or as little research as participants care to apply. Pitches will be sent to my e-mail, and the winning pitch will be posted on the blog every Thursday!

Anyone can comment on the first contest but only current students will have their pitches considered to win. But if any pros want to write one just to "show us how it's done," be my guest!

I am really excited about these two contests because they will not only give us the chance to practice our editing skills and pitching skills, but they also give all of us PR students an outlet to gain experience in a non-threatening environment. And I will not post pitches that do not win, no matter how bad or good they are. This is not the Bad Pitch Blog, this is a student/learning-centered contest.

I really think this can be a fun way to grow and demonstrate our abilities. I'm also looking forward to the competition that follows!

Why The Contest? 10 Reasons

2009-11-17T02:40:00.006-05:00

In my last post I did a contest to find spelling and grammatical errors in my writing. There were four primary mistakes that I made in that post in order to give the contest some life. Almost all of those errors were intentionally left in the post but even I miss a caps every once-in-a-while (Thanks Christa!). But why would I, as a student hoping to impress professionals and other students with my writing, encourage readers to find mistakes in my post? Here is some of the strategy behind my "contest."

1. Transparency

In it's simplest form, transparency is encouraging others to trust you by exposing your own faults and making the case that you're "only human." Cop out? Maybe but I needed a no. 1 haha

2. To make myself a better writer

Pretty self-explanatory here but the only way to become a better writer is to write. That includes making mistakes and having other people read and correct those mistakes.

3. To see if I missed anything/ become a better copy editor

Every time I publish a new post, I look at it how readers will see it, in order to see if I missed something in the editing viewer. That is how I caught the first four errors in the first place, I just didn't correct them because of the contest idea. The fifth one, as discovered by Christa Keizer (see comments), slipped through my fingers.

4. To facilitate more engagement with my blog

I mean really, who wants a blog where they spout advice and what they're learning into thin air? Not me! Engaging will not only keep you coming back; it will keep ME coming back!

5. To increase Elementality's web ranking

I had over 200 clicks on that post the first day (tracked using bit.ly). That has to do something for my search ranking right?

6. To test Bit.ly

I had heard that tracking is a ton easier with bit.ly and I needed a post that could potentially generate a lot of traffic to test that. Posts I've seen that get traffic, especially on Twitter, usually have something to do with a contest or prize.

7. Because I'm selfish (and self-conscious)

Look at all of the links in this post? The majority of them take you to either my social media accounts or accounts of organizations I am involved in such as PRSSA and ONU PRSSA. That is because I want you to visit these sites and I also want to connect with you on these sites. Also, if I'm telling people to check out my profiles on all of these sites, I will be pressured to update them more often.

8. To increase awareness of the new retweet feature on Twitter [and ensure that you know that I have it :)]

9. To give me ammo for more posts so I can keep my promise to myself

For example, this post.

10. I truly thought number 7 was the funniest!

You get it? Like "experimenting" with drugs?? Except it's not drugs, but Spin is just as bad for you!

10 Ways to Know You're a PR Student

2009-11-16T23:05:00.008-05:00

So true to my word, I am posting today to start this week off right! I'm have to give a bit of credit first as this post is inspired by a presentation to ONU PRSSA by Aaron Brown of Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations. [Also, this is meant to be funny and in no way reflects on the views of Fahlgren Mortine, Aaron Brown, PRSSA, Twitter, ONU PRSSA, Your Mom, My Mom, Puerto Ricans, nor does it truly depict characteristics of real-life college public relations students...unless it does ;)]

10. You check the AP Stylebook before making comments on Facebook

9. You know "#PRStudChat" has nothing to do with Puerto Rican hotties

8. You always know the news two days before it comes out (or at least that's what your friends think)

7. You think college is the perfect time to experiment (with SPIN!!!)

6. You've attempted to make your own "personal brand" and will probably go through "rebranding" next quarter.

5. You are on the only one in your group of friends who is on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, PROpenMic, Flickr, Google Wave, Blogger and still have a MySpace account in case it makes a comeback.

4. You taught yourself SEO by Twitter searching your name (and was extremely disappointed with the results)

3a. You joined PRSSA to meet girls (Guys)

3b. You joined PRSSA, sadly only to meet more girls (Girls)

2. You get irritated when people spell Web site wrong (because it's the only AP StyleBook rule you memorized and they need to get it RIGHT!)

And the number one way to tell if you're a PR Student:

1. You know there is zero news value in this post whatsoever!

And that's how E "C"s it! lol

(side note: CONTEST!- Anyone who finds a spelling or grammatical error in this post gets FOUR RT's from me next week! Leave corrections in the Comments area.)

Back on Track

2009-11-13T01:17:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I get exactly what I needed to hear, from my Twitter feed (Thanks @heatherdamico and @RyanKnapp!). In this case, it was Melissa Karnaze's article on writer's block that is really encouraging me through this week before finals. And also to update my blog more often. After doing her exercises, I discovered that the fear that was "blocking" my writing for this blog and for my homework was simply the fear of inadequacy. I read several other student blogs who are all excellent writers and may even have journalism or creative writing backgrounds and I stare in awe and amazement as they churn out post after well-written post. I don't have that background. Granted, I've done my fair share of writing and have even done guest posts for well known blogs but I guess I never embraced those accomplishments as validation for my skill. I was totally intimidated and my way of punking out was "writer's block." Well no more.

Starting today, I am going back on the schedule I had when I began this blog. Three posts a week, at least three different topics. Setting goals for yourself is truly the only way to get things done and to measure your success, and my blog was doing fine before I let it go the way of the Dodo. Look for me :)

Happy finals week!!

Headed to PRSSA National Conference!

2009-11-05T07:16:00.002-05:00

I'm headed to the 2009 PRSSA National Conference in San Diego today!

This looks to be an incredible trip and thanks to all the people who bought rolls or did something else to make it possible! I'll be sure to share my thoughts on the conference in blog posts but for now, follow my tweets about the conference, or the ONU Chapter of PRSSA's tweets.

Much love people!

Evan

Learning About Google Wave

2009-10-19T08:57:00.005-04:00

So I have had quite the hiatus from my blog, and I must apologize. I missed you blog.

Recently I have been searching for blog posts pertaining to usage of Google Wave, because I was lucky enough to get an invite from an ONU friend a couple weeks back and have been trying to determine how I'll use it. Today I read this post on uses for Google Wave in education. Now I know I'm not in education but the thing about a good idea is that it is usually applicable to multiple ummm applications.

My favorites from that post are:

4) Plan parent conferences with multiple teachers and multiple schedules

11) Keep information current between work, cell, and home

12) School newspaper/newsletter article development

16) Collaborative book study

17) Group blogging

19) Storing favorite web resources in one central searchable location

Now I realize that most of these are in the context of teaching but the overall sentiment is the improvement of group communication. Imagine a book group where you comment and highlight the parts of the book that speak to you as you're reading it?

Or for those into group blogs (one of my favorites is PR Breakfast Club) imagine the posts that could come from screen casting a "post idea brainstorming session?" I'm still getting adjusted to the feature and adding contacts so if you have Google Wave, add me as a contact and lets see what we can come up with together.

evaneroberts at googlewave dot com

What PRSSA Chapters Can Learn From A/E Firms

2009-09-11T08:57:00.007-04:00

Yesterday I read this post from John Kreiss on what Architecture and Engineering firm can learn from the New England Patriots' trade of Richard Seymour. *sniff* Originally I read his post because I read most anything about my favorite teams, but Kreiss shares some valuable insights in managing a firm that I think is relevant to both PRSSA Chapters and student-run firms alike.

Start Early

I remember being asked at Conference what we do to get people involved at Northern and this is it. Officers meet over the summer so that we have things ready for the first week of school, including client lists for our firm, speakers lined up to engage us and activities to increase participation and get everyone excited about PRSSA. When our officers already have their tasks, they can identify younger members who might not know what's going on but just have a passion to do something, and delegate to them something to do. This way we harness that enthusiasm early and channel it into productivity.

Recruit

This has been a major part of our Chapter's success. I was a Music Education major. Our firm director, Natalyn Giverson, was a biology major. We get most of our rockstars from other majors on campus, inform them about what public relations is (and isn't), and encourage them to join PRSSA.

Communicate

Kriess talks about this in three different ways: establish expectations,

communicate them regularly, and hold people accountable.

I would add provide opportunities for regular feedback, with the difference

from that and the last point being that I see accountability more as

a function for top-down communication. Opportunities for regular feedback

means younger members giving you constructive criticism and

vice versa. That way nothing and no one falls between the cracks.

Focus on Strengths

Everyone can do something really well. Find out a) what it is, b) how they can do it for your Chapter, and c) give them an opportunity. I maybe Web Master/ Historian but there is another girl who is good with Web stuff also, and having her assist me with maintaining the Facebook page, Twitter account, Blog and the new site we're building is not only great for me, but it gives her work experience and keeps her involved.

Expect mistakes along the way

We attend a small liberal arts college and our Chapter is chock full of overachievers. We're all involved in at least two organizations outside of PRSSA, which means that occasionally some one might drop the ball. Keeping everyone on the same page means that you have two or three people who can step in on any given project or assignment and do what needs to be done. You can't plan for everything, but you can plan for most things.

What are some other ways to improve our Chapters?

Dear SM 2.0

2009-09-08T16:22:00.002-04:00

Dear Social Media class version 2.0,

I hope you all have a great time in this class. Learn as much as you can and find out ways to make the tools you learn your own. There is an entire world of technology out there that is growing with each second, and your experiences from here on will be a part of that. Don't get over whelmed with the course work, because the most important thing is that you use these tools and make them work for you. I figured since I took this class already, I could give you a few tips on how to be successful.

Use class time (post lecture) to write draft posts
Read the books. Or find them online. But Read them
Check out the blogs of the authors of the books. Sometimes there is more information or more insights on their blogs. And all of them blog!
Save your posts intermittently; Auto save only does so much
Try to integrate pic into your posts to break up the text.
You can Google Search other interesting blogs here
CNN provides good current events topics for blogging
Sure, you want to show your blog to future employers but don't shy away from your own opinions. Write what you feel. Keep it real.

Hope you all have a great semester and feel free to ask me anything you need!

All Like Sheep Have Gone Astray...

2009-08-14T23:16:00.005-04:00

OK so I would feel the need to post about politics after I wrote about me shifting my interests towards fashion, but this needs to be said. Ready? Here it goes: ANYONE WHO BOYCOTTS WHOLE FOODS IS A BRAINDEAD SHEEP.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this article. http://bit.ly/MMMJ0 I am going to try to shop at Whole Foods more often to offset their dip in sales due to this idiocy. If you read the CEO's editorial, (and you can here) Mackey presents a very logical and reasonable alternative to the healthcare reform being proposed. Whether it is good PR or bad PR for his company isn't the point, because this is beyond the PR for his company. This is about citizens of the United States blindly following rhetoric that pushes a plan DOOMED to fail. Even worse, the comments on this article show that there are people in this country who cannot even conceive any other options to healthcare reform than the one that President Obama proposes. That's sad, that we would put away our minds so easily in favor of being coddled. Our forefathers must be rolling in their graves. Anyone, in either party, who simply follows the leader without judging for themselves whether or not the leader is leading them correctly is a danger to themselves.

Original "democracy" is meant to be closer to anarchy on the spectrum of government, than totalitarianism. When we give up our right to take care of ourselves, to choose our healthcare provider or to choose our own doctor, we are giving up more than a non-existant right. We're giving up a piece of our freedom. I hope Mackey will stick to his guns, and not be persuaded to mea culpa for expresssing his opinion. And I hope the boycotters starve.

Life Decisions

2009-08-13T01:11:00.003-04:00

So I've put all over everything (this blog, twitter, facebook etc.) that I love political communication. And while this is true, I have found something scary happening to me recently. My interests are shifting. I think I might want to do Fashion PR. I'm seriously worrying because I have been watching CNN and CSPAN less and less and reading fashion blogs, books and tweets more and more. I noticed that I have "I love political comm." in my twitter bio, but rarely do I ever tweet about politics. But quite often I tweet about fashion, and technology. I've become obsessed with The Sartorialist and Tweed and Velvet. The only thing holding me back from overhauling my wardrobe is the lack of funds to replace essentials.

I know that I'm still young and that nothing is written in stone but the more I look into fashion PR, the more I feel the tug to pursue it. This is one of those pivotal moments in life where I wish I could see a fast forward of what would happen if I did change my pursuits. I haven't finished school yet, so it's not a career change I'm making. But the change in focus would def affect post-grad decisions, like where to move to and whether or not I go to grad school. I wonder how adults make these kinds of decisions after they're established.

Well whatever I end up doing, I want to start doing it already lol!

Boomers Adopting Facebook can be Good

2009-07-07T11:50:00.004-04:00

Since Mashable released this research today showing that the age of new facebook users is rising, I've seen a number of tweets from Gen Xers stating that they are not looking forward to their parents adopting the new tool. This is sad because the point of any social media tool is interaction with your community and your parents can be a significant part of that community. A lot of the Millennials I know have been interacting with their parents on facebook for months, mine have been on it for over a year! Sure, the real big deal of this research is the demographics for advertising and how that will (read should) change the ad campaigns seen on the site, but the other side to this is that older generations are looking to reconnect.

Facebook provides an easy, painless way to reach out to people you haven't spoken to in years and that kind of bridging ability is exactly what older people could use. So instead of dreading the day your folks get on Facebook, help them set it up. Social networks are valuable because of the open interaction they encourage.

I'm excited older generations are adopting Facebook, much more so than I was about businesses and celebrity pages. That kind of interaction I honestly could do without.

Interns: Don't work from home!

2009-06-25T20:10:00.002-04:00

Seems crazy right? The minute I started my internship, I wanted to bring my work home so I could get more done and show how committed I am. Everyone knows that working from home is the best way to play a quick catch up with things you might not have been able to finish while clocked in. But bringing your work home can be detrimental to your internship for a number of reasons:

1) It's healthier- Coming home is supposed to be the start of something else. Taking time to rejuvinate, and hang out with your family is healthy, and if you leave your work at work, you will be able to sleep better because you won't think about it. At least I don't

2) Balance is key- Any working professional will tell you that they most important/difficult part of being in the work world is maintaining a healthy balance of work life, family life and self. Bringing your work home distrubs that balance. Like my dad always said growing up, "There is a time and a place for everything."

3) It's not billable- This is not meant to sound mercenary but the fact of the matter is that billing work is a part of our (PR) profession. It is expected that we learn how to do it, and it results in us accurately accounting use of our time for clients. Also people should be paid for the work that they do, and you don't get paid for things you do on your own time. (Likewise, don't do on your work time what should be done at home)

Now since I've gone and ruined your fun, I'll share a few ways to increase productivity at work without bringing work home:

1) At the end of the day, make a to-do list for the next day before you leave. That way, there's no dilly-dallying (love that word) while you try to figure out what's on the agenda for the day, you can jump right in!

2) Keep a notepad or word doc open throughout the day to jot down random ideas that are not applicable to what you are working on. That way, you don't lose them, but you can keep on task.

Any other ideas? What do you do to keep productivity up while at your job/internship?

NCORE 2009: Traces of the Trade: A Story from The Deep North

2009-06-01T13:46:00.003-04:00

The viewing of this film was incredibly packed, and rightfully so. Katrina Browne’s story is one that hails from the heart of our country. She is descended from the DeWolf family, the largest slave trading family in America. Through their endeavors, they brought more than 10,000 Africans from the coast of Ghana, to the New World. Millions of Americans can attribute their ancestors’ displacement to this one family.

In the film, Katrina and some of her family members retrace the trade route their elders traveled and dig up old, long buried family secrets. Their trip is far from superficial, no matter how much they seem to want it to be initially. One of the most inspiring things about the film is their willingness to be transparent and deal with the guilt, anger and pain that they confront while travelling. They speak of the privilege that they have from such treacherous business. They also go in depth into the business aspects of the trade.

One of the things I found most interesting is that while watching the film, I was not even mad at their forebearers for what they did. I found myself calculating the money they were making, thinking about conversion rates and how rich they would be today. It is chilling to think that anyone, even a descendent of one of the worst crimes against humanity ever, could think about the money to be made from it. But it helps me realize that, like the guy said in the film, I cannot villify these people. What they did was evil, and they knew it, but who, when presented with the opportunity, wouldn’t do something similar? People do it every day. I guess the potential for depravity is within us all, and we have to find some way to quell that instinct. For me, it’s Jesus.

The other thing that really stood out to me about the DeWolf descendents was not only their compassion and remorse, but their drive to do something about what they had seen. They did not just read old slaver ledgers and visit old plantation ruins. They had conversations with Ghanaian people, who asked them questions like, “Don’t you feel shamed to even be here?” They faced it head on and when they returned to the States, they made further attempts to make things right. They have pushed for reconciliation, written books, and traveled all over the country to help right some of the wrongs done during slavery. You can find out more about what they are doing on their Web site: http://www.tracesofthetrade.org/

What NCORE Did Wrong

2009-06-01T12:55:00.003-04:00

This past week I attended the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education, held is the lovely city of San Diego, California. It was incredible and I gleaned tons of new information from the sessions I attended, as earlier posts on my blog demonstrate. However there are a few things that I feel could be improved for future NCOREs.

Disclaimer: This is not a gripe by any means. I loved the conference!

1. NO Wifi!!

OK, they really did have wifi in the hotel, but it was $6.95 an hour, $13.95 per day and as a student with limited discretionary funds, free wifi is a must. Having free wifi potentially grows the audience for NCORE exponentially, due to the many social networking and social media sites that are accessible online. Free wifi would provide NCORE participants with multiple outlets to share what they are learning in sessions, keynote addresses, and whom they are meeting, with the world. For example, NCORE did have a twitter handle (@NCOREonsite) but there was little to no engagement. 43 followers and not one that they followed, plus they only tweeted like 10 posts for an entire week??? I tweet more than that during a #cavs game (smh). Also, most people were texting and using their cell phones (I was still without) but I didn’t notice much social media engagement via cell, especially not tweeting. I also did not notice a Facebook I also saw people carrying around laptops (including me), but we were rarely able to use them, since no one was willing to pay for Internet access. Were there free wifi, I’m sure people would have been able to create a larger presence online for the conference.

2. Rooms and sessions

I noticed many sessions that were overcrowded and a couple that were sparsely attended. My suggestion to remedy this situation is to preview the sessions with a small, objective audience/committee before the actual conference. Then they could maybe predict which sessions will be the most popular, so that they can fit them in appropriately sized rooms. Obviously films are going to be well attended, and anything on hip-hop, the N-word, and Obama. Make room for these sessions, and save conference-goers a bit of disappointment.

All in all, this was an incredible experience. There were just some things that could have made it even more impactful. The subject matter of race, ethnicity and equity in higher education is one that I think all schools should be working to address, and I am really glad my school is willing to address these issues. I am truly blessed.

NCORE 2009: Grad Testing

2009-06-01T11:55:00.003-04:00

I will be taking the LSAT but in the presentation these tips were expressed as help for all of the graduate tests. The most interesting thing that was said was that the tests are not meaningful. At all. They are however, important. Grad tests show only that you are good at that particular test. That’s about all. The keys to being successful on grad tests are:

Be aggressive, for some reason, it’s rewarded on the test.
Laugh regularly when preparing for the test. (No, I’m serious)
Use books, the internet, and one-on-one tutoring in your preparation
Take a course! Studying on your own is much harder because you have to find the materials, study, and teach yourself. In a course, you only have to study, they find materials and teach you.

Also, they provided a “work-out” plan for prepping for the test, which I found incredibly helpful.

Prep minimum: 2 hours a day of high quality practice

5-6 days/week

7-8 weeks, right up until the official test day

Take 4-5 practice tests, one every two weeks

While this may seem like a very intense schedule of preparation, the presenter pointed out that this schedule is equal to only ½ of a season of a high school sport!

Lastly, practice tests from Kaplan and the Princeton Review are good, but find prior released tests. You can get these by simply purchasing them from the testing company here. I'm planning to start my studying in a few weeks. Happy testing!!

NCORE 2009: Your Graduate School Application

2009-06-01T11:32:00.001-04:00

Another of the earlier sessions that I was able to attend was about preparing to enroll in graduate school, which is one of the options I have been weighing. The presentation was insightful, as I had not done very much to bring my law school ambitions to fruition. I had been studying for the LSAT, but only on a limited basis (bored in the bathroom). The first point they stated was that you need at least 2-3 letters of recommendation.

Also, you will be asked to write a personal statement and a statement of purpose, and I found the difference between these two interesting. A statement of purpose should simply tell, why you want to attend that particular grad school, and your intentions for your degree. A personal statement is more in depth, and it connects your unique life story and experiences to your intended field of study. Like any piece, it should be well written, with accurate grammar and correct spelling. The presenters suggested proofreading and having it looked over by at least 4 people, with three being professionals outside of your major. This is to provide objectivity, because many grad school application committees pull from across the university, for the same reason; objectivity.

Also they suggested adding a CV (Curriculum Vitae) to your application, in addition to your resume. Many people (including me) tend to see the resume and CV as the same thing, but really the CV provides the room to describe your experiences in more detail than a resume allows. It should also show the results of your experiences, i.e. what you learned while working for Wal-Mart. You can actually start this now, by making you own virtual CV. Here's mine!

I really think it is great how NCORE provides these sessions for students, as I know even with all of my involvement in pre-professional organizations that there are still things that I might not know about post grad life.

NCORE 2009: Job Search tips

2009-05-28T20:55:00.002-04:00

I am currently in San Diego, CA at the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) with a group of students from ONU. While here, I will be posting some of the things that I learn that stand out to me, particularly in relation to public relations, professional development and things that I can use to help groups I am in understand and improve their diversity.

Today I attended a preconference Institute session that dealt with finding a job in a tight job market. Brian Guerrero of the University of California, San Diego and Marc Johnston from the University of Arizona led the session. They provided many great insights into the job search and one thing I found particularly interesting was their suggestions for networking and also for negotiating salaries.

Networking:

· Use it to maintain connections and gather information

· Social networks count!

· At networking events, place your name tag on the right side of your body

· Organize your business cards and contacts in Excel

Negotiating Salary:

· Be prepared to be direct and assertive

· Express genuine interest

· Determine if negotiation is necessary

· Ask yourself “How did I calculate my necessary salary?”

· Have reasons for changing the offer

· Get offer in writing

· Negotiate other things if salary is not flexible (benefits, stock options, professional development, one-time extras)

Although there were many more tips presented, I felt these are the ones that are the most universal and applicable for me. I will be adding more from other sessions as time allows.

Personal Development

2009-05-05T16:57:00.008-04:00

I'm going to have to learn to speak up when something bothers me, and not be timid about it. Also I am going to have to invest in some earphones.

Update: I originally wrote this post about a situation that was frustrating me. I didn't confront the issue because I do not really like conflict (at all) and in retrospect it wasn't that big a deal. Thing is, I got mad when I was by myself, instead of at the moment. I only see this as a problem because I sometimes feel like people might see me as a pushover. The internship I'm doing this summer does a personality test, so in order to figure out what was really bothering me (and cause I'm nosey), I paid for it and took it looked at the free example online. Here's the evaluation I think fit me the closest, really close actually.

The fact that I have this (as a communications major) is incredible, sense I'm a "high self-monitor" and love looking for ways to improve interpersonally. It's also good because when I found this on the site, I realized that I am going to be in the right place this summer. I mean, these tests are freakin expensive and any company that is willing to pay the money for this kinda thing, use it on interns and put it into action in the work place, can only be interested in helping me grow as a person and a student. Not to mention they are pretty darn accurate. I couldn't have picked (or been picked by) a better spot for my first internship. I'm even more excited about this summer now :) (I put a smiley face cause a girl in campaigns class told me exclamation points (!) are unprofessional lol)

K sweet, night

Why we REALLY aren't buying into social media...like you want us to

2009-05-05T01:35:00.004-04:00

Everyone knows that this generation of young adults will be a force to be reckoned with in the business world. Even we know it. We are the generation of teen tech bloggers, nerds turned CEOs and whole television shows based on Webcasts. But according to recent findings, most of the demo latching on to SM is not in our age bracket, but instead, the much older Baby Boomer generation (zinger). One post posed that this anti-rush is due to a "coolness" factor that we all can't help shaping our interests around (like we're still in high school). But I have a couple of different reasons why I think my generation has not abandoned other media for all things social.

1.We're anxious/nervous about it: Look at the world we are growing up in. Freakin' Craigslist killers, swine flu, the economy, school shootings and let's not forget, Britney is still making "music." It's a mess out there and having a bunch of know-it-all adults tell us we need to be engaging in these "tools" or we're failures at life isn't exactly a stress-reliever.

2. We're rebellious: I mean think about it. If you were a teen/college kid and adults told you to do something (even if it's a helpful tip to get you a job later on...), you're going to want to do it? Thought not.

3. It's no longer an escape: Facebook was "cool" because of it's exclusivity. So many college students were using it everyday because it had nothing to do with the real world, it was an online extension of the fantasy life we were living everyday. Why would you want to mix that up with advertisers, parents, celebs and your boss back home?

4. We've got other stuff to do: This one should speak for itself. We play sports, are in a ton of extracurriculars, hang out with friends, text, even watch tv. And usually these are solitary engagements, although some overlap, like texting and doing anything else.

5. It's not going anywhere: You are. Baby Boomers are on their way out. Let's be real. Sure those born on the end are only hitting their mid-40s but that leaves only 30 years to use this stuff. We've got 50+...what's the rush?

All and all, if you believe the stats, you would think Gen Yers want nothing to do with SM and that's not true. If you really think about it, why should a large majority of the young adult population jump on social media when most of us will only use it recreationally? No, we're probably not going to be the early adopters on this one but best believe we will be with trends to come. Now I know I'm all over SM but I personally have always been one to try new things. Plus I'm only partially rebellious, don't have a cell phone, own a MacBook, and am so relaxed I once had a nurse tell me to do some jumping jacks after taking my pulse for a physical. But most Gen Yers are more like what I describe above, than they are like myself.

So cheer up, no we're not the first in SM. But at least we will each have our own robots...

Evaluating the "Spin Doctor"

2009-04-28T13:24:00.003-04:00

I remember when I first became a PR major, and my Dad said to someone (I think one of my aunts???) "Yea, he's gonna be a spin doctor!" I remember thinking "PR has a doctorate?" But since then, I've learned the true meaning of "spin doctor" and it's connotations both within the PR industry and outside of it.

To those not in PR, spin doctor is both a nickname and a label for stereotyping purposes. It helps the public figure out what exactly we do. But it's inaccurate. The mythological spin doctor swoops in at the behest of some big corporation to sweep under the rug any messes (messi?) that may pollute the company's image to the public. Sex scandals, law suits, embezzlement; all of these things get tackled with efficiency by the spin M.D., and like the Jedi, he waves his mystic hand of persuasion and everything is good and no one remembers bad things. This idea more than likely came from the crisis management element of public relations, but really that is not all PR can do. Big case studies like Tylenol, A.I.G. and Phillip Morris are all examples of great crisis communications that some might simply label "spin." But you have to keep in mind, that people who do these jobs are not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes, they are just ensuring that their client's bottom line does not unjustly suffer from mistakes or miscommunication.

Those inside PR cringe when they hear the word "spin." Calling a practitioner a spin doctor is like telling them they have swine flu (too soon?). No one wants to be called that and no one wants to be associated with anyone labeled a "spin doctor." In fact, I still recall quite clearly when Brazen Careerist Penelope Trunk told about 3,000+ PR pros to "Do what you do best; Spin it!" at the PRSA International Conference in Detroit. Luckily, Michael Chrenenson was there to correct her on the organization's stance on "spin" after the gasps, tweets and a few boos.

As PR pros and future pros, we have to be aware of what others think of our industry. We have to be proactive in debunking myths about our practices and be vigilant in communicating to the public what we are and what we do. Sometimes it's better to say something before it becomes an issue, than to try to explain after it already is an issue.

ONU PRSSA 2010!

2009-04-23T22:20:00.004-04:00

Congrats to the New 2009-1010 Officers for Ohio Northern University's Chapter of PRSSA!

President-Amanda McKelvey

Vice President-Alyssa Spall

Firm Director-Natalyn Giverson

Liaison-Tegan Ellis

PR Director-Newsletter Editor-Jamienne Scott and Callie Crum

Secretary-Renee LeGendre

Treasurer-Ellen Keough

Historian & Webmaster-Evan Roberts

I look forward to working with you all and continuing the legacy of ONU PRSSA!

Questions: What Did I Learn?

2009-04-22T21:05:00.004-04:00

So as I posted earlier, I only asked questions today on twitter. I learned quite a few things even though it was extremely difficult for me not to reply with just statements. But before I tell what those are, I want to give a run-down of the rules I used for this little SM experiment.

1) Every post had to have a question in it. Even Retweets. I only failed to do this on the last tweet because I had no room.

2) I had to still engage in twitter like I normally do. Still pose and answer questions, still read tweets as much as I normally do, everything. This was really hard because I have some incredibly interesting followers with great senses of humor, and I wanted to joke back. I achieved this a bit with @jocelleuntalan talking about the Cavs and Lakers (GO CAVS!)

So what did I learn? Well besides that it is incredibly difficult to only ask questions, I learned that people will reveal soooo much more information if you just stop talking and let them continue what they are saying. Even in 140 characters, if you weigh in before you take in the full scope of what is being said, you run the risk of misinterpreting what is being said and losing who you're talking with.

I also learned that questions have a pretty significant power. They invoke action, to do something. Be it answering, acting on something, or just thinking about something differently, questions are what make it happen and to better listen, you have to ask questions and get in depth with what's going on. Besides, who really wants to hear you talk anyway?

Can I ask you a question?

2009-04-22T09:36:00.003-04:00

Today on twitter, all of my posts or "tweets" will be questions. This is because every public relations social media session/conference/thing I have ever been to says that the first step to engaging in SM is "listening." I feel like I never started on twitter, or facebook for that matter, with listening. And everyone knows that to not creep people out and to show them that you're listening (and that you're in the room...) you ask questions. Asking questions does three things:

Hints at your thought process
Allows others to clarify statements
Helps you remember what was said

Anyone who is an effective listener has to ask questions. So today, I am. On twitter.

Cool?

Social Media Strategery

2009-04-20T19:17:00.002-04:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the 2009 PaRtners Conference, an annual day-conference held at a Central Ohio school by one of the many PRSSA Chapters in the area. This year it was at Capital University and Rachelle Tackach, Cheryl Harrison and the rest of the Capital PRSSA team did a great job! I feel like I learned the most at Jamie Timm's session on social media strategy. What follows are several of the points that I found to be the most insightful.

Planning

Find out where your audience is
You don't have to use/be on every social media tool
Know that the results may not be immediate, because any good campaign still takes time
ROI is still important; Just needs to be explained differently

How to present the campaign to Managers

Structure your presentation
Know the problem
Know the (Manager's/Company's) "hot buttons" (Sales, ROI, Awareness etc.)
Know the competitive landscape
Present the Why, How, and Outcomes in your organization's language
Have reasons and research to back it all up
Keep it to 1 page (Do NOT brain dump!)

Determine the Outcomes

Do you want to...?

Create Affinity
Diminish Negativity
Position your org. as a credible source
New Product Development
Obtain 3rd Party endorsements
Build trust/strong relationships
Increase exposure/awareness
Trigger a response/action
Meet a budget/timeline

Overall, I feel like I gained a lot of good information that I can use in future classes/campaigns/projects. It's great the Jamie presented this session, especially because as a Millennial, I will be expected to have knowledge of social media tools and it will be even better if I can use them effectively in a campaign. Score 1 for my future!

Acccomplished!

2009-04-07T00:33:00.002-04:00

!!!!I GOT MY FIRST INTERNSHIP!!!!

If you can't tell, I'm excited lol. I was actually just talking with my friend Kion Sanders about how sometimes you feel behind when other students have had like 5 internships and you haven't had one. Or you (read me) might feel like a slacker or like you aren't good enough. Well those feelings are gone! I am now a proud intern at Liggett Stashower in Cleveland. I begin June 15, 2009 and I cannot wait! Hopefully I gain the experience and guidance I require to be successful as a PR professional in the future.

WHOO HOOO!!!!! *ahem*...

Gracious

2009-03-30T02:27:00.003-04:00

"If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out!" -Zazu (The Lion King)

These words are spoken by the animated bird Zazu in my favorite Disney film, The Lion King, about the future of the animal kingdom under the direction of the new regime. This weekend, I participated in an annual ritual held by the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), in order to elect our own new regime and continue the progression of our organization into the future.

I ran for Vice President of Advocacy, a position dealing with diversity and advocating for the overall ethical practices of PRSSA. I lost. I then made the decision to run from the floor for the Vice President of Public Relations position. I wrote my speech in around 20 minuntes during the break for lunch, as I had taken the beginning of the break to lie down. I feel that normally I am not a good public speaker at all, and in the case of my two speeches, I was so nervous I was shaking, hopefully not visibly.

My hope is that my passion for this organization and our profession shone through, even though I was not elected the second time I ran either. I feel I lost to two highly qualified and respectable candidates who will do the job they were elected to do, and do it well. Janelle, I feel, has the right attitude, experience and knowledge to lead this Society's efforts towards realizing our goals of a more diverse and ethical student organization. Plus, who can beat planning a b-day bash for the King of Thailand?

Jason is also going to be a strong National Committe member. Anyone who will check every single link on the PRSSA Web site, number the amount of links that don't work and is able to figure out the HTML code correction without seeing it, should also be able to figure out the best way to advocate for PRSSA not only to its own members, but also to the world at large. I believe Jason has shown the ability to do that, and without question, the drive it takes to succeed.

All in all, I feel I represented my ideas, my university and most of all myself, with nothing but distinction. In fact, if what I hear is correct, this was not only the smoothest running Assembly, but also we had the most qualified pool of candidates to choose from of the most recent years. I believe it will show with the coming administration. And if this is where PRSSA is headed, count me in.

Congratulations to the 2009-2010 PRSSA National Committee!!

Twitter stole my blog ideas!

2009-03-25T09:25:00.003-04:00

Posting regularyly is hard. Not because I have so much to do, or because I don't have anything to post about, but really it's because I tweet things I would post about, before posting, and then discuss them on twitter with other interested parties. That's it. I talk it out. Without my blog. But I am not one of those so-called SM pundits who think Twitter will completely erase blogging. On the contrary, I probably read more blog post now that I see them on twitter, than I would otherwise. It's just that somethings, most things, can really be fleshed out in 140 characters.

I feel like this is too long...

Class Assignment #1: Why We Fight

2009-03-16T18:50:00.005-04:00

Hey for everyone in Campaigns, finding the videos is a little difficult but since I watched them all already, I figured I would post them up for everyone to find them more easily.

Part 1:

Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
Part 6:

Hopefully this saves everyone a bit of time trying to find the right videos. You might want to make a YouTube account and put them all in a playlist so you can watch them in order. I didn't feel like doing it but hey, you might lol! Good luck!

UPDATE: I fixed the issue with the link for Part 3, thanks to @madisonmb22 for alerting me!

John Raven (1936-)

2009-02-23T08:54:00.002-05:00

An Inconvenience

Mama,

papa,

and us

10 kids

lived in

a single room.

Once, when I

got sick

and like to die

I heard a cry

slice through the gloom

"Hotdog!

We gon have

mo room!"

The Roach

A roach

came struttin

across my bedroom

floor,

like it was beyond

reproach,

or was

some sexy-lookin

whore,

and if I hadn't

snuffed it,

left it

alive,

I know it would've

come right up

and gave me

five!

James Emanuel (1921-)

2009-02-20T09:23:00.002-05:00

The Negro

Never saw him.

Never can.

Hypothetical,

Haunting man:

Eyes a-saucer,

Yessir bossir,

Dice a-clicking,

Razor flicking.

The-ness froze him

In a dance.

A-ness never

Had a chance.

Finals week 10-Winter

2009-02-18T17:29:00.007-05:00

So last quarter in a fit of frustration I put all of my assignments on my blog to show certain people that I had tons of crap to do. This action resulted in me learning 3 thing:

No one cares how much work I have to do and I brought it upon myself so I should quit bein' a baby and complaining.
Posting all of my finals assignments helped me stay focused on getting them finished because anyone reading my blog could see if I was slacking or not.
I really enjoyed the satisfaction of crossing each item off as it was finished.

So I'm going to do it again, more for the last two reasons than that first one LOL!

Advanced PR Writing

Persuasion platform
Pitch letter
News Release
Feature Story
Resume

Bateman Case Study

Executive Summary
Analysis of post tests
Evaluation of campaign
Finalize plan book

Marketing 351

Summary of Capstone presentation
Executive Summary for Burberry
Exam, Tuesday

Practicum

Week 8, 9, and 10 write ups and hours
Print example pieces
Analysis of Quarter
Compile and organize portfolio

Frank Marshall Davis (1905-1987)

2009-02-17T07:37:00.002-05:00

Arthur Ridgewood, M.D.

He debated whether

as a poet

to have dreams and beans

or as a physician

have a long car and caviar.

Dividing his time between both

he died from a nervous breakdown

caused by worry

from rejection slips

and final notices from the Finance company.

Giles Johnson, Ph.D.

Giles Johnson

had four college degrees

knew the whyfore of this

the wherefore of that

could orate in Latin

or cuss in Greek

and, having learned such things

he died of starvation

because he wouldn't teach

and he couldn't porter.

Marketing Mix-Up

2009-02-16T01:11:00.005-05:00

I have come to realize this quarter that Marketing (or at least Marketing in academia) has a skewed view of the value of Public relations. I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit angry in my Marketing class when the prof and the book described PR as, "commnication with noncutsomers, including labor, public, interest groups, stockholders and the government." UGH WRONG!!! I almost stopped class. Not. Kidding.

Public relations as I have studied it is the, "Management function of two-way communication between an organization and its publics." What's the difference??? There are several actually.

Marketing has PR as subordinate to the "Marketing manager" and is as my prof so eloquently stated, "basically the same thing as Publicity, or they're so close you can almost count them as one." In actuality, PR is more appropriately placed directly in communication to the CEO or President, and equal to the "marketing manager." The reason is because PR and Marketing bring different but equally important aspects of the company to the public. Only PR seeks to bring the input of the public, back to the company. Two-way communication. What could be more valuable than accurate external knowledge of your standing in the market? Also publicity is a tool, not an element of the promotion mix in itself.
Marketing also focuses on paid advertising and promotion. But PR can prove more valuable, especially given these current economic times. PR seeks to place as little cost on the company/organization as possible and the fact that the attention it attracts comes from unpaid efforts adds credibility to the info being dispursed. DUH!
Marketing's version of PR is limited to persuasion and while that is an important part of PR, it isn't the whole. PR also focuses a lot of energy into informing the public. This can be the most important part of PR, esecially for a company without a huge marketing budget. Without PR, journos would have nothing to write about or at least they would have to work harder to find stories. PR does the grunt work for journos and marketers, getting the message out ethically and timely.
Public relations focuses on excellent writing, something that cannot be said for Marketing at all...

I really think PR gets a bad rap just because of a few practitioners who used their knowledge irresponsibly instead of ethically. PR is still growing, and I think it's up to students like myself and my classmates to tip the scales of public opinion in PR's favor by practicing responsibly, honestly, ethically and excellently. We've got nowhere to go but up!

UPDATE: I found this post by Bill Sledzik that completely explains my issues with Marketing and it's understanding of PR.

Countee Cullen (1903-1946)

2009-02-13T08:53:00.003-05:00

Simon the Cyrenian Speaks

He never spoke a word to me,

And yet He called me by name;

He never gave a sign to me,

And yet I knew and came.

At first I said, "I will not bear

His cross upon my back;

He only seeks to place it there

Because my skin is black."

But He was dying for a dream,

And He was very meek,

And in His eyes there shone a gleam

Men journey far to seek.

It was Himself my pity bought;

I did for Christ alone

What all of Rome could not have wrought

With bruise of lash or stone.

Langston Hughes (1902-1967)

2009-02-12T10:11:00.003-05:00

Angola Question Mark

Don't know why I,

Black,

Must still stand

With my back

To the last frontier

Of fear

In my own land.

Don't know why I,

Must turn into

A Mau Mau

And lift my hand

Against my fellow man

To live in my own land.

But it is so-

And being so

I know

For you and me

There's

Woe.

Melvin B. Tolson (1900-1966)

2009-02-11T07:08:00.002-05:00

I have to write a bite of commentary on this one because I love this poem! I also didn't realize until yesterday that the author is the same guy who is the teacher in the movie The Great Debaters! One of the best things about this poem are how well it captures the attitude of the "Bad Negro" which is the predecessor to Shaft's "Bad Mutha SHUT YOU MOUF!".

Oh I'll just let you read it!

The Birth of John Henry

The night John Henry is born an ax

of lightening splits the sky,

and a hammer of thunder pounds the earth,

and the eagles and panthers cry!

John Henry-He says to his Ma and Pa:

"Get a gallon of barleycorn.

I want to start right, like a he-man child,

the night that I am born!"

Says: "I want some ham hocks, ribs, and jowls,

a pot of cabbage and greens;

some hoecakes, jam and buttermilk,

a platter of pork and beans!"

John Henry's Ma-she wrings her hands,

and his Pa-he scratches his head.

John Henry-he curses in giraffe-tall words,

flops over, and kicks down the bed.

He's burning mad, like a bear on fire-

so he tears to the riverside.

As he stoops to drink, Old Man River gets scared

and runs upstream to hide!

Some say he was born in Georgia-Oh Lord!

Some say in Alabam.

But it's writ on the rock at the Big Bend Tunnel:

"Lousyana was my home. So scram!"

Frank Horne (b.1899)

2009-02-09T09:12:00.002-05:00

Walk

I am trying

to learn to walk again...

all tensed and trembling

I try so hard, so hard...

Not like the headlong patter

of new and anxious feet

or the vigorous flailing of the water

by young swimmer

beating

a new element

into submission...

It is more like

a timorous Lazarus

commanded

to take up the bed

on which he died...

I know I will walk again

into your healing

outstretched arms

in answer

to your tender command...

I have been lost

and fallen

in the dark underbrush

but I will arise

and walk

and find the path

at your soft command.

Bryan Mulvany Bites the Big one!

2009-02-05T23:58:00.004-05:00

As anyone in the sports world will tell you, defense wins games. And we saw that mantra ring true in this past Sunday's SuperBowl. However there were other factors that lead to the Cardinals demise, namely the fact that Kurt Warner trimmed his beard, and also the fact that Santonio Holmes is a product of OSU football. Whatever it was, I was fairly sure that the Steelers would be triumphant. Maybe it was the sound whipping they gave my home team, the Browns, or my favorite team, the Patriots. Or maybe I'm just lucky. Bryan Mulvany however, is not so lucky. Mulvany thought it would be a good idea, on the day of the game mind you, to bet that the Cardinals would win, against my admonishment that no such thing would happen. I usually do not bet because I always lose, but given the factors listed above, I was fairly certain that a Steelers win was a sure thing. So Bryan and I bet that whoever lost was at the sartorial mercy of the victor. On the following friday, the loser would wear whatever the winner picked out for them, to class all day! (with the stipulation that clothes could only be chosen from either of our two closets, to prevent any dresses or heels being thrown in the mix)

That friday is today-the 6th! Bryan will be sporting a very nice outfit picked out by yours truly, so please if you see him on campus, take a picture and either post it to our facebook group or your blog. I would greatly appreciate the help!

To quote Mulvany "It's not about winning or losing, it's how you play the game!"HA!

Claude McKay (1890-1948)

2009-02-05T12:13:00.002-05:00

The Harlem Dancer

Applauding youths laughed with young prostitutes

And watched her perfect, half-clothed body sway;

Her voice was like the sound of blended flutes

Blown by black players on a picnic day.

She sang and danced on gracefully and calm,

The light gauze hanging loose from her form;

To me she seemed a proudly-swaying palm

Grown lovlier for passing through a storm.

Upon her swarthy neck black shiny curls

Luxuriant fell; and tossing coins in praise,

The wine-flushed, bold-eyed boys and even the girls,

Devoured her shape with eager, passionate gaze;

But looking at her falsely-smiling face,

I knew her self was not in that strange place.

Frances E. W. Harper (1825-1911)

2009-02-04T09:18:00.003-05:00

The Slave Auction

The sale began- young girls were there,

Defenceless in their wretchedness,

Whose stifled sobs of deep despair,

Revealed their anguish and distress.

And mothers stood with streaming eyes,

And watched their dearest children sold;

Unheeded rose their bitter cries,

While tyrants bartered them for gold

And woman, with her love and truth-

For these in sable forms may dwell-

Gaz'd on the husband of her youth,

With anguish none may paint or tell.

And men whose sole crime was their hue,

The impress of their Maker's hand,

And frail and shrinking children, too,

Were gathered in that mounrful band,

Ye who have laid your love to rest,

and wept above their lifeless clay,

Know not the anguish of that breast,

Whose lov'd are rudely torn away.

Ye may not know how desolate,

Are bosoms rudely forced to part,

And how a dull and heavy weight,

Will press the life-drops from the heart.

William Powell

2009-02-03T09:01:00.001-05:00

I had originally intended to keep the BHM posts about poetry, because essentially doing one of these every day was gonna be tough enough without adding background information etc. Not that I'm lazy but I am a college student in the end of a quarter, but as with all well-intentioned plans, things changed.

William Powell is a golfer and WWII veteran from Minerva, Ohio. He attended college at Wilberforce University, where he and his brother started the first golf team there and played against the white Ohio Northern University in 1937. They beat ONU twice, in '37 and '38. This was the first time an HBCU played much less beat a white school. After returning from the war, he went to play golf at some local courses and was not welcome even though he was a veteran. So he built his own course.

Clearview Golf Club in East Canton, Ohio is the first and currently the only golf course built, owned and operated by a Black American. It has become not only the foundation for a Powell golf dynasty but it's also played host to some historic events, including a rematch of the Wilberforce and ONU golf teams in April, 2002. Wilberforce again claimed victory, Ohio Northern 313, Wilberforce 383.

Clearview became a National Historic site in 2001.

Special Thanks to Julie Cajigas for alerting me to this story.
Sources: African American Golf Digest
Clearview Golf Club
ONU Athletics

Dudley Randall (1914-2000)

2009-02-02T08:24:00.003-05:00

Black Poet, White Critic

A critic advises
not to write on controversial subjects
like freedom or murder,
but to treat universal themes
and timeless symbols
like the white unicorn.

A white unicorn?

Phyllis Wheatley (c. 1753-1794)

2009-02-01T11:42:00.002-05:00

from
To the Right Honorable William, Earl of Dartmouth

Should you, my lord, while you pursue my song,
Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung,
Whence flow these wishes for the common good,
By feeling hearts alone best understood,
I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate,
Was snatch'd from Afric's fancy'd happy seat:
What pangs excruciating must molest,
What sorrows labour in my parent's breast?
Steel'd was the soul and by no misery mov'd
That from a father seiz'd his babe belov'd.
Such, such my case. And can I then but pray
Others may never feel tyrannic sway?

Feb. 1st-Black History Month Tribute

2009-01-31T21:52:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Black History Month. To me this is one of the most important holidays our country celebrates (or doesn't celebrate). I have always felt that instituting Black History Month was one of the most important decisions in American political history. So in honor of Black History Month, I will be posting a poem by a black poet on my blog for every day in February. I was going to try to do facts, but I think poetry can give a more in-depth look into the history of Blacks in America, and I like poetry a lot. I will try to keep the formatting as original as Blogger will let me but hopefully the words will make impact despite this medium's shortcomings.

I will continue posting about politics, college, social media, etc. through out February but as we are nearing the end of Winter quarter here at Ohio Northern, I might do only poetry towards the end of the month.

I hope you enjoy the poems and I hope you learn more about your country during Black History Month 2009!!

Why I like and tweet Top Chef

2009-01-28T21:08:00.003-05:00

Top Chef for me has been insight into a world I didn't have the courage enough to pursue entry to on my own. There I said it. I was scared. I was scared I wouldn't be good enough. That was the summer before senior year of high school, when I switched my career hopes from Executive Chef of my own restaurant, to Music Director of my high school. If only I knew then that the desire would never fade. And that in college I would gain the strength of character needed to succeed in any field, especially cooking.

I have always loved cooking, and have sorta always been good at it a bit. It started out like it does with most people, make some good pancakes and your fam thinks you're a food prodigy and keeps asking for more lol. But since I thought my future was more secure in music education(?), I only applied to one culinary school and everywhere else was music focused. I actually got in to Johnson & Wales, NC but I decided that was good enough for me and put it in the back of my mind. Now, four years and a major switch later, I watch Top Chef to see people do what I still long to. I have actually been contemplating going back to school for a culinary education after undergrad, and working in PR or freelance writing while I do. But in the end, I have a strong feeling I will again go the "secure" route and continue my trek to law school. Its not that I don't want to do it, but in my heart of hearts I think I love doing it because I'm not a professional. Who knows though, I might just forego my security and follow my heart, but I doubt it.

oh and I tweet along with Top Chef because looking at the comments on plodt.com afterwards is hilarious!!

New Beginnings!!

2009-01-20T09:05:00.003-05:00

OK so really only the first three minutes of this clip is relevant to what I'm talking about.

It is my wish for us all that President Obama turns out to be everything and more than we so blindly venerate him to be. Don't get me wrong, I am happy we have someone else in the Highest Office, if not for the simple fact that I can pretty much guarantee better State of the Union Addresses for the next four years (although Bush's last one was dope...focus). I, as a moderate, just strongly feel that we should take this Inauguration day and remember why we elected him in the first place.

Please, everyone, remember what President Obama is here to do, remember what we were promised, remember that in order for our country to march together smoothly (had to tie in the clip somehow lol), we've got to hold our leadership accountable. If he messes up, we can't be to rosey-eyed with Mr. President to make him polish some drums (score!). I see a lot of people who are just like the principal or whatever they call the principal in college (provost?? Dean?? wtv) running around shouting "NEW BEGINNINGS!!!!" or better yet "YES WE DID!!!" without knowing the behind the scenes detail about why they are excited.
But alas, I'm done being a skeptic. Happy Inauguration DAY!! New Begi...nah ;)

A quote from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the White House

On this auspicious day the sky is blue, the birds sing, and joy is unconfined. It is the last day of the Cleveland [read Bush] Administration

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black OURstory Month

2009-01-19T13:05:00.004-05:00

DISCLAIMER: I originally wrote this article in the Northern Review, for the week of January 14, 2008. I added "Martin Luther King Day" in some places to add to or replace "Black History Month" because I feel the sentiment expressed is easily applicable to MLK Day as well as Black History Month. Other than that, this was a pretty much copy and paste job. The poem at the bottom is Nikki Giovanni, 4-6-68.

That time of year is right around the corner. You know what I mean, the time after all the holidays are over when celebrating anything is the last thing on your mind? Perfect timing for one of the most necessary yet abrasive celebrations in the U.S. I’m speaking of Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month.

The reason I would use a word like “abrasive” when describing Martin Luther King Day, is because as a maturing black man I realize that not everyone gets the same feeling of tradition and history from it that I do. I love learning about Dr. King, my people and where we’ve come from, just as all cultures treasure their history.

I know a lot of times, white kids aren’t constantly aware of their interest in learning about their history, and I suspect its because of being constantly surrounded by their history. I mean look around, watch the news, stats are always coming up about things that have happened in the past relating to current times, that have white people as the subjects. It’s part of the benefits of being the majority.

Let me pause here with a disclaimer that this is not a “Black Man’s Plight” rant. I’m not that kind of dude. From talking with friends of mine who happen to be white and simply from living life around white people and watching, actively, I have come to realize that there is somewhat of an aversion or apathy towards Black History Month, or at the least uneasiness about their role in it. Actually I have seen this sentiment with a lot of people who aren’t black or who haven’t lived around black American culture for any lengthy period of time.

This is understandable; I mean honestly who wants to be told that their ancestors were treacherous slavers who disregarded the universal humanity of an entire continent for...money? Not me! But people of the Caucasian persuasion should realize that not everything is about them. I mean it is, but it isn’t.

Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month are not times for black people to hate on white people and what they have done or continue to do. No, instead it is a time of education, a time for both black and white people to look on the past with the future in mind, to learn from mistakes made and to gain insight into the minds of the people of the time.

I learn so much from history, especially from the history of my people. It’s not just about Dr. King, not to take anything from him, but there are so many unique and intriguing stories of black people, like Dr. Hiram Revels, the first black U.S. Senator and by default, the first black U.S. Congressman. There was also Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, the first contracted black NBA player. These people contributed in their own ways to the freedoms others may take for granted today, and in doing so, demonstrated the courage and strength that was necessary to achieve what they did.

Taking the time out to learn about these stories is what makes Martin Luther King Day such an awe-inspiring time. So if not active apathy, what should a white person or any knowledge-seeking individual for that matter, do during Martin Luther King Day? I know I have friends who aren’t black who don’t know what to do during this month, so they pretty much stay in their rooms. Don’t do that! No one is asking for an apology from you for something you didn’t do, but if you would like to show your black friends that you care, attend one of the events held on campus. Make an effort to learn something that might not be in your major or normal area of interest. Show your support by simply showing your face. This is not meant to be accusatory, but instead I am imploring you to actively embrace opportunities for your enlightenment. You can’t possibly know how much it really matters.

"The Funeral of Martin Luther King, Jr."
His headstone said
FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST
But death is a slave's freedom
We seek the freedom of free men
And the construction of a world
Where Martin Luther King could have lived and
preached non-violence

Happy Martin Luther King Day!

The Power of Twitter

2009-01-06T01:56:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I posted about Cheryl Harrison's caffiene addiction. This post was the result of a conversation I was having with her on twitter at the time. Thanks to tweetree, I can show you chronologically how it played out:

erob1 (erob1) Jan 05, 02:00 PM I don't know how anyone gets addicted to coffee. I just had a toffee nut cappuccino and my mouth tastes terrible!! ugh

JamienneScott (JamienneScott) Jan 05, 02:47 PM @erob1 try some caramel macchiatos or caramel coconut lattes or white choc/banana/orange/rum Those are where the deliciousness is at

erob1 (erob1) Jan 05, 02:50 PM
@JamienneScott Will do! I still don't think I'll like them enough to get addicted like @CherylHarrison

Cheryl Harrison (CherylHarrison) Jan 05, 02:52 PM
@erob1 Hey don't talk about my caffeine addiction on Twitter!

erob1 (erob1) Jan 05, 02:54 PM @CherylHarrison lol where should I talk about it? http://evanprblog.blogspot.com ???

erob1 (erob1) Jan 05, 03:01 PM
@CherylHarrison's addicted to Caffeine, read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/8nx2sj

Cheryl Harrison (CherylHarrison) Jan 05, 03:02 PM I'm a big deal: @erob1 wrote a blog about me - ok so maybe he's just calling me an addict but all press is good press LOL http://bit.ly/zGiv

Now on twitter, @CherylHarrison is pretty much the Tweet Princess of Columbus and when she posts about a blog, her 1,543 followers get instantaneously informed. With my 116 followers, that's a combined total of 1,659 people who all can follow our conversation and potentially add their own insight. So you see, in a matter of minutes this conversation turned from me being disgusted with horrible coffee, to exposure for my blog to over 1,600 twitterers, some of whom are PR Professionals, Marketers and Social Media Experts!! Imagine if we were discussing something important?!

Some other examples of Twitter Power:
Twitter and Celebs
Twitter and Phishing
Twitter and Mumbai
Twitter and Motrin Moms
Twitter and the Election
Twitter, Kanye and Stephen Colbert
Twitter In the News

Addicted to Caffeine

2009-01-05T14:54:00.000-05:00

Cheryl Harrison is addicted to caffeine. I think this is an issue mainly because coffee tends to be disgusting. And her primary source of caffeine is coffee. Were she a tea drinker, I don't think I would take such a stance because tea is delicious and nutritious. Amen

iPhone 3G=Unlocked, Dev=Unlucky

2009-01-04T01:57:00.002-05:00

Yo I don't usually post at this time of night because most of the blogs I follow post in the morning and I think that's a great way to do it, fresh thoughts for the day and what not. But on the way home from picking my big Sis up from work, I heard on the radio about Dev, the team who hacked the iPhone 3G. Apparently they've been having some trouble with a Jody Sanders, who has been selling their freeware(modified) to unlock the iPhones for profit.

I'm gonna guess that Dev is just going to have to take a hit on this one, unless they can sufficiently prove that Jody stole something they had patented, which they can't. Dev is basically the new NetZero, giving away for free what people are ready and willing to pay for. Although it is really altruistic to distribute software like unlocking applications for free so that the world can use iPhones and not just AT&T customers, it is also currently illegal, because of licensing contracts Apple has with AT&T. And although they probably will not be prosecuted, they also aren't making any money off something that probably took hundreds of hours to do. Dev should get smart and take down yellowsnOw until they can get a patent or something so they can sell it at a price they think is fair for consumers. It is only a matter of time before Apple and AT&T's contract runs out and with all the problems Apple has had with AT&T's infrastructure and service, I doubt they will be renewing it when they can exponentially increase iPhone sales by selling them unlocked.

This coming from the guy who doesn't even have a cell phone :)

2009...Welcome!

2009-01-01T06:09:00.000-05:00

2009 is finally here!...well I mean like 6 hours ago lol. I am really looking forward to all that God has in store for me with this one, because 2008 was dope! I think one of the things I learned that has stuck with me the most over this past year is the importance of being yourself. I have always struggled with this a bit because I have this weird ability where I can assimilate into any group I'm around. Like still be me, I mean personality wise, but like I know or easily discover cultural mores and habits, I pick up accents easily, little things like that that put other people at ease around me. And I do this without thinking, as my girlfriend (new as of October 08!) describes it, it's like a light switch. I can flick it on when I need to, off when I don't. But I've learned that sometimes I'll get so caught up in my flicking that switch off and on and on and off, I forget who's behind the switch in the first place! I've always been one to hang with like almost every kind of person,that's just who I am. I get along with some of everybody, and can usually handle confrontations discreetly while remaining in good rapport with those I may happen to disagree with. In college, I have friends who drink, don't drink, smoke, don't smoke, exercise everyday, or are couch potatoes etc. Being around all these different kinds of people adds depth to my experiences, because I recognize different points of view even within as small a population as Ada.

I guess what I'm getting at is, I usually do not make New Year's resolution because I think they are a waste of energy and they are cliche, but this year I am resolving to BE MYSELF. I'm 21. I know what I like, and what I don't like. Granted there are still tons of new things out there for me to experience but I am no longer simple conforming to any old thing. I'm better than that, and I know better than that.I can be and normally am a fairly stubborn person, and I'm planning on putting that stubborness into full effect. I am no longer going to allow myself to be peer pressured. I don't exactly know what I want out of life but I do know what I don't want. So goodbye ~~2008~~, hello 2009, old things are passed away yo! All things are new!

...I might need to get some new shoes too :)

This is why I love my family!

2008-12-18T21:00:00.002-05:00

This comment is by my cousin Cassie Ford, a second year law student at Vanderbilt on my Ethics paper. She really inspired me when I read it, and I can honestly say I wouldn't have been able to finish it without her. Thanks Cassie!!

Your Cousin said...
Urmm, this was extremely long, however, since I'm avoiding my work, I read- I mean skimmed yours.

I agree with eliminating blogger ethics. No point in policy that no one follows. The blogging experience is about reflecting the honest nature of humanity, not the psuedo-PC news spoon fed to the public by major media. Furthermore, bloggers allow the consumer/citizen to hold these companies, gov't officials and other powerful institutions accountable in a way that they couldn't do as effectively before (like the Dollar Tree insurance lawsuit and the Jena Six fiasco). I think a standard of ethics for blogs, if upheld, would decrease the flow of information in a way that inspires activism by the common citizen.Most bloggers aren't making money on it, so why have ethics standards to the level of NYTimes? Why have them at all?

Of course, some will say that the vulgarity, libel, and offensive remarks will get out of hand, but what are these remarks but a reflection of the people in our society? I think Americans especially have been coddled into the belief that the world is a places of wholesome values, but that's just not true. We are in constant progression as a human race and our major media outlets do not reflect this. While I love a good media bashing, I can't help but examine our own encouragement of blissful ignorance. Until recently, the public demanded a disconnect between reality and our media coverage. I think the major interest in blogs has resulted from the backlash of the disillusionment the public felt after (insert major failure by Bush administration that could be seen a mile away if you watched BBC, NPR, foreign news media outlet). I think the novelty of raw honesty (if not truth) is the push behind the blogger media movement.

The down side is that I could see blogging backlash happening. Frankly, we are seeing the evils of 24 hour news in general and eventually people will get sick and tired of it. Blog readership will probably feel the backlash of this when happens.

In the mean time, I'm going to go check my favorite blogs (The Black Snob/ Secret Council of American Negroes) while blogging is still in vogue :-)
(Off to finish my own paper)

DECEMBER 18, 2008 4:09 PM

Compensation: A right and wrong way to do it?

2008-12-02T11:26:00.007-05:00

I noticed on Twitter today that several bloggers have been given $500 gift cards by KMart to write about the savings you can earn at KMart by shopping there. They are also giving the bloggers gift cards to give out to readers and subscribers who retweet their post or write a comment describing what they'd buy from KMart for $500. After retweeting their URL's to enter myself into the contest (cause who doesn't want $500 from KMart?!?!?!), I tweeted "With all the people Retweeting Chris Brogan, I'm guessing no one has sees credibility issues with taking compensation? Great! Me neither! ha" to which blogger Chris Brogan replied, "@erob1 - the key there is disclosure. Say it up front. Be clear. Provide info. Done. : )". So I wanted to check and see, was this experiment with social media by KMart "upfront"?

In class in October, we talked about citizen marketers getting compensation for blogging from companies and whether or not it adds to they're credibility, and in this case, I don't think it does add much. I mean every blogger had some form of disclosure or disclaimer stating that they were compensated/sponsored for their post, but where is the connection to what they are blogging about? Shoemoney.com blogger Jeremy Schoemaker wrote a full post about the KMart and Izea campaign, including pics of his shopping trip with quirky comments and all, but what does that have to do with what he posts about, which is normally financial stuff and tech stuff. Also as of the time of this post, Sears Holding Corp., for KMart, had not released a press release about their campaign and I couldn't find anything about it on Izea's site...why not???

I agree that disclosure is important but can you really pick and choose what to disclose and what not to? Doesn't that defeat the whole point of transparency?

I hope this doesn't take me out the contest :-D

-update-

I didn't realize that Chris Brogan didn't have a post on his blog because he did it on another blog, Dad-o-matic. But still, where's the KMart backing?

the 21%ers

2008-11-29T19:05:00.003-05:00

So after a long and very restful fall break I am ready to jump right back into the social media world and commence my blog posts. I have to start with one of the things that intrigued me about social media initially, and that's the fact that there is so much content created by so few people. However it seems like this trend is continually diminishing. I found on advergirl, that 21% of US online adults are now creating new content for the Web. This is far from that 1% we originally discussed in social media class, only two months ago! One of the best things I can see being produced from this growth in original content is a more informed readership. According to the Groundswell blog, Inactive adults dropped 19% while Spectators or those who only consume web content, jumped 21%...Correlation? Could that +or- 20% that left inactivity be the same +or- 20% that is now reading web content regularly? I sure hope so! It means that as people are getting introduced to social media and its many benefits, they are transitioning from not participating at all, to at least reading and eventually (hopefully) creating new content!!! So while it was great being a 1%er for a while, I am really looking forward to the wealth of knowledge to be gained with the addition of 20% more brain power!

Continuity..

2008-11-19T14:52:00.000-05:00

So in my latest efforts with social media, I have been trying to have a continuous theme across the board for all of my pages. Since this one was the most developed, with the Chelsea FC pic on the right, I decided to go with something similar for my Twitter and my PROpenMic pages. Let me know what you think :)

Finals Week 11

2008-11-12T20:51:00.000-05:00

As I finish final projects and take final exams, I will cross them off of the post where I listed them all last week. Wish me luck!!!

Last readings :)...week 10

2008-11-08T13:40:00.000-05:00

So I am definitely a fan of the Lonlygirl15 story! Yea she was deceiving, but so is "reality" tv. She provided good entertainment, and got like 20 mins of fame because of it! Ideally yes, it would have been better for her to be truthful and transparent but honestly, she would have lived up to her moniker even more because no one would have watched her videos! I wouldn't have anyway lol. Besides, she was an individual.

Now a company/corporation, that's a different story. Companies need to be open, honest, transparent and loyal to their consumer base on blogs and in videos, not only because of the potential retribution of dishonest communication (read "Spin"), but also to ensure that they are the one's managing their reputation online, and not someone else. I Googled "dishonest company" and for fun, hit the "I'm feeling lucky" button. What came up was Ripoff Report.com, which I couldn't visit because I'm posting from Tower City in Cleveland and their wifi blocks messageboards and forums, but this is nonetheless the last Web site you want your company to appear on. The last chapter of The New Influencers showed how having an online account with Blogger or Twitter can help a company build its own rapport and gain positive exposure in the blogosphere and on the Web in general. I really enjoyed these books, and they have made me want to increase my knowledge of social media and its uses. I'm thinking Groundswell will be the next book I digest, check back for future posts!