#RW2010

This year, I was finally able to attend PR Real World. The conference is put on specifically for college students to learn more about what public relations professionals go through each day in the "real world." Fourteen classmates, Dr. Miller and I left before the sun was up in order to arrive in Atlanta on time for registration and a delicious breakfast.

I went to several different workshops - my favorite of which was entitled "How to make yourself marketable" - a career expo, and a resume critique. During lunch, we were able to listen to Sean Cassidy, president of DKC Public Relations & Marketing in New York City. This guy is so influential in NY, New York Magazine has referred to him as one of the "Most Influential New Yorkers." He discussed the evolution of entertainment/celebrity PR and even told us a few stories about his experiences with celebs.

Between each of the sessions, we were able to mingle with other PR students from all over the United States. I even met one girl (Shelby) from Michigan. We talked about the similarities and differences of our PR programs and what we wanted to do after graduation.

For my blog this week, I am going to take the same approach as Dr. Miller and list a few things that I learned about getting a job after my first trip to PR Real World.

1. GET INVOLVED AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE! Networking with different students made me feel relieved and scared at the same time- while some students had as many as four internships, others had none. Not all of the students there, however, were required to take three practicums like GCSU, however, so I felt a little better about my PR experience. Either way, managers are looking to hire people with a lot of experience. The more, the better!

2. Always come equipped with professional materials (i.e. business cards, resumes, etc.). Unlike the rest of my classmates in PR Campaigns, I am not in senior seminar this semester. Therefore, I did not bring a resume. In fact, I have not even updated my resume since high school (which is two pages in length, and I quickly learned it should only be one page). Had I brought a resume, however, I would have been able to have it critiqued by professionals that could potentially interview me one day for a job. Instead, I had to sit in on a group critiquing session to learn what needed to be done to my work in progress. Even though I learned a lot from others' resumes, I missed out on a great opportunity for myself for being unprepared.

3. Dress to impress at interviews, no matter how casual the company is.

4. Always do research on the company you are going to interview for BEFORE the interview. During the "Market Yourself" session, all of the professionals continuously stressed how important it is to make an effort to get to know the company and what it is about prior to your interview. One lady even said that if someone comes in without any idea of what the business does, she will tell them just to go back home.

5. BE ON TIME. This was also HIGHLY stressed during each session.

6. Stay involved. Although it is important to be involved during college, it is also important to continue building your resume after graduation. One professional said to look at your first job as simply your "first job." If you continue to be involved, it will be easier to move up in the "food chain." One easy way to do this, I learned, is by working on different committees within PRSA.

I am so grateful that PRSA|GA puts on this great conference each year for students like me. I learned a lot from my first experience that will stay with me for the rest of my PR career. One day, I hope to be on the other side, giving college students useful advice for their own future.

My Personal Ethics

This semester, I am taking business ethics as an elective. This week, we were assigned the task of writing a personal ethics statement so that I can apply these to a business or life experience situation later in life. This is my first ever personal ethics statement:



Personal Ethics Statement
I will always be an honest person, to both my colleagues and myself. I will never distort the truth to benefit my own needs or wants. I will always follow the Golden Rule and never treat others in a way that I, myself, would not like to be treated. I will always be an active listener and remain open to all ideas and suggestions without discriminating. I will always do what is right, regardless of the consequences I will face for doing so (even if I lose my job). I will make decisions that will result in the least amount of harm to others and never forget what is the most important in my life – Christ, family, friends and job. Kickbacks will never be accepted – regardless of how tempting they are. Holidays will be days devoted to family time, never work. My decisions will not be based on monetary compensation, and I will never gather or accept illegally obtained information.

Supporting Principles
• I will always seek the truth and report (even if it is an ugly truth).
• Everyone will be treated with respect. I will promote an experimental workplace where employees will feel comfortable coming up with new ideas.
o Gossiping about my colleagues will not occur.
• Family matters will always be the highest priority – Employees will never be punished if they must leave work early to deal with a family situation.
• If I am ever offered a bribe, I will not accept it and, more so, consider never doing business with this person again.
• Money will not buy me happiness. I will find joy in the little things in life.
• Any form of trespassing will never be permitted – regardless of how much the information could help me and/or my business.
• I will continue to go to church regularly and remain involved in my children’s lives.
• I will get to know all of my colleagues so that I can keep their values in mind when making decisions.
• I will be careful not to take on too much at a time so that each task I complete is done to the best of my ability.

"Clear Cloud" Over Milledgeville

In September 2006, the City of Milledgeville was awarded an $862,500 grant from the Georgia Technology Authority to establish a citywide wireless Internet service. Milledgeville was one of only six cities in the state of Georgia to receive this grant under Governor Sonny Perdue’s Wireless Communities Georgia initiative, introduced in 2006. According to the WCG, “high-speed Internet access has become essential for communities to attract business and industry and compete in today’s global economy.” City officials believe that residents having access to a Wi-Fi network will increase the city’s economic development, educational access and governmental services.

The Georgia Technology Authority and the City of Milledgeville have partnered with Clearwire, an Internet Service Provider whose name has been shortened to Clear, to provide 17 square miles of wireless signal. In addition to having unlimited access to Milledgeville’s signal, subscribers will also be able to use their Clear accounts in any of the 46 Clear markets, including the nearby cities of Dublin and Atlanta.

To ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to receive the service, the city has partnered with One Community and the Knight Foundation to provide several different package options, including discounted subscriptions for students and low-to-moderate income families. To receive a Clear subscription at a lower price, residents must go through an application process that will be available by late March. These applications can be found at several different entities throughout Milledgeville, including Digital Bridges and Mary Vinson Memorial Library.

The process has been a long and tedious one. However, the city is excited about coming together to provide this beneficial opportunity to the residents of Milledgeville. The “Clear Cloud” has the capability of changing the City of Milledgeville into a new and improved city with endless possibilities.

Tweeps-R-Us

I first began my tweeting career last semester in PR Administration. At first, it was like learning a foreign language. I had no idea what I should say or who I should say it to. Most of the people I originally followed tweeted only about what they were doing at that moment; therefore, I couldn't grasp the significance of Twitter. I rarely watched the videos people posted and even less frequently read the articles.

Last Wednesday in PR campaigns class, Dr. Miller assigned (what I have named) the "Dreadful Twitter Assignment." We were required to tweet a minimum of five times per day, follow 25 more PR professionals and/or social media outlets, and try to engage them in conversation. I immediately began stressing out. I work two jobs and am in charge of my sorority's step team while taking a full course load at school. When in the world would I have time to do all of this?!

For the first couple of days, I admit, I did not tweet five times a day (I am trying to make up for those lost tweets now). I just couldn't think of anything I could say. I did, however, start following new PR professionals to see what they were able to tweet about every three hours. I slowly started seeing what people were talking about, and ideas came to me randomly throughout each day. Before I knew it, I was getting emails on my iPhone left and right about new tweeps who were now following me. Who would have ever guessed... I am slowly becoming popular on Twitter!

Over the past week, I have learned a lot about one of the newest... And possibly most confusing... Social media outlets, Twitter. I have realized that Twitter isn't just somewhere to write exactly what you are doing at the moment you sit down at your computer. Instead, it's an absolutely amazing networking tool. I have made friends with people all over the United States, from LA to New York. I am even following PR agencies in Europe now (in case one day I get a wild hair and decide to move out of country). I have even found tweeps who were also PR students at different colleges facing the same obstacles as me! The coolest thing I have discovered in the past week about Twitter is that, hopefully one day, it will be my lifesaver and help me find a job! Every day, you hear people say, "Oh, you might as well plan on going to grad school, because you won't find a job." However, I see a new tweet almost every day about a new job opening.

Overall, this assignment has taught me to take Twitter seriously. Of course... The words 'tweeps' and 'tweet' are funny to say, but they shouldn't be taken lightly. Twitter is a valuable tool that all professionals (of any career field) should learn to use.

Jersey Shore = Bad PR for MTV

On Thursday, December 3, MTV aired the premiere of a new series called Jersey Shore. Eight Italian-Americans were chosen for the show to live in a house in Seaside Heights, NJ (the "Jersey Shore") for an entire summer. At first, the show's ratings were not as high as MTV's other hit series like The Hills or The City; however, according to the Los Angeles Times, the show's season finale broke records for MTV with 4.8 million viewers ("almost triple the audience who watched the series premiere"). Even though the show brought in millions of viewers throughout the season, fights and other misconduct from the cast have left thousands of others disappointed.


In nearly every episode of the show, at least one of the cast members got into an altercation (both men and women). The third episode raised the most controversy when Nicole "Snooki"Polizzi was punched in the face by a high school gym teacher from Queens, NY. Although it was made clear as to what happened in the scene, MTV decided not to reveal the actual punch because of complaints from viewers. Somehow, however, the footage managed to make national news as well as YouTube. In fact, the YouTube clip has had nearly 3 million views.

Several questions have arose as to whether or not the network should have made what happened apparent in the episode. Although MTV did air a public service announcement following the controversial episode, the network faced financial consequences when Dominos and American Family Insurance refused to continue advertising during the show. Since "Snooki" was punched, several other cast members have found themselves in fights and sometimes, even jail. The show has been referred to as "trash television" as well as "anti-Italian." Several groups have sprung up on Facebook as well against the show. Critics believe that the show depicts Italian-Americans in a negative light, as well as the state of New Jersey. In fact, the New Jersey chapter of PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) is currently working on a strategy to change the perceptions people have developed of their state from this show. MTV's PR team has lashed back to these accusations claiming that "(Their) intention was never to stereotype, discriminate, or offend."

Was airing The Jersey Shore a poor decision for the MTV network? Yes... The show's ratings soared by the end of the season. However, was it worth all of the controversy it has sparked with Italian-American groups and other New Jersey natives? According to the New York Magazine, the cast of the show will return for a season two of Jersey Shore, but it will not take place in the same location. Wherever it is... I hope MTV's PR team is capable of handling it!

Public Relations in Action

For our last blog post this semester, we were asked to post a FlipCam video showing "Public Relations in Action."

As you know, there are several different routes a public relations professional can take upon graduation. One of these is event planning. Therefore, I decided to show "PR in Action" at the PRSSA Induction Ceremony. Our event planners put in a lot of effort to make this night memorable for all of our new members.

Enjoy!

Relay For Life Kickoff... Total Success!

On Tuesday, November 17, my Public Relations and Administration class was finally able to see all of our hard work pay off.

This entire semester, we have been planning the Baldwin County Relay For Life Kickoff (I previously wrote a blog about the pitching experience). Luckily, we were given the theme by the national Relay For Life Committee: "The official sponsor of birthdays," and one of the groups in our class came up with the winning slogan: "Celebrate a memory." It seemed like everything was going to be simple. The hardest part was already done. However, as the event grew closer, so did my blood pressure!

I got out of class that Tuesday afternoon around 1:45. We had all decided as a class to meet at Northside Baptist Church (where the event was being held) by 2. As I was walking out of the library, I see Dr. Miller... She wasn't happy. We only had about three dozen cupcakes donated for an expected 100 people. Somehow Dr. Miller was able to find enough uniced cupcakes at a local grocery store to calm all of our nerves. If it wasn't for her running around like a chicken with her head cutoff, our event would have been unsuccessful (considering the cupckes were key to the ceremony).

What I expected to be the biggest problem turned out to be the least of our worries. The Baldwin County Relay For Life committee did not give us a budget... Nada. How in the world could they expect us to put on an event for over 100 people without a dime? Lucky for us, Brooke Brookins was in our class. She was able to get 100 hamburgers and hotdogs, chips, cookies and a helium tank donated to the event. Other members of the "Food Commitee" were able to get donations from local businesses in the Milledgeville area. There was so much food left over, the entire class was able to make a plate once the event was over and take a plate home for later (and we still had to throw some away). The buffet consisted of hamburgers and hotdogs, baked beans, coleslaw, chips and cookies... The perfect birthday meal.



The menu went perfectly with the theme of the Kickoff, as did the decorations. We made centerpieces of wrapped presents (in Relay colors of course) for the tables that were covered with white and black tablecloths. There were also oversized wrapped presents spaced out on the walls and on the floor throughout the room. Purple candy was sprinkled on the tables, a balloon arch at the door, a banner with the theme on it, and my duty... The candles. For my group's pitch at the beginning of the semester, I came up with the idea of making 27 large candles to signify the years that Relay For Life has been raising money for the American Cancer Society. The committee loved the idea and decided to incorporate the candles into the Kickoff. Professors from the university (including Dr. Miller) and other fellow classmates donated posterboard and art supplies to make the candles the talk of the event. The Give Center even decided to keep them for a later event!

Andrea Lowery and Keri Allgood made nearly everyone in the fellowhip hall cry during the survivor slideshow. They worked extra hard to make the slideshow meaningful through the music, quotes and pictures. Their hard work made the team captains see the importance of their fundraising for ACS.

Beth Benton and I were on the "Media Team" for the event. Beth wrote press releases that were published in local newspapers while I wrote PSAs for the two major radio stations in Milledgeville. I also came up with the idea to advertise the event via pizza boxes. I distributed nearly 1,000 flyers to restaurants who had pizza to go. These restaurants taped the flyers on the front of the boxes for the community to see. Between the newspapers, radio stations and pizza boxes, we had somewhere around 100 team captains from the Milledgeville area to show up for the Kickoff.

Overall, this experience taught me a lot. It first and foremost showed me the importance of handling stress. Staying calm throughout the planning and execution of an event is key. If one person is stressed, it seems to rub off on everyone. It is also extremely important to be connected to the community. Had the class not been connected to the community, it would have been impossible to put on such a successful event without a budget. Lastly, it is important to delegate authority. Lyric, Cara and Kara did an amazing job at assigning different tasks to everyone in the class. Everyone stayed busy before, during and after the event to help everything run smoothly. I was the most amazed by how long it took us to clean up the entire fellowship hall... 30 minutes! We all worked hard together and had an extremely successful event! The community is excited about the upcoming Relay For Life, and that was our job. Great job PR Admin!

~Tori Cantrell~