There has been a slew of articles and posts lately about unpaid internships, and it appears this topic is only snowballing. On Friday, there was a thoughtful article in the New York Times questioning whether the growth of unpaid internships in the past few years has been legal. It’s a discussion that has been occurring more frequently, especially within the public relations industry.

To fully disclose, I’m not a fan of unpaid internships and wish there were more paid opportunities for students, though I know some companies just can’t make an extra paycheck happen. I have not worked in an unpaid internship. Like the businesses I’ve worked for, I have tuition (which has been increasing since I arrived on campus) and rent to pay.

This section of the article is what I read several times over:

“Ms. Leppink said many employers failed to pay even though their internships did not comply with the six federal legal criteria that must be satisfied for internships to be unpaid. Among those criteria are that the internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, that the intern does not displace regular paid workers and that the employer “derives no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities — in other words, it’s largely a benevolent contribution to the intern.”

While I’ve read a couple of posts (Bill Sledzik and Heather Huhman come to mind as authors of this subject), this article reinforced my thoughts about how this directly impacts the public relations industry.

First, hundreds of agencies across the country utilize unpaid internships and many of these internships are essential to the business. However, if that unpaid intern is billed to clients for their hours work, is this illegal? The law appears to enforce this assertion. If this is true, this will have a huge impact on how many agencies run their business. Unfortunately, now isn’t a good time for this discussion to be happening. The recession hasn’t treated small shops well and I know many agencies have had to cut staff and benefits. By the way, many paid internships are among the victims of the recession.

Second, I wonder how this will impact public relations. How will the industry respond? Will this increase the number of paid internships? Reduce the number of unpaid internships? Will the quality of unpaid internships decrease? Right now, the answers to these questions are guesses at best. I think this topic will be discussed in the coming months.

My thought is that if this law is enforced, the quality of agency internships will decrease. If an unpaid intern can’t work on anything billable, interns will have to go back to fetching coffee and making copies. I find it hard to believe that every single unpaid internship out there now will immediately become a paid position. With more competition to find paid internships, this will then translate to a less prepared entry level.

So, should this law be enforced? It’s a tough question that’s part of an even larger discussion. The most important part of the discussion will be the task of trying to provide students with the right learning opportunities, yet making sure the right kind of compensation is returned. I know there are agencies out there who need the extra help and enjoy providing students the opportunity to learn, but should they be punished for their efforts?

What are your thoughts? Do you think this will have an impact on the public relations industry?

Photo by dborman2 on Flickr.

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.

Lately, I’ve been looking for some alternative ways to lighten up my reading load without losing pace on keeping up on news and trends. It’s finals season at MSU and I’ve been reading (and rereading) a lot lately, and I’ve found a nice break in podcasts. For starters, most are free (every podcast on my list is free). Also, the shows are portable if you have an iPod; just subscribe to the shows of your choice through iTunes and download the shows daily.

Here are my five recommended podcasts:

1. New York Times: Front Page. Read by James Barron, this podcast is a daily sample of the items discussed on the front page of the New York Times. It’s a nice way to start the morning and to hear a little bit about what’s going on in the world.
2. NPR: Talk of the Nation.  In contrast to the above NYT podcast, Talk of the Nation is more a more in-depth analysis of issues facing the country. I think this is a great compliment to academic studies because the conversations here are very thoughtful and I’ve noticed some things I learn in class, especially relating to economics and political science, are discussed here.
3. PRSA Conference podcasts. By now, you know the PRSA and PRSSA Conferences are great. If you missed it, or if you were there and missed some of these sessions, these podcasts are great professional development opportunities.
4. The Creative Career. Allie interviews authors and professionals who discuss their careers and give advice for young professionals. This podcast is very helpful and something we all can relate to.
5. Buzz Out Loud. Have you ever wanted a talk show about technology? I know I have. BOL is a great recap of the day’s news on everything relating to technology, the Internet and social media. Each episode is a bit lengthy, but it’s good background noise or exercise entertainment.
6. New York Times: The Ethicist. I love this show. It’s helpful in understanding daily ethical dilemmas we face, but also quite entertaining, too. Read by Randy Cohen, he answers questions from readers about how to resolve situations the ethical way. If you think Randy Cohen is as cool as I do, check out his blog.

What are your favorite podcasts? Anything to add?

As if the ad industry hasn’t seen enough bad news lately, a new study found that two-thirds of Americans polled don’t agree with advertisers tracking their online habits. Here are some of the key takeaways from the research (as reported by the New York Times):

• 66 percent of Americans believe tailored ads are “not OK”
• 7 percent said such ads are not OK when they are tracked on a site
• 18 percent said ads are not OK when they are tracked by another site
• 20 percent said it is not OK to be tracked offline

In addition to the bad news for advertising, the research showed that 51 percent said tailored discounts are OK and 58 percent think customized news is OK. The article then went on to discuss several forms of online privacy legislation that could be introduced soon.

So, to sum up the research, Americans don’t want to to be tracked online for data purposes, yet a majority still want free stuff and tailored news. It doesn’t make much sense to me, mostly because I’m looking at it through a marketing eye and know that online content isn’t even sustainable with this kind of advertising, let alone advertising that is not tailored. This research is interesting because younger generations seem to have a more liberal perception of online privacy, while older generations are cautious with anything out there. No matter what, it seems this is just the beginning of the age of anti-advertising and it probably will be around for a while.

People have always wanted stuff for free and the Internet conceptualized people’s wildest imaginations in terms of information access. However, we’ve become so used to free that it will be hard to wean off, especially since the imminent rise of paid content and the limited access Web is beginning to emerge.

In terms of the legislation, it’s bad news for news outlets if it passes. Even though the industry is trying to self-regulate, the research shows people are more concerned about the idea of being tracked online. While many Web sites like the Times itself are free, this will probably have a negative effect on online ad sales. The free Internet model will once again come into question and unfortunately, it will most likely make Rupert Murdoch look really smart.

So, what’s next? Where will advertising turn next in the age of anti-advertising? How does this impact public relations?

Photo by Alejandrooo on Flickr.

For someone just entering the social media sphere, like many of my friends and colleagues at MSU and PRSSA, there’s a couple of important things to remember. While there are many cool things about sharing content on Twitter and other social networks, it’s easy to make mistakes, too.

One of my favorite bloggers and colleagues is Shannon Paul. Not only did she write a great post on how not to be that guy in social media and did a presentation on it, too. Here’s the Slideshare version:

I’ve come up with some tips and reminders for the younger crowd on how to participate. I think many of us do know how to participate, but there’s some preventable errors we all make. Check out this list:

Consistency is key

As part of branding yourself, it’s important to be consistent. This doesn’t only apply to keywords, titles and social networking user names, but it also applies to your personality throughout the Web. Primarily, this is concerned with our wacky college lifestyle and how professionals use social networks. The biggest thing I’ve run into is my Facebook “personality” versus the “personality” I show on Twitter, LinkedIn and my blog. So, you have two options: keep Facebook for social uses, or add it to your list of general networking tools. I went with the latter. This article sums up Facebook use pretty well.

When is it OK to tweet?

Sharing information is one of the best things about social media, but it can get you into trouble. If you caught the story about an agency employee posting a negative tweet regarding the city where their client is located, it’s a perfect example about posting the wrong thing at the wrong time. The recap is here. It’s good to have a personality online, but make sure that when you’re sarcastic or joking around, people won’t always take it as a joke.

Also, especially as an intern or entry-level employee, it’s important to make sure you should not be revealing or announcing any client information that should not be revealed. If you let any detail slip, it might ruin your media or audience outreach strategy. Whenever you post something about your client online, make sure it’s OK with your supervisor.

Share

When anyone asks me why I’m on Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc., I say that I like reading and finding new information.. basically, a news junkie. And that’s the beauty of the Internet – you’re able to find all the information you’ll ever need. But remember, share other information more than you share your own content. You’ll quickly find out how soon you lose credibility if you shamelessly self promote yourself all day long.

Disclosure

As interns, it’s cool to share the projects you’re working on with your fans. But just because you are an intern doesn’t mean you don’t have to disclosure your affiliation with the client. Frankly, it’s not ethical when you fail to disclose the relationship. Be honest and upfront when you’re working on a client project and make sure that you’re not getting your company into trouble.

Networking – old school style

As a student, you’re probably using social media to build your network and learn. I know I am. Make sure that while you’re building your network online, you’re doing it in the right way. Remember that relationships are built through conversation and helping others out. These same principles apply online, too. For some tips on how to take this network offline, I wrote a guest post on Rachel Esterline’s blog about the importance of an offline networking – check it out.

One last rule of thumb

In my public relations techniques class last week, we talked about ethics regarding media relations. We came to the conclusion that if you don’t want your e-mail conversations or any other written communication on the front page of The New York Times, then you probably shouldn’t be saying it. The same goes with social media. If you’re talking about how drunk you were last night or how much you hate your boss, chances are all the wrong people are going to see it. It’s not a chance you should be willing to take.

There you have it, some tips and advice when it comes to social media. Any other tips? Have you seen these mistakes being made?