So this is my fifteenth post, the number that Dr. Russell wanted us to reach by the end of the semester. Now I guess it's up to where we want to take it from here. I'll have to admit, and many of my classmates agree, blogging just didn't come natural at first. I mean, there are blogs where you can talk about eating cheetos, and then there are blogs like this where the information needs to be relevant to public relations.
Despite a rough start, I think I like it. Unfortunately, no one has responded to this blog yet, although I've made an effort to contact several bloggers in the industry. I think it is a result of my lack of blog experience, so hopefully I can work on this. I think this is something I might continue, just because it gives you practice with ideas and writing over the internet.
It also looks pretty cool when you put your blog site on a resume. It makes me feel internet and computer savvy.
Therefore, I'd like to say thanks to Dr. Russell and all who have been keeping up with this thing. Hopefully this won't be the last you hear from me.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
For those just beginning....
I'd like to dedicate this entry to those just beginning their first four undergraduate years as I am ending mine. Looking back I realize that there are many things that I wish I had known before coming, so that they didn't hit me so unexpectedly. They basically involve learning about yourself and college life in general, so here's what I have for you newcomers:
1)Use professors to your advantage...
-Okay, so for the most part your professors are busy people, and that is probably an understatement, but if you take the time to talk to them it can work to your advantage. They have hundreds of students to grade, and making an effort to stand out by communicating with them lets them know that your care about their class. Without students, they would have no job, and throughout my experience here I have learned that most are happy to help. They can also become a great reference for the future.
2)Emphasize the material, not the grades...
-Sometimes I think the worst thing you can tell a teacher is..."hey, I really want an A in this class." Grant it, we all think it, but you're not doing yourself a favor here. If you are having trouble, talk to the professor about certain aspects of the material you are struggling with, and ways you can improve. Emphasize what you find interesting in their class. College is a little different from high school. Grades can be more subjective depending on certain classes. Sometimes you just have one paper and that's your only grade, so try and stand out in a good way.
3)Get your hands dirty...
-One of the things I regret is not getting involved. I waited very late to join activities and clubs that I realize I really enjoy now. Get out there. There are hundreds of things for everyone to become a part of, whether it's chess or religion. Join clubs related to your major. You will gain much more experience, which can help you out a little more in the real world. It's not all about your GPA, especially in a field like PR, where internships are essentially a requirement. Doing this can also make the adjustment to college a little easier.
4)Friends DO come and go...
-I think many students attend a certain college because they want to follow their friends, but this is a mistake in my opinion. You will learn that it's a fact of life, you're not always going to have the same friends. You meet so many new people in college, and sometimes you become friends for the semester, because you have the same classes, and then never speak again. It's a little weird getting used to, but that's just how it happens. Some friends that you spent all your time with in high school just aren't going to be there anymore. Maybe it's something you already know, but for me, this was a real shock.
5)Do the dorms, at least once...
-Okay, so they're cramped and smelly, and oftentimes really old, but I think it is a good experience, especially if you're a freshman. When you start you're in there together. It's a little comforting to see other people you don't know beginning this experience with you. I know many friends who wanted to live off campus their first year and ended up leaving because no one was living with them that motivated them to go to class. It's also statistically proven that those students who live on campus tend to do better in school.
6)Expect the time to fly...
-I know I sound like an old woman here, but if you felt like high school went by fast, brace yourself. I can't believe I'm about to graduate. Your life changes so much in college, so fast, and then you're done. All I can say is savor it, because it's an experience like no other. Try and work hard, but remember to come up for air and appreciate being a college student.
7)Everything's just not going to get done...
-This was something that I found very difficult to learn at first, but it's the truth. You can spend all day on the homework you will have in many of your classes, but it's important to remember that you need to balance things. Make sure you get done what needs to get done, but there are some things that you will have to prioritize, because there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything in college. What's important is that you stay mentally, emotionally and physically stable while trying to tackle all of this, because it can definitely become overwhelming.
8)Think about your main objective...
-With everything going on (and there will be lots going on, trust me) it's important to remember why you're in college: the degree. There are going to be more parties than you can count on weekends, and it's up to you to be responsible with your new sense of independence. Nothing is wrong with hanging out with friends, or just enjoying yourself, but it's easy to let the time pass without remembering, hey, I've got work to do!
1)Use professors to your advantage...
-Okay, so for the most part your professors are busy people, and that is probably an understatement, but if you take the time to talk to them it can work to your advantage. They have hundreds of students to grade, and making an effort to stand out by communicating with them lets them know that your care about their class. Without students, they would have no job, and throughout my experience here I have learned that most are happy to help. They can also become a great reference for the future.
2)Emphasize the material, not the grades...
-Sometimes I think the worst thing you can tell a teacher is..."hey, I really want an A in this class." Grant it, we all think it, but you're not doing yourself a favor here. If you are having trouble, talk to the professor about certain aspects of the material you are struggling with, and ways you can improve. Emphasize what you find interesting in their class. College is a little different from high school. Grades can be more subjective depending on certain classes. Sometimes you just have one paper and that's your only grade, so try and stand out in a good way.
3)Get your hands dirty...
-One of the things I regret is not getting involved. I waited very late to join activities and clubs that I realize I really enjoy now. Get out there. There are hundreds of things for everyone to become a part of, whether it's chess or religion. Join clubs related to your major. You will gain much more experience, which can help you out a little more in the real world. It's not all about your GPA, especially in a field like PR, where internships are essentially a requirement. Doing this can also make the adjustment to college a little easier.
4)Friends DO come and go...
-I think many students attend a certain college because they want to follow their friends, but this is a mistake in my opinion. You will learn that it's a fact of life, you're not always going to have the same friends. You meet so many new people in college, and sometimes you become friends for the semester, because you have the same classes, and then never speak again. It's a little weird getting used to, but that's just how it happens. Some friends that you spent all your time with in high school just aren't going to be there anymore. Maybe it's something you already know, but for me, this was a real shock.
5)Do the dorms, at least once...
-Okay, so they're cramped and smelly, and oftentimes really old, but I think it is a good experience, especially if you're a freshman. When you start you're in there together. It's a little comforting to see other people you don't know beginning this experience with you. I know many friends who wanted to live off campus their first year and ended up leaving because no one was living with them that motivated them to go to class. It's also statistically proven that those students who live on campus tend to do better in school.
6)Expect the time to fly...
-I know I sound like an old woman here, but if you felt like high school went by fast, brace yourself. I can't believe I'm about to graduate. Your life changes so much in college, so fast, and then you're done. All I can say is savor it, because it's an experience like no other. Try and work hard, but remember to come up for air and appreciate being a college student.
7)Everything's just not going to get done...
-This was something that I found very difficult to learn at first, but it's the truth. You can spend all day on the homework you will have in many of your classes, but it's important to remember that you need to balance things. Make sure you get done what needs to get done, but there are some things that you will have to prioritize, because there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything in college. What's important is that you stay mentally, emotionally and physically stable while trying to tackle all of this, because it can definitely become overwhelming.
8)Think about your main objective...
-With everything going on (and there will be lots going on, trust me) it's important to remember why you're in college: the degree. There are going to be more parties than you can count on weekends, and it's up to you to be responsible with your new sense of independence. Nothing is wrong with hanging out with friends, or just enjoying yourself, but it's easy to let the time pass without remembering, hey, I've got work to do!
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Too sexy for the office?
Okay, so, after looking for suits to wear for my client presentation last week, I realized that new fashion and business attire can be confusing, especially for women my age.
Everything nowadays just seems to be soooo sexy. I just bought some pointy black stilletoes a few weeks ago, and many students on campus seem to wear shoes like these with their business attire. However, I wonder if we are take business attire too far. It's hard for a college student, because any magazine or television show portrays young female professionals as sexy in the office. I feel like we try to imitate this look, not realizing that we're not supposed to be looking like movie stars here.
I debated wearing my black stilletoes, simply because I see so many others wearing them, but in the end I figured I better go with what felt safe. Something a little more toned down. There are also so many new suits out now that seems to hug female curves a little too much, especially with the younger population. I just feel like there needs to be more guidance in this department, especially for us just starting out.
I've searched for information online and found a few sites. One is from career builder that hints at how dressing too sexy can work against you in the workplace. However, I think there needs to be something more updated available for us who try to keep things trendy, but not too trendy.
Everything nowadays just seems to be soooo sexy. I just bought some pointy black stilletoes a few weeks ago, and many students on campus seem to wear shoes like these with their business attire. However, I wonder if we are take business attire too far. It's hard for a college student, because any magazine or television show portrays young female professionals as sexy in the office. I feel like we try to imitate this look, not realizing that we're not supposed to be looking like movie stars here.
I debated wearing my black stilletoes, simply because I see so many others wearing them, but in the end I figured I better go with what felt safe. Something a little more toned down. There are also so many new suits out now that seems to hug female curves a little too much, especially with the younger population. I just feel like there needs to be more guidance in this department, especially for us just starting out.
I've searched for information online and found a few sites. One is from career builder that hints at how dressing too sexy can work against you in the workplace. However, I think there needs to be something more updated available for us who try to keep things trendy, but not too trendy.
The End!....Or is it?
We (my PR campaigns group and I) have finally reached the end of our PR journey here as undergraduate students at the University of Georgia. As I have mentioned in my profile, we are all students under Dr. Karen Russell's PR Campaigns class and have been working all semester on a campaign for a client. Dr. Russell can tell you more about her experience with us in her personal blog. I must say that it has been a pleasure working under her and I have gained so much insight into the PR world from her class. I actually started this blog as an assignment for this class.
Marking the end of our journey was our final pitch to our client. We just received our grade for our pitch and from my point of view, those long nights of work definitely proved worthwhile. It was also such a crazy experience presenting a REAL-LIFE pitch to a client for the first time. As one of the speakers I learned new ways of presenting that sort of put me out of my comfort zone. I'm more of a scripted speaker, saying things I've memorized over and over. However, for this pitch I felt that I had to think on my feet more and respond to the reactions of our client during the presentation. I didn't think I could pull this off very well, but I felt I did better than I would have anticipated.
I also became more nervous when the clients appeared. Even though we are still students, I realized that, "whoa, this is for real." These people are actually looking to us for help, and I've got to try and convince them that we have some pretty good ideas here! Scary.
Moreover, I say this is the end of my PR functionings here as a student, but I also see this as just the beginning. Our pitch Monday was the first of the many pitches I might end up doing if I continue to go forward with this major. As far as that goes, I must say that it has been an amazing and eye-opening experience so far, through good times and bad (my group members can tell you all about that) and I know I will always look back on this as how I started my PR career.
Marking the end of our journey was our final pitch to our client. We just received our grade for our pitch and from my point of view, those long nights of work definitely proved worthwhile. It was also such a crazy experience presenting a REAL-LIFE pitch to a client for the first time. As one of the speakers I learned new ways of presenting that sort of put me out of my comfort zone. I'm more of a scripted speaker, saying things I've memorized over and over. However, for this pitch I felt that I had to think on my feet more and respond to the reactions of our client during the presentation. I didn't think I could pull this off very well, but I felt I did better than I would have anticipated.
I also became more nervous when the clients appeared. Even though we are still students, I realized that, "whoa, this is for real." These people are actually looking to us for help, and I've got to try and convince them that we have some pretty good ideas here! Scary.
Moreover, I say this is the end of my PR functionings here as a student, but I also see this as just the beginning. Our pitch Monday was the first of the many pitches I might end up doing if I continue to go forward with this major. As far as that goes, I must say that it has been an amazing and eye-opening experience so far, through good times and bad (my group members can tell you all about that) and I know I will always look back on this as how I started my PR career.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Breaking Bad News....
I had the privelege of attending a lecture last night about Global Public Health and the World Health Organization(WHO). I refer to this as a privelege because I am looking to the public health sector for grad school and was very excited about attending. (A special thanks to Dr. Russell for announcing the lecture a few weeks ago).
To add to the experience, I gathered insightful information about public relations and its function with the WHO in communicating disease outbreaks. The main lesson: Break the news, and do it FAST!
The guest speaker was Dick Thompson, a veteran Time Magazine reporter and war correspondent, who is the team leader for Pandemic Outbreak Communication with WHO. He elaborated on how quickly diseases like SARS spreads and how it is vital for communicators to report these outbreaks immediately.
Although the information provided in this lecture may have come off as common sense, I think that it is a great reflection on pr as a communication tool. The things we do in pr, such as breaking bad news quickly and clearly seems to be common sense in itself, but people often take this for granted. I believe that this is one of the many reasons why pr has become a profession.
With that said, I look forward to learning more about how I can use my pr degree in the public health sector, and hopefully putting this into action in the near future.
To add to the experience, I gathered insightful information about public relations and its function with the WHO in communicating disease outbreaks. The main lesson: Break the news, and do it FAST!
The guest speaker was Dick Thompson, a veteran Time Magazine reporter and war correspondent, who is the team leader for Pandemic Outbreak Communication with WHO. He elaborated on how quickly diseases like SARS spreads and how it is vital for communicators to report these outbreaks immediately.
Although the information provided in this lecture may have come off as common sense, I think that it is a great reflection on pr as a communication tool. The things we do in pr, such as breaking bad news quickly and clearly seems to be common sense in itself, but people often take this for granted. I believe that this is one of the many reasons why pr has become a profession.
With that said, I look forward to learning more about how I can use my pr degree in the public health sector, and hopefully putting this into action in the near future.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Black Gold screening a success!
Okay, so our Fair Trade organization held a screening for Black Gold last Thursday and we were especially thrilled with our turnout. I was personally impressed by this film, and we almost filled the entire room with participants! This may sound like a modest number, but for our organization, having over thirty people to voluntarily show up for a documentary is a pretty big step. We are still very new on campus and we are continually working on our awareness strategies.
Needless to say, I'd like to take this time to point out how pr can go wrong, even is small instances such as these. The flyers sent out, (which I had nothing to do with I might add) had the wrong room number on them. I don't know whether to blame this on the people we reserved the room from or on those who made the flyer, but I do know that it was not a good thing, especially for us. The last thing we need right now is for people to become turned off by our meetings because they can't find the right room to go to. Grrrrrr!!!
On a happier note, I was especially thankful for those who still hung in there through all the confusion and had much to offer about fair trade. It makes me feel good about this organization to know that we already have a good number people who are concerned and want to be active with us.
Needless to say, I'd like to take this time to point out how pr can go wrong, even is small instances such as these. The flyers sent out, (which I had nothing to do with I might add) had the wrong room number on them. I don't know whether to blame this on the people we reserved the room from or on those who made the flyer, but I do know that it was not a good thing, especially for us. The last thing we need right now is for people to become turned off by our meetings because they can't find the right room to go to. Grrrrrr!!!
On a happier note, I was especially thankful for those who still hung in there through all the confusion and had much to offer about fair trade. It makes me feel good about this organization to know that we already have a good number people who are concerned and want to be active with us.
In honor of Awareness....
In light of the recent Virginia Tech tragedy and my efforts in pursuing a public health program for grad school, I'd like to direct this post to information on the Depression and Suicide Awareness Week hosted by Nuci's Space. It is a local organization here in Athens
created in honor of a former student who sadly lost his life during his battle with depression.
Unfortunately their Depression and Suicide Awareness Week ended last Friday, but hopefully those interested may find something in this site that speaks to them. After working with this organization for my PR class last year, I believe that they are truly an organization seeking to help those who suffer. Although they are more targeted to the music community, it is definitely worth noting their tactful approach to treatment for depression.
created in honor of a former student who sadly lost his life during his battle with depression.
Unfortunately their Depression and Suicide Awareness Week ended last Friday, but hopefully those interested may find something in this site that speaks to them. After working with this organization for my PR class last year, I believe that they are truly an organization seeking to help those who suffer. Although they are more targeted to the music community, it is definitely worth noting their tactful approach to treatment for depression.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Looking back on Virginia Tech
It has almost been a week since the Virginia Tech shooting took place, but there is no doubt that its effects are still hitting very hard. However, as I opened my internet page this morning, I noticed that there were no more clips or articles about the shooting. Today's main story features what secrets Alyssa Milano, Sela Ward and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have with "the fellas." Oh how the media never ceases to be pointless in its neverending gossip on celebrities. Maybe this is a good thing, since many people can look at this and get Virginia Tech off of their minds, but I still find it slightly disturbing.
What I also found disturbing was how I even heard about what happened. I've been so caught up in thinking about graduation this past week that I wouldn't have even known about the shooting if a friend of mine hadn't of called me later that evening. I find this somewhat shameful, especially after looking at the faces of those who died on CNN tonight. There were students there who were only 18. I sat down and thought, what was I even doing when I was 18? That was only about four years ago.
As a student this fact hits very hard. College was just beginning at 18, and others didn't even get to finish their first year. I can't help wondering what this person was thinking? Are all people capable of this? Is it the person sitting next to me? How could this have been prevented?
As I left school Friday I saw a flyer for Depression Awareness Week for one of the organizations in downtown Athens, Georgia. During this week, the organization, Nuci's Space, http://www.nuci.org/ hosts various activities, such as live bands playing and marches downtown for those dealing with depression, or anyone who would like to help out. I can't help but think how I helped them with their PR activities during a class project last year, as I learned more about depression and the other mental struggles many college students and individuals everywhere can encounter.
With this, I can't help but wonder if the person who committed this terrible act could have been helped before things got out of hand, before so many innocent lives were lost. This is another reason why I am looking more into the option of Public Health for graduate school, and why health awareness is so important. Nevertheless, I believe this person was not sane, and I still can't help but feel like tragedies like these shouldn't have to happen for us to become aware of the harmful effects of mental illness.
What I also found disturbing was how I even heard about what happened. I've been so caught up in thinking about graduation this past week that I wouldn't have even known about the shooting if a friend of mine hadn't of called me later that evening. I find this somewhat shameful, especially after looking at the faces of those who died on CNN tonight. There were students there who were only 18. I sat down and thought, what was I even doing when I was 18? That was only about four years ago.
As a student this fact hits very hard. College was just beginning at 18, and others didn't even get to finish their first year. I can't help wondering what this person was thinking? Are all people capable of this? Is it the person sitting next to me? How could this have been prevented?
As I left school Friday I saw a flyer for Depression Awareness Week for one of the organizations in downtown Athens, Georgia. During this week, the organization, Nuci's Space, http://www.nuci.org/ hosts various activities, such as live bands playing and marches downtown for those dealing with depression, or anyone who would like to help out. I can't help but think how I helped them with their PR activities during a class project last year, as I learned more about depression and the other mental struggles many college students and individuals everywhere can encounter.
With this, I can't help but wonder if the person who committed this terrible act could have been helped before things got out of hand, before so many innocent lives were lost. This is another reason why I am looking more into the option of Public Health for graduate school, and why health awareness is so important. Nevertheless, I believe this person was not sane, and I still can't help but feel like tragedies like these shouldn't have to happen for us to become aware of the harmful effects of mental illness.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Festival Fun!
So here is the recap on last week's Fair Trade festival:
Turnout was mediocre after speaking to fellow members. I was only able to stop by for a few minutes, but there were many new names on our listserve, so I see this as progress. Progress is definitely something we hope to achieve, even if it is slow and involves me making 2:00 a.m. trips to Kinko's to print out ten -dollar handouts on a college student's budgent. Oh the joys of pr!
Although I say this I must admit that these late night trips are somewhat relaxing and my paper cutting skills have improved remarkably. On top of all this I have basically been eating, deaming and living pr while working with my teammates on our last public relations project here at the university. I will definitely look forward to commenting on this experience!
Turnout was mediocre after speaking to fellow members. I was only able to stop by for a few minutes, but there were many new names on our listserve, so I see this as progress. Progress is definitely something we hope to achieve, even if it is slow and involves me making 2:00 a.m. trips to Kinko's to print out ten -dollar handouts on a college student's budgent. Oh the joys of pr!
Although I say this I must admit that these late night trips are somewhat relaxing and my paper cutting skills have improved remarkably. On top of all this I have basically been eating, deaming and living pr while working with my teammates on our last public relations project here at the university. I will definitely look forward to commenting on this experience!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Black Gold
Another upcoming event I'd like to share as the newly named "PR person" for my UGA fair trade group is the showing of "Black Gold." At our last meeting I was ecstatic to find out that we will be showing this eye-opening documentary at the student learning center of our campus very soon.
All interested students and faculty are encouraged to attend. For those who are unfamiliar with this documentary, it elaborates on the growth of the coffee industry, as well as its affect on coffee growers in Ethiopia. The local community has already had a viewing of this film, but we think it would be especially beneficial for students to have access to such a relevant documentary to fair trade. I will be sure to update on the times and the exact date of the showing.
All interested students and faculty are encouraged to attend. For those who are unfamiliar with this documentary, it elaborates on the growth of the coffee industry, as well as its affect on coffee growers in Ethiopia. The local community has already had a viewing of this film, but we think it would be especially beneficial for students to have access to such a relevant documentary to fair trade. I will be sure to update on the times and the exact date of the showing.
Starbucks and fair trade
Our fair trade group is currently aware of the Starbucks/Ethiopian coffee issue at hand. For those interested who are unaware of the tension with fair trade coffee and Starbucks, an insightful blogger known as Poor Farmer provides relevant updates with this pressing issue.
On this blog there is a news article taken from Etho Online under the heading "Coffee Blessing, Curse in Ethiopia," that provides a startling amount of history of the coffee industry itself, as well as the pressing situation revolving around the conditions of the coffee workers (some children) in Ethiopia. I recommend this article for anyone who wants to learn more about fair trade and coffee, and I also recommend this blog. This site is http://poorfarmer.blogspot.com/index.html , and the blogger is extremely informative on this issue, providing many links to Oxfam and fair trade coffee.
On this blog there is a news article taken from Etho Online under the heading "Coffee Blessing, Curse in Ethiopia," that provides a startling amount of history of the coffee industry itself, as well as the pressing situation revolving around the conditions of the coffee workers (some children) in Ethiopia. I recommend this article for anyone who wants to learn more about fair trade and coffee, and I also recommend this blog. This site is http://poorfarmer.blogspot.com/index.html , and the blogger is extremely informative on this issue, providing many links to Oxfam and fair trade coffee.
Fair Trade Festival!
For those of you who are interested in some fair trade fun this week, our newly formed fair trade organization at the University of Georgia is holding the group's main event for the semester: a fair trade festival.
All students and faculty are welcome to come to the Myers Quad this Thursday on April 12th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Our goup is working hard on some informative posters, videos, handouts and above all FREE FOOD! We are gathering together to create some tasty concoctions using fair trade ingredients.
We hope to use this festival as a way to spread more awareness about fair trade and the benefits of promoting fair trade products. Please feel free to stop by if you will be in the area or if you'd like to enjoy an afternoon snack. We hope this event turns out to be a success!
All students and faculty are welcome to come to the Myers Quad this Thursday on April 12th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Our goup is working hard on some informative posters, videos, handouts and above all FREE FOOD! We are gathering together to create some tasty concoctions using fair trade ingredients.
We hope to use this festival as a way to spread more awareness about fair trade and the benefits of promoting fair trade products. Please feel free to stop by if you will be in the area or if you'd like to enjoy an afternoon snack. We hope this event turns out to be a success!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
PR for Fair Trade!
Today has been an exciting day for me as a student. Our fair trade organization on campus has just become an official organization at the University! We even have a new listserv now!
A good friend of mine introduced me to the concept of fair trade after she attended a leadership conference last summer. She became a member of an important fair trade group known as Oxfam. http://www.oxfamamerica.org/.
Oxfam is an agency dedicated to ending world poverty. One of its biggest promotions is the idea of fair trade world-wide. Moreover, many may look at world poverty and think about starving children in some country 10,000 miles away, but farmers all over the world (and this includes the U.S.) can't feed their families because of the abuse of subsidies today.
You can probably relate to this by thinking about where you plan on making your next grocery shopping trip. Are you going to go to the farmer's market for vegetables, or are you looking for the cheapest prices at your local grocery store? These small decisions are forcing many farmers to live in poverty.
By encouraging the production and sale of fair trade products, I think that the program is steadily growing, and I am glad to be a part of it. I've also been designated the official PR person for our group, so there's experience to be had! Has anyone heard of this program or know of an organization within your vicinity using effective PR in the area of fair trade? I'd like to look at what others have done so far.
A good friend of mine introduced me to the concept of fair trade after she attended a leadership conference last summer. She became a member of an important fair trade group known as Oxfam. http://www.oxfamamerica.org/.
Oxfam is an agency dedicated to ending world poverty. One of its biggest promotions is the idea of fair trade world-wide. Moreover, many may look at world poverty and think about starving children in some country 10,000 miles away, but farmers all over the world (and this includes the U.S.) can't feed their families because of the abuse of subsidies today.
You can probably relate to this by thinking about where you plan on making your next grocery shopping trip. Are you going to go to the farmer's market for vegetables, or are you looking for the cheapest prices at your local grocery store? These small decisions are forcing many farmers to live in poverty.
By encouraging the production and sale of fair trade products, I think that the program is steadily growing, and I am glad to be a part of it. I've also been designated the official PR person for our group, so there's experience to be had! Has anyone heard of this program or know of an organization within your vicinity using effective PR in the area of fair trade? I'd like to look at what others have done so far.
The Scary Side of PR?
Although this is my second blog post, I can't help but delving into this. One of my professors sent me a link to a video clip that portrays public relations in a way that I feel would frighten anyone before bedtime. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rPQCPwdwHQ. I don't know how many people have seen this clip, but being a public relations major, it made me feel like I'm being associated with the mafia.
I think everyone in the field is aware of the bad reputation public relations has been given for quite a while now. Many of my professors feel we're slowly coming out of this, but this video is yet another constant reminder of how "dirty" the business is portrayed.
One of the most memorable images for me was a small girl in a field of flowers, definitely reminiscent of a cold war ad that many remember. I think the main message here is, public relations is corrupting the children. I know that I heard the word manipulative used at least three times, and the term propaganda would not go away.
Another note I'd like to make is the strong correlation the clip made with advertising and public relations. The video basically used these terms as if they were the same thing, and this bothered me.
Why is it that the "public relations people" are the ones seen as sending out ads anyway? I know that the two fields are obviously related, but clips like this make us out to be silent killers.
I recommend that everyone view this, especially if you're familiar with public relations, and tell me what you think about it. I know that I'm an amateur with this stuff, but am I blowing this out of proportion, or is it what it is? An ironic, anti-advertising\public relations "stunt."
I think everyone in the field is aware of the bad reputation public relations has been given for quite a while now. Many of my professors feel we're slowly coming out of this, but this video is yet another constant reminder of how "dirty" the business is portrayed.
One of the most memorable images for me was a small girl in a field of flowers, definitely reminiscent of a cold war ad that many remember. I think the main message here is, public relations is corrupting the children. I know that I heard the word manipulative used at least three times, and the term propaganda would not go away.
Another note I'd like to make is the strong correlation the clip made with advertising and public relations. The video basically used these terms as if they were the same thing, and this bothered me.
Why is it that the "public relations people" are the ones seen as sending out ads anyway? I know that the two fields are obviously related, but clips like this make us out to be silent killers.
I recommend that everyone view this, especially if you're familiar with public relations, and tell me what you think about it. I know that I'm an amateur with this stuff, but am I blowing this out of proportion, or is it what it is? An ironic, anti-advertising\public relations "stunt."
Welcome to my world of PR!
I tried not to be too misleading with the name of this blog, so what you see is what you get. This blog is about me and my functionings as a public relations major. This is my first blogging experience ever! I am an undergraduate college student working under Dr. Karen Russell while finishing up my last semester at the University of Georgia. One of our assignments this semester is to create a blog pertaining to the world of PR.
Now I'll be honest, I've successfully avoided blogging for quite a while now, but I guess it's about time for me to go ahead and throw myself out there. At first, this assignment scared the living daylights out of me. Blogging about PR? It's hard enough explaining the relevance of it to people, like my family and friends, who have no clue about what PR is in general.
Some of the most common questions I receive are: "S0, what exactly is PR?" and "What do you do with a public relations degree?"
I'll admit, before entering the program, I had the same questions. However, now that I plan on graduating with this degree in just a few short months (that's the plan anyway), I've been proud of my new-found abilities to answer these overwhelmingly redundant questions. I'm also pretty excited about blogging on PR, because what I've realized is that it's EVERYWHERE!!!
Now I'll be honest, I've successfully avoided blogging for quite a while now, but I guess it's about time for me to go ahead and throw myself out there. At first, this assignment scared the living daylights out of me. Blogging about PR? It's hard enough explaining the relevance of it to people, like my family and friends, who have no clue about what PR is in general.
Some of the most common questions I receive are: "S0, what exactly is PR?" and "What do you do with a public relations degree?"
I'll admit, before entering the program, I had the same questions. However, now that I plan on graduating with this degree in just a few short months (that's the plan anyway), I've been proud of my new-found abilities to answer these overwhelmingly redundant questions. I'm also pretty excited about blogging on PR, because what I've realized is that it's EVERYWHERE!!!
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