Category: public relations

What passes for normal on Facebook might never happen in real life. Would you literally write on a friend’s wall? Do you really want to be friends with someone you didn’t like when you were in class together? Do you poke people with your index finger often? Idiots of Ants (idiot savants?) created this great little video clip. Gotta love the British humour.

Thanks go to Donna Pappacosta‘s Twitter feed for pointing this clip out.

Ever lose your USB drive? I think we’ve all left it someplace at one time or another. It’s an awful feeling to think you’ve lost everything. Here are some tips that may help.

First, and most importantly, ONLY use your USB drive for transport. Never use it as the only place you’ve saved a file. Ever. (Got that?)

Second, e-mail critical files to yourself before you leave the library, lab, or wherever you’re using your USB drive. That way, if the drive gets misplaced, you’ll still have a copy of the really important stuff. 

Third, attach your USB drive to your keys. It’s unlikely that you’d leave your keys behind.

Fourth, write your name on the outside of your USB drive with a Sharpie. Or, if it’s a dark USB drive, write your name on a tiny piece of paper and tape it to the drive. 

Owner Information:
Your Name
Address (optional)
Phone Number(s)
E-mail Address

And finally, if you decide that your USB drive is dirty and needs washing in the pocket of your jeans (like I did last week), it may still be usable. Take the cap off and hang or place it upside down to dry. Let it dry for a day or two before trying to use it again.

On my campus, and probably on most campuses, it’s finals time.

If you’re a parent, it’s time to send off a final exam care package.

If you’re a faculty member, it means even more. Here are a few of my thoughts as the semester winds down.

Students are stressed because “they are so busy.”

HINT: Yes, I know you feel busy now. And this is great prep for you when you get into the working world. You’ve known all semester that you have these projects due at the same time. In the world of PR, you’ve got to be ready to juggle. And not just juggling scarves or bowling pins; those are too easy. Think juggling knives while walking on a tightrope over flames. (Isn’t that an awesome graphic? It came from mike r baker‘s website. Check out his other stuff!)

Students are coming to me (usually by e-mail, but sometimes in person) asking about what their grades are so far.

HINT: I post everything in WebCT Vista, so this is info that you have immediate access to all throughout the semester. Please don’t wait until the end of the semester to check your progress.

Students (not all, but some) are upset about their grades and seem surprised it’s because they left out big parts of their projects/assignments.

HINT: And this one’s a big one. I give detailed assignment guidelines for all major – and most minor – assignments. I even provide a link to the rubrics (here’s one for the Newsletter for my PR Publications Class) for most assignments early in the semester. What more can I do to ensure that you know how you will what needs to be included and how you will be graded? (That’s a real question, not a rhetorical one.)

Students follow the advice and guidelines they’ve been given and do extremely well on their assignments. These are the kind of students that employers look forward to hiring.

HINT: It does happen every semester. At least a few people in each class “get it,” and make it all worthwhile for me. If you’re one of these people, THANK U! 

What should go into a media kit? Why would a public relations practitioner want to use one? How are they distributed? And what’s this about a new Social Media Release?

These were the topics in this morning’s PR Writing class.

For a lot more information on the Social Media Release, see the PR Squared blog (thanks, Todd!). And for an easy-to-use SMR template that will let you publish to WordPress for free, see PRX Builder.

In today’s class, I shared some of the key things I learned while teaching Public Relations Writing at Georgia Southern University. Since I’m a huge Wizard of Oz (and Wicked) fan, I related what I learned to my favorite movie of all time.

 

As spring semester draws to a close, I’m reminded of a blog posting I wrote at the beginning of the semester and shared with my students. I’m hoping that my students heeded the “what not to do” comments . . .

See http://listeningmatters.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/how-to-fail-a-class-without-really-trying/ for the What Not to Do list.

Though our discussions this semester in PRCA 3330 at Georgia Southern University, you probably are aware that public relations students should know about Web 2.0. If you need a refresher on what Web 2.0 is, see the video below. (You do not need audio to benefit from the video; there are no spoken words in the video.)

For Monday’s class, you’ll be divided into groups. Based on the group you’re in, do some quick research and brainstorming on your assigned Web 2.0 concept:

• RSS, including readers/aggregators
• Podcasting
• Microblogging
• Blogging
• Tagging, including social bookmarks
• Social Media Press Release
• Social networking
• Wikis

Each person in your group should respond to these questions by using the Comments feature. You can either answer directly in your Comment, or provide a hyperlink to your blog, and respond in your own blog.

• What does the concept mean? (Briefly define the concept, including a hyperlink.)
• What are some examples of service providers? (Include hyperlinks)
• In general, how is the concept relevant for public relations students (or practitioners)?
• How could you apply the concept for your client for this class? (You do not need to identify your client, unless you want to.)

 PRCA 3330 Students

Join PR OpenMic. Spend some time in class looking around within the site. Respond to the following questions in the Comments area of this blog posting. You can either put your entire comment in the posting, or provide a hyperlink to your own blog and respond there.

• What is the most beneficial area (or areas) of PR OpenMic? Why?
• Who are some “big name” PR practitioners who have already joined PR OpenMic?
• How do you think you could benefit from PR OpenMic?
• How could you contribute to PR OpenMic?

 

Objective

Share the highlights (and maybe the lowlights) of your experiences in this PRCA 3330 course

Requirements

Prepare and present a short speech summarizing a top ten list for this class. Consider the most important things you got out of PR Writing. Be sure to include:

• how your writing has/will/could benefit your client
• your strengths as a PR writer
• your challenges & what you’re doing to overcome them
• other points as you see fit

Deliverables

• A presentation (two to five minutes), complete with introduction, body and conclusion
• A professional-looking PowerPoint presentation

Worth

• 50 points
• BONUS Possibility: Additional 25 points for posting your presentation to your blog using SlideShare no later than 9:00 am on 25 April. See the WordPress FAQ on how to embed the code for your SlideShare slide-deck into your blog.

What’s the purpose of a resume? It’s not to get you a job. . . instead, it’s to provide a positive first impression that MAY garner an interview for you. The advice below comes from my years of being – and listening to – hiring leaders. If you’re lucky, hiring leaders may scan your resume for up to 15 seconds before they determine if it’s worth pursuing further.

• Tailor your resume to the specific position that you’re applying for. Use the same phrasing in your resume that you’ve found in the employer’s want ad whenever possible.
• If you have less than 10 years of experience, it’s best to stick to the traditional one-page resume. Each additional 10 years helps you “earn” an additional page. (If you want or need to provide more details, offer the URL of your LinkedIn profile. See my profile.)
• Pepper your resume with terms that are relevant to the career field and industry in which you desire employment. Phrase your work experience in terms that are relevant to your career goal.
• Use reverse chronological order (most recent first) when listing your experience and education.
• If you are still in college, it’s okay to leave your high school on your resume if you have available space for it, especially if you did something noteworthy during your high school years. After you graduate from college, leave high school off your resume.
• Always start every bullet point in your experience section with an action verb. Use past tense for previous jobs and present tense for current jobs.
• If you have little paid work experience, provide details on projects done in classes to show that you are prepared to enter the working world.
• Volunteer experience counts too! Don’t forget to include service projects you’ve been involved with.
• Explain acronyms and cryptic group names on resumes. A potential employer will not automatically know that SOCS stands for Society of Communication Scholars, ILA stands for International Listening Association, or that PRestige is a public relations firm made up of college students.
• Many employers assume that if an organization’s name includes greek letters, it’s a social fraternity or sorority. If you belong to something Phi Kappa Phi, indicate that this is an honor society.
• What to do about that GPA? If it’s above 3.0 (on a 4-point scale), you may want to include it. If it starts with a 2 or lower, definitely leave it off. Or, you can include your GPA just in your major if you’d like, for example “3.4 GPA in Major.”
• Before you graduate, you can still include your anticipated degree on your resume. For example, “Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations expected in May 2008.”

For entry-level public relations positions, Jennifer Abshire of Abshire Public Relations & Marketing offers these additional suggestions:

• Leave the objective off, or customize it for the specific position you’re applying for. Don’t use a generic one that you found on a template somewhere.
• Include all your work experience, even if it seems not directly related to the position. (The worst that will happen is that it will show that you are a hard worker.) Abshire holds in high regard people who are well rounded and street smart, rather than with a high GPA and no work experience or community involvement.
• Send a few samples of your writing or design work along with your resume.
• If sending your resume (and samples) electronically, make one PDF file that has all the information in it, rather than sending multiple attachments. (For an inexpensive and easy-to-use program for creating PDFs, try CutePDF.)

After you’ve created your resume, have several people proofread it for you. Set it aside for a while. Then measure your resume up against this Resume Checklist.