I digg how you twitter on my space...

Until recently I didn’t bother with the “blogosphere,” wonder about wikis or give a darn how to digg. Needless to say, every time I open my laptop and start researching for my next post, hours seem to pass as I dive deeper and deeper into the virtual world. It’s no secret that as technology evolves, societal norms change. My grandparents wouldn’t dream of answering the phone at dinner and heaven help you if your cell goes off at their dinner table. My grandparents have no idea what Google is.


Times have changed.

Just the other day, I was sitting eating lunch and catching up with an old friend. I glanced over to the next table and saw two girls sitting there tinkering on their iPhones. I thought to myself, how odd they can't just enjoy each others company. The mobility of communication combined with tech savvy has changed the method of interaction among friends and family. The mode of communications has been altered enormously for new millinium employees climbing the corporate latter. Work can be done on the rode, on the fly, or on the beach the Brooks Brothers suite mentality is being placed in the far depths of closets rather than being worn creating a larger generation gap. Blogging rocks employeers who find comfort in tradition an stability proving that work is no longer 9-5. PR is no longer solely dependent on press releases, creating spin and wowing networked media. The internet has developed in ways even Al Gore could not have predicted. Within the .com world there are subcultures that have coincidently created impromptu “target markets.” My theory... The internet should be a public relations professional’s laboratory and I'm not alone.

Hope for success…brace for failure.


Social Media Releases or SMRs are steadily gaining in use and popularity thanks from a call to order from Tom Foremski and implementation by Todd Defren and his SHIFT Communications crew. The effectiveness of SMR is not just based off of its instantaneous impact but its “loggable impact.” I now have the capabilities to save the information from the SMR until I’m ready or able to use it. It makes life easy, everything you’d need is a click away. Blogging is the new communication platform and the SMR program caters to the multimedia needs and demands of current communicators. The following video was produced by WEBIT PR and expands apon the importance of online communications and how the SMR program positivily impacts the PR world.





Blogging and social media go against the traditional grain of PR. In this day and age, communication is about fluidity and transparency, two adjectives rarely aligned with the public relations field. However, these 6 perspectives changed my perspective on the question, "why blog?" I think blogging has created an unbelievably unique opportunity for PR professionals in the fact that they can receive feedback through comments almost instantaniously. Regardless of whether or not blogging will leave a lasting impact in PR blogging is is here, blogging is now and blogging's got staying power.

Riding the virtual wave...

The next President of the United States has a MySpace, YouTube Channel and blogs. The 2008 Presidential Campaigns have been some of the most exciting to date and it’s only February! PQ Media is predicting and all-time high in advertising, media and marketing expenditures teetering around $4.50 billion. And according to Market Charts, the greatest area of growth is expected in internet ad spending up an estimated 83.9% compared with 2006 and totaling some $73 million by election day.

The freedom of information exchange across the internet is a campaign PR professional’s worst nightmare. At any moment something can be posted throwing a huge wrench into the mix either positively or negatively. What is most interesting to me about the increased web traffic for candidates, is that it is not the approved messages out there but the viral effects. It just goes to prove that organizations are becoming increasingly decentralized and the political realm is no different. The following video was released by dipdive.com and is propelling the viral video concept to new levels.



The YouTube Generation
Yesterday, I was curious as to candidates use of the virtual video world so I logged into YouTube’s You Choose 2008. There I found each candidate’s channel on the right, John McCain and Mike Huckabee and the left Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. As I clicked through the uniformed channels I thought, "Wow! What a great way to reach an audience." I wanted check the amount of channel views for each candidate to see if this new-age medium could act as a barometer of public opinion. What I found was staggering.
The total views on the Republican side were less than the views of Hillary Clinton around 1.3 million. Then I visited Obama’s. 11.9 million views! Those numbers are huge. I have yet to hear a media outlet report this major number of voters making hits to educate themselves on the political views of presidential hopefulls. My generation is tech savvy and when cnet.com promoted Obama saying he was “google-like” it obviously struck a chord with young voters. I’m not here to promote Obama or any other candidate just surfing the web and watching the waves of change.

In the beginning there was...

What is the first thing you do in the morning? Your age might dictate the answer. After questioning dozens of friends the answer was clear and unanimous, check the cell phone.

Third screen media is mobile media. Most cell phones have text or sms messaging capabilities and an increasingly large number of phones have internet access, thank you iPhone. This allows individuals to be interactive with other medias i.e. text vote a la American Idol. There is a larger implication for the communications field with the advent of mobile media, complete saturation! It is increasingly difficult for organizations to be heard though the noise of the internet.

Fox Television Network president Ed Wilson addressed my advertising class last semester to talk about the ever changing media market. He validated the theory that our generation is stuck on cell phones. He spoke of the importance of all types of media gaining access to this “third screen” saying his “organization was doing everything they could” to reach the market.

Mobile telecommunications must be embraced by corporate communicators as another viable avenue to get the message to the world. AOL bought Third Screen Media, one of the most powerful mobile media agencies, for a “undisclosed amount.” This substantiated my claim and the claim of many others that the media world is actually shrinking through these merger conglomerates. More and more organization and major corporations are creating positions like "Director of Mobile Business Development" or "Director of Mobil Products" what does this job description look like?

First there was the television, then the internet. Now, you can be reached no strings attached.




There will come a day in the not too distant future when third screens will be “the” way to communicate on all levels so … within this trend public relations professionals can’t roll over and hit the snooze button.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it...

No sane public relations specialist would willingly publish tips pertaining to how they secure clients publicity. Those coveted nuggets are tricks of the trade. The truth of this fact evidenced itself as I clicked on a link from a Google search entitled “pr for clients.”

Direct Design Communications was among the highest hits of the search. After reading the cite’s description, I eagerly clicked on only to be greeted by “you do not have access to this cite.” Case in point.

Determined not to be discouraged I continued researching and found Susan Friedmann with WorkZ created “The Top Ten (list of) Do’s and Don’ts of Working with the Press.” As I forged on through Google, my faith in blogging received a boost from Robb Hecht. He spoke about blogging's ability to take back the internet for PR. In such a cluttered world it's PR's responsibility to get the word out... everywhere.

Caution: The following recommendations have not been tested in the real world and are only theories representing the point of view of the blogger.

Know your client.

Knowing your client inside and out should not pose a problem.

Knowing how to communicate your pitch clearly to an over-pitched traditional media outlet may pose a different challenge. I once had an English instructor who gave me this piece of advice, “Write for your math teacher!” At first pass those wise words made no sense. A math teacher has no grasp of the complexities of Shakespeare nor the innuendoes needed to drive home the point of an essay. Then it hit me. The audience she was preparing me to address to would not be comprised of individuals fully proficient on the topic matter and if they were I’d be out a job. Seasoned public relations professionals write to Bill and Suzie Six-Pack.

Know who to pitch and when to pitch

As members of the public relation field it is a duty to stay current with all types of medias. Carefully examining what topics are hot and who is covering those stories is key. Understanding who would be the best “delivery person” to your target market for your client is also big. Timing. Be in the right place, at the right time, pitching to the right person. Timing is everything.

Befriend members of the media

Recognizing typically slow news days and conveniently assigning an otherwise bored reporter, a human interest or fluff story benefits both your client and the reporter. Calling in favors is a reciprocal arrangement. The savviest firms find success in giving as much as they take from media partnerships. Protect and respect your media contacts with dignified excellence remembering your firm’s public perception is a reflection of your own.
And lastly, remain sane. Confidentially surrounding key prospect strategies is critical in maintaining a firm’s unique cutting edge image. Anything less is PR insanity.

Lets make history...

For some, the political process is a drag and for others it ignites passion. When presented with the chance to assist CNN with dial testing, it didn't take any convincing for me to fly to LA to lend a helping hand. Our charge from the network was to conduct focus groups of registered voters in California during both parties debates. Thousands of potential participants from the registered voters list were called and randomly assigned. The participants arrived at a CNN substation in

Oxnard --approximately 90 miles from LA-- an hour before the debate was set to air. The participants went thought a litny of questions providing the researcher with a raw base of data about the group. The pre-questions allowed for the researcher to categorize the participants responses by age, gender or ethnic background. This focus group, unlike the thousands of others being conducted simultaneously across the country, used dial testing or real time response dials.

Each member of the randomly selected group watched the debate on three large-screen TVs while operating a special hand-held dial-testing device, approximately the size of typical remote-control devices. This allowed the researcher to chart undecided voters opinions every second of the debate. The 24 or so participants' emotions were displayed through an EKG like line which represented the average of the group. The redline was laid over the televised debate and rebroadcasted with a 20 second delay on CNN.com. Fruits of our labor

I watched diligently as the redline shimmied up and down as the Presidential hopefuls sparred back and forth. It was also my job to watch the blogs. I will admit, I was initially unimpressed with the whole notion of blogging. It appears to makes unimportant people feel important and teeters a bit on the edge of voyeur. Yet, with each page I reviewed my intrigue grew. People started commenting about the focus group.MSNBC's First Read

As I sat watching the debate, I realized I was watching history. The Democratic nominee will either be a woman or an African-American, and maybe this contemporary mode of information exchange - blogging - is another representation of changing times.

If the shoe doesn't fit, must we change the shoe...

I am an old fashion girl who believes shivery is not dead, pearls go with everything and that nothing beats a handwritten note. Conversely, I am a strong willed, focused and motivated woman of the 21st century. As I consider the juxtaposition of those two statements, my mind drifts to my fear… of blogging. I wonder why I so dread this process of writing. I love to express myself. I feel pretty competent in doing so and want to transform my passion of communication into a profession. So why can’t I just buck up and upload a post?!?

Change is an essential process in life no matter how uncomfortable it may be. I ponder how the early feminist must have felt when they shed their crinolines for trousers. No doubt, those first few steps into uncharted territory must have been exhilaratingly terrifying. To some extent, blogging is the same way. It is the new wave of communication. The posts will forever be immortalized in the cyber world, so bloggers have no room for error in their work. Excellence must be reached within each entry. No pressure… right! The good news for novice bloggers like myself is there are 90 million of us out there trying to make a splash in the world wide web according.

As technology progresses it is the world’s challenge to adapt to those improvements and use them for good. Such is the case with blogging. I have often questioned how the influence of blogging could be charted and how it would be deemed as effective. Communicating corporately and relating publicly is essential in today’s marketplace. The internet and blogging are the current methods of choice to achieve a constant publicity pulse.


After reading an entry on Misukanis and Odden’s website on blogging http://mediarelationsblog.com/, my questions and fears began to subside and an odd calm took its place. On this cite, there are notes from a recent Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) conference in Philadelphia containing posts ranging from blogger relations to blogger success.

Here are a few tips from OMB's recently published blogger relations guide

• Don't pitch irrelevent stories.
• Don't lie or make promises you can't keep.
• Don’t demand to be covered as if you’re God's gift to the blogosphere--My personal favorite.
• Don't use traditional media relations tactics with bloggers, but rather, make an effort to connect with them individually.

I have read tips and comments compiled from fellow bloggers all over the world. I will take them to heart and do my best to present a product worth reading. So I’m trading in that full tulle skirt where my flaws were so gracefully hidden for a form fitting pair of skinny jeans and black Manolo Blahnik pumps… WISH ME LUCK!!!

Introducing...

Welcome to PRofound Communication. This is my first posting on my first blog! I am a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas studying Corporate Communication and Public Affairs. Blogging represents a new wave of communication and a communications vehicle that is vital to the success of communication specialist. My hope is to see growth in my written communication skills through this interactive journal. Please join me on in this process by leaving honest feedback, constructive comments and your contact information.