Doing Social Good with Social Media

Check out my new post about the Social Good Summit hosted by Mashable, 92Y and the UK Foundation at HMandP's Friend Logic blog!

Friend or Foe: Is personal branding detrimental to your company?

I recently became the client services coordinator for PRBrandBuilder. I also started to post on their blog - PRLine. Check out my new post this week on personal branding!

I don't have e-mail, I have Gmail!

Check out my most recent post on HM&P's Fried Logic blog about the Gmail Priority Inbox!

Foursquare: Adding Value For Enterprises

Check out my newest post about the benefits of Foursquare for businesses on HM&P's Fried Logic blog!

Twitter, Skype and Virtual Closets: Students Get Ready for Back To School

New post about social media and back to school on HM&P's Fried Logic blog!

Facebook: The Online Shopping Network?

Check out my post from 8/4 on HMandP's Fried Logic blog about Facebook's new currency !

Twitter: Food for an Open Mind

Check out my post from 7/28 on HMandP's Fried Logic blog and learn all about how Twitter sparks creativity

MySpace: Back With a Vengeance

6/16 post by me on HMandP's Fried Logic blog!

Geocaching: Location-Based Technology Treasure Hunt

7/7 post about location-based technology at HMandP's Fried Logic blog!

Social Media Day: Why Not Celebrate?

6/25 post by me on HMandP's Fried Logic blog: http://bit.ly/b4paGN

The 2010 FIFA World Cup: A Social Media Event

6/18 post by me on HMandP's Fried Logic blog: http://bit.ly/9TecbC

Creating a Website? Improve Your SEO

6/11 post by me on HM&P's Fried Logic blog: http://bit.ly/bjEoDL

AP Style Guide Releases New Social Media Guidelines

6/2 post by me at HMandP's Fried Logic blog: http://bit.ly/cqO7Yq

Twitter: Optimize Your Search

New post by me at HM&P's Fried Logic blog for 5/28 : http://bit.ly/dcIlrh

Job Search: Tailoring your online presence to intended career path

5/20 post by me for HM&P's Fried Logic blog: http://www.merrellgroup.com/blog/2010/05/20/job-search-tailoring-your-online-presence-to-intended-career-path/

Job Search: Benefits of an online presence

5/14 post by me at HM&P's Fried Logic blog: http://www.merrellgroup.com/blog/2010/05/14/job-search-benefits-of-an-online-presence/

For the Moment...

I have enjoyed providing you with a weekly blog post for the past five months or so!

However, I recently started interning in the Social Media department at Howard Merrell and Partners. I am going to provide a weekly post for their blog: Fried Logic. Since I will be posting about similar topics that I post on here, I am going to ask you to follow my posts on their blog for the summer. When the summer ends, I will pick up the pace back here. If you don't want to look for my posts on the HM&P blog, I'll also provide a link each week on here. Thanks and enjoy :)

Press Release Professionalism

For a recent assignment, I had to learn how to use a social media site to build an online media release. While I was completing the task, I realized how there is absolutely no room for error. Once you decide to distribute the release, then it is out there and there is no taking it back. With this in mind, I realized how stressful writing a good press release could be because so much could go wrong.
For instance, here are some of the basic things to worry about: spelling & grammar. But the list does not stop there. When reporting a release there is usually an appropriate format to follow. Only the most recent and relevant information regarding what you are "releasing" about should be listed. The person writing the press release needs to make sure that all of their information is up to date and they are not citing/reporting anything wrong. Therefore, a lot of research must be put in ahead of time. Furthermore, a release should include relevant pictures, quotes, info about the organization providing the release, and tags/links to relevant sites (if written online). The pictures must also be current and relevant and speak to the viewer without a lengthy explanation needed. Quotes should again be current, correct and the right person should be being cited. Info. about the organization should be short and to the point. Maybe a mission statement? Finally, tags/links (if written online) should direct the reader to a site that gives more information regarding what was covered in the release or sites to places that were covered in the release.
Now, I know I only have minimal experience with this. But I think the aforementioned should be carefully thought about everytime a release is given. If the criterion is given strict attention then a successful release could be the product. If not, another release might be being written to cover the failure of the last one.

Shopping and Social Media:

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Always Listen to Your Blogger

Everyone is very familiar with the saying, "always listen to your mother". In my case, that advice has always tended to come in handy. Therefore, I am extending the same advice to companies, with a slight twist on words. Just as important it is for one to listen to their mother, it is important for companies to listen to bloggers.
As of Jan. 2008, 120 newspapers have gone out of business (sm lecture notes). Less and less people are watching the news and more and more people are turning to online sources. The blogosphere has had an incredible launch in the last year with thousands of people blogging on an array of topics. Recently, I started to realize how much of the content bloggers wrote about concerned businesses and were reviews about their products and services. And, why should this concern businesses? Well, bloggers are part of something called social media (if you are reading this, then you are all too familiar with what social media is). Reminded by my social media prof., social implies interaction. It is for this very reason that companies should listen to bloggers.
If there is negative press about a company (not social media), the press only reaches the people who watch a certain news channel or read a certain magazine. Most of the time, companies are able to get a wind of news stories and interject the bad press. Companies keep close relations with journalists which also help them track certain news stories and come up with a crisis response, the instant it is needed. The blogosphere is different. Once a story is posted, it can be reached by millions of people in a number of seconds. The story is free and available to anyone who can get granted access to the internet. If something negative is written about a company, then that news is picked up by another blogger. This blogger also spreads the news or the news is spread by a person who reads the blog and then posts in on another social media site for someone else to read. Again, social implies interaction. In a matter of second, negativity about an organization is moving through the internet and reaching millions like wildfire.
With that being said, I think it is essential for a company to hire a team of people dedicated to tracking and responding to what is said in the blogosphere. This way negative press does not have the ability to spread across the internet and if it does, a company is aware of it and able to respond immediately. Furthermore, if a company is not aware of what is being said, then they are not able to respond. This could look like ignorance. On the other hand, if a company is aware and responds, then they look active and are given an advantage over other companies. And that is why companies should listen to bloggers.

The High Profiler

The high profiler...who is he/she? Well, the high profiler (according to me) is the employee who is not only an asset to a company but a public figure head as well. He/she makes public appearances, is well know in the community, and attracts a lot of media attention. So what happens if this said high profiler does something to attract negative attention to themself and ultimately the company they work for?
Scenario: high profiler has been arrested (use your imagination) and released. He is too important to fire but the media is all over the situation and what happened. Now the company has a decision to make: confront the media and try to "PR" the situation or turn a blind eye and let the whole thing blow over.
Think about what you would do if you were that company. If I were in charge of human resources or the public relations department, I would confront the situation head on. Since the employee is an important figure head, his/her reputation is going to affect the company. The media is going to look to the company for a response, even though they had nothing to do with the situation. However, questions like, "has this behavior been typical of him/her" "where does his/her future lie" etc. will never go away. The company could develop a bad reputation if they do not take responsibility and address the situation. The company needs to explain why the high profiler is still with the company, what are the consequences for his/her actions internally, what will he/she be doing to make it up to the public (e.g. volunteer work, etc), and an assurance that it will never happen again. While this may seem like a lot, a company needs to realize that what an employee does outside of work can affect them and they need to be ready with a response!
On the other hand, even if the company decided to fire this high profiler, they still should have a response prepared for the media/public. It is the professional thing to do.

Do you agree? Thoughts? What would you do if you were the aforementioned company?

The Online Advantage

Last week, I talked about the importance of presenting yourself well online. However, I mostly covered the question regarding employers and how much of your personal info online should be available to them. This week, I want to talk about the following: how individuals who have more of an online presence (not just Facebook/Twitter) increase their chances of getting a job.
Originally, I thought an online presence could impact a person negatively. But then two weeks ago, I had an interview for a summer internship. As you may have guessed, I was put at an advantage becuase I had an online presence and was knowledgeable of social media ...I got the job!!!! I started to realize that an online presence did not necessarily mean Facebook or Twitter (while those are still good sites to become familiar with). I realized that it meant blogs, LinkedIn, Flickr, vlogs, podcasts, personal websites, etc. Nowadays, so much is done online that it is really important that a company hires someone who can research and work both off and online. Also, an employer has a better chance of becoming familiar with who you are and what kind of work you do by the online presence you have created. This way you can spend time during an interview expanding on your strengths and background, since a company already has a taste for who you are. Furthermore, if a company likes what you are online, then a company will probably like you in person as well. I definitely thinks this creates an advantage for someone over someone who does not have an online presence and just sends in a resume for an employeer to look at.
Lastly, as I mentioned above, social media is becoming even more critical to all organizations. There is a difference between being knowledgeable about social media or being knowledgeable about social media and actually utilizing social media. Do you think an employer is interested in someone who can just spit out facts about social media or actually has experience with it. Therefore, if you have Facebook and Twitter-great start! However, I highly encourage that you start exploring other social media applications and get your name out there! I promise, it will pay off!

Privacy, Jobs, & the Internet

Last week in my Social Media & PR class, a classmate raised an interesting question: how much personal information online should organization's be able to access? Where does looking for info on a potential candidate cross the line into invading their privacy?
Ever since class, I have been re-visiting the question. Like many others, I too have Facebook, Twitter, this blog, and some other internet apps. While I do not share personal information on Facebook or fill out the summary about myself, I do like to post pictures and share them with friends and family who do not live close by. Now, I do not have any explicit pictures or pictures that show me doing anything inappropriate or illegal, but there is the occasional album that captures the previous night out on town. However, I learned that even the presence of beer in any of your pictures can deter a potential employer from considering you for a position.
At first, I did not think this was fair. If I wanted to take a picture of me and my good friend, I should not have to tell them to put the beer down. Furthermore, if I am holding a beer, that could be the only beer I had for the night. I am of age, so it should be ok ...right? Wrong. After giving more thought to the situation, I realized that I do not have to post these pictures on Facebook for the world and potential employers to see. Anything on the internet cannot be considered private and once you post it, it is fair game. The privacy settings are there to make you feel comfortable against unwanted attention from strangers, not potential employers. The privacy settings are really only for your safety. It's not like I can't enjoy the pictures if they are not on Facebook. Therefore, I do understand that an employer is not crossing the line when looking for all and any personal information about a potential candidate.
Furthermore, wherever we are, it is important to present yourself in a way you would want others to see you. If I believe that the presence of beer bottles in my picture is deceiving about who I am, then I should not post them on the internet. How I present myself in an interview is how I should present myself online as well. So, next time you want to tweet something or post something questionable on an internet app., think twice. You probably do not want a potential employer seeing it and you probably do not want to create that kind of personal brand for yourself anyway. Yes, it might be annoying to have to watch what you say and post, but it is the internet. What goes on the internet, never stays private and never ever leaves the internet.

Tiger

As most of you are aware, Tiger Woods has made most of the news stories in the sports world lately. Due to a recent car crash and rumors of infidelity, Tiger has had some monumental questions to answer. Being in the spotlight as much as Tiger is, it was important that he was able to let the public/fans know what was going on and fill them in on what was happening with him and his career. Luckily for Tiger, he probably had a PR rep or two to advise him on the best way to address the public.
This brings me to the topic of my blogpost today: Tiger's PR team...the question being: was there anything Tiger's PR team should have done different or better?
If you ask me, I think Tiger should have been advised more by PR reps to get his face out in the public after his accident and accusations. Tiger has only made 1 or 2 appearances since everything happened over a month ago. During that time, people had a million questions for Tiger but he was nowhere to be found. While I feel bad for Tiger because his personal business is his personal business, he does have a duty to his fans as well. Knowing that he was going to be in the spotlight, Tiger should have addressed any questions immediately and honestly. However, at least he seemed sincere when he finally made the public apology.
Looking to the future, hopefully, any PR advisors he has are more ready to push him to face the public whenever they need him with his return to the upcoming Masters. This time he should be advised to let the public know what they can expect from him in the Masters and in the future. After that, like all good gossip, things will probably calm down for Tiger.

Organizations & Social Networking Sites

The internet can be a great outlet for organizations. As we have discussed in previous posts, organizations can utilize company blogs, make podcasts, vlog, and use message forms to listen to their consumers. Recently, I have noticed an emergence of organizations on social networking sites (i.e. Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter). However, I question how opportunisitic these sites are for organizations and if these sites are more beneficial for one organization over another.
First, I can understand why organizations use Twitter. The ability to constantly update a post gives an organization an ability to let consumers know what they are doing. However, I have a harder time understanding why organizations use Facebook and MySpace. These social networking sites were originally created for student use only. An individual could use these sites to stay connected with friends, make new ones, post pictures, and share information. The functions these social networking sites provide are the same functions organizations can utilize on their website. The only difference: organizations cannot actively try and create a following like they can on Facebook and MySpace...which brings me to the answer of my second question.
As I just mentioned, social networking sites appeal to organizations because they allow them to try and create a following. And, despite what I did just mention, I do believe that social networking sites can be more beneficial for some organizations over others. For example, the Lupus foundation has successfully utilized social networking sites to raise awareness and money. The NFL also allows teams to have Facebook sites and fans are able to visit their team page and recieve the information they want. But, these organizations have an advantage because they already have a large following! People want to be part of a charity on Facebook so they can donate and where there is football there will always be fans.
Therefore, my advice would be: if you have a large following already, then go ahead and use social networking sites. If not, create a following on other internet applications and then move to Facebook or MySpace. And, as I always say...no matter what the internet application, always tailor the site for the consumers and give them what they want.

The Dual Power of the Podcast

Podcasts: voice messages created, sometimes accompanied by video, for some sort of purpose. Maybe you want to talk to an audience that is dispersed over a large geographical area or create a series of podcasts to put online for any viewer's entertainment. Whatever the reason, more and more people are podcasting and it has even been learned to be utilized by more and more organizations today.
I think podcasts are a great way for organizations to send a message to their target consumer base. A podcast can be aired on the radio, listened to on the computer, or downloaded to some device and listened to while on the go. A company can create a series of podcasts to create a launch for new products that are going to be coming out. A company can also create a series of podcasts that may answer frequently asked questions or gives out information about an organization. A podcast is great because people are given a choice. Instead of having to navigate a company's website or make a phone call, a consumer can get a one-on-one feel with an employee and hopefully the podcasts provides them with a direct answer.
In order to ensure that direct answers can be given an organization needs to make sure that they think about everything a consumer would want to hear. It is important to listen to what customers have said in the past in order to provide valuable information and feedback on podcasts. Otherwise, the audience is being talked at instead of talked to.
Podcasts have also been used in organizations to keep employees in the loop. My neighbor works at IBM and he informed me that employees are given podcasts about new products that are coming out and they listen to these podcasts in their cars on the way to work. Not only is the message informative and a great way to engage employees, it gives employees something to do on their way to work. This might not be their choice of car company but I think it's a good idea!
So overall, podcasts can be used by anyone...even organizations (aka dual power)! If you want to create one whether you work for an organization or want to for fun...here is my advice:
1. Make it interesting
2. Think of everything the audience would ask you if you were podcasting in public and make sure to cover it
3. If creating a series, keep the audience wanting more
Finally...
4. If working for an organization, make sure the information is valuable and informative
Thank you and Good Luck!!

Employees: Communication Connect the Dots

A company is only as strong as its employees.
Why? If the employees slack off at work and do not really care about the orgs success, than the organization is affected (for worse). Which is why I am a strong advocate for building a strong communication base for the employees.
I define a strong communication base as a place to listen to employee feedback. This way, employees can make another feel valuable or communicate that their work and contribution is respected. A slacker at work could turn into employee of the month. So, the question becomes: Do you think the solution is that easy? Or am I being too optimisitc?
Well, I think it is that easy and I know so from personal experience. I used to work in an organization where I felt invisible and so did every other employee. The boss was very authoritative and did not take to well to listening to other people's point of view. He had a vision for how the company should be run and he was going to stick with it. There were so many things that he did wrong that we all had simple solutions for. There were also so many things he could have done better when engaging customers and we all had ways that he could fix that too. Finally, he was a poor facilitator at improving employee relationships and making our work feel valued.
Eventually, he realized communication was key and put up a white board where we could leave suggestions and then held a weekly meeting to discuss everyone's suggestions.
By listening to what the employees had to say, my boss turned his company around. I guess it truely is important because even my Social Media and PR book devoted a whole chapter to the importance of listening to the employees.
Below is a listing of other ways to communicate with employees as discussed by Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff:
1. Create an online community that employees can participate in (maybe a message forum). This is the virtual white message board. This is great because if a company is big-branches everywhere can find one place to come together
2. Encourage employee blog posts.
3. Build a company wiki (a place to edit and store information about a company). This is great because it is a project that everyone can work on and everyone participating has the same goal: build company sucess.
And, there you have it! But always remember it is extremely important for the management to always be listening and care about what their employees do and say.

The Consumer's World

I've been reading a lot lately about organizations using social media (i.e. apps on the internet) to promote their companies and address problems/issues. The internet can be an effective way to reach out to a multitude of consumers at the same time and 24 hours a day. However, if a company fails to utilize their social media appropriately, then they are walking onto some very dangerous territory.
If you ask me, I always notice one problem ...a company presents the image that someone is there listening and reaching out to the customers...when there really isn't. For the past couple of weeks -I have decided to test this. I have been posting comments and trying to contact orgs. via their websites. Whether it is a blog, twitter, or a message forum ..no one seems to hear me. One time I did get a response, but it was an automated one telling me that my comment was appreciated. I'd rather sit on the phone and stay on hold for 15 minutes...@ least I'll eventually get someone to talk to.
I know there can be a lot of benefits to putting your company online and many organizations have managed to use the web very successfully, but I'm still not buying it. As a consumer ..I want to be heard. An organization online does not provide me with any ease of access because I feel invisible and most times if you want information they still direct you to a number to call.
In my Social Media and PR class, we are reading a book that is a how to guide for companies who are using the internet to reach out to their customers. In the last chapter we read, the authors talked about Dell's experience with social media. At first, an employee at Dell started a blog and it was a total bust. Then, one blog made it turn into a success! Why you ask? Because the employee started listening to what the consumers were saying and responding back to them.
Often times a company forgots that they are only as powerful as their consumers make them. Therefore, consumers should be heard. Using the internet to connect with customers is a great idea ...but customers should always be the first priority.

The Art Of Flickr

When you come back from a wedding, birthday, night out with the girls/guys...where do you post your pictures? Do you bring them to Walmart to get developed or post them on Facebook for the whole world to see? Maybe, just maybe, you put them on your Flickr account! Which, brings me to the topic of my blog post: Flickr!
My original thoughts about Flickr: Why would anyone go on Flickr, when they already post pics for free on Facebook?My most recent thoughts about Flickr: Who wouldn't want to join!?
For those of you who may not know, Flickr is the current sensation. It is an internet hot spot to post pics! Not only are you posting pictures of your friends and fond memories, but organizations and major corporations are taking advantage of this site. Like Facebook, you have the option of putting your pictures out there for the world to see. Unlike Facebook, you can order prints, people can buy your photos, and it is a great utiliization for nonprofits! For example, an animal shelter was able to make their pictures into cards featuring their lovable pets (Kanter, 2008)!
Furthermore, on Facebook, you can put pics into an album...but it does not offer you the ability to categorize and organize like Flickr does. Sometimes a Flickr account is not even made up of the works of one, but the works of many. According to Kanter (2008), "using the group features, people can share their photos and their a thousand words." Flickr also allows individuals and organizations to use a mapping feature to show where your photos are taken!
So this what I think you should do.
1. Set up a Flickr account (if you already have one, BRAVO!)
2. Fill out a profile and start sharing photos!
3. Use tags, titles, and descriptions to make your photos great!
If that doesn't sell you, this will! ...According to Kanter (2008), "Flickr is truely a global community focused on photography." What picture "taker putter upper" wouldn't want that!?

Kanter, B. (2008). How nonprofits can get the most out of flickr: Tips for using the online photo-sharing site successfully.

The Vlogger's Advantage

I believe that all bloggers have one common goal: putting a message out there and hoping somebody will read it. Now, this might be more true or false depending on how devoted a blogger you are or how much you even care about your blog. But, for anyone reading this right now, we are going to pretend that you are a blogger and you care about having and reaching a very large audience.
So you want to reach a large audience. How is this possible? Well, bloggers must figure out creative ways to convey their messages. You think to yourself, " I am going to write about something that interests me, maybe attach a couple of pictures, and maybe add a video link or two." However, you still have to figure out how to draw people to your blog site, make them want to read your blog, and ultimately have them want to follow your blog and encourage others to do the same. If you ask me, a blogger has it hard.
Now, picture this. You are sitting at home, bedazzling up your blog and posting links to Twitter and Facebook hoping to see the number of people reading and following your blog keep increasing. If you are new to blogging, this could take days, even months! Then you turn to your friend, "the vlogger" and her video message on YouTube gets another couple hits every minute! You think to yourself, "how do they do it!?" Well, this is what I would like to call the vlogger's advantage.
What is a vlogger you ask? A vlogger is a video blogger and if you ask me, has more of an advantage at reaching a large audience than a blogger. In order to get my point across, I came up with 5 reasons for why a vlogger has a bigger advantage over a blogger.
1: I believe that more people would rather listen and watch a video vs. sitting down to a read a blog (then again that could just be what I would do).
2: I think you have the opportunity to be more creative. In a video blog you can tape yourself in almost any environment and can actually show viewers who you are. Blog followers can only rely on pictures on a blog site and a bloggers tone of voice to figure out about the person whos blog they happen to be reading.
3. Vloggers can use YouTube to post their video blog. With the millions of people on YouTube, there is a very good chance that viewers will just stumble onto a videoblog and watch it.
4. (similar to 3) Vloggers on YouTube can reach a larger audience. Almost anyone goes on YouTube and will typically click on a link to see a YouTube video. People have to be interested in reading blogs in the first place in order for them to see a link to a blog and want to click on it.
FINALLY...
5. If a vlogger is also a blogger . . . watch out! They are providing readers with a choice: watch my blog or read it.
However, as I mentioned above, this is only my opinion. Leave a comment and tell me yours! Oh and if you are wondering why a vlogger advocate has a blog: I hate taping myself so I will never be a vlogger. Isn't it ironic.

Ethics In The Biz

The other day I was in the grocery store and looking to buy some crackers for the chunk of cheddar cheese I just picked up. Always satisfied with the ever tastey Ritz cracker, I decided to grab a box. Happy with my decision, I smiled at the red and blue box poking out of my grocery bag. When I got home, I asked my boyfriend to grab the Ritz crackers and bring them into the living room. He headed over to the grocery bags and started laughing. Bringing the box of red and blue over he told me that I had bought Harris Teeter brand crackers. I suddenly realized that I fell into their ever sucessful advertising trick of making their box resemble the well-known and trusted Ritz box. Astounded by my mistake, I started to question whether I applauded Harris Teeter for their strategic effort or madened by their trickery. This question led me to think about how organizations present their image and advertise their products or selves everday.
Of course, this led me to think about the ever popular topic of business ethics.
In my Social Media and PR class I learned that there are 3 basic approaches to ethical belief systems: absolutist, existentialist, and situationalist. In an absolutist belief system, something can only be either right or wrong. In an existentialist belief system, decisions cannot be made without thinking about the current context. And, in the situationalist belief system, a decision is made depending on what does the most good or least amount of harm. Since, I think that there is more to just right and wrong, I do not believe in an absolutist ethical belief system. If I had to chose, I think organizations should practice ethics depending on the current context. Once the current context is reviewed, then an organization could think about how they can present their image or advertise a product doing the most good or least amount of harm to the public.
However, this is not as easy as one may think. There are many fine lines when it comes to ethical PR conduct within organizations and it is very easy to cross the line. For instance our PR prof. urged us to question whether it is wrong to hire a reporter or journalist to present an organization in a favorable light or whether it is wrong to have a scientist within an organization present findings to the public (even though they could be biased). Or, when a PR rep puts an organization online our prof pushed us to question whether it is ok to use a domain name similar to a competitor or whether it is ok to follow or friend the public online in order to get them to notice and follow the organization back. While, I do feel that some of these ways may purposely be utilized to trick the public, I find them all ethically sound.
Furthermore, while Harris Teeter (HT) was deceitful in making a box identical to Ritz, I do not feel that there was anything unethical about it. HT may have used the same colors, but all one had to do was read the label and realize they were not Ritz crackers. This is a dog-eat-dog world and organizations need to get competitve in order to be successful. As long as a PR rep does not present false information to the public or break any laws, I say any advertising tactic is fair game.

The Bullshit Artist: To Be Or Not To Be?

About a month ago my boyfriend told someone that I wanted to pursue a career in public relations. Their response to him: "O so she wants to be a bullshit artist." I laughed when he told me this, because I myself have always thought of PR reps as saavy individuals who have a way with their words. To tell you the truth, I do not mind presenting whatever image a company asks me to or whatever image I feel the need to present for them. My duty is first to my company and than to the public...right?
The month went by and I gave no further thought to my career choice or what would be expected of me. A couple days ago, I read a very interesting article, "Changing vistas in public relations theory" by Stephen Mackey(2003). In this article, Mackey talks about J. Grunig and an emphasis on practicing PR symmetrically vs. asymmetrically. What is this you ask? Well, according to Grunig, PR is traditionally run asymmetrically. This means that an organization's main goal is to advance the "standing and the projects" of the organization. In other words, a PR rep must always have the interest of the organization in mind before anything else. Grunig proposes that PR reps that practice symmetrically help the targeted public and organization benefit from their services equally.
I wonder how possible this really is. Can people formally known as "bullshit artists" equally serve the public and an organization? You would think this is simple. However, think about all that would be at stake if a company asked a PR rep to practice symmetrically. A company would need to be ethically sound. In other words, a PR rep would honestly share with the public everything an organization has to offer (good and bad). In crisis situations, there would be no smooth cover up because a PR rep would need to share every crucial detail with the public. If one detail was left out, a PR rep would be looking out for the organization first, no? In an ideal world this is very possible. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. But, that should not stop us or PR reps!! Symmetry could be a great new way to practice PR. The consumers should always come first and it is important to give them everything they need! Let me know your thoughts!

The Main Course

As you can see, I have been a blogger since May 2009. It is now, Jan. 2010 and I have no posts to show for myself. I never knew what to write about or how I would even compile the thoughts I have. It is always easier when I'm writing a paper for school and given some direction to go in with a grading rubric to follow. Anticipating when I would finally make the move to write that first post, I got a shove from my graduate professor in my Social media and PR class.
Since this blog is also part of my contribution in my Social media and PR class I will be writing about a variety of things. Half the time I will write about my thoughts about social media applications and how they have changed or effect the world we live in. I will also explore various ways to effectively "PR" and how organizations today save and distribute their image. The other half of the time I will probably talk about anything that interests me that day (an exciting article, show I watched, game I saw, etc). I figured why restrict myself to just one topic.
So, I just wanted to say hi and talk about what will be on the plate for you guys as long as this blog is around. That is all for today, and look for more posts starting tmrw!