Archive for August, 2009
My life as a Southwest flight attendant
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“Please welcome our ‘flight attendant in training,’ Linda, as she comes through the cabin to collect your trash.”
The great crew on my Southwest flight from Phoenix to Providence today thus announced me as I learned what it’s like to be on the OTHER side of the aisle.
Those of you who know me know that I’ve had a sitting challenge for the last two years. It’s called piriformis syndrome, and basically it’s a form of sciatica. The piriformis muscle Read More→
Where does your state rank in twitter usage?
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Twitter has ranked the 51 states (including District of Columbia) by their total number of twitter users. Do you know where your state ranks? Check it out here. California is #1, North Dakota is #51.
I live in Arizona, which is #14. My home state of Rhode Island, however, is an embarrassing #43. What gives? One of the original 13 colonies was ahead of its time on freedom of religion, but behind the times on social media?
It’s a great metaphor for the constant dichotomy I feel, having lived in Arizona now for almost 21 years. I love the newness of everything here – shopping malls, restaurants, highways, museums, parking lots, even. I feed off the entrepreneurial energy. There is a strong and vibrant twitter community. Yet, I miss the history of Rhode Island, Read More→
Chappaquiddick in PR 2.0 instead of PR 1.0
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How would Ted Kennedy’s reputation have fared if PR 2.0 had been in existence in summer 1969, when the infamous Chappaquiddick incident occurred?
No cell phones, no camera phones, no Internet, no social media, no citizen journalists. Just a quiet dirt road on an isolated part of Martha’s Vineyard.
It’s a part of history that will always remain a mystery. To his credit, Ted Kennedy went on air to acknowledge his shortcomings. But so many questions linger…
The methods to convey information and initiate conversations are different now. But the PRSA ethics code is always a good guideline to follow. There can be as much deception in omission of key information as there is in slanted information. I’m a Ted Kennedy fan. But this is one part of his past that continues to trouble me…
Don’t be a Renaissance Woman!
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T-shirt from www.spreadshirt.com
Do you practice what you preach? I try to. I urge potential clients to use professional public relations help when they’re setting out their strategy for a new product, service, or turnaround. Very few of us are Renaissance women and men who can do every single aspect involved in running a business.
The 2 most common pushbacks I hear are 1) We’re going to do it ourselves, or 2) We don’t have enough money right now.
Every business owner needs to assess their financial situation accurately. So I don’t have much issue with the 2nd reason, as I get it. I truly do. But #1? Please – do NOT do it yourself unless you get proper training first. Read More→
The power of personal PR
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- Linda VandeVrede & Lili Stanford
Personal PR. Do you have it? Lili Stanford did.
Are you clear about what you are offering?
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Author Pamela Slim
One of my favorite business authors, Pamela Slim, presented at the social media and business event yesterday in Tempe. If you haven’t heard of her, check out her blog at www.EscapefromCubicleNation.com, and her recently published book by the same name.
She talked about using social media to amplify who you really are. All of the points she mentioned were helpful, but the one that really stood out was point number 2 – meaning.
She urged the audience to think about why they are doing what they’re doing in their current career/mission. What do you care about? What is the result for users? What happens? She used as an example the company Freshbooks, which is very clear about what they’re offering – “painless billing.” And they demonstrate that message in their customer service as well. You would be hard-pressed to ever find a negative comment about Freshbooks. Read More→
My guest post on www.amandavegablog.com
Posted by: | CommentsThanks to Amanda Vega Consulting, who asked me to be a guest on their blog. Here’s a link to my post today, “Five personal PR pet peeves.”
Press releases are NOT a PR strategy
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Great graphic from the original post by Tom Foremski
When I published the first edition of my book in 2005, I wrote that there seems to be a powerful misconception in the business world that public relations is composed simply of press releases — that a so-called “PR Strategy” is sending out announcements as often as possible.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of businessmen and women, from neophyte to seasoned executive, equate PR with press releases. The terms are interchangeable in their minds. No wonder the media want to barricade their virtual doors from press releases, which are as fast and misguided as attacking zombies.
Here it is four years later, and I was glad to see Adam Singer of The Future Buzz comment on the same topic in his August 17th post, “If you want press, don’t send a press release.” Here is an excerpt from it: Read More→
My personal journey with social media releases
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Three years ago this month, the traditional format of press releases was turned upside down with the creation of a new “social media release” (SMR) template.
I was working with iMemories at the time, and remember looking at the proposed template and thinking, “wow, that is a very different kind of format, and I don’t know if I will be able to replicate that.” I’m a writer, not a graphic artist. But I realized the importance of the trend, and the significance and impact of social media on the traditional press release.
With the help of a seminar hosted by Businesswire, and a lot of online reading and research, I completely changed the way I wrote press releases to adapt to this new format. If you’re not familiar with the history behind social media releases, you can find a good summary here.
What I ended up with is what I will call a hybrid – Read More→
Finally – a good book about twitter
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I just finished a really good book about twitter that would make an excellent gift for any friends you have who are sitting on the fence about whether to jump in or not. Hey, it’s never too early to think about Christmas!
What I like best about “All a Twitter” by Tee Morris is his conversational style. He’s not trying to be a lofty author, speaking from on high. He’s just sharing what he has learned since he first started tweeting in spring 2007. He covers a lot of ground, and in fact the book is 280 pages long, and includes a section that explains tools for twitter as well as twitter speak.
He tells you how to register, starting with the basics. He tells you how to pick a good photo. There is a significant section on how to get tweets on your mobile phone. The book addresses all levels of experience on twitter, and goes into both personal and professional uses. If you have friends who wonder about twitter search, hash tags, tweet stats, tweet ups, Mr. Tweet, this is a great overview for them.
