For my GSU PRCA 3339 (PR Publications) Students:
Please provide your blog URL as a comment to this post. Be sure to provide the whole address, including the “http://”
Thanks!
Jumpstart on Spring Classes: Textbooks
If you’re looking to get a jumpstart on my classes at Georgia Southern University this spring, here are the books that I will be using. I’ve linked to many of them at Amazon.com, but of course you can purchase them from anywhere you like. I recommend you try the Facebook Marketplace first, so you can get a good deal AND help a fellow student.
For All of My Classes
A USB drive, at least 1G
Intro to Public Relations (PRCA 2330)
Wilcox, D.L., & Cameron, G.T. (2009). Public relations: Strategies and tactics (9th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Recommended but not required: Li, C., & Bernoff, J. (2008). Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies. Boston, MA: Forrester Research, Inc.
Public Relations Publications (PRCA 3339)
Morton, L. P. (2006). Strategic publications: Designing for target publics. Greenwood, AR: Best Books Plus.
Recommended but not required: Botello, C., & Reding, E. E. (2007). Design collection revealed: Adobe InDesign CS3, Photoshop CS3 & Illustrator CS3. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
Photo Credit: bookshelf, originally uploaded to Flickr by chotda
PRCA 3331 Article Review
Review an article on public relations that appears in a peer-reviewed journal. Your review is due by midnight on Thursday, October 23. Recommended journals include (but aren’t limited to):
- Journal of Public Relations Research
- Public Relations Journal
- Public Relations Review
Your 500-word minimum review could take the following form:
- What did you learn from reading the article?
- What surprised you in the article?
- What do you want to know more about, now that you’ve read the article?
- How is the information in the article relevant to the corporation you’ve chosen for your final project?
It is acceptable to use first person for this review. However, even though you are writing a blog post, be sure to cite your source–in text as well as in your reference section–in proper APA format. (Using Citation Machine might be helpful.) This assignment is worth 100 of your 1000 points in PRCA 3331.
Questions? You know where to find me . . .
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/1704875109/
The Groundswell Inside
Here’s an activity we’ll be doing in my Corporate PR class this week. Our focus this week is Chapter 11 (The Groundswell Inside Your Company) of Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies.
Directions: Think about an organization you’re currently a member of. It could be a campus group or even your current employer. How does or can your organization use the groundswell inside, with its employees or members?
Using The Groundswell Inside form, on your own, fill out your name, the organization, and the current state. Then in groups, brainstorm for future ways the organization could use the groundswell inside for each organization in the group.
Case Study on Avenue A Razorfish (to help students start their brainstorming)
PRCA 3331 Final Project
For your final project in our PRCA 3331 Corporate PR class, you will analyze a Fortune 500 or Inc. 500 company from a public relations perspective. Your presentation on your company is due the week of November 17. The written portion project is due by midnight on December 2. The grading rubric will be available by October 13 15. Be sure to review the grading rubric.
This project is worth a total of 300 points of the 1000 available in PRCA 3331. The blog/paper portion is worth 250, and the class presentation is worth 50.
You will have the option of creating the written portion of the project as a traditional term paper or as a series of blog posts. Let me know your decision in WebCT Vista no later than October 20.
If you choose to do this project as a traditional term paper:
- Use APA style for formatting and source citations
- Submit your paper in WebCT Vista
If you choose to do this project as a series of blog posts:
- Create one page (not post, but page) on your blog with hyperlinks to all the posts. Submit the URL of your page in WebCT Vista
- Cite your sources within the posts, and also provide hyperlinks to the original source if it’s available on the web
- Use tags on your posts
Required elements:
- An overview of the company and what it does
- A brief history or timeline of the company
- Based on Grunig & Hunt’s models of PR, which model is the company using?
- Describe the publics, including customers, of the company (or one of its subsidiaries)
- Top challenges facing the company (including the current financial market)
- Awards and honors the company has garnered in the past 10 years & how the company is using the awards/honors for promotion
- An analysis of how the company uses and benefits from (or could benefit from) the groundswell
- A critique of the company’s online newsroom
- Career opportunities in PR, corporate communication, marketing, etc., within the company
- Based on your research of this company, are you now MORE or LESS likely to want to work for the company? Why? Provide at least two paragraphs of a rationale for your decision.
Choose two from the following:
- For at least one news release, compare how the news release was written to how the story appeared when it was published in the media
- One crisis the company has faced and how it dealt with it
- Describe how the company is involved in its communities
- Interview (phone or e-mail) a public relations professional within the company
- Create your resume and cover letter as though you are applying for an entry-level PR position within the company
- Another section of your choice, as long as you clear it with me by November 1
Important Dates
- October 20: Let me know your decision of whether you’ll do a traditional term paper or a series of blog posts.
- November 1: Last date to pitch an idea for a section in your paper to me
- November 17 & 19: Presentations in class
- December 2: Written portion of final project due in WebCT Vista by midnight (if you’re doing the paper) or posted on your blog by midnight
Questions? You know where to find me . . .
Photo Credit: “Stiff Neck Guaranteed” uploaded to Flickr on January 24, 2007 by rpeschetz
Blog Assignment for PRCA 3331 (Corporate PR Class)
As you saw in your Corporate Public Relations Syllabus and we’ve discussed in class, part of your grade in PRCA 3331 will come from your blog. After setting up your blog, let me know your blog address as a response to a discussion board question in our Facebook group for PRCA 3331. Then, write four blog posts, which are worth 50 points each.
Blog posts can be written informally and in the first person; that is, they don’t need to sound like a term paper. However, there’s still an expectation for proper grammar, spelling and capitalization. If you have questions about how informal is “too informal,” please let me know.
Blog Post #1
- Write about your One Week of Twitter Assignment
- 250 words minimum
- Due October 1, before class
Blog Post #2 (Option A)
- Review two or more public relations blogs (see some suggestions)
- Include hyperlinks to the blogs
- Add at least one tag to the post
- 250 words minimum
- Deadline:
TBDNovember 6
Blog Post #2 (Option B)
- Listen to at least one hour of a public relations or social media podcast. Here are some suggestions; or, you can choose one of your own.
- Include hyperlinks to the website or show notes of the podcasts
- Add at least two tags to the post
- 250 words minimum
- Deadline:
TBDNovember 6
Blog Post #3
- Describe how the Fortune 500 or Inc. 500 company you have chosen is using the groundswell.
- Include at least five hyperlinks in your post, including one to the company’s website.
- Add at least three tags to the post
- 250 words minimum
- Deadline: November 21, by 5:00
Blog Post #4 (NOTE: Details updated 12-1-09)
- Your personal social media policy (see a template of one at Smart Mobs)
- Add at least one tag to the post
- Deadline: December 3, before class December 5 before noon
Questions? You know where to find me . . .
Photo credit: “Typewriter Letters,” uploaded to Flickr on July 8, 2006 by Laineys Repertoire
Powerful PowerPoint Presentations
Creating Your Presentation- Always create an opening slide with the title of your presentation, and perhaps a relevant graphic, along with your full name.
- Use a template that complements your subject.
- SmartArt adds to the presentation when you want to show your words graphically.
-
As with any presentation, use the three-pronged rule
- tell ’em what you’re going to tell ’em
- tell ’em
- then tell ’em what you told ’em.
- Always use an objectives or agenda slide (for a preview) and a summary or conclusion slide.
- Remember the 6×6 Rule. . . six words per line, six lines per slide, never more than that.
- Don’t use sounds in your presentation. They may sound cute when you are rehearsing it, but they are distracting to your audience.
- Be consistent with the types of animation you use to introduce your bullet points. Or better yet, don’t use animation or fancy transitions.
- Stick to one graphic style throughout your presentation.
- Use Flickr as a source for photos to include. Look for ones with Creative Commons licenses.
- Want to see the World’s Worst PowerPoint?
Delivering Your Presentation
- Never let your audience see you navigate to your file. Have the projector’s picture muted until you are ready to show your slides.
- Speak to your audience, not the screen or monitor.
- Practice using the laser pointer (if you’re using one).
- When you’re not using your presentation, press B to blacken (or W to whiten) the screen. This helps the audience to focus on you, not the screen.
- If using YouTube video clips, pre-load them so that they are ready to go. Or use Tooble to download the videos, so there’s not a fear of the Internet lag.
Additionally, here are some general tips I share in my public speaking classes.
Groundswell: People, Objectives, Strategy, Technology
(Note: Portions of this presentation are reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Press. Adapted from Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Copyright © 2008 Forrester Research, Inc.; All Rights Reserved.)
Groundswell: An Overview
This week in my Corporate PR class, we’ll be discussing Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. I’ve provided the slides for Monday’s class here.
We’ll also watch Charlene Li’s presentation on Groundswell from Edelman’s New Media Academic Summit.
Groundswell: Will It Blend?
In my Corporate Public Relations class this fall, we’re reading Groundswell. Teams of students will present the five objectives of the groundswell: listening, talking, energizing, supporting, and embracing. But for a little fun before we dive into the book, I thought it might be good to share this YouTube clip. What happens when you try to blend all the technologies together? Check it out on Will It Blend.
Interested in the story behind the Will It Blend video? Josh Bernoff shares the details at Forrester Research’s Groundswell minisite.
