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PRCA 2330 :: Listening to PR Podcasts

I simply can’t imagine how I’d stay up to speed in the ever-changing world of public relations without listening to podcasts. My iPod stays filled with a variety of podcasts, and I listen to them on my 100-mile roundtrip commutes to Georgia Southern.

Since we have no class on Wednesday, April 1 (as I will be presenting twice at the Southern States Communication Association in Norfolk), here’s what you’ll do instead: listen and write.

  • 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.
  • Respond to this blog post with the name of the podcast you’ve chosen to listen to. (All you have to do is tell me the name of the podcast in the comment section of this post. No other information is needed here.) UPDATE: As of April 6, comments are closed.
  • In your own blog, write a minimum of 250 words about what you got out of the podcast. 
  • What did you learn?
  • What surprised you?
  • What do you want to know more about?
    • Include hyperlinks to the website or show notes of the podcasts
    • Be sure to mention the name(s) of the show’s host(s)
    • Use the category of PR Connections for the post
    • Due: No later than classtime on April 6
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    Seth Godin’s “Tribes”

    In place of class on Monday, you watched a video of Seth Godin discussing his latest book Tribes. Many thanks to Andrew Warner of Mixergy for providing this video. 


    Seth Godin on Tribes–via Mixergy.com from Andrew Warner on Vimeo.
     

    Based on what you saw and heard in the video, discuss the following in your own blog:

    • What did you learn?
    • What surprised you?
    • What do you want to know more about?

    Your post should be a minimum of 250 words and categorized as Assignment.

    Include in your post:

    • Hyperlink to the video (or embed the video if you’re bold!)
    • Hyperlink to Seth Godin’s blog (Google it to find the address)
    • Hyperlink to the book Tribes at an online retailer
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    PRCA 2330 Blog Checklist :: March Edition

    Breaking through by clickclique.At the request of many students, I’ve created a blog checklist to help you be sure you are on track with what you need to include. Remember that your PRCA 2330 blog counts as nearly 1/3 of your grade in the course. Devote as much time to the care and nurture of your blog as you would to a term paper that counts that much. I strongly recommend that you keep up with your blog weekly.

    Please fill out this checklist before class on Monday. I’d appreciate it if you would fill it out once right away, before making any additions or changes to your blog, and then if your blog isn’t as robust as you know it needs to be, fill it out again after you fix things.

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    Interview a Public Relations Professional :: PRCA 2330

    ? by Oberazzi.For this 50-point assignment, you will choose and interview a public relations professional, and then write about this interview at your blog. This post will be a minimum of 250 words. (It’s likely that it will take ~500 to answer these questions fully.)

    Though a face-to-face interview is preferred, a phone or webcam interview is acceptable. 

    Include an introductory paragraph that introduces the PR professional, including title and company, educational background, etc.

    Questions/Topics you need to include:

    • What’s a typical week like? (If no week is typical, then what was last week like?)
    • Tell me about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of.
    • How important is writing in your career?
    • What three tips would you offer someone just starting out in PR?
    • What do you do to keep current in the PR industry?
    • After interviewing this person, are you (the PRCA 2330 student) more or less likely to want to have a career in PR? Why?

    Some questions you may wish to ask:

    • Did your education prepare you for working in PR? How? 
    • What has surprised you the most about working in PR?
    • What do you wish you would have known before starting your career in PR?
    • How has PR changed since you entered the field?
    • How does technology affect your daily work?
    • When your company is hiring for an entry-level PR position, what makes a candidate stand out?
    • What professional organizations are you involved in? (For example, PRSA, IABC, etc.)

    Additional recommended questions, crowdsourced on Twitter:

    • Bruno Amaral: do you feel today’s students are prepared for the challenges of new PR?
    • Jessica Lawlor: what’s your most and least favorite part of your job?

    Some things you may wish to do:

    • Include a photo of your interviewee. (This can be a photo he or she provides or one that you take yourself.)
    • Link to your interviewee’s LinkedIn profile and/or blog.

    As we discussed in class, you can feel free to use a Q / A format.

    Questions?

    barbara_is_listening

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    Job Interviews: 10 Things You Oughtta Know

    In yesterday’s Intro to PR class, I shared 10 things that PR graduates ought to know about preparing for a job interview. Here’s the (relatively) raw audio from the class session. I recorded it live, using my new TuneTalk for my iPod, and did not edit it before posting it. You’ll hear what the class heard.

    Many thanks to Auburn University’s Robert French for helping me to get this audio file posted. Robert is also Site Admin/Founder & “Carlton, Your Doorman” for PROpenMic.

    Questions about interviewing?

    barbara_is_listening

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    How to Fail a Class (Without Really Trying)

    F by Leo Reynolds.Now that winter semester is well on its way, I took some time to reminisce about all the ways that students can do well in my classes. But instead of sharing those with you today, I’ll instead offer the flip-side: what you should do if your goal is to FAIL a class. I promise you that I’ve had a student at one time or another who has done every one of these things. Luckily, there is no one student who has done all of them . . . yet. (Please don’t take this as a challenge ) )

    Assignments

    1. Think of the assignment guidelines provided by your professor as mere suggestions, not requirements for success.
    2. Consider each assignment as discrete entities. Don’t apply the constructive criticism you’ve received from your previous assignment to your next one.
    3. Since Microsoft Word will catch all your mistakes (grammar, APA style,Associated Press style, etc.), there’s no need to proofread your assignments before turning them in.
    4. Plagiarize often and flagrantly. After all, your professor won’t think to check the Internet (or other sources) to see if you’ve copied anything.
    5. Reading homework assignments before the class when they will be discussed? Why bother?

    Grades

    1. Don’t bother to check your grades in GeorgiaVIEW (or your university’s online service), even though they’re posted in there throughout the semester. And don’t bother to keep your graded papers to doublecheck the grade’s accuracy.
    2. If you have a concern about your grade, wait until the last week of class to ask your professor for ideas on how to raise it.
    3. Ask in class every day, “Can we get extra credit for this?” Or, when or if extra credit is offered, turn it down. It won’t make that much difference in your final grade anyway.
    4. If you’re pretty sure you won’t pass the class (or get the grade you’re hoping for) before the Withdraw Date, go ahead and stay in the class anyway, but just don’t bother showing up anymore.

    GeorgiaVIEW

    1. Wait until five minutes before an assignment is due on GeorgiaVIEW before trying to log in to submit it.
    2. When there’s a discussion question posted on GeorgiaVIEW, don’t answer it. Or answer it superficially with one or two sentences. Or say, “I totally agree with what Kyle said in his response.”

    Classroom Decorum

    1. When in a class in a PC lab, check your Facebook or e-mail, or surf the web, while class is in session, even if your professor has said that it’s time to turn all monitors off.
    2. Wait until you get to your classroom to consider printing something that is needed for class that day.
    3. Be the first one to answer every question in class, every time. (I will tend to call this student Horshack, either behind or in front of his or her back.)
    4. Attend class only when you feel like it, and be sure that others know you have better things you could be doing with your time.

    Communication

    1. Don’t check your e-mail for messages from your professor. Or mark your professor’s e-mail as that of a known spammer, so his or her messages automatically are delivered into your bulk mail or spam folder.
    2. When you’re confused, assume that you’re the only one, so don’t ask for clarification or explanation.
    3. Avoid your professor’s office at all costs.
    4. Only discuss grade-related information with your professor. Or even better, only talk to your professor to ask, “Did we talk about anything important in class the last time we met? I wasn’t here.”
    5. Don’t listen, and that means don’t listen to your professor, your classmates, your advisor . . . What you think and feel is way more important.

    Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/13443727/
    Chat Catcher

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    Savannah TweetUp on March 13

    See full size imageThe first Savannah area TweetUp is scheduled for Friday March 13th, 2009, at Cheddar’s, 1425 Benton Blvd in Pooler, GA. The “official” start time is set for 6 PM.

    Come join us as we go off-line to greet our old Twitter friends and to meet new ones. Live music, beautiful people, great wings – what else could you ask for? 

    Many thanks to Larry Lanier for jumping in and coordinating this! Follow @SavannahTweetUp, @LarryLanier and @BarbaraNixon for more details as we get closer to the event.