Shelby’s Thoughts on PR and Social Media

As the summer comes to an end and I begin taking my finals, I’ve been thinking about what I’ve learned this summer.  I took a Commincation in Small Organization course, and a History course other than my Style & Design course.  Obviously history is one of those classes that you need to take because you need to know the information, but honestly, it doesn’t have very much real life value if you’re wanting to get into public relations.

The communication course was a bit more useful, we learned various types of communication styles, confict management techniques and other communication tools, such as verbal and nonverbal cues.  But I think the most relevant and interesting course I took this summer was the Style & Design course.  This past year I have been confused about what type of industry or organization I want to get involved with when I graduate.

The more i have been getting into pr and understanding the roots of what it is, the more uncertain I have become unfortunately about whether I want to get into this profession.  However, this course has changed my mind a little.  I really enjoy, as I’ve said many times here, working on the computer and building webpages.

Now building webpages is not necessarily public relations, but I can spin in to be.  Instead of building traditional sites, I can build interactive sites that will include blogs, and podcasting.

I’m still not completely certain what I would like to do, but I think doing an internship with Camp ASCCA will help me decide if this is infact what I want to get into.

As our final project for the Style & Design course, we are creating a webpage for ourselves, it will include at least 10 HTML pages for our resume and portfolio. I have been enjoying making this webpage, but I never understand how tedious the process actually is.

We started with templates from OSWD and have gone from there. Apparently I picked a very hard template to work with because most of what appears to be the background color of the site, are actually images. So changing the “background” colors have been a very tedious task.

Also part of this final is to create several items with the programs we used throughout the semester, and create a portfolio. We are creating a brochure and a magazine with three full pages, using Indesign and Adobe photoshop. Some other things we are adding to our website are out interview we conducted using Skype and then edited with Audacity, a resume using Flash, and other things we have created in other classes.

I think i have spent about 20 hours on this project so far, and will probably spend at least 10 more over the next several days before it is due on Wenseday.

For the most part this has been an enjoyable process, except those times when I get stressed out because I didn’t know how something works and have to figure it out.  I am glad I took this course during the summer, however I think we should have had much more class time to work on this project and during the fall and spring semester’s, I bet they did have the time.

This has been a good project to do because as this summer has gone by, my interest in social media and web design has increased greatly, and I am now thinking I may want to do something with this when I graduate, so this project has been  beneficial to get experience with Dreamweaver and the other programs we have been using.

“As PR people, we are expected to be in the know. Does that need to know suddenly go away because you’re away from the office?”

I just read this quote from a blog posted on PR Girlz. My opinion is NO, that need definately doesn’t go away. How nice would it be if when we take a vacation, we truly take a vacation.. However, everything in the world doesn’t stop when we go on a vacation, or leave the office.  This is why more hotels are offering free internet service, or have wireless capabilities, because people in the professional world can’t completely remove themselves from what’s going on in the world around them.
We have to stay updated on not only local news, but national and international news as well. I enjoy watching Fox News when I get chance, and I enjoy watching Good Morning America to get a quick update on whats going on in the world.

But what I’ve found to be most convenient is getting on the web periodically to get up to the minute news updates. My favorite website is USA Today, primarily because I like the way it is organizaed and I can always find what I’m looking for very easily.

The point is, as pr practitioners we must know what’s going on in the news around us. This is especially important with crisis management and competitive products, or services. If your competitor product just made a new ad campaign and their revenues doubled, as a pr practitioner you need to know what they did, and use it yourself or find out how to make a better one!

I was inspired last week when I found the website for my old youth group leader’s new church. Antley Fowler is an amazing pastor for River City Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Their website included podcasts, rss feeds, and suprise suprise.. blogs! I was so excited to listen to some of the podcasts from Antley’s sermons, and then to read blogs and comments about what’s going on with the church.

The website was designed by Livingston & Partners, a Jacksonville web design studio. I got really excited to see how my old church was using all the tools that I am learning about in class. You know social media is the future of PR when even church and local ministries are using them!

I have been trying to decide what exactly I want to do when I graduate in May, and I think I may have found something I would really enjoy. Creating websites and incorporating the social media tools we have been using in class would be really interesting and fun to do.
I went to the website of the church I belong to back home, Christ Church, and I found that my pastor has been putting all his sermons on a host website for christian podcasting. The website is awesome! One Place offers tons of free podcasts, devotionals, and other helpful tools. Churches, christian speakers, and authors from all over the nation have weekly or daily podcasts on this site.

My only concern is I may be jumping onto the bandwagon too late. It seems like just about everyone has already setup websites that include blogs, rss feeds, and video and audio podcasts. I hope that this is not the case, and for now I will keep my eyes open looking for opportunities to create websites and incorporate social media tools for local businesses or organizations.

1 If you have a blog, have you ever written critically or negatively about consumer brands or products on your blog?
I have not written negatively I don’t think, however I have critiqued a few things.

2 If you have a blog, have you ever written positively or favourably about consumer brands or products on your blog?
Yes, I have written positively for Audacity, HotRecorder, iTunes, and eBay.

3 Has your opinion of a consumer brand or product ever been changed by something you have read on someone else’s blog?
No, but I haven’t read too many blogs about consumer products.

4 Do you read corporate blogs?
No, I don’t.

5 If yes, have they improved your opinion of the company/brand/product that the blog covers?

6 Which source of information about consumer brands or products are you most likely to trust – please rank in order?
a) Personal blogs
b) Corporate blogs
c) Company websites
d) newspaper/magazine editorial
e) Other independent website editorial

I am most likely to trust personal blogs. People are writing them because they feel passionate on whichever stance they are taking, and are being honest about it. I trust newspaper/ magazine editorials and corporate blogs next. I will lastly trust company websites and other independent website editorials.

Ebay is wonderful! Although I’m confident it has become a household name, in case there are some people out there who still don’t know exactly what eBay is,

“eBay is The World’s Online Marketplace, enabling trade on a local, national and international basis. With a diverse and passionate community of individuals and small businesses, eBay offers an online platform where millions of items are traded each day,” as said on About eBay’s webpage.

I just bought my boyfriend an authentic, brand new Swiss Army watch for his birthday, and it was almost half as expensive as the exact same watch in the jewelry store, and it was tax free! Why would someone not buy on eBay?

I think eBay is the leading online consumer to consumer shopping network, and as more and more people are getting on, it is becoming more and more popular. Will Bay completely replace all other online buying? I think it is a great possibility.

Not only are regular people on eBay trying to sell random things from their house, but businesses are now on eBay and are selling items from their stores.

Ebay is very safe, and they work very hard to protect their customers. My boyfriend loves eBay, and has bought his suv, his motorcycle, and other various electronic items on eBay, and has never had a problem. For most items you do have to pay for shipping, but that can be chalked up to paying taxes in regular stores.

Ebay is a great marketing tool, and I think it can be used as a pr tool also, if it isn’t already and I am just unaware of it. Like I said, businesses are putting their store items on eBay, and there are now businesses that sell consumer items solely on eBay which is greatly increasing e-commerce.

As e-commerce continues increasing it would make the most sense for brick and mortar businessed to begin to decrease. It might not happen right away for necessary items like groceries and maybe clothing, but for luxury items, I think eBay and other online selling websites will soon replace traditional brick and mortar businesses.

for more information on E–marketing visit this site: E-marketing.

I’ve been trying to decide what kind of job or internship I can do during the fall. I will be taking 15 hours, so whatever I do has to be part-time so I can continue to concentrate on my studies. I would love to get a position that will help me get my feet wet in the field of public relations, but I’m still not sure that I want to get into a public relations position when I graduate.

For my purposes, I think it may be better for me to get an internship in a sales or marketing position that maybe includes some pr duties. I’m lucky because I actually have the option to potentially work in any of these three categories in the fall.

However, I’m not sure I understand the difference between doing an internship and getting a job. I know that in most cases if you do well in an internship you are usually offered a full-time position when you graduate, but are there any other benefits? I do not want to live in Auburn when I graduate, so I would need to work with a business that has other offices at least in the Southeast, for that to benefit me.

Should I do an internship that I won’t necessarily love doing, but will give me experience, and look good on my resume, or should I look into a job that might not necessarily be public relations, but I will enjoy doing it? I guess I couldn’t have picked a better title for this article, because that’s all I am right now, very confused.

Another problem is I have yet to take PRCM 4500, which is a requirement to get credit for doing an internship. Therefore, I can do an internship in the fall, but it won’t be official, so I will have to do another one before I graduate. This is the main reason why I was curious about the differences between internships and jobs.

Please offer any advice on what you think is the best solution for me, or any advice you find relevent. I guess in the meantime I will stay confused and hopefully figure things out when I get thrown out into the real world in a year.

Katie and Danielle, two Auburn University students, are doing a great job with social media for Camp ASCCA. These two students are doing summer internships with this nonprofit organization. They allow the campers families and friends, and anyone else, to see what happens on a day-to-day basis by writing about their experiences while being at the camp on the Camp ASCCA website. The pictures, video files, and audio files capture the true essence of this camp and allow people to see the feelings, thoughts, and worries that these campers and their families feel.

The Camp ASCCA journal page is the page created for these girls to blog about the camp. Some of the new pr tools they incorporate are creating podcasts, both audio and video, using Flickr, and rss feeds. I have had classes with these girls and it is really neat to see how they have put what they learned in their classes into action. I think they are doing a great job doing public relations for Camp ASCCA. If you search through the site you will see that not only have Auburn students made comments on these girls blogs, but the campers parents have as well.

I love how interactive the site is. These girls don’t just tell us what camp is like by writing feature articles, they show us what camp is like by incorporating pictures, videos of the kids, and audio files of interviews with kids, their parents, and people who work there.

I believe especially with nonprofit pr there is a large need for the use of social media, like in this case. By writing these articles and using taglines, the organization’s website has a better chance of moving toward the front page of search engines, which is the goal to getting more traffic for the site.

But what about larger organizations, or pr agencies, is their need for social media as big? I don’t want to get into nonprofit pr when I graduate, so how much will I use the social media tools I am using in class right now? Obviousy I can blog, because anyone and everyone is blogging right now, but because so many people are blogging I am struggling to figure out how to make my blogsite unique and make people want to read my blogs over the other thousands that are out there right now.

Don’t get me wrong, I have really enjoyed working with Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Audacity, Hotrecorder, and Skype, but will I use these tools when I graduate and enter the professional world? I want to know how often pr agencies or other large companies with pr departments use social media, and if they don’t, will I be able to encourage them to begin using it? Or furthermore, if they do use social media, and if most coporations use it, how long will they use it? Is social media just a fad for the minute, or will it have lasing effects on public relations as we know it today?

Do the classes you take in college truly prepare you for being in the professional world? Does being able to write a five page feature writing article, or learning about differences in communication between men and women prepare you to prevent crises from occurring in your organization? Does it teach you how to manage a crisis and educate the public when they occur?

As I enter my senior year, I’m just not sure that making an A in human communication or Introduction to PR is a measure of how well I will do in the professional world when I graduate. I was conducting an interview with Ms. Theresa Harris, a pharmaceutical sales representative, and one piece of advice she gave me was to make sure to keep my grades up. But, if and when I get into the sales field, if I can’t make a sale to my clients, will it matter that I made a 4.0 my senior year? Or, am I destined to do well if I did make a 4.0?

My fears were confirmed after I read an article by Brian Solis. He agrees that college classes don’t fully prepare students for entering the business world, whether it is public relations, marketing, or another communication major. Solis argues the college curriculum for these majors don’t adequately prepare students for when they enter the profession, in fact, very rarely do students jump into the organization right after graduation and know exactly what to do, and are able to do it well.

If this is true, why get a public relations degree? Why not get a more interesting major where you will enjoy every class you take, even though it may not have anything to do with business? If most everything to be learned is learned while being in the field why do I need to get a public relations degree?

If it is true that experience in the field and being on the jobsite is the best way to learn, then should colleges consider reducing the time pr and marketing students spend in the classrooms and increasing the time they spend on jobsites, or in the profession they want to get into? Since I am just a student and haven’t been in the workforce yet i can’t answer this question, but I would love to receive advice and hear what people who have been in the profession for awhile think.