• The New News Landscape: Rise of the Internet – Pew Research Center – Though this is nothing new, Pew provides great data about the way we get our news. I particularly enjoyed the mobile and social media sections. Either way, the report is worth reading.
• Higher Education vs. Real-World Experience in PR – Considering grad school? You might want to read this perspective before giving up on the job search.
• A special report on managing information: Data, data everywhere | The Economist – If you work in social media analysis, read this. It’s a fascinating perspective on what’s going on in the data management field (public relations is part of this).
• A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Ethical Issues at Work – This is a great read for any new profession or intern out there. It’s easy on paper, but I’m sure these situations are more challenging in the real world. Nonetheless, this is a good resource to be familiar with.
• Comparing Social Media Monitoring Platforms on Sentiment Analysis about Social Media Week NYC 10 – This piece is a good look at the state of sentiment analysis for several social media monitoring platforms. I wonder what is actually being measured.. the post as a whole, individual words, conversation around different topics. The point is sentiment is a very difficult thing to measure, even for a human.
• ‘Millennials’ More Pro-Government Than Older Americans – Pew published some fantastic research on us “Millennials” and it’s great. I love Pew and what they do, but this data truly is great and I highly recommend skimming through the report.
• A Pitching Lesson – This is a great list on things not to do. Sure, we’ve heard a lot of these before from different voices, but the advice is golden and a good reminder for those new and seasoned in the profession.

Without further ado, here are five reasons students should not be using social media:

1. Don’t use social media if you see it solely as an opportunity for shameless self-promotion. Trust me when I say you’re not making any friends if the only thing you post on Twitter or Facebook is links to your blog posts, announcing who you’ve met and other content that generally inflates your ego. Self-promotion needs to be done very carefully and strategically. I recommend focusing on building relationships with those you meet and adhere to the 70/30 rule: share 70 percent content from others and around 30 percent of your own.
2. Don’t use social media if you only want to complain, talk about what you’re eating or hate on everything. “Ugh, I HATE my professor!” “OMG, FML. I have a paper due tomorrow and I haven’t started .” If this is you and if you see a lot of it in your stream, avoid it. Sure, it’s OK to be human and complain, but no one likes a Negative Nancy. Think before you post and you’ll thank yourself later.
3. Don’t use social media to talk about how drunk you are. If you want to post how drunk you are on Facebook… don’t. If you want to post on Twitter how many shots you’ve had… don’t. Honestly, it’s just not worth it. Even if you’re 21, it overall reflects poorly on your character and might offend those in your network.
4. Don’t use social media to replace offline networking. This is my biggest pet peeve. Social media absolutely does not replace the value of in-person networking. Make sure to stay active in associations and go to conferences–that’s where you meet people.
5. Don’t use social media for the sole purpose of getting a job. You can tell who’s using social media to get a job and who’s using social media for its real purpose. I think it’s great to participate in #HAPPO and #PRStudChat, but once those chats are over, try to avoid constantly advertising yourself as a job seeker.

Looking at what I’ve written above, it makes me sound like a social media elitist. And I’m not. I think social media is a great place for you to show your genuine personality and to build relationships with others. These are things that will not help you do that. In fact, you’ll probably be ignored and unfollowed if these are the only things you use social media for. All in all, just be smart and use your best judgment.

So, what do you use social media for? Anyone have any interesting perspectives they would like to share?

Photo by woodleywonderworks on Flickr.

Even though our session was only 45 minutes, I could tell Amber could lead a conversation about measurement for hours. In mostly Amber’s words, here are some of her tips:

• It’s critical to set measurable objectives. Your objectives should relate to reputation, awareness, money, engagement, education and entertainment. Find out what’s measurable for these subjects and get to work.
• Start with benchmarking. It’s easy to set a goal or objective, but it’s important to have an understanding where you are at this second before setting goals.
• The ultimate metric is how much money you make through business efforts. The best digital efforts are the ones who are actually making money through online strategies. Remember to be strategic and not just hop on the tactics bandwagon.
• ROI is only one measurement. Executives are looking to see if their investments are worth it, but there may be more to the picture than just measuring ROI. I came in to this session thinking that it’s all about ROI. Amber told me no. I believe her. What comes after ROI isn’t totally clear and you need to guide the measurement beyond just ROI.
• You should always be learning something new through measurement. You can easily get lost on mounds of data, but if you’re not analyzing what’s being said about your company, you’re missing a huge opportunity to engage your community.
• Sentiment is a good guide, but a bad metric. It’s important to understand sentiment in posts but quantifying other things is more important.

Below is the slide show, courtesy of Radian6’s Slideshare page:

Overall, I really enjoyed the presentation. Amber is wicked smart and she made us think big in terms of how we can apply these measurement standards in social media. However, I left with more questions than answers. I suppose that’s both good and bad. I know I have a lot to learn on the subject, but it is so subjective.

How can you learn more about measurement? Any practical advice out there?

]]> http://www.pr-start.com/2010/02/20/measuring-and-analyzing-social-media/feed/ 6 http://www.pr-start.com/2010/02/14/get-in-the-loop-keynote-recap/ http://www.pr-start.com/2010/02/14/get-in-the-loop-keynote-recap/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:05:19 +0000 nicklucido http://www.pr-start.com/?p=982 I’d be lying to you if I said I went to Chicago this weekend just for a conference. I’ve been itching to get back since I left last August, and since DePaul PRSSA was hosting Chicago PR: Get in the Loop, I figured it was the perfect time to come back.

Overall, I’m extremely impressed with the conference. DePaul has been emerging as a strong Chapter for the past several years thanks to strong leadership, and their conferences prove to be beneficial and insightful for any pre-professional. The next several posts on this blog will be recapping the event and sharing some of the key takeaways from the conference.

Get in the Loop kicked off with a keynote address from Susan Howe, Weber Shandwick’s Chicago president. Susan discussed five things in the indsutry every PR student should be aware of. Here they are:

1. Myriad specialty practices, many PR careers. Susan talked about how the industry has evolved past the traditional PR career. Now, campaigns have many components with even more specialists that develop digital advocacy, campaigns, nonprofit outreach, health alliances, endorsements, ads and more. PR is a place to develop your passions because the opportunities are numerous in terms of career paths.
2. Career experts bullish on PR. Even though the economy is still recovering, Susan aggregated some career data and discussed how PR is a field that is expected to grow through 2018, which means more jobs. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this comes true, and I am confident it will.
3. PR is inline storytelling. This discussion on the changing media landscape was my favorite part. Instead of PR communicating through journalists who tell a story to the masses, PR is now about how a company directly reaches its stakeholders. Susan said these new media have four principles: participation, communication, collaboration and connection. I believe these four principles must all be working together, or they don’t work at all.
4. It’s a brave new world. In addition to telling their own story, brands are trying to communicate their value and their values. People are still in a recession mindset and saving money is still on top of peoples’ minds. Moreover, people want to see companies who care about being a good global citizen, which is something my employer provides research on to make the case. Additionally, Susan discussed when opportunity knocks, it’s PR that must be ready to take advantage of it.
5. Be your own best advocate. By having a winnable outcome and with the right insights, you can be a powerful advocate for yourself and your client. Susan also added that in terms of advancing your career, PR professionals who can show creativity and strategic thinking are more likely to move ahead.

The presentation left me with a lot to think about in my own career. For those that were there, what did you think of the keynote. If you weren’t there, do you agree with Susan’s thoughts?

• Chicago PR: Get in the Loop hosted by DePaul PRSSA. I’ve been itching to get back to Chicago for a while now, and what better time to schedule a trip when there is a conference. There is a star-studded program featuring some fantastic speakers and sessions. I’m looking forward to kicking back and enjoying this one, as well as reconnecting with some great students and Edelman colleagues.
• A PR Affair hosted by California University of Pennsylvania. This conference is focused on student-run firms and I’ll be speaking at this event on the topic. Since this is a huge part of my duties for the PRSSA National Committee, I’m excited to share my knowledge on firms and hope to help attendees start or improve their own firms.
• Expanding Your PR Horizons hosted by Michigan State University. Besides a quick update on happenings within PRSSA from a national standpoint, I get to enjoy this one, too. Scott Monty from Ford is keynoting this event, there are speakers coming to this event from around the country. Even better: registration is still open.
• PRSSA National Assembly in Austin. While I love National Conference, Assembly is a more intimate setting with fewer members than Conference and a leadership theme throughout the event. I love connecting with PRSSA members around the country and learning from them and their Chapters.

Will you be at any of these events? Let me know — I’d love to meet up.

Author’s note: A PR Affair has been rescheduled and unfortunately, it intersects with my travel plans for the PRSSA Assembly. Check out the rest of the conference; the deadline to register is May 5 and it should be a great program.

• Toyota Recall: A PR Crisis? – It’s good to see another side of this story. Truth be told. I’m sure the numbers will show this is a serious crisis for the company. However, what are they doing wrong? What are they doing right? I’m planning to write more on this as my media relations course discusses this.
• Practical Social Media Measurement: Awareness, Attention, Reach – You’re not supposed to be able to have access to this kind of information for free. Amber’s recent posts on practical social media measurement provide a wealth of information ofor how any kind of company can measure social media efforts. Nice work, Amber.
• On Company Loyalty | The Creative Career – If you’re looking to work on the agency side of public relations, I highly recommend checking out this piece. I particularly like Allie’s comment about agency hopping for short term gain, but ultimately, it’s a long term loss. There are plenty of great thoughts here.
• How to Face Your Critics – Another brilliant piece from Harvard Business. While it’s Obama, I think anyone in any kind of leadership role needs to read this article.
• Criticizing Companies in Blog Posts Always Backfires – There are two sides to the argument here, but I’m leaning towards what Ari has to say. While disagreeing against what corporations are doing might seem fun and easy, and with a large following you can get away with it, but saying Audi supports the Nazis is a big stretch. It’s an interesting discussion, nonetheless.
• Unengaged: How Gen Y is Failing the University System – This post just plain rocks. I know there’s a lot of criticism out there from folks to preach the Internet and how it’s revolutionizing everything, including the university system. I agree with Ellen on all points and I think students can do a much better job making the most of their college experience.
• Top 100 PR Blogs: January 2010 – Cool list of the top PR blogs out there. It’s not just cool because I’m on there, but it’s a great way to add some new, fresh faces to my reader. I recommend you do the same.
• Edelman Trust Barometer 2010 – A New Mandate for Business – Richard Edelman sums up the 2010 Trust Barometer’s findings. Last year was a pretty interesting time for the barometer as trust was way down in the ditches. It appears trust is somewhat correlated to the economy’s stability, but that is meant for another study. As a disclosure, I work for Edelman.
• Blogger Outreach: From the Blogger’s Eyes – If you’re a beginner with blogger relations, this is a good article to help you get started and see the importance of crafting solid pitches.

Let’s be honest: there are a million job search tools and guides out there for new grads and those looking to break into the entry level job market. I’ve read a lot, found some of these valuable and recommend even fewer. #ENTRYLEVELtweet is one that I highly recommend for a lot of reasons.

• It’s short. We all have a lot going on and professional development is something that often gets put off. However, I finished this “book” in around a half hour and found the information to be clear, concise and directly applicable to my own career. If you’re looking to get a ton of advice in a short read, this is your book.
• It gives actionable advice. Career advice is something a lot of people can give (me inlcluded), but when I read anything, I look for actionable advice. I want to read stuff that makes me want to jump out of my seat and go get something done. This book is actionable, even though the advice is in 140 characters or less.
• It’s comprehensive. Along with the book being short, it gives you a holistic perspective on the entire job application process. Normally, these books lose me by the second chapter, but because everything in here made sense, I was able to think about my own career. Also, I am in the process of using the book as a checklist for my “career toolbox” and I am finding new ways to prepare for my career.
• It’s personal. Perhaps this is my favorite reason why I enjoyed the book. A lot of books are like cheerleaders pumping you up to join the corporate world and get lost on the way. #EntrylevelTweet focuses on the reader and encourages you to walk along your own path.

As a quick preview, here’s my favorite tweet on rejecting a job offer: “State that you did not come by this decision lightly and mention a couple of specific reasons for saying “no” if pressed.” Even in a book written in 140 character segments, it’s a guide that covers everything, and I mean everything, related to job searching, starting your job and everything in between.

The book can be purchased on Amazon or on Happy About (the publisher) for less than $20, and I guarantee you’ll use it as a reference during your own job search.

A company producing an incredibly important product charges its users for that product? What?! Blasphemy!

Sure, the Internet is full of information. Most of it is free. Some of it is worthwhile. A very small fraction of it is of professional quality and full of intellectual insights. So while it’s easy to condemn the New York Times for instituting a pay wall, it’s important to put the situation in the right perspective: The NYT is a company producing a product to sell to consumers, and this product is essential for people to make decisions and be informed. Information is a product. In every other industry, you have to pay for products; heck, a lot of us will pay more for better products. So, why all the brouhaha about a [hopefully] small fee for a quality product? Are we entitled to information?

The concept of free flowing information is Google’s idea of a utopia; the search behemoth promotes the content, yet Google is raking in the profits while newspapers aren’t able to keep up with it. It isn’t Google’s fault that the newspapers aren’t able to make money from this, but it leaves newspapers with tough decisions. How can they make money from their product that, compared to the rest of the market, is worth nothing? So, insert the New York Times in 2011…

There has been a lot of mixed opinions on this decision to institute a metered model. It’s not a revolutionary answer to problems with monetizing their Web site, but I think it’s a step in the right direction for the newspaper. After all, it’s the largest newspaper Web site out there with more than 18 million different people visiting the site in a month. I’m sure the pay wall will have a negative impact on these numbers, but as other newspaper Web sites begin charging for content (and they will), people will see the value of the product. The company still has a long way to go in order to create a sustainable business model in this digital era, but I’m with them for now.

News is all over the place, but relevant, balanced and intelligent news reporting is hard to come by these days. Newsrooms are shrinking and along with it, the quality of journalism is, too. I’m willing to spare a few extra dollars to support quality journalism. In a democratic country, we should be jumping at the chance to support those who fuel democracy.

Will you pay for the New York Times? How about other online content? Why or why not?

Photo by paalia on Flickr.

Like many people, I’ve been reading a few articles here and there surrounding NBC’s decision to replace Conan O’Brien (or Coco, for those who are particularly close to his show). While Conan may not have been bringing in the ratings NBC was looking for, it appears the influence value Conan brings to the table is far greater than strictly traditional television ratings. To me, this is another example of incorrectly applying traditional measurement techniques in order to measure success.

It’s a little late to take back all the legal issues and settlements. However, some important lessons were learned. Besides never making a comedian mad, NBC [hopefully] learned never to miss out on a huge opportunity with community. A colleague, Rebecca Denison, asked on her blog how to quantify the measure of influence. It appears that Conan wasn’t big on TV ratings, yet he leads an enormous groundswell online. Instead of giving up, NBC should have found another way to capture Conan’s community. With a few witty tactics, Conan single-handedly armed millions of people against the network. He could have done the same, but instead arming millions of people to support NBC.

Where is Conan’s blog? Is he on Twitter? Does he have a YouTube channel? It appears Conan was not part of the groundswell until after NBC was talking about getting rid of him. In looking over the POST model from Groundswell, NBC broke the first part. P – People. Conan is popular among 18-34 year-olds. This demographic is active on social networks, yet the Tonight Show isn’t. It was only a matter of time before someone harnessed the power of this groundswell; Conan managed to after NBC wanted to get rid of him. Even though Conan is out of a job, guess who lost a lot of loyal stakeholders?

Even so, Conan is still out of NBC. I think it’s best to cite “irreconcilable differences” for this divorce. So, what’s next for Conan? I just read a piece in the New York Times recommending Conan skip the time slots and make the Internet his time slot. If I had to guess, I think Conan will continue to harness this groundswell online. Whether he joins another network is up in the year, but his Internet presence is here to stay.

So, until NBC figures out what they’re doing, I’m with Coco. I wish him the best of luck with his $30 million and his next oppounity online. Are you with Coco?

Original photo with more “I’m With Coco” swag can be found here.

I wrote a post last year about an ad agency intern who quit her internship because she was having a bad experience. While a lot of us have a lot of advice on this, I want to expound on one particular idea. I believe that you and mostly you can make or break your internship. The salary, hours, atmosphere and coworkers all contribute to your internship experience, but it is you who decides if you have a good or bad experience.

While some things are beyond your capability of changing, there are things you can control at work. It usually starts not just with your skills, but your mindset. Here are three attributes of people who make their internship:

1. They are proactive. An intern who is constantly seeking new projects, feedback and opportunities to jump in on projects is proactive in all sense of the word. Think of what your level of work is currently, take out some of your daily free time and add in more projects with different colleagues.
2. They are punctual. Show up early, leave late, make deadlines and follow through with what you say you will do. Easy enough, right? It’s easy to take on too much, and to gain the respect of your coworkers, know your limit and propose a way to get everything done.
3. They are positive. No one likes a Debbie Downer. Leave your personal life at home and come to work with a positive and eager attitude. Sure, you can overdo it, so make sure you’re listening and be a sponge to your environment. If your coworkers like you and you fit in, you are much more likely to get a lot out of that experience.

If you try to work on the above areas and still feel you are coming up short, think of that particular experience as an important career challenge. In that position, you haven’t been able to grow and learn enough to continue with that company or industry, so look for the next challenge. Each experience will help prime you for what’s next, so be sure to treat every opportunity as a learning experience.

What do you think? How else can you make the most out of a negative experience?