Happy International Women's Day!

Today, March 8, is International Women's Day. International Women's Day has been observed since 1911, so this year marks the 100th anniversary! International Women's Day is a national holiday in many countries and is celebrated in some countries similarly to how Mother's Day is celebrated in the United States.

International Women's Day celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women in the past, present and future. This celebration is certainly relevant to the field of public relations, with estimates that about 70% of PR professionals are women.

In honor of International Women's Day, watch the video below for an inspirational message from Michelle Bachelet, Former Chile President and Executive Director of UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

Trying to rest? Give your eyes a break

It seems as though there are never enough hours in a day. Chances are, your waking activities and daytime responsibilities have a tendency to bleed into your sleep time. At this point in the semester, mine certainly are!

Do you check your e-mail or play around on your smart phone or tablet before bed? Are you up late working at the computer? A new study by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) sheds new light on why this can be a bad thing.

Besides cutting into your sleep time, the use of these devices before bed time can actually "increase alertness and suppress the release of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin," according to the NSF as reported on prdaily.com. The disruption is caused by exposure to the bright artificial light of the screen before bed, the NSF said.

Moral of the story? Giving yourself a break in between using the computer, TV or your smart phone and going to bed can have a positive impact on your quality of sleep. If you're like me, you need all the sleep you can get!

Facebook ‘Likes’ are Worth a Thousand Words, Literally

Have you ever ‘liked’ something on Facebook? Whether its a picture, status, product or service, ‘liking’ is a simple way to show an interest in something. As a generation saturated in social networking, we may take a lot of small things like Facebook’s ‘like’ application for granted, not thinking of its true potential, especially in creating awareness. Recently, Porsche became the quickest automaker to reach 1,000,000 fans on Facebook. How did they celebrate this social media achievement? Porsche printed the names of 27,000 fans who ‘liked’ their Facebook corporate fan page onto the body of their new hybrid 911 GT3 R racecar as a thank you to their million fans who made their social network success possible. The names were chosen at random from their fans and set to a Facebook-themed design with navy blue and white accents.

I don’t know about you but I can’t think of a better way to show fan appreciation than adorning their names on a car worth well over $250,000. From a public relations standpoint, Porsche’s use of social networking to gain publicity is a great initiative for them and other companies to start adopting. Porsche even created a separate “thank you” campaign and website for their fans to see the process of the car’s creation and search for their name on the car. Not only does this campaign portray the luxury automaker as a friendly and fan-loyal company, it brings awareness to the auto industry’s current eco-friendly car trend. By combining their fan loyalty with the popularity of hybrid vehicles, Porsche gets publicity, awareness, record setting and novelty points for releasing news in an unorthodox manner. For a company like Porsche, social responsibility to the environment and social interaction with their consumers and fans are connected. Porsche’s use of Facebook is an example of how the use of social networks can create more than just a digital and perceived connection between corporations and consumers but also a literal one.

What do you think about Porsche’s social network idea? Do you know any other companies that have used social media to connect with their fans in a creative way?

Become a fan of Porsche at http://www.facebook.com/porsche and check out their “A Million Thanks” campaign at: www.porsche.com/thankyou.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

The PR Strategy Behind Penn State’s THON

Have you heard more about Penn State’s THON this year compared to years past? This is most likely due to the fact that over $9.5 million was raised in support of the fight against pediatric cancer, which is truly inspirational. Another reason you may have been more aware of the event is due to the outstanding public relations strategies that were carried out by students to attract attention and awareness about the event and the cause.

As the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, THON already has a great reputation for its fundraising efforts. The event, which is a two-day, non-stop dance marathon, is planned and carried out solely by Penn State students. Committees and captains are set in place to oversee every aspect- from donor/alumni relations, to entertainment, and specifically public relations.

In a blog post written by Colleen Hanrahan, a student at Penn State, the different divisions of the public relations committee are explained:

Media Relations:
By contacting local, state, and national media through press releases, the media relations captains are able to keep the public up to date about THON and are able to inform people how they can get involved.

Street Teams:
This group uses guerilla marketing techniques when it comes to spreading the word about THON. Members promote events to the campus and surrounding communities through excitement and word of mouth.

Publication Management:
This group creates the “Diamond Guide,” a publication that explains all things THON. This is distributed to attendees, visitors, and participants to provide facts, pictures, and basic information about THON.

Alternative Media:
This group maintains THON’s social media, which includes Twitter, Facebook, and a newly created blog.

An organized PR effort is clearly needed to make THON a success. Raising $9.5 million for pediatric cancer and gaining a ton of national attention? I’d say they did a pretty good job.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Mackenzie Krott.

TUTV Student Organization Filming Recap

Yesterday (March 3), PRowl Public Relations assisted client TUTV (Temple University Television) with an event to promote the March 16 launch of TempleTV.net, the channel's interactive online platform. One of our largest audiences for the launch campaign is current students on Philadelphia's main campus and abroad. When doing our research in the planning portion of the campaign, we found that Temple University has more than 300 registered student organizations on campus, with a total membership reach of 15,330 students.

In order to engage these students and get them excited for the website launch, PRowl planned a four-hour event where student organizations were invited to film a clip welcoming all visitors to TempleTV.net and introducing their organization to Temple's global community. On the upcoming March 16 launch day, these student organization "welcome" messages will rotate on the homepage. Every time a visitor enters the site, a new student organization will be there to greet them.

After a lot of e-mails and attending meetings to talk to student organizations, we got a great turnout of 58 organizations throughout the day. Students were invited to either share a message about what their organization does, or demonstrate their mission through a creative act. There was even more creativity than we expected! Singing, dancing, guitars, keyboards, flags, acting scripts, and other props appeared in the room throughout the day, and we were happy to have them!

Thank you to all Temple student organizations that stopped by. We look forward to sharing the messages we got yesterday with visitors who enter the site around the world on March 16!

Do Not Track

You may be aware of the legislation surrounding the “do not call” policy that applies to telemarketers. Now there is new legislation regarding a “Do Not Track” law, which was introduced to Congress on Friday, February 11 by a California Democrat. The “Do Not Call” policy allows people to sign up for a list to prevent them from receiving telemarketers’ phone calls. The previous bill is similar in nature to the new “Do Not Track” legislation introduced by Representative Jackie Speier. The new policy allows Internet users to block those who track their information online. Speier unveiled the companion bill formally titled the Financial Information Privacy Act.

Consumers frequently became aggravated with phone calls from telemarketers. These sales marketing professionals were not limited to calling people during a certain time of day; hence the stereotype telemarketers always call during dinner. The recipients of telemarketers’ calls were often left wondering how they were placed on a list for companies selling printing services and credit card programs. Are online advertisers bugging Internet users in a similar way, though? Advertisements are going to be on sites whether companies have your personal information or not. Users may, however, be receiving spam emails marketing programs or services from companies who obtained personal information. Online users may consider these emails and other messages just as aggravating as telemarketers’ phone calls.

Due to the perception of these messages, the new Financial Information Privacy Act comes as a relief to many Internet users. People surfing the web can feel safe knowing their personal information is protected from corporations and businesses seeking to obtain personal details. However, this will create a dilemma for companies that utilize consumers’ personal information to create targeted advertisements. Without users information on what they spend their money on, the recent trend in targeted advertisements may decline.

Welcome to Twitter Charlie Sheen!

As everyone knows, you can't go a day without hearing someone reference one of the latest "Sheen-isms." Charlie Sheen, the controversial and reckless star of the popular and recently canceled series, Two and a Half Men, has been making his rounds on the television and radio talk show circuit, blurting out statements that have increased his "popularity" ten-fold over night. After making such a buzz on television and radio waves, Sheen has now turned his time and attention to the Twitterverse, creating his own verified account last night.

His Twitter handle, @charliesheen had over 300,000 followers within the first few hours. His first post: "Winning..! Choose your Vice... #winning #chooseyourvice http://twitpic.com/455ly9- boasting a picture of himself with his girlfriend, endorsing his beverage of choice: chocolate milk. The star, who's bio describes him as an "unemployed winner," will be tweeting regularly to stay more connected with his fans. However, it is yet to be seen how his entrance into the world of social media will affect his reputation with the public? So far... it doesn't look too promising.

Charlie Sheen has been in desperate need of good publicity for awhile now due to his problems with drugs, sex scandals and acts of violence. Stan Rosenfield, Sheen's publicist for several years, finally threw in the towel and respectfully resigned after one too many blunders during his most recent round of interviews.

However, Team Sheen seems to be doing just fine in terms of generating publicity and Sheen has managed to make himself the next "Chuck Norris" of American pop culture. With fan sites popping up all over the internet and companies such as Zazzle.com producing Charlie Sheen gag gifts, Sheen has become one of the biggest pop culture sensations.

We have all heard the cliche saying: "All publicity is good publicity"- however I am not so sure in the case of Charlie Sheen. The four-time Emmy Award winning actor was once respected for his talent - not his drug habits and has recently become the newest joke in Hollywood. His fan base may be increasing and although he is still raking in large amounts of money from sites that are partnering with him to sell products, his reputation is abysmal and without a publicist to guide him, I am sure it will only grow worse. Although Twitter could be used to improve his reputation and standing with the public, it appears as though Sheen will only be using it as another platform to continue boasting of his blunders and famous zingers.

What are your thoughts on all of the Charlie Sheen gossip? Does the saying still stand true that all publicity is good publicity with Sheen's growing popularity in pop culture or does this increased fan base only indicate how far Sheen has fallen off the wagon?

An Update on Taco Bell's Crisis Control

Earlier this month, I wrote a blog post about Taco Bell's response to a lawsuit claiming the restaurant chain uses more meat fillers than real ground beef. The response was quick and direct: a web campaign and a print campaign attempting to silence the rumors with an explanation of the ingredients in Taco Bell's ground beef.

I questioned whether people would be reassured by Taco Bell's response, considering it wasn't the first time the chain had come under fire about its ingredients. An article on Ragan's PR Daily provides an answer to my question. According to the article, Taco Bell offered all new and existing Facebook fans a free taco coupon on February 8. Within a week, Taco Bell gained 250,000 more "likes."

Taco Bell turned its lawsuit into a web and print campaign to sway the skeptics and a social media campaign to gain more Facebook fans. Sounds like a good example of turning a negative situation into something positive.

Public speaking: all about your mindset

In your public speaking class or in your personal experiences, have you ever been encouraged to approach your speaking from an acting mindset? In his blog post for the Harvard Business Review, Peter Bubriski points out that public speaking classes have borrowed many of their techniques from the acting profession in recent years.

"[T]he energy and creativity this can unleash can be a good thing when it leads to well-told stories that inspire colleagues, customers and stakeholders to action," he says. "But it doesn't work for everyone."

If you are one of those people that does not feel comfortable or is not a natural at using acting techniques in your public speeches, Bubriski suggests a rather insightful alternative mindset you can try: "think of practicing speaking skills like practicing a sport," he advises. "With a sport you're not pretending to be someone else. You are training your body and your mind to achieve feats of skill--building your muscle memory with drills and repetition," he explains.

How can you do this? Bubriski explains that it starts with an awareness of your own skills. He recommends looking at yourself and recognizing the "instruments, and how versatile, flexible and capable they are." Chances are, you have a lot of strengths that can be applied--you just have to learn to channel them for use with public speaking. Bubriski's sports mindset could be a way to help this come about.

Do you think this mindset would be helpful? Will you give it a try? Do you have another metaphor for public speaking you think our readers would find useful?

The NFL Drops the Ball

The Super Bowl is one of the largest sports spectacles in the world. Around 111 million television viewers looked on as the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers battled for football glory. An additional 103,219 spectators saw the game live from Cowboys Stadium in North Texas. But due to poor planning, the stadium was not able to accommodate 400 fans who showed up to the game with their tickets in hand.

Due to a lack of space, the stadium’s maximum capacity was exceeded. In order to allow additional seating, temporary sections were built, but construction was not completed by Super Bowl Sunday. As a result, 400 fans were removed from the stadium and denied re-entry. The NFL failed to take proper action and is facing public scrutiny because of it.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Cowboys Stadium owner Jerry Jones were both in attendance, but did not apologize for their mistake face-to-face to those impacted. After reports surfaced about the ticket debacle, the NFL took action in efforts to compensate the fans that were not allowed to see the game and to save face in the public sphere. What unfolded achieved neither.

The NFL presented the 400 fans with two options. First, each fan would receive a free ticket to next year’s Super Bowl along with $2,400, a figure three times the amount of this year’s tickets face value. The second offered fans one free ticket to a future Super Bowl of that fan’s choice. This option also included round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations. Fans immediately rejected the initial offers. The NFL neglected to assess how much those 400 fans had spent on travel arrangements. They also forgot to account for the inflated cost of tickets when sold by third parties. Under the two options, fans’ expenses were still far from reimbursed. The NFL failed to properly assess the extent of monetary losses experienced by the fans. In doing so they made the organization appear stingy and unattached from their fans. This mishap and the failed attempt to solve it could not have come at a worse time for NFL executives and owners.

With the uncertain status of the new collective bargaining agreement and the looming potential of a player lockout, the NFL finds itself reliant on the support of its fans and will need some public sentiment. They may have lost all hope of that with their Super Bowl mistakes. Typical NFL fans have a hard time relating to rich athletes, which may ultimately lead them to side against players, blaming a potential lockout on their selfish demands. But, your typical NFL aficionado can relate to an ordinary fan being denied entrance in a game that he or she has paid for. The mistake, along with the obvious mishandling of the solution, reflects negatively on the operations of the NFL, which in turn may lead the fans to conclude that the NFL is responsible for the potential lockout, not the players.

A lockout will tarnish the reputation of the NFL. Executives and owners will take the brunt of the blame because of their failure to exhibit foresight and fairness with their largest profitable entity, their fans.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Evan Galusha.

Advice from a Junior PR Major

There are a many of moments when I look back at my college career so far and think of what I could have or should have done in order to further my professional career. In this assessment of my college career I wish to discuss what I have learned in my experience so far. It is my hope that my story will help younger students as they begin to make decisions about their future.

One thing that has helped me as a public relations professional in the making is that I have spent a great deal of time reaching out to fellow students and professionals who are more knowledgeable about the field than I am. One of the greatest resources within the university for reaching out to professionals are the office hours professors provide. Going to talk to professors during their office hours was especially helpful to me because I learned more about my professors’ fields of study, got help with my writing, and built relationships that continue to be beneficial. While visiting a professor’s office hours may be intimidating at first, the benefits are great since professors can become mentors for your future as a public relations professional.

Another thing I have learned is that you can never ask too many questions. Inquiry proves that you have interest and that you are invested in learning more about a topic, a field, or an organization. My ability to ask questions helped me learn more about some of my professors and helped me become a member of PRowl Public Relations.

A final thing I have learned that I would like to impart here is that you should invest time and care into your work. Essentially, it only hurts your ability to be a great public relations professional if you do not care what you turn in. This is especially true with your writing. If do not try to improve your writing it is only hurting your chances of landing your dream job. If you learn one thing from this post, do not turn in lackluster work if you want a dazzling response.

The above are some of the greatest lessons I learned in my three years at Temple. What lessons have you learned in your undergraduate career that may help younger students?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kurie Fitzgerald.

Become a Better Spokesperson with 9 Tips

In my full-time job after graduation I am looking forward to joining a national financial services company (my ideal starting place to capitalize on the information I have also learned in business school!) as a coordinator for company-wide communications. One responsibility of my department is to prepare executives for speaking to the public - whether through investor meetings, conferences, interviews, etc. Although I most likely will not be the lead person for these tasks immediately, I have been trying to read articles that I think will pertain to my job and help me assist my supervisor as best as possible.

In an article by Brad Phillips on his blog MrMediaTraining.com, I learned "Nine Things New Spokespersons Need to Know" - and they're really good!

1. Develop a message - Know what you want to communicate and prepare your three most important phrases or sentences.
2. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. - Articulate at least one of your messages in every answer (not verbatim though).
3. Transition - Bridge from the reporter's question to your message with phrases such as "The most important thing to remember is..." or "Well, what we're seeing here is..."
4. Don't make a new friend - The moment you get comfortable and start thinking the reporter is your friend, you're going to venture away from your message and make a mistake. They may be nice, but they're not your friend.
5. Speak everyday English - Don't use big, jargon-filled words, especially when speaking with general audiences.
6. Don't bury your lead - Give the most interesting part of your answer, aka your "lead," first. If you have additional time, you can go back and provide more context.
7. Be your most engaging self - Gesture, convey warmth, and smile when appropriate.
8. Speak 10 percent louder than usual - This will help you sound less monotone and helps animate your body language.
9. Watch your tone - If you feel defensive, you will look defensive. Don't greet tough questions with panic, welcome them as opportunities to correct the record.

Purple Tie Happy Hour

An evening of professional networking in one of Philadelphia's premiere Italian restaurants is one of a series of events planned to help raise money to support the local fight against cancer. Relay For Life of South Philadelphia, the American Cancer Society's signature fundraising event, will host its first Purple Tie Happy Hour tomorrow, Thursday, February 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Positano Coast at 212 Walnut Street in Old City.

The American Cancer Society invites members of professional communications organizations to socialize in order to raise money for Relay For Life of South Philadelphia that will be used to directly fund cancer research and treatment in the Philadelphia area. Professionals will be offered beer, wine and authentic Italian hors d'oeuvres during an enjoyable evening of philanthropy.

Tickets are priced at $35, are available for purchase at the door, and online at http://purpletiehappyhour.eventbrite.com/

To learn more about Relay For Life of South Philadelphia and the other fundraising events leading up to the Relay in June, visit www. phillyrelay.org, follow @RFLSouthPhilly on Twitter or connect with Relay Philly on Facebook.

iPads Upgrade the Shopping Experience

Keeping up with technology trends is important. For retailers, that means recognizing that their customers may prefer being able to customize products or browse their options online before making an in-store purchase. Many retailers are making efforts to accommodate their technology-savvy shoppers by incorporating iPads into their stores.

An article from the Chicago Tribune discusses some of the ways stores are using iPads to upgrade their customers' shopping experiences. One cosmetic company, Make Up For Ever, is using iPads to allow customers to access face charts for browsing makeup combinations. Things Remembered, a personalized gift retailer, is using iPads to allow customers to browse messages and designs for engravings. The stores plan to eventually add a feature allowing customers to view their completed design before they order. Other clothing stores are using iPads to allow customers to browse their online catalogs while shopping in their stores.

How much the addition of iPads to stores improves the shopping experience is something to be experimented with and debated, but making the in-store shopping experience more high-tech will likely appeal to the wired generations.

Would you be impressed by iPads when shopping in stores? Have you been to any of the stores already using them?

Using house parties to build relationships

In PR we focus on building relationships with all sorts of internal and external publics. It is important that we constantly seek new ways to interact with our publics and maintain those relationships.

I recently learned about what is essentially a new PR tool called houseparty.com. The site describes itself as a collection of "thousands of parties across the country, hosted by people like you." Each event offered on the site is "sponsored by a leading brand and focuses on something the sponsor wants its best fans to experience firsthand and share with their friends." The concept is simple: organizations put together and sponsor themed parties and consumers can apply for the chance to host the parties in their homes. The chosen consumers are supplied with materials, decorations, prizes, discounts, freebies and other supplies to host their parties.

I think this site is on to a great idea. What better way to raise awareness and generate buzz about your company or product than to offer your consumers a chance to try it for themselves- for free- in the presence of their friends? Further, these parties represent the basis for a two-way, mutually beneficial relationship between the company and the consumer; the consumer gets a social experience, "insider" information about the company's products and some free stuff while the sponsoring company gets a chance to wow a whole group of people with their product and has the opportunity for that excitement to spread to attendees' other contacts in a viral, grass-roots fashion.

Would this type of party work for your company or client? What other creative ideas do you have for fostering relationships with your publics?

Social Media Week: “Defend the Tweet”

“There is something about a perfectly crafted tweet.” --JWT’s Chief Creative Innovation Officer, James Cooper

Recently I went to New York to attend Social Media Week--for free.

What I originally expected to be just another boring speaker series filled with out-of-touch professionals turned out to be one of the best networking and learning events I have experienced.

I observed a lively series of practitioner panels on topics like YouTube, Foursquare and Twitter and how to use them effectively in both personal and professional settings. The best part: every one of them got it!

From 50-year-old marketing veterans to 18-year-old entrepreneurs, everyone was there to learn and discuss how social media influences and changes us and our society. At one point in the evening, I found myself speaking with a marketing student at NYU, a director of digital strategy and a freelance website designer from Boston.

At the end of the day I attended the panel discussion for “Defend the Tweet.” The idea was to get five of the 25 most influential tweeters to literally defend their controversial tweets against a slew of questions and criticisms from the participating audience. Here are a few points I took away from the panel:

• Twitter is all about who you follow
• Twitter is a creative not restrictive outlet
• Information should come to you- the idea of destination web visits are over

Social Media Week is held biannually, every February and September, and is predominantly free thanks to corporate sponsorships. So if you are looking for more than just a humdrum networking event and want to move into a collaborative learning environment that welcomes new ideas and differing points of view, register to attend Social Media Week’s New York City event in September 2011.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jacob DeChant.

Expanding Your Network Beyond PR

As aspiring public relations professionals, we are constantly told about the importance of networking with current PR professionals. However, I have come to realize the benefits of expanding my network beyond PR.

After attending the 2011 Media Access Workshop organized by the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists and the Philadelphia Black Public Relations Society, I know now how important it is for future PR professionals to network with journalists and people within the business industry.

As future PR professionals, we must remember that PR is not practiced in a vacuum. PR people constantly interact with the media, advertisers, marketers and a host of other business people. Therefore, networking with professionals in these industries is a great way to learn firsthand the best ways to approach them in the PR process.

Attending the workshop provided a comfortable atmosphere for me to communicate directly with media people, and learn real world approaches for pitching stories. Networking with these media professionals also allowed me to gain media contacts. In fact, I was able to secure a media placement for the organization I intern with through a contact. The event also provided me the opportunity to network with other organizations that could partner with the nonprofit I intern for.

Essentially, networking outside of the PR industry will help aspiring PR professionals learn how to build beneficial relationships with professionals in positions vital to the PR process.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.

Could Facebook Be Forced to Go Public?

CEO and founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has infamously declined unthinkable amounts of money to keep his treasured social networking site private. Now, it seems it may be out of his control due to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Rule 12g5-1(b)(3) that requires companies with more than $10 million in assets and 499 shareholders to register as public companies. Facebook has recently been valued at $50 billion by Goldman Sachs, and has agreed to sell $1.5 billion worth of its stocks to elite Goldman clients, possibly putting the shareholder count over 500.

The reason I say "possibly" is because according to Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times, Goldman is attempting to create a "special purpose vehicle" that will only count itself as one investor since the offering will be managed by the firm, even though money could be pooled from many other clients.

Although this could be a potential loop hole, in Section B of the rule it states (in more confusing terms) that if the primary reason for creating the "special purpose vehicle" is to get around the rule's constraints, specifically the shareholder limit, then each Goldman client who gets involved will be considered an individual shareholder in the company, pushing Facebook's number over 500.

Via an article on MSNBC.com, top securities law professor Adam Pritchard says "If Facebook is selling to [Goldman] knowing this is going to happen, then they are on their way to having to register the company as a public company with the SEC."

An important note though: Just because Facebook will have to register as a public company does not mean they will have to offer stock to the public. They WILL have to disclose their financials though, including profits, revenues, top executive hires and departures, etc. Many who are informed about the subject suggest that if Facebook has to disclose their financials and register through the SEC, they might as well issue second-class (non-voting) shares to the public.

Going public and trading shares can be dangerous for some companies. Read "Facebook likely to go public in 2012" on CNN.com to learn a little more about why the author will not rush to hold stock in Facebook.

Here are the list of articles I read about the possibility of Facebook going public:
MSNBC.com
CNN.com
NYTimes.com
WSJ.com

I recommend you read them too in order to get a better grasp of why Facebook may have to go public and what the possible effects are for "The Social Network."

Google One Pass

Google has taken a subtle stab at Apple. The internet search giant unveiled One Pass, its new Android prescription model. One Pass is a direct competitor to Apple's recently launched App Store subscription service. Without directly announcing its new product is meant to compete with Apple, Google has designed a service that will surely outdo the App Store subscription service.

What is the One Pass, though? The application is meant for tablets and smart phones. Users are able to sign on to websites using a single name and password. Publishers are able to authenticate individual subscribers so users are not forced to resubscribe. These same publishers are also able to experiment with revenue methods- metered access, subscriptions, 'freemium' content or single articles for sale.

Google tactfully announced, "Our goal is to provide an open and flexible platform that furthers our commitment to support publishers, journalism and access to quality content."

Beat that Apple.

Brands Are Getting Dumped on Facebook

During last week's meeting for one of PRowl's accounts, we held a small social media workshop to educate staff members about the various differences between Facebook and Twitter and how to handle those differences accordingly while managing those channels. We discussed how establishing an engaging online presence on Facebook may not be the same way it is created on Twitter and created several strategies and tactics in order to successfully create relationships with all of our users in the most effective ways.

With so much social media on the brain between managing my account and the current social media course I am enrolled in, I have been stalking the internet for interesting articles about the best ways to handle Twitter and Facebook accordingly. I came across this article on Twitter from TWTRCON about a study that was recently conducted by ExactTarget and CoTweet that revealed why Facebook and Twitter users "unlike" or "unfollow" brands, and how the expectations around brand communications differ between the two social media platforms.

Marketing Profs reported the results, and below is a comparison of how Facebook and Twitter users engage with brands, courtesy of TWTRCON:

While Twitter users are less likely to ‘dump’ a brand, they do expect brands to keep it interesting – 52% “unfollow” brands due to boring content. Only 38% of Facebook fans “unliked” a brand because content became boring or repetitive, but a significant majority (63%) “unliked” a brand due to excessive postings – Facebook users don’t want to hear too much from a brand (44%), and want to keep their wall fairly uncluttered (43%).

Additional highlights from the comparison:

• A significant amount – 26% of Facebook users, and 27% of Twitter users – only “liked” a company to take advantage of a one-time offer
• 24% of Facebook users and 27% of Twitter users said the company didn’t offer enough deals
• 24% of Facebook users and 21% of Twitter users said posts/tweets were too promotional
• only 51% of Facebook users expect a “like” will result in marketing communications from brands, vs. a whopping 71% of Twitter users
• 20% of Twitter users have stopped following a company because their tweets were “too chit-chatty”.
• 71% of Facebook fans say they’ve become more selective over the past year about which brands they “like” on Facebook. And even after users have “liked” a brand, 51% of Facebook users claim they rarely (or never) visit the brand’s page again.

The most surprising data was how the decision to ‘unlike’ a brand had relatively little effect on future buying: 63% of Facebook fans say they are as likely or more likely to purchase something from a company after ending their Facebook relationship.

What are your thoughts on these statistics about brand communications via Facebook and Twitter? What are some recommendations that you have for being a successful communicator on both platforms? Let us know!

A Bakery Masters Social Media

It seems that companies in almost every type of business have jumped on the social media bandwagon. Your gym, your bank, and your favorite coffee shop might now be on Facebook or Twitter. Social media has become an important way for businesses to connect with their audiences if their audiences are in the demographic of social media users. However, simply having a Facebook or Twitter account is not enough. Businesses must be strategic in their use of social media to reach their audiences in the right ways.

An article in the Wall Street Journal profiles a New York bakery's effective use of social media. Spot Dessert Bar uses its Facebook page to offer discounts, contests, and news to customers who "like" it. The bakery also offers laptops and iPads to customers in the shop so they can make posts about the bakery on their social media profiles. According to the article, the bakery has seen a 15%-20% increase in sales since it began this social media campaign.

Spot Dessert Bar has figured out how to use social media to engage and attract customers. Although the bakery's tactics would not be appropriate for all types of businesses, other businesses would benefit from taking notes and thinking about social media tactics that could work for their company.

Do you know of any other businesses effectively using social media to attract customers?

Free-ish speech online

Where does the line fall between your right to free speech and your employer's right to protect its reputation? The world is still figuring that out.

In case you missed it, the National Labor Relations Board won an important lawsuit against American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc last week. The NLRB had sued the company after it fired a worker who had turned to her Facebook page to vent her frustrations about her boss.

As a result of its loss in court, American Medical Response will change its blogging and Internet policies, as well as two other policies that forbade employees to say negative things about the company over the Internet, according to an article for the AP.

The decision is believed to inspire employers around the country to review their Internet policies. However, while this case helps set a precedent for free speech on the Internet--particularly when it involves the workplace, don't take it as a free pass to go spouting off about your employer online. The jury is still out when it comes to just how far employee rights to free speech extend on social media.

"'The line can go over into disloyalty or disclosure of truly confidential information'" warned a labor and employment lawyer for the NLRB, "'this is not without boundaries, but we just don't have a good sense yet of where the boundaries are.'"

It seems that we as a society are still adapting old laws to a new world dominated by online media, and it is a tough course to navigate. While it looks as though steps are being taken to ensure employees' rights to free speech on social media, err on the side of caution when posting about your employer.

I recommend only saying things that you wouldn't be ashamed to repeat in person.

A Deeper Look into Diversity

Since February is Black History month, it is important to examine how diversity is intertwined with public relations. While our industry has made great strides in attaining a more diverse employee population, African Americans and women are still underrepresented. The Calvert Study, released this past fall, stated that women hold less than 1 in 10 top paid executive positions. Women only make up 18% of director positions within the top 100 S&P 500 companies, whereas 92 out of 100 CEO’s for these same companies are white males. Additionally, within the public relations field, there are low hire rates for African Americans, both male and female.

Public Relations is a global industry that demands diverse perspectives. In the PRSay article, “Diverging into Diversity: A Communications Strategy,” Larry Jones explains that companies are reluctant to move from the familiar to more diverse populations. Jones describes the importance of this idea by saying, “Diversity in communications also can mean building bridges to new audiences or tapping into new perspectives and ideas.” This statement is a central idea that can permeate through any realm of public relations. As public relations professionals, it is important to provide creative opportunities for our clients. With the help of people from different backgrounds with different experiences, we can provide the most innovative and comprehensive strategy for our clients.

Diversity in public relations is something that can always be improved upon. As young professionals, it is in our best interest to be continuously aware of the inequalities that all minorities may face in our industry. We must focus on changing these aspects to ensure the most inclusive community of public relations professionals. This will ultimately allow companies to provide a more complete plan for their clients.

Do you feel diversity is a problem within the public relations world? What steps can young professionals take to change these issues?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Alex Crispino.

How Social Media is Hurting Corporations

Does your organization or company use social media for public relations? If so, watch what you post or your audiences might start seeing double.

Fake public relations social media accounts are a rising trend in internet tolling. No longer are dissatisfied consumers and irate activists confined to personal accounts or the comment sections of news websites. A single motivated individual can now reach huge audiences by creating a mock corporate social media account. These accounts often post humorous and harmful messages that can cause a public relations nightmare for the most astute crisis management expert.

Two of the most prominent examples of mock social media accounts in recent history are the @BPGlobalPR and @KennethColePR twitter accounts. BP faced a public relations disaster after an explosion in one of its oil pipelines flooded the Gulf Coast with millions of barrels of oil in the spring of 2010. Soon after the initial explosion, the fake public relations twitter account @BPGlobalPR came into existence – much to the chagrin of BP’s real twitter account @BP_America. Memorable tweets from @BPGlobalPR include “Negative people view the ocean as half empty of oil. We are dedicated to making it half full. Stay positive America!” and “What a gorgeous day! The ocean is filled with the most beautiful rainbows! #yourewelcome #bpcares.” To this day, @BPGlobalPR has around 160,000 more followers than @BP_America.

Kenneth Cole recently found itself in a bit of hot water after a blunder on its corporate twitter account. The account, @KennethCole, tweeted, “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://bit.ly/KCairo -KC.” The very same day the fake twitter account @KennethColePR was created and started tweeting similarly fashioned product plugs with a noticeably more malicious undertone. One tweet read, “South Africans won’t be able to tear APARTheid my new knits – they’re just that strong! #KennethColeTweets.” The @KennethColePR account was only active for two days but managed to get over 7,000 followers.

The backlash against Kenneth Cole did not stop there. Mashable reported that a decal of the original @KennethCole was plastered to the storefront of its Kenneth Cole’s San Francisco location. As if the social media blunder wasn’t big enough already, multiple national news organizations also picked up on the story including Forbes and The Huffington Post.
So what is a corporation to do? BP unsuccessfully tried to get @BPGlobalPR removed (instead the account had to clarify that it was fake). In Kenneth Cole’s case, removing the offensive tweet and offering a half-hearted apology was not enough to quell peoples’ anger.

Kenneth Cole’s official twitter account has not made a single post since February 4. Is silence the best answer? How would you deal with a corporate social media blunder?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Doug Bennett.

My Opinion - You Need Brain Balance for PR

I was reading my PR Daily News Feed yesterday (2-10-11) and couldn't resist taking the Right Brain versus Left Brain Creativity Test from the Art Institute of Vancouver that was posted. Typically, creative people use the right side of their brain more than the left side, and vice versa for more logical people. I consider myself a fairly creative person, but am also very diligent and focused. I am actually surprised at my results! Due to my love of "to-do" lists, classical music, research and numbers I would have assumed I would be overwhelming left-brained, but alas I am only left-brained by a slight majority. It turns out that I am 58 percent left-brained and 42 percent right-brained.

Although I came out as more logical than creative, I am confident that I am entering the right field in public relations due to my dominant left brain characteristic: verbal processing. Verbal processing is a method used by the left hemisphere to process our thoughts and ideas with words.

What brain are you? Also, do you feel like most successful PR people are right-brained? I personally think that those in PR need a good balance of both (maybe I'm biased...). Although I think creativity is an essential aspect of finding attractive angles for the right audiences, I also think that organization, logic and diligence are extremely important for managing heavy workloads and strict deadlines, and advocating for your projects to upper-level management, who often may only want to hear about the logic and numbers behind your idea, rather than its genius creativity.

Thoughts? Take the test here!

Twitter For Sale?

According to multiple sources, including the Guardian and several blogs, Twitter is holding discussions with potential buyers to sell the micro-blogging site. It is a rare day when you learn mega-companies are being taken over or up for sale. Is Twitter one of those mega-companies, though?

Twitter was launched only a little over four years ago. Some people (clearly not public relations professionals) are still asking, "What is Twitter?" According to Guardian, giant brands like Facebook and Google are looking to purchase Twitter for between 8 and 10 billion dollars. Let me write that again. 8 to 10 billion dollars.

For the social media site to go from nothing to 10 billion dollars in four years is not something to take lightly. Less than a week ago, AOL bought the Huffington Post for a measly $315 million.

My first initial reaction to hearing Facebook is one of the potential buyers is thinking this may be a conflict of interest for one social media giant to buy its main competitor. Is Google buying Twitter any better, though? What do you think about Twitter up for grabs?

Word On the Street About Food Trucks

This semester, I am taking a special topics course about social media in PR. The class allows students to learn important theories and concepts about social media use and then apply them to simulated campaigns for real clients that are in competition with each other. After debating over local coffee shops, bars and breweries, the class decided to represent various food trucks on campus. Temple's campus is well known for these meals-on-wheels facilities there are always debates surrounding which truck is the best (The Crepe Truck, obviously!). While doing research for our campaign, I realized that food trucks are becoming a popular trend and have begun to explore the various aspects of social media. Throughout my research I came across a great article from Ogilvy Public Relation's blog: 360 Digital Influence about food trucks "thinking outside of the (lunch)box" about ways to connect with their publics both online and offline.


Online:

• Mobile Meteor just launched a new app (it works with an existing Twitter account) that optimizes food truck websites for smartphones, so they can reach new customers who may not use Twitter as regularly. A Google map feature with their exact location will automatically appear on the mobile site. With half of all Americans expected to own smartphones by the end of 2011, it will be interesting to see how many trucks go this “route”.

• Huge corporations see the value of reaching consumers through food trucks -- Virgin America worked with Loopt and rebranded two taco trucks in California with specials to market the airline’s new flights to Mexico.

• Food trucks are joining forces on tracker sites, like Food Truck Fiesta (DC) and Mobile Cravings (which covers about 30 cities), making it simple for fans to get a quick glimpse at the daily food truck scene.

Offline:
• Trucks are hosting unique events, often with partners, to expand their fan base and build loyalty. Seattle’s Skillet, doesn’t just care about your lunch. They care if you have a hot date, or at least something to do on Valentine’s Day. They’re teaming up with two other local vendors to host a street food style v-day.

• Rather than let the Twitter-challenged resort to fast food chains, Holton Farms (a farmer’s market on wheels) has a 1-800 number, which provides info on the truck’s location when it’s on the move.

• Food trucks are using social media for social good, by getting behind local charities that their followers care about. DC’s TaKorean truck donates 1% of gross sales to local environmental and youth based non-profit organizations – and they write about it on their community giving blog.

I am really looking forward to learning more about this upcoming market and how they are successfully utilizing social media to increase their awareness and traffic with the public! Are there any other ways food trucks are getting the word out via social media? Let us know!

Have the Internet and Social Media Become Rights?

There are countless blog posts and articles discussing the many ways social media is changing our lives. The recent events in Egypt have created a new debate about social media. An article in The Washington Post reported on U.S. officials speaking out against blocking the Internet and social media, referring to these technologies as rights.

This topic was brought up in one of my classes last week. Our conversation quickly became focused on what constitutes a right. As we all (should) know, the First Amendment gaurantees us five rights: speech, press, religion, assembly and petition. My professor stressed that social media and the Internet have become tools to help us exercise these rights. The ability to exercise our freedom of speech through social media is obvious, but the other First Amendment rights can be exercised through technology just as well. As oppressive goverments have realized, these technologies have come to aid people in organizing themselves to challenge the status quo. Banning social media and the Internet do not completely prevent people from exercising these rights, but it does take away a major channel for doing so.

So the question stands: if the Internet and social media are tools for exercising our rights, does that make access to these technologies a right as well?

Super Bowl ads are more than just fun to watch

Whether or not you are a sports fan or you cared about the teams playing, chances are you tuned in to the Super Bowl yesterday. If you're like me, you were excited to see the ads.

While ads run during the Super Bowl, the "most-watched single telecast in the US," are usually entertaining, Susan Gunelius also points out that there is a lot to learn from them.

In an article for entrepreneur.com, Gunelius looks back on important ads of Super Bowls past and draws interesting takeaways from each. Of course Apple's 1984 ad for Macintosh made the list, but Gunelius makes some great points about the ad's impact. "[I]f you know your product is great, go big -- or go home," Gunelius says.

Remember this ad from Monster.com? I didn't, but I was really impressed by it:



Be sure to check out Gunelius' article to see what she had to say about this ad, what other ads she showcased and the enduring lessons we can all learn from them.

What lessons can you draw from the best and worst of yesterday's ads? What ads from more recent years do you think are worthy of addition to Gunelius' list?

Can You Be a Social Media Pro without Personal Accounts?

Many people are labeling themselves as social media pros these days, using it as a marketing advantage in a stiff job market. But what does it really mean to be an expert in social media? Would you still consider someone a social media pro if he or she wasn’t personally active on social media sites?

As public relations professionals, I think it’s important for us to build our own personal brands, which can be done extremely easily through social media sites. If you’re the only person out of a pool of potential employees not active on social media sites and not showing off your own personal brand, you could find yourself at the competitive disadvantage. After all, a big part of PR is influence. Influence could become a PR prerequisite, just like strong writing and verbal skills. In addition, social media gives employers a huge insight into candidates – what their strengths are, what kind of person they are and what they like – all invaluable information in the hiring process.

I think to truly be a social media guru, you should practice what you preach and act as a source of good information.

Would you consider someone an expert in social media if they were not personally active on such sites? Do you think PR professionals who haven’t personally embraced social media are at a disadvantage?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Trish Wyatt.

Will the News Release Rest in Peace?

With the recent speculations about whether the press release will become obsolete, a Forbes article confirms my feelings that the boom of social media use is causing the traditional press release to become useless in many situations.

As I’ve learned in my public relations courses, reporters can get up to hundreds of press releases a day, including many by email, which can be deleted as soon as the boring subject line is read. To avoid these downfalls, many services have been created online in order to facilitate the company’s needs without wasting the time, money and inbox space.

Companies such as H&R Block and Budweiser are able to serve their customers directly with websites such as PitchDirectly.com founded by Jason Kintzler, a former reporter. They send out a two-sentence pitch to major outlets such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone. Using this approach allows them to craft a message specific to their audience instead of trying to communicate to the CEO of their client.

It seems social media is doing for public relations practitioners now what the news release did a couple of decades ago. Do you think this will be a new era for the public relations industry?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Emily Ascani.

Quotes from "Father of Advertising"

David Ogilvy is considered by many as the "Father of Advertising." He created one of the largest and most successful advertising (and now marketing and public relations) agencies, Ogilvy & Mather, and is rumored to be the inspiration behind Don Draper's character in the popular TV series Mad Men. He is famous for making high-end products, like Rolls Royce, seem like a 'sensible' use of one's money by appealing to the consumer's refined taste and class status.

Here are 10 quotes from David Ogilvy that ProBlogger.net thinks could revolutionize blogging:

1. “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.”
2. “The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible.”
3. “Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ball park. Aim for the company of immortals.”
4. “I have a theory that the best ads come from personal experience. Some of the good ones I have done have really come out of the real experience of my life, and somehow this has come over as true and valid and persuasive.”
5. “I don’t know the rules of grammar… If you’re trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular.”
6. “Good copy can’t be written with tongue in cheek, written just for a living. You’ve got to believe in the product.”
7. “If you ever have the good fortune to create a great advertising campaign, you will soon see another agency steal it. This is irritating, but don’t let it worry you; nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else’s advertising.”
8. “First, make yourself a reputation for being a creative genius. Second, surround yourself with partners who are better than you are. Third, leave them to go get on with it.”
9. “Never stop testing, and your advertising will never stop improving.”
10. “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar."

To find out how these quotes relate to blogging, read the full article by Darren Rowse on ProBlogger.net here.

How to Use Twitter to Help Find a Job

As a last semester senior, the pressure is on to find a job for after graduation in May. In this slowly recovering economy, students need to utilize any means necessary to look for job opportunities. That includes using social media to connect with potential employers and search for job openings.

I posted a Tweet yesterday (@evannicholson) asking if any of my followers had suggestions for the best Twitter profiles/users to follow when searching for a job. A friend and fellow PRSSA member advised me to check out this article. The article breaks down how to get started using social media professionally in order to search for a job.

The main takeaway I had from this article is to sign up for the free use of TweetMyJobs. The service is able to "connect employers and recruiters with targeted job candidates instantly any time a new job is posted to our service." Employers and people looking for jobs are able to connect with targeted users.

If you have any additional users or services to use for job searching, share them with everyone!

Facebook Statuses Protected as a Constitutional Amendment?

We have all heard horror stories about potential job candidates being turned away at interviews after revealing unprofessional Facebook and Twitter updates. However, the newest headline surrounding Facebook rights and privacy is about a high school student in California who was recently suspended for making a rather vulgar status update about his biology teacher.

The status updated, prompted by a large amount of assigned homework, read that his teacher was a "fat a** who should stop eating fast food..." among other rude slurs. Although incredibly inappropriate and wrong, the ACLU is claiming that this was within the boy's constitutional rights of freedom of speech. Since the status was not created during school hours and was not made from a school computer, the ACLU argues that the boy is entitled to the update without punishment.

Even though it was incredibly rude, I do not believe that the school had the legal right to suspend the student for the status update. This has not been the first of cases such as these surrounding freedom of speech via social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

What are your thoughts? Was the school right to suspend the student or did they violate his first amendment rights? Let us know!

Taco Bell's Lawsuit Response

Taco Bell has recently been hit with a lawsuit accusing the fast food chain of using meat fillers rather than real ground beef. To combat the negative accusations, the chain has launched a print and web campaign.

The print campaign includes full-page ads in national and local newspapers with the headline "Thank you for suing us. Here's the Truth about our seasoned beef." The ads explain the chain's reasons for adding extra ingredients to their ground beef and give a list of all the ingredients used in their recipe. The web campaign includes a YouTube video of Taco Bell President Greg Creed explaining this as well.

Personally, I had not even heard about the lawsuit before reading about Taco Bell's response. The company's prompt and aggressive response to the situation may help it to reach consumers with its message before consumers get wind of the negative accusations from other sources.

This is not the first time Taco Bell has come under fire about the ingredients in its food, but its response seems to be on the right track for this one. What do you think: does Taco Bell's response reassure you about its ingredients?

To read more and see the campaign efforts, click here.

Consider the weather!

"TV viewership increases when families are cooped up in their homes during storms," reported the Huffington Post's David Bauder in a recent article. "Nowhere was this more evident than during the January 10-13 storm that dumped snow across a wide swath of the country, including areas of the south that seldom see it."

In fact, according to the article, Nielsen Co. reported "that storm had a bigger effect on television ratings than any other in recent history." So much so that TV viewership exceeded that of last year
at the time by 8 percent. Furthermore, TV networks that adjusted their programming to accommodate the change in viewership saw ratings increase by as much as 60 percent.

These facts have important implications for those of us in the PR industry:

1. This situation really drives home the point of the importance of knowing your audience. Case in point: with more school-age children home during the day, Nickelodeon "cut short its preschool programming block by two hours, replacing it with programming geared toward older children," the article reported. The network realized ratings 43 percent over last year as a result.
2. The situation also reminds us of the importance of considering external factors when writing and sending pitches. Considering something as simple as the weather and the impact of weather on viewership can give a PR pro's pitch an edge in terms of timing and content. It can also help the PR practitioner get more mileage out of a good placement.
   

Twitter Wars: Going from Bad to Worse

One of the most notorious and controversial MTV reality shows, Teen Mom 2, has recently flooded all media platforms including Twitter. Twitter has become a battleground for Teem Mom 2 star Janelle Evans. Evans recently attacked fellow teen moms, Farrah Abraham and Amber Portwood, from the previous Teen Mom season. The act of waging a “Twitter War” begs the question: couldn’t Twitter be used to help these stars gain a better reputation than that portrayed by the show?

Stars such as Evans do not seem to see the potential to resurrect their image through social media. In Evans’ case, posting pictures of herself with her baby or tweeting about the progress of her child could be a better use of her time and image than bashing other cast members. Twitter is not new to Armageddon, providing a stage for battles such as Eminem vs. Nick Cannon and Lindsey Lohan vs. Dr. Phil. It seems many people in the public eye could still use a lesson in using the medium to enhance and not damage their image.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Samantha Wanner.

PR Trends to Look for in 2011

Public Relations and Marketing are both booming industries and will only continue to progress in 2011. Because of advancements in technology, the industries are changing. It is important to stay on top of what is up-and-coming, so here are some of the top PR trends to look for in 2011:

1. Integrated Public Relations is becoming an essential part in the world of marketing. Traditional PR and social media are coming together to capture every facet of corporate communications.
2. Being able to calculate and confirm the Return On Investment (ROI) is a vital part of PR this year. If this can be accomplished proficiently, the client’s approval will be easier to obtain.
3. Survival is in the cards for reporting on news. The Internet and television are still the top two ways to obtain the news, so don’t expect traditional media to die out completely.
4. Video is a must. Preparedness for on-air time is vital this year. With almost everything progressing in video form, this should come as no surprise.
5. WikiLeaks are something to be fearful of. There are many emerging wikis focused on corporate wrongdoings, so cautionary measures should be taken.
6. Tablets (such as iPads) are taking over social media. PR professionals need to make sure that content can be accessed anywhere and at any time as the news progresses rapidly to tablet form.
7. Firms must be able to observe, understand, and benefit from public emotion and explain this method to their clients.
8. YouTube, Hulu, VooDoo, and other similar services will continue to be popular. Young adults place most of their TV attention by picking up their laptops or iPads, so companies need to market appropriately.
9. 2011 will be the year that Internet and television integrate for good. This year, Internet TV will finally launch, so that people can communicate electronically while watching a favorite television program simultaneously.
10. Facebook may become outdated. The more complex and diverse it becomes, the more young adults are turned off by it.

Stay on top of your game by watching for these trends in the world of PR! For more information, click here.


This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kaitlin Tully.

Cryptic Clues about UCLA's Internet Celebration

Did you know that the first Internet message was sent by professor Leonard Kleinrock of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA 40 years ago? Many people think the Internet was created at MIT, but it was the communications team’s job at UCLA to inform you otherwise. In order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Internet and talk about the real-world impact that some of the discoveries and research work from UCLA have, the university proposed a $100,000 budget for advertising and promotion. Instead, they got $9,500 total.

Although the creation of the Internet is obviously impressive, it is also noteworthy that the team at UCLA was able to craft and execute such a creative campaign in two months and with a budget that was slashed by 90 percent.

Below are some of the components of the campaign:

• A countdown clock was posted on the main page of the university’s website with no description of what it was counting down to. When visitors clicked on the clock, cryptic clues would appear hinting at what was going on. When the clock hit zero, the website page began to flicker and appeared to crash to the ground with a balloon featuring the letters “LO” floating upwards, a simulation of the crash that occurred when Dr. Kleinrock attempted to type “LOGIN” in his first Internet message. A link then sent readers to an article about the anniversary.
  
• Cryptic clues about the anniversary were also disseminated on Facebook with a #ucla40 tag that led people to guess what could possibly be going on. Social media was also used to promote videos of Dr. Kleinrock explaining the process of sending the first information over the Internet to UCLA’s 55,000 Facebook fans, 5,500 Twitter followers and 6,500 YouTube subscribers.
  
• Traditional media was also used as a component to the plan. The UCLA team bought an ad in the school newspaper, pitched an online story in the university magazine, and bought online banner ads in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, which led to approximately 160,000 impressions on the event website.
  
• The eight-hour main event was live streamed on UCLA’s website, Ustream and Facebook accounts. More than 50,000 viewers tuned in and communicators encouraged speakers at the conference to ask their Twitter followers to send in questions to be answered live.
  

What would you have done with $9,500 and the task of promoting the 40th anniversary of the first Internet message? Click here to read the full article by Matt Wilson at Ragan.com.

Volunteering for Events

PRowl Public Relations staff members have encouraged students to volunteer. Volunteering at an organization or an agency is a great way to gain experience in public relations without having an internship. Even if you do have an internship, volunteering is a way to gain additional experience on the side.

Volunteering for events allows you to obtain experience in several hours or in a day or two. For example, I will be volunteering for the judging event for the Philadelphia ADDY Awards this Saturday. From 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., I will help the judging process run smoothly. Not only will I gain insight into how an event such as the ADDY Awards is run, but I will also have the opportunity to meet and socialize with judges and others during the day.

Here are some tips for how to find events to volunteer for.

1. Universities and departments within universities often send out volunteer opportunities to their students. I was made aware of the ADDY Awards opportunity through the School of Communications and Theater here at Temple University. Take advantage of these openings as soon as possible because students rush to volunteer for these events right away.

2. Look on the websites of professional communications organizations in Philadelphia, such as PPRA or PRSA, to find out if these organizations have events planned. Look for a contact associated with the event or even with the organization itself and send him or her an email. Inquire whether or not the organization needs assistance at the event and let the contact know you would love to help!

3. Do you have any friends or contacts that work at city-oriented organizations, such as Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PCVB) or Greater Philadelphia Marketing Tourism Corporation (GPTMC)? Organizations like these are always hosting events. Let your contacts know if they ever need help at an event that you are willing and able to do so! I was given the opportunity to volunteer at a convention for PCVB through a friend who works there.

Do you have any additional suggestions on where to find events to volunteer for? Share them with our readers!

Going Global to Help Your Job Search

As a junior in college, the majority of my friends have spent a semester or summer abroad. Although it has always been my dream to spend my time exploring new parts of the world, I believed that dedicating such a large chunk of time to travel would eventually harm my professional career. Whether it meant having to step down from a leadership position in a student organization or miss out on an internship opportunity, I continued to tell myself that my resume would be stronger because of it. Sure, if I decide to travel to England or Ireland, I could find an internship while abroad. However, with an interest in traveling to France or Italy, and not being fluent in either language, job and internship opportunities seemed scarce.

However, after talking to several friends and professionals about studying abroad, I have finally come to my senses that studying abroad is one of the best ways to build your resume and marketable skills when entering the job force! The article Maximizing Your Study Abroad Experience in the Job Search from Come Recommended did a great job at outlining basic yet necessary skills and experiences learned while abroad that didn't require an internship or a job to learn.

The article mentions these tips:
- Inform employers about how you were able to navigate your way throughout a foreign city with patience and understanding. This shows that you are able to tackle obstacles effectively with a clear mind.

-Discuss how you handled the foreign language barrier and how you were able to work with others from a different culture. This shows that you can handle diversity well in the workplace.

-Talk about how your study abroad experience allowed you to strengthen your independence, flexibility, awareness, problem-solving skills and leadership and explain specifically how this was a direct impact from your time abroad.

As stated in the article, although studying abroad is a fun experience, it can also be incredibly beneficial when it is marketed correctly during an interview. I plan on trying to study abroad this summer and I look forward to all of the invaluable experience and lessons I will learn.

What do you think about studying abroad and how it can help while job searching? Let us know!

How Does Philly Rank in America's Favorites?

According to Travel+Leisure Magazine's "America's Favorite Cities" reader poll, Philadelphia does not seem to be one of America's favorites in many categories. The best rankings for Philly came in the categories of pizza, historical sites/monuments, and museums/galleries. The worst rankings came in the categories of cleanliness, barbeque, and relaxing retreat. A notably negative result from the survey was Philly's ranking as the third rudest city in America, following New York and Los Angeles.

A Philly.com article suggests the reputation of Philly sports fans may have contributed to the city's high ranking on the rudeness scale. The tales of rowdy and highly intoxicated spectators at Philly sporting events, especially those which gained significant media coverage this past year, may have reflected poorly on the demeanor of the city as a whole.

To some, the results of this type of survey come as nothing more than entertainment. To others, such as those in the tourism and hospitality industry, these rankings may be more important. The economic structure and job market in cities such as Philadelphia thrive on tourism, so it is important to keep the visitors coming. From the PR perspective, the city may need to take the low ranking categories into consideration for making improvements and emphasize the high ranking categories to visitors.

The accuracy of this type of survey is questionable, as it is based purely on reader responses. However, the results are interesting and could be beneficial to the city's tourism and hospitality industry. What do you think about the rankings? Would any of them affect your decision about whether or not to visit a city?

Defining PR

Public Relations is a subject that interests me vastly, an industry to which I am a dedicated student, a field in which I one day hope to work.

It's also a topic that's difficult to put into words. In fact, whenever I meet someone who asks me to explain the PR industry, I find myself challenged to describe the industry concisely. PRSA has provided a simple definition of PR on its website, but even this major professional organization devotes an entire page to fully defining PR.

Ronnie Manning from the blog "Fresh As..." recently published a post sharing his peers' definitions of PR using 140 characters or less. Check out the post and see the definitions that were submitted. I really liked Jason Mudd's: "telling your story and sharing your news with internal and external audiences to build trust and ties." Laura Crovo's was also very tight.

This blog post inspired me to work on my own definition of PR. How do you define public relations?

Groupon is Not for Every New Business

One of the hardest tasks for a new business is starting a relationship with the public. How does one manage a relationship with the public if the public doesn’t know the company exists?

Recently, new businesses have been utilizing a website known as Groupon to gain public recognition.

The site features a deal a day from a new company. The idea is that the one day offer will draw customers to that new business. These deals are specified by location and are now offered in 375 American cities. Before sites like Groupon, beginning companies had to rely on advertising through newspapers and radio.

Groupon has been an extremely successful company, currently valued at $3.7 billion. The real question is: how profitable have the relationships been between the companies who offer the deals and the site’s subscribers?

The site is a great way to build an initial relationship with customers, but it’s not for every company. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal entitled “Groupon’s $6 Billion Gambler,” the average subscriber to Groupon is a woman between the ages 18-34 who makes $70,000 a year. Due to the demographic of the average subscriber, the companies that have had the most success were spas and salons. New restaurants have not had much success from the website.

According to another Wall Street Journal article entitled “Groupon Satisfaction Rate Not So Hot, Study Finds,” most of the subscribers of the site are bargain hunters. Due to this type of an audience, there is a small number of returning customers when the product goes back to full price.

Groupon has helped some companies gain an initial customer basis, but not every company benefits from the site. The important thing to remember is that a media outlet’s audience is always important. Always research the outlet before you use it for your business.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Nick Stackhouse.

Quora: A New Social Media Platform

A recent article from Ragan.com discusses a new social media platform called "Quora." Quora describes itself as a “continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it.”

So what does this really mean?

According to author Matt Wilson, Quora serves as a question and answer-based platform that strives to provide accurate, focused, concise answers that have a specific audience in mind. Reaching your audience is the backbone of any PR campaign. A platform that allows users to find the exact information they are looking for instantly, without having to sift through massive pages of information, is not only convenient but is any communication professional's dream. Many professionals agree that Quora will be a beneficial tool for companies and mainstream society alike.

Mario Sundar, Social Media Manager for LinkedIn, shared some valuable insights on Quora. He said, "It's the chance to find peers and experts in your field who share a common love of topics and issues." Quora currently caters to academics and technology, but that is likely to change as they open up their platform even more, similar to when Facebook became open to the public. Sundar also said he can see companies using Quora as a corporate blog for providing their audience with insider tips about the company.

To understand what PR professionals can get out of Quora, author Matt Wilson provided some key insights from Poynter's Mallary Jean Tenore, who suggested six ways reporters should use the site. Here are her suggestions:

1.) Ask questions about local events and hotspots. For instance, TBD.com asked for recommendations for the best Washington, D.C.-area pizza joint.
2.) Find story ideas and sources by following users who work in the areas you cover.
3.) Ask users what they would like to know from the people you’re going to interview.
4.) Find out whether people are interested in a topic you’re covering by asking about it or searching for it.
5.) Search for what people are saying about you and your organization.
6.) Build your reputation as an expert by answering questions and giving feedback on others’ answers.

To read more details about the Quora platform or to see the full article, please click here.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Michele Reilley.

URL Shorteners - Tweet Savers and Now...a Threat?

Many on Twitter frequently use URL shorteners to share information and direct followers to another site in the allotted 140 characters. Some original URLs are more than 100 characters long, and we know as PR folks that you can't just throw a link on the Twittersphere without any introduction to entice people to follow-through. The words are flowing and all of the sudden you realize you're (gasp!) at -75 characters. That's when you really appreciate the "tiny" URL.

The application PRowl Public Relations (@PRowlPR) uses, www.tinyurl.com, takes a long URL and converts it into 26 characters with the click of a button.

Although URL shorteners are often a Tweet saver, they should be clicked with caution. Originally, your most known threat was to only follow links from sources you trusted since the reduced URL gives no indication of where you are going. Now, you don't only have to worry about the credibility of the source (since they're the ones making the URL), you have to worry about the possibility of hackers/worms taking the actual URL shortening program hostage.

It was reported this morning that Google's URL shortener goo.gl is compromising Twitter accounts and spreading links to a fake antivirus site called "Security Shield." Under no circumstance should you install this "antivirus" solution. Also, if you notice any goo.gl links are posted from your account that you did not create, you are advised to change your password immediately and run an antivirus scan of your computer.

There is always going to be a new threat on the Internet, but try to be aware of tweet styles of people you follow so you can hopefully alert yourself that something seems "off" before clicking the shortened URL. And, as always, don't click on links from people who you don't trust.

Happy Tweeting to you - be careful out there!

Twitter Gets Sued

What is your first reaction to hearing the statement "Twitter gets sued?" Mine was something along the lines of, "If Twitter turns into Facebook..." and my thoughts trailed off into various options of what I would do if my favorite social media site was to turn into the controversial social media giant. Facebook is well known for users and companies rebelling against its practices. But Twitter?

I found an article on TechCrunch, ironically through Twitter, about the law suit being filed against the social media site. This is where the story gets even better. Twitter is being sued for allowing celebrities to interact online through its social media site.

Take a moment and let that sink in.

Celebrities are people too, right? Not according to VS Technologies who is suing Twitter. VS Technologies has a patent claiming ownership of "method and system for creating an interactive virtual community of famous people."

TechCrunch asks, "For real?" For real.

Read the article to gain some insight into the law suit. Do you think VS Technologies stands a chance in winning this law suit? After reading the article, I don't think so.

Increasing Your Facebook Fanbase

As a public relations student enrolled in a Social Media Management course this semester as well as the assistant firm director of an account that has created a brand new page for our client, the article 21 Creative Ways to Increase Your Facebook Fanbase from Social Media Examiner quickly grabbed my attention. Whenever creating a new Facebook page for a client, gaining followers can be incredibly difficult and frustrating. Other than generating unique content for your users, the article outlines 21 great ideas for building and maintaining a following for your brand, client or organization. Here are just a few:

1. Add the link of your fan page to your email signature. Therefore, whenever you communicate with your personal and professional contacts you are allowing everyone to directly access your page and providing them with the opportunity to share it with their own contacts.

2. Get fans to tag photos. Whenever you host an event, take several pictures and upload them to your page. Encourage your fans to tag themselves in these pictures because it will create additional (and free!) exposure to others' news feeds.

3. Make a compelling welcome video. Create a video for your page that explains a.) what your fan page is about, b.) who it's for and c.) why they should become members. This will allow you to increase your conversion rate from visitors to fans.

4. Place Facebook Ads. This is incredibly affordable and can easily boost your fan page because it is the most targeted traffic your money can buy. Additionally, Facebook displays several friends who have already liked the page, further encouraging their contacts to join.

These are only 4 tips from a list of 21 great ideas! Be sure to check out the rest of the article.

What additional tips do you have for increasing your fanbase on Facebook? Let us know!

Facebook Releases More Personal Information

Some people are skeptical of using third party applications on Facebook due to reports of Facebook granting the developers access to personal information, but others continue to use the applications freely. However, the information these applications can access may have just become a little more personal than some would like, including your home address and cell phone number.

Personally, I do not have my address and phone number listed on my Facebook page because I didn't find it necessary to share that information with all of the Facebook world. Many of my Facebook friends do have this information listed, as they may feel more comfortable than I do about sharing it with all of their Facebook friends. Sharing the information with your network of friends is one thing, but sharing it with the developers of third party applications is much different.

To be fair, Facebook does request your permission before allowing the applications to access your information. However, I have to wonder how many people will click "allow" before realizing what information they are agreeing to share. According to an article on Switched.com, Facebook claims sharing the information makes it easier for users to register with other sites. In my opinion, it just seems like another way for spammers to gain access to us.

How do you feel about Facebook sharing this information?