Networking at Webster

Today I took pride in watching my brother's band play in a competition at Webster Hall. At this battle of the bands event, numerous other bands all played to win coveted recording time at a major recording studio. While we are still awaiting the results of the competition, my brother's band booked another show and opened up the possibility for them to play in new and different arenas than the small-town bar they regularly play in. I was shocked to see sixteen year old boys networking so well! They quickly traded contact information with members of the other band and even invited one band to come play with them at a future show.
This just goes to show how important networking is, not only for PR but for anything. It is a great way to expand opportunities and create relationships with other people interested in what you are doing

PR Campaigns Experience

This semester in PR Campaigns, I learned many useful lessons that I will take with me after gradudation. First and most importantly, I learned to never expect the perfect client. The client often doesn’t know what they want or even what they need and should guide them in the right direction but remembering to respect their ideas the same way I would expect them to respect mine.
Working with a group can be a difficult task, but by listening to everyone's ideas and points of view, it creates a better creativity flow in the group. Compromise is important to create the best campaign for a client. Overall, even though this campaign did NOT go the way my group thought it would, together we learned how to deal with a difficult situation and make the best of it to get the job done.

A Whole New World

It has now been a few weeks since I started my first job in the PR field. So far things are going well. My boss seems to like my work, everyone in the office is nice and it overall seems like a great place to work but for some reason I still found myself as nervous about the job as I was during the interview. Everything was still so new to me and my main fear is still that one day I'll do something that will be the complete wrong thing and get laughed out of the office and sent straight to unemployment.
I have to say though, the more time I am there, the more confident I have become in realizing that I am still in the learning process. I am not only lucky to have a job, but lucky to be working someplace that understands that this is a whole new world for me, regardless of how many PR classes I took.

My advice to all those beginning to start jobs after college: Remember that even though we aren't in class anymore, this time in our careers is still a learning experience. If you take one step at a time (and remember to breathe!!!) everything will be fine.

Releasing Osama's Death Video/Pics a PR Problem?

Over the past few days many Americans have been celebrating the long-awaited death of Osama bin Laden. He was killed by American troops. While President Obama has been praised for being the leader in this effort he also has the difficulty of deciding whether or not to release the photos and videos of the killing. He chose not to release the video of the shooting but other home videos will be released.
This is a PR issue because it has much to do with the way the rest of the free world views the country. Does the U.S. really want to be seen as parading around a dead body?
While this death provides closure for Americans, personally, I do not believe that death of any kind should be celebrated. What are your thoughts?

My First Job Interview

This week I overcame one of the scariest things a PR senior will EVER have to face...my first job interview! I heard about the job opportunity from my professor and figured emailing my resume couldn't hurt. A few minutes after I clicked send I received an email with a request for an interview! A million thoughts came flooding into my head. What should I say? Which writing samples should I bring? What should I wear? These questions were only the beginning of the anxiety I felt. After speaking with my parents and getting advice from my professor, my anxiety was lessened and I felt ready for the interview. I felt confident in the fact that I would not completely bomb the interview and that even if I didn't get the job I could learn from this experience. Thankfully the interview went great! Later that day I was offered the job and I start this week part-time until graduation. Now with my confidence and the support of my parents, professor and friends, I can't wait to start and get my feet wet in the working world of public relations!

The Super Buzz

While most people enjoy count down the days to see which team will win the Super Bowl, my excitement over the Super Bowl has nothing to do with football. It is about the buzz that sweeps over the nation for the big game. This year I decided to experienced the Super Bowl in a completely different way. Instead sitting in front of the TV with my family to watch the game, I avoided the broadcast and followed the game and the performances via the Super Bowl buzz on twitter and Facebook. By continuously updating my twitter and Facebook feeds, I knew just about as much about the game and Christina Aguilera's national anthem flub as someone who was watching. I was able to experience people's reaction to different plays, links and comments about the fantastic commercials and everyone's disappointment in The Black Eyed Peas half-time show in realtime.

This really made me think about where the future in live events is heading. Will we still get caught up in the excitement of watching what's happening live or will we only experience it through social media? Maybe a middle alternative can be reached but only the future can tell.