Lebron James- Haterade.

So Lebron James takes 85 years or so to decide which city he was going to move to... blah, blah, blah... he's now in Miami. So- i feel like in hopes of mending some deep wounds he left in the mists of his "decision"- he makes this video, in reaction to the press and loyal Cleveland fans, not expecting that they would bite right back!

This is the video that he debut released on his Twitter page:

So obviously hurt, and a little annoyed, and I'm sure pretty angry... Cleveland, Ohio debuts this video in response:









OUUUUUUU...BBBUURRRNN!!!!

So what do you thinkg- great come back? Or should Cleveland get over it already?

Ever, Ever, After!

So, I know there are some, but I was definitely not one of those little girls who didn't want to be a princess. In that sense, I am over joyed for Kate Middleton and Prince Williams on their recent engagement. Leave it to good ole Twitter to spread the news! Search ques of their names and "royal engagement" were in the top searched terms and no, it's not just tabloids talking this time, it is legit- with Princess Diana's ring and everything!

I love that the prince has chosen a humble girl, just like his mother, from a working class family with a good foundation and grounded background.

Rent The Runway!

So I have now discovered this AMAZING website- Rent the Runway! Not that I go anywhere that this website will often come in handy, but what a great idea! I really think that the women who came up with and are running this company are really on to something. So ladies- if you're ever headed out for a night on the town and don't want a dress to sit in your closet for years to come, just rent!

You've Got Mail- Effectively Writing E-mails and Memos

I am an avid Facebooker, Tweeter, and gmail user; but it is still one of the most annoying things when I receive a ton of emails in my inbox- even more when 2 out of 12 are actually worth my time.

I say this an an average, run-of-the-mill, new media user- imagine what a PR rep feels like every 15 minutes when all of their inboxes are full?

Their snail mail

their Gmail

their iPhone mail

their Facebook mail

their text mail

their tweet mail

and all the other mails that I can't even think of right now.

So golden rule is- when composing an e-mail (especially inner-office), a memo or such, be brief. Avoid rambling and/or extra topics.

Basically, stick to the point and let the rest of the office get on with their 2:30 pm coffee break.

However, when necessary communication arises, there are some points to

look out for in order to be effective.

• keep in mind the recipients of the message. Be courteous in doing such.
• keep all messages correct in spelling and grammar- it builds credibility.
• conciseness- like stated before, keep the message short and sweet.
• In short and sweet- include all information necessary for that particular message.
• be sure that all recipients are clear on the message’s intent and the like.

Another topic of concern, is language: not too formal, not to relaxed. Be as brief as possible, while still including all information needed. Not much more than:

subject line (Re: inner-office message)

salutation (Hello,)

First sentence or paragraph (intro to the point)

body of message (the point)

closing (Regards,)

A memo, on the other hand, is specific and straight to the point, as follows:

date: (11-12-10)

to: (Mr. so-and-so)

from: (Ms. so-and-so)

subject: (inner-office memo)

message: (clean up the coffee maker)

Done deal. Simple as that.

All these notes are from Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by Dennis L. Wilcox.

Funnies.

So, aside from my work

- but along with the topics-

and along with the flow of today's news feed

here is some appropriate political humor that I happened to run across:

[God Bless America]

New Media and The Internet- a Bond is Created!

Internet’s New Media comes along with:

widespread broadband

cheap/free, online publishing tools

mobile devices

Writing on the internet is completely different then print or broadcast. When writing for an online audience there are a few golden rules to remember:

1. write the way you talk- internet is like a casual conversation, where as print is like a novel.

2. keep it to one page per concept- internet has some kind of lazy-power. Readers don’t want to wait for page 2 to load... and they move on.

3. use bullet points, graphs, visuals, photos

4. Don’t overuse hyperlinks in text- use hyperlinks, but don’t OVER USE hyperlinks.

All these notes are from Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by Dennis L. Wilcox.

Love, Hate? or Just Love to Hate? And Other Stuff...

Pr Rep vs. Journalist- Communications love and hate relationship.

Come on now, let’s all share and play nicely in the sandbox.

-BUT FIRST-

THE EASY PART... SENDING NEWS:

Top ways to get news into media outlets are to:

e-mail them

send them to online newsrooms

electronic newswires

placement firms

BUT, Always remember the following tips when sending news online:

• Create a short document- readers don’t like to scroll. too much excersize.
• Use bullet points instead of sentences to express key issues
• Write a catchy and descriptive subject line, not just a line in the mix along with the rest of the world that says, “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE”
• Do no attach files unless requested due to online virus dangers
• Don’t let the receiver see the email addresses of all the reporters that the story was sent too.
• Do not leave grammatical/formatting errors- spell check! grammar and punctation check, EVERYTIME!

AND NOW FOR THE DRAMA...

PR vs. Journalists- Love Hate? or just Love to Hate?

Journalists views:

Journalists think Pr Representatives-

• work sloppy
• report biased
• get caught up in emotion, such as tabloids.

PR views:

PR Representatives think Journalist-

• are all about hype, not realistic
• don't do their homework on a subject
• nuisances

All these notes are from Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by Dennis L. Wilcox.

TEN, STAT!

A blog's dashboard is like a report card.

In this you can find all things in reagrds in who, when and how often people have visited your site, which post is the most popular and how many comments were left for each.

I was surprised at how detailed the stats were for each post.

No generics here.

I need to become more familiar with all aspects of wordpress because for the longest I blogged with Blogspot (yes, I have now made the transistion to Wordpress) so now I am behind on the logistics.

Pray for me in my catching up process.

EIGHT, Lead Lab.

I learned a lot of specifics in the lead lab. I didn't enjoy it very much- unlike the other labs, the Lead Lab was quite boring- but I did learn a lot.

I always took leads as so generic, just three or so way to create one, and realized that there are such specifications when creating a lead, each which enhance a story in a differet way.

So this I learned AND it surprised me.

I would like to know everything about leads, because of my surprise in this educational lab, I realized that I don't know much when it comes to leads.

The very basic, actually.

SEVEN- Tweet, Tweet!

As an avid "tweeter", this assignment was one that was thoroughly enjoyable!

However, I definitely learned that Twitter is not as fun when it is required.

I found that when I tweet, up to 10 times a day on average, I include photos and links and random nothingness that most people couldn't care less about but that I find quite amusing.

But when it was an assignment I formed a rather reluctant attitude that I did not expect, feeling like I "had to" tweet some stuff and include some hash tags, etc.. like it was extra work.

I enjoyed being a part of the #COMM4333 list and was surprised to see how involved the class was in participating. Despite my reluctancy, seeing the class being so involved inspired me to to throw my two-cents in as well and grace my COMM4333 class with the presence of my tweets.

I would love to know more about the specifics of Twitter, in the case of using it professionally. Tips on a prefessional Twitter account may be helpful, as well.

Tweet on, readers. Tweet on.

Gap Fail

In Twitter land I would be typing: #epicfail when describing Gap's attempt at a logo face lift. After the unveiling of the new logo, customers all over the world began responding, tweeting and letting the world know- through the wonderful real time effects of digital media- that they were not happy with the change. Within hours, Gap replaced the new logo with it's original and the effects of digital media were revealed more than ever- customers cried out and were heard. And the original Gap logo remains.

Reality TV- reality? or a Hollywood audition?

So, you apply for a reality show- whether to win the $500,000, to find your husband or to get a make-over- you tape the show, win or lose, then go back to Minnesota or Colorado or Texas or whatever other state is called home and live life... right?

Not so much now-a-days.

Seems to me that more reality celebrities are using these TV shows as 8 weeks to show off

their fiesty personality, in hopes of being "discovered" for further Hollywood opportunities or even better- get picked up for a spin off.

Take "Laguna Beach" for example- filmed about a group of high school students who lived in a small Southern California town. After running for 3 seasons, and seeing the extreme progress in "acting" skills from reality to semi-scripted or "outlined", Lauren Conrad was picked up for the spin-of

f "The Hills", which followed her journey to LA to pursue a career in fashion, along with fellow Laguna friend Hiedi Montag. Lo Bosworth eventually made her way to "The Hills" also and now writes a fashion blog, and Stephen is acting on the CW show "One T

ree Hill".

Along the way, Lauren's internship buddy got picked up for her own show, "The City", which followed her journey to New York to pursue fashion design, and so the web continues to weave the new breed of celebirities- made for how often they're seen dining at the Beverley Hills Polo Lounge or how many people follow the on Twitter, rather then their acting ability

or even their break into show business at all.

More of them film and then find a place in LA to "nest" until they make enough public appearances to get another gig... or at least ride out the wave of "fans" as long as the show is aired and promoted.

Makes me wonder if Twitter is new publicist for these reality stars, who usually go on to compete in other shows such as Dancing With the Stars or create their own websites and blogs, etc... and lay out their daily deeds on these websites, also promoting many "causes" and such- got to pay for that LA efficiency some how, right?

I know that all sounded very "soap box-ish" but I'm not really "hatin'", just making an observation- because I definitely follow the Twitter lives of the entire ABC's Bachelor/Bachelorette crew. Appealing. Just saying.

Intertesting website revelation today: YLakeland

This website is focused specifically on events and things to do for college students and 20-somethings!! I'm super pumped about it- the YLakeland website describes themselves as:

""YLakeland" is an initiative of the Lakeland Economic Development Council, aka LEDC. Young, educated, talented, creative, and sometimes zany professionals are an essential component of a healthy community. YLakeland connects high school and college students to what is happening in Lakeland and what opportunities our community offers beyond school."

The Social Network

October 1, 2010 released The Social Network, a film about the creation of the top grossing social networking website, Facebook.

When seeing the preview of this movie, I was more than skeptical about what it's content would be and if we have really come to this place where we are so engrossed with this website that Hollywood has pulled it's origins together to tell it's story.

I was so wrong. I saw The Social Network and it was impressive, yet interesting to me that most of it was fictional. Many accounts, including Mark Zukkerburg's (creator of Facebook and main character of the story), that share the differences of the movie and reality- much of which was included for the purpose of selling a movie.

Publicity Photos & Graphics- Picking the Best.

So, let me ask you a question:

Who doesn't like picture books? I don't think I can name one.. not even one.. person who does not like picture books- at least when they were kids.

Every kid likes picture books.

Well, photos and graphics within an article is for the picture book loving kid inside of each of us. By adding a photo, readers are automatically become attracted to the article.

Basically, majority of readers prefer to see a story told through a photo rather than reading the text in print. Even if they don't remember exactly what the article said, they will always remember the photo that accompanied it.

What makes a photo good, you might ask?

Always submit only high resolution images with good contrast and sharp details. A pixilated photo will never make it. Just throwing that out there- you can take it, or you can throw it right back.

Some things to consider before submitting:

• Show perspective- zoom in or out so that readers get an idea of true size, etc...
• Show action- avoid posey posey pictures (think journalism not Olan Mills).
• Show the main idea- too many people in a photo can come off tacky or distracting.
• Show a caption to include that explains the image.
• Show faces when possible- backs and sunglasses are more for the witness protection situations.

Some things to consider when writing captions:

• A caption should introduce the people in the picture and give an idea to what is going on in the photo.
• They are usually two to four sentences long.
• When introducing the people in the photo, include Name (first and last) and age.

All these notes are from Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by Dennis L. Wilcox.

Feature News Stories and Op-Eds

Who knew that "op-ed" actually stands for "opposite the editorial page".

Well, not me.

Along with that, here are a few other interesting "something to think about" this-n-thats when it comes to feature news stories and op-eds.

Approaches to take when writing for features:

• Distribute a general story to a variety of publications for more opportunity to get published. There are websites to help with this type of approach, such as prnewswire.
• Interest a freelancer or reporter in writing a story- there are plenty of people looking for some extra cash.
• Write an exclusive feature for one publication- unlike the first, this approach will have less chance of mass publication, but also hold more value because every news outlet longs for exclusivity, just like a little kid anxious for the tooth fairy- just one of those things.
• Post features online- this approach is easy to produce and easily accepted because to print online doesn't take printing, etc..

Now, there are many different types of feature stories to write about. Here are some good choices to get started with:

• case study- article about a specific case or situation where a service or product effected someone.
• application study- kind of like the case study, this story details how consumers can benefit from a featured product. This type focuses on the product, the case study focuses on the consumer.
• research study- researches an aspect of lifestyle or common life situation.
• backgrounder- commonly focuses on historical material which draws human interest.
• personality profile- features a celebrity or top employee of a company, in order to bring them into a more common light and not as patronized.
• historical feature- tells about a major event or anniversary in the community.

Golden tip of the day (I won't even charge for this one): Feature stories and pretty common, so to be a successful feature writer, look for a niche or unique view of an event- a way to stand out from all the other feature writers who are sending in stories about the same day and possibly the same event.

Feature stories are formatted just like news releases (which we talked about a couple of weeks ago). Photos and graphics are also a great way to draw attention from readers, as well as editors.

So, pick your type and viewpoint for an article- throw in a grand amount of quotes, examples, facts, and story telling skills in order to deliver an entertaining and interesting story.

However, Op-Eds are a tad-bit different. These are only about 400-700 words and contain more facts than creativity. It is basically an opinion based article that provides facts of an event to support the particular opinion of the author.

All this jazz was taken from Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques by Dennis L. Wilcox.

Slow and Painful- Is Print Dying?

With such a cultural transition right now, I often wonder what 10 years will look like- if we will finally have flying cars- and if print will still be a primary media at all?

It is already very apparent that digital media has begun to reign in media sources across the globe. On one hand I would like to be able to say that print media will always hold a place in our hearts-there’s just something about pen on paper that I tend to like for journaling, etc... On the other hand, however, I see concrete situations where print media is just nothing to write home about- it’s not as easy, convenient or light weight. It takes a lot of space to carry the notebook, the book, the pen, paper, highlighter and whatever else you plan on using, rather than just an ipad which does it all.

I am seeing these PR ads, printed by the top players in the print industry, such as Conde Nast, and I'm wondering if this is clearly one last attempt to reassure readers that they're not going anywhere- while ferociously creating magazine apps and such, of course, to go along with these ads (just in case, ya know).

There is a full article about this campaign, printed by PRNewswire.

SIX, worthy.

Newsworthy-ness will make or break if an article goes to press.


Period.

As discussed in Chapter 6, there are a few key components to making an article newsworthy. That chapter review said all kinds of jazz about it, but the main 5 points discussed are:


Timeliness
Unusualness
Human interest
Proximity
Prominence


which basically breaks down like this: timeliness refers to when the article is released- you don't want to release too early or too late.

Unusualness is reporting things that are weird or different or "unusual"- imagine that!

Human interest is finding the story within a story. For example, during the 9/11 attacks, the human interest story would be the one spotlighting the one fireman who saved 3 people who were far away from the masses, etc. Highlighting a detailed story out of the big picture.

Proximity is all about location, location, location- where the event takes place in relation to where the readers if the publication are located- what is cool in Nebraska isn't necessarily cool in Florida.

Last is prominence- the rich and famous always draw a crowd!

The end.

Week FIVE, Don't Fake it...

Plagiarism is tricky.

There are those times where a writer just forgot to add quotation marks and other times where the writer just liked the words of another and wanted them as their own. In the latter, plagiarism is absolutely not ok, and will probably get you kicked out of school or fired or wherever your writing is headed.

Let me ask you this, would you steal a movie? ok then, same thing.

Purdue University helped out a lot with some extra tips, beyond what I wrote about for the chapter review. A great resource overall, but see what they had to say about plagiarism.

Week FOUR, Clean it Up

The NewsU courses are kicking my butt!

Ok, I feel so much better now that I got that out there and off my chest.

Initially, I wanted to ust my 3-pronged approach to say the following:

1. I learned that- I DO NOT know as much as I thought I knew about this.

2. I was surprised that -I DO NOT know as much as I thought I knew about this.

3. I would like to learn- All that stuff that I thought I knew.

However, I have decided to push past my depression and dig a little deeper into my new knowledge.

I know your excited.

1. In this course I learned a lot more about punctuation. I am an editor, and this is why I was so surprised how much I don't know. I learned to rely on AP Style a lot more than I already do.

AP Style and I are officially on BFF status!

2. What surprised me was how easy it became to navigate an AP "flow"- not as hard as it seems.

3. I would like to become more comfy using those things. you know, to just be able to KNOW more of those rules and be able to "phase out" my deep relationship with my AP Styleguide.

I actually really like the interactvie format of the News U courses- time flies when your having fun- and these courses go fast!

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NewsU sounds cool, right? It is. Check it out.