Posted on

Shhh. Here are Nine Ways to Annoy Prof. Nixon

Image Credit: "can you keep a secret" by Tiffany Taylor

Shhh. Don’t tell anyone, but here’s a list of nine of my pet peeves. Some are big ones; others are minor irritations. You’ll do much better in my classes if you avoid ALL of these behaviors. But it’s a secret, so please don’t share it. Keep it to yourself.

  1. Try to pass off another person’s work as your own. I don’t care whether it’s in a singular blog post or in a major assignment: plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. What should you do instead? When you use the ideas or words of others in your writing, as we all must do at times, let me (and your other readers) know where they come from. Use quotation marks for direct quotes. If it’s in a blog post, always hyperlink to the original source (if the original source is available online). If you are at all in doubt about whether or not to provide attribution, ask me. If you choose to plagiarize, at the least, you will fail the assignment. You may even fail the class. And you will absolutely taint my impression of you. You don’t want this to happen. Trust me.
  2. Ask me “Did we do anything important in class last time we met? I wasn’t here.” See this poem by Tom Wayman on Delaney Kirk’s blog for some sarcastic responses you might get from me if you ask this.
  3. E-mail me without putting your class name & number in the subject line. I have about 100 students this semester, and it’s challenging to recall who is in which class. Also, it really helps me if you put your first and last name in your messages.
  4. Use Facebook or check Twitter/e-mail during class time. Honestly, I don’t care if you choose to daydream or squander your own class time. But when you use the computer (or even your mobile device) to do it, you’re distracting others around you as well. And that bothers me. A lot. (Now there will be times when we are actively using Facebook, Twitter, etc. for class purposes — that’s different.)
  5. Come to class late. Even if you “just slip in,” it’s disruptive to our whole class. If we have a student or guest speaker, it’s even worse.
  6. Ask me a question about something that I’ve recently answered to another student in the same class. This makes me think that you are not paying attention.
  7. Failing to read my blog. I use this blog to share important information with you. Sometimes it’s class assignments. Other times, it’s tips that will help you on assignments or in securing employment after graduation. I often embed links in the posts that will lead you to additional useful information; click and read the links, too.
  8. Ask “what are we doing in class next week?” Now on the surface, that may seem like you are engaged or truly care about what we are doing in class. But toward the end of your syllabus is a weekly schedule of what we’re doing in class. I stick to it.
  9. Don’t share helpful information about the class with others. You see the first paragraph in this blog post? I was being sarcastic. I really DO want you to share this information.

Now, if you’ve been a student of mine in the past, what other helpful tips can you share with students who are having me as a professor for the first time? I’d love to know. Please share your ideas in a comment.

Posted on

Save Money on Textbooks with Amazon Book Buyback

Image Credit: "I'm Broke" by Barbara B. Nixon

Textbook prices seem to keep soaring, up to four times the rate of inflation.

A college professor, I do my best to choose the best textbooks for each of my classes. But sometimes the cost of the book will make me choose a second (or even third) best, if the book is outrageously priced.

And as a parent of two in college, I gasp — and sometimes even groan — at the cost of my sons’ books, especially for those books I know they will not want or need to keep.

I’ve recently learned about Amazon.com‘s guaranteed Book Buyback program, and I am sharing that information with all my students. For the Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics textbook (for my PR Applications class), a student can purchase a used copy of the book for less than $40, and sell it back to Amazon and receive a $38.09 Amazon giftcard. That makes the net price of the book $1.40. You can’t even get a cup of coffee most places for $1.40.

The savings aren’t quite as dramatic for some of my other classes, but it’s still a smart option to investigate.

Hope this helps,

(NOTE: All Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links for the International Listening Association.)

Posted on

Getting a Jumpstart on Prof. Nixon’s Spring 2011 Classes

If you’re looking to get a jumpstart on my classes this spring, here are the books and other required resources that we 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.

Public Relations Applications (COMM 2322)

Public Relations Writing (COMM 4333)

Introduction to Journalism (COMM 3333)

Social Media for Public Relations (COMM 4633)

Honors Speaking & Writing (COMM 244L)

Questions? As always,

(PS: Syllabi for my classes will be posted in early January.)


Posted on

The Top 5 Posts in 2010

Image Credit: "Logo Top 5 de las 5" by Alberto Carlos Diéguez

The traffic at my blog Public Relations Matters ebbs and flows, much like with most blogs. When my classes are in session, I know for sure that certain posts will gain hundreds of hits, because I post all my assignments on my blog. For the purpose of today’s Top 5 post, I am not counting class assignment posts. Below you will find my five posts that had the most traffic in 2010.

  1. The ONE job interview question: I asked Phil Gomes from Edelman what the ONE job interview question was that he tended to ask in almost every interview for a public relations position. He gave me his choice, in video form, and proceeded to interview several colleagues at Edelman for their choices as well. I show this short video in my classes each semester when I discuss job interviewing.
  2. Five Ways to Keep Current in Public Relations News & Trends: Occasionally, my students ask me how I know so much about what is going on in the world of public relations. It’s simple: I actively try to stay up on news and trends. This blog post explains how I do it, and how PR students should do it, too.
  3. How NOT to Hashtag in Twitter: In early December, the person running the CNN’s Breaking News Twitter account chose to use some tasteless hashtags in a tweet about the murder of a child. I contacted a CNN producer about it. Then I blogged.
  4. AP Style Bootcamp :: Flagging Your 2010 AP Stylebook: Whether you are a journalist, PR pro or student, sometimes it’s hard to find what you are looking for in the AP Stylebook. In this post, I shared my strategy for using Post-It Notes to flag the book for easy use.
  5. 10 Tips for Polishing Up Your Blogs, Fall 2010 Edition: Students in all my PR classes blog as part of the course requirements. I’ve read hundreds of student blogs over the past few years. Students typically make the same mistakes from semester to semester. I thought writing a post with the 10 most common mistakes would help my Fall 2010 students. Sigh. If only all of my students had taken the tips I shared to heart.

Are there other posts that you read at my blog in 2010 that resonated with you, but aren’t listed in the “most popular”?

Posted on

How NOT to Hashtag in Twitter

[UPDATE 12.06.2010: Jen Zingsheim and Mark Story had a discussion of this blog post
in last week’s Media Bullseye Radio Roundtable podcast.]

I started this morning just like I start most mornings, with a cup of chicory coffee and a review on my Samsung Epic of what’s been written on Twitter overnight. Things looked pretty calm and innocent until I saw this tweet from CNN Breaking News:

My first reaction to the tweet was: “How horrible for the girl!” Then I reread the tweet. My feelings for the plight of the girl intensified when I noticed that the CNN Breaking News Twitter account had used the hashtags #dead and #raped. My stomach actually turned.

Within seconds of me reading the tweet, I responded with this:

It just seemed best to contact CNN Breaking News directly with my displeasure, rather than complaining about it without “talking” directly to them; I have yet to receive a response, but I wasn’t really expecting one via that account. I also DM’d (direct messaged) a CNN producer to let him know about the firestorm of complaints about the inappropriate hashtags.

Let me back up a little.

  • If you’re new to Twitter, a hashtag (what we used to call a pound sign) is often used in front of a keyword in a tweet. It helps people to search for tweets with that keyword in them.
  • For example, when I am watching a NASCAR race, I will set up a search in TweetDeck to find all tweets with the keyword #NASCAR in them. This allows me to see tweets from people who are interested in the same topic as I am — without having to follow them. When the NASCAR race is over, I simply close the column in TweetDeck, and I no longer see #NASCAR tweets, except from those whom I am already following.

Let’s get back to the tweet I saw this morning from CNN Breaking News. I have several issues with the way this tweet was written, and they all revolve around the use of the hashtags. If I saw the tweet without any hashtags, I would have likely clicked on the link to read the story and not had the gut-wrenching reaction I did.

  • Why would CNN want people to search for the terms #dead or #raped? I could understand it if it was a different tweet with #CyberMonday or #WikiLeaks hashtagged. But “dead” and “raped”? Who actually searches for those terms in Twitter? And why would CNN want to be associated with this? As I mentioned in my tweet to them, it seemed insensitive.
  • Was CNN trying to create a trending topic? If so, those words are not ones I’d ever want to see trend. Ever.
  • And as for “#N.C.” — when hashtagging in Twitter, you have to use one word or phrase, with no punctuation, or the hashtag doesn’t work as planned. The link will only “catch” the letters/numbers that are right after the hashtag. If there’s a period, the link stops. So if someone clicks on #N.C., the search will return tweets where people have hastagged the letter N alone. Not very useful, no?

So what’s the lesson to be learned from this morning’s tweet from @CNNbrk?

Think carefully about what words you hashtag in a tweet. Will clicking on the keyword be beneficial for your readers? If not, then you can still use the words (if they are necessary to get your message across), but avoid the hashtag.

What are your thoughts about the @CNNbrk #hashtagfiasco?

Posted on

Corporate Public Relations (#COMM4363) :: Our Semester in Review

To wind down our semester in Corporate Public Relations, each student will create a short review of his or her chosen chapter from the book Reputation Management by John Doorley and Fred Garcia.

Create a three- to five-minute interactive overview of your chapter for our class. Be sure to include at least three things that PR students should know about your chapter. Get creative! But remember that you only have five minutes maximum; after that, I will get out my hook and pull you off the stage (metaphorically speaking). We’ll do our review session in class on Tuesday, Dec. 7.

Also, write a blog post that covers the highlights of your chapter. You may want to look back to your Reading Notes that you’ve already prepared and posted on your own blog. When the post is done, reply to this blog post with telling me the hyperlink to the new review post you have written.

Posted on

Personality Profiles :: More than Pre-Obituaries

Photo Credit: "REBOOT!" by Mark Magnusson

In reviewing the Personality Profiles written by my PR Writing students over the last several semesters, I’ve discovered that there are several common errors that seem to show up. Avoiding these common errors will help ensure that someone might actually want to read the story you have written.

  • Treating the story as if it’s a pre-obituary… you know, the obituaries that newspapers and TV stations have waiting, just in case someone famous dies. They tend to simply recite a few key facts from the person’s life. These pre-obituaries, posing as personality profiles for my class, are flat and fail to engage the readers. Yawn.
  • Telling the story in chronological order.Just because we live our lives in chronological order doesn’t mean that is how the stories should be told.
  • Writing a snoozer of a headline. Something like “A True Leader in Our Community!” is not something that would entice someone to read the story.
  • Not reading well-done personality profiles before starting out to write one. People magazine and Sports Illustrated always have numerous profiles in each issue.
  • Not interviewing the person you’re writing about. You can typically learn more about your subject in a face-to-face interview in 30 minutes than you can by reading things others have written for three hours. (Okay, I made up those numbers, but you get my point.) Spend some time learning who the person IS, and then you can better write about what the person DOES.
  • Lack of quotations. Using the words of the subject of the story and those who know the person well can bring the story to life. Aim to incorporate quotations in every three to four paragraphs. They don’t need to be long ones, just ones that punctuate the point you are trying to make.
  • Using the first paragraph or two to recite the subject’s job description. Try leading off with something that might be interesting to the readers instead. You can add in bits and pieces of the job description throughout the story if needed, but please don’t lead with them.
  • Focusing on only one part of the subject’s life. In addition to describing the subject’s connection with the client organization, it’s smart to also sprinkle in some details about outside interests.
  • Making the subject seem superhuman or saccharine. Even if the story is for your internal company newsletter, it’s important to make the subject seem like a real person that others can aspire to becoming like. If you put the subject too high on a pedestal, there’s the danger of creating a persona that is not likable.
  • Failing to use standard news release format. Remember that a personality profile is just a specific type of news release. Datelines, contact information, -MORE-, slugs, end signs and perhaps even boilerplate information are still needed.
  • Neglecting AP Style. See my post on 8 Common Errors for more details on this.

What other tips would you add for creating an effective personality profile?

Posted on

COMM 4363 Final Project Presentations

Photo Credit: The Perfect Software Architect, by Martino Sabia

For your Final Project Presentation in COMM 4363 (Corporate PR), please keep these guidelines in mind. Both the presentation and the final project are due in class on Tuesday, November 16.

In General

  • Share with your class 10 Things People Should Know About [Your Company], based on the research you did for your series of blog posts. Pick and choose the information you find to be most relevant and important to share with your classmates.
  • Dress professionally (business casual at a minimum), just as you would if presenting directly to a client.
  • Follow this basic format (just like you learned in your public speaking class)
    • Introduction (remember to start with an attention getter to lead into your introduction)
    • Body (the 10 Things)
    • Conclusion
  • Please use either PowerPoint or Prezi to augment the spoken part of your presentation, but no Death by PowerPoint. If possible, embed your presentation or presentation slides in your blog.
  • You will use your own computer, not mine. I can help you set it up. (If you have a Mac, bring the appropriate adapter.)
  • Though I love gum and hard candy as much as the next person, avoid them when you are in front of the room.
  • Review my tips on How to NOT Suck as a Guest Speaker; even though this post was about being a guest speaker, not doing a class presentation, many of the guidelines still work well.

Solo Presentation, 5-7 minutes

  • See above

Team Presentation, 17-20 minutes

  • In addition to the 10 Things, also include approximately 10 minutes on an overview of your mini-campaign. Use visuals, as applicable, to back up your points. Be sure to include a section on what you’d do differently if faced with a similar campaign in the future.
  • Each team member must have a speaking role. Practice transitions between speakers, in addition to practicing the content. Also think about where people who are not speaking will be when one of you is presenting. It’s important that the entire team appears engaged during the presentation.

As an Audience Member

  • Treat the speakers with the same level of respect as you would wish for your own presentation.
  • Tweeting during presentations is acceptable. Use the class hashtag of #COMM4363 with any tweets. (Avoid any other use of electronics, please.)
  • Develop a question or two to ask the speakers. I expect to hear at least one question from everyone in the class on the day of presentations.
  • Applaud when the presentations are over.
  • See additional tips on being a good audience member by Cathy Stucker.
Posted on

Blog Checklist :: End of Fall 2010

For my PR students at Southeastern University and Georgia Southern University:

As this semester is winding down, please take a few moments to complete this Blog Checklist to ensure your blog is on track.

Posted on

Public Relations Evaluation

In this week’s COMM 2322 class, we are discussing the fourth part of the RACE process of public relations, evaluation. Below are the slides to accompany my talk in class.