I Agree Whole-Heartedly... Die Press release, Die Die Die!!!

In class this week we read Tom Foremski's article called Die! Press release Die! Die! Die! In it, he discusses how useless the current format of press releases really are. He suggests that public relations folks should stick to giving the facts of what they are announcing, throw in credible quotes, and basically keep the spin out of the release. Foremski calls for well organized, factual, unbiased, helpful information rather than the typical biased information filled with meaningless quotes that press releases usually contain. I agree with Tom Foremski on this topic. In my PR class my teacher suggested that we write the press release in a way that the journalist can almost print the story as is. She was very specific about where you place each part of the press release, and even required us to watch several videos on how to make a proper press release that were posted on YouTube. It seems that all of this effort was a waste of time when a journalist is asking us to do quite the opposite. It just makes sense to send a press release that is basically a fact sheet for the journalist to use when writing a story. It contains the information they need, credible sources with good quotes, and remains unbiased so that the story will be credible. Thanks Mr. Foremski!

Web Video

As I mentioned in my post last week, our class was required to create a video using the Internet on a social issue. I decided to make a video about menu labeling legislation to kill two birds with one stone. I have spent the whole semester writing my capstone paper on whether or not the FDA should require menu labeling in restaurants across the country in response to the obesity epidemic. I feel that this legislation in one of many steps that will need to be taken to help Americans become healthier. A few eye opening statistics: "The percentage of overweight American children and teens has more than doubled in the past decade. Moreover, two-thirds of the adults are either overweight or obese, and at least 300,000 Americans die each year from obesity related diseases... At stake is not only the health of millions of Americans but also $117 billion in annual health treatment costs." (Greenblat) There is an obesity epidemic in the United States, more Americans die of having too much to eat rather than having too little. Implementing menu labeling will give Americans the opportunity to make healthier decisions when they dine out. I chose to do this video as my civic engagement because the Internet is proving to be the best way to get a message across. Furthermore, a visual aid seems to be even more effective in keeping people's attention. I'm hoping that this video will reach people and persuade them to support menu labeling legislation.

Is Myspace a thing of the past??

In my Communication and Popular Culture class we were assigned to interview someone from the age of 12-15 on what they consider "cool." I chose to interview my 15 year old brother, Hayden. My 18 year old sister describes him as "too cool for school." So, obviously he was the ideal candidate for my interview. One of the questions we were supplied with to ask our interviewees was, " What new technology Internet sites, video games, etc. are cool? Do you think youtube, myspace, facebook, or twitter is cool? My social media savvy little brother spoke for himself and for his demographic, Myspace is for little kids. And Twitter looks stupid. Is this true? Are high school kids over Myspace? I personally have not updated my Myspace account in months. It seems that other social media sites have taken over and pushed Myspace back into the corner. I wonder why this is? How does this shift occur from Myspace to Facebook, and maybe eventually to Twitter, or some other fantastic form of social media. Is it the newness? Or are these new mediums for user friendly? Whatever it is "cool" continues to shift from one from to the next as I suspect it will continue to do. *sigh* Goodbye Myspace!

Thank you Flikr

In my Social Media class our most recent assignment was to create a video on the Internet about a social issue. In order to make it easier for us our teacher, the lovely Corrine Weisgerber gave us a list of websites that allow you to make videos. She also guided us to Flickr to find photos to use so that we would not have to use original content. As this is a social media class we were encouraged to use the tools that social media has provided. So she showed us how to find photos on flickr that are fair game to use. In other words, they are under the creative commons license. This is an easy alternative that allows users the option of not obtaining a full copyright. It is very easy to find the pictures that fall under this category. Go to www. flickr.com, click search, then click advanced search, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click only search within Creative Commons-licensed content. This will ensure that you are using content fairly. Thanks Flickr for making this assignment so easy!

What is the big deal with Second Life?

Our class had a Second Life expert visit last week to give us an introduction to Second Life. He showed us his avatar, how you can move, teleport, build buildings, and chat with others. He also explained that St. Edward's is renting land, and built a campus on Second Life. I don't understand why this is necessary. I did use Second Life in my organizational communication class, but it was just to familiarize us with the technology in case our future employers use it. But I haven't used it in any other context. I hated it when we had to use it. I honestly do not understand why anyone would waste their time using this technology. It is clumsy, unrealistic, and easily replaceable by a conference call. If anyone has a defense for Second Life that will change my mind, please let me know!

Does Second Life Affect Real Life?

I just finished reading this article about how studies have shown that Second Life, an online virtual world affects the way people behave in real life. This is a really interesting concept. The one that I agreed could affect the way I act in real life was the exercising avatar. I think that if I had a little avatar on my screen that was exercising I would feel more motivated to go get some exercise as well. The problem with this type of influencing technology is when the avatars are used for marketing products. In online shopping when you create an avatar with the intent of making it look just like you the avatar ends up looking slightly better than you. They do this in order to influence people to buy their products because they look good on the slightly better looking online version of themselves. I personally do not think that people will be fooled by an avatar, but still, companies shouldn't try to manipulate them into buying products based on a false impression. Try it out at http://myvirtualmodel.com/cs/. Will you be fooled?

CW Austin on Twitter!

I was watching the CW today while at the gym and noticed a new Twitter ad. They are asking residents of Austin to provide live updates on what is going on in the city. http://twitter.com/TheFace_of_CW The example that I especially liked was a status update on Barton Springs. This is a great way for people in Austin to reach a greater number of people. When you send an @reply to TheFace_of_CW with an update on what is going on in Austin, you will reach your followers as well as the people that follow the CW on Twitter as well. What a great networking tool! It could be used for things from traffic updates to concerts. I love how Twitter is changing the world!

Studio SX Presents Jeffery Zeldman and Michael Loop

I just watched a video of a SXSW interactive discussion on usability research. I am very interested in this field. The experts that were speaking, Jeffery Zeldman and Michael Loop discussed the field of usability, what they look for in employees, and the discrepancy between the number of men vs women in the field. In my PR class we had a guest speaker who works in the usability research field. She runs a company that other companies hire to test the usability of their websites. She recruits testers from the target market and observes them going through the site while she asks questions. She then prepares a report to send back to the companies. I am fascinated by this field and I would love to learn more about it and perhaps pursue a career in usability research. If anyone has any suggestions on how to get into this field please let me know!

Podcast With Janis Krums

In class we were required to make a podcast. My group, Austin, Ben, and Ginny decided to interview Janis Krums, the citizen journalist who tweeted the picture of the people on the wing of the plane that went down in the Hudson River. We interviewed him about his experience and how the mainstream media picked the story up and how his reach in social media has grown since he posted this picture. We created our podcast by using Audacity over Skype. It was a great interview and we really appreciate him helping us with this project.

Show Notes:

00:10 Ben introduces the show, speakers, and special guest Janis Krums

01:58 Ginny interviews Janis about his experience after podcasting the famous Twit Pic

5:28 Reanne and Janis discuss social media and citizen journalism

9:15 Austin presents concluding thoughts, out-tro, and Thanks to Janis.

Care to know when people are talking about you?

On Wednesday our class learned a cool way to monitor what is being said about a particular subject of interest. The class example was creating a pipe on SXSW. First you have to go to http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/ and create a Yahoo! account if you don't already have one. Then click, 'create a pipe'. I chose to create a pipe about myself. So, I am monitoring a few websites to see if anyone is talking about me. I inserted my Twitter name rcampsey, and I inserted my blog URL. I think it is really interesting how handy technology like this is. Not for me personally, I don't have anybody talking about me that I didn't already know about, but for large companies, or for famous people, or authors, actors, CEOs. The list of people who can benefit from Yahoo pipes is endless. They can monitor for negative feedback, conduct research on how well a PR, marketing, or advertising campaign was received, and use it as an opportunity to create a dialogue with the people that have something to say about them. Another really great thing is that once you create a pipe you can subscribe to the RSS feed for it so that you don't have to keep going back to your pipe page to monitor that! It all comes to you. I love how easy technology makes life.

SXSW Interactive Festival!

I have been working for the SXSW festival for the past few days. It is amazing how many opportunities I have had to see Social networking sites at work. I personally tweeted that the guy from the Sonic commercials was just checked in at registration. I have also seen multiple tweets from the people on the registration crew, but from about people involved in all sections of the festival. Apart from searching for stars I have received several business cards and other promotional material that included peoples' Twitter accounts. Most of those people were headed to the Interactive portion of the festival which includes five days of panel discussions and many parties celebrating the best minds and brightest personalities in emerging technologies. Unfortunately I do not get to attend any of the panels but I look forward to utilizing more technology and listening in on some of the podcasts they are creating of the panels. All sorts of great information can be found on the SXSW interactive website. http://sxsw.com/interactive/

Some tips, so that your Podcast doesn't suck.

I just listened to a SXSW podcasting panel. The panelists suggested these tips to improve your podcast.
1. Know your audience...
Comments, wikis, and twitter help you make your show better through feedback.
2. Good equipment is just cool!
Microphones are the single most important thing for the quality of your podcast.
3. You might need a script, or bullet points to stay on task.
4. Ask leading questions, don't waste peoples time.
5. Edit!!
There are free ones, they come with your computers... USE THEM. Your audience will love you and thank you for it.
6. Flow.
There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. Tell a story. Keep it lean, keep it mean.
7. Leave them wanting more.
8. Casting in podcasting... theme songs are cool!
Rockin podcast+theme song= people will love it! Respect copyrights.
9. Use an intro and outro. Who you are, what is the podcast about. Pre-announce. It will keep them listening.
10. Wrap it up! Thank them for coming. Bait the hook for next time.

We have a class assignment that requires us to produce a podcast. I was a little bit nervous about how to do it, and how to keep it interesting, but I think that these tips will really help! I currently don't listen to any podcasts, but I have several friends that are really into them. I guess they are a lot like blogging, and you have to work really hard to increase your audience. So, if you are needing some tips on how to keep your audience interested this SXSW podcast is a great place to start!

"Is this something you would want your grandmother to see?"

An article by John Hechinger called, College Applicants, Beware: Your Facebook is Showing, suggests that a safe way to determine what should go on your Facebook page is to ask "Is this something you would want your grandmother to see?"

College students are not the only ones that have to worry about what they put on their Facebook page. We have all heard the warnings over and over to be careful about what we post because future employers will be looking and whether or not we get hired could be determined by what we have on our Facebook. Now high school students must consider the same thing because college admissions are now taking an online peek to see what kind of people their applicants really are.

"A new survey of 500 top colleges found that 10% of admissions officers acknowledged looking at social-networking sites to evaluate applicants. Of those colleges making use of the online information, 38% said that what they saw "negatively affected" their views of the applicant."

These universities and institutions use this precautionary measure as a way to protect their name. Although they cannot take the time to review everyone's page it gets much easier when deciding among a few finalists for a scholarship.

Although some colleges admissions staffs have taken it upon themselves to browse potential student's Facebook pages, others intentionally avoid it.

"Sandra Starke, vice provost for enrollment management at the State University of New York at Binghamton, says she instructs her staff to ignore Facebook and other sites because she considers postings to be casual conversations, the online equivalent of street-corner banter. 'At this age, the students are still experimenting,' she says. 'It's a time for them to learn. It's important for them to grow. We need to be careful how we might use Facebook.'"

As I consider this article I find myself wondering, what are they really looking for on a high school student's Facebook page? Just about everyone I know has significantly changed since high school. Some for the better, and unfortunately some for the worse. I feel that any information that they feel reflects on the applicants character cannot be fully trusted. High school, and college are a time of growing up, experimenting, and finding out who you are. Also who is to say that being accepted to a great school wouldn't turn a "questionable" applicant's life around. I think that snooping around on high school students' Facebook pages is a waste of time and will more often than not produce inaccurate judgements of character. Despite my feelings on this issue, I agree that people should carefully consider what they post for the public to see. And the suggested filter "Is this something you would want your grandmother to see" is a wise use of your time. What do you think??

I am a Tweeter

Last time I blogged about maybe wanting to try Twitter, but I was a sceptic. Well, thanks to a good friend I ended up signing up for Twitter. So far, I have 8 followers, and I am following 17 people and organizations. I think that it is very interesting that people are following me and I have no clue who they are. I have received several random requests and I have accepted just to see if anything interesting will happen. So far, nothing. In class we have talked about Twitter being an excellent tool for networking professionally. In my PR class my professor was following someone on Twitter that led them to a web site that formats press releases for you! It is amazing, I already used the site for a class assignment. It is amazing how powerful a tweet can be.
I am going to begin using my Twitter account to try and network for a future career. I hope that it works!

Reaching the Wired Media for Better Coverage

In chapter 4 of PR 2.0 Deirdre Breakenridge discusses tips for public relations professionals to get better media coverage. A few of the things it suggests to do are:

• Develop a solid database of media contacts that will lead to tremendous opportunities in your career and for the brands you represent.
• Gather as much information as possible on the journalists you target; just when when to draw the line so that you don't invade any one's privacy.
• Understand that journalists want to work with PR people who can provide them with timely, accurate, and novel information for their stories so that they can reach their deadlines.
• Invest in research tools when you have the resources and take full advantage of the integrated service platforms that enable you to bundle your PR tasks easily and quickly.
• Find out what journalists expect from you and how they want to be contacted. Each individual journalist might have a PR 2.0 preference, whether it's communication through e-mail, IM, or blogs. (Breakenridge 69)

These tips make a lot of sense. In a way they are kind of common sense. Build relationships, communicate, adjust your style to interact with different individuals. It sounds to me like every day communication. I think that it is very interesting that, maybe because of the Internet, and a decrease in human contact, professionals have to be reminded how to communicate with people. Network, don't be a stalker, help people and that in turn will benefit you, be efficient, and adjust communication styles. I really feel like I am learning a lot from being a Communications major. It's back to basics, but it is the really important stuff that it seems, people have forgotten.

Social Media Sceptic

Today in class we learned about Twitter. Twitter is a website where people connect through mini blogs called tweets. Tweets consist of 140 characters or less. Twitter has become incredibly popular. Many companies have begun monitoring tweets through Tweet Scan. This feature allows companies, or individuals to be notified of any mention of their company name. This is an excellent addition to the two-way communication being buzzed about in the public relations field.

I am not on Twitter yet. To be honestly, I have considered it several times and I will probably join in. But I have one question concerning the public relations aspect for companies. One of the companies we looked at in class that has used Twitter to learn what the public is saying about their company and to provide better customer service is Comcast. Comcast was getting a lot of bad publicity through angry tweets and blogs posted by disgruntled customers. Luckily, they started listening and they started taking steps to correct their image and make customers happy again. Good for them!

My problem is what if people start abusing this incredible customer service. After so many examples of quick, efficient, and friendly service by simply complaining on a blog or tweet will people start saying that they have problems just to get freebies? Is this even a concern? Is there even a way to monitor honesty online? Maybe not, maybe I am just being a pessimist.

Besides my scepticism of the twitter users intentions I think that it is an excellent invention. Very creative and user friendly. It seems that I am learning of some awesome new technology almost daily that will make my life easier and more enjoyable. Yay technology!!

The 1% Rule

While studying for my exam in My Internet and Social Media in PR class I stumbled across the 1% rule. What is it, why does this happen; what is the demographic of the 1 percenters?
I found the answers to these question is the book Ciziten Marketers When People Are the Message by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba.
1. The 1% rule is... one percent of the total number of visitors to a democratized forum will actually create or contribute content. (McConnell)
2. Why does this happen?... "A new social system starts and seems delightfully free of the elitism and cliquishness of the existing systems. Then, as the new system grows, problems of scale set in. Not everyone can participate in every conversation. Not everyone gets to be heard. Some core group seems more connected than the rest of us. What matters is this: diversity plus freedom of choice creates inequality, and the greater the diversity, the more extreme the inequality." (McConnell)
3. The demographic of 1 percenters... Generally contributors are in their 20's and they are computer savvy. More men than women fit into the one percenters. (McConnell)

I think that this is really interesting. The fact that there is a very small percentage of people who create content on websites makes me wonder how objective the information is. It sounds similar to Media Ownership, Perhaps it is not as bad as corporations owning and controlling the messages that you receive through the television or radio but it does make me wonder.

Does anyone see a problem with the small percentage of contributers to the information on the internet? Does it even matter?

Mmm del.icio.us!

I recently set up an account on http://delicious.com/. We had a class assignment that challenged us to find our "perfect match." The way we did this was to choose one of our own tags and find someone else that tagged that page. Then we browsed through their other tags to see if we had more things in common. This was a very interesting exercise and I feel like it could prove to be very useful in finding helpful links in areas of my interest.

In the article The Several Habits of Wildly Successful del.icio.us Users, by Bren, I learned a lot of ways to make del.icio.us useful to me. She mentioned several things like, tagging as much as you want, use the inbox to find out who has been tagging the same things, and stalk other users, among other suggestions.

I embrace technology, I love social media sites, I text pretty much non-stop every day. I love it. But for some reason I don't feel like I will necessarily use del.icio.us. I think the concept is great, but I really don't feel like I have any use for it. Perhaps I'm wrong. Maybe it just isn't the right time for me to use it. I could see this bookmarking tool as being helpful when I'm out of college. Working, researching, networking. I would love to hear from someone my age (21) that has a million good things to say about this site. How I could benefit from it. Why I should actively give it a try. I have nothing against it, I just don't know if it is right for me.

Do you want Facebook to know what you are doing?

Today I was researching for a paper that I was writing in my Communication and Popular Culture class. The paper was about Jessica Simpson's weight gain and how the media made a huge fuss over it. Throughout my browsing I logged into my facebook account and then closed that window. When I got to "The Insider's" story about Jessica Simpson I got a pop up. It asked me if I wanted to publish in my mini feed on facebook what I was looking at on "The Insider."

NO!

I remember we discussed this happening in class and we wondered if it was ethical for websites to monitor your browsing history and "cater" to your personal interests. When I was asked if I wanted to publish viewing "The Insider" in my facebook mini feed, when the facebook window wasn't even open I felt like my privacy had been invaded. I don't even see the point in telling my friends in facebook that I researched Jessica Simpson's weight gain via "The Insider."

I am curious, does anyone support this idea? Does anyone want facebook, or any other social networking site asking you if you want to publish your browsing history?

95 Theses from The Cluetrain Manifesto

I thought that this reading was really interesting. As I was reading along I found myself agreeing with most of the points. I like the idea of having an open discourse with companies. I like the idea of feeling confident in a product or idea put forth by a company. I love seeing how the market is changing and how people are talking to each other about their experiences with companies and products. I often look up customer review of products that I am thinking of trying because I feel more confident in an individuals statement rather than the marketing and advertisements placed by the company who is obviously just trying to sell me something.

"These markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. It can't be faked." http://www.cluetrain.com/book/95-theses.html

I am currently enrolled in two public relations classes right now. Both of them seem to be repeating over and over how social media and the Internet are changing the way PR works. This reading backs this point up. With blogging and PR and Facebook and all of the other social media tools out there companies hardly have a say in how they look. I have a Facebook profile and I often see movie reviews, links to videos, advertisements and complaints about tons of different things through my friends status updates. "My mac book is broken... again" "I finally got my luggage after a month" "Revolutionary Road was horrible!!!" The opinions and updates and in a way, product reviews I see influence the way I think. If I see that my friend thought a certain movie was horrible I probably won't feel the need to go see it! Companies have to pay attention to things like this as the Cluetrain Manifesto suggests. I respect the companies that get out there and have conversations with the public about what they represent. It makes people feel like they actually care about more than just making money.

I mentioned to my mom the other day that in my PR class I was told that honesty is the best policy. People like to be able to see into a company and trust it. She was honestly shocked and said, that isn't PR. PR is trying to cover up mistakes and sell ideas. This sentiment is shared by many in the United States. I think that maybe this is a new beginning. Students going into PR are being taught to value honesty and to build your companies reputation by making its motives transparent. I think that if companies learn from the Cluetrain Manifesto they will gain the confidence of the people and perhaps build a loyal following.