What’s wrong with heels?

In a recent blog post on the Valley PR Blog Linda Vendevrede questions whether or not wearing “the highest of high” heels is beneficial in the PR field. She discusses how over the past 10 years heels have become higher and have the same power of appearance as ties do for men. However, she concluded by asking is wearing high heels a sign of selling out or just staying competitive?

As far as I’m concerned, it is simply keeping up with the times and showing ones ability to relate to current culture. Being fashion forward in any industry is beneficial as long as it is kept classy. Heels that are a little too high or provocative is taking it to far and not appropriate for the workforce. However, heels that are classy and sleek show a woman’s fashion sense and give her style.  

Wearing high heels is a form of confidence that carries over into one’s work as well. Most clients will take you more seriously and have more respect for your ideas and opinions. I think it is especially important in the public relations industry becuase appearance has an important role in the field. It is important because you are constantly dealing with people and trying to gain their trust. People that come accross more put together will find it easier to build realtionships with clients, media and/or stakeholders.

Heels getting higher in the workforce is just a mirror image of what’s going on in the fashion industry. Wearing heels does not meant that you are selling yourself out, it is simply a fashion statement that comes with a little boost of confidence.

Can Journalism and Social Media Coexist?

Since I have been at the Cronkite school, I can’t help but feel like I don’t belong in the j-school. Some say that public relations has no place in journalism. However, I came across a new site that says news, social media and advertising can all coexist. True/Slant’s moto is “News is more than what happens.” True/Slant is a company that combines news, social media and advertising.

True/Slant allows contributers to add stories to their site, and then consumers can create dialogue with those contributers. Advertising also occurs on the site. However, it is placed in such a way that is very transparent and readers know what they are getting. True/Slant says their goal is to get consumers to be just as interested as they are in the news.

I am interested to see if a site like this actually makes it. I have been told that journalism, advertising and PR are completely separate and that PR doesn’t belong in journalism. However, I think that the direction we are headed is very different. I see a future where all three of these entities coexist and work together.

What do you think? Do you think that social media has a place in journalism? Can advertising, journalism and PR coexist?

Don’t tweet and drive, tweetcall.

New applications continue to evolve for the Twitterverse. When doing a bit of research for this blog post I was surprised and impressed with the amount of apps I came across on the Twitter Fan Wikipage. The latest app being tweetcall. Yes, you guessed it. This app allows you to call in your tweets to avoid multi-tasking and driving. A post on gadgetell.com by JG Mason gives a run down of how it works.

Tweetcall is directed toward non-technical tweeters and users that don’t want to pay for text message tweets. It works in the same way, call in and state “What’s on your mind” in 140 characters or less. But as  Mason states in Twitter without all that annoying typing: Tweetcall, what if your Tweet isn’t translated correctly? The example he gives:

What if I say, “I am booking in Times Square on my wheels,” but what gets transcribed from voice to text is “I am hooking in Times Square in high heels.”  Embarrassing, right?  Worry not, TweetCall uses voice recognition technology developed by Quicktate which is a “highly accurate transcription service, which uses humans to proofread all messages for proper syntax, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation before they are submitted.”

A good idea that opens Twitter up to a different demographic. I’m curious to see if this app is utilized. What are your thoughts and is this something you would try out? The other aspect of Tweetcall is how it adds audio to your Twitter feed.  The phone number is toll free but it makes me wonder how the creator of Tweetcall profits. So if you have answers let me know.

President or Celebrity?

So for the past year(at least,) we have all been hearing news about Barack Obama. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always constant. While my intention is definitely not to cause a political debate or to rag on our president, I find the stories about his “celebrity” status very interesting. The most recent news I’ve been hearing about regarding Obama is relevant to most of us in JMC 417, because as you all know, he’s speaking at ASU’s graduation. There has been plenty of talk regarding this event, mostly relating to why he, of all people, would be giving a graduation speech to a school he never attended. Many people seem to think it has something to do with trying to “win over” AZ because of the past election, and plenty of others think it’s another publicity stunt in trying to further his popularity.

While I really don’t see the point of trying to win over a certain state after he’s been elected president, he absolutely has more “star power” than any other President in history. Is this solely because of his race??  That’s another question I suppose, but the main point of this topic is that not everybody is excited about this upcoming graduation ceremony. On the website community.tasteofhome.com, there is a community blogging section in which I found many people with a negative perspective on Obama being the speaker at ASU. Many people said it’s going to be too much of a publicity show that will take away from their student’s special night, and that he should start focusing on running a country rather than spending time touring around the country trying to “up” his popularity.

So what is his main intention? PR stint, or just good-natured President??

Own Your Conversation

A few weeks back our class had the priviledge of hearing a lecture by SEO guru Vanessa Fox.  While speaking to us via Skype, Fox discussed several companies that failed to make themselves known through Google.  As Fox explained, it’s not enough just to have an amazing Web site, people have to be able to find it, and most people find sites by Googling.  What I found most interesting were the companies that spent millions of dollars on ad compaigns and then failed to optimize their sites.  (Apparently you have to make your Web site “readable” for Google.)   One example was the “Hang in there Jack” campaign by Jack In The Box. 

Many of us remember the moment vividly.  We were happily watching and analyzing another Super Bowl commercial when our beloved Jack was suddenly blindsided by a bus!  I, for one, was shocked and concerned.  Apparently so were others.  Thousands of viewers rushed to their computers and typed “hang in there jack” into their Google search bars, but they were all greatly disappointed.  Jack’s new Web site was not launched until the moment the commercial aired, and it wasn’t landing on Google’s top ten.  What a failure!  Millions of dollars on the ad spot and no one could Google the Web site.  While I’m still concerned for poor Jack, I’m happy to report his site is now doing well on Google.

Jack’s case and Fox’s presentation inspired me to do some of my own research.  I thought of some of my most and least favorite commercials and looked into how well their respective companies “owned” the conversation.  I’ve ranked them from least to most successful:

• Jared the Galleria of Jewelry: He Went to Jared Campaign –  Every one of the top ten Google results when searching “He went to Jared” is a Web site bashing this campaign.  This is the opposite of what a company wants.
• Stride Gum: Alternate Uses Campain – If you search “alternate gum uses” you’ll find Stride’s official Web site as the seventh result.  It’s safely in the top ten and it’s link is clearly labeled.
• Dancing With the Stars Campaign – Granted this campaign does not use a tagline.  The only thing you hear over and over is “Dancing With The Stars.”  Type these words into Google to understand what it means to own the conversation.

Is all publicity good publicity? The Bachelor Season Finale

Just as many women across the country do, I tune into a weekly little show called, “The Bachelor”. It is the only reality television show I will watch because for the most part, it seems sincere (or as sincere as reality t.v. can get) . Not to mention the fact that it is very entertaining when 30 women vie for the coveted spot to be engaged to at the end of the show’s filming. It can be a very emotional roller coaster and whether I like to admit it or not, it tends to pull on my heart strings the more consistently I tune in every Monday night.

Tonight’s show took a turn in the opposite direction when something happened that had never happened before in Bachelor history. Jason Mesnick (the current bachelor) chose a young woman named Melissa on the season finale tonight that he then proposed to. The other girl (technically 2nd place) that he sent home was named Molly. As she left the show in a black limo (as every rejectee one by one does) she told Jason that he had made a big mistake. Typical. A scene of a very distraught and emotional Jason followed as if he didn’t know what he had just done. Shortly after, he proposed to Melissa (America’s Sweetheart).

Then came The Bachelor’s “After The Final Rose” show. Here, the entire setup of the show was made very intimate and “unlike any other previous show” by having no live audience. As I watched the host of The Bachelor preface what was going to happen next, it was a very dramatic feel. The audience did not know what was going to happen next.

Within a matter of minutes, one of America’s most LOVED bachelors became one of America’s most HATED bachelors. How could he break the heart of sweet and kind Melissa to only go back on his decision and choose Molly? Even after he had proposed to Melissa!

Although this is the personal life of three people, it is a very public event and is all over major national headlines now. I can only imagine what will be written in tabloids and entertainment magazines in the weeks to come.

What type o PR professional could help Jason Mesnick out of this mess? Should Molly and Jason try to keep their relationship as out of the spotlight as possible from here on out?

I feel the credibility of the show, “The Bachelor” definitely has gone down after this most recent season. Anything can happen and hearts will definitely be broken. My initial reaction was to be mad at both the network of ABC as well as Jason.

Do you feel this entire act was a publicity stunt? Did Melissa need to be humiliated on national t.v. like this? As far as Jason’s case goes…is all publicity (including bad) good publicity?

 

 It really has everyone talking and this was a genius move from many aspects. Maybe the ABC network is much more shrewd than I thought…

All I know is that Jason Mesnick will have a hard time even going to the grocery store in the months to come..

Here is an article back in December on MSNBC where Jason talks about how he has “found love”. (Here, he was referring to Melissa).

Here is a list of articles describing The Bachelor’s season finale and final outcome of Jason’s back and forth ultimate decision.

The Value of Our Degree

It’s pretty frustrating to be a college senior right now. Despite the fact that we have worked for the last four years to earn our degree, and we have done the same amount of work as people who graduated from the Cronkite school last year, the odds are we are going to have a harder time finding a job than they did. The fact is, we are probably graduating at the worst possible time to find a job in the last 75 years; and with the economy tanking, everyone is putting more thought into how their money is being spent, including myself. With that in mind, I’ve been thinking alot about my biggest expense (college), and if it truly is worth the cost.

As an out-of-state student here at ASU, the cost of tuition for the 2008-2009 school year is just under $18,000 (it is a little different for in-state students). Even though that is under the national average for four-year private schools (which is just over $25,000, according to collegeboard.com), it is still a pretty high price to pay for a state school. Because I have accumulated a fair amount of debt for student loans over the last few years (like many other students at ASU), I am going to have to get a decent paying job in order to support myself and pay back those debts. So what is the entry-level salary like for a college graduate with a degree in Public Relations?

Well, according to an article released by CNN, it’s not very good. As a matter of fact, it’s horrible. Accroding the article, the salary for an entry-level PR professional is lower than any other major, with $30,667 annually. In contrast, economics majors top the list with an average of $52,926, and nursing majors comes in second with $52,129. If that article tells me anything, it’s that the education that I’m getting isn’t worth it.

However, I think that there are a few things about those statistics that are misleading. First of all, I think that there are a lot of different fields for people with PR degrees to go into that have vastly different salaries, so I think that it is hard to say an accurate average salary for that degree. An entry-level position at a non-profit organization is most likely going to be making a lot less money than someone working at a large PR agency. Also, we are fortunate to be in one of the best journalism schools in the country. Although it seems like I hear that all of the time and I have not had much to compare it to, it’s hard to imagine a student in a different journalism school getting a better education in media than we are getting. I honestly feel that I am going to be qualified to take on a number of different jobs, and I think that the skills I’ve learned at this school will allow me to contribute to anyone who hires me in a number of different ways.

On top of the specific skills that we are learning in the journalism school, there are a number of other benefits to a college education. According to a blog I was reading on MSN, the average person with a college degree makes almost $23,000 a year more than the average person without one. Over the course of a lifetime, that adds up to more than a million dollars, the author said. Plus, there are a bunch of other benefits of a college degree that don’t even focus on money, including:

·         A longer life span.

·         Greater economic stability and security.

·         More prestigious employment and greater job satisfaction.

·         Less dependency on government assistance.

·         Greater participation in leisure and artistic activities.

·         Greater community service and leadership.

·         More self-confidence.

So, in the end, while it may be a lot of time and money right now, the money we are paying for our education today is an investment that will pay for itself  over the course of our entire lives.

Guilty as Charged: Information Addiction

After reading Jed Hallam’s blog, Information Addiction, I realized I’m not the only one who wants to get the 411 on everything, everywhere at anytime. I constantly find myself trying to get access to the internet so I can see what’s going on- even if I just checked it 5 minutes ago. Its crazy how technology has made information so easily available to us. And it’s even crazier that we become addicted to getting that information. I rely on the internet as a means of information everyday.

I wake up bright and early every morning, and the first thing I do is fire up my computer. I jump in the shower, and by the time I’m out, my computer is booted up and ready to rock. I double-click that Mozilla Firefox icon and seconds later I’m reading the latest headlines on MSNBC’s Web site. Here, I’m greeted with U.S. News, World News, Breaking News, Weather, Politics, Entertainment, and the list goes on and on. I skim the Web site to find articles that catch my eye and read the ones that seem interesting.

Minutes later, I check my e-mail. That’s followed by checking my Facebook, which is followed by checking my Myspace, which is followed by updating my Twitter, which is followed by checking my bank account. (Don’t ask me why I check my bank account 10 times a day, its not like I have that much money to spend- possibly because I have that reassurance that my money hasn’t gone anywhere and isn’t going anywhere… especially in a matter of an hour.) All this internet access before I even brush my teeth!

Then I’m off to school. As soon as I walk in the classroom, I log on to the server and check my e-mail, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blackboard, etc. This vicious cycle continues throughout the day…probably about 50 times- and that is not an understatement. Even when I don’t have access to a computer, I still manage to find access somehow, someway- a.k.a. my cell phone. This goes on from the second I wake up, until the second I hit they hay.   Even then, I totally disregard that I have to wake up in six hours and have to force myself to go to bed.  (NOTE TO SELF: Nothing is that important on the internet to lose precious sleep over.  Just step back, push the “off” button, and it will be waiting for you in the morning.)

It all comes down to this: when I’m not “plugged in” to information, I feel like I’m not “plugged in” to life. I am addicted. I think I have a serious problem.

The power of a “thank-you”

I was raised writing thank-yous. After every birthday and Christmas my mom would bring out the thank-you cards and sit me down with a pen to write to my aunts and uncles, grandparents, godparents and friends. Back then I thought it was annoying and just some time wasting task my mom was putting me up to so I wasn’t pestering her. However, the act of writing thank-yous is something that has stuck with me and I would say it has been to my benefit. I was reminded of this when I came across the blog Comprehension and the post titled TAKE NOTE: Key Ways to Say “Thank You” When You Are Building Your New And Empowered Network. It was written by Andrea R. Nierenberg, founder and president of The Nierenberg Group, a best-selling author and an internationally known business figure. She breaks down in a two-part blog about how important it is to send personal notes, whether it is a thank you or not.

Nierenberg writes how writing personal notes is one of the easiest and most effective ways to stay in touch. She gives eight different reasons why a personal note should be sent:

1. When someone does business with you – every time.
2. When they compliment you.
3. When someone offers comments or suggestions.
4. When someone tries something you recommended.
5. When your advocates recommend you.
6. When your contacts are patient; or not so patient.
7. When someone says “no” to you.
8. When people make you smile.

 After each bullet she gives more details but I didn’t want to spoil her blog. There were some ideas that I overlook on a daily basis. One that she doesn’t specifically state is sending a thank-you after an interview. You don’t necessarily have to wait for a “no” to send a “thank-you for your time”. If a position is down to two people that are equally qualified and one sends a thank-you after the interview, who do you think is more likely to get the job? Yes, the one that sent the hand written thank-you. That’s a BIG difference that a little note makes.

Nierenberg also mentioned something that I thought was quite encouraging, especially with the current job market, through research she has conducted, it has showed that almost 20 percent of jobs and opportunities come from prospects that said no the first time. So send that thank-you even if you’re not offered the job and hopefully if you apply again the company will remember that and it could make a difference the second time around.

So you may think that hand written notes are a thing of the past, but let’s be real who doesn’t like to get something via mailbox these days? Take a break from the keyboard and break out the pen and paper. It’s a 42 cent investment could potentially pay off in the future.

Who is the gatekeeper of you (and me)?

The power of Google is difficult to fathom. According to searchenginewatch.com, an estimated 91 million searches are done each day through Google alone (This study is nearly three years old and I figure that stat is much higher now).

I hate to make anyone feel important, but YOU could even be getting Googled. Many people are aware of the fact that employers, friends and significant others may be apart of a group which could be Googling you (And I guess the narcissists are Googling themselves, but that is a different story).

With tons of information out there, how can we control what Google has to say (or doesn’t have to say) about us?

While reading technology blogs and tips, I came across a post by Dan Schawbel, the author of of Me 2.0: Build a Successful Brand to Achieve Career Success, on Mashable.com.

Schawbel gives examples of people who once had positive Google results before they turned south. Specifically, he mentions Alex Rodriguez, Michael Phelps and Chris Brown.

Here are a few tips Schawbel gives to help you control your search results:

• Register for blogs and social networks.

This one is probably a no-brainer for people reading blogs already.

• Write for blogs.

Sites like Word Press make it easy to make and control content for the average user.

• Start a wiki page under your name.

I was surprised to find Pbwiki.com has a page rank of seven on Google. Schawbel even suggests you could turn this page into a resume.

With so much information out there, I know it would be very wise for an individual (or group) to try to take control of information about themselves now before it becomes too late.

And with undeniable truth that Google or some form of online search engine will continue to be used defends the fact that maintaining information about oneself will also continue to be important.

Now while this is all fine and dandy, will I be motivated to change what pops up?

Chances are I wouldn’t bother to change it unless something negative is high in the search results. And when this happens, it would probably be too late.

Has anyone out there ever tried to control the results or anything? Or think it could be of some use to you?