My New Friend

This week my best friend Ericka got a puppy. I have been deemed as an Aunt to this wonderful little rascal. Meet Milano, one of the most adorable puppies I have ever seen. She's a pure bred boxer. She looks tiny now, but she will grow to be around 80 pounds.

 After being around her and seeing Ericka's face when she finally got to take her home, I want a puppy of my own.However, I realize that getting puppy now would not be a very good idea. As a soon to be college graduate, now may not be the best time to get a dog of my own. Next year I will be working long days and will also be living in a city.  It would be extremely hard to find the time and energy to train a puppy. 

Ericka is a junior this year and knew that she wanted to get a puppy when she graduated and was going to be living on her own. She decided to get get Milano now so she could train her before she moved away. I think this is a great idea. This way, the dog will be house broken and hopefully listen well.

I want to have a dog of my own within three years. Right now I am looking at two different types of dogs. I think Pomeranian are absolutely adorable. Their hair is crazy and the ones I have played with are nice too. I also like bull mastiffs, a breed that is much larger than Pomeranian. These dogs look tough but are actually very calm.  For those of you who have seen the movie, the dog in The Sandlot is a bull mastiff. Here's a picture of both. 

In my opinion, they both are awesome. Which type of dog would you prefer? Hopefully one of these cuties will be my furry friend soon.

Engaged Games

This week in class, all the students and I divided into groups of four and each took a section in Brian Solis's Engage. For this assignment, each group created a study guide and interactive game to play with the entire class. I thought this was a helpful and fun activity! The study guides helped me highlight the key points in the book and the game allowed me to better retain the information. My group was assigned to examine Part 4.

My group and I thought that the 10 Rules of Engagement must go on the study guide. These rules can be found on page 190 in the text. Similar rules have been identified in some of the other books we have been reading. The Rules are extremely important, and if remembered, can truly help someone be a strong social media force.

Another piece of information my group and I found to be important was the list of the divisions of social media found on page 218. There are seven different workforces in the field of public relations that Solis highlighted in Part 4 of the text. These divisions are: 

• Customer or product support
• Product and sales
• Marketing/PR
• Community
• Corporate communications
• Crisis
• Support 

These divisions seem to be broken down by different areas of expertise a professional can work. Another area we expanded on were the examples of Blogsearch engines, which can be found on page 237. Some of the search engines that were pointed on in the text have been mentioned in class. However, Solis listed some my group and I had not heard of before, such as BackType and Twingly. The group and I thought highlighting these searchengines would be a helpful tool we could all use as relatively new bloggers.

The last portion of the text my group and I added to the study guide was the information printed on pages 220-225. These five pages are about the elements of the conversation index. There are four pieces of the conversation index: listening, documentation, presentation and observation. The conversation index is also an applicable tool my classmates and I can use.

I thought this activity was fun and interesting. The games that were played resembled wheel of fortune, hangman and a true and false questioning game. Our professor gave away prizes to the winners of the games. Not only did I learn the information, I was super excited when I won the Wheel of Fortune/hangman game!

Gwyneth Paltrow Can Do It All

I came across this article the other day. The article, She Acts. She Sings. She Cooks? was posted on The New York Times Web site on April 13, 2011. The article is all aboutt a massive dinner part that Gwyneth Paltrow hosted. Sixty celebrities including Cameron Diaz, Jay-Z, Martha Stewart and many more, were invited to indulge in quite the exquisite feast. The catch was, Gwyneth was the cook.

Who ever is Gwyneth's publicist deserves credit for this event. This large dining event was held to announce the release of Gwyneth's first cookbook called, "My Father's Daughter." During the dinner, all the meals prepared were from the new cookbook. The first course was roasted red peppers with anchovies and escarole This dish seemed to be a hit with the guests. For the main course, Gwyneth prepared a pappardelle with a hearty duck ragù, however a lighter version of the tomato sauce was used. Sounds good if you ask me. For dessert, a dish full of berries in a caramelized cream was served along with a cup of warm coffee.

The guests seemed to thoroughly enjoy the meal and had high regards for Gwyneth's abilities in the kitchen. This was a hidden talent for this celebrity that was publicized in the perfect manner. In recent months, it seems that celebrities are only mentioned in the news for the bad, strange or inappropriate things they are doing. This was a great example of a celebrity in the spotlight for something positive. Kudos to Gwyneth's publicist. The release dinner party was a giant success.

Home Sweet Home

This blog post is a little different. Instead of writing the blog on my laptop while I'm sitting in my room, posted up in the PAC lab working on one of the Macs, I'm writing on my parent's desktop at home in wonderful Howell, Michigan. Since I have been home I have realized a couple of things.

One thing that hit me since being home, is this could be the last time I am home for a while. After graduation, I am planning on moving to Columbus to begin my professional career. Actually I plan on moving straight from Ada to Columbus the week after graduation. Columbus is a little less than four hours away from home, so while I am home this weekend, I am moving things to and from Ada. I am trying to sort through what I will need for my new apartment and what I can leave for my parents to sell in a garage sale. Knowing that I am officially moving out of my parents house in less than two months is a bitter sweet feeling. I am excited to be on my own, but it makes me appreciate home more than ever.

Another thing that I realized when I first walked in the door, is my house has a certain sort of smell that makes it "home." I am sure others can relate to this too, but there is a specific aroma that is different from other places I have been. It smells like the laundry detergent my family uses and the scent of my mom's favorite Bath and Body Works candle. This smell puts me at ease and instantly puts me into relaxation mode. I love it and I really am going to miss smelling it on a regular basis.

Since I have been, I have decided that I am getting a dog. My family and I have two dogs. One is $15 special from the pound who is a mix of nearly six different breeds of dog. His name is Buddy and he is big, black and hairy. Our other dog is a small pure bred  pug named Jayce. Both of them happily welcome anyone who comes to the door, instantly want to play and add a sense of security when anyone is home alone. If I am going to be living by myself, I am going to need a dog. Even at the age of 22, I am completely scared of the dark. A big, furry dog would help make living by myself better.

I love being home and every time I am here it is hard to leave. Knowing that this is the I will be out on my own after graduation is sort of overwhelming but exciting at the same time. I will truly be independent, living four hours away from my family in my own place while making my own money. Moving into my own place in Columbus is going to be fun, but no matter when I move in my life, no where will be as good as my home in Michigan.

My VisualCv

Here's the link to my new VisualCv account. This is my online social media resume that I created for an assignment for my social media class. Also, feel free to view my LinkedIn profile!

Engage in the News

This week I was was looking for something to write about for our "PR in the news" blog. I started researching and came across an article about one of the books we are reading in class, Brian Solis's Engage. The article focused on what the book was about and also asked readers to "engage" and comment with suggestions that Solis is going to use in another edition of his book.


The version we are reading in class was released one year ago, and is referred to by many PR professionals as a "guide for brands and businesses to build success and measure it on the 'new Web." During an interview that is mentioned in the article, Solis pointed out some changes he made after receiving feedback about his book. He used social media, such as Twitter and blog posts, to listen to what his audience had to say. Scott used this research and made changes. He cut 35,ooo words from the original book, wish turned out to be roughly 40 sections in the text. Pretty significant. He also used what his viewers had to say to create new sections and tweak certain chapters.


Solis stated, “It was less about worrying about people’s attention span and more about trying to revise the flow of how I wanted people to experience the book. It wound up being shorter, but I introduced new topics to improve that experience and add more value."


In my opinion, this was a great example of a PR professional at work. He listened to his audience and made adjustments in order to make his product fit to their demands and needs. So far, from what I have read of Engage, I enjoy it and find the information educational, interesting, and helpful. While reading this article, I also checked out Solis's blog. Let me say, as a recent blogger, I found his blog to be somewhat extravagant and fancy. However it was, like his book, interesting. If you have not checked out his blog yet, you definitely should.

Oh Great and Powerful Webmaster

This week I read the ninth chapter in David Scott's The New Rules of Marketing and PR. This chapter focused on web-based communication, which for me, is an unknown world. Looking back, I wish I could have fit a web design class into my schedule somewhere, because I believe learning the tools to create, design, and manage a Web site would be phenomenal. In fact, this week we started the election process for our PRSSA chapter, and one of the positions few students were quick to pursue was "Webmaster and Historian." So what does a Webmaster actually do? Thanks to Scott, I now know.

According to Scott, "at many companies, Webmasters-the kings of technology-focus all their attention on cool software plug-ins, on HTML, XML, and all sorts of other 'MLs; and on nitty-gritty stuff like server technology and Internet Service Providers." Sounds complicated. Scott makes an interesting point further in the chapter about the content of the Web site. Is the Webmaster in charge of producing all of the content too? Not always, however this is the most important part of a Web site. Scott stated, "the best Web sites focus primarily on content to pull together their carious buyers, markets, media, and products in one comprehensive place where content is not only king, but president, and Pope as well." It is clear that developing new and fresh content for a Web site is the key to whether or not the site is successful at reaching the target audience and properly disseminating the message.

Scott continued to emphasize the importance of knowing and understanding the buyers. Once the Web master has a clear concept of the needs, wants, and demands of the buyers, this information should be used to create a Web site. After reading more about what goes into creating and maintaining a Web site, one thing is clear. The people that do this well must have a passion for this. I wish I had the Web site design knowledge in my arsenal of skills as I prepare to enter the professional world. I think people who do are very fortunate.

35 days

Where has time gone? As of this coming Sunday, I only have 35 days left as an undergraduate student and Ohio Northern University. This feels absolutely crazy. Before I walk across the stage and receive my diploma, there are a couple more things on my "Bucket List" that I want to cross off.

One thing I want to do before I graduate is pull a good prank. I know that makes me sound like a high school student, but it has always been something I want to do. My housemates and I have been plotting a couple of different tricks we hope to pull on some of our close friends. We were thinking about putting plastic spoons all over their yard or covering someone's car in plasticwrap. (If you have any ideas, please comment!) The only thing holding us back is that the "target" is a house full of boys, who could very well retaliate and start a prank war.

The second thing I want to do is venture past Johnson street and see the outskirts of Ada. In the four years I have been living in Ada, I have never gone past that street. It seems like unknown territory, and I know the likelihood of finding anything interesting or shocking is slim to none, but I still want to take part in the adventure.

Another thing I want to do is have a campfire in my backyard with friends. This probably sounds pretty sappy, but I think it would be fun. We have a fire pit in my backyard that my roommates and I have not use yet. I am not picturing all of my friends and I holding hands and singing "coom-by-ya", just spending time together before we all part ways.

The fact that my college years are coming to an end is sad and scary. It will be strange not to see the same people I have been friends with for four years. As small and simple as these "Bucket List" things may be, I hope I am able to cross them off the list.

CRASH

Picture this: You're a senior in your last quarter of college and it is a Friday night. The metropolis your college is so conveniently located in is booming with fun activities and happy people just looking to unwind from a stressful week. However, you are not one of those people. You are a diligent and dedicated student, who is confined to your room with a looming 15 page paper at the top of your "To Do" list. Even though it is a Friday night, and you can hear music blaring from neighboring houses and the laughter of your peers, you have your thinking cap on and totally working. You are on a roll and just busted out six pages of your demanding assignment in only two hours. As you smile and start to think "dang...at this rate I may be able to be social tomorrow night," a giant window pops up and begins blinking bold red words like, "MALICIOUS VIRUS," "CORRUPTED PROGRAMS," and "38 VIRUSES TOTAL." As you scream like a two-year-old who just got a piece of candy ripped away from them, you frantically try to correct the problem. You are power poking every key, pounding on the power button, and slamming your flash drive into the side of your laptop while crossing your fingers your six pages will save. All of the sudden, you are staring at a completely black screen. You just experienced a computer crash, and unfortunately, for the first time in four years, "you" was me.

I am not going to lie, when I saw that black screen I was instantly infuriated. I immediately called my computer engineering friend to see if he could fix it. However, it just so happened that this week all the senior engineering majors had to take this eight hour Fundamentals of Engineering exam on Saturday. My friend told me, "Ellen, I love you, but not that much. I'm cramming for the rest of the night, taking an eight hour long test tomorrow, then no offense...I'm power drinking for the rest of the night." I was disappointed, but understood. Turns out, I lost my paper and my bibliography, which meant I had to go back through my 30-50 page long sources and find the one sentence I used in the paper.

In case this happens to you, and you somehow miraculously get your computer to deviate from the eerie black screen, check out this site. There are some instructions on how to rid your computer of the evil viruses.

This was one of the most stressful events I have ever had happen to me. Needless to say, I spent the rest of Friday attempting to get back to the point I was at before my computer crashed. I reached the four page mark, spent Saturday night working on it, and the majority of Sunday. However, it is done, and I have never felt so relieved.

Videos and Podcasts

In class this week, we discussed podcasting and videos. We went more in depth in the discussions and looked at chapter six in David Scotts'  The New Rules of Marketing & PR, which focused heavily on podcasting. However, I tried the relate what we were talking about in class to work I am doing. This week I was able to relate the material we were covering in class with the job I have on campus.

For the last four years, I have worked for ONU's Sports Information Department. This year, the Communications and Marketing and Sports Information Departments created 30 second videos featuring ONU's student athletes. These videos have been used to create awareness about the excellence of our academic and athletic programs, highlight the achievements of ONU's student-athletes, and recruit future students. Here is the first video that was made.

This video has been viewed 1,718 times. The video plays on the JumboTron before basketball games, on ONU3TV, and in neighboring towns. This video was a success, which led to the creation of other videos. Here is another video highlighting other student-athletes who are successful on and of the court or field.

This video has 2,346 views. The Communications and Marketing Department have also created videos highlighting student life at Ohio Northern, which have been viewed over 4,000 times. It's clear, that even when dealing with a small market, videos and podcasts can be effective when reaching out to a target public.

A Trip To The Windy City

One thing I learned this week is as soon as you make plans, it is very likely that those plans will change.

This week I traveled with fellow ONU PRSSA chapter members to Chicago. A group of approximately 15 students and I got the opportunity to spend three days visiting some of the best public relations agencies in town. Before this trip, I had never considered working for a public relations agency, especially in a big city like Chicago. However, I have to admit after visiting with Ruder-Finn, Ketchum, Golin Harris and Weber Shandwick that has completely changed.

As a public relations and sport management dual major, my aspirations have also been to work in the sports world. As a senior, I feel as though I could work in a number of different positions within a professional sport organization, which is why all the applications I have filled out this year have been directed toward getting a job with a sports team. However, after learning more about the opportunities that lie in a position with a public relations agency that may change. Many of the myths and opinions I had about working for an agency were squashed after learning more in Chicago.

The first is the idea that all agencies have "scary, demanding, and harsh" atmospheres. I could not have been more wrong. Although it is clear that agency life is competitive, it was clear that the people working at the firms we visited absolutely loved their jobs. Each professional highlighted fun activities employees do together, mentorship programs and the open door policy their bosses maintain. Some firms talked about happy hours on Friday, volunteer days and softball teams they particpate in that bring employees closer together. To me, this was fantastic and very surprising.

The second myth that was busted was how I thought the hiring process worked. Before visiting the firms, I assumed that account executive positions were announced and these firms looked to recent graduates to fill the position. Wrong again. Every firm we visited pointed out that new hires typically begin as an intern and stay in this position for three to six months. Then, the intern is evaluated and often promoted to either an assistant account executive or account executive position. It is clear that the way to get in with a public relations agency is through proving yourself as an intern.

The third and final opinion this visit changed is the idea that agency life does not fit my personality. Let me tell you, this was completely incorrect. After talking with representatives, it was apparent to me that I hold multiple personality traits that would fit perfectly in an agency setting. The ability to learn quickly, a strong work ethic and creativity were a few that stuck out to me. All of the professionals we met with had these traits, and I believe I do as well.

Overall, I am very happy I chose to go on this trip. It was an amazing experience that allowed me to walk away with a completely new perspective on the world of agency PR. I thought I had my life after college planned out, but after this trip, things may change. Thank you to all the professionals that took the time to meet with us, the ONU Communications and Theatre Arts Department, and our professors Aggie and Dr. I for giving us this opportunity!

The group at Wrigley Field with ONU alum and PR Specialist, Kevin Saghy

Me Me Me...MEMES!

This week, our readings focused on podcasts. I was excited to learn more about podcasts because this is one area that is new to me. Reading The New Rules of Marketing and Public Relations by David Scott helped me gain a grasp on what exactly a podcast is, why it is useful and how to create one.

According to Scott, "a podcast is simply audio content connected to an RSS feed." Scott alost pointed out that "podcasts were created because of two developments. The first development was the ability to add audio feeds and notifications to RSS. The second major development was the availability of those podcast feeds through iTunes." I found this to be fascinating. Podcasts have created a way for organizations an outlet to place information that audiences can reach easily. Podcasts allow audience members to download the information and listen it to it when it is most convenient for them.

Scott stated a number of reasons why podcasts are helpful. One way that stuck out to me was "how-to" podcasts. Companies and organizations have created series of podcasts for customers to use that explain how to use new products. These have been proven to be helpful for customers and clearly informed them of proper use of the product.

The readings this week were interesting and helpful. To my surprise, the books we have been assigned to read are enjoyable. I feel like I am reading leisurely, not studying a textbook which is great. The deeper we dive into the readings about social media, the more engaged I am to participate.

PaRtners Hosted By The Polar Bears

This weekend, ONU's Public Relations Student Society of America chapter had the opportunity to host the annual central Ohio PaRtners conference. PaRtners is a day long regional activity that allows students the chance to learn and gain helpful insight from professionals in a conference setting. Although the planning process was extensive, being a part of the team that cordinated the event was extremely rewarding.


On Saturday, we had approximately 50 students and 25 professionals in attendance. The day began at 9 a.m. and finished around 4 p.m. The day started with registration and breakfast where students could mingle with one another. Next, our keynote presenter, Daniel Lemin addressed all the students. Lemin is the current owner of Social Studio, PR agency in Los Angeles. Before he started up his own public relations firm, he was the past Corporate Communication Specialist at Google and Director of Paine PR. After the keynote presentation concluded, the first of three sessions began.


During the first session, students chose between one of three presentations to attend. The first three focused on working in a public relations agency, non profit PR and starting up a firm.  The second session included presentations about health care public relations, media relations and government PR. After this session, students and professionals broke for lunch. Lunch was sponsored by a local restaurant Kewpee. While the students ate, they were divided into teams and participated in an activity. The activity challenged students to tackle different aspects of public relations in a crisis situation dealing with professor passing a college basketball star so he could play in the NCAA tournament. After lunch ended, the last session was held. The three topics covered in presentations dealt with tips when job searching, transitioning into PRSA and utilizing the use of social media to brand yourself. At the end of the day, the winning team from the activity were selected and awarded a prize, a raffle took place then the ONU PRSSA chapter president made closing remarks.

I was amazed and very thankful that the day ran so smoothly. The food arrived on time, everyone that registered showed up and we stayed on schedule. It was evident that students were enjoying the sessions and professionals were eager to give advice. I had a wonderful time in the sessions I attended and walked away with more knowledge about the PR field.

Time To Be A Big Girl!

This Friday marks the end of week 4, which means I am half way through the last quarter of my college career. My goal at the beginning of my senior was to have a job lined up upon graduation. Now I know this is a goal almost every college senior has, however I never realized how much work it would consist of, how stressful it would be and how much it would propel me into realizing that I going to be part of "the real world."

Since fall quarter, I have been applying to numerous entry level positions. Most of the positions have been in communication, social media and public relations. These positions have also been in different fields of communications. However, I have noticed that numerous "entry level" positions require 3-5 years of experience. As a recent college graduate, I do not have that. I have been applying for the positions with this requirement any way, but I do not expect a call back.

During winter quarter, I attended three job fairs that were held by different professional sports teams. I tailored my resume to multiple positions I was thought were interesting. These job fairs allowed me the opportunity to meet face to face with potential employers, which I thought was great. The conversations I had with the professionals led to interviews, both on the phone and face to face. I am eager and excited to see how this long process ends.

As the midway mark for the quarter approaches, I am happy with where I am at in the process. I look forward to moving to a new area, making new friends and establishing myself as a young professional.