I have just spent 15 minutes writing a blog post only to read it back and think "fuck me, that's boring" so I have deleted it. I won't get those 15 minutes back and I don't see why you should waste five of yours reading a shower of shite.

So, here are the facts: I'm staying in on a Friday night to tackle this tricky scenario - the planning assignment part of my CIPR Diploma in Public Relations. I hate it, I am clueless, it's making me miserable. It's boring, it's tough and not knowing what to write is making me cross. Part of me wants to jack it in, part of me just wants to get the damn thing out the way and scrape a pass.

So, if you're interested in public relations and fancy helping me out, feel free to make suggestions on how to approach this hellish piece of work. If you're not interested, enjoy your evening.

Over and out.

There is a common theme regarding the importance of finding spaces in which to develop and build connections with others.

In the case of cotton wool kids, the likes of Simon Woodroffe have claimed societal restrictions are impacting on the ability of children to become entrepreneurial.  Children not allowed to play freely and being monitored 24:7 by their parents they may be unable to form social relationships or be stunted in creativity.

This over-controlling syndrome is not exclusive to modern childhood however, as we see it in the workplace and wider society. 

George Monbiot reports how British libel laws are said to threaten the "free-flowing marketplace of ideas" - citing the example of how Craig Murray is being bullied by law firm Schillings, which uses legal manoeuvrings to "protect the reputations of high-profile individuals, corporates and brands".,

In Wales, an Assembly Government civil servant was sacked for running a political blog and is taking his case to an Employment Tribunal.

If people are not allowed to debate and discuss, to challenge and question, to explore without fear of making a mistake, then what kind of society will we live in and what will be the ultimate role of PR?  Arguably in a controlled and closed society, the PR function is purely one of propaganda rather than facilitating conversations and maintaining relationships.

In the same way that children need safe spaces in which to explore and express themselves, one function of PR is perhaps to create the kind of spaces where organisations can be more playful and open in engaging with their publics.  Not simply using events to inform or persuade in line with the corporate objectives.

Last week I asked questions regarding the point of blogger outreach initiatives - those behind the particular activities claimed they were seeking to "build some relationships".  I do think organisations, and busy PR people, need to think through the value and purpose of the relationships they seek to establish (and with whom) - but we don't always know at the outset what the benefits may be for both or either party.

Next week we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of MIPAA with a Summer Soirée at the House of Lords. There's no agenda and members are able to invite friends, family, colleagues and contacts to the event.

It will be a space where conversations take place and relationships are developed - whatever and whoever these may involve. 

First, some background. I am what is fondly known as a Serial Entrepreneur. Believe it or not, this phrase is actually registered with wikipedia- a shocking revelation for me when I found this out. It actually gave me a bit of credibility, in my own head mind you. But it means that I love starting companies, working my ass off, and then selling them or moving on. Only once did I ever say, "I will never sell this company". Six months later, I did. It was a marketing and PR firm. I've regretted it ever since.

The beautiful thing was I made enough money from that transaction that I decided to do what everybody with some cash lying around does: invest. I became a real estate investor overnight. Over the period of four years, I would become a foreclosure expert, short sale innovator, and successful speaker. None of which gave me any satisfaction (though it did manage to build a pretty portofolio for me).

I woke morning after morning increasingly unmotivated to do anything. Then, the best offer landed in my lap. Undisputedly, Colorado's best marketing company split and the talent asked me to come back into the industry and run the company.

Seeing as my short story is getting longer- I'll cut to the chase. This blog is about not only my getting my feet back into the pool I belong in, but more importantly, my education of what's changed in the last four years. With technological changes, social networking taking a lead, and many other innovations, I plan to educate myself (and thus you) with what's hot, what's going to stay, and what's simply not. But more importantly-- I'm going to rock this nation with the best marketing and advertising firm ever created. Nobody's got anything on me... uh, hopefully.

 Found this link on The Big Lead --

http://executivesuite.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/pr-pitch-of-the-month-or-maybe-the-decade/

Worst pitch of the month? Sure, I can buy that. Worst of the decade. Give me a break.

Now, this pitch is god-awful in length, but really examine the content -- is it really that bad? As a younger flack, I'm sure I sent something similar to a national, ego-driven, columnist of self-imposed importance, with little response, if any.

But this one has relevancy, it's interesting, if not controversial, and -- what do you know -- it actually got some coverage in the NY Times!

I find it hard to believe in the past 10 years this columnist has not had a worse pitch. Frankly, I think his column just reeks of laziness.

But back to PR impact, the comments can provide a valuable lesson. Let's explore, shall we? 

1. The "I would never do that ..." camp. Whatever. While these posters cry PR sanctity from behind their hidden on-line identities, they would love the personal attention this flack has earned for herself.

2. The "she acts like she's your friend - how dare she" camp. Of course she does! It's called personalizing the pitch, people. You have to liven it up, take some chances, break the mold to try to get above the fray with your message. Plus by simply saying, "hope you are well," it doesn't seem to be violating and privacy laws here.

3. The "she did get exposure" camp.  I hear you. If this had happened to me, I would kinda dig the personal exposure ... but at the same time I would hope like hell my client didn't see it. Once a pitch is out the door, it's available for media consumption like anything else.

I think ultimately the story here is about reputation. This little exposure had a dramatic impact on the PR professional's reputation, her agency, and the client she is representing. The three-headed reputation monster always needs to be considered before you hit the send button on the pitch.

That being said, I would love to be a fly on the wall when her supervisor and/or client did get wind of this exposure ...

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” that is a common question that we have been asked growing up. My answer to that question when as a kid was a doctor. That was actually my answer all the way until I was a freshman in college. My how things have changed. I am getting my Masters in Public Relations. Throughout college I changed my major several times, I wanted to do physical therapy, then I wanted to do athletic training, and then I wanted to do public health outreach.  The funny thing is the minute after I graduated I began to look for jobs in my field, what I realized was that all the jobs that seemed interesting to me required another concentration or required more experience. I had worked through out high school and college but since I changed my major several times my internships were in other areas. What I understood through this process is that it is best to work backwards. YES, backwards. I feel that you should look at jobs, act as if you are going to apply and see what the requirements are, what you need to do to get a position like that. Based on that you should begin to work towards that, which is exactly what I began to do. I decided to do a full research of possible jobs that I would like to do; I did a 1 year plan, a 5 year plan and a 10 year plan. That would enable me to see what I have to do in each benchmark to reach my overall goal. I wish someone would have told me this a lot earlier.  So I felt I should get this out to the world, although we state what we want to do we should really see how we want to get there, or how we can get there. My favorite was craigslist.com I just love that site!

• Detailed information and statistics from the government.

• The publication of reports by government agencies.

• Findings of reviews and inquiries and the government's response.

• Financial and statistical information.

• Procurement issues.

• Procedure and policy initiatives of government departments.

That doesn't sound exactly like the kind of important statement to issue on your last day of term, unless you are hoping that the contents will avoid close media and/or public scrutiny.  Thirteen of these statements were released last Friday; today Hansard has a list of over 30:

• Regulatory Impact Assessment Command Paper
• National Statistics Annual Report 2007–08
• Tax and Benefit Reference Manual 2008–09
• EU Funds (Consolidated Statement)
• Free Cash Machines (Low-income Areas)
• Issuer Liability
• HM Revenue and Customs (Office Reorganisation)
• ECOFIN
• Equitable Life
• Planning Inspectorate Annual Report and Accounts 2007–08
• South East of England Regional Spatial Strategy
• North West England Regional Spatial Strategy
• Preventing Violent Extremism: Next Steps for Communities
• Regeneration Strategy for England
• Free Swimming
• Animal Products (Imports)
• Poultry Register
• Lisbon Treaty (Ratification)
• Official Receptions
• Pharmaceutical Services
• Justice and Home Affairs Informal Council
• HM Chief Inspector of Probation: Appointment Extension
• Legal Services Board
• National Offender Management Service
• Official Receptions
• "Greening Government ICT"
• Access to Statistics
• Regional Accountability
• Correction to Written Answers
• Highways Agency Annual Report and Accounts 2007–08
• Local Transport Bill
• Civil Aviation Authority
• Departmental Agencies
• Employment and Social Policy Informal Meeting
• Social Fund Commissioner

Whether the content of any of these statements - or the dozens more issued in recent days - is critical or not, I'm not qualified to say.  I only hope that others who don't have the luxury of weeks away from their day jobs are able to devote the attention to reviewing them.

With so many statements issued on one day it is hard not to be cynical and imagine more than a few government PR advisors are hoping to bury bad news.

I heard this nicely turned phrase used twice by Al Gore on American network news this morning as part of this event. Seems to me it's likely to become the new American energy mantra for the next few years.

• It links together what Obama, McCain and many others have been saying for a while now, wrapping it all in a nice catchphrase.
• Targets two regions of the world Americans are not comfortable with (and whio can blame them?) - China and the Middle East. Gore diplomatically kept Canada out of the equation.
• It actually works fine for both the alternative-energy crowd and the "clean coal" industry movement. NBC actually got an oilman saying he agrees with 95% with Mr. Gore has been saying. I guess it shows Gore is trying to maintain a balancing act between advancing a progressive environmental agenda and bringing everybody on board.

Political Mpressions watched most of the speech live, see her notes!

Velkommen til vores blog og tak fordi I gider bruge jeres tid på at læse mere om os.

Der er sket en vild stigning i trafikken i dag, efter DR valgte at fortælle hele Danmark om os.

Husk I kan kommentere alt hvad I vil - vi elsker feedback og skal prøve at svare så hurtigt vi kan.

Her en lille oversigt indtil videre:

Radioavisen på P1, P3 og P4

Vi er også blevet nævnt på Newz.dk og der bliver debateret flittigt om vores ide. Skønt at de også hos Freeway vil bringe nyheden om os. Det bliver spændende at se om Nyhedsavisen bringer noget. ;-)

Jeg så nyheden i min RSS Reader i dag hos DR Penge - meget mærkelig, men fed følelse. Også dagbladet Politiken har valgt bringe historien

DR Tekst-Tv har også bragt den i dag:

Social networking is a marketer's dream. Anyone can sell anything to someone who puts their name, location and hobbies/interests in one place. I mean, MySpace even allows for a person to specify the amount of money they make per year - how could anyone ask for more? While they may not know it, social networks are and have "sold out" by supplying user information for advertising dollars. Does this make you angry? It really shouldn't. By posting your personal information on a public, social network - I feel as though you are, in a sense, opting in to pretty much anything. If a stranger from 3,000 miles away can look up your phone number on the internet based on the very PRIVATE information you decided to share on a very PUBLIC site, what's the harm in having a tailored ad on your facebook page? I don't understand the arguement that people put up saying that it is an invasion of privacy. WHAT privacy? Do people really think that because they click "Private" on their profile - that their information is safe? Hardly. Don't be fooled, but I also say - don't be afraid. So you get an ad pertaining to one of your listed hobbies - it's better than having on there that isn't, right?

This social network movement we're in today is insane. With information like this out there, market researchers will be out of a job. Who needs a focus group when you have a network of millions of people putting their information out there? It's absolutely insane. And, on behalf of every marketer out there, I would like to say Thank you. Our jobs are MUCH easier. It gets better by the day! Buffalo, NY now has a social network. Soon, every county, city, town will have a social network seeping with information on their inhabitants - making it much easier to reach them.

Say your local bar has a MySpace page. They befriend you - they get to see everything you do. If your hobby is dancing, don't be fooled when you get a flyer for the 80's dance party next Thursday night - that was planned. I can gaurentee that the 45 year old man who has "fishing" as his main hobby didn't get that flyer. It's all meticulously, brilliantly planned - and it's working. And I say, Why not?

Kids Television Commercial - Long Version

TVC - Football Theme

Updated 2007 Version - I still Call Australia Home

Australia's famous Stars Sing - I still Call Australia Home

Pictorial Australia - I still Call Australia Home

Well that was my walk down memory lane makes me homesick - BUT can someone somewhere find and fix the rising fuel costs, as consumers and like the 1500 people at Qantas now without a job - how much more of this needs to happen - all pricing just keeps going up - even Singapore which used to be an affordable destination is faced with rising prices - the latest yesterday being a 0.30 taxi surcharge for fuel - where will that surcharge end up now that it has been introduced ?

_______________________________________________

If you have cholesterol issues join Cholesterol Talk!

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Today I was asked to write an article for an event that occurred at my workplace a few months ago.  At first I welcomed the news because I’ve attended many events and I write for our internal publication all the time.  But then I was told what I’d be writing on and this is when things went south.  I was asked to write more than 500 words on an event I didn’t even attend!  And on top of that, I was told to inflate my article as much as possible.

Surprisingly, the person who asked this request did not see the problem in asking this. However I see a problem in this. Simply because I’ve been told we are the “journalists” of our organization and this to me is coming close to yellow journalism.  And I do not agree with this kind of journalism. 

You see, I don’t know how I can accurately report on an event without being there.  And believe me I tried to do the story justice.  I researched biographies of the speakers, spoke to people who caught snippets of the event and even looked at three paragraphs of notes someone took at the event.  Nevertheless, I still can’t capture the expressions of the audience, the vibrancy of the speaker or the overall spirit of the event.

Nevertheless, because I went to Journalism school and I took a class on ethics – I feel somewhat bothered by writing this story.  In good faith, I can not say, I’m reporting on the facts.  I can create a perceived reality of this event, but I do not know if it’ll do justice to those who’ve actually attended the event.

Despite my objections towards this piece – I managed to crank out 600 words!

I am still feeling my way through how the world of Corporate Communications works so I wanted to know, is the scenario I described “normal” practice?  Or do you think this is yellow journalism?

Nathan,

Spoke to Guy and he helped make it happen! PR.Alltop.com is now open thanks to you! Additionally, I added your company's website to the Acknowledgments.

It would be awesome if you could tell everyone locally, but also PR Newswire :) Because of you, there is a PR category. We appreciate you very much.

Aloha,
NEENZ.
___
L.P. "Neenz" Faleafine
http://faleafine.com
http://truemors.com
http://alltop.com

UNREAL! I had pitched the idea of creating a PR Alltop category via Twitter to Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki) and Neenz (@infinitypro) and they said, "show me the feeds and we'll consider." I guess I did good by sending more than 40 of my favorite PR websites and blogs that I follow on a regular basis to get the ball rolling. Now the category has come to fruition which is a good thing for our industry. I'll call this my contribution to advancing the public relations profession. Part of the mission being a member of PRSA.

BTW, did I mention Alltop received more than 1.2 million page views last month? This site is big time. If anyone has a PR focused blog or website they'd like to add, send your feeds to info@alltop.com.

Big mahalo to Guy and Neenz! You guys rock!

-NGK

Johna Burke, VP of BurrellesLuce pried open that black box at the IABC Phoenix lunch seminar this afternoon. The "Four Generations" approach to media measurement means the Gen Xers and Millennials have to be reached --and tracked-- in the same sweep as the Traditional and the Boomers.

It means PR practitioners and communicators should start paying attention to the core values, and what make these audiences tick. It's not just about targeting (for marketing) but engaging them (for internal communications.) Media measurement is a "good pulse check" to understand how to best reach and manage these diverse generations, said Burke. For Millennials for instance, she recommends managers personalize their work and even their benefits package because one size does not fit all in their world. There were lots of other insights about measuring the outcomes based on this approach and the metrics.

Sidebar: There were echoes of the 'social technographic profile' made popular by Forrester analysts Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff in their blog, and their book, Groundswell.

If you are interested, a condensed version of Johna's presentation, "Four Generations of Audience, Four Generations of Media--One Approach to Media Measurement," can be found at Bulldog Reporter.

I stared free online internship websites, met with my school’s Career Center, and asked around to my friends and my employers I work with at a clothing boutique in Georgetown, D.C.  I sent resumes and cover letters to a bunch of different places; a few magazines, stores, and smaller fashion apparel companies until I found Abigail Lorick and her line, Lorick New York. 

When your parents/counselors/professors say to you, “It’s all about connections and who you know,” they are 100% correct.  My boss said that they had met the Abigail on a buying trip and thought the line was fabulous so they purchased it for a fall delivery.  When I told my boss I was interested in interning in the city she immediately called Abigail and asked her if she was hiring interns for the summer.  Abigail told me to send in my resume and cover letter and then we would follow up.

I called Lorick a few days later, and to my great surprise, Abigail Lorick herself picked up the phone and offered me an internship spot!  She was so nice and upbeat and took the time to talk to me and find out my interests.  I knew she would be a good mentor and would help me grow through my experience with her as an intern.  I then arranged to visit New York in person.  I had interviews with a few more established companies, but they much more impersonal than the one I had with Lorick.  After I got home from the city I immediately called Abigail and took a position with Lorick as a Public Relations/ Marketing intern.

I'll still mention important dates in separate posts from time to time. Speaking of which, I let July 17 pass without mentioning Ivy Lee's birthday.

Nie liczyłam ile osób było na sali - pewnie koło 80-100. W debacie udział wzięło... 5 (chyba nikogo nie pominęłam). Niestety, zgodnie z tym, o czym myślałam już wcześniej - większość przyszła na wykład (co potwierdziło się w opiniach jakie słyszałam stojąc na przystanku, po spotkaniu), nie uśmiechała im się debata, bo po co - temat wyglądał na ciekawy, więc przyszli. Ale "dyskusje to są fajne przy piwie" (tylko?).

Kontrowersji nie było - nawet jeśli pytanie mogło takim być, było łagodzone. Większe kontrowersje były z drugiej, klerykalnej części stołu, gdzie dyskutanci między sobą się nie zgadzali co do podstaw tematu. Większość podkreślała, jak bardzo zależni są od "szefów", ze bez ich zgody wiele nie mogą, choć ks. Jacek Prusak powiedział, że bywa czarną owcą zakonu, a ks. Jacek Stryczek w ogóle odciął się od polityki "szefostwa", mówiąc, że rzeczy dobre można komunikować zawsze i niezależnie.

Podobnie nie było zgody co do tego, czy każdy powinien być PRowcem swojej instytucji, czy też nie (przesympatycznego ks. Sowę, jeśli tu zajrzy, odsyłam do swojego wpisu na temat tego jak wygląda sytuacja, gdy pracownicy nie mają świadomości tego, że powinni być rzecznikami swojej instytucji :))

Na koniec doszliśmy do tego, że choć kościół jest zcentralizowany i hierarchiczny, to... nie można liczyć na to, że powstanie kiedykolwiek strategia wizerunkowa Kościoła. Bo każdy biskup jest sobie szefem i reszcie nic do tego. Tylko, że jeśli tak, to (moim zdaniem) jest skazany na porażkę wizerunkową. Nie da się tworzyć wizerunku, szczególnie pozytywnego, jeśli w ramach jednej instytucji nie ma zgody na niego, ani zgody na odpowiednie, zunifikowane działania. A szkoda, bo sam Kościół jest silną marką, mającą wielu ambasadorów i mogącą przekuć to w medialny sukces. Jednak, by to zrobić, trzeba chcieć.

A community manager is someone who communicates with a company's users/customers, development team and executives and other stake holders in order to clarify and amplify the work of all parties. They probably provide customer service, highlight best use-cases of a product, make first contact in some potential business partnerships and increase the public visibility of the company they work for.

The article is focused on startups, but is worth a read by anyone at organizations large and small thinking about how they will manage communications and amplify their marketing efforts among vitally important communities, increase their engagement with these communities and take advantage of key online social networks.

Kirkpatrick asks the question of whether this is the "the new PR." My answer is that it has to be.  It's not the only PR, certainly.  But those who understand public relations in the tradition of folks like Arthur Page rather than that of, say, Scott McClellan, realize that it PR is the one communications discipline founded in the idea of an organization listening, responding, sharing and collaborating with the communities that make up its public.

I have a strong feeling that this role will grow and evolve quickly -- both in corporate communications and marketing.  Infusing these disciplines with the responsibility for community management should make them better informed, more insightful and more powerful advocates both for their organizations -- and within their organization on behalf of the communities they serve.

Check out the chain of events leading up to the announcement, according to the archives of Twitter co-founders Evan Williams (aka @ev), Biz Stone (aka @biz) and CEO/co-founder Jack Dorsey (aka @jack):

"composing a blog post" - Evan Williams on July 14 at 8:49 p.m.

"Big day tomorrow. Sleepy time" - Evan Williams on July 15 at 12:20 a.m.

"Meeting Biz at Whole Foods before we embark upon this grand day..." Jack Dorsey on July 15 at 7:50 a.m.

"watching the clock" - Evan Williams on July 15 at 8:52 a.m.

"Holy crap: http://search.twitter.com (details: http://tinyurl.com/56j2zx)" - Evan Williams on July 15 at 9:01 a.m.

"It's a foggy 9am. We're adding a great team and technology to Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/56j2zx. Exciting!" - Jack Dorsey on July 15 at 9:01 a.m.

"announcing Twitter's acquisition of Summize" - Biz Stone on July 15 at 9:07 a.m.

With Williams' "holy crap" teaser, followed quickly by the others, the official word  was out, sending readers straight to the blog post Stone had apparently completed the night before. From there, the followers were on to the story, re-Tweeting it, commenting via Twitter and blogs and sending others to the blog post, Finding A Perfect Match. Online news sources covered the announcement, followed by online versions of the mainstream media, who were offered a "press" link on the Twitter Web site - no more than a six-question FAQ document. Simple.

From a PR perspective, this is a refreshing change for an acquisition announcement and one worth learning from: build a base of followers who are interested in your company and what you have to say (caution: this takes time); engage them with content so they'll stay with you (relationship building); have the announcement come directly from the top; use a conversational yet factual style that shows it wasn't crafted by the marketing department; and, send readers straight to a blog where they can learn more (again, direct from the source).

Shankman, who bills himself as a "CEO, Entrepreneur, Adventurist," created Help a Reporter Out (HARO) to put journalists and sources together in an artfully simple yet effective manner. The service is free and already has about 14,000 members.  He's got a couple of advertisers (with more to come, I'm sure).  A similar service offered by PR Newswire called ProfNet is prohibitively expensive, so for many PR practitioners, journalists and others who are seeking opportunities to be/find news sources, HARO is a welcome tool.

Get Sourced. Get Quoted. Get Famous: www.helpareporter.com - Putting Journalists and Sources together, one quote at a time.

Today is the day Shankman has designated for all of his "followers" to get the word out on HARO. He wants the above tagline on everyone's blogs, Twitters, social network profiles, etc, and he's even giving away a prize if the media picks up on your particular promotion. 

I'm not looking for any prize, but I'll do my part.  It's a good service, and I give props to Shankman for creating it and keeping it running despite having so many other things on his plate. 

But while I sit here today, along with thousands of others helping Peter Shankman help a reporter out, and marvel at his ability to build a cult-like following and generate buzz, I can't help but get a little envious. 

Becuase, of course, we're all helping him build the Peter Shankman brand when we could be focusing on our own - or, more importantly in my world at least, on those of our clients.  Peter Shankman seems to be all about Peter Shankman - what he's doing, what he's thinking and how we might all help him advance his mission.

So now as I'm trying to play catch-up amidst other client work that calls my name, a lengthy business insurance form I have to fill out, medical issues with two aging parents and getting to setting an appointment with my eye doctor before my supply of contact lenses runs out, I can't help but wonder: how does Peter Shankman do it, damn it? 

Shankman has the earmarks of a good leader - innovative, charismatic, optimistic and enthusiastic about his work.  He's also giving his community of supporters/followers something of value.  And while this social networking thing does encourage a "me-me-you-me-me" mentality, nobody should hold it against him becuase he works it so well.  So I won't.

As he points out on his site, "the good Karma is immeasurable."  So I'll keep that in mind when that next twinge of green comes a-calling.  And wish him well on his HARO viral campaign today.

Bottomline here: If you're a new restaurant, particularly in a food media rich city like San Diego, get your public relations lined up BEFORE you open to make the best showcase in the media