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How Twitter Changed My Life :: Thoughts by MinXuan Lee

As many of this blog’s readers already know, I am a huge fan and heavy user of Twitter. It’s challenging for me to explain to others what impact Twitter has made on me. Then, I discovered this blog post and presentation by MinXuan Lee: How Twitter Changed My Life. 

 

As MinXuan Lee says,
My intent was not so much to convince, but to share how creativity and imagination has injected so much life and variety into a technology I once thought frivolous. It took me nearly two months to figure the real value in twitter and how to use it effectively, and my aim was to bridge that gap for others, under an hour. As we all know, converts are the greatest evangelists.
Two slides in this presentation are especially wonderful. Be sure to see slide #4 (“The Five Stages of Twitter Acceptance”) and #5 (“What has your attention?”).

View more presentations from Minxuan Lee. (tags: live casting)
You can connect with me on Twitter by going to http://twitter.com/BarbaraNixon or with MinXuan Lee at http://twitter.com/minxuan

 

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The Future of Journalism?

“Imagine, if you will, sitting down to your morning coffee, turning on your home computer to read the day’s newspaper,” says the KRON anchor.

Here’s a view on the future of journalism . . . as I might have seen on the evening news if I’d lived in San Francisco in 1981, the year I graduated from high school.

What do you find the most interesting about this news report? For me, it was watching them use the modems. 

barbara_is_listening

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The Evolution of Public Relations :: A Discussion Exercise

Tony Michetti at Watson Cafe by eqqman.Before our class discussion on the Evolution of Public Relations

In class on Monday

In Era Groups

  • Break up into groups based on your chosen (or assigned) era.
  • Each person states one important thing to know about the era, one person speaking at a time. Continue round-robin style until you no one has something unique to bring up.
  • As a group, come to a consensus on five or six important things from the era.
  • Each group member should write down the group’s consensus. You’ll need this for the next part of the activity.

In Mixed Groups

  • Break up into groups so that there’s one era representative for each era. We may end up with as many as 15 groups in our class.
  • Each era rep should hold a brief discussion on the 5 most important things/people from their eras.
  • Remember to take some brief notes on what your classmates mention from their eras.

After class, create a blog entry of about 250 words regarding the evolution of public relations, using these three questions to guide you:

  • What did you learn?
  • What surprised you?
  • What do you want to know more about?

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/91273409@N00/260394731/

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Blogging Guidelines :: PRCA 2330

This post explains the types of content I expect you to write about in your blog for PRCA 2330. Please add a category for each type (listed below), and make sure each post is categorized appropriately.

1. Reading notes – brief notes or key ideas from the reading assigned for that week’s class. Jot down 3-5 ideas that you believe are the most important & wish to remember. Be very brief, but write enough so someone who can’t read your mind understands what you mean and I am convinced that you actually did the readings. Remember to cite your source(s) when you paraphrase or quote materials from the readings.

2. Responses – commentary, reflections and thoughts about class material, whether it is class discussion, reading, case studies, etc. These should be your own thoughts and opinions.

3. Assignments – I’ll post specific blog post assignment instructions  here and if necessary I’ll suggest sub-categories and tags.

4. PR Connections – commentary, reflections and opinions about PR issues/examples that were not addressed in class. These can be responses to other PR blogs you read, links to interesting posts or articles, etc. The main difference between this category and “Responses” is that here YOU identify the material to respond to, whereas in “Responses” you write about class material.

5. Blog comments – whenever you comment on someone’s PR blog (whether it’s a PR professional or a PR student), create a brief post with a link to your comment so I can assess your online participation. Do this only for PR-related blogs.

6. Personal – optional category. Use it for any posts not related to public relations.

You may add other categories and sub-categories of your choice. Please keep in mind that when I evaluate your blog I will pay special attention to these categories, but I will not ignore other posts. I will perform a wholistic evaluation of your blog, looking for:

  • professionalism: Clear, correct, thoughtful writing
  • frequency: Sufficient posts in categories 1, 2, and 4 (Assignments will be graded separately). I expect you to jot down reading notes for every class reading and to post at least once a week in category 6, as well as comment on others’ blogs (category 5).
  • linking: Identify other PR blogs (use PR Open Mic or my blogroll in my Delicious bookmarks as starting points) and link to them. Respond to others’ posts. Become a part of the blogosphere. Blogging should not be lonely.
  • readability: brief & concise writing style, use of white space, bold characters, images, bullet points

Questions? Just let me know. 

barbara_is_listening

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE: Many thanks to Dr. V at Clemson University, who allowed me to use her blogging guidelines from her PRinciples class. They were so well-written that I made just a few tweaks for my own class. Dr. V knows that Blogs Matter.

Photo Credit: http://www.aoddesign.com/blog/resources/xmas-wordpress-logo-icons/

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So I Signed Up for WordPress. Now What Do I Do?

So, you signed up for an account at WordPress, and you added an About page. Now what’s next?

FIRST: Let me know your blog address by commenting on PRCA 2330 :: Spring 2009 Student Blogs.

NEXT: How do you go about learning more to create a blog that reflects your personality and style?

Fortunately, WordPress offers many FAQ screencasts to help you with the step-by-step instructions. Here are a few of the best ones to help you get started on the right foot:

And though you may have a good handle on the technical aspects of blogging, remember that the technical side is only part of the blogging equation. Corinne Weisgerber, a professor at St. Edward’s University and fellow PROpenMic member, created this presentation for her Social Media for PR class. The emphasis? How blogging can help you create your personal brand online. Take a look. It’s worth the time.

 

Blogging & Managing your Personal Brand     

View more presentations or upload your own. (tags: commenting identity)

 

Photo Credit: “1/365” uploaded to Flickr by PhotoJonny

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Can Twitter Be Intimidating?

It’s always wonderful hearing from former students . . . and today I got a note from Fran Faulkner, who was in Corporate PR class with me last semester at Georgia Southern University:

 

I just wanted to let you know that I just started an internship with the Kannapolis Intimidators, a minor league baseball team in North Carolina. When we had our orientation meeting one of the things they mentioned was that they wanted to start using social networking sites more. They already have Facebook and MySpace and wanted to incorporate Twitter. Thanks to you and your corporate PR class I was the only one who had ever even heard or let alone used Twitter before. Even our supervisor knew nothing about how to use it. So, thank you for introducing me to that!

With that being said I was wondering if you had any tips for me on how to maximize the effectiveness of Twitter while using it not as an individual but as a representative of an organization. I know we looked at and talked about several organizations who are currently using but was just if you, as a person who seems to be a Twitter expert, had any advice for me.

So . . . if you’re currently working in sports PR, what advice would you have to share with Fran?

barbara_is_listening

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One Week of Twitter :: PRCA 2330 Spring 2009

Our One Week of Twitter assignment begins on Thursday, January 22, and will end at midnight on January 29. Your blog post about this experience is due before class on February 2.

Setting Up Your Twitter Account

  1. Go to Twitter. Click Get Started, and sign up. I prefer it if you use some version of your first and last name as your Twitter ID. (Avoid putting numbers in your Twitter ID, or you may appear like a spammer.)
  2. Upload a photo or avatar.
  3. Write a brief (140-character or fewer) bio. It’s good to mention that you’re a PR student.
  4. Send a tweet saying “I’m a student in @barbaranixon’s #PRCA2330 class” or something similar. Be sure to include the #PRCA2330 indicator.

Setting Up Your Following  List

  1. Visit the Twitter search page for #PRCA2330. Most of the people you see in this search will be your classmates.
  2. Click on the name of your classmate.
  3. When the Twitter page loads, click the Follow button.
  4. Repeat this process for at least 30 people in the class (preferably everyone!)
  5. Also, follow at least five of the following: Brett Pohlman, Leo Bottary, Ike Pigott, Neville Hobson, Jennifer Ryan, Chris Brogan, Geoff Livingston, Todd Defren, Christopher S. Penn, Jeremy Pepper, Jeremiah Owyang, Scott Monty (Ford),  Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh , Jet Blue, ComCast Cares, CNN’s Rick Sanchez, Georgia Southern University . . . or others in the field of PR or communication of your choosing. (NOTE: It’s possible that some of these people may not follow you back. That’s fine. You will learn from them anyway.)
  6. You can have your Twitter tweets automatically update your Facebook status, if you want. (This is not required.)

Using Twitter

  1. Over the course of the next week, send at least twenty tweets (Twitter messages of 140 characters or less). Your tweets could concern something you’re doing or perhaps point others to something interesting or funny you read online. Maybe you could even pose a question that you’d like others to answer.
  2. Also, respond to at least two of your classmates’ tweets. To respond, click on the arrow after a tweet. Or you can type the @ symbol followed immediately by a username (such as @barbaranixon).

Additional Information

  1. Review my tips on how college students can use Twitter to their advantage. 
  2. Review Prof. Sam Bradley’s College Student’s Guide: Twitter 101.
  3. After the week is over, add a 250-word (minimum) post to your blog about the experience and what you got out of it. Be sure to include at least one way you might find value in continuing your account in Twitter. This blog post is due before class on February 2.
  4. There’s no requirement to maintain your Twitter account after this experiment is done; it will not affect your grade if you discontinue it. However, you might want to keep trying it for a while longer. I found it took me about a week to feel comfortable with it and really begin to learn its value.

Questions? Just send me a DM (direct message) or an @ (reply) in Twitter!

NOTE: Many thanks to Kaye Sweetser and Karen Russell for their ideas prompting this assignment.

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This Issue is Dedicated to *YOU*

there's the camera by wockerjabby.For my PRCA 2330 Class:

Here’s a fun assignment that you will complete before class on Wednesday, January 14. 

Using your choice of software or online service (such as Big Huge Labs at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php), create a magazine cover that depicts you (personality, background, aspirations) to help your class learn more about you.

  • The cover photo must be of you, taken at any point in your life. 
  • Include at least your first name somewhere in the design.
  • Feel free to emulate an existing magazine cover’s look and feel.
  • Save the magazine cover as a JPG, PDF or some other format that can be shown in class.
  • Submit your file to the Assignments area in GeorgiaVIEW.
  • Please also print a hard copy (in color if possible) for me.
  • This assignment will “count” as part of your participation grade in this class.

Questions?

barbara_is_listening

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68051280@N00/113938973/

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A Magazine, All About *You*

Day 240: You! by bookgrl.For my PRCA 3339 Class:

Here’s a fun assignment that you will present in class on Wednesday, January 14. 

Using your choice of software or online service (such as Big Huge Labs at http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/magazine.php), create a magazine cover that depicts you (personality, background, aspirations) to help your class learn more about you.

  • The cover photo must be of you, taken at any point in your life. 
  • Include at least your first name somewhere in the design.
  • Feel free to emulate an existing magazine cover’s look and feel.
  • Save the magazine cover as a JPG, PDF or some other format that can be shown in class.
  • Be prepared to show your magazine cover and discuss it briefly in class (on January 14).
  • This assignment will “count” as part of your participation grade in this class.

Questions?

barbara_is_listening

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60849961@N00/1924356470/