The Big Question: "To blog or not to blog"

(As usual, the un-edited version):

    Essays, speeches, exams, club meetings, a part-time job, a social life; with so much to worry about already as a college student, who in the world has time to blog?
    With blogging becoming a growing phenomenon, “to blog or not to blog” has been the question on many public relations and journalism students' minds.
    Bryan Blaise, Senior Account Executive at Fleishman Hillard International Communications advocates student blogging because it gives individuals “a chance to practice one of the most essential skills you will use day in and day out, while becoming an expert on a specific topic”.
    “Fantastic writers, like prima ballerinas or star quarterbacks, are made, not born,” Blaise said, “A natural talent for writing is only improved through continual practice, and with today’s ease and accessibility to blogs, there’s no reason for a young PR or journalism student not to blog.”
    Aside from improving upon one’s written communication skills, blogging proves to be an indicator to potential employers that a person is participating in new media. Dr. Robert Stewart, the associate director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, believes that the only reason a student should not blog is if they want to risk not having a job.
    “I’ve heard more that one person in the industry say that they’ll ask about blogs when hiring because they automatically assume you blog,” Stewart said, “Employers in the industry want to hire people who are participating and can function in the Web 2.0 world.”
    Although Stewart advocated the obvious benefits of this new art to the incoming journalism school freshmen, less than 30% actually took the advice.
    “Blogging isn’t for everyone. There’s an art, science and dedication required, and many people won’t commit to that,” Blaise said, “The opportunity is there for everyone to blog, but doing so half-heartedly or without purpose or strategy will do more harm than good.”
    M.J. Clark, Communications and Leadership Consultant at M.J. Clark Communications, agrees that “it does you more harm to start a blog if you don’t keep up with it”.
    “Blogging is great if you consistently update it; if you don’t, you’re creating your own negative PR for your own personal brand,” Clark said, “It’s something that really needs to be thought out. If you’re not a blogger and think it’s not something you can keep up with or something you’re passionate about, it does you more harm.”
    Stewart, on the other hand, believes that although there is some risk involved, “there is way more risk in not doing it”.
    “If you have a talent, you do things with it,” Stewart said, “Employers don’t want to hire people who bury their talents.”
    A common fear students have about blogging is that a mistake or a sentence that is not in a potential employer’s style of choice will cause that potential employer to look the other way.
    “College is about getting mistakes out of your system. It’s better to learn lessons as a college student than to have to start trying to learn at a job and making mistakes there,” Stewart said, “Also, no one is expecting blogs to be in AP style. Newspaper bloggers don’t follow AP style and sometimes even write in first person.”
    Blog writing is actually more conversational and more personal, according to Andrew Revkin, a reporter for the New York Times.
    “[Blogging is] a journey towards understanding,” Revkin said, “I don’t know what’s going on; I know some people who have a decent idea, but they could be wrong, too. So why not come along on the ride?”
    Many students argue that they simply have nothing to write about, but the reality is that there are an endless amount of “blog-able” topics.
    “Blogs are a chance to communicate your perspective on just about anything you want,” Blaise said, “I would encourage young professionals to blog about topics or situations relevant to [their] desired career goals.”
    Although Blaise suggests that students steer clear of topics such as “the latest Gossip Girl episode or your newest pair of Manalos”, he does agree that a blog does not have to read like a textbook.
    “Communications can be found in almost anything, so if you’re set on having a fashion or sports blog, consider blogging about the communications activities of companies within that industry*,” Blaise said.
    Another common misconception students have is that they do not know enough about the industry to blog.
    “I have actually learned a lot from students. If you have confidence then you should know that your opinion matters and people in the industry may know a whole lot less than what you know right now about new media,” Clark said, “Students have an insight and need to know that they have a worthy contribution.”
    If not done passionately or with good intent, blogging may prove to be destructive; however, if done with thought, maintaining a blog can offer benefits to students that students of “older media” could have never enjoyed in the past.
    “Every post, Tweet, or wall comment is a testament of your personal brand, and you can not be flippant about what, where, and how you communicate online,” Blaise said, “However, experience in the strategic application of new media is a major asset that new professionals can bring to the table and set themselves up for quick and great success.”


*Bryan Blaise is the author of www.fhoutfront.com, where they cover a wide array of people, companies, and issues all through the lens of communications about and to the LGBT community.

"What PR is...not"

The un-rated (i.e. edited) version:

    Ari Gold: he gets thousand dollar hair cuts while some poor kid holds his phone to his ear, he pays two grand to take his clients to Lakers’ games, he yells at whoever he wants, whenever he wants (usually getting whatever he wants), and he goes through more personal assistants than bottles of Ax body spray. More importantly, Ari, the beloved publicist of Vincent Chase in the HBO series Entourage, lies, cheats, blackmails, spins stories, and, inventively, paints the inaccurate picture that many outside of the field have of the Public Relations business.
    Although students and professionals in the Public Relations field know that fictional characters such as Ari Gold represent the extreme side of a typical stereotype of the business, it is not uncommon for friends, relatives, and the general public to believe otherwise.
    “Public Relations is not just what you see on television. It’s not all about promoting celebrities, and even for those who do, it’s a very small segment,” Professor Michelle Honald said, “Also, it’s not about being an ‘evil genius’; spinning is not a part of PR.”
    Rather than “spinning” problems, which is a mechanism used to react to a problem, Honald believes that Public Relations is about being proactive, or “stopping problems before they start”. Also, contrary to popular belief, honesty is the number one rule in PR.
    “One of the most important ideas in PR is transparency: being clear and not trying to hide things,” Honald said, “This field is not about hiding the bad, it’s about acknowledging problems.”
    Danny Brown, owner of Press Release PR* and founder of the 12for12K Challenge**, agrees that a common misconception about those in this field is that “every PR person is akin to a snake-oil salesman and will say anything to get the dollar”.
    “It's true there are some shillers in the industry, but you get that anywhere,” Brown said, “thankfully there are great people making a difference and ‘cleaning up’ the industry and its perception.”
    Another common myth is that PR is all about the “glitz and the glamour”.
    “[In actuality] there's a lot of ‘boring’ work behind the scenes such as research for press releases, contact info, and legal clearance before a story or pitch can become live,” Brown said.
    Faded ideas such as those that surround the 1800’s “press agentry” also leave “outsiders” in the dark when it comes to what kind of work a PR professional actually does.
    “Most people think that PR is all about publicity when really, there is so much more that goes into it,” Honald said, “PR involves everything from community and internal relations, to event planning and communicating messages.”
    In Public Relations, misconception is the name of the game; those not in PR often confuse the field with others, such as marketing and advertising. Brown agrees that these fields are very similar, but there are some key differences.
    “With advertising, for example, if you pay for an ad to be shown, you're guaranteed that it'll be seen by your target audience; with PR, you're hoping that it'll be seen, but a lot has to do with relevance of story, timing, and media [among other things],” Brown said.
    When it comes to marketing, the difference is found in the publics. Marketing is a “sales and distribution function whose principal publics are the customers, retailers, and distributors” while public relations practice “involves many publics besides the customers” such as the media, employees, community leaders, government regulators, activist groups, and more (Public Relations: The Profession and the Practice, 2004).
   Finally, a fallacy that Brown comes across regularly is that PR will get a business all the sales it needs: that PR is a “magic brush that will get your name in all the major newspapers and TV shows”.
    “PR represents an opportunity to tell your story, but that story needs to be worth telling in the first place, and people need to be receptive to it. Get that combination and then you've got the chance to get some major eyeballs looking at you,” Brown said, “but a lot of it is luck, combined with hard work and knowledge.”
    Oh yeah, and a little bit of honesty, too.


*Press Release PR is a boutique agency offering social media PR and marketing consultancy to both small-to-medium businesses and Fortune 500 clients. For more information visit http://pressreleasepr.com/
**The 12 for 12,000 Challenge is the combination of social media and fund-raising that aims to change the lives of millions worldwide. For more info visit http://12for12k.org.

My First PRSuccess Story

Twitter, Facebook, Typepad, LinkedIn: with so many ways to connect being thrown into the world of Public Relations, it’s enough to make any PR major’s head spin.
However, PR students need not be afraid. Although some may choose to focus their studies on all aspects of Social Media, many PR students will find that in their personal affairs, in their future careers, and in most major companies, utilizing one or two methods of Social Media is the most beneficial.
PRSSA President, Paul Matson, prides himself on the time he spends going through new Social Media sources, researching what’s being used, and trying to find new, effective trends in the Social Media world. Matson agrees that focusing on one or two of the many means is a smart choice.
“Just because you have a message, you don’t have to use every social media outlet,” Matson said, “if you want to put something in media, you need to figure out what will reach your audience.”
For Ohio’s PRSSA chapter, two mediums are utilized that Matson feels are the most efficient in reaching the local college-age chapter, as well as other PRSSA chapters. According to Matson, most PRSSA information is sent out through Twitter and the blog, http://www.ohiouprssa.org/, because they are the “easiest to update”.
When engaging in Social Media, individuals and companies alike must realize that not all outlets are for everyone. For example, Matt Dickman, VP of Digital Marketing for Fleishman-Hillard of Cleveland, Ohio, stresses that “not everybody should blog”.
“For some companies, blogging would be a terrible idea; they would have absolutely nothing to blog about,” Dickman said.
Although blogging may not be for everyone, it is evident that Social Media of some sort can benefit any and every company. Not all organizations, however, are ready to accept Social Media as a part of everyday life.
“People don’t take the time to understand [Social Media] because they’re not use to it,” Matson said, “The older a company is, the more they’re going to try to resist. We are threatening because we are really the first digital generation”.
Many companies are afraid to engage in certain Social Media mediums because many give anyone the chance to give comments about a company, product, or person. According to both Matson and Dickman, however, the fear of “citizen journalism” is a pointless one because “the discussion is going on whether you are there or not”.
“Good or bad, information spreads quickly,” Dickman said.
“They don’t call it viral for nothing”.