PRinciples Year-End Highlights

PRinciples class with Dr. V is officially over, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to give you the highlights from the semester of class. For those of you still in college: Look for a class like this. For those of you out of college: Try hard not to be jealous

Favorite Moments:                                                                                             

• Live-covering class on Twitter (and surpassing a PR conference on Twemes, oh what a proud moment)
• iChat with Paull Young of the famed Converseon and Young PR (who later subscribed to my blog…no pressure!)
• Skype call with Laura Fitton, perhaps better known as @Pistachio

Most important PRinciples learned:

• Strategic PR begins and ends with RESEARCH, and good research takes the guesswork out of PR.
• Pay attention to where your profession is going, not just where it is.
• The way you handle a crisis can become a second crisis, and ethics are extremely important when handling one.
• Social media is about using the Internet for conversation– use a human voice and keep the reader’s best interest in mind, please!
• Learn enough about the peole in other fields with whom you’ll be working so you can interact with them knowledgeably and courteously. 

Favorite uses for blogging so far:

• If you’ve been reading my blog at all, I’m sure you’ve noticed the 3 or 4 posts about the Mocha Club. I’ve been able to use this blog for class to get the word out about a cause I believe in.
• I went to an interview for an internship at Jeff Dezen Public Relations in Greenville, SC and was able to use this blog as a writing sample and proof of my skills in online PR. (BTW–I got the job. Don’t underestimate blogging

Random things to take away:

• I loved this talk on education and creativity given by Sir Ken Robinson at the TED conference this year

• I am now Facebook friends with Paull Young, don’t be jealous 
• I have become an awestruck fan of Cheryl Harrison  

To wrap up…

Best class ever.

Give Your Blog Some Personality

I’ve been checking out fellow COMM student Cheryl Harrison’s blog. She’s a student at Capital University with apparently more time than the average person (or at least more energy)–she’s the superwoman of students who work, intern, study, and volunteer time. All that, and she’s probably going to be one of the most sought after graduates for the field of PR here pretty soon. Here’s some things I’ve learned from her blog:

1) Don’t be afraid to include your personality on your blog. Keeping things professional does not mean sacrificing your natural creativity or taking on a non-human voice. Read anything on Cheryl’s blog, and you won’t be able to avoid noticing her sarcasm and wit.

2) Paying for a personal domain and a graphic designer is a worthy investment. Cheryl is a student, but her blog looks very professional and not at all cheap. It’s an impressive bit to show potential employers–far more interesting to look at than a traditional resume (even if you splurge on the “quality” paper).

3) Her resume is listed as a page on the blog. I think this is brilliant! Anyone who stumbles on the blog can check out her qualifications. She could get (and probably has already gotten) internship and job offers she might never think to apply for just because her experience is available to whoever wants to know.

Very cool blog…inspiring me to revamp this one in the near future…

Present and Accounted For

Dr. V said something on one of the first days of class that has stuck with me: “The most precious gift you can give anyone is your undivided attention.” I wrote it down. The rest of the day I proceeded to text one person while in conversation with another and to count vegging out in front of the TV as “spending time with my boyfriend.” Some things need to be preached to me more than once.

Today, she mentioned the myth of multi-tasking, and I started wondering. How often am I fully present in what I’m doing? How often is my mind elsewhere? How would my relationships or my work improve if I were to give an honest attempt at single-tasking?

I’m trying to think of ways to make this a measurable crusade. Maybe if I’m aware of how distracted I truly am I can begin to call my attention home. All I have come up with so far is to count the number of times I read and respond to a text while spending time with someone else or while trying to do homework. Does anyone have other ideas?