In this short presentation, I share the four ways I benefit from using Twitter. Connect with me on Twitter, where you will find me as @BarbaraNixon.
Other than the four ways I mention in this video, are there other ways you have benefitted by using Twitter?
Please take 45 seconds to watch this video I created as part of my Genghis Grill Health Kwest. Thanks!
To help you get used to AP Style before we have any “official” quizzes (via GeorgiaVIEW or BlackBoard), please try your hand at determining which of the sentences in the PDF below have errors in them. It’s easiest if you print the PDF and work on it as a hardcopy.
Correct all the AP errors you find, then watch the video to see how well you did.
Note: All page numbers referred to in the screencast below are from the 2009 edition of the AP Stylebook.
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This morning, I recorded a quick screencast to show you how to access the five NewsU courses we’re completing as part of PR Writing this semester and how to send me your course reports.
Get out your 2009 AP Stylebook, Post-It notes and a pen and get ready for a short bootcamp by Barbara Nixon. Learn what the five most important things to know about AP Style are, and even get a bonus at the end. Flag your book as you go along, pausing the Prezi below when you need to.
Want a PDF of the 5 Things and their page numbers that I refer to in the video? Here you go:
[Updated from a blog post from April 2009]
In the public relations courses that I’ve taught over the years, it seems as though one of the biggest struggles for the students is writing using Associated Press style.
Why is learning AP style so important? PR practitioner Sandra Hernandez offers this:
PR writers really need to know the things that make them effective. I learned to write in AP in college, because it was necessary to pass the class. I continued to write in AP because I found that what I send to media had a better response rate when written in AP.
To help students learn more about AP style, I sought feedback from a variety of public relations practitioners and faculty members, trying to come up with a list of what PR writers REALLY need to know (cold, without even looking in the AP Stylebook) about AP style.
The most helpful advice came from colleagues on PR OpenMic, a social network for PR students, faculty and practitioners. (See the individual responses I received in the PR OpenMic PR Writing Discussion Forum.) Additional helpful advice came from colleagues on Twitter, including Kristie Aylett and Claire Celsi.
The most important (and sometimes confusing) parts of AP Style for PR writers are:
Now you have choices about how to access the AP Stylebook. You can purchase a hardcopy of the book, buy an online subscription to it, or download the app from iTunes for use in your iPhone or iTouch.
Many PR writers can also benefit from brushing up on standard grammar. My favorite site for general grammar advice is Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl. Consider subscribing to Grammar Girl’s podcast through iTunes.
Additionally, I found several websites that help my students with AP Style see my Delicious bookmarks on AP style and other posts here that I’ve categorized with AP Style Bootcamp.
So, PR pros and journalists, what would you add? What can help PR students understand what they REALLY need to know about AP style?
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Tonight on Twitter, I saw a tweet from Milton Ramirez that pointed me to this presentation by Arun Basil Lal. Arun has some great tips here on writing good blog posts. The most useful information specifically about writing starts on slide 11.
It’s worth reading. Soon.
For students in my PRCA 3030, PRCA 3330, COMM 2322 and COMM 4333 classes.
NOTE: The Topics of the Week need to be at least 300 words each, not 250 as I inadvertently mentioned in the video.
Though I do agree that there’s no such thing as a “dumb question,” I feel the need to briefly get up on my soapbox this morning. I promise I won’t be up there too long.
Students this semester, especially but not exclusively those in my online classes, are asking questions. That’s a good thing. It means they’re engaging.
However, they are questions that would be easily answered without asking me directly if they’d do two simple things before asking:
In at least 75% of the cases (and I really am tracking it this semester), the questions that they’re asking have already been addressed. Clarification questions? I welcome those. But basic questions like “how do I know what I’m supposed to include in my blog?” Those are a horse of a different color.
There. Now I can step off my soapbox and get back to helping my students become independent learners.
(NOTE: Ever wonder where the expression “on a soapbox” came from? Wikipedia to the rescue.)
Cross-posted from my Becoming Learner Centered blog.
Blogging is like gardening. Though it may be easy to start a blog, you must nurture (“feed” and “water”) it often for it to flourish. (Many thanks to Michael Willits for help with the analogy!)
If you are in one of my public relations classes this semester, please complete the appropriate checklist to see if your blog meets the expectations for the end of January:
These checklists are designed to help you. I will start reviewing your blogs late this weekend.
Questions? As always,
Take about an hour and watch “Twitter for Business,” a webinar led by Laura Fitton (author of Twitter for Dummies.) This webinar is part of Hubspot’s Inbound Marketing University, a series of 16 talks by people prominent in the social media space.
The slides from the presentation are below, in case you want to see them before you listen to the webinar; the slides are shown along with the audio in the webinar, however. (This means, if you want the audio, you’ll need to listen to the webinar, not just click through the slides below.)
