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Start a PR-Themed Blog

For my PRCA 3330 Class

On Wednesday and Friday this week, we will not be meeting in our usual PRCA 3330 class, as I will be at the International Listening Association conference in Maine. Your assignment for the week, which will count as your attendance and participation for the week, is as follows:

  • Sign up for an account at WordPress.com if you don’t already have one
  • Create a public relations-themed blog by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 25. Add a comment here to let me know  what the name and address (URL) of your blog are
  • Write at least two postings, again with something related to PR as the theme
  • In each posting, offer at least two hyperlinks to relevant sites
  • Comment on at least two of your classmates blogs; see http://del.icio.us/listeningmatters/PRCA3330blogs for a listing of them. This listing will be available by the end of the day on Wednesday, March 26
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Review a PR-Related Blog

For my PRCA 3330 class

Find a PR-related blog, and read through several of the postings. Then add a comment to this message here at Public Relations Matters with your thoughts. Be sure to include:

  • Name of the blog
  • Website address of the blog
  • Intended audience (if you can determine that)
  • Your thoughts on the content of the blog 

If you need some ideas of what I mean by PR-related blogs, see my links: http://del.icio.us/listeningmatters/PR_blogs for a starting place. (Please don’t use one of these, but you can use one that is linked FROM one of these.)

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Edelman Digital Bootcamp: Energizing and Exhausting

exhaustedHave you ever felt exhausted at the end of a day? I’m sure we all have, especially when the day is filled with physical activity. But have you ever felt worn out after a day when you spent the day involved in intense listening?

That happened to me just yesterday. Even so, I didn’t even once feel the need to raise my hand, like the student in Gary Larson’s Far Side cartoon, and say, “May I please be excused? My head is full.” If it’s possible, I came away from that day both exhausted and energized . . . so many great ideas were generated and shared on how to make social media an integral part of the public relations strategies.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the Edelman Digital Bootcamp, hosted by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication. This intense one-day workshop was designed for students and educators from throughout the Southeast. In addition to a large contingent from UGA, several other schools were represented: Kennesaw State College, Clemson University, University of West Florida, Georgia Southern University and Auburn University (War Eagle!).

The news release prior to the event described Edelman Digital Bootcamp like this:

Edelman, the world’s leading independent public relations firm, seeks to provide students and educators hands-on skills integration training about the professional use of new media.

Bootcamp participants will break into teams and Edelman practitioners will direct them in a mock campaign. Students will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with Edelman facilitators to research, design and implement a social media solution for the assigned client. This approach will allow students to network with professionals while also gaining hands-on experience.

An additional track will be available to educators, focused more on sharing ideas and encouraging the adoption of new media in more communication curricula throughout the Southeast. Educators will have the opportunity to discuss the practicalities of teaching new media, share lesson plans and more.

Edelman intends to expand its Digital Bootcamp to other college campuses across the nation in what they hope will become an annual event.

As the day progressed, I had my notebook computer out and used del.icio.us to make note of the websites mentioned during several of the presentations. You’ll find that list below; most of the sites are free to use. I’ll share more of my thoughts on the bootcamp later this week, especially on Tweeting and its effect my listening during the day.

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Less-Than-Flattering Quotations on Public Relations

“Public-relations specialists make flower arrangements of the facts, placing them so that the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms”
– Alan Harrington

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.”
– Daniel J. Boorstin
 
“All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway.”
– Harry S Truman
 
“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”
– Richard Feynman