Reminder: Bring Your Camera

Whenever a PR or Social Media professional is out in the field on an assignment, there are many things one has to make sure they pack: media kits, extra press releases/advisories, business cards, etc... But don't forget your digital camera because you never know when you want to/need to snap a few photographs.

Digital photos are great for websites, Twitter, Facebook pages, to send to a news desk or to keep for the archives. And truth be told, most of our knowledge of taking a good quality photo ends with shoot-and-point (at least for the majority of us). So stopping short of taking a digital photography class, here's a link that gives a few tips on taking photos.

Tips: 5 Digital Camera Mistakes to Avoid

Top 100 PR Pros on Twitter

Liliana Dumitru-Steffens of the blog Everything PR put a list together of the top 100 professionals on Twitter. I'm currently only following a handful of these accounts, but it's a very good list of who's who. If you're not already following PR pros take a look at a few and start following. Sharing ideas is a great (and easy) way to stay on top of trends in the industry.

Twitter: Following @FakeAPStylebook

It's followed by over 150,000 people and listed well over 10,000 times on Twitter. It's funny, but even more so if you've studied the Associated Press' Stylebook. Meet @FakeAPStylebook.

As advertised in its name, @FakeAPStylebook is not a real account from the Associated Press. But the comedy is real and if you've ever been stuck flipping through the pages of the real AP Stylebook, you'll find the humor in these Tweets.

Some examples:

I'll put this disclaimer in... as with a lot of humor, @FakeAPStylebook can be vulgar, so beware if you decide to take a look. Enjoy.

LINK: Social Media - Hot New Career

While this Yahoo! article has elements that scream it's as much an advertisement as it is an actually article, it does profile six "breakout" careers. No. 1 on their list is "Social Media Strategist".

I do tend to agree that this field is becoming more popular, the author's description is pretty bad:

" Do you love Twitter? Why not get paid to tweet? Seriously! Social media strategists figure out optimal ways to get messages out to the masses using the latest community tools online. This involves blogging, tweeting, and using sites like Foursquare and Facebook to find and communicate with customers. "

What is the description missing? Just the small fact that "loving" Twitter, Facebook and FourSquare is simply not enough to qualify someone for this type of job. Being passionate about a career is very important, but experience is key. Whether it be in Public Relations or Marketing, the social media industry is becoming too complex to jump into without out experience in reaching out to customers/consumers/the public in more traditional terms.

If you want a career in social media, it's best to start from the bottom and work your way up. As in any career field, experience is often the best education. Without the knowledge and experience that education brings, jumping into a more advanced career is exceedingly difficult.

LINK: New Site Aims to Connect Reporters and Publicists

In an article published by the New York Times, journalist profiles a new social networking website called NewsBasis. The website aims to pair public relations professionals and journalists based on what is being pitched on the PR side and/or what resources journalists need for their stories.

As the article points out, there are some similarities to other websites/products that are already on the market, but there are some areas where NewsBasis stands out.

This is definitely something that can change the PR industry.

Link: Selling Social Media to the Boss

If you're like me and have immersed yourself in the social media revolution, you might not realize that some people are not buying into it. If you're in the public relations/marketing industry, that might be a problem if you believe social media can become a big advantage for your product.

SocialMediaExaminer.com takes a look at this potential problem and offers eight suggestions for overcoming this hurdle.

Aside from the suggestions, the biggest takeaway from this blog article is that it's easy to forget that not everyone has bought into social media and the positive effects it can have. It's OK for people not to necessarily jump into the social media universe, but as PR or marketing professionals who are, it's our responsibility to convince them.

Bad PR Move of the ...

The PR firm that has made the bad PR move of the moment is Reverb Communications. From Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog...

" A PR agency is in the news this week after agreeing to settle with the FTC over charges that its staff posed as members of the public to post fake reviews of video games developed by its clients. "

I'm sure this sounded better in a person's head or maybe for a split-second in meeting. But I'm amazed the decision to go through this made it's way up the corporate ladder and into practice.

Credibility is one of the most important qualities in public relations. Without it, trust is thrown out the window.

New Communications Careers

The last decade has seen an increase in communications-related careers and many of them are off-shoots, a combination of and/or hybrids of other more traditional jobs.

Monster.com listed five new communications industry jobs that didn't exist 10 years ago:

1. Bloggers research and write blog content for news websites, public and private corporations, government offices, and many other organizations with blogs.


2. Content managers develop strategies for creating, updating, and organizing Web content, typically with the goal of attracting new visitors.


3. Online political campaign managers develop and manage strategies for using Internet and social technologies to help politicians get elected.


4. Video journalists design and produce online videos that document information, news, and events.

The bottom line, if you're going to college to major in PR, Journalism or Mass Media, make sure you take classes in the other areas. Better yet, aim for a duel major in PR and Journalism.

Why? New communications careers require education and experience in multiple fields. Saddle up and learn all that you can.

LINK: Pitching to Bloggers

PR consultant Susan Young discussed what she believes are the eight best practices when pitching stories to bloggers. Overall, she presents pretty good suggestions that even seasoned PR professionals can read for a refresher.

My favorite/most relevant tip:

4. Observe for a while. Watch their conversations and who they engage with. Follow them. Retweet their messages, a nice form of flattery. You’ll soon be on their radar screen.

It's alwasy better know the journalist before pitching them. Knowing them means both have a previously formed relationship and have a good understanding what they write about and to whom their target/intended audience is.

Plain Dealer: Sports Public Relations

If you ever wanted proof that all publicity is not god publicity?

Cleveland sports columnist Bud Shaw of The Plain Dealer takes a look at the actions of LeBron James, Albert Haynesworth, Jim Gray and others and questions their motives of their weakest career moments. This column isn't likely to make the pages of the PRSA newsletter, but worth a chuckle or two.

However, I continue to wonder how diluted one's mind must be to do what these gentleman have done and then think  no wrong has even been done. Even after working in sports for a number of years, I still find this hard to comprehend.

Comment: Scott Van Pelt on ESPN's Sports Center

ESPN/Sports Center anchor Scott Van Pelt asked this question to ESPN's NBA Insider Chris Broussard when discussing the breaking news that NBA star LeBron James is planning to announce which team he will sign with on Thursday night on ESPN:

"In this age we live in - LeBron's now got a Twitter account, we tweet, we blog, we never stop churning out the news cycle. How likely will this [his news conference] remain a secret until Thursday at 9 EST?"

I think it was more a comment then a question. Either way, the answer is "Not very likely"

Does FIFA Like Bad PR?

As a sports fan and a public relation professional, I understand that sports governing bodies cannot always make the popular decision favored by the public because they are the ones who are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the sport and the game. And not just for today and tomorrow but for years to come.

That's why I was OK with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig not overturning Armando Galarraga "perfect game" that umpire Jim Joyce admitted that he made a mistake on the play which should have been the last out of the game.

But over the last two weeks, sports fans have been dealt a huge injustice over the way soccer's international governing body FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) has handled the poor on-field officiating by its referees.

American soccer fans were introduced to how bad soccer officials can be on the sports biggest stage on multiple occasions. And if the officiating mistakes stopped there during the 2010 World Cup, the argument against FIFA would end with the Americans just have bad luck.

But poor officiating through the majority of matches has ruined the World Cup this year and FIFA has done nothing but make matters worse.

LINK: Difference Between Social Media & Social Networking

Earlier this week on Forbes.com, Adrienne Graham (CEO & Founder of Empower Me! Corporation) blogged about how she defines the differences in what Social Media is and how that is different from what Social Networking is.

There is a difference between the two and I think she does a pretty good job at laying out what both are. Some times the two are grouped into the same category (and I have probably been guilty of that at some point, probably in a rush to explain something else) and knowing the differences are extremely important for any public relations professional.

Twitter: @ Vuvuzela Horn

Some Twitter genius created an account for the Vuvuzela Horn that is all the buzz at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The account (@thevuvuzelahorn) has gained over 2,250 followers in the 15 hours since it's first tweet. And predictably, all of its tweets are filled with "zzzzzz" to represent the buzz the Vuvuzela Horn makes.

A Vuvuzela Horn.

In case you do not know what the Vuvuzela Horn is, it's monotone trumpet that produces a buzzing sound and has become South African tradition for soccer games. And yes, some people find insistent sound annoying

Regardless of what the Vuvuzela Horn is, it's Twitter page illustrates how easy it is to gain attention on social media websites with little more then a few "zzzzzzz" 's. (The Vuvuzela Horn also has a facebook page, but as of this post it does not have a large following.)

Simple? Yes. Creative? Very much so.

While the Vuvuzela Horn Twitter page is creative and comical, the next question is: Besides garnering a few laughs, what else can be done?

Not knowing who created the Vuvuzela Horn account, I can't question their motives. However, if a corporation would have created this account (or particularly a World Cup sponsor) they would have been able to slap their logo on the page and receive a good amount of free advertising, marketing and attention.

So, can you create a Vuvuzela Horn-like Twitter account or Facebook page for your business?

Link + Video: Confrontation between PR guy and reporter gets weirdly physical

I don't know what to make of this video where an investigative TV news reporter comes uninvited to a San Fransisco hospital meeting and the Director of Communications (non-aggressively) touches the reporter on the shoulder.

Lesson 1) (Obviously) Always take a hands-off approach when dealing with a reporter you do not know

Lesson 2) Improve security so uninvited guests cannot make their way into a sensitive area

Lesson 3) Remember investigative reporters (or any reporter who pitches a story to the PR person) has some type of agenda and they don't have that story unless their premise is right. More so when the story is negative towards a brand, the reporter will have no limits to prove their story.