Segway Inventor Takes Aim At Thirst

I chose to use an article I found on CNN.com titled “Segway inventor takes aim at thirst with Slingshot.”  Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway personal motorized scooter, has developed an item that can be extremely valuable to everyone in the world called Slingshot.  Slingshot is “a portable, low energy machine that is designed to purify water in remote villages.”

            This article is news worthy for many reasons.  First, clean and accessible drinking water can be extremely difficult to locate for many under developed nations, this device can create pure, clean drinking water from anything from rivers, oceans, and even raw sewage.  This could solve many health problems plaguing under developed countries; however, it’s still rather expensive to produce, so Kamen is looking for companies and partners to bring down the cost to about $2,000 per unit.

Blog Comment

I commented on Mrs. Groover’s blog .

Break ins on and around GSU’s campus

Okay, we all know to lock our doors, close our blinds and take any valuables out of our cars overnight.  Is there much more you can do?  I don’t think so.

On Georgia Southern’s campus and surrounding area, there are many burglaries every year.  It’s also safe to say that during long breaks (summer, christmas, etc..) your apartment, dorm room, or home is more likely to be broken into.  That’s just how things go.  If someone is going to break into your place, they’re going to try and do it when no one is home, so that there will be no conflict.

I really don’t believe that there is anything that can be done by any sort of authority figure.  If someone wants to break into your home, they’re going to do it.  Alarm systems, locked doors, and locked windows isn’t going to stop anybody who REALLY wants to get inside.  I guess the police could always be on constant surveillance in neighborhoods, but that has its side effects too.  Georgia Southern as a university can’t do anything either.  It’s not their responsibility to make sure my house doesn’t get broken into.  It’s my own.

In conclusion, no one can help you protect your home better than yourself.  We are all adults; therefor, we are responsible for our property and well being.

Ten Things I Learned in Intro to PR

     So the semester has pretty much come to a close.  In my last assignment, I will discuss the top ten things I’ve learned from Intro to PR.

Here it goes:

1. Social Media is your friend - Take all the advantages that technology has to offer.  Twitter, Facebook, PROpenMic, Podcasts, and Blogging are extremely useful tools that one can use to “stay in-the-know.”

2. Learn to write WELL – If you got that little pun, you’re already in great shape.  Writing is one of the most important factors in PR–let alone any profession.  You’ll need to write in a way that expresses your ideas clearly and coherently to others around you; however, don’t be afraid to be yourself either.

3. Internships get your foot in the door – You need to try and put your name out there to companies.  Take full advantage of all the tools social media has to offer when it comes to finding an internship.  If you end up getting the internship, try to apply every bit of knowledge you’ve gained from your studies and real world experience.  Hopefully, at the end, you’ll be hired as an employee.

4. Keep track of every project you work on- When you’re building your resume and portfolio, you’re going to need to have some solid examples of your work.  Start saving every project you work on.  Set aside a folder on your hard drive, print out extra copies, or have a separate CD or flash-drive to store all of your work.  It’ll make it a lot easier when you need to put together a portfolio; because everything will be right where you left it.

5. Make connections – Again, social media websites are great tools for keeping in contact with people, but things don’t always have to be all about business.  Make an effort to connect to people on a personal level.  Don’t always talk about business.  Talk about stuff like movies, sports, news, or life in general.  I’d stay away from the weather though.  You don’t really want to be that person that continually says, “Man, it sure is hot outside.” 

6. Ethical decisions make sleeping easier at night – In PR, sometimes you’re going to be assigned to do things you’re not entirely comfortable with.  THATS OKAY!  You have to weigh your options properly though.  You can be fired for not following orders.  Do you do as your boss and superior’s ask for the sake of the company? Or do you stand your ground with your morals at your side?  It can be a tough decision, but when it comes down to it, do what feels right to you.  Leave no regrets.

7. Prepare for unexpected – It’s always a safe bet to be prepared for the worst possible scenario.  Collect information about everyone in your PR department, and create an “Emergency Kit” for those tragedies that seem to pop up out of no where.  Or you can always not be prepared, and things will be even worse.  So save yourself and your company a headache.  Plan for the worst; hope for the best.

8. A simple “thank you” can go a long way – Even though we’re in the age of the internet and social media, don’t be afraid to go back to the old school ways of doing things.  Hand write some thank you notes.  Pick up the phone and dial that number.  Personable people are always easier to work with.  It’ll leave a great impression.

9. Just because it doesn’t say “Public Relations” doesn’t mean they don’t have a similar department – When you’re job searching, don’t corner yourself by just looking for “public relations” openings.  Most companies don’t even use that phrase.  More often than not, it’ll be something that involves communications.  So don’t get worried if you’re finding very little “public relation” departments in companies.

10. Remember…. RACE!!! – No, not to the end of the street!  I’m talking about Research, Action, Communication, and Evaluation.  RACE!  Thats the basic formula for any public relations process.  If you follow these easy steps, you’ll be headed in the right direction.

     In conclusion, I’ve had a really great time during Intro to PR.  I’m glad I chose PR as my major.  It seems like something that is undeniably “recession proof.”  Thats always good.  Right?!?!

Does Twitter make you a better writer?!?!

I found a pretty awesome article on “How Twitter makes you a better writer.”  Thought I’d pass it along.

Twitter… The Second Go ‘Round

     We were instructed to go through another “mandatory” twitter session at the end of the semester.  I found tons of new things that I like about twitter.  I like that there ARE so many PR professionals.  I started following DiscoveryPR which gave some cool insight to upcoming shows and specials on the Discovery Channel.  I followed PR Music to stay “in the know” about all thats going on the music business–mostly new records or tours.  And I also followed SocialWebPR which, oddly enough, keeps up with all the new trends in social media and twitter.

     I am very interested in music, and I would LOVE to be involved in the PR process in the music business.  I was surprised to find a lot of PR professionals that dealt with entertainment on twitter.  It’s amazing how twitter is blowing up just in the past 4 months.  I had never heard of or used it before, but now it seems like EVERYONE is getting an account.  The sky is the limit for twitter.

You can find me on twitter at @evoyd.

Chapter 14 “News Releases, Media Alerts, and Pitch Letters”

News Releases

“The news release, also called a press release, has been around since Ivy Lee issued a news release back in 1906 for the Pennsylvania Railroad, it continues to bo the most commonly used public relations tactic.” (pg 367)

     In general, press releases should be short, quick to the point, yet attention grabbing.  They’re typically rather short in nature due to the fact that most editors have to sift through tons of them.  Because of this, most press releases should be formatted in the inverted pyramid style.  The first paragrah/sentence should hold the most important information, followed by more and more less important specifics later in the story.  This makes sure busy editors see all the important information right up front.  Hopefully you’re press release is important enough not make it into the trash can.

Media Kits

     Media kits are another important aspect to gaining the attention one would need.  For example, I’ll talk a little about press kits pertaining to music.  When bands are looking to either 1) get signed 2) get radio play or 3) book shows, they can usually shoot a quick e-mail with a myspace url and grind things out hoping all is well.  However, they can try and be a little more professional by using well put together press kits.  For music, a press kit would usually be a nice, attractive folder containing some of the following:

• Demo CD/Recording – A band will obviously never get a shot unless their music is desirable to a large enough market.
• Biography – This should be a brief history of the band, possibly including member’s past musical affiliations and accomplisments (other groups, recordings, or educational background).
• Professional Photographs – Group promotional shots, live photographs, and individual photographs.
• Contact Information – Manager information, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, website(s).

I found a great outline that has tons of specifics on band press kits here.

Blog Comment

I commented on Eryn Pond’s blog.

Pirates… Seriously!?!?

I’m sure everyone has seen the news in the last few days.  All this hoopla about pirates taking over ships is getting a little out of hand.  It can’t be that difficult to defend against a couple dudes with some guns can it?  They might have some kind of training like, “Hey, if you pull the trigger…. the gun shoots.”  I seriously doubt any of them have any kind of military or professional training.  So how are they overtaking these huge ships?

All these ships have to do is have armed guards.  They can train their crew members to defend the boat with some guns, OR they could potentially hire a security company to do the same task–and probably with a little more efficiency and professionalism.  Get 2 guards to be “on duty” for a few hours watching a certain section of the boat.  Then after a few hours, rotate some more fresh, heavily armed, heavily trained guards to replace them. 

If you’ve ever seen an action movie or played a video game, then you get what I’m saying.  The only people that can feasibly get by ALL the guards would have to be someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger (the Commando version).  Sure, I don’t have tons of knowledge on this, but I’m pretty sure a Somali pirate isn’t that hard to take down or defend against.

Blog Comment

I commented on Eryn Pond’s blog.