Social media & the disaster in Japan

Like every other person on this planet, I've been watching with a sad heart the state of affairs in Japan. The images of this crisis bedded in our minds: flat-lands that look like they're covered with painted popsicle sticks, with the occasional boat, train and even airplanes mixed with the rubble. Entire towns and families have been swept away, with chances of survival bleak. There are many families in Japan who still have no idea if their loved ones survived or not.

Communication has been very difficult during this crisis, and I'm finding it interesting, as well as inspiring, how people are communicating their well-being. I stumbled across this article written by Yahoo! that puts me in awe of the development of the social media and communication world. The two cases mentioned in the article relate the story of people in America who located loved ones through the help of YouTube and Twitter. This is AMAZING. The fact that these outlets exist and are even being used during a crisis of this magnitude is truly AMAZING. We have evolved from a society that tinkered with social media to connect with others, to a society that has is using SM as a means of crisis communication. Social media sometimes gets a bad rep for its usefulness, and these success stories shows the limitless possibilities of SM and its uses.

Here's a link to the article. Read, enjoy, and feel free to leave your thoughts.
http://yhoo.it/fmPXsf

"You can do it!"

Does anyone remember watching the 1997 US Olympic Gymnastics team? I remember watching them flip, cartwheel, and stick their way to the podium as gold medalists. I idolized their effort and determination to get to the top. I also remember hearing the coach, Béla Károlyi urging on the sidelines, "You can do it! You can do it!" (except with the accent, it was more "You con dooo et!"). And he was right, they most certainly did. To this day, I still use this line with a smile when encouraging others, and even myself.

So why this walk down Olympic memory lane? During these couple months (when I haven't been blogging, tsk tsk), I have been applying and interviewing for jobs back in the U.P. of Michigan. I've left the interviews feeling like everything went well, but I can't help but get the notion that the person behind the desk thought I was too young. This inkling may make the potential employer feel as though youth translates into inexperienced, naive and just a baby-faced punk looking for a job. Let's face it, I'm not even a quarter through my life, but that doesn't mean I'm not qualified. I might be young, but I've got a lot of energy and heart, and that's just as good as having a few more years tacked on to my life.

So for my fellow young recent grads or soon-to-be grads who are experiencing similar situations: YOU CON DOOO ET! Don't leave that interview without stressing that point! If you have the knowledge, skills and gumption, anything is possible. We may be young, but we can get the job done and get it done well. If you truly believe this, then say so. Your future employers won't know unless you tell them. Now, let's go take the world by storm, shall we?

What is it that you do?

“What’s public relations?”

It's a question that seems simple enough, but one I get asked a lot. Those closest to me who are not in the field ask, "So, what is it that you do?" With Thanksgiving approaching and family and friends coming together, I'm sure that question will be asked the same number of times as, "So, when is dinner ready?" Other PR pros may understand where I'm coming from, and may appreciate my attempt to answer this question.

In college, we all learned a standard definition: one to be memorized for the purpose of giving our career a definition, but it may not make sense to an outsider. In the words of my professor, Wally Niebauer, public relations is "communicating an accurate message to publics." And he is absolutely right. As PR professionals, we make it our expertise to communicate what is going on in a company or situation swiftly and accurately. We do not put a positive spin on a situation, (and if you say that to someone in the field, be careful of the spit that may hit your eye) but rather, tell those concerned what exactly is going on, because they deserve to know. The ability to obtain information is at our fingertips, and PR pros know better than most that the public is not completely ignorant. Information can be retrieved in a matter of seconds, so it’s very important to communicate accurate information, rather than positive information.

In essence, that is public relations: Communicate an accurate message or image to a targeted group of people. This can be done through a variety of different ways, which make up the variety of tactics a PR practitioner may use to get the message out. For example, these tactics can pitching the media as to why the story is important, writing a press release about an organization’s event, or tweeting about a new product. A PR professional’s day-to-day tasks vary greatly, but the tasks all boil down to generating a buzz and getting the word out to those who care. No matter what area of PR you work in (Consumer, B2B or non-profit) we’re all trying to do the same thing for an organization: Communicate what an organization has to say to those we think should hear it. An organization is like a person. It has a story and a personality. It has beliefs, values, a mission statement, goals and aspirations. An organization has successes and failures, perfections and mistakes, strengths and weaknesses. Public relations practitioners’ jobs are to communicate these traits to a group of people. When the organization does something good, PR spreads the word and helps rally support. Even when an organization does something unfavorable or makes a mistake, a good PR pro will be transparent and tell the public what will be done to right the wrongs.

As a PR professional, how do you explain your field to those around you? Even if you’re not in PR, how do you explain what you do as an accountant, a physician’s assistant, a graphic designer, or an environmental engineer? We should all be able to explain what we do for a living, because for most of us, it’s more than a living. It’s a passion and something that makes us tick. Its part of who we are not only as professionals, but as individuals.

So, as you’re visiting with family, friends, classmates, or someone you started a conversation with at the coffee shop over the holidays, be ready (and excited!) to tell them what you do.

It's All About the Experience

This small town girl has decided to continue gaining experience in Madison! Yes, I'm here to stay (for a couple more months), and I'm very excited to continue building my PR and communications knowledge. Through a lot of thinking, weighing options and self-reflection, I decided that gaining the experience with Hiebing in Madison would be fulfilling for me at this point in my life.

Gaining experience is extremely valuable in the PR industry, and I'm going to continue soaking in as much as I can for two reasons. First, the more PR experience I have, the more qualified I will be to perform more strategic tasks, which is ultimately where I hope to be. Having the knowledge, confidence, and power to make strategic choices for an organization makes a person become an advocate and leader. Advocacy and the power to do such is what will make a difference in this world, which is what many in the field, including myself, wish to do.

Secondly, not only do I want more PR experience so I can be more influential as an advocate, but I want life experience as well. Life is all about experiencing new and different things. If you don't have any new experiences, how can you learn and grow as a person? Yes, having a career or a job may be important, but having experiences that enriches your life are just as important, if not more. I have been learning the in's and out's of marketing, PR and agency work at Hiebing, as well as developing my strengths and overcoming my weaknesses. And Madison has also offered me many experiences that have helped me learn more about myself, and experiences that have made me enjoy every day.

People need to think about what truly gives them a sense of fulfillment. This requires time to stop and smell the roses, and a little bit of internal thinking. Having a highly respected job is great, but if you're not learning or its cutting into life, is it worth it? I've learned that experiences are key to learning, growing and enjoying a career and life. You just have to decide what's important to you and what you want to gain. Experience is needed to be an influential advocate in the world, but you can always be your own advocate for what you want in your life.

Well, isn't that nice?

As an PR intern, one has to do the "menial" jobs that the other PR pros don't really have time to deal with. Not that they don't want to, but they've got "bigger" jobs to do, such as planning an event for a client or coming up with a strategic way for a client to communicate with their target audience. More often than not, the Pros come up with the ideas and the methods behind the madness, and someone lower on the food chain is responsible to implement those ideas.

Well, luckily, I've had a lot of experience implementing the ideas and decisions of some truly brilliant people at Hiebing. Implementing has an actual code for billing time: 508. Some of the tasks I might bill under 508 are responding to Tweets, writing letters to contest winners, packaging up Wellness Kits for bloggers, and writing out thank you's to those who participated in a recent Twitter Party. I've really enjoyed performing these tasks, and there's something that I have picked up on about PR that a lot of people would miss unless they have done the jobs that I have. And that is: PR upholds the idea of "common courtesy" for an organization.

PR has the delightful task of managing and maintaining relationships. This includes the good and the bad, because we all know relationships aren't always perfect. But with a little common courtesy and doing the right thing, many problems can be fixed. And that can be a very fun, and rewarding job. Even being from a small town, common courtesy is definitely something that is lacking from the day-to-day life. If there's something that goes wrong and the target audience is upset, it's PR's job to make it right. This can usually be done by showing respect for the upset party and just showing some plain, old kindness. What a wonderful, fulfilling way to make a living, if you ask me.

So while it might be just code 508, or just taking care of business for others, PR pros really need to sit back and realize exactly what they are doing: just leading by example with a little care and concern for others. Who knows, maybe some of that kindness will rub off on others.

The SAHM State of Mind & the PR Profession

This week at lunch, the Hiebingites attended a Learning Luncheon, and something interesting came up as some food for thought. The notion of the SAHM -- the Stay-At-Home-Mom was just a brief mention in the presentation, but I found myself mulling it over. The "Stay-At-Home Mom" is a big target audience many different products and purposes, but the SAHM is becoming recognized as a state of mind, rather than a "profession". In a nutshell, some mom’s are choosing to stay at home, but they are doing "jobs" on the side. Ann from Hiebing said you hear it as, "I'm a stay-at-home mom, but I..." What may follow is, "but I am operating a small business on the side" or "I am head of the PTO" or "I am volunteering for a big fundraiser."

The stay-at-home mom being a "state of mind" was an eye-opening and thought-provoking piece of insight for me, as I plan on being a stay-at-home mom someday when my career is over. But this made me think, who says my career has to be over, just because I want to stay at home with my kids? I think this is an important concept for women entering the PR field who also dream of being moms. And not just having children, but mothering them. Yes, the PR world can be frantic and busy, (much like motherhood I would imagine). But being a SAHM does not mean you are restricted to the home. Pack the kids in the van and go to the park while you write your next best seller. In between writing, take a break and push the kids on the swings. It CAN be done.

SAHM as a state of mind may be a new way of thinking, but it has exsited for a long time. If one looks at women’s history, mothers were "working" outside of the home for decades. There were social and religious organizations, and other clubs and activites that were deemed “appropriate” for women. Well, these women were not just stay at homes moms. They were disussing politics, trying to advocate for change for thier families, and even coordinating a church bake sale, Even though these women did not have “careers,” these were jobs that they were doing. Words like "collaborating, "coordinating," "organizing," and "implementing" have been in women's vocabulary for generations. And now, this notion of what characterizes a SAHM has been changing for decades as more women are daring to think and step outside the box. I believe this is becoming increasingly relevant as more and more women are receiving an education and pursuing careers.

Growing up with my own SAHM, I've believed that I would have a job, and then be a mom, and that is it: A and then B. But the thought of having both A and B at the same time just never crossed my mind. Entering the professional realm has made me think about this lifestyles in a different way. And thanks to Ann's presentation, it made me think about new goals for myself, as well as encourage me to share my thoughts. Now, I am not saying all women should be like this. It is one's own choice. So young PR pro women, don’t be afraid to consider the SAHM option. Making an impact in PR world can be done while raising a loving family. It is, of course, just a state of mind.

The First Test

My first week in the PR world is over, as well as my first week of being an "adult." I already have a handful of knowledge and skills that will help me in the future as a profession, and as a "big girl."

The first week of a new job is never easy. Trying to adjust to the environment, the people, and the way things are done can be a little nerve racking. After this week of my internship, I’ve really had to rely on my past experiences and the skills I’ve learned in college. Already in the first week, I’ve gained so much knowledge that will help me in my further pursuits. I've heard how fast-paced the biz is, but I really had no grasp of exactly how busy it was. Jumping from one project to the next is the norm, and the day goes by in a whirlwind. But I am loving every second of it. This internship is already so different from any other experience I've ever had, and I will be better because of it.

Throw adjusting to “city life” into the mix, and I think I’ve come across the first test of my adult life. Madison is a gorgeous city with a lot to offer young people, families and even retirees. The hustle and bustle of the capitol only adds to the charm of the city. I’ve spent time meeting new people; forcing myself out of my shell in order to explore and experience Madison and all it has to offer.

So my first test for my first week in the PR world and the first time in the city…I have to say I have passed with flying colors. I am not intimidated and I’m welcoming the situations and challenges that are coming my way and will continue to test me. Being a PR intern in a city and overcoming the obstacles that hurdle at me is honestly what I’m looking forward to the most this summer. So this first test has told me a lot about myself and has made me realize something very important: I CAN rely on myself to get me through something, no matter what I’m doing or where I am. I can’t wait to see what else I can do this summer.