Here's to Life...and No Regrets

My Resume

2010-02-19T10:15:00.004-05:00

Katalyn D. Yenne

Public Relations · Event Management

Offering a tradition of performance excellence in academic, extra-curricular and business experience

Education

Ohio Northern University … Ada, Ohio

Bachelor of Arts, 2009 (Graduated with High Distinction · GPA 3.71 · Dean’s List)

Major: Communication Arts – Public Relations; Minor: Marketing

Regent’s College … London, England

Public Relations Seminar - International Public Relations and Advertising (March – June 2007)

Affiliations/Organizations

Delta Zeta Sorority … Ohio Northern University October 2005 to May 2009

President, Vice President of Membership, Public Relations Chair & Alumni Relations Chair

Oversaw and mentored 85 women in chapter (while representing chapter in national, state and local levels); planned and led 57 women through sorority recruitment (facilitated by 4 themed recruitment drives, receiving 2 state awards for fulfilling quota); coordinated fundraisers, “Buy-A-Woo” and “Turtle Tug;” planned alumni event attended by members from past 50 years.

· Participated in several community service functions including Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, blood drives, tutoring, education initiative teaching senior citizens to use Internet, “Light Up for AIDS Awareness,” and “Santa Comes to Sig Ep.”

Lambda Pi Eta · Phi Alpha Delta · Order of Omega

College Awards & Commendations

· PRSSA Outstanding New Member (2007): Voted on by ONU PRSSA chapter members recognizing best new dues-paying member; served as assistant director of student-run PR firm (Vision Communications) and conducted nationwide book launch as well as contributed to rebrand of firm.

· PRSSA Presidential Service Award (2007 and 2008): Presented chapter development session at PRSSA 2007 and 2008 national conference; recognizes dedication and outstanding service to organization.

· PRSSA Most Valuable Member (2008): Voted on by ONU PRSSA chapter members recognizing most valuable chapter member; won award versus 25 other eligible people for dedication, rebranding and re-launching of Vision Communications during 2007-2008 school year.

· PRSSA National President’s Citation (2008): National award recognizing excellence in public relations, university service, community activities and professional development.

· ONU PRSSA Outstanding Graduate (2009): Recognized out of 15 graduating seniors as outstanding graduate by members; received award due to dedication to chapter through leadership positions and obtaining several national chapter awards.

· PRSSA National Gold Key (2009): Highest individual honor; acknowledges outstanding members demonstrating outstanding academic excellence in public relations and leadership qualities.

· PRSA Outstanding Graduate Award of Excellence (2009): Runner up to award recognizing outstanding initiative preparing career in public relations; recognizes graduating senior from Capital University, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Northern University, Ohio University, Otterbein College or The Ohio State University.

· Delta Zeta Ohio Northern University Outstanding Public Relations Award 2006-2007: Served as public relations chair and guided chapter to recognition for best promotion of both chapter and Greek community to surrounding community.

Professional Experience

Vision Communications (Public Relations Student Society of America) … Ada, Ohio April 2006 to May 2009

Versatile student-run public relations firm focused on providing diversity, innovative ideas, creativity, service, strategic planning and results to help clients improve business.

Director/Assistant Director

Orchestrated and carried out responsibilities including supervision of operations, development of public relations campaigns and events, customer development and management, and contract negotiations; attended and contributed to meetings with account executives, account teams, PRSSA executive board, and Vice President of Professional Development.

· Spearheaded comprehensive rebranding and identity campaign; assisted with creation of Vision Communications name, contributed to logo design and slogan, and developed crisis communication plan; also created brochure, website and business cards to publicize firm.

· Attended and actively participated in sessions at PRSSA 2006, 2007 and 2008 national conferences; 1 of 4 presenters for chapter development session at PRSSA 2007 and 2008 national conferences; presented chapter development sessions “Getting Noticed: Top 10 Ways to Advocate for Your Chapter;” and “Making the Most of Your Chapter: A Guide on How to Use Resources” to 250-300 members.

· Successfully secured national accreditation (prestigious recognition) for firm while simultaneously guiding identity campaign and securing commitment of new clients; to receive recognition, student-run firms must have at least 3 clients annually as well as a set structure and documentation.

Polar Bear Nation … Ada, Ohio January 2008 to May 2009

Represents Ohio Northern’s mascot, polar bear; raises awareness of threats to polar bears as well as promotes “green” initiatives throughout campus.

Executive Account Coordinator

Orchestrated and carried out communication and marketing functions of campaign; contributed to meetings with community building, environmental, education and celebrations committees.

· Created campaign name and slogan: “Polar Bear Nation: Under the Northern Lights, He’s More Than a Mascot;” also contributed to development poster and logo, wrote website copy, created Twitter and Facebook accounts, and developed detailed communications calendar (enabling committees to publicize events).

o Notable campaign event included Polar Bear Ball held at Columbus Zoo and attended by approximately 350 students, alumni and faculty/staff raising $1,500 (donated to Polar Bears International).

Lima Memorial Health System (LMHS) … Lima, Ohio August to November 2008

Offers wide array of health care services throughout local community.

Communication and Marketing Intern

Created weekly electronic newsletter, contributed 3 stories to winter edition of LMHS newsletter, wrote several press releases picked up by local media, created new doctor reception program (including design of program and development of biographies for over 25 new doctors), conducted and compiled marketing research, and attended press conferences (including conference with American Lung Association).

SBC Advertising … Columbus, Ohio June to August 2008

Advertising and public relations firm specializing in retail brands; operations supported by approximately 100 employees; clients in public relations department included Elmer’s, Krazy Glue, Tyco, Premier Health Partners, AJ Wright, Channellock, Wayne Dalton, HoneyBaked Ham and Armstrong.

Summer Intern

Elmer’s: Assisted with radio media tours and television appearances; developed press release announcing Golden Hammer Award; developed social media report addressing basics of Facebook and Twitter.

Krazy Glue: Researched locations nationwide to host coast-to-coast tour; maintained contact with film festival officials and recommended booth design and give-aways; developed ideas for “Don’t Replace It – Fix It” campaign (several ideas used in final presentation).

AJ Wright: Collaborated with colleague on coordination of grand opening in Baltimore, Maryland; created list of community members and pitched invitations (to city mayor, Fox and ABC outlets), confirmed attendees and updated list, reminded media outlets of important attendees, prepared daily agenda, and allocated thank you notes to special guests; also collected names and media information for grand opening in Bronx, New York.

State of Public Relations Address

2010-02-19T09:29:00.006-05:00

My Fellow Public Relations Professionals:

Over a year ago today, I began my personal job search. Despite knowing the economy wasn’t in the best state, I thought I would not become an unemployment statistic; I figured my ambition and can-do attitude, as well as my extensive resume for a recent college graduate, would be enough to obtain a job. However, over the past 12 months, I have distributed close to 350 resumes and cover letters as well as conducted a freelance identity campaign and event. Unfortunately, I have not succeeded in securing a job or moving out of my parents’ house.

As President Barack Obama recently mentioned in his State of the Union Address, one in ten Americans still cannot find work. With Ohio having the 39^th worst economy - and unfortunately, this is the state I reside in - I am not surprised that I cannot find a job in any industry, especially PR. To accompany my hundreds of applications, I have also turned to the food industry and have considered employment at Walmart if all else fails.

However, after questioning my future and career path, I can firmly state that public relations is where I belong. My spirit may have wavered slightly during these past nine months, but I have never given up, just like other Americans during this tough economic time.

I have faith in the economy despite the rising unemployment rates. My hope is rooted in groups like Help A PR Pro Out, PR Open Mic, and the Public Relations Society of America (just to name a few), none of which have given up on the public relations profession. They are striving to help employ individuals as well as restore something all of us have lost a little bit of – hope.

Through these organizations, as well as the guidance and support from PR professionals, I will overcome the obstacles that have plagued our industry. I know I have endured a very difficult year, just like many other people, and recovery is in the near future.

Thank you. God Bless You. And God Bless the United States of Public Relations.

To get a glimpse of my resume, please check out "My Resume" post

Here I go again...

2010-02-15T23:54:00.001-05:00

I originally started this blog in summer 2008 with the intentions of sharing my weight loss progress with the world. I wanted to inspire people and provide some type of support if not entertainment. Unfortunately, like most things in life, the best intentions never really work out. My blog turned into one focusing on social media, politics, education and public relations in general.

Don’t get me wrong – I still love these subjects. However, since graduating in May 2009, my life has drastically changed – turned upside down if you will. Now, instead of living in large city with a PR job I love, I am two months away from being 23, single and living at home with my parents questioning my life.

For these reasons – and mostly trying to find myself – I decided to revive my blog and share my experiences on growing up and moving on in life. I hope my experiences will help upcoming or recent grads know that it is okay if they don’t know what they’re doing with life – just that life needs to be enjoyable. And if nothing else, we can share some laughs, maybe some tears and hopefully lots of entertainment (at my expense, naturally).

A Flaw in the System?

2009-09-27T21:20:00.003-04:00

When in college, you assume you’ll be able to find a job upon graduation. And why shouldn’t you? You’ve been active over the past four years, you’re knowledgeable about your major and you have a degree… so why haven’t you been hired?

As most current graduates realize, landing a job is not easy. I realize we are in a recession; however, it’s not necessarily a lack of jobs, but the flaw in the job search process. I have thankfully realized this by working with Janice Worthington, who has shown me that universities fail in preparing students for the job hunt. Throughout college, you learn about your major and professional development. Unfortunately, not enough focus is put on how to obtain your first job.

My experience with the Office of Career Services at my alma mater was not the best. I feel they were not beneficial for any student, unless they are actively pursuing an accounting, engineering or pharmacy degree (which, ironically, these are the majors that don’t need their services). And after talking with several recent graduates with similar aforementioned degrees, Career Services didn’t even help them. For this reason, I feel universities and other higher education institutes need to reevaluate where they are allocating their money and time.

I propose constructing a new system that will work for students. Universities should have a mandatory senior seminar course in which graduating students learn how to successfully conduct a job search. At my alma mater, we have a freshman orientation class to help adjust new students to college life, so why not have a senior course? I also feel that having a stable and well connected Office of Career Services for students, despite their major, will lead to successful alumni.

I believe this makes sense – undergraduates have spent the last four (or more) years learning about their major. For this reason, students should learn how to effectively search for jobs so they can apply their knowledge and won’t be working at a job they hate. If you feel the same way – whether you’re a parent, educator, recently employed, actively seeking a career or an undergraduate student – talk to your university. By working together, we can make a change.

A Wake Up Call?

2009-01-17T10:22:00.002-05:00

First and foremost, I haven't blogged in quite awhile and I apologize for that. I feel slightly lame and disappointed in myself. With that aside, I must write a personal post.

Yesterday was the whipped cream and cherry topping to a horrible week sundae. Wednesday night I had two flat tires - both on the same side. I am lucky enough to have a caring brother and a very helpful guy friend. They changed my tires in the below zero weather and sent me on my way. I dropped my car off the next day, only to find out that I needed all new tires and won't have my car back until Monday. Then our pipes froze and the weather got to 25 below zero.

Then Friday happened. I was feeling wonderful about life - we have a long weekend and I just talked to someone for awhile. I was taking my car over to Lima to get new tires put on since I am very bullheaded and wanted my car back. I was heading home after spending an hour and a half in Sam's Club when I started having thoughts about car accidents, which I often think about when road conditions are bad. I look toward my phone, which was sitting on my passenger seat, and kept thinking about life in general. I was listening to the radio and enjoying the song that was on - I can't even think of what it was now. Then a car headed toward me, so I moved to give more room on the narrow, icy road.

Well, the snow was deeper than what I thought, so I pulled my car back onto the road, only hitting a patch of ice. This sent me off the road, heading toward the utility poles. This was weird - moving toward the wooden poles seemed to go so fast and slow all at the same time. I had thoughts racing through my mind all while praying I wouldn't hit another car. My car came closer to each pole, snow flying, me tapping the breaks.

Next thing I know, I hit my head three times and woke up a few seconds later to find a man coming out of his house. I reached for my phone, which was on the floor, and called Bryan, my go-to guy - a friend who has proved he is as chivalrous as he preaches. I don't remember the conversation with him or my mom. I actually don't remember a lot besides my friends coming to my rescue and going from hysterically crying to laughing in a split second. Bryan and the boys were in awe that the air bags didn't deploy, and then spent time trying to set them off. I also can't get the image of the front end of my totaled car with half of the wooden pole under my car, completely uprooted, and the other half hanging and slightly leaning on my car.

I ended up going to the hospital a few hours later, giving in to people bugging me. I have a concussion and am completely sore. However, I will survive and I am okay. I realized, after having horrible and crazy dreams, that this will take some time for me to recover. I am just lucky that the accident wasn't worse - I could have hurt someone else, been seriously injured or been electrocuted.

Maybe I will go play the lottery like Bryan said. Or maybe, just maybe, this is a wake up call for me to relax and enjoy life.

What is going on Obama?

2008-12-17T23:33:00.002-05:00

Change. That was the basis of Barack Obama's award-winning presidential election which resulted in him being elected. However, I feel like we're starting to see the same old song and dance.

Even though Obama has been President-elect for only one month, he is already starting to dodge questions. As we all are aware, the hot topic in politics lately he has been about Illinois Governor Blagojevich trying to sell Obama's Senate seat and the involvement of Obama's own team members. In a recent interview with John McCormick, as seen here in Campbell Brown's "Cutting Through the Bull," Obama is asked about his Senate seat. And what is the response McCormick receives? He is interrupted and is given an almost rude answer from Obama.

Granted, I am sure our President-elect is getting annoyed by this topic. However, he cannot dodge the questions he doesn't want to answer.

After watching Brown's show, I am disheartened. I feel betrayed to a certain extent. I have been supporting someone I thought stood for change and being open with the nation - not secretive and rude to reporters. I want the President-elect back that we saw over the past few months; the one who wanted change and promised to bring that to the White House.

Who knows, maybe this is the Obama that has always been there but we were blinded by the glitz and glamor. I guess time is going to reveal our President-elect's true character and hopefully we will once again see the open, change-seeking man we elected.

Tweeting the Terror

2008-11-28T00:43:00.002-05:00

Twitter made history today. Read this moving article about how social media had an impact in Mumbai in the article "Tweeting the terror: How social media reacted to Mumbai."

My Fourth Thanksgiving in Two Weeks...

2008-11-28T00:28:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday. Many people are in disbelief when I say this since Christmas is often viewed as the best day of the year. I will admit, I love that season but I don't like what Christmas has become - too commercialized and everyone worrying about getting people the perfect gifts. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is all about being with your family - friends/relatives/neighbors - and having a good time.

With Christmas, you have all this build up for a day of unwrapping gifts and trying to figure out what to do with that pink bunny suit your aunt made you (A Christmas Story anyone?). Christmas is pretty much over in a few hours. However, Thanksgiving can be stretched out over the entire day and is not nearly as stressful as other holidays. Today was about being with the ones you love while eating, drinking and being merry. Thanksgiving is a calm day in which I get to cook (one activity I LOVE) and have people enjoy what I made. I love this holiday so much that I enjoyed four of them - today being my last one. I must admit, my third Thanksgiving with my friends may have been my favorite though - I mean, they have become family away from home and the experience was unique.

Grading ONU?

2008-11-26T00:01:00.002-05:00

While I was playing around with Twitterific (if you don't have this, I strongly recommend getting the software), I found an interesting post from PR Open Mic. The post, written by Peter Kowlaski and Katie Delahaye Paine, is entitled "Does Your University Make the Grade in Social Media?" and talks about a recent study conducted by KDPaine & Partners. The company examined how academic institutions are incorporating social media and created benchmarks in which universities can use to grade themselves in their use of new technology. Pretty interesting to read since ONU just finished their first social media class...

Life Ain't Always Beautiful

2008-11-22T09:43:00.004-05:00

For those country fans, you'll recognize this is a Gary Allan song. As I was getting ready this morning, I was thinking about how stressed we have all been over the past few weeks - dead and finals weeks have come and gone and guess what? We all survived. We survived pulling all-nighters, studying until we were slap happy and taking exams that lasted the entire two hours. And why? For most, so they can obtain good grades and go home.

However, for me, I just try to survive the weeks so I can get to the days after finals while still in Ada. Believe it or not, Ada is a pretty fun village after everyone leaves school. You don't have to deal with nearly as much drama and you see friends who you haven't seen all quarter.

Last night, my friends had a Thanksgiving dinner at their house and I had so much fun. Sitting with people that I hang out and talk to on a daily basis made me realize how lucky I am and how hard leaving this school will be in a few months. I mean, these are the people that I went to a gay bar with, have too many inside jokes to remember, met and stayed with their families, will have my back in a fight, and can call whenever I need anything (and vice versa).

I didn't think about it much until the song came on this morning. Life isn't always beautiful. We have hardships and drama, but without these problems, life wouldn't be nearly as interesting. In the words of Mr. Allan, "Life ain't always beautiful, but it's a beautiful ride."

One Down

2008-11-18T09:49:00.003-05:00

I just got done taking my first final of the quarter. I am slightly saddened that I will no longer see Dr. Hovis on the days I decide to show up for class. However, depending upon the grade I receive, I might be making daily visits to his class once again.

All joking aside, I am really nervous to get my grade back in that class. I haven't received a "C" yet in college and I have horrible feeling Hovis might be giving me my first one. I studied really hard for this final, too, leaving me barely any time to study for my social media final I have in 30 minutes. But whatever, I am over this quarter for the most part. I don't know if my senioritis is kicking in again or I am just exhausted and ready for a break. All I know is that after I take my social media final, I don't get a rest. Awesome. I love finals week.

Ethical?

2008-11-16T13:59:00.002-05:00

First, I have to say I am proud of myself at this moment. I am actually not procrastinating and am writing papers ahead of time instead of trying to finish an hour before they are due. As I was researching for my political communications class, I found an article about bloggers and social media consultants entitled "How Much Do Top Tier Bloggers and Social Media Consultants Get Paid? We Asked Them!" by Marshall Kirkpatrick. As I was reading this post, I started to wonder if a blogger is getting paid to write a post, how ethical is that?

I feel bloggers should not be paid for their opinions as this makes them less trustworthy and not as transparent. I could go on and on about this subject, but I don't think bloggers should get paid unless you are a social media consultant (which I kind of really want to do). I think if you're getting paid to blog you might run into an issue like Edelman and Wal-Mart, which could get me started on an entirely different rant.

On another note, how do you become a media consultant? I think this would be an awesome job, especially because I am very interested in this area of public relations. If anyone knows how I can make this into a career or if a graduate program exists for this area, please let me know!

Helping Out with the Essays

2008-11-15T17:07:00.005-05:00

I don't know what everyone is planning to write for their essay, but I found some interesting sites while I was conducting research. I found this link from the Denver Post online edition and is entitled "Redefining Journalism Ethics to Incorporate Social Media." Since I am not incorporating a great amount of social media into my essay, I figured I would share my knowledge. I hope the article helps someone!

Overview

2008-11-11T11:16:00.003-05:00

You know the end of the quarter is near when you don't have any more readings on the syllabus.

For today's class, we finished my favorite book of this quarter, "Citizen Marketers" by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. Even though Alisa almost didn't use this book, I feel this made up for the other books we had to read that I have been vocal about not liking (sorry, just telling the truth). "Citizen Marketers" taught us, I feel, more about grassroots campaigns and using word of mouth to our advantage. I believe that as PR practitioners and members of student-run firms, using these type of tactics are very beneficial and are sometimes forgotten among all the other tactics. Overall, I enjoyed this book a great deal and think any PR student should read McConnell and Huba's work.

Another Post About Twitter

2008-11-10T18:22:00.002-05:00

As I was looking on PRinciples, I found an article posted along the side bar. The blog was about how to use Twitter for your business and is creatively entitled "50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business" by Chris Brogan. Brogan provides invaluable information that can be applied to any PR campaign, from the smallest (which would be great for student-run firms) to international corporations. However, the author also talks about the negatives and positives associated with tweeting for you company. Check out the post, especially if you're into Twitter.

Let's Get Real

2008-11-08T12:44:00.003-05:00

I decided to start working on the Elie Wiesel Prize In Ethics Essay Contest today. I will admit, I didn't think writing a 3,000-4,000 word essay on how to be ethical would be hard. I mean, I am ethical and passionate about many topics that I could turn into a great essay. For example, how to be ethical with social media or in politics or even in public relations.

Despite these award-winning (or should be) topics, I feel very inadequate after ready the 2007 and 2008 winners' essays. I feel I can't even compare any of these topics or anything I have experienced in my own life to Magogodi Makhene, the 2007 first prize winner. Makhene's essay focuses on her growing up in South Africa and the continent's current state. As soon as you start reading the essay, Makhene pulls you in by her language and dramatic flashbacks.

Now, let's get real. I can't compare to that. Nor can I write an essay about living with the death sentence or God in ethics. Even though correct grammar and style are not always used, these essays are thought provoking and untouchable.

I was excited about this assignment, as I thought I or someone in my class could write a winning essay. However, after reading the ones that placed, I am not sure this is feasible. I have no doubt that we can all write awesome essays, but I don't think any of us have the experiences as these three essays stated. I hope I am wrong, but let's get real, we all go to college in a village.

YouTube Video

2008-11-07T11:05:00.007-05:00

An assignment in our social media class was to make a video for Do It Now! College Challenge. Now, having very little experience in making videos and never using iMovie, I was not sure if I could accomplish this project. However, collaborating with two other amazing individuals, Amanda McKelvey and Brandon Rainier, we formed KBA productions. Check out our video "How You Can Save A Life."

Today Should be a Holiday

2008-11-04T14:35:00.002-05:00

I am an advocate for people to vote. I don't care who you vote for or how you vote on issues, just as long as you vote. However, today I have heard so many students talk about how they wanted to help make history today but couldn't because of classes. This infuriated me, especially since early voting has been going on for quite some time.

Due to college students not always being on the ball by taking advantage of absentee ballots or the early vote option, I feel the general election day should be viewed as a holiday. This is a day that only comes around every four years, so giving students the day off from classes would not be an inconvenience. Young adults can head home to their respective county or stand in line to vote and not worry about missing class. Voting is a huge responsibility and right! If college is really trying to prepare us for the real world, they should observe election day and give students the chance to make a difference.

The New Rules for Reaching the Media

2008-11-04T10:55:00.002-05:00

We haven't had our social media class in two weeks and I am pretty sure withdrawal might be starting to set in. Not withdrawal from the class per say but from not obtaining new tools and sites for me to play with - I can only tweet so much in one day. To fulfill this small void, I decided to start reading even more blogs. The one that I found this morning relates to a chapter that we had to read today from "The New Rules of Marketing & PR."

I came across Paul Matson's blog entitled "The Social Media Institute" through PROpenMic's Twitter page. Matson's newest blog post was "How to pitch using social media" and since the chapter in the book was entitled "The New Rules of Reaching the Media," I thought this would be a perfect match. Even though David Meerman Scott (author of the book) provides excellent tips on how to pitch to the media overall, Matson gives individuals actual tools to use for social media pitching.

Matson has HARO as number one, and if you haven't looked at this Web site (which you should have from another post), then check out this resource. He also lists other sites that can help you build your media lists, where to find/post story ideas and even sites in which you can create a Fan Page. Overall, I find Matson's blog to be more relevant to our social media class than Scott's chapter. Scott seems to provide information that seems to be common knowledge or at least should be for people in PR. Matson's blog, on the other hand, gives great advice and Web sites to visit that are actually new and exciting. If you don't believe me, check him out for yourself.

So, What's Next?

2008-11-03T19:00:00.003-05:00

As fall quarter is quickly coming to an end, I am starting to wonder what I am going to do with my life. I haven't turned in my graduation application because I don't know what is next. In eighth grade you knew you were going to high school and once you graduated high school, you just knew you were going to college; no ifs, ands or buts. But now, undergrad will be coming to an end and graduate school application deadlines are quickly approaching. I am faced with a tough decision: graduate and enter the workforce or continue my education by going to grad school.

As I was reading different blogs today, I found two interesting posts. The first is by ArizonaBrian entitled "Does a master's degree in PR or Comm help?" The author is also facing the same dilemma as me and doesn't know if he should continue his education or enter into the workforce. This is an issue a great amount of PR students are facing, so I tried to help him by sharing the information I know. If you want to know my thoughts, check out his blog - his posts are pretty insightful.

The second blog, "What makes a PRofessional" by Zackery Moore, addresses items like earning a PR degree and obtaining your APR. After reading his post, I realized that if I do not get into graduate school, I will be fine getting a job. Even though I would love to go to graduate school right away (since I think this would give me a competitive advantage), I realized that experience is what gets you into the door, not where you went to school. Also, if I do not go to graduate school right away, I can work toward my APR. This, as Moore said, is an honor which many professionals do not have. I think my name would look pretty cool as Katalyn, APR.

If you're a professional or are in graduate school, let me know your thoughts about this topic. Should PR students continue their education after undergrad or should they enter the work force? Will earning an advanced degree be helpful or will having more education hurt you?

Ten of the Best Social Media Tools

2008-10-30T17:51:00.002-04:00

I am sitting on the front porch, handing out candy to the local children who are trick-or-treating. In the midst of freezing and waiting, I decided I needed to tweet about what I am doing. As I get on my beloved Twitter, I found that Peter Shankman, founder of Help A Reporter Out (HARO), had posted this link. The Web site has the top 10 social media tools for PR practitioners. I think this is pretty cool, especially since I have been preaching about HARO since my internship. Check the Web site out - the tools are pretty cool.

Whassup

2008-10-29T23:58:00.003-04:00

Does anybody remember the 1999 Budweiser "Whassup" commercial? Well, the one-hit wonders are making a come back with less than a week before the presidential election. The Wall Street Journal reported that the four actors who made "whassup" a catch phrase are back at making videos. However, can similar tactics that helped sell millions of cases of beer work on selling a candidate?

By using the characters and YouTube as the channel, the four actors parody their characters. However, this time around the men aren't the same relaxed and happy-go-lucky individuals we first met. In "Wassup 2008," the issues of health care, the Iraq war, housing foreclosures and the economy are tackled. Instead of ending the video with all their tongues sticking out and making grunt-like noises, the soldier asks the final "whassup" to the main character. And his response: "Change. Change, that's whassup."

Now, this video was posted on Friday and as of 12:10 a.m. on October 30, almost 3 million people have watched. What does this say about the influence of social media in the presidential election? If almost 3 million people have already watched the once beer guzzling, jolly characters take on the serious issues, how many will watch in a week? And, like the beer these men used to promote, will they have the success of reaching people to sell Barack Obama to them as a candidate? We may never know exactly how social media and videos like this will influence politicians.

You Are What You Publish

2008-10-28T20:02:00.003-04:00

I am going to be blunt - this past week's reading was very boring. I feel horrible saying this because "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" by David Meerman Scott is always very interesting. However, chapter 10 just seemed like common knowledge. I feel the information has been preached to me throughout college, especially recently since I am finishing my marketing minor.

The chapter discusses tailoring your PR and marketing plan to your customers and their persona. Now, if there was a great amount of new information in this chapter, I recommend you take a few marketing classes. Both consumer behavior and retailing focus on the consumers, their persona and how to position a good/service/organization. Maybe this information seems like common sense to me since we're being taught these methods in our classes. We haven't graduated and are not disconnected from the newest trends in PR and marketing. I think if you're a professional, this information will be excellent for you. I am looking forward to reading the other chapters in this book by Scott.

First-time Voter

2008-10-28T18:13:00.003-04:00

Disclaimer: I wanted to post this on October 23, but I didn't have time before I left for National Conference. However, I wrote this in a word document and forgot to post once we figured out how to get the Internet.

I voted for the first time today! Yes, I am "that" person who has the voting sticker proudly displayed on my shirt and am telling everyone I voted. However, unlike other individuals, I am not disclosing who I voted for. I will not let someone criticize me for choosing what I think is a personal choice - if you want to share, good for you. If not, let the person keep the secret.

I will admit, as I was driving to the location where I needed to vote, I became extremely nervous. I had a million questions running through my mind, wondering who would make a better president. Throughout the past months, I have leaned toward one candidate more than the other; however, when I went in to vote, I started second guessing myself. I kept thinking, "What if I vote for this candidate, they get elected and everything gets worse?" I didn't know if I could handle feeling that I chose someone to lead and they did a worse job.

Despite these feelings, I overcame my fears and doubts to vote. I went into the booth and stared at all the candidates along with their running mates. I couldn't believe how many people were on the list - at least two pages worth. Once I saw all the names, I began to freak out again. I thought of my one guy friend writing in Mickey Mouse's name and I contemplated pulling a similar stunt.

However, I thought about how involved I have been in this election and I wouldn't allow myself to not vote for an actual individual. After contemplating for at least 10 minutes, I finally casted my vote and ballot in my first general election. I felt such a rush and pride in voting, since I have not been able to partake in this responsibility until this election.

For this reason, I urge all of you to vote. Get informed within the next week (yes, only one week left until Election Day) about the candidates and issues in your community so you can have an impact. If you don't vote, results will occur that you won't like and you can't complain about since you didn't execute your say. Vote so you can actually complain about what the future president is doing and be taken seriously.

National Conference - Take 3

2008-10-28T17:59:00.005-04:00

Well, another PRSSA National Conference has come and gone. I must admit, every Conference is different, no matter how many times you have attended. As this was my third, and hopefully not final, National Conference, I kind of have some experience with national events. However, this year was different for many reasons.

Out of all the Conferences, I felt this was very unorganized. Maybe I am just being very critical and expecting a great amount, but no one knew what was going on. I would ask National Committee members questions about what was supposed to be happening and they didn't even know. We also didn't get the usual papers telling us what type of restaurants and places we should visit while in town. However, I must give the Conference Committee props since the odds weren't in their favor. I know I was concerned about going to Detroit but the Conference Committee and PRSA did a very nice job on making this city less scary.

While at Conference, ONU won some major awards. A graduate won the National Gold Key Award, which is the highest honor any PRSSA member can receive, and another was bestowed with the National President's Citation. However, the most important and exciting award ONU received was the Teahan University Service award. I was ecstatic about the Teahan because all of the work Vision Communications, our student-run firm, did counted toward this award.

I didn't realize this until I was talking with the past president today. I am just glad that all of the hard work VisComm has been doing was recognized at the national level. So, I just wanted to thank everyone who has worked on campaigns and has made VisComm what the firm is today. Without your help, we would not have been able to win the Teahan.

National Conference - Take 2

2008-10-26T17:33:00.002-04:00

Well, the second official full day of Conference is over. I must admit, today was pretty awesome. We had a great speaker, stellar sessions, a social with PRSA and a delicious dinner at Fishbone's with amazing professionals. However, I felt more accomplished today than any other day thus far.

This morning, Tyler Page, Vice President of Professional Development, hosted a session on student-run firms. Now, I am past firm director for Ohio Northern's Vision Communications, so I have some experience with small student-run firms. Since Tyler and I have worked very closely together over the past few months with VisComm and other firm-related activities, he asked me to be on the panel. Now, I have always gone to sessions for student-run firms and the same information has always been shared. Unfortunately, this info does not benefit small chapters since we do not have an application process or don't charge our clients.

However, this year was different. Page had me talk about why I applied VisComm for National Affiliation and how obtaining this honor has changed the firm thus far. The greatest sense of accomplishment came once Q&A started. Many of the students in the firm session belong to schools like ONU, so I was able to give beneficial answers instead of just talking, like the larger student firm did. Students and advisors asked for my business card - I never thought that would happen. They wanted my help and I am viewed as a semi-expert for small schools.

After being on the student-run firm workshop panel, I know what I want to do after I graduate from ONU. I want to go to graduate school and become the next VP of Professional Development. I respect Page so much and applaud all of his efforts he has done with this position. I also give great thanks to all PRSSA and VisComm members who came to the panel this morning and are active to make all these efforts possible. Who knows, maybe this desire I have for student-run firms will keep me going to establish my own PR firm. Maybe I will become like Dr. I or Alisa and influence students' lives on a daily basis. The rush of being able to help complete strangers just drives me and that is exactly why I entered public relations.

National Conference - Take 1

2008-10-26T00:41:00.002-04:00

I am really behind on my blog posts. I wanted to write a statement every day while I was at the 2008 PRSSA National Conference, but, as we all can see, this hasn't happened. Our room has one Internet ethernet cord and we brought two computers. Needless to say, I am not occupying the Internet as much as what I usually do.

Anyways, Ohio Northern presented our Chapter Development Session on "Making the Most of Your Chapter: A Guide on How to Use Resources" Friday afternoon. Overall, I feel we did an excellent job even though we did run over on time; I was slightly upset about this since the rest of the presentation went well. However, even though we were the best CDS (not to brag), room for improvement is necessary for all of us, especially me. Although, I am the toughest critic, especially on myself, so I don't know if I have any room to speak.

Despite my personal opinions about our CDS, I am quite ecstatic with the end results thus far. I was a CDS presenter last year as well and heard people talking about our Session for a few hours after we presented. However, during the second day of Conference, attendees are still talking about our presentation. I have had so many people approach me to inform me they learned more from us, four ONU students, than a session with a PR professional. I cannot express the pride and sense of accomplishment I felt when I heard students tell me this.

After months of work and weeks of intense practicing, all of our hard work paid off. Even though I submitted our bid to present a CDS, I could not have pulled this off without the help of my fellow presenters. Without Bryan Mulvany, Evan Roberts and Natalyn Giverson, our CDS presentation would not have had the same impact and influence. I also want to thank the nine other wonderful ONU students who helped during the presentation, from handing out folders to judging to keeping me calm.

The previous reasons are why ONU has an awesome PRSSA chapter - we know how to support our peers. As you will find in other ONU attendees' blogs, such as Madison Bender's, our chapter has a strong national presence. Even though we come from a village in the middle of corn fields, our chapter is known at national PRSSA events. I applaud my peers, as I know we will continue to "Rock the D" and show the other PRSSA chapters that even though we're small, we're not the underdog. We know what we're doing and we plan to be damn good.

Viral Marketing

2008-10-21T07:25:00.004-04:00

First and foremost, I am very upset that I cannot dedicate more time to writing this post since I love viral marketing. For this reason, I have a feeling I will revisit this topic later this evening, once my retailing test is over and not consuming my soul anymore.

After skimming the chapters for today (sorry Alisa), I decided to Google search viral marketing. I found an interesting fact on Wikipedia that says "a customer tells an average of three people about a product he/she likes, and 11 people about a product or service which he/she did not like." This shows that people will trust their peers more than marketers, which isn't surprise. Paul Gillin touches on this subject in "The New Influencers" when he discusses customer preference. I know from personal experience, I take my peers' opinions over any marketers since I know they are just trying to sell their product or service.

For example, I am going on a cruise this summer for spring break. Instead of just looking on Carnival's Web site and listening to Carla (our wonderful travel agent), I looked at other independent sites. I found TripAdvisor to be the most helpful, since this is a forum for people to share their traveling experiences. The site features reviews about everything imaginable and even has pictures available to look at from complete strangers' trips. After looking at unbiased information, I made my decision and know I will have a great time based off of others' experiences.

Social Media Getting an 'F'?

2008-10-20T17:41:00.005-04:00

I found this blog post through my usual channel. However, I am very upset after reading Marc Hausman's post, entitled "Colleges Fail on Social Media." I will try to contain my anger and frustration, as I realize this is one individual's opinion. Hausman begins his blog by posing a question: "Are the journalism and communications programs at US colleges preparing students for a business environment shaped by social media and Web 2.0 technologies?"

And what is his final answer? US colleges are failing to prepare students. Hausman answers his own question based off of ONE visit to an American University social media class. I won't go through the details of the post since you all should read and comment on his thoughts (believe me, you'll be angry).

I am more or less upset that Hausman and the other individuals are not giving college students enough credit. Just because one college social media class didn't know about Blogger, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. doesn't mean that the future of social media and Web 2.0 are doomed. I feel that Hausman should attend another social media class so he has a better, more informed opinion. If anyone is attending the PRSA International Conference, they can stop by the PRSSA National Conference and see the different sessions offered on social media.

Last Homecoming

2008-10-19T17:27:00.002-04:00

Homecoming weekend is one of the best weekends in Ada. You get to see old friends, meet new people and hear wonderful stories about ONU years ago. Usually, I always look forward to Homecoming since the festivities give you an excuse to do nothing for a whole weekend. However, this year was different.

As another post has indicated, I am having quite a problem being a senior. This weekend really hit me that this was my last Homecoming weekend as an undergraduate. Next year I will be coming back as an "old" person, not knowing any of the new DZs or what is even going on at ONU. I realize this might sound silly for me to be freaking out about, but I am just having a hard time adjusting to getting older.

On a positive note, this weekend was a great amount of fun. I always love seeing friends who graduated my freshman year and meeting Greek alumni. They always tell the best stories about the pranks they pulled that are legendary. When a group of older DZs come to the house, you always have to laugh to yourself because you know they will share their knowledge about everything with you, and I do mean everything (I was given advice on how to raise children). The women stand around, telling stories about each other and reminiscing about the "good old times." A small smile creeps upon my lips, wondering if my friends and I will be like that some day. I can only hope to be so lucky.

The Debate

2008-10-15T22:24:00.002-04:00

With the presidential debate two-thirds done, I decided to stop watching and evaluate how the candidates did. I am trying to stay moderate, so please do not freak out on me if I write something you didn't expect.

I believe, as of 10 p.m., John McCain actually won the debate. He had very thorough answers and kept Barack Obama on the defense the entire hour. However, McCain did show a more negative side this evening. He kept interrupting Obama, not allowing him to fully answer questions. As I was watching the debate with a friend, he kept commenting, "I'm just waiting for McCain to slug Obama." I agree, as McCain showed an angry and "bulldog" (as my friend said) side the public has not seen.

Obama, on the other hand, carried himself as a calm individual. I feel, however, he did not do as well as he usually does. He seemed caught off guard since McCain was being a bulldog and bringing up issues Obama did not want to talk about. Obama will be viewed positively after the debate and more or less the underdog due to McCain's negative behavior.

In debates, a winner can never really be determined. They can be evaluated with polls and interviews, but we won't know the final results until who is elected as the new president. McCain needed to bring his A-game tonight to still have a fighting chance in this election. All I know for sure is that he did bring his game and now the next three weeks will be a true presidential campaign once again.

Freaking Out

2008-10-14T12:52:00.002-04:00

Seven minutes. That is all the time I have left before my social media test. I am starting to freak out. I have studied for the past two hours and just want to take the test. Okay, let's do this. Let's take this and show the test who is boss.

The Old Facebook

2008-10-14T08:07:00.004-04:00

We had to read the article "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy" by Clive Thompson for today's class. I must admit, I enjoyed the article and made me start reminiscing about the old Facebook. You know what I am talking about - the one from freshman or sophomore year when you could only get a Facebook account with a college e-mail address. Unfortunately, a college e-mail address doesn't mean anything to Facebook today.

Facebook was such a great concept. I mean, what other sites were for college students only? None, and unfortunately the number has not changed. At one point, we were able to post whatever we wanted, including pictures from the previous night, without worrying about how this would affect our ability to get a job, into graduate school or even an internship.

Since Facebook went public, my use has decreased a drastic amount. Yes, I still go on the site and "stalk" people but compared to freshman year, I cannot waste four hours on the site. I either become irritated because Facebook crashes or I can't find what I am looking for since even searching has become quite tricky. I have a feeling that I will stop using Facebook once all of my current friends are out of college, which will be in a few years.

As quoted in Thompson's article, Mark Zuckerberg said, "Facebook has always tried to push the envelope. And at times that means stretching people and getting them to be comfortable with things they aren't yet comfortable with. A lot of this is just social norms catching up with what technology is capable of." I realize Facebook has to keep up their cutting-edge reputation, but a site can only be redone so many times before people start leaving. Some of the most dedicated users, including myself, have been tempted to remove their profiles.

I just do not understand why a site needs as many bells and whistles as Facebook has. Is there really a need to have all the different applications and quizzes? And why do they have to keep changing the format if the old worked just fine? Call me old or stubborn, but I want the old, you-need-a-college-e-mail-address-to-get-an-account Facebook.

Web 2.0 and the Election

2008-10-13T20:27:00.004-04:00

When I got onto Twitter today for the first and only time (weird, right?), I found this article from PROpenMic.com. Evelyn McCormack wrote blog post entitled, "Facebook, YouTube and the Presidential Election," which I found very interesting. As people are well aware, I have a slight addiction with social media and the election, even though I usually don't voice my opinions about the latter one. When I found this post, I knew I had to link her blog to mine.

McCormack provides her readers with quite a few stats to compare the Obama/Biden campaign against McCain/Palin. Obama's YouTube site has 1,538 videos with 100,595 subscribers and 23,828 friends of the page alone. The videos featured on the page include ones of his family, speeches, advertisements and even Michelle's speeches. By searching his name alone, you get 514,000 results for Obama and Biden returns 47,600 videos.

McCain's page, which does not include Palin, has 305 videos with 25,060 subscribers. When searching for his name, you receive 268,000 results, which is almost half as less as Obama's. Palin does not have her own page but when searching her name, 107,000 results appear.

In regards to YouTube, the numbers do tell that Obama/Biden are taking over this portion of social media. However, according to McCormack's article, the numbers are closer for Facebook. I must disagree because Obama's page has 2,077,944 supporters while McCain only has 573,390 on his Facebook page. Obama even dominates on Twitter, with 101,500 followers and McCain doesn't even have an official page.

This obviously shows that Obama is dominating Web 2.0 and reaching out to more audiences. Obama is targeting first-time voters by using sites millennials visit every day. By using these resources, both candidates are changing the way elections are conducted. You have to wonder what the numbers for these Web 2.0 sites will be like during the 2012 election, when more people are using the three mentioned outlets and more will be developed. Will TV ads still have the same effect as they do now? Will print still be the main focus? Or will the candidates be moving toward the Internet and using those resources for smear campaigns and relaying messages to their target audiences? We will figure this out within 3 years, when the next presidential election comes about.

Don't Push Your Beliefs on Me

2008-10-12T23:24:00.002-04:00

As a public relations practitioner, one of your main tasks is to change the public's opinion on certain issues. You use every possible item in your PR tool box, pulling out all the stops to get people to agree with your client. Until tonight, after being called a "flamming Liberal," I didn't realize this slightly goes against what I feel. I think people have the right to their own opinion and others' opinions should not be pushed upon them (unless they are illegal).

To be truly honest, I will be the first one to defend the freedom of speech, religion and hold any beliefs that you want. If you want to believe that Barney (yes, the big purple dinosaur) is a god, I will think you're crazy but I don't care as long as you don't try to push your beliefs upon me. I believe what I want and if you don't agree with me, then don't try to change me. This attitude has worked for the past 21 years and I am perfectly happy.

The one person who is horrible at this is my dad. I love him terribly but he is always trying to change my opinions about issues. My dad always sends me e-mails telling me what I think is wrong. Have I changed my opinion due to these letters? Nope. Will my opinion ever change? Quite possibly, depending upon the situation and information provided.

Moral of the story: I am stubborn. I have always been stubborn and continue to get worse the older I get. You're free to your opinions but do not try to sway mine unless I am uninformed about the subject matter. I don't take the important issues lightly, so good luck to you and let the games begin.

I Just Want to Live

2008-10-12T14:13:00.006-04:00

I have spent the last two hours trying to figure out my life. Okay, maybe not my life, but my last two quarters here at ONU. The past few days have consisted of me freaking out numerous times, not sure what the upcoming months will bring. Everything started with a piece of paper, most of which students are happy to receive.

THE graduation application. When I picked up the piece of paper Friday, I was quite excited but almost instantly had a panic attack. I can't believe that my four years of college are slowly coming to an end when I feel like I just found the secret on how to survive (for the most part anyways). I don't know what my next steps are and this scares the stuffing out of me. Do I continue onto graduate school or find a job and put those plans on hold? If I do apply for graduate school, where do I want to go and study? These are the questions I am not ready to face because I don't know the answers.

After high school, I knew what I was going to do. You go to college, since that's where all of the good and smart teenagers go. I didn't think about studying abroad since I was too scared to leave my family and I never got arrested before I was 18. Not saying that everyone gets arrested or that I want to (since that would ruin my good girl reputation), but I just feel like I have lived too safe of a life thus far because I am scared to go out of my comfort zone.

This is mainly why my blog is titled "Here's to Life...and No Regrets" because within the past year or so, I have just started to let the unexpected happen. However, I have so much that I still want to do while in college, I think I need to keep a list - kind of like a bucket list. Not like in the movie, but a list of everything I want to do before I graduate, no matter how big or small. Life is so uncertain that I want a list to tell me what I have and need to accomplish before I leave Ada. I need something to guarantee me that I will make time to have fun during the stressful months leading up to graduation.

I will most likely post my bucket list with a twist on my blog, just in case anyone wants to join. I think making time for fun is the most important lesson to learn in college and one of the only ways to get out alive. Unfortunately, too many of us freak out about miniscule issues, like a test or paper that won't matter in five years. I would rather get a decent grade instead of an outstanding one on a test to be able to look back at a memory and say, "Wow, what a night."

Be Damn Good

2008-10-09T22:33:00.003-04:00

After attending PRSSA meetings for three years, I am used to hearing the same type of speakers and usually similar topics. You hear about how to create your own story and how to separate yourself from peers. You listen to their successes and failures, taking in everything usually out of interest but sometimes just out of respect. Don't get me wrong, I love PRSSA and our meetings. I mean, how can I not with the awesome speakers, and sweet Executive Board and Advisors we have?

However, tonight defined the stellar meeting. I have never left a PRSSA meeting feeling so empowered and passionate about what I am doing with my life. Tonight's speaker was Dr. Joe Trahan and he had to have given the best presentation. Usually I am ready for speakers to be done and get the awkward question portion over with so I can talk to the guest. But tonight was different. I wanted Joe to stay and talk for the rest of the night, hearing his stories, random knowledge and advice.

Trahan talked about being a leader, which we have heard about how many times before. However, he presented his leadership discussion with stories and acronyms. He demonstrated how being a leader is like making a gumbo - you need the right amount of ingredients to have a successful outcome. You need love as the base for the recipe, then ethos, action and determination to add substance. To finish off the perfect gumbo (or leader), you need a great amount of examples and responsibility.

As he ended the presentation, Trahan shared a quote from Theodore Roosevelt. Unfortunately, I was not able to find the exact one he quoted. However, Trahan said, "If you enter my profession, be good. Be damn good. Make a change." As if his entire presentation wasn't already inspiring, this last sentence made me want to be that much better. I want to keep learning, keep gaining the competitive advantage. I want students and young professionals to look at me some day like we all did tonight at Trahan and Dr. Iseman.

I want to be the change in the world. I believe one person can make a difference, and if I stick with that philosophy throughout life, I will be able to achieve the changes I want to see. By just speaking this evening, Trahan inspired all 28 students in the classroom. He made all of us want to be the best leaders possible. I think in a way, Trahan also inspired all of us to dream during the dreaded midterm week - dream about what we want to do with our lives and how to better everything we do.

Podcasting

2008-10-07T10:00:00.002-04:00

The longer I am in this social media class, the more nerdy I feel I become. I caught myself talking to my best guy friend about blogs and podcasts last night. I would have continued talking about them for awhile but he told me I was a nerd and he didn't understand what I was talking about. At that point in time, I realized I am actually understanding all of this "geeky stuff" (those are his words, not mine).

Even though I have known what podcasts are, I never really understood how they worked. I mean, I know what an RSS feed is and that podcasts use them but I didn't understand how everything worked together until I did today's readings. I'm still not completely sure I understand, but I have a better idea and now know you don't have to be a genius to start podcasts.

However, after reading last night, I was on Twitter and came across a very interesting podcast that I ended up subscribing to. I figured to better understand how this part of social media works, I should subscribe to one or two podcasts. Allie Osmar focuses on how to balance work in a PR agency with going to college, which is the perfect podcast for me to subscribe to since I want to try to attend grad school and work in an agency. I have only listened to a little bit of the first podcast I downloaded, which is available on iTunes, but I have a feeling these will also become one of my new addictions, right next to Twitter and this blog.

Social Media Making Us... Not Social?

2008-10-07T00:34:00.002-04:00

As I was creeping on Twitter for the first time in days, I found this interesting post from PR News' "The PR News Blog." The post, entitled "Anti-Social Media" by Diane Schwartz and Courtney Barnes, tells of a story about one of the authors going to Rosh Hashana services and having to "greet your neighbors" for two minutes; needless to say, some people did not like being forced to be social and did not participate. The article posed the question "have social media sites made people less friendly in person and more friendly online?"

This is an excellent question Schwartz and Barnes asked, as face-to-face communication is slowly fading away. Instead of calling people on the telephone or talking to someone in person, text messages and e-mails have taken over. Social media sites, such as Blogger, Facebook and Twitter, are allowing people to keep their "friends" updated on what they are doing without actually communicating with individuals. Facebook, for example, allows "friends" to keep updated on a person's life, including relationships and what they're doing, without actually talking to anyone. This site has even added Facebook Chat because writing on walls wasn't effective anymore.

Social media sites and the Internet have made people less friendly in person. People prefer to communicate through instant messaging or e-mails as well as blogs, tweets and wall postings. Talking in person strikes fear into people, making them feel awkward and second guessing everything they say. However, with social media sites, the awkward silences are not present and you can edit what you're thoughts before communicating them.

Unfortunately, social media is making us less social in person. We would rather spend time in the comfort of our own homes in sweatpants updating complete strangers about our lives instead of going to the local watering hole and meeting new people. Maybe this is why online dating has become so popular and effective. Without the pressures of face-to-face communication, people can be themselves on social media (or dating) sites. Just like the video killed the radio star, social media is going to kill face-to-face communication (okay, maybe not kill but severely damage).

Teaching PR

2008-10-06T23:59:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog entitled "The Worth of a PR Degree." This blog was in reaction to another post written by Adam Lewis, who is from the UK and is interested in public relations. Long story short, Lewis interviewed me and you should probably just read this guest post from a blog entitled "Teaching PR." He is an amazing writer who has great insight - and I'm not just saying this because I'm in the post either.

I Got My Identity Back!

2008-10-05T20:56:00.002-04:00

When you talk to most sorority women, the one day they always look forward to is Bid Day. This day, which marks the end of recruitment, is like Christmas for women in sororities. You obtain your new members who will eventually become your sisters, you see old sisters, take a plethora of pictures and make memories. Bid Day is also the day when Rho Gammas get their identities back.

As I wrote in an earlier post, I was a Rho Gamma. Today marked my last day of not belonging to a sorority, not having an identity or talking to my sorority sisters and friends. You might be asking why I would put myself through this from May 18 until today. The answer is that I wanted to help girls find what I have found in college.

When I went through as a freshman, I thought my Rho Gammas were the coolest girls in the world (or at least at ONU); I wanted girls to have the same experience as I did. Once I found my home at Delta Zeta, I wanted girls who wanted to go Greek find where they belonged and their best friends, even if this meant giving up being with my best friends and sisters. I mean, I have held several positions within my sorority and I felt the next step would be to help freshmen girls find their home away from home.

Unfortunately, with recruitment drama always occurs. As a Rho Gamma, I had to explain to girls why they were not invited back to certain sororities and see their dreams being crushed right in front of me. However, the events of the past 24 hours washed this all away. I didn't realize how much my nine floor girls liked me until yesterday, when they were calling and texting me all day to see when I was coming over to hang out with them before rounds that night. They asked for help getting ready and talked to me about boys, like we had known each other for years. I didn't understand how close I had become to these girls until they wanted my help figuring out where they should go and wanting to hang out besides recruitment rounds.

When I came today to hand out bids, I felt a rush of excitement go through me. After last night, I became sentimental about my nine floor girls. I have watched these girls grow within their first weeks at college and I felt like my own sisters were finding where they belonged today. I watched them form friendships between each other and with other women going through recruitment. I also grew within the past few weeks, becoming closer with girls in my own sorority and making new friends in different sororities. I will admit, I started to cry a bit as I reflected upon these memories.

Once all the bids were handed out, I started thinking about the other reason I became a Rho Gamma. After the events of last year, I needed a break from Delta Zeta. I needed to give myself some time away from my chapter to remember why I joined a sorority in the first place. Being a Rho Gamma helped me do this. I realized that despite all of the drama we have to put up with, the good memories always outweigh the bad ones.

Right before I was officially given back my identity today at Kinghorn, I started to shake uncontrollably. I felt like I was a freshman all over again running to Delta Zeta for the first time. I didn't get very far, as my little sister and best friends tackled me to the ground as soon as my name was announced. Even six hours later, I still cannot describe what I felt and how I feel having my letters back. Being a Rho Gamma not only helped other girls find their home, but I helped find my home again. I fell in love with the sorority I joined freshman year all over again and even more in love with my best friends.

"We Don't Discriminate"

2008-09-30T18:34:00.005-04:00

Since John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate, I have been getting slack from people. Not because I am leaning toward the Democratic side or even considering becoming an Independent, but because I am a woman. I remember when Palin gave her speech at the Republican National Convention and I was with one of my good male friends. After she finished her speech, he looked at me and said, "I can't believe you don't support her. You are a woman and you should be supporting one of your own."

After he said this, I was shocked. I couldn't believe that he would just assume that since McCain picked a female VP I would automatically support these individuals. Most people who meet me realize right away that I am opinionated and very independent, so I do support women's rights. However, his comment made me realize that this presidential election would be different from others.

Even though only a few months have passed since the Conventions, the presidential race has had a different focus from ones in the past. Instead of focusing a great amount on what the candidates stand for, I feel like this presidential election is focusing too much on gender and race. Yes, Palin is a woman and Barack Obama is a black man, but do these characteristics really matter?

When applying for any job, being a woman or different ethnicity does not matter. Unfortunately, when you're "applying" to be the President of the United States, these seem to be major issues. Palin is being treated differently since she is a woman - whether like a delicate flower or more harsh than a man. She knows what politics are like and how difficult, manipulative and biased people are in the industry. For this reason, people should not be feeling sorry for Palin because she is being attacked by the media or is being asked unfair questions. As for Obama, I am getting sick of people using the race card. First and foremost, he is a man - the color of your skin should not determine how you are treated, just like your gender shouldn't matter.

While I was in a gay bar a few weeks ago, an older gentleman said, "We don't discriminate. Gay or straight, white or black, man or woman - we don't care. We accept everyone." I wish people could be accepting like this man and look past the physical features that make us all different. If we did this, I feel this presidential election would be on track. What these individuals stand for is what people should be judging them on, not what they wear, looks or popularity. If this is what people are basing their votes off of, all I have to say is that I didn't realize we were still in high school voting for class president.

4:21 in the Morning

2008-09-30T04:21:00.003-04:00

Whenever I am at my internship, I am always told to enjoy being a student. The individual continues to tell me how wonderful being in college is because "while in college, you never experience the stress level you will once you graduate." I must say, these people are lying to me.

The morning hours are slowly creeping upon 5 a.m. and I have not slept since I woke up almost 24 hours ago. I am continuing to study for my two exams tomorrow, one in business statistics and another in retailing, since I do not feel prepared at all. On top of stressing out about exams (which, in my opinion, are pointless) and other course work, I have my own personal life getting in the way along with sorority recruitment, PRSSA worries and being sick. All of this is just starting to pile up on me, creating a large mound of stress. I know that once tomorrow passes, I will feel better. However, these late nights are making me want to graduate.

I feel that if this is what enjoying college is about, then what will the real world be like? I do not want to go from being a ball of stress to an even greater mass of nerves, as this isn't a way to live your life. I am not posting this for sympathy, as I know everyone is under the same amount of pressure and stress. I am writing this to take a break from studying probabilities, breaking bulk and to keep my sanity. If you see me looking like a zombie today, please don't point out how tired I look - believe me, I am well aware.

The Rules of How Not to be Stupid

2008-09-30T03:27:00.002-04:00

Most people I am close with know I have a low tolerance for dumb people. So, when I came across this article on how not to be an idiot on Twitter, I had to write about the subject.

The post, cleverly entitled "Twitteriocy," provides six ground rules on how not to make a fool of yourself on Twitter. I found Jeremy Pepper's insight to be very interesting, especially since social media can be detrimental to people and their client's if used wrong. I can regurgitate the stories Jeremy provides, but I think you should read the post yourself to obtain the full effect.

However, an interesting fact came about from the post. The first rule is "don't let your PR firm set up and be your Twitter account." When I first started reading this rule, I wondered why Jeremy would suggest such an idea; having the PR firm be the client's Twitter account keeper makes perfect sense. I kept reading, though, to find a PR firm was charging their client $7,000 a week to update their tweets and other Twitter-related activities.

As everyone knows, I am obsessed with Twitter and am on the site constantly. But charging $7,000 a week to maintain a Twitter page is slightly ridiculous. Updating tweets and replying to individuals (the fourth rule) is not $7,000 worth of work. I also agree with Jeremy that the actual client should be updating their own Twitter page. This way the PR firm does not have to wait for their client's approval on what they can and cannot post.

However, most clients PR firms work with are technologically impaired. This would hinder the company from updating their Twitter page and violating the rules provided by Jeremy. I know I would not have a problem maintaining clients' pages for a fraction of this price and enjoy every minute of my new found position. Who knows, maybe I can work for a company or PR firm as a Twitter monitor... a twonitor if you will.

Making Lemonade

2008-09-29T20:31:00.006-04:00

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade."

This is a very true statement. After reading the PRSSA blog, I started thinking about the current state of Wall Street and the banking industry. Not to sound like I am trying to profit off of a horrible situation, but stop and think about once the situation is settled. The financial industry is going to need their credibility and reputation rebuilt so they can regain the public's trust. Who are these financial institutions going to need?

The answer: us. Public relations practitioners are going to be in demand once Wall Street rebounds. These institutions are going to need a plethora of crisis management control to regain both clients and trust. By 2015, which is the expected year for a rebound, the banking industry and Wall Street will be knocking down our doors for help. This will then help all of us PR practitioners obtain jobs, allowing us to help the retail industry and housing markets to prosper, resulting in a better economy.

Any thoughts about this? Am I completely losing my mind or do you think this is possible?

A Different Kind of War

2008-09-29T15:38:00.007-04:00

While being the twalker (Twitter stalker - yes, I made the word up) that I am, I found this blog entry from Burson-Martseller. The post, written by Paul Herrick in the Madrid office, really hit home for me, especially since our social media class was talking about the millennial generation during one of our first classes. As most members of the millennial generation, also known as generation Y, are worried about finding jobs, Herrick brings up an excellent point - jobs are going to be even harder to find, creating a "war for talent."

Even though Herrick is located in Europe, he discusses the dreadful Lehman Brothers collapse and the current state of Wall Street. This makes me even more nervous, wondering if I will have to work at Wal-Mart after I graduate, allowing my higher education and dreams to suffer so I don't have to move back in with my parents. As our social media class knows, millennials are very competitive and overachieving. We like specific instructions and we expect a great amount more than previous generations. So, if a war for talent is going to begin, how will we separate ourselves from our peers?

Most PR students at Ohio Northern go above and beyond to create outstanding resumes and names for themselves within the undergraduate world. We obviously want to stand out from our peers, so we get involved in PRSSA and take special topics courses to further our knowledge and keep interest in PR. As Herrick hints, learning about and understanding social media will give PR students and professionals an edge compared to their peers. This will also give individuals a skill to barter with to obtain better jobs. The positions obtained will allow millennials to achieve the "work-life balance", which Herrick says is important to our generation.

However, Herrick's last idea really stuck with me. Herrick states, "too often the focus has been on beating the competition by offering more. In the future, sometimes the solution might be about offering less, which might include fewer rules, less hierarchy and less rigidity." For millennials, this is not a statement we want to hear. As previously mentioned, members of our generation like structure, so by offering fewer rules and less hierarchy, we will not know what to do. We won't know what is expected of us, which will heighten our feelings about job insecurity. Thus, making us aware of the war for talent once again.

A vicious cycle has been born, my fellow millennials, and we must prepare ourselves. We have to be ready to use our skills and words as weapons in the war for talent. This is a war we can win, as long as we move strategically and keep our weapons sharp.

Taking Stabs at Age?

2008-09-29T14:59:00.005-04:00

Sarah Palin gave a speech today in Columbus and in her usual fashion, she put her foot in her mouth. CNN's blog reported that Palin took jabs at her Democratic opponent, Sen. Joe Biden, for only the second time in public. What did the Republican VP candidate say? She made jokes about Biden's age.

Now, I find this quite amusing. Palin's quote was "I've never met him [Biden] before. But I've been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade." As CNN points out, Palin would have been eight years old, Biden was 29 and John McCain was 36. For Palin to be making fun of Biden's age, this is ridiculous since her running mate is currently 72 years of age. If anything, Palin should be making jabs at Biden for his stupid remarks. Oh, but wait, Palin doesn't really have any room to talk as she doesn't always make the smartest comments.

I'll have to keep watching to see what develops from Palin's speech; I'll keep you all posted.

Rounds

2008-09-28T14:25:00.006-04:00

After a rough week, sorority recruitment rounds began this weekend. Everything went fine on Friday night, which was the first round. However, tonight was a different story.

As a Rho Gamma (recruitment counselor), you see a completely different side of recruitment and have a very different perspective on the situation. You know how everything works behind the scenes in each sorority and how the system works. You also have the experience of being a young woman going through recruitment and all the feelings associated with recruitment. However, none of this will prepare you for what you have to deal with as a Rho Gamma.

For example, tonight I had to give girls the bad news that they weren't going back to a certain chapter. Most took the news as I expected - a little upset and wanted to know why they weren't going back. For other girls, the news crushed them and seeing this made me want to crawl under a rock. The looks on the girls' faces just wanted to make me try and fix the situation, even though I know I can't do anything to help.

After seeing this tonight, I started to think about how this can be applied to real life (I always try to find something positive out of an experience). I realized that being mean and hurtful toward people isn't worth the time or energy. I mean, being nice to everyone may not be possible, but you never know how your actions can influence someone else's life. I think I am going to try and do this, so we'll see how long this lasts.

Twictionary

2008-09-23T17:25:00.001-04:00

For all of you tweeps, you will enjoy this Web site and find the content very humorous.

Frustration

2008-09-23T15:36:00.002-04:00

I held my last Rho Gamma meeting last night before rounds start. After having 30+ girls turn in their application forms on my floors, I was very disappointed and discouraged after the meeting. My partner and I only had 11 girls show up... 11 out of 71 makes you feel like you're doing something wrong.

I understand that freshmen are stressed about classes and being in a new place, but to go from one extreme to another is slightly ridiculous. Maybe I don't understand because I have grown up knowing I have wanted to go Greek since I was in middle school. My cousin, who I am exactly like, was in a sorority and was President (for those of you know me, I followed in her foot steps), has always talked to me about Greek life. My mom always looked at Greeks favorably, too, and I didn't know why until I decided to go through recruitment (she happened to be a Tri-Delt at OSU for a little time).

I just wish I could communicate with these girls to give recruitment a try. All I want is for them to come to the first round this Friday to meet new people. If going Greek isn't for you, I understand completely... I just don't want a girl to not have an open mind when they aren't even sure what these organizations are like.

Oops! My Bad...

2008-09-23T14:02:00.003-04:00

So, I read the wrong chapter last night in Citizens Marketers. I wondered why everyone was posting about something else... I will have a new updated blog post about the right chapter later this evening.

One Percent Better

2008-09-22T23:48:00.002-04:00

While I was at work today, I read the second chapter in "Citizen Marketers" entitled "The 1 Percenters." As I was reading the chapter, I became slightly confused about what the authors were trying to convey (I think all of the examples made me confused). So, to better understand what Ben and Jackie were trying to say, I Googled the one percent theory and came across several interesting blogs and articles concerning this idea.

After reading the information on the different sites, I started thinking about how one percent can make such a difference, both negatively and positively. For example, if you have 100 customers and one is not satisfied, that one percent can negatively change other people's opinions. This will result in a decrease in sales and end up costing the company more money to promote their services or goods in a better light.

However, what if people gave one percent more of themselves to create a positive impact? This is somewhat of an idealistic view, but quite possible. What if instead of doing the bare minimum to get by, you put a little bit more extra time and energy into that social media project? The results will most likely include a better grade on the assignment. By taking this idea and applying one percent more of yourself to a project will better the world overall. If everyone gave one percent of themselves to end hunger or better educate people about HIV/AIDS, these issues could be solved faster.

Unfortunately, this will never happen. Instead, people will not contribute, either in the social networking realm or actual society. As a Hell's Angel once stated, "We're the 1 percenters, man - the 1 percent that don't fit and don't care."

The Worth of a PR Degree

2008-09-22T11:24:00.002-04:00

I'm waiting for my retailing class to start (and let me tell you, I am PUMPED about that) and I came across this interesting blog posting about earning a degree in public relations. I found the author's point of view very intersting, especially since I studied over in London for a few weeks about international public relations.

A little background information might be helpful to fully understand this article. The way people in England view college education and degrees is how the U.S. once viewed them. No one really goes to college in England, so earning a college degree is very prestigious and usually you can obtain a very secure, well paying job by having that little piece of paper.

Now, I understand how the author can think that earning any degree can get you into PR, but I do not agree with this. Yes, anyone can enter public relations if they want and they don't even have to go to college to become a practitioner. However, individuals who study specifically PR in college do know what they are doing better than others and should obtain the jobs at PR agencies. I know a great amount of agencies will only take you, even as an intern, if you are studying PR in college.

I become so frustrated and irritated when people think PR is only publicity and so easy that anyone can do the tasks associated with the position. While studying PR, students learn the necessities of the field, how to use the RACE model and how to create a successful campaign. We are ahead or right with the trends, learning how to make our client stand out and how to use PR 2.0 and Web 2.0 to our advantage. Someone with a English Literature degree will not know how to do this. They might be able to write like no one's business, but they won't know how to use this skill to their advantage. Maybe I am slightly biased since I am a PR student, but I am standing by my statements.

What are your thoughts?

Dirty, Sexy PR

2008-09-21T22:23:00.004-04:00

Once again, I was on Twitter (really, I am not that big of a creep... just extremely bored) and found an article from The New York Times about how public relations practitioners are obtaining press. After working at a PR agency this summer, I know the importance of having a press release followed up or printed. To do this successfully, you have to make your client or a product sound new and exciting, dangerous... or sexy?

All of us are aware that sex sells, but you have to draw the line at some point. You cannot use words to grab someone's attention to only have the story be about something completely different. I feel practicing public relations like this is unethical (the misdirecting people) and only unexperienced individuals will use type of tactic. But I guess we all can't find the sex appeal in toxic shower curtains.

Procrastination

2008-09-21T22:06:00.002-04:00

So, as many of you know, I am obsessed with this video. If you have a good sense of humor and enjoy watching people make fun of political figures, this is for you.

Warning: The video does contain some adult language.

Google Me

2008-09-21T15:01:00.002-04:00

As I am sitting here spending quality time with Bobby Heterick, I decided to get on Twitter and see what people are doing. I found this wonderful Web site on how to successfully use Google through someone's tweet. More or less, we all know how to use the search engine but at times we get frustrated, so having a how-to guide might be useful.

Dear Mr. Obama Video

2008-09-17T20:57:00.002-04:00

Like other wars in the past, the Iraq war is a major issue in this election. I am not sure if I exactly support the war itself, but I do support the troops; I have many people who are close to me in the Army or other branches of defense. As most of you know, I am a moderate but I am favoring one candidate more than another. However, after seeing this video, I might be reevaluating my stance on some issues.

Facebook Getting Political?

2008-09-16T17:08:00.005-04:00

As I was reading the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on Monday before my retailing class, I came across a very interesting article entitled "Facebook Political Ads Test Limits." The article focuses on how special interest groups are starting to buy advertisements on Facebook to promote or smear a candidate.

However, something is different about these ads compared to past smear campaigns. Instead of providing false information, the ads are actually linked to news stories from credible sources, such as AP, the Washington Post and WSJ. Also, the buyer of the advertisements stay anonymous, which is unusual for smear campaigns (we come to find out MoveOn.org is responsible for the ads). Individuals of an organization take pride in tearing down the other party (which I still don't understand) and this is seen by the approval of the message at the end of the video.

What I don't understand is why people and special interest groups want to partake in talking "smack" about the other party. I honestly see this as distasteful and makes the individual talking about their opponent look bad. I feel smear ads are based off of rumors and target uneducated individuals, resulting in the success of the bad mouthing candidate.

However, how MoveOn did the smear ads on Facebook is innovative and supports the stated claims. I'm not saying just because the ad states "AP: Palin Lied," the article will say that directly. I feel, even though MoveOn is sometimes extreme, they are changing how smear ads are done by providing support.

My name is Katalyn and I approve this message.

Social Media Detrimental?

2008-09-16T00:11:00.003-04:00

According to the Buyer Group, an interactive public relations and branding agency in Florida, the following social media statistics are true:

- Twenty-five percent of journalists report regularly reading five or more blogs to research desired topics, and nearly 70 percent follow at least one blog regularly.

- More than a quarter (28 percent) of journalists visit a social media or networking sites at least once a week, while more than 44 percent visit at least once a month.

After finding these facts from Buyer Group, who specializes in social media as well, I found an interesting article through Burson-Marsteller's Twitter page entitled "Is Social Networking an Asset or Liability for Your Company?"

The article reinforces how important timing is in the public relations field. Author Louis Columbus states, "whether social networking works in your favor or to your detriment is all in how you approach it." Columbus proceeds to define many social media terms, including blogs, RSS feeds and wikis, along with tips on how to make social media work for your company. However, he does not address how using social media at the wrong time will hurt your reputation along with hypothetical situations. I think if Columbus would have added these aspects to his article, his point would have made a greater impact.

Nevertheless, I never realized that if social media was done at the wrong time, the effects could be detrimental. I always figured negative outcomes came from the company doing something stupid, like Edelman and the Wal-Mart blog incident. So, according to the facts above, if a blog is done at the wrong time, your company's reputation could be ruined with 25 percent of journalists initially. For this reason, people must understand social media, PR 2.0 and Web 2.0.

A Fanatic is Identified

2008-09-15T00:07:00.000-04:00

I had another post here originally, but after reading what I thought was an amazing entry, I realized I didn't make any sense. I guess that is what happens when you write and post early in the morning hours.

Anyways, I read the first chapter in "Citizen Marketers" and I think I have found a school book I actually enjoy. I am not going to lie - I, like most college students, do not read their text books. However, I actually like this book and continued reading into the second chapter. Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba provide information on how bloggers and consumers are the message, just not the messenger, in a very easy to read format.

I think what I found the most interesting about the reading was the different types of citizen marketers in chapter one cleverly named "Filters, Fanatics, Facilitators, and Firecrackers." I wasn't aware bloggers could be classified, let alone into four distinctive groups. After reading, I was able to identify the different types of blogs, which I must say lead me to feel somewhat accomplished.

I also self-diagnosed myself into the Fanatics group. I love to keep track of certain brands, companies and people, especially now during this election year. I never thought of starting a blog about my obsessions but I guess that is what Fanatics do. I mean, who would have thought a blog about Barq's root beer exists and people actually follow these posts? Maybe I will start an unbiased blog on politics and everything surrounding the election because that is something I would like to do, but I don't know if I am ready to subject myself to people's comments... so, I guess just stay tuned and we shall see what comes about.

Even though I am glad to be a Fanatic (I have the accompanying personality), I would love to be a Firecracker. These individuals might only be one-hit wonders, but they know how to make their 15 minutes of fame count. My favorite Firecracker video is "My New Haircut," which has over 50 parodies. I know that this is a popular video when my own mother starts quoting the video; unfortunately, I am not going to post the video below as we all know the language isn't appropriate for a school assignment. However, here are a few other videos you might find humorous while people are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame:

- Crazy Frog Bros

- The Evolution of Dance

- Charlie Bit My Finger

- Ohio Northern's own - "You've Lost that Sig Ep Feeling"

Let me know some of your favorites to contribute to my procrastination.

First meeting

2008-09-10T13:00:00.000-04:00

I had my first Rho Gamma meeting last night with my partner and two dorm floors. Despite how nervous I was (yes, I was nervous to talk in front of freshmen), the meeting went very well. I didn't expect the meeting to go well to tell you the truth. Freshmen girls are very intimidating, since they are very extreme and either insanely pro-Greek or completely GDIs. Amanda, my partner, and I only had 20 girls out of 70 show up, but I have a feeling more girls will come each week. Those are my hopes at least... all I know for sure is that the next month is going to be very interesting.

Here we go...

2008-09-09T14:31:00.000-04:00

I started my last first day of undergraduate school today. Needless to say, it is very bittersweet. I can't believe this is my last year at Ohio Northern but I am excited to start my life and move to the big city...but I guess any city is a big city compared to Ada. I am just scared because in less than nine months, I have to become a big kid.

The first weekend back and moving freshmen in made me feel very old. Listening to the newbies talk about the wild college parties they'll attend makes me laugh. I did not want to burst their bubble by telling them those do not really exist. They are all so innocent and it makes me smile.

Something else that has made me feel old is being a Rho Gamma, which is a sorority recruitment counselor. I love seeing how excited the young women are to begin their journey through Greek Life. I am also helping these women ease into campus life and be there to answer any questions they might have about college. I have my first meeting tonight, so we shall see how it goes.