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PRCA 2330 :: Spring 2009 Student Blogs

typewriter_keysFor my Intro to PR students:

Add a comment to this post with your blog address, so that I will know where to find you. For example, my blog’s address is http://publicrelationsmatters.com. Use the FULL address, including the http://

Thanks!

Barbara

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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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Creating a Magazine Cover

In one of my public relations classes, I asked my students to create their own magazine covers about themselves so that we could get to know each other better. And I thought it was only fair that I shared my own magazine cover, created using Big Huge Labs.

All About Barbara - Magazine Cover by you.

The photo was taken in front of the Love sculpture in Scottsdale, AZ, in January 2007. We were in Scottsdale for the PF Chang Rock & Roll Half-Marathon, which we both walked in less than four hours (faster than some of the runners!).

I took the photo of my husband and me at arm’s length; I especially liked how my pink International Listening Association jacket shows up in the reflections in our sunglasses. Since that weekend, I’ve made it a habit of always snapping pictures of us together like that so that we can better remember our travels together.

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Arrive, Survive & Thrive in Prof. Nixon’s Classes :: Spring 2009

An Open Note to All of Prof. Nixon’s Students at Georgia Southern University:

We’re almost off and running in our Spring Semester classes at GSU. This semester, I’m teaching two classes; the classes, with hyperlinks to the syllabi, are listed below:

So that we can make the most of this semester, please (PLEASE) take some time to read through the blog posts I’ve included here. I promise you, it will be well worth your time. (How often do professors let you get inside their heads, letting you know their tips for success and their pet peeves?)

Additionally, here are a few more tips:

  • When communicating with me via e-mail (or Facebook), please put your course number (such as PRCA 3339) in the subject line to help me immediately identify who you are and frame your questions or comments. Do your best to write in full sentences, paying attention to standard English grammar and spelling. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name, as your GSU e-mail address will not make that readily apparent to me.
  • When submiting an assignment in GeorgiaVIEW, always put your last name as part of the file name, and also include your name in the document itself. Papers submitted without your last name as part of the file name cannot earn full credit.
  • Follow me on Twitter, if you really want to get inside my head. (What’s Twitter?)

Let’s make this a great semester together!

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Becoming Social

As the semester progresses in both PR Publications and Introduction to PR, we’ll be investigating many different forms of social media. I will demo the sites for you in class, and then you will have the opportunity to explore the service providers.

The Conversation Prism, by Brian Solis

 

To get started, sign up for free accounts at the following sites. For quick and concise explanations of each of the services, see Common Craft’s “In Plain English” series.

A couple of notes:

  • If you already have an account at one of the sites, there’s no need to obtain another one just for this class.
  • If possible, use the same username for all the sites. I tend to use my real name as my username; if you are uncomfortable using your real name, feel free to use a professional-sounding username of your choice.
  • Avoid using numbers along with your name for your username; that’s often a tactic that spammers use.

Please be sure to sign up for all the accounts by January 21.

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/briansolis/2735401175/ (Note: A full summary is available on PR 2.0)

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A Cannibal is a “People Person,” Too

Bleeding Hearts!! by Sabby3000.As Spring semester is drawing near, I am preparing to teach Introduction to Public Relations for the first time in several years. One of the things we’ll do during the first week is discuss why the students chose PR as a major.

I ran across this info in a blog post by John King at East Tennessee State University, and I laughed out loud. King has heard his students give these reasons for liking PR:

“I’m a people person.” 
“I like people.” 
“I really like people.” 
“I really, really like people.” 
“I really, really, really like people.”

To these students, King replies:

“Well, so do cannibals!  They like them baked, half-baked, fried, deep-fried, even shishkabobbed and sushied (is that a word?).” 

“But, can you write?  Can you do research?  Can you write a speech?  Can you design a brochure, newsletter, web page or other persuasive publication?  Do you have a nice balance of creativity and analytical skills (right brain and left brain functions)?  Are you persuasive?  Are you willing to learn some management skills?  Are you a team-player?  Can you learn AP style? Can you meet deadlines?  Can you juggle 17 projects at once?  Do you understand media culture?” 

“Oh, and do you like people?”

Well said, Dr. King, well said!

barbara_is_listening

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/93014914@N00/495608405/

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Getting Ready for Spring 2009 PRCA 2330

A hearty welcome to all my new students who have enrolled in PRCA 2330: Introduction to Public Relations, at Georgia Southern University.

Textbook(s)

Wilcox, D.L., & Cameron, G.T. (2009). Public relations: Strategies and tactics (9th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

  • Purchasing the hardcover book is about $90 at Amazon.com, 
  • You can rent the hardcover book for about $50 from Chegg. 
  • Or you can rent an electronic version of the book  from  CourseSmart for about $60.

Recommended but not required: Li, C., & Bernoff, J. (2008). Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies. Boston, MA: Forrester Research, Inc.

Social Media

Be prepared to immerse yourself in social media as part of Intro to PR. If you want to get a jumpstart before classes begin, you might want to do the following:

  • Sign up for an account at Twitter. (What’s Twitter?) Use some variation of your real first and/or last name. (Do not include any numbers with your name, or you may risk appearing like a spammer.) Follow me at Twitter by going to http://twitter.com/barbaranixon .
  • Join PR OpenMic, an online community for public relations students, practitioners and faculty.

Additional Items

  • Pack of multi-color markers (you will need these on the first day)
  • USB drive 
  • Occasional use of a notebook computer in class

Syllabus

And last but not least, here’s a copy of your syllabus for the semester. By the end of the first week of class, you’ll also have our daily schedule of activities. You can view the syllabus online below or download it for easy printing atprca-2330-spring-2009.

PRCA 2330 Spring 2009 Syllabus          

View SlideShare document or Upload your own. (tags: relations public)
Questions?
barbara_is_listening
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Pleasantries on Twitter?

In my (almost) year using Twitter, I’ve noticed that some people greet people with a “good morning” as they start their days, and others end their days with some version of “good night.” That led me to wonder how often–if at all–you exchange these types of pleasantries as you start and end your days on Twitter. Please take a moment and take this quick and unscientific poll.

I also welcome your comments on why you do or do not say “good morning” or “good night.”