Week 3 – Commenting on Blogs

This week in my Public Relations Writing course, we were asked the following: “Why are comments such an integral part of blogs? What advice would you offer on writing effective blog comments?”

Easy.

Commenting on blogs are like having a conversation with the author–if they respond that is.  The entire reason someone even writes a blog is to communicate their knowledge, feelings, or emotions about a certain subject.  They’re asking for feedback.  Comments let an author know a lot of things about their blog post.  Comments can agree, disagree, point out great facts, or point out great factual errors about a post.  This, of course, makes not only the author a better blogger, but it gives readers more information as well.

Writing effective blog comments isn’t necessarily a science, but it is something one should think about.

If one is simply stating how they liked a post, it’s pretty easy to figure out how to do that.  Elaborating on why you think the post is good is usually even better.  Point out what you liked, it’ll make the author feel even better, and it shows that you actually read the post.

But what if the comment is negative?

Okay, let’s face it.  You’re not going to agree with everyone, and a lot of times you may disagree so severely that you want to express your differences.  In this case, not only proceed with caution, but be respectful.  If you stumble across a blog that’s completely opposite of your views, don’t bash them for it.  There’s nothing wrong with criticism or debate, but always remember to be respectful.  You’re likely to get a more favorable reaction from someone you disagree with when you present the argument in a professional or adult manner.  Internet flame wars can be funny at times, but usually someone’s going to take it to far.  If it’s merely a harmless joke between you and the author, they better be aware of it.  Also, if it is a “joke”, be thoughtful about who could read it and take it the wrong way.  No one wants to be the next Gilbert Arenas, an NBA player who recently pulled a gun in the locker room as part of what he called a “joke”.

Week 2 – Grammar Girl – Swear Words in Text

This week in my Public Relations Writing class, we visited Mignon Fogarty’s Grammar Girl website.  Our assignment was to either listen to one of her grammar podcasts and/or read the accompanying article.  I chose her post titled Swear Words in Text.

I really liked the part about omitting or replacing swear words.  In reading this section, I couldn’t help but think about the overly censored swear words in movies shown on television.  To me, it almost destroys the aggressive and assertive aspect of a swear word when they replace it in prime-time.  I’m not going to get into specific examples, but I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about.  There are those legendary one-liners in so many movies that are simply chopped to bits.  We all know the line, and I’m sure most of us are disappointed when it’s completely altered.  Of course, there could always be “delicate ears” that could be affected by such swear words; however, I really wish they wouldn’t destroy the original meaning of the phrase or word.

Perhaps there will be some form of personal censorship technology in the future for television shows and movies.  Maybe you could select from different forms of the broadcast.  For example, I might be with company where swear words aren’t acceptable.  I choose the “Family-Friendly” option, and it’s G or PG Rated all the way.  Or, I’m feeling like a grown-up and decide to choose the “Explicit” version.  It’s all there as intended.  Wouldn’t that be awesome?

Also, We’ve all seen the symbols like $^&^%#@ to describe a swear word, but I didn’t know there was an actual name for such a thing.  It’s commonly referred to as Grawlix, which was termed by cartoonist Mort Walker in 1964.

The 5 most important things that PR students need to know about conducting research.

Good research goes a long way in Public Relations.  Obviously, the more information you have, the greater quality information you can give to your client.  And hey, better information equals more clients which equals…. you guessed it.  MORE MONEY!

Here are 5 things that I find to be very important when it comes to PR research:

1)  ETHICS  – Many of today’s business associations–including PRSA, have a Code of Conduct.  That’s a pretty big indicator on how important ethics are not only in public relations, but business in general.  There are of course, some important aspects of ethics that stand out.

     – Anyone and everyone that is to participate in your research, must agree to do so.  Do yourself and your client a favor.  Get all of the participants to sign some form of contract or agreement on participation. 

     – Any and every participant must have the option to withdraw from the research.  This just makes sense.  If someone decides they no longer want to be in a part of your research, don’t stop them.  Not only will you be abiding by good ethics, but you’ll probably get better data from participants that actually WANT to be included.

     – Let participants know what they’re getting into.  You’ve gotta give the participants some background information on your study.  With that, they can choose to stick around and help you out, or they can make a quick and easy decision not to.  This helps you get responses faster, and it can give participants more time to reflect on their thoughts prior to being questioned.

     – Keep participants out of harm’s way.  Again this is fairly obvious too.  Don’t do anything that could inflict any sort of physical, mentally, or emotionally pain to your participants.  After all, they’re helping you out, so be nice.

     – CONFIDENTIALITY! Keep all of the participants private information exactly how it’s supposed to be…PRIVATE.  Unless they give you permission to use names or likeness, don’t do it.

2)  Media Monitoring – There are some pretty useful tools out there–the internet being a BIG ONE.  Luckily for us, websites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Technorati and Flickr make it pretty easy to keep tabs on what the public is saying about a company/client.

3)  APA and AP style – In your research, you should always consult your trusty current edition of the AP Style Manual.  If there’s something you’re not sure about, have no fear, crack it open.  As for APA, make sure everything conforms to the current/most accepted version of APA style when it comes to citations and sources.  You won’t leave a very good impression on your client if they find out you’re trying to pass off another person’s work as your own.

4)  Organization can make things go super smooth.  When you’re conducting any kind of research, think about your FINAL product FIRST.  If you have a good idea of how you’re going to set up your presentation and research, then all of the other aspects of your research should be easier.  Planning ahead makes the final version of your work look better, flow better, and it makes your client FEEL BETTER about choosing you.

5) Getting your data.  I figured this was a pretty important part of research because without it…. well you don’t have very much.  Theres several ways to get your data like surveys, focus groups, questionnaires–each of which can give you different kinds of feedback.  Your questions have to be valid towards the overall goal of the research.  You can use open-ended questions to perhaps get some rather elaborate answers and opinions.  You can use close-ended questions to perhaps get some pretty tight, neat, and uniform answers and opinions.  And most of all….YOU CAN DO BOTH–which would probably benefit you the most depending on what you’re after.

The information about ethics was taken in large part from the book assigned to my Public Relations Research class.  You can buy it here.

Blog Comment

I commented on Mrs. Groover’s blog .

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.