Where we used to be and currently have in asset (but not too sure if we enjoy it as we desire):

But instead, we are surrounded dislikes such as:

This indeed feeds the future generation:

Not long though, we witness something disastrous:

When the New York Times announced yesterday that they had to eliminate 100 newsroom jobs in a mere 2 1/2 months, it was a chilling arrow shot across both the media and PR professions.

Job loss of any kind is miserable and debilitating. When you sit back and think about 100 reporters and editors losing their jobs, it’s an incredibly large number of people who will take buyouts or be shown the door. If you are a regular reader of the Times’ excellent reporting, than imagine what a gaping hole in coverage will be made when that many people are gone by the end of the year.

As a public relations professional, I’m encountering the kind of sea change that reminds me of when local and national TV networks began trimming their staffs in the late 80’s. Because of manpower shortage, publicists were forced to become amateur TV producers, organizing segments and providing props if they wanted their segments to air, a trend that is still in force today.

For print and the web nowadays, my role has expanded unconventionally as well. For a research client, I have to provide more analysis to accompany the data than ever before because there are not enough reporters to do the job. I’m encountering more editors who are singlehandedly balancing print and web editorial duties. The AP’s Houston bureau chief told me she had only three reporters there, so unless there was something earth shattering, she could not afford to take somebody off business, political and sports coverage.

Clearly, there are going to be many stories and beats that are going to fall between the cracks and left behind. From a reader’s perspective, we’re not getting a complete picture of what’s going on in the world. From a public relations perspective, our windows of opportunities are smashed and shrinking.

Social media has forced us to become our own wire services. We are our own distributors. With a lot of moxie and persuasion, we have to use Twitter, blogs, Facebook, StumbleUpon and other vehicles to carry our message and news. It looks increasingly like it’s going to be a “change or die” scenario ahead.

Yet, there are still many public relations pro’s — more than you would think — who don’t know their Facebook from their checkbook. Many sign up, make a few friends, and leave it lying. I’ve run across a lot of professionals who have less than 10 connections in LinkedIn, and I know they are not that unpopular. One unemployed publicist I know is so clueless online, that her friend e-mails her Monster, PRSA and PR Week job ads daily because she has no idea how to have them sent automatically to her. Business Wire’s “Lost in MySpace” beginner seminars for learning social media always packed them in.

So when you read about journalists, editors and bloggers being let go, no matter where they are, those big bells should be ringing like the opening of the AC/DC song from Back In Black. It’s a wake up call that the game is changing.

With a struggling economy, journalists and editors pink slipped more often than baseball managers, and editorial staffs cut to the bone, it takes some kind of cajones to have a press conference these days.

Press conferences are one of public relations’ great gambles. It’s like throwing a party, sending out a lot of invites, and then praying somebody shows up after you’ve invested in decor, food and time.

What does it take to pry a reporter away from their desk, especially when they are probably stretched thinner than ever?

Clearly if you are Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo or the President of the United States, you can pretty much count on everybody showing up, even if it was held on an ice floe in the Arctic.

Not long ago, I had lunch with the head of marketing of a Colorado-based digital start-up who was so smitten by his company’s product that he proclaimed that it deserved a press conference. Delicately, I asked him what if nobody turned up because they were, uh, so busy? He stopped for a moment — he had not thought about that — and then replied that there’s no reason nobody would come to a product that was so cool.

However, if anybody get an award for pulling a rabbit out of their press conference hat, it has to be CNN.com. Last week, on the same day Steve Ballmer was unveiling Windows 7, they held a snazzy soiree at the Time Warner Center to demonstrate… drum roll, please… the redesign of their web site with a new opinion section, and more photography and video.

Did that rock your world like, let’s say, the introduction of the new Motorola Droid or the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts at Madison Square Garden? Didn’t think so. Redesigns happen about as often as Metro North trains leave Grand Central Station.

But somebody at CNN.com felt it was worth a live press conference. And not just any press conference, but from what I hear, a lavish one with booze and food. So with that kind of lure, it was no surprise that many members of the third estate showed up. One of them said that CNN.com threw two parties to celebrate the occasion (perhaps to grab the media’s attention off the fact that the parent network fell into last place against other news cablers).

Another reporter said they didn’t think it was a press conference at all, but “more akin to an internal presentation” that was streamed live to employees, advertisers and the press.

Afterwards, about 25 stories were posted according to Google News. Whether this was the press coverage return on investment CNN.com was looking for after spending some serious party coin, I don’t think they’ll admit it, versus being a company-wide morale booster.

“Between you and me — it was strange,” one reporter e-mailed me, who didn’t post a story about it. “CNN even booked an outside PR firm for help with it.”

Free food and booze have almost always the surefire aphrodisiacs to get coverage of any event. Despite the depleting of journalist ranks, they still seem to do the trick — if you can afford the bill.

Publicists have to be social media mavens, but they are finding out, along with the rest of the world, that “old school” bad PR habits get them hung out to dry on Twitter and blogs. They can’t get away with it anymore.

Just a week ago, PaidContent.org founder Rafat Ali declared war on “Vocus PR and its scummy PR practices,” even suggesting people look up “Vocus spam” on Google — he wasn’t kidding about the results.

Brandweek editor Todd Wasserman tweeted: “FYI to pr folk: If I get a call asking if I received so and so, I always say yes just to rush the person off the phone.”

I know first-hand why journalists feel this way because I get my occasional spam from PR firms. I’m only a mild case compared to the avalanche other lucky PR bloggers find in their in-boxes.

Not only are ignorant publicists baiting professional journalists to roast them publicly for their sins, but they are begging to get it from their own kind too.

This is my definition of spam: impersonal e-mail blasts that contain completely irrelevant information.

Yet, as you’ll see, there are publicists who think this practice is perfectly acceptable.

PR spam originated from two technological advances: the ability to form groups in e-mail software, and companies like Cision and Vocus which can easily compile media e-mail addresses and export them in Excel format. Even a third grader can cut and paste an Excel list column into Outlook and let it rip by pressing Send.

However, bloggers and reporters have made it no secret over and over again that they can’t stand PR spam-filled e-mail boxes. What makes publicists think other publicists don’t feel the same way?

I have a simple method of handling PR spam. It’s probably far more time consuming than anybody else would do, but I feel I have to make an educational point and it’s far less messy than hiring “Johnny Knuckles” from Bayonne.

1) I reply to the sender politely: “Why did you send this release to me?”

Almost all of the time, they reply with a rousing explanation about the press release’s importance.

2) I then ask them if they’ve ever read my blog.

Most of the time, that results in silence.

3) If I am feeling a little more ambitious, I’ll actually look up the firm and drop a line to whoever is in charge, asking them if they knew their staff was sending out spam, that this is why reporters despise many publicists, and shouldn’t they be enforcing proper media relations instead of shotgun missives? I ask them if it’s OK if I blog about it.

Almost unanimously, they shoot back apologies, agree with me, and beg to not be mentioned in my blog. One even called me.

I figured it would be a noble ideal if I let a supervisor know that this is a surefire way to be ostracized, there may be a little less PR spamming in the world. Touching, but true.

Last week, I had a typical PR spam from a JAG Entertainment account executive, who sent out an e-mail blast addressed to “Hey!” and plugged her boss’ new Chicken Soup for the Soul book with an attached press release. When I asked why she sent me the press release, she took a different, more direct route: she said she found me on a list of PR bloggers on Cision. Of course, when I asked if she’d ever read my blog, no reply was forthcoming.

When I e-mailed her boss Jo-Ann Geffen about receiving the spam and why this hurts our image in the eyes of the press, she shot back: I hardly consider this spam. [Name of account executive] is extremely capable and there are hundreds of thousands of blogs. It is unlikely that ANYONE could read all of them. Perhaps you should notify Cision to take you off their lists.

Unfortunately, it’s not Cision’s fault that I am on their list. I do believe it is the fault of lazy supervisors and executives who find sending out e-mail blasts easy but teaching and enforcing the basics of media relations hard.

Do you pitch TV and radio shows blindly without knowing a thing about them? That’s a PR 101 concept that still stands today — watch the show so you know what it’s about before you pitch them. Same thing with blogs and every other form of media.

My fellow PR bloggers have their own thoughts about handling our own profession’s saboteurs:

The Flack’s Peter Himler: I usually ignore them, but if the pitch is so annoying I’d write them back and ask “why would I ever report this? Do you read my blog? Next time do your homework. In rare cases, I’d post or tweet about it. I might include the offending publicist’s client or place of work.

PR Squared’s Todd Defren: I ignore ‘em. They make me sad. I used to reply but the volume of nonsensical inquiries became too much to do anything but ignore.

PR 2.0’s Brian Solis: I’m deluged with horrible pitches by PR professionals who contribute to the stereotype. I delete them, I suppose until I finally get pushed over the edge. However, please do note, that I proactively write about how to do PR better as a positive means of teaching these individuals how to do their job better…I don’t see them reading the posts however.

This week, like most bloggers, I want to touch on why I am so thankful.  I have many, many reasons to be thankful this holiday season, but there is one person that has always been my motivation to do well in life. 

I am thankful for my father.  Both my parents taught me to be the person I am today and I am eternally grateful, but if it wasn’t for my dad, I wouldn’t be in the PR profession.  He had a passion for public relations like none other.  He began as a journalist and later put on his PR hat working for Corning Glass Works and then moved on to the agency side.  Because of a product recall he handled in the 1970s at Corning, he became known as an expert in Crisis Communications.  I would listen to his stories at the dinner table each night and knew I wanted to work in this field.  While I was in college, he was the national president of PRSA and later won the industry’s top award, the Gold Anvil.  What more motivation did I need? 

It wasn’t until he passed away that I truly understood how he was a role model and mentor to more than just his family.  His passion and success has always motivated me in everything I do.  And, this Thanksgiving holiday, I want to thank him for being an inspiration to me and to others and hope that I am able to “pay it forward” and help others succeed at whatever inspires them.

By Jennifer Rodrigues, TravelInk’d

Reprinted from www.younghotelier.com

Hotels and lodging companies are facing a difficult reality in today’s market. Even as the recession seems to be waning, revenues, occupancy and ADR are still down and the next 12 months are still looking hazy for the hotel industry. Budget cuts are still in effect and hotels don’t have money to spend on marketing or PR or social media outreach or, well anything for that matter. But that doesn’t change the fact that if hotels aren’t putting themselves out there and making themselves visible to their potential customers, they can’t and won’t be successful, today or tomorrow. Visibility equals sales. Period.

So how do hotels with fewer marketing dollars market themselves effectively? What tactics work? What tactics don’t? And how can you make them work for your hotel without spending a fortune?

Here is my list of four highly effective hotel marketing tactics that won’t drain your bank account:

Website (Where is Yours?)

Let’s be frank – if you don’t have a website for your property, there’s a good chance that your property won’t ever be found by consumers. No ifs or buts about it. It is a fact of today’s operating environment: dynamic websites and an online presence are crucial.

Today’s website, however, is no longer just for information and sexy pictures; today, a website has to function as a lead generator, booking path, marketing vehicle and revenue manager all in one. It is a hard-working multi-purpose tool that must be developed accordingly. Ask yourself, is your website doing all that?

And while have a great website is important, what is the point if no one can find it? Embrace search engine optimization (SEO) with a passion. This is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic coming to your website from search engines using un-paid search results (organic search), so that your site comes up in Google and other search engines. The next step beyond SEO is Paid Search Advertising, which is another effective way to drive traffic to your property’s website.

Social Media (Is Not Just Hype)

Social media is a great way to create interest about and get consumers involved in your property. There are social networking sites for almost every niche market and it’s only your creativity that limits which sites you choose to use to promote your property. Here are a few social media guidelines to keep in mind:

• Social media is not a sales forum for your property. While it’s important to deliver some of your key messages about the benefits of choosing your property, it’s also important to provide information that is interesting and engaging for consumers. Keep the sales pitch for your website.
• The goal with social media is to have others do the work for you. That doesn’t mean that you should have others post for you; it means that the overall goal is to make your content so interesting and compelling that others will forward it to friends and networks, spreading the word about your property with no effort on your part.
• Social media sites are perfect for developing relationships with your customers and the best way to do that is to develop a two-way conversation. Two-way! That means that when your customers contact you through your sites or provide you with feedback, it’s imperative that you respond immediately.

Bad news travels faster than good news. Make sure that you address concerns brought to your attention through social media sites. If you don’t, you risk having the word spread far and wide that you don’t care about your customers’ complaints.

So which site will work best for your property? Here are some of the more popular sites (but remember there are many more to choose from!):

Facebook – This is where people spend a growing amount of their [online] time. They create and maintain friendships, document their lives and connect with brands they care about. Hotels should be using Facebook to create a community and develop two-way conversations with their customers. The community should provide consumers with content and conversations that are relevant to their lives, desires and mindsets.

Twitter – An effective way to communicate short messages to your followers. Twitter is very effective for promoting sales, providing travel tips and other information which your guests could use when planning a trip to your destination. Keep your ‘tweets’ short and sweet because you only have 140 characters for the entire message. Be personal, be interesting. This isn’t a marketing brochure; it’s a conversation starter.

And last but not least, blogging. Blogging is a perfect complement to your social media strategy. It’s a way to post news, stories and opinions to attract visitors to your company’s website – and hotel community. Bring people to your blog by including links to articles and posts from your blog on your other social media sites.

Blogging – Blogs are a great way to communicate useful information to your customers. Try including reviews of local attractions, things to do, updates on tourism to the area and other relevant details people can use. But remember: the information you provide MUST be of interest to consumers, otherwise they won’t take the time to read it.

Public Relations (Is More Than A Press Release)

You’ll hear me extol the virtues of PR in this column over and over again. Of course, I work in PR but it’s more than that. PR is inexpensive and most importantly, PR’s results are much more credible and then advertisements. How so?

Most people only “know” what they read, see, hear in the media or through word of mouth. PR optimizes both those channels and provides third-party testimonials about the benefits or advantages of your property.

Truth is in the advertising? Well everyone knows that a hotel, or any advertiser for that matter, can say whatever they want to about their property. A hotel can claim 100% occupancy for 10 years straight, or that 100% of their customers will choose to return, and so on. In today’s media market, however, consumers are hesitant to believe these types of claims regardless if they are true. But when a trusted media source offers an unbiased perspective and compelling story about your hotel, consumers are far more likely to believe it and react positively to it.

An effective PR strategy has the ability to deliver far more credibility than most advertisements ever could, as well as drive brand preference and yes, sales.

The Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)

It’s true that OTAs aren’t exactly “budget” tactics; in fact, their commissions can become pricey. But I’m including them here because hotels must (repeat, MUST) have a presence on the OTAs to find success in today’s (and tomorrow’s) marketplace. Today’s consumer is looking for the best deal and knows that most often, their best deal is found online with an OTA.

Consumers use OTAs as their Google for travel. In some destinations, there are hundreds of hotels to choose from and there is little chance of the consumer knowing all available options, or indeed having the time to spend individual sites for the best deal. What this means is if your hotel doesn’t have a presence on those sites, you are losing out on valuable booking opportunities and valuable revenues.

It’s a must do, an operational imperative and what makes this one come in at number four on my list.

Don’t Close Your Doors To New Business

For a hotel, a slow travel market shouldn’t mean slow or non-existent marketing efforts. Many studies have shown that if you don’t continue to promote your business during rough times, you might not be around once the market improves. Only your competitors stand to gain if you stop or slow down your marketing efforts.

Think strategically, think on a budget, but don’t stop thinking. Think outside the marketing box, and you just might be pleasantly surprised by the success you find there.

Just don’t close your doors to new business.

About the author: Jennifer Rodrigues, Visibility Specialist with ThinkInk and TravelInk’d, is a seasoned public relations professional with a passion for the hospitality industry, which is expressed in her role at ThinkInk’s travel division, TravelInk’d. At TravelInk’d, she is responsible for developing cost-effective and creative public relations and marketing strategies for clients in the travel and tourism, airline, lodging, cruise and meeting/event sectors. For more information on TravelInk’d, please visit www.travelinkd.com or contact Jennifer at jlr@travelinkd.com.

Olha ai o exemplo, se metade do Brasil fizesse isso talvez o mundo não acabe em 2012..rsrsrs, brincadeiras a parte…acho uma EXCELENTE idéia do órgão público municipal.

Jefferson Anibal

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20/11/2009 – 23h23

Morador de Nova Esperança (PR) que não separa lixo deixa de ter resíduos recolhidos

DIMITRI DO VALLE

da Agência Folha, em Curitiba

A Prefeitura de Nova Esperança (460 km de Curitiba), no Paraná, implantou há três meses um sistema de recolhimento de lixo que obriga o morador a deixar o material reciclável separado para a coleta.

Caso isso não ocorra, a prefeitura deixa de remover o lixo da frente da casa do morador e ainda coloca um adesivo vermelho avisando que ele não foi recolhido porque não houve a devida separação.

O material reciclado é encaminhado para uma cooperativa de catadores do município, que fica no noroeste do Paraná e tem 26 mil habitantes.

Os 30 catadores conseguiram com a parceria aumentar a coleta de 20 para 60 toneladas de material por mês.

Com mais material para trabalhar, eles viram sua renda aumentar, em média, de R$ 380 para R$ 500.

O secretário municipal de Viação e Obras Públicas, Mauro Ferrari, afirmou que até o momento não houve reclamação por parte dos moradores a respeito da medida. “Todos estão colaborando”, disse ele.

Para funcionar, os catadores foram integrados ao serviço regular de recolhimento do lixo, que cobre 100% do município.

Junto ao caminhão da prefeitura, uma carreta da cooperativa vai a reboque –tudo para facilitar a separação desde a origem de todo o material que pode ser reaproveitado.

O promotor de Justiça Nivaldo Bazoti, que acompanhou a implantação das mudanças na coleta de lixo, afirmou que a medida tem respaldo jurídico.

“O ente estatal não pode entrar na casa de cada morador para separar o lixo, mas esse morador pode fazer isso sem nenhuma dificuldade”, disse.

Bazoti declarou que a adoção do adesivo para chamar a atenção de quem não separou “é educativa”. Ele disse que a ação trouxe resultados práticos devido à adesão maciça dos moradores. “Não houve nenhuma contestação”, disse.

Segundo o promotor, a coleta antes da implantação do projeto era feita com os materiais orgânicos e recicláveis misturados. “O município estava começando a ter problemas para encaminhar esse lixo todo misturado”, disse Bazoti.

Para ele, a mudança no sistema de recolhimento de lixo beneficiará o meio ambiente, além de prolongar a vida útil do aterro sanitário da cidade.

In the realm of business clients and/or customers are what keep “you” or your business alive. Business owners should be thankful for them and express their gratitude, usually offered through excellent customer service, coupons, etc. We’ve decided to do it via a national holiday!

Thanksgiving, after all, is about giving thanks. Instead of getting into the mess of the latter holiday season and the variety of holidays and religions, we decided to say thanks and celebrate the holidays with our clients now.

Ghirardelli brownies... my house STILL smells like them.

What better way to say thanks than with a personal note and yummy Ghirardelli chocolate?That’s what we thought! So, we launched what started as a simple effort to say “thanks and happy holidays” researching eco-friendly boxes, orange tissue paper, etc.

Below is what we ended up with. A classy way to express our thanks in a meaningful way. Plus, the gift recipients received cards encouraging them to pass along their thanks to others!

The finished product...

Wishing you were our client yet? If this was our first Thanksgiving thank you, can you imagine what’s to come next year?

Many people wonder about the next step once their book has been published.  How do you get it off the shelf and into the hands of readers? Is there something you can do to get people to pay for your book and take it home with them? Whether you self-published your book or have gone the traditional route with a publisher, there are effective marketing techniques you can use to start making more sales.

Your potential readers do many things other than read. They watch TV, play video games, go for walks, play sports, and do a huge number of things with their time including clean up their house and do the dishes. How do you get their attention focused on your book?

You need to break through the clutter.  And that clutter includes all of the other books out there and all of the other things that are clamoring for your reader’s time.

The first step that I suggest is to picture your ideal reader.  Even if you don’t write fiction, bear with me on this point.  I want you to take maybe 10 minutes and just sketch out who you think your reader is.  If your ideas are backed up by some research that you’ve done on who needs the information that you’ve written about, that’s even better.

I want you to write a kind of a short biography of your ideal reader to get it really clear in your mind.  Do you have an age, a gender, and a family situation?  Are they never- married, single, divorced, remarried, married for a long period of time, too young to be married, or too old to be married?  What’s their profession?  What kind of hobbies do they do when they’re not doing their profession or earning a living?  In sales, we talk about a “buyer persona”—a composite picture of the ideal consumer for a specific product or service.  You’re going to construct a mental picture of your ideal reader–a “reader persona.”

All of that research that you did about your market before you ever sat down at your keyboard to assure the viability of your manuscript, all of that research that you did on your market in order to be able to do your book proposal–tap on that information now and actually think about real living people with those characteristics.

Get this reader profile really firmly in mind.  In fact, if you feel like using your imagination, you can also have a mini conversation with this person on the topic of your book in your mind.  Ask him or her, “What would interest you most about this book?  What are you worried about that this book could solve?  What’s frustrating you right now?  What are the top three things that are keeping you up at night?”  A little imagination here goes a long way.

It's important to search for clues that will strategically guide your communications plan.

Any worthwhile communications or public relations plan begins and ends with research. Without research, a plan is just a guess and the results may be left up to a coin toss. So if you haven’t conducted any research, I hope you feel lucky. Well, do you?

Start at Home
What is the status of your organization or company? How do you currently communicate to your customers or stakeholders? How much money do you spend on communications activities (website, printing, worker hours etc.)? How do you track communications results (media hits, sales, Internet mentions etc.)?

Collect as much information as you can internally. Figure out your information gaps. If you’re not tracking media coverage, consider setting up a system or contracting out for this work. If you aren’t measuring where people hear about you when they buy your product or services, start asking and tracking.

Many of the fundamentals can be tracked with little effort inside your organization.

Look Outside
Look at your competitors. We all have them. How are they conducting communications? What do you envy? What is not a good fit for your organization? What do you have that they lack?

Find out how you are different from your competitors. What can you offer that they can’t?

Then, look back at your organization. Are you making yourself clear? Are you standing out from your competitors? If not, is it what you are saying or how you are saying it?

For example, you may have a clear message about what your company offers that’s better than the rest, but if you’re saying it to the wrong people or through the wrong vehicle your ideal audience is not hearing you. If your target audience is 15-year-old boys and you’re running ads in the New York Times Magazine, they are not receiving the message and you should consider switching to online ads or other channels appreciated by the demographic you wish to reach.

Ask the stakeholders
Don’t know what your customers or stakeholders want? Then ask them!

Customers have a lot of opinions and ideas. I know, because I’m one of them. I post comments on commercial websites with my likes and dislikes. If you give them a forum, they will be happy to talk! Even if you just gather a group informally, ask some questions, and listen intently, then you’ll come away with a better understanding of what your stakeholders want from your organization.

Some of those ideas won’t fit with your goals, but others may fit nicely. Customers can tell you how they like to be reached, what information they want, favorite products or services, and more.

Building on the foundation
Understanding your current communications, competitors, and listening to customers can help lay down the foundation for a solid communications plan. Without it, you’re just guessing at your capabilities, what you’re combatting against with competitors, and where consumers are and what they want from you.

As you work through the plan, it’s a smart idea to monitor your progress to see if the plan needs adjusting during implementation. And always conduct an evaluation for the entire venture so that when you create your next plan, you have good information to build on.

London based band The Thirst were held overnight alongside their manager and sound engineer after a gig on Saturday night.

The band had played a live show in Chasetown, Staffordshire, before being surrounded by armed officers under a helicopter spotlight.

Lead singer, Mensah, told MTV: “I had a gun being forced on my neck ‘Get down, get on the ground’, ‘turn around, put your hands up’ we were getting all different directions shouted at us”.

The band and their crew were forced into police cars and locked in cells overnight without explanation. Staffordshire police have told BBC News that they’d been contacted by CCTV operators who believed they had seen a firearm in one of the bands vehicles.

“Armed officers were deployed and six men were arrested outside the Oak pub in Burntwood” a spokesman said. “After further investigation and viewing of the CCTV footage, the six men were released without charge… No firearm was found.” of Troubador, the promoter which booked the band, said it had been “terrifying”. “We were flabbergasted. They are one of the best bands we have ever got up here and then all that kicked off.”

Jamie Knowles

The band’s manager, Kingsley Slater, felt that their treatment was “entirely unjustified”. Continuing “I feel a bit let down… we had no idea what was going on. They just told us they had had information given to them, but would not say any more than that.”

Inspector Dave Challinor said that although the six men faced no further action, the police had responded “appropriately and proportionately.”

(copy taken from MTV interview – read it in full here)

Contact Dan@raw-material.co.uk to request an interview with the Thirst

As I mentioned in “My Story,” I used to be a pretty fearless person who wasn’t nervous to do the simple things in life, like pick up the phone to call someone. I got into public relations pretty much right around the time all my problems started and have been in that industry in some capacity ever since. A huge component of PR is being on the phone–being able to effectively and concisely pitch your company to anyone who happens to pick up. However, when I lost my self confidence, I lost my ability to do this well and it definitely led to some serious setbacks in my jobs.

I’m happy to say that I’ve gotten so much better at this as my overall confidence and my belief in my ability to do my job well has gone way up. Still though, it will always be slightly unnerving to have my bosses listening to me pitch their company and I look forward to the day when I can call people to pitch my own.

Know what’s cool? Scrolling through your Twitter feed and seeing a post like this from a reporter you have an amazing amount of respect for:

Know what’s also cool? Seeing your first accepted submission on Slashdot for a great client (if you are a geek, you’ll understand how unbelievably cool this is):

Så var det dags att skriva den där pressreleasen igen. En färdighet som inte kommer helt naturligt till oss alla. Och som inte bara handlar om vad du säger utan lika mycket om hur du säger det. Lancetown kryper i denna veckas editorial in under skinnet på vår gamle vän pressreleasen en gång för alla. Häng med.

1. Börja med sammanfattningenSe till att du skapar en ingress som verkligen sammanfattar hela nyheten på ett bra sätt. Använd fet stil på mellan två och fyra rader. Den ska kunna kopieras direkt av det mottagande mediet om de vill använda nyheten som notis.

2. Se till att ha en slagkraftig rubrik
Rubriken ska vara kort och rymmas på en rad. Låt dig inspireras av fyndiga och intresseväckande formuleringar men undvik att låta som en säljannons på blocket. Du vill betona nyhetsvärdet snarare än att framstå som krängig.

3. Klistra in loggan
Se till att lägga in er logotype överst som ett brevhuvud. Det ökar tydligheten och om journalisten vill använda loggan i artikeln är det bara för honom att klippa och klistra.

4. Sätt ett tydligt datum
Pressreleaser är alltid färskvara. Skriv datumet på formen “Pressmeddelande den 1 april 2009″ så blir det så tydligt som möjligt och särkilt viktigt är detta naturligtvis om du gör en internationell pressrelease eftersom vissa länder (tex USA), vänder på ordningen för år, månad och dag i de flesta fall. Hoppa avsändarort om du gör utskicket till lokalpress.

5. Var “nyhetsmässig”
Spara inte det viktigaste till slutet eftersom ditt material med största sannolikhet kortas underifrån. Några korta kärnfulla uttalanden gör din pressrelease mer vital och får den att kännas mer aktuell. Ange namn, titel vid första citatet och därefter endast namn om det förekommer fler.

6. Länka till bilderna
Använd webblänkar till ett arkiv där du laddat upp de bilder du finner relevanta. Ju bättre bildmaterial desto större är chanserna för publicering. Se till att du har rätten att distribuera bilderna bara. Använd gärna sidor också där talespersoner finns listade med namn och bild så blir det mer personligt och ni får “ett ansikte” på ett helt annat sätt.

7. Förklara vad ni gör
Även om du arbetar med en välkänd produkt och för ett etablerat företag kan du inte förutsätta att journalisterna vet exakt vad ni arbetar med. Presentera alltid därför er verksamhet på ca fem rader i sidfoten. Den presentationen kan du sedan använda som mall för alla era pressreleaser. Gå ner lite i storlek på text för att inte distrahera från nyheten och lägg gärna en streckad linje eller liknande ovanför för att tydliggöra skillnaden.

8. Lämna aktuell kontaktinfo
Se till att du får med namn, adress, tel och mail till de personer som står redo att besvara eventuella frågor. Se till att numren fortfarande är aktuella och lämna direktnummer. Tänk på att kolla upp att de personer du listar finns tillgängliga att nå vid tiden för releasen. Annars kan ni missa ett viktigt jounalistsamtal.

9. Pröva att erbjuda exklisivitet
Om ni har en etablerad relation till en bra reporter eller nyhetsredaktion kan det vara klokt att erbjuda exklusivitet på nyheten i vissa fall.

10. Maila din pressrelease
Använd mail och se till att ha rubriken i ämnesraden. Klistra in själva texten i mailet som följer och bifoga även gärna hela releasen som pdf också. Kolla att din mailinglista är uppdaterad eller använd dig med fördel av en distributionstjänst som tex Newsdesk, Hugin, Cision, Pir eller NG News.

11. Publicera parallellt på webben
Om ni har en webbsajt, lägg upp pressreleasen parallellt även där. Kan vara viktigt om mottagaren vill verifiera att ni verkligen är avsändarna. Särskilt om det rör sig om känsliga nyheter.

12. Var tillgänglig
Se till att åtminstone du själv finns tillgänglig att ta emot eventuella journalistsamtal. Om du missar ett samtal. Ring upp hellre än att mail.

13. Förbered dig för eventuella frågor
Gå igenom med samtliga kontaktpersoner för nyheten vilka frågor de kan tänkas få och hur ni skall svara om det inte råder totalt samförstånd om ert budskap. Tänk igenom allt så att du har svar även på mardrömsfrågor som kanske framhäver mindre fördelaktiga sidor av er som företag eller organisation. Memorera ett antal kärnnyheter som du kan repetera i ditt samtal med journalisten för att öka tydligheten.

14. Skräddarsy efter lokal relevans
Om du kan så försök gärna anpassa din pressrelease till lokala media. Att få med ett lokalt ortsnamn i rubrik eller ingress kan göra stor skillnad för vilka nyheter som blir publicerade eller inte.

15. Fatta dig kort
Undvik att bli för långrandig. Se till att du håller dig under en A4 för att inte riskera att tappa din läsares intresse och budskapets kärnfullhet.

16. Håll tillbaka på säljet
Försök att informera snarare än att sälja. Du vill inte låta som en annons på Blocket så slopa förskönande adjektiv som inte är subjektiva. Företagsreklam hamnar i papperskorgen direkt.

17. Ring inte och tjata
Ring inte upp jounalisten och fråga om din release kommit fram. Det har den. Ring hellre innan och fråga om din nyhet skulle kunna vara relevant för tidningen eller mediet i fråga.

18. Undvik branschlingo
Slopa fackspråk som inte hela läsekretsen hos det mottagande mediet kan förväntas förstå. Korrekturläs inte heller själv då ögonen ofta missar samma fel gång på gång.

19. Tajming är allt
Skicka inte din release på eftermiddagen. Då arbetar de flesta journalister med annat. Hinner du inte få ut det på morgonene eller tidig förmiddag väntar du förslagsvis hellre till nästa dag om så är möjligt. Se till att få ut nyheten medan den är het. Ta gärna rygg på aktuella händelser och gör en koppling till något som redan bevakas av pressen vid tidpunkten för din release men var försiktig med att haka på nyhetsflöden som du inte vet utgången på.

20. Korvstoppa inte
Undvik att falla för frestelsen att klämma in flera nyheter i en pressrelease. Detta skapar förvirring och otydlighet. Skicka hellre två releaser om du har två nyheter att förmedla.

As a student, I hear it all the time: network, network, network. But what does this really mean? Attend professional events? Join student organizations? Participate on committees?

It’s easy, for students especially, to focus too heavily on the activities and not enough on the people. Networking can be overwhelming; there are so many professionals out there. Where do we start? Should we become better acquainted with a select few or meet absolutely everyone?

Since I’ve become more involved with organizations like FPRA and the Chamber of Commerce, I’ve learned that networking is more of a process than a sprint. Here are some things other students might find useful:

• Don’t just flock to other students. Are you at a professional luncheon? A presentation of some sort? While it might be tempting to form a student-only table, you won’t benefit from it. Take the opportunity to sit next to a few professionals at the event. They will most likely be more than interested in getting to know you and your future plans. Not only can you make a new friend, you might just find yourself a mentor or potential employer. At the very least, you can make a great impression and get to know someone with a little more experience and wisdom to bestow.
• Have some questions prepared. Maybe small talk isn’t your thing. You made the gesture to sit next to a pro, but now you’re sitting there awkwardly and silently. This problem is easy to avoid with a little forethought. What is it that you want to learn about him/her? Perhaps the easiest way to start up a conversation is to ask the simple question: “So, what do you do?” Listen actively and then ask questions from there. Maybe the pro works in government and you are interested to learn how government PR differs from other areas. Perhaps you are just curious about what his/her job entails on a daily basis. Just relax and enjoy getting to know someone new.
• Don’t badger. Do not attend networking events with the sole purpose of finding an internship or job (unless that’s the point of the event). It’s just plain rude to walk up to a pro and ask if he/she is hiring. Make genuine conversation. You can mention that you’re looking for a position, but it is unnecessary to put your stress on someone else. If you are establishing relationships with others and leaving good impressions, they will remember you when they are looking to hire. And you never know, you might get lucky and click with someone who happens to be hiring. But don’t badger. Pros will see right through you and they won’t be impressed.
• “Meet” some pros in advance using social media. I was not born a social butterfly, but I’ve made a conscious effort over the past year to change that. One of my first blog posts even highlight How Twitter Made Me Outgoing. Do you have a Twitter? A LinkedIn? (You probably have a Facebook but if it’s not super clean, I would avoid using it for networking purposes).  Start following/friending different pros in the area who you might run into at events. See what their interests are and virtually introduce yourself. It might seem silly, but even something as simple as recognizing a person from his/her avatar might help jumpstart a conversation.
• Relax. Despite my previous suggestions, it’s not necessary to overprepare yourself to death. Networking is not the same as interviewing (although making a good impression at a networking event might help you land a job later). Be polite, smile, introduce yourself and just enjoy the experience.

So, what other tips are good to remember? Pros, what types of students impress you the most at networking events? And students, what do you do to break to ice or get to know someone?

Rumours began to circulate on Twitter yesterday that another UK construction industry magazine was set to close, and today I read Andy Pearson’s “And Finally…” conclusion to his December 2009 online editorial in UBM’s Building Sustainable Design (BSD):

This is the last issue of Building Sustainable Design. After almost a year of trying to succeed in a difficult commercial climate, BSD is to cease publication.

A sustainable built environment is as important now as when BSD was launched 11 issues ago, and its publisher UBM will continue to serve forward-thinking designers through our sister magazine Building. Its website, www.building.co.uk, will include an archive of the editorial content of BSD.

All that remains is for me to say a big thank-you to all who contributed to this magazine in its short life: in particular, everyone on the editorial panel and the next generation panel who gave their time so generously; the advertisers for their support; and most of all you, the readers, for your feedback and encouragement. I hope BSD has kept you informed and entertained….

This news comes in the same week as Contract Journal publishes its final edition after 130 years and also shuts its website and other online channels (see post), with the loss of six journalist jobs. This closure further reduces the number of print publications serving the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.

BSD superceded UBM’s Building Services Journal, which was discontinued last year when the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers decided it wanted to publish its own magazine, CIBSE Journal. As Tim Dwyer’s initial comment on Andy’s editorial suggests, there was obviously no room for two publications targeting essentially the same readers and the same advertisers:

The competition between BSD and CIBSE Journal was undoubtedly healthy (in quality terms) but no doubt contributed to the demise in these incredibly harsh economic terms.

Mai jos, dupa o scurta descriere  a ceea ce inseamna marketingul si publicitatea virala, am facut un top al celor mai bune (dupa parerea mea) clipuri virale transmise prin YouTube.

Marketingul viral si publicitatea virala se refera la tehnicile de marketing care cauta sa exploateze retelele sociale existente pentru a produce cresteri exponentiale in recunoasterea marcii, printr-un proces similar extinderii unei epidemii. Se foloseste de reteaua Internet si poate ajunge la un numar mare de oameni intr-un timp relativ mic.

Termenul “publicitate virala” se refera la ideea ca oamenii vor vizita si vor impartasi un continut distractiv; este, de obicei, sponsorizata de un brand (marca), care cauta sa popularizeze un produs sau un serviciu. Aceste reclame virale sunt adesea de forma unui clip amuzant, a unui joc flash interactiv, unor imagini sau chiar texte.

Cadburys  - In The Air Gorilla

Spotul cu o „gorila” care interpreteaza In the air tonight (Phill Collins) a avut mare succes, fiind impartasit pe reteaua YouTube. Astfel, au fost facute reclame succesive cu deja faimoasa gorila si alte melodii cunoscute.

Cadburys – Eyebrows Official Version

Anul acesta, un alt spot ajuns deja si el cult, cu doi copii care danseaza din sprancene, a atins cifra de 4 milioane de vizionari pe YouTube si site-uri similare, in doar trei saptamani. S-au facut de asemenea si multe copii/parodii ale clipului, care nu fac decat sa-i creasca notorietatea.

Right then, so Edelman rejoins the PRCA at the exact same moment that its UK CEO Robert Phillips is appointed to the PRCA board…?

PR Week says:

“Phillips said the agency’s return was due to the member organisation continuing to ‘regain its voice through its leadership team and board’.”

Hmm… so not at all down to your being given a spot on the PRCA board then…?

This is what Phillips had to say:

“Three years ago, I couldn’t see what the PRCA truly offered its members, especially those of us who already invest heavily in areas such as training and development. “

“I also did not believe that the PRCA was best qualified to present a powerful and united voice in and for the industry.”

So in three years he goes from disillusioned to ‘board-certified’? Well… make up your own minds on this one, folks.

Oh, and if you missed the bunch of naked protestors in Edelman’s UK offices on YouTube – here it is again. Just for fun.

Side-wiki is a newish tool from Google that allows members of the public to place unmoderated comments onto a web page using the google toolbar. Every company needs to start monitoring this new tool,which theoretically can open a pandora’s box. Comments could range from the very positive, to the down-right insulting although, it is too early to say if it could have a real effect on a company’s brand image as it can only be accessed and viewed if you have the Google toolbar and you can only add a comment through a Google login and username. Both however, are very easy to get.

If Google starts indexing comments as part of their search result list, then there could be significant issues.

Below are a few high profile names that have been hit by negative or off-message side wiki posts which include the Labour and Conservative Parties’ home pages. The Liberal-Democrat website has no comments at all.

My particular favourite are the comments on the Sun.

My advice to all organisations, post something on your side-wiki now. You can’t stop people from making comments, but youcan at least try and push them past the fold. There is no way to moderate either.

Labour Party side-wiki comment

Conservative Party side-wiki comment

The Sun side-wiki comment

Tesco side-wiki comment

Walmart side-wiki comment

Pe 4 si 11 decembrie, Evensys va organiza Social Media for Financial Services si respectiv Social PR Strategy, doua seminarii dedicate fenomenului social media in Romania.

Primul va oferi o imagine de ansamblu, dar si informatii utile si recomandari practice responsabililor cu comunicarea in institutiile financiar-bancare.

Social Media for Financial Services va dezvalui modul in social media poate contribui la cresterea vizibilitatii brandurilor din domeniul financiar-bancar si o mai buna gestionarea a reputatiei in mediul online.

Vor fi analizate si prezentate cele mai cunoscute si importante site-uri si instrumente social media, beneficiile, oportunitatile, dar si riscurile comunicarii in social media, pasi esentiali in creionarea si elaborarea strategiei, solutii de masurarea ROI in social media, optimizarea comunicarii cu ajutorul SEO PR etc.

Citeste mai mult pe http://socialfinance.evensys.ro/prezentare.php

Cel de-al doilea este un curs practic de social media, in care participantii vor crea campanii complexe in social media.

Social Media nu mai sunt chiar o necunoscuta pentru cei mai multi profesionisti in comunicare de la noi. Notiunile de baza exista, au inceput comunicarile in blogosfera, se stabilesc relatii de colaborare cu bloggerii, experientele personale pe Facebook imbogatesc cultura retelelor sociale. Poate doar Twitter suna incitant si pare o mica nebuloasa, dar ritmul cu care atrage noi utilizatori cu siguranta va “virusa” din ce in ce mai multi specialisti in comunicare.

Este un proces de asimilare, creativitate si testare in 3 trepte, ce se desfasoara in cadrul unui eveniment de o zi. Daca cele mai multe seminarii, workshop-uri si training-uri in social media pun de obicei accent pe partea teoretica, Social PR Strategy Bootcamp va pune accent pe partea creativa, aplicata si interactiva. Evenimentul va avea loc pe 11 decembrie, la hotel Radisson Blu.

“Nu suntem straini de social media, ce facem acum?”, aceasta este intrebarea de la care am plecat cand am creat acest bootcamp de comunicare in social media.

Citeste mai mult pe http://social.prstrategy.ro/

Cu ajutorul Strategist.ro

Declaraţia de presă a lui Băsescu de azi mi-a provocat

Bietul de el, e disperat! Nu mai are resurse. Aceleaşi clişee idioate. Geoană le va demonta. Pentru că îi vom da şi noi muniţie. Contra psihopatului.

El uită că alegătorii liberali sunt cei mai inteligenţi – să nu se supere ceilalţi, mai ales ţărăniştii. Crede că ne poate prosti. Vorbeşte el de “români” – probabil, fiindcă ştie că ungurii şi celelalte minorităţi – cu excepţia magraonului care i-a lipit cu scuipat mahmudeaua pe piept Mariei Băsescu – nu-l vor vota.

Vorbeşte el de români, ca şi cum poporul român s-ar reduce la alegătorii lui captivi într-o iluzie prostească.

Hai să-i spun eu despre votul meu, al familiei mele şi al multor români: a fost PENTRU CRIN, pentru că merită, pentru că e altfel, pentru că ne reprezintă, pentru că e adevărat, frumos, curat, de dreapta. Şi votul a fost şi contra lui, a impostorului psihopat Traian Băsescu.

Acum, am să votez contra lui şi pentru scoaterea României din mocirla în care a băgat-o politica de bordel a lui Băsescu. Am să-l votez pe Geoană, pentru reforma lui Crin, pe care a acceptat-o, prin proiectul Johannis.

Zice că el nu negociază cu nimeni. În realitate, n-are cu cine. Nimeni nu-l bagă-n seamă. E terminat. Să-i spună Nuţicii să spargă nucile şi lui Ridzi să-i pregătească arpaşaşul. De Moş Nicolae, fetele din Modrogan o să-i zgâlţâie coliva. Politică, fireşte. În rest, dacă ar mai exista pedeapsa cu moartea, n-aş vota pentru ea. Să trăiască. Să plătească. Să se chinuie.

Savurez anticipat seara de Moş Nicolae, în care Băsescu va muri politic. În chinuri. După care justiţia va fi liberă şi el va ajunge la puşcărie. Cu mafia şi cu târfa lui. Singurul mandat pe care îl va mai lua Băsescu în viaţa lui va fi mandatul de arestare.

Aruncă, acum, cu disperare, clişeele cu PSD, Iliescu etc. Dar când “şi-a văzut visul cu ochii”, nu cu PSD a făcut alianţă? Nu erau tot mogulii şi Iliescu în spate? Nu cu Hrebenciuc personal a negociat? Deci, marş!

Preşedintele ţării are funcţie de reprezentare. Importantă e guvernarea. Alegătorii lui Crin câştigă mai mult chiar decât dacă el ar fi fost azi în finală. Guvernarea de dreapta. Autentică. Fără compromisuri. Dacă era în finală, noi am fi avut nevoie de voturile PSD. Acum, noi punem condiţiile. Condiţii favorabile pentru ţară. Deci, ne convine de minune situaţia. Noi facem legea. Nu voi. Şi nici PSD. Noi, liberalii şi ţărăniştii. Partidele pe care secătura de Băsescu a făcut totul ca să le distrugă. N-a reuşit cu PNL. Iar PNŢCD revine. Coposu învinge, după 20 de ani.

Guvernul Johannis, un guvern curat, o înţelegere normală, civilizată, la lumina zilei. Nu demenţa pe care o propune Băsescu, prin partiduleţul prezidenţial gonflat, nu conflictul tribal pe care l-a practicat pe parcursul nefastului lui mandat. Nu furtul, şantajul, intimidarea, negocierea greţoasă, pe bază de mită şi dosare. Asta a făcut şi face Băsescu. Mereu. S-a milogit, după care a lovit. A ajuns la putere şi s-a manifestat din poziţie de forţă contra celor care l-au susţinut. Sistematic.

Băsescu e disperat. Crin l-a umilit. Nu doar în confruntările în care l-a călcat în picioare. Ci mai ales când Băsescu s-a milogit de el pentru voturi, i-a propus funcţia de prim-ministru şi Crin a refuzat. Cu demnitate. Şi cu sarcasm. Binemeritat. Băsescu e prost. Nu-i prima oară când muşcă momeala mea.

Băsescu e mort. Şi aproape îngropat. În dosare penale. Nu poate el fura, cât ne putem noi apăra voturile.

Friend of Orchard Chris George has just popped into the towers to show us the results of his new toy – a 360 degree camera rig. The kit takes panoramic photos with total coverage – side to side up and down – if you can see it – it takes a photo of it.

Some great examples over on Georgie’s website.

Posted by Chris.