Why you should keep blogging

During the last week of classes for my fellow seniors, talk centers around the status of the current job market- less than ideal for those of us trying to secure our first jobs. This http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2007/sb20070713_202390.htm

Business Week article looks at the most sucessful bloggers around. All of the people in this article live full time off the money they make through their blogs.

Always nice to have a back up plan...

(Photo: businessweek.com)

Best Practices

As the end of the semester approaches I thought I would summarize a few lessons that stood out for me when I reflected on what I've learned. These "best practices" apply to all businesses and are especially important for young people looking to begin a career in PR. 

Writing: "You must be a strong writer." -Everyone

Technology: Blogging, second life/avatars, social networking sites, Blackberries. Be a pro.

Branding: "People always ask 'why do these wealthy people get free products?' They are the best walking advertisers that money cannot buy." -Gigi Howard

Media Relations: Databases, pitch carefully, wine and dine

Personality: Balance shy and aggressive, be outgoing, put together, friendly

Networking: Do it 24/7, write thank you notes, be current

Launching a career: Critical thinking, recognition of duties not title, "Confidence, enthusiasm, and an investment in your career." -Mike Lake

What if there were no Internet?

Through my blog this semester, I've explored an array of ways we use emerging technology, especially the Internet, in our daily lives and as communications professionals. One night (when I probably should have been doing something more constructive) I found myself watching... South Park. Now really, I NEVER watch South Park, but last week's episode, Over Logging, parodied the catastrophe that might ensue if the world lost the Internet, and it kind of makes you think- What would you do without your Internet?

Watch "Over Logging" from southparkstudios.com: 

http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/166179/

In Good Taste: Social Responsibility

Sometimes I’m met with less than enthusiastic response when I talk about how much I love fashion, and how important it is. Some people today seem to think that too many "more serious” issues are happening in the world today to take fashion seriously, or that caring about what the next it-bag will be is frivolous.

Okay, I don’t want to start a debate over why you should read Vogue before Newsweek, I just want to point out the enormous global influence fashion has everyday, and how designers do use that power for good.

One case where the fashion industry brought major attention to an important global issue was last summer when designer Anya Hindmarch (http://www.anya

hindmarch.com/

about_us/) 

released her wildly successful “I’m not a plastic bag.”

When the first version of the tote sold out in London (in two hours), Hindmarch talked to the bloggers at bagsnob.com to explain her philosophy for creating the eco-friendly accessory. She told bagsnob that the project began two years earlier when she was approached by the operator of We Are What We Do (http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/), describing the site as  "a fantastic movement who try to inspire people to use their everyday actions to change the world." Of the operator, Hindmarch says, "he is very much of the belief that if everyone makes a small change and does their bit it can actually amount to making a big difference. I just loved the simplicity of that and I agree with it.”

Well, Hindmarch may have been attracted to the simplicity of the bag, but for shoppers everywhere, getting your hands on the canvas tote was anything but simple. After being photographed on the arm of many celebrities, the stock of 3,000 bags sold out at Whole Foods in New York City in just 29 minutes (Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXaLdRdMK-M). The bag had to be banned in China after several women in Hong Kong were injured after being trampled while trying to buy it.

Even with it’s worldwide popularity, some fashion commentators questioned the bag’s appeal. But really, should we question why people want to be fashionable and save the world at the same time, especially when the bag retails for just $15?

So now the question is, how big an impact did the “I’m not a plastic bag” frenzy really have on the condition of the environment? According to thegothamist.com(http://www.thegothamist.com/), “over 380 billion plastic bags are consumed in the U.S. each year, they take about 500 years to degrade and less than 1% reuse them.”

Hindmarch puts the practicality of her tote into perspective, telling bagsnob.com, “I refused nine plastic bags as I could put things directly into my cotton one - and that’s amazing. If it makes people rethink their behavior and perhaps makes the supermarkets rethink their solutions then it’s achieved something as far as I’m concerned."

New this season, Dog Eared has a great selection of canvas totes on their website: http://www.dogeared.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGYMINI&Category_Code=shopping-bags

Update

Super-blogger and Miami Native Perez Hilton posted this update http://perezhilton.com/2008-03-31-things-are-slowly-a-changin to his site on the latest bans being uplifted in Cuba.
This news comes days after Cuban authorities began allowing citizens to purchase DVD players and computers. I'm sure all Cubans, including influential blogger Yoani Sanchez are excited about the historic changes going on in Cuba right now. Click here http://www.desdecuba.com/generationy/ to read her blog for yourself.

A Blog for Cuba's New Generacion

The Dalai Lama’s recent assertion that he will relinquish his title if the violence in Tibet does not end sent bloggers worldwide into a flurry, keeping them on the edges of their keyboards making predictions for how China’s strict censorship laws will affect international broadcasts during the Olympics later this year.

But authorities in another communist country are going to great lengths to silence one particular blogger.Yoani Sanchez writes the most popular Cuban blog, "Generacion Y," but when readers on the Caribbean island logged on today, they found an error message instead of Sanchez’s insights on Daily life in communist Cuba. Sanchez received 1.2 million hits to her site in February, the same month long-time dictator Fidel Castro stepped down from power and appointed his brother Raul as the country’s new leader.

Sanchez parodied the younger Castro’s allusions to major improvements in store for Cubans when she wrote “Who is the last in line for a toaster?” reacting to news that Cubans could now purchase some items that have been banned by the government until recently, like DVDs and computers, but would have to wait two more years to buy their own toasters.

Sanchez expressed similar frustration to the New York Times over the continued discouragement of free-thinking in the still communist country.

Luckily for her readers, Sanchez plans to continue writing her blog. She acknowles the new deterrents to the site, but explains that attempts to censor the citizens’ limited Internet access will not keep fans from reading the blog. Sanchez believes that her fans will continue to read because with basic computer skills, they will be able to get around the censors.

Image from canada.com

More on the Juicycampus Effect

It looks like I am not the only person disturbed enough by juicycampus to write about it. New York Times writer Richard Morgan wrote a piece addressing some effects of the gossip site on campuses and students. Morgan notes that the site is not limited to harmless gossip, but can hurt students' chances of securing jobs post-graduation, and even create a campus-wide security scare.
Unfortunately, as Morgan also highlights in his article, juicycampus is not legally responsible for any comment posted on the site.
For me, the lack of responsibility juicycampus administrators will face stresses even more the importance for students to take the responsibility on themselves to not support these sites.
As Morgan also emphasizes in his March 16 article, students who continue to post potentially damaging content on juicycampus and Facebook may not fully understand the consequences until the damage happens to them.

A Crash Course in Online Gossip, by Richard Morgan: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/fashion/16juicy.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=fashion

Blogging For Better, For Worse

Throughout this semester, my global communications class has explored many of the ways blogs can be used in communications contexts. Marketing and public relations executives constantly find new and exciting ways to take the blog to new levels, and blogging is certainly not limited to theses professionals. Any average person can have his or her own blog, and some of these Average Joes’ blogs have become global phenomena. Unfortunately, even with all their benefits we also use blogs for bad. The dark side of blogging has affected the SMU community in two major ways this academic year.

First, a website called Dirty D Town uploads pictures daily, mostly of SMU students in compromising or manipulated situations. As many students know, most of these pictures are taken from Facebook without permission, and posted out of context along with disparaging comments.

More recently, students can find their friends and their own names on a similar site, juicycampus.com. Even more disturbing with the juicycampus site is that posts are made by students, about students, as opposed to Dirty D Town, which is maintained by an older outsider. What juicycampus lacks in photos, it makes up for with detailed personal attacks, including first and last names. Students who visit the site curious about whether their own name appears on it, and the students who are doing the posting generate hundreds of hits daily, driving more advertising dollars for the sites administrator(s). 

Sites like Dirty D Town and juicycampus present the community with a dilemma. We all want to see what is being said, whether we are the ones posting or the opposition to the existence of the site, but each time someone visits the site or posts a comment, even one condemning the site, it becomes more popular. Ideally, a total boycott of the both sites and any others like it would be the answer, but as we see on a larger scale with tabloids and entertainment blog sites, as a culture, we like to be in each others’ business, celebrity or not. The more damaging the story, the more popular it is.

So of course I think it is important to think about how to get students to boycott sites like Dirty D Town and juicycampus, but isn’t it more important to think about why they got started at all?

The New Fashion Editors

Okay, it’s been said, but really, blogs are everywhere talking about everything. With people busier than ever, we’re seeing more and more segmentation of media outlets. Many people want to stay up-to-the-minute on a given subject, but claim they don’t really have time to search through an entire newspaper or sit through even half-hour news broadcast. Specialty magazines for sports, technology, fashion, whatever… keep us updated on the information that interests us. Now blogs have taken that specialization a step further. Yes, there are blogs devoted to fashion for the woman who needs/wants to know what the latest is in that industry and doesn’t have time to wait for the Style section of the Sunday New York Times. Enter the Style File blog on style.com.

Two Dallas ‘soccer moms’ and former industry insiders decided they could narrow down fashion blogging even further by sticking to their favorite subject: handbags. Kelly Cook and Tina Craig started bagsnob.com in 2005 because they wanted to stay in the fashion industry, but after getting married and having their first children, the flexibility of blogging appealed to the fashionable friends. Three years later, bagsnob has launched five other fashion blogs and generates profits from major brands and retailers advertising on their site, and are invited to showrooms and fashion weeks with designers hoping Cook and Craig will give them a rave review on their popular site.

Cook explains, “Blogs can publish in an instant. It’s the biggest advantage over traditional media, which can take months to compile. Sometimes, by the time magazines get to it, the trend might be over," making them particularly relevant for the fashion industry. 

Of course when anyone is capable of putting information on the Internet at any time, there is the added risk that the information will not be trustworthy. Cook understands this, cautioning, “Many blogs don’t fact check. There’s no standard practice for blogging as there is for traditional news media.”

The bag snobs know the importance of fact checking first-hand. The post that shot their blog to industry authority status was their expose on a site running a fake bag scam. The bagsnobs also are seen as highly credible by their readers because they do not accept freebies from designers who may be trying to win a good review from the women. 

Bagsnob has is an excellent case study of how blogs are shaping our fast-paced world. By providing accurate, breaking bag news, the bag snobs provide what today’s internet-obsessed consumer with what they expect of the fashion industry.

While brands and fashion editors have been cautious about getting involved with blogs, the industry is taking notice of bloggers like Cook and Craig; with sites like theirs getting thousands of visitors per day, designers really can’t afford not to.
Photos: Bottega Veneta from bagsnob.com

See for yourself: http://www.bagsnob.com/

Meet the Snobs on GlamLive:

http://blogs.glam.com/glamlive/2007/07/31/meet-the-publishers-bagsnob-beautysnob/

Fashion insiders on blogs: http://www.bagsnob.com/images2007/chinamorningnews_crop.html

Technoology for PR: Google, Inc. Premieres Free Business Software

While Microsoft waits for a response to their latest offer to purchase Yahoo, Inc., Google, Inc. continues to update it’s programs for business. The latest update, “Team Edition” software debuts today. According to New York Times, the free online software program will “make it easier for people in the same organization to share documents and information.”Users within organizations who share the same e-mail address extensions will be able to easily sync projects through instant messaging and calendars, in addition to standard word processing and spreadsheets. 

Google hopes that a portion of the businesses that sign up for the free version of “Team Addition” will later upgrade to a premium version of the application.The “Team Edition” software will pose more competition for Microsoft Corporation, who charges for it’s word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation programs. To date, Google reports that more than 500,000 businesses have signed up to use the company’s free applications.

Video Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOYFv47zSz0

How Can PR Pros Use It?
Professionals in the Public Relations and Marketing industries may find the new software from Google, Inc. valuable in upcoming projects. “Team Edition” free software is now available for download on the company’s mega-profitable search engine site, Google.com. “Team Edition” is a great tool for the communications industry because so much of the work in it is done in teams made up of different departments from creative to finance. The “Team Edition” software allows all parties involved on one project to work together seamlessly by sharing calendars, spreadsheets, e-mail, instant message, and more. Whether a marketing team is working over a period of months on a campaign for a client, or a member of the team need to respond quickly to a media development with a press release, everyone involved with the project or client. Some early customer comments for “Team Edition” can be seen on sites reviewing the application. One common source of praise for “Team Edition” is the cost-effectiveness for smaller corporations. One user commented that for companies that lack the budget for a sophisticated IT department, “Team Edition” gives employees a means of staying connected. The chief complaint among users is the limit for “team” being users with matching e-mail address extensions (i.e. ___@compnayx.com), according to comments on Internet articles profiling the software. Comments reflected concern over having team members from multiple companies who therefore have various e-mail address extensions making them unable to sync through “Team Edition.”

Buzz about "Team Edition:"
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Google-Software.html?pagewanted=all

http://mashable.com/2008/02/06/google-apps-team-edition-going-viral-on-companies?referer=sphere_related_content

http://www.venturebeat.com/2008/02/07/googles-group-focused-applications-vs-microsoft-project-management-startups?referer=sphere_related_content

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=7911&referer=sphere_related_content

Media Relations in PR

It should go without saying that maintaining excellent relations with members of the media is vital to public relations professionals everywhere. The presence of so many news sources, whether it be 24-hour news stations or up-to-the-minute websites makes information constantly and instantaneously available to the viewing public. There is no way to control what all of these media outlets will report, but it helps to have strong relationships with the people who put the information through those news sources… the gatekeepers. As much as PR professionals need the gatekeepers, the gatekeepers need the PR professionals. Relationships between PR pros and media members are mutually beneficial. The PR people need to get their stories out and the media need those stories…it’s a match made in heaven. Professionals in all areas of the public relations industry benefit from establishing and maintaining relationships with key influencers from broadcast to print to Internet media. Such relationships can make various parts of a PR professional’s job more manageable and effective, which obviously will keep their clients happy.
Effective media relations is particularly relevant in the fields I am drawn to; entertainment, fashion, and beauty. In these industries, business depends on presenting an image that distinguishes your brand from its countless competitors. That image must be updated constantly to stay fresh while always staying true to the brand. While it is highly visible in the three industries I mentioned, media relations continues to become a more significant aspect for public relations professionals in all industries, and it’s not limited to the basics of press releases, press conferences and media kits. Today, seeing results from media relations requires being charismatic and intuitive, and savvy with the latest developments in technology, current events, pop culture, politics, and business. Being this well-rounded requires hard-work and knowledge; I’ve listed some resources below that relate to the practice of media relations in public relations… If you find more sites that are helpful or interesting please leave a comment!

Media Relations Helpful Hints:
LA-based PR pro offers practical, easy-to-read comments on the importance and practice of media relations.
“Anthony Mora Communications, Inc. is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm that focuses in the areas of media relations, image development and media training.”
http://www.evancarmichael.com/Public-Relations/318/What-The-Media-Wants.html

Media Relations in Fashion, Beauty, Entertainment:
-Seventh House PR
http://www.seventhhousepr.com/

-LGPR (Lizzie Grubman PR)
http://www.grubmanpr.com/About_Us/aboutUs_default.asp

-Gossip Blog Jossip responds to celebrity-publicist Leslie Sloane Zelnick’s recent work
http://www.jossip.com/category/leslie-sloane-zelnik/

Crisis Management through Media Relations:
“If developed before a crisis or a major issue flares up, these loyalties can help counter damaging attacks or mitigate the assumption of guilt. But if a crisis strikes before you have courted those with clout, it’s usually too late for newfound advocates to help much. And those you do enlist often end up feeling used.”
-Paul Rand is Partner, Managing Director of Ketchum Chicago and Director of Ketchum’s Global Technology Practice.
http://www.ketchum.com

Something to think about...

Since enrolling in a class that centers around maintaining my own blog, I've found myself typing the word "blog" more often than usual. As I was spellchecking my last post, I noticed that my computers spell-check did not consider "blog" to be a word. "Blog" is not in the dictionary I've had since being in college, however it is listed on dictionary.com with a definition. I just thought it was funny, maybe a little ironic, that as many of us are writing posts about popular blogs have become, the very machines that allow us to write on those blogs don't know the word exists.

Blogging as a PR Tool

In my four years of studying communications at SMU, a few points have been repeated throughout the various classes I’ve taken, agreed upon my all of my professors. One such point is the importance of staying current for PR professionals. That said, it must also be important for PR professionals to show current and prospective clients, as well as the public, that they are in fact up-to-date on news, new technology, current events, etc… and that they as a professional have something more to offer than the competition, and blogging presents a perfect opportunity to achieve that. 

Blogs can be updated quickly, entries may be as short or as long as the story requires, and topics can be fairly diverse; really whatever the blogger wants to talk about that day. 

President and CEO of Edelman, the world famous PR company, appears to update his blog about once a week on topics ranging from his family’s winter vacation in Shanghai to an annual Edelman study being unveiled that day at the World Economic Forum (his “favorite four days of the year”). 

Heather Hamilton, Senior Marketing Recruiter at Microsoft Corporation, operates another popular blog. Hamilton often blogs on industry topics, but in a recent post she mentioned how she often has trouble coming up with interesting work-related topics, so she invited a “guest blogger,” Chris Russell, founder of All County Jobs. Inviting guest bloggers is an excellent way to drive traffic to your site. I found Russell’s post on moving up the corporate ladder relevant and interesting as a college senior in the midst of a career search. Also, I think Hamilton’s blog will be a unique source of knowledge for me in the future. The diversity of topics on her blog left me looking forward to future visits. 

Blogging Compassionately

In the last two weeks I have spent a lot of time looking at blogs that I've never read before and re-examinaning the ones I refer to on a daily basis. In looking at these blogs, I've made some conclusions, the first of which being, there are SO many blogs out there today. Not only are there thousands of blogs with topics ranging from fashion to finance, many of these sites are updated weekly, daily, even multiple times per hour. In our globalized society, information can be made available with alarminly rapid turnaround. Information, pictures, even videos can be seen by the world seconds after a story breaks. While one may marvel at how far we have come in our production and use of technology, we also need to be careful with the power extensive technology has afforded us. One way I think this 24-hour information cycle is impacting the world in a negative way is our increasing obsession with celebrity watching. One blogger who has capitalized on celebrity obsession and built a lucrative career on it is L.A. based blogger Perez Hilton. "Perez" updates his site almost by the minute with pictures, gossip and his own opinions. I'll admit, I love seeing what my favorite it-girls are wearing today as much as the next girl, and I often refer to Perezhilton.com to see the latest pictures; but the media circus that has been created by paparazzi and reporters trying to snap Lindsay getting coffee or Britney going to court is scary to watch. I think the number of pictures we see everyday of certain celebrities is excessive, but I've also noticed lately the the comments Perez uses to accompany the paparazzi photos have become increasingly vulgar and mean-spirited. What used to be a fun site to see new pictures and make casual jokes about some socialite's messed-up spray tan has become something that I almost feel guilty for looking at. This past Tuesday when I found out about actor Heath Ledger's death my first thoughts were about how the media would handle it, including Perez. The predictable circus of photographers appeared within minutes in front of Ledger's apartment and even waited outside his two-year old daughter's home to catch a glimpse of Ledger's greiving family. The media pounced on the story so quickly that Ledger's parents found out about their son's death on television. While I expected not much more from the relentless paparazzi, I was still saddended and disappointed in the photographers' disregard for the tragedy Ledger's family is going through. When I got home from class yesterday, I logged on to perezhilton.com to see what I'd missed that day, I was pleasantly surprised at one of his entries. Perez reported, like other media outlets the latest on the investigation into Ledger's death and what his family and friends were doing. When Perez reported that Ledger's ex-girlfriend and daughter had returned home, he used a picture of the late actor instead of video and pictures of the two arriving home. Perez said that he would not use pictures of any family members, friends visiting, or the memorial service out of respect for the greiving family and encouraged other news outlets to use the same discretion. Even though Perez knew millions of people would have logged onto his site to see the heart-wrenching pictures and video, he did what he felt was compassionate and ethical, and I very much appreciated and respected that. It also gave me the inspiration for my first blog...

For a start...

Welcome! You are reading my first-ever blog which I have created as part of an upper-level communications class at SMU. The class is about looking at trends and practices in all aspects of communications including marketing and public relations. I will graduate in May with a degree in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs and a minor in Spanish. For future entries on my blog I hope to explore the exciting trends in the communications industry and build upon the skills I have learned over the past four years. I also hope to relate what's happening the communications industry to what is happening in the fashion world. I am passionate about fashion and style and hope to work in fashion after graduation this summer. More to come...