Better Your Resume

It has comes to my attention that having an excellent resume is essential for you college career. I attended a workshop that helped me see what is really important to highlight and what things can be left off your resume when creating one. Below is a website that I found through the PRSSANational Twitter that gives helpful tips on writing your resume.

1. Eliminate the clutter

2. Spell check and grammar check

3. Include social media

4. Ditch the template

5. Consider keywords

Link: http://thecommunicationsblog.com/2010/10/25/5-ways-young-communications-pros-can-improve-their-resumes/

EIU Going For A Smoke Free Campus?

Not exactly, but there plans for designated smoking areas. Right now this a current debate on campus due to Eastern's Tobacco Coalition that was visited the Charleston City Council, Faculty Senate and Student Senate in hopes to promote their latest idea of a smoking free environment. Now I know this will cause much controversy and enforcing the designated areas would be difficult, but this would be great PR for our campus if this plan were effective and successful. There aren't many campuses that are smoke free and I think that this idea should really follow through. There is nothing worse then walking behind someone on your way to class and getting a breath of smoking air in your face.

For more information on the topic go to the Den's website: http://media.www.dennews.com/media/storage/paper309/news/2011/04/27/News/Smoking.On.Campus.Up.For.Debate-3995927.shtml

PR Stressful?

Apparently being a public relations professional is the 2nd most stressful job to have.
http://www.careercast.com/content/10-most-stressful-jobs-2011-2-public-relations-officer

Twitter Bad for Relationships?

A new study is showing that people who use Twitter are more likely to have a shorter real-life relationships. Here is the link to the article that talks about it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/19/twitter-relationships_n_850961.html

More Good PR for Disney

Recently, the Walt Disney Company decided to extend their support to all the military families by giving them special discounts. Read more about their decision.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/04/walt-disney-parks-and-resorts-extends-discounts-for-military-families/?CMP=SOC-DLRUSENFY11Q3DLR_SocMedBFB0003

Socialnomics

Here is another video that is very similar to the "Social Media Revolution".

Social Media Revolution

This is an interesting video put together about the revolution of social media. I think it is really impressive and a great music choice to get the adrenaline pumping while watching it.

Podcast

Here is a podcast that me and another classmate (Heather Derby) created. This podcast overviews a "fake" art exhibit, Nihonga that is coming to Eastern Illinois University's campus.

Download link of podcast: http://www.mediafire.com/?w8hdu42s89676wm

Five PR Tips for Greeks

The other day I came across a blog that is geared towards Greeks. On the blog site there is a variety of different posts that are categorized to help those who are in Greek Life to read what they find helpful or most interesting. What I found the most interesting was a post about public relations tips that can be useful to promote your sorority or fraternity. The top five tips were:

1. Respect Your Brand

2. Facebook is not the "know all end all"

3. Engage, Engage, Engage

4. Get on Twitter

5. Involve your alumni

After reading over how each of these tips can be useful, it made me realize how public relations can be extremely important when it comes to promoting and maintaining relationships with the community, alumni, parents, and other greeks. It is so simple to use public relations and yet I feel like sometimes as members of a sorority we overlook it. So many people are now using the internet and are getting caught up in the social media craze. It is important to be up to date with everything that is new and meet the needs of the latest demands. Twitter, for instance, is huge. For my sorority, I run the Twitter page and try to follow other chapters and sororities and fraternities so my chapter and myself can stay updated on what is going on in the Greek community. It is a lot like blogging, but in a smaller form. It is quick and to the point and can easy inform anyone on what's going on and what to look forward too. Also, the tip on respecting your brand really sticks with me. When joining a sorority or fraternity ultimately you are joining a brand and it is your job to promote it so it is important to make sure that everything correlates so people understand who you are and what you are.

The blog goes into more detail about each tip and if it all interested visit the website: http://www.blog.webgreek.com/2011/03/five-pr-tips-for-greeks/

A Simple Reblog

The other day I was searching around on a blog site called, Tumblr for random pictures and quotes since a friend had told me about the site being somewhat useful for those sort of things. As I visited the site I went through pages and pages of different content not really taking too much in, but enjoying myself as I viewed all the random things people post out of fun. One post however really came to my attention and it was about helping the relief efforts in Japan since they clearly have been hit with some terrible natural disasters. The post read something along the lines of for every so many reposts or reblogs that a certain amount of money would be donated to Japan by the actual representatives of the Tumblr site. As amazing as this idea sounds and I hope people did reblog the post if it actually was effective or not? And how do they keep track of every since reblog by their users?

If this whole public relations effort really was effective, I think that more people could be helped. A simple reblog doesn't take that much work and for those people who can't really afford to donate their own money can at least try to help. I think more blogging sites, or even other forms of social media should jump on this new trend and try to gain support for good causes. After seeing this on a blogging site and how many times I began seeing that same post as I scrolled through countless pages makes me proud to know that public relations can be put to creative and good use. Sometime public relations is used in such formal ways, but today public relations is really beginning to break out of its shell and reach out to more people.

Charlie Sheen Looking For Social Media Intern?

Just when we think Charlie Sheen has reached the highest level of crazy, it seems it just gets worse. This week what is now being called, The Sheen Team is looking for prospective college students who would intern for Sheen himself and run his Twitter page. (I wish I was joking about this, but it is serious.) The internship consists of 8 weeks during the summer working closely with Charlie Sheen and maintaining his social media, while increasing his followers and probably making he gets his daily dose of whatever he is f***ed up on. (The last part wasn't in the description, but more than likely I'm sure it comes along with the gig even if not stated.)

Personally, if this were for any other celebrity out there I would apply in a heart beat since I LOVE social media, but no way in hell would I want to work for this whack job. Sheen clearly needs some sort of help and if he doesn't get it soon, well I'm sure we all know what happened to Kurt Cobain and Anna Nicole Smith. Whoever is the PR person for Sheen needs to realize that even though he is getting the much wanted attention that every celebrity wants, however that's not what he needs right now. Trying to hire some poor soul to run his Twitter should be his last concern. Maybe cleaning himself up and getting back on the right track should be his main focus?

To read the actual description visit the site here: http://cs.internships.com/charlie-sheen-internship/

Newsletter: World Series

Here is a newsletter that I created for an event that my sorority organizes each fall.

Disney Junior

Since I am a fan of all things Disney, I found this article about a new time segment on the Disney Channel called, Disney Junior. To me it sounds a lot like Nickelodeon's Nick Junior time slot that I remember growing up on as a kid. This is exactly the intentions of the company because they realize the competition and are trying to target to a wider range of children from the ages of 2-7 instead of 2-5. By doing this they are hoping to redefine their brand image. New shows will be added to the line up, but Disney is staying true to its roots and incorporating the mouse himself, Mickey Mouse and the gang to still engage those who are entertained by them.

In my opinion, I think this is a great idea for Disney to try to target kids that might not watch the Disney Channel because there is nothing that really applies to them. Also, Nickelodeon has been doing this for a long time and now Disney finally is jumping on the bandwagon. It may have been long over due, but in the end I think it will be worth it for them. 

For more information, here is the article from ABC News:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12916930

Facebook For Kids?

With Facebook becoming more and more popular each day among teens and adults, the Walt Disney Company has decided to jump on the bandwagon and market their own version of a social networking site called, Togetherville. This site will allow parents to interact and monitor their kids. While the kids can somewhat freely roam around on the site and talk to friends, play games, update statuses, etc. parents have the control of who their child is friends with and what they can post on a daily basis. 

My thoughts on this newest social media site is that I think it is a good idea and a bad idea at the same time. Why it's a good idea is because as time goes on and new generations come into this world, this is the sort of communication we are learning to have. Kids need to start learning how to use these skills on being on the internet to an extent because that is just how things are starting to become. Why it's a bad idea? I don't think that it will reach the popularity as Facebook has and I'm not sure how well the site will actually do. Also, the idea of being safe on the internet is something that kids need to be taught, but at the same time how do we know parents aren't just going to let their kids get an account on Togetherville and do what they please. I mean even kids can start up a Facebook account without the permission of their parents as it is. 

Here is a link to read more about the topic:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-acquires-togetherville-a-social-161023

Mission For Health

Over the weekend as I watching television I noticed a new commercial that Lysol is running. The commercial focused on a new campaign that is called, "Mission For Health". This campaign is targeting mothers, schools, and disaster relief efforts. Health is clearly very important and extending their efforts to beyond just the normal household they are hoping to create a nationwide brand that can do more than just that. They want to focus on the bigger picture. With this latest campaign, the Lysol website provides tips and information for mothers, schools, and disaster relief workers about how to better the health of the environment around them and educate others about it too.

For mothers, the website gives helpful health tips and information to prepare for the arrival of newborns and the future of their babies after they are home from the hospital. For schools, Lysol is striving to improve attendance and educate students on better health through a new program called, The Blue Ribbon School Attendance Challenge. For disaster relief efforts, a donation is being made by Lysol to provide families who have been struck by a disaster and trying to aid them in anyway that they can.

As a Public Relations major, I have noticed that I tend to pick out the advertisements that aren't solely focused on selling a product, but an idea. It is important to public relations to focus on social responsibility and campaigning these ideas such as Lysol's Mission For Health to people so they understand the importance that their product may offer and how they can participate in the efforts. I thought this campaign will be very affective because I know that I use Lysol frequently in my dorm room. In college you live so closely to so many other people that germs spread fast and so Lysol is a necessity in order to prevent from spreading germs or getting sick.

For more information about the Lysol's Mission For Health campaign visit their website:
http://www.lysol.com/mission-for-health

The Puppy Bowl Is More Than Just Entertainment

Over the weekend while the Super Bowl was the topic of most conversations leading all the way into Monday morning, there was another type of bowl on that was going on. The Puppy Bowl. For the past seven years, Animal Planet has teamed up with local pet adoption agencies and feature a cute line up of puppies that are looking for homes. The two hour show consists of puppies running around interacting with one another and being just plain cute. Even the audience gets involved by being able to go online and voting for the MVP of the show. At the end, the MVP is announced and if you were like one of my roommates in my house that was really into the show it was exciting to see your puppy win.

This is a great public relations tool since not only is the audience being entertained because not everyone is into football or the Super Bowl, but it is also trying to bring awareness to pet adoption. Every day there are animals out there who are abandoned or abused and are in need of a good home, so by creating this show which has been a success for the past seven years is a great way to bring about awareness and give dogs and cats homes. How they do this is throughout the show a graphic continuously pops up and encourages people to go to PetFinder.com and adopt a dog or a cat that is in need of a home. It is almost impossible to not want to go to this site after watching two hours of just dogs running around being cute. Even the dogs featured on the show, as well as cats, are adoptable. However, they do go for a high price.  Either way this PR tool is smart and will hopefully increase the pet adoption rate over the years.

Social Media: A PR Miracle

In the PR world social media sites have been rising in popularity like crazy. Even though prior to the Facebook era there were other social media sites like Xanga and Myspace that existed, but Facebook was the one that broke the barrier and started the craze that everyone is obsessed with. It it hard to find people who don't have a Facebook account even though I do know of a few people that haven't jumped on the bandwagon due to their own personal reasons which I completely respect. However, not being connected with social media especially for PR major is almost a sin. Social media is critical to the PR world and has only advanced the ways in which we communicate, go about creating free publicity and bringing awareness to others.

Today, there is such a variety of social media sites that it's hard to keep up with them all. Every day it seems like there is some sort of new site that is being published to the web. Social media sites are even starting to become the top used sites on the Internet and beating out the porn industry, which for a long time was the number one thing people searched for the on the web. According to The eBusiness Knowledgebass, they rated the top 15 social media sites of 2010 as Facebook(#1), Myspace (#2), Twitter(#3), LinkedIn (#4), and so on. Some of the sites that they had listed I have never heard about before, but somehow they are considered top social media sites used by people all over the world.

With these sites being created it is so beneficial for the PR world because not only is it a way to gain publicity and bring awareness, but it's FREE. It is so simple to type in a 160 character message on Twitter knowing that message can reach out to millions of people all over the world within seconds. Also, Facebook is a wonderful PR tool because many organizations now are using it to interact with it's customers, fans, followers whatever they may be and reach out to them through status updates, fan pages, and events. It's a great way to spread the word without having to spend loads of money on an advertisement campaign that many people might choose to pay attention to or ignore. Social media is a gift sent down from heaven for the PR world.