This was a cool PR example that I shared in class. A couple of my friends, and some other spiritual leaders around Clemson have been praying a lot about having an event that was all about Jesus, not about promoting a ministry. There were just a couple of guys with this vision and they had NO idea how they were going to make it work. They needed lots of funding, lots of volunteers and lots of promotion, and they had no way of arranging that. Last night was the event and I am so proud for them to say that the ampitheater was FULL! These guys worked tirelessly promoting there cause. They created a facebook group and event which constantly kept memebers updated with what was going on. They had a website for why jesus that was pretty impressive once it went up. They printed about 300 tee’s that I’m sure many of you clemson students saw around Clemson’s campus, and then they did something that shocked me. They created a twitter account. It wasn’t until I saw this that I realized how important twitter can be. Some of the same guys that created this twitter account were the ones that had made fun of me for being on that crazy social media tool in the first place. The event was a total success and I think the guys did a great job of promoting it around campus. People were constantly asking whoever wore the shirts, what exactly it was about and the word spread fast!
Volunteering In Sports Information Thursday, Apr 23 2009
Responses 8:19 am
This is another oppurtunity that I cannot believe I have the option of doing. As soon as I got to Clemson, my uncle told me that if there was any job I needed to get it would be a job in the Sports Information Department. This was before he even realized that I wanted to pursue public relations as a career, and he had no idea how invaluable this job would be for my career. Once I got involved with the basketball office, I found that I couldn’t leave…it’s a family atmosphere in there. But it has always been in the back of my head that I need to be working in Sports Information. I began talking to Tim Bourret this spring about possible plans for the summer. What we worked out was that I get to work in the basketball office and come over to sports information one day a week in the summer to volunteer. If sports and PR are my passions, then Sports information is where I need to be and Tim Bourret is absolutely who I need to know. I have no idea what I’m doing, I am just excited about the oppurtunity to get in there and learn all I can. I would say that I haven’t had the worst gig in the world as a college student…you know working in the Clemson sports department for all three years!
Turning my same old Job into Real World Experience Thursday, Apr 23 2009
Responses 8:10 am
This summer, after considering a couple of internship possibilities elsewhere, I’ve decided to work in the basketball office. However I’m looking forward to having new responsibilities. This has been a transitional year for me in the office. I have asked for more responsibility and the coaches and staff have responded. After working in the office for two years, I’ve seen the staff begin to recognize my ability to do work and my passion for understanding the innerworkings of the office and they have been giving me bigger responsibilities. This summer I’m looking to help our Director of Operations plan and possibly promote camp. I would also love to help promote our Coaches Versus Cancer Tigerfest even that will take place next fall. I think that the work experience that I gain in the office can be carried over into any career path I choose upon graduation, ESPECIALLY in the realm of sports promotion. Anyways I’m really excited about the opportunity to turn my routine job into a unique experience this summer!
Campaigning For Richard Thursday, Apr 23 2009
This past May I was asked to help out with a Student Body Presidential Candidate’s campaign. I was not close friends with the candidate, but we did have a mutual friend and so I agreed to meet with him and have him share his ideas with me before I agreed to be a part of his campaign. After our meeting, I realized that I really supported his vision for Clemson University. His ideas were solid, ones that I would love to be instated here at Clemson, and his ability to lead an entire college community was evident and so I decided to join the campaign as one of his 15 at large members. I was excited to help him out in any way I could, but was expecting that my help would be needed in the week of active solicitation before elections, passing out fliers, coupons and candy. Within a week of agreeing to be a part of the effort, I realized that I would be doing a lot more that passing out suckers on the library bridge, I would be put in charge of promoting him to the entire school. I saw him make requests to the people who were originally in charge, and get no response and his campaign was consequently suffering. I decided to take matters into my own hands and to take charge of the campaign. What was originally meant to be a 15 person team, ended up being a tag team effort between the candidate, a couple of loyal members of the team that agreed to help, and his new manager: me. We created a facebook group, website, and one member created a really cool sign to put up around campus. It wasn’t as flashy as some of the others, which may have not worked to our benefit, but but put all the signs in front of any designer and I think ours would have won. One of the most unique things about our campaign was that we sent Richard out to digning halls, and areas where most candidates were not campaigning so that he would be able to have open communication with the students who would vote. This was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I have ever been through. I was thrown into a position that I never signed up for and had to make the decision to commit all of my time to a cause that I believed in. Even though we did not win, it was a very close race, and at the end of the day I was honestly able to say that I was proud of the campaign we ran. I think I got invaluable grassroutes promotional experience!
The makings of a great blog Sunday, Nov 30 2008
As I’ve been looking at various blogs, I’ve noticed that there are a couple things that make a blog appealing to readers. It’s clear that those who blog consistently have more of the qualities that are a part of a great blog.
I think the most important thing a blogger can do is write in ways that engage a reader. In other words, I’ve noticed that those writers who have found an appropriate audience and written for them (well not necessarily for them, but in a language and voice that the readers can connect to), tend to have more success-more responses, better feedback, more readers- than those who don’t. Make it relevant!
Going along with writing for the audience is letting one’s voice shine through. I enjoy reading those blogs that are in a conversational tone, rather sounding like monotone research reports. The voice/tone that a blogger takes affects how readers feel about reading and interacting with that writer.
Also, While perfection is certainly not a requirement in the blogging world, or even a desired product, I think that having too many grammatical errors distracts a reader from the message of the blog post. Also, using a strong vocabulary, and the proper jargon (if writing for an audience who will understand that set of jargon), helps to make posts reader-worthy.
Keeping Blogs clear and concise is a good thing as well. If they are too long, people may stop reading before the writer actually gets to his or her point. Also, formatting posts with appropriate white space, bullets, fonts, and bold, italics, etc…makes it easier to read.
While there are endless criteria for a great blog, these are the things that tend to stand out for me as a reader.
Great Blog’s From PRinciples class Wednesday, Nov 26 2008
Responses Erin Martin, Kristi Yoos, PR 11:19 pm
I’ve been looking at different blogs in our class and I’m pretty impressed with several people’s, but a couple really stood out for me.
I’m really impressed with erin’s consistancy in the blogosphere. I can look at her blog and recall several things that we learned during class. She also has several insightful responses to what she sees in everyday life about P.R. Her responses are short and to the point but they are packed with cool information.
I really enjoy reading Kristi Yoo’s as well. Her responses are not quite as frequent as Erin’s however when she does write she is very thorough. She blogs about things that we talk about in class, as well as things that she finds interesting in life related to PR. Also she does a really good job about using PR jargon…seems like great practice for PR blogging once we get into the professional world.
Blogging Anxiety Tuesday, Nov 18 2008
I think I have a case of blogging anxiety. There is something scary about putting your thoughts out in a blogosphere for everyone to read. My family has always been a big fan of “think before you speak” and I think that has translated into my fear of advertising my thoughts. My mom has always told me, be careful what you write, bry, because once it’s down on paper- or written in a text message, email, or blog- it can not be erased. People can use it against you. What if I say something that’s interpreted the wrong way? What if my opinion is seen as unintelligent? What if what I write is completely boring, and noone cares what I have to write? I generally like to write something, leave it alone, and then come back and look at it before I will let anyone else read it…so blogging is a very new principle to me. This is why I have been so reluctant to write free responces to Public Relations issues we talk about in PRinciples class. Well I think it’s high time I get over my Blogging anxiety. I’ll start writing my thoughts, because afterall, the more you practice writing, the more you grow!
