Final Review - Public Relations

“Public Relations” I bet some of you are still thinking is this the rite course for you? Well the next few months will fly past and you wont even expect it and then the next thing you know you will be writing a blog to the future students, just like I have.

The journey is fun and rewarding you learn so much in Public Relations and the lectures will get you work-ready for your career.

I learnt so much about the PR industry within the first few weeks imagine what I learnt at the end of the course. The best thing that I have grown to develop over the semester was my communication skills in oral presentations and interviewing other public relations professionals.

I have outlined below a few key skills that you will need to be good at and if your not then don’t worry to much because this course will enable that and you will be amazing at them by the end of the course.

Master the art of multitasking!! Public relation professionals have multiple clients who they do work for. So just like in this course you will need to multitask and prioritize your workload to get the work handed in on time so you can get the results that you deserve. When it comes to the campaign be prepared and organised as it is very full on and you will need to multitask to have a successful campaign.

Don’t be afraid of forward thinking, Creativity comes in all sorts of forms, the best ideas come from thinking outside of your boundaries. Another major key is to keep up to date with the latest technologies and social media websites.

Also follow the news, as you need to be kept up to date with the world around you!

When I joined this course at the start of the semester I had a vague idea of what Public Relations was all about, in my eyes it was all about the parties and famous people. Well I was very well mistaken, as there is a lot more involved in PR then you think. In my first blog I stated that I wanted to gain a wider range of knowledge about the industry and over the past 20 weeks I have definitely gained so much knowledge about the industry. I enjoyed working on the campaign I found it really interesting with what’s involved to make it successful, along with the group dynamics.

After editing so many documents in Heathers class I cant believe how many mistakes can be easily made.

After working on the e-read campaign I’m excited for what’s involved in the next semester.

Thanks Keith, Holly, Rebel and Heather, I have taken in so much information and I have learnt a lot from you all.

"Be under no illusion" - quote Keith Critchett

Good luck and enjoy the course!

Obama Supports Same-Sex Marriage

President Obama became the first US president to back the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry. Is this a political stunt?

For an issue that has been a big part of the public discourse for almost an entire decade, I find it hard to believe that someone as intelligent as Obama could suddenly have an epiphany on the subject. Even if Obama is now for gay marriage, it is most likely NOT going to be backed up by the congress.

In my opinion his decision to support gay marriage is a smart political move or a stunt if that was his intentions, but unfortunately we’ll never know how Obama really feels about gay marriage.

Politicians do what makes political sense. In today’s society telling the truth rarely is a sensible move.

In relation to the equal rights issue within Australia, there is absolutely no way that this would happen closer to the Australian elections, our politicians are so anti gay. I believe that whilst the support for gay marriage is enviable, acceptance amongst certain demographic groups needs to be achieved. This key change on this issue will not simply happen overnight, rather a slow change over a period of several years.  

I found this video on youtube, from the 7pm project. best describes the equal rights issues in Australia.

A New Leash On Life!

Ever since I was a young boy I wanted a pet dog. Both my parents grew up with dogs and my mum wasn’t keen on the idea of having one in the house. It took me years of begging to convince my parents to buy me a dog and then I finally got a dog for Christmas in 2004. We decided that if we were to get a dog that we would buy a big dog and not a little housedog, as it would have to sleep outside and we didn’t want to get a yapping dog.

Just like every parent tells their kids when they want pets that I would have to: pick up the dog poo, clean them, feed them, walk them and play with them. I agreed and picked a black and white Border collie. I named her Amy who was one of my friends at the time.

The day I got her I was overwhelmed, I was so happy and excited I played with her everyday and taught her tricks. I even snuck her in at nights to sleep up in my room instead of out the back.

As years go by the whole family love her and cherish her, even my mum feels bad about her sleeping outside in the storms or in the heat in summer.  She has become a member of my family and has made me so happy!

If I ever had a bad day at school I would come home and get her and then go for a walk along the coast or to the dog beach.

I see my dog as a great companion, she never complains of having a headache when I want to spend time with her. And my dog makes me laugh with the things she does and how intelligent she can be.

I feel that every household should have a pet and a dog is a great companion.

I guess a dog really is a Man’s best friend. 

What happens in cyberspace, stays in cyberspace!

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/13346573/girls-upload-risque-video-to-youtube/

One of the most popular online activities, and is also the greatest risk to privacy, is social networking sites, such as Facebook, you tube and MySpace. Millions of people all around the world use these social networking websites, to post personal profiles about themselves. As one of the fastest-growing online networking sites, particularly among youth, this raises particular concerns about privacy.

I remember at school we always had constable care come to teach us about safety, well now we need to move with the times especially with the technology change and teach teenagers about the risks and safety of social media on the internet.

So, I think that all schools need to conduct a media awareness campaign, to increase student awareness and provide education regarding strategies to promote the safe use of the Internet by school kids.

The first step is to Identify, promote, and encourage best practices for Internet safety in schools.

Students need to understand and learn:

·      The risks associated with giving out personal information

·      The possible consequences of posting photos, personal information and messages

·      Who can view their Facebook profiles

·      The different levels of access

·      Learn how to use Facebook security to control who sees their profiles

Sometimes Teenagers don’t care what gets uploaded, as they all want to be the popular kid in school and are oblivious to the consequences of uploading personal information and inappropriate material.

You know you love her! "Paris Hilton"

The Star City Casino in Sydney has just launched a new nightclub “Marquee”. They had there grand opening last night and the ultimate party girl herself – Paris Hilton, along with others helped get the party started on the red carpet of the event. The “red carpet” of the grand opening was in fact purple, as it was believed to be the colour that is supposed to attract money. 

As far as attracting international headlines and positive press, signing up Paris and her friends for the opening seemed to have paid off.

A media agency in Sydney estimated it to cost $50,000 to $150,000 to get Paris Hilton to be a guest at Marquee.

Paris Hilton banned channel 7 from attending the red carpet for the grand opening of Marquee nightclub in Sydney because a reporter had asked her “what is she planning to do in her life when she becomes no longer famous?” she was offended and demanded it not be included in the stations broadcast. The journalist did broadcast the interview and also showed before the interview when Paris went over the questions with him or what he was going to ask. In my opinion this is wrong and sly of the reporter but can be an expected act in the media and celebrity world.

The reporter said that she was not open to discussing her ex-BFF Kim Kardashian, her jail stint, and her sex tape, "One Night in Paris." Amongst the topics Hilton was happy to talk about was her new boyfriend, DJ Afrojack, who was also performing for the opening of the Marquee, as well as her trip to the local Bondi Beach.

I think that having Paris Hilton at the premiere red carpet event was a great idea it does attract a lot of media from around the world to publicize the new Marquee nightclub for free and will attract a lot of clientele in the near future.

I mean it’s fair enough that the past is the past and we need to move on with our lives as people can change but being a celebrity means exposing yourself and they all know that. There are always paparazzi around and every move they make will be on the media unfortunately that what being a celebrity is all about in this world! Reporters are always going to angle a celebrity for there worst.

I wouldn't be surprised if that Channel Seven thing was all a part of Paris strategy to stay famous and to make sure she was going to generate worldwide headlines while doing her “Marquee” campaign.

It will be interesting to see what other incidents she gets into before heading back to the USA but overall I’m sure her trip to Australia and the publicity will be massive to the new nightclub at the Star Casino, Sydney.

Group Success!

Hey guys, so we have now finished both reports due for Holly and Keith’s class. Now its time to get cracking on both group projects that we have been assigned. These are my tips and strategies for achieving successful results with working in a group for a presentation or campaign.  Enjoy!

Together
Everyone
Achieves
More

Working as part of a team is a successful key in any industry. The best way to improve your ability of team work is group projects. But working in groups can be difficult as every group member has different views and ideas. And there is always one person who isn’t committed to doing their work.

Here are some tips for working on group projects

·         When choosing group members, consider everyone’s skills and work ethics so that you make the rite decision.

·         Have a group meeting to discus the project before getting started.

·         Create a timeline and allocate tasks to everyone, this will keep all the members of your group motivated.

·         Make sure that the work load has been distributed evenly to each member of the group.

·         Make sure that everyone understands their part of the presentation and what is expected.

·         Create a gannt chart to outline important dates and keep track of what is due and when.

·         Hold a weekly meeting to discuss the progress of the presentation.

·         Be committed and encourage others to do the same.

If you don’t get along with one or two of your group members, remember that you don’t have to like someone to work with them.  So do not let your differences interfere with the project as it is not fair to you or the other group members involved.

Working with difficult people in a group presentation will prepare you for the real life world when you deal with difficult co workers. Just remember to lead by example and be the bigger person and not get angry with fellow group members, work out the problem and communicate with them.  

Communication is the key to Success!!!!

Homeless Hotspots!

How’s it going guys, I saw a pretty good and interesting news story online today the link is: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/13152191/homeless-people-wifi-hotspots/ 

Basically they are having homeless people wearing wifi hotspots around there necks and then having people in the city who had I phones, I pads and stuff can donate to them to use there wireless internet.

In my opinion, the marketing idea of transforming homeless people into wifi hotspots is great. It gives the homeless people a chance to explain their stories as some of them have become homeless from natural disasters like hurricane Katrina. It is arising awareness of homeless people to the community.

To use this service you have to go up to the homeless person who is wearing the “wifi hotspot shirt” and talk to them. People are allowed to log on to the hotspots for a $2 donation so it’s forcing them to interact with someone that they would normally ignore.

Just like in every industry especially within communications, online media and social networking everything is modernizing and rapidly growing along with the new technologies.

Street newspapers have been turned into print media; chances are people are more likely to buy a hot spot wifi connection then to buy a newspaper.

This campaign will give some homeless people a job and even a hope in life or a second chance to try and get back on track to survive out on the streets. From what I understand all the proceeds paid for access go directly go directly to the person selling you the access. This is a form of income for them.  

But is this morally rite for us to just use homeless people for connectivity? After all it’s no different to be handed a flyer when you walk down the street!

It’s a new concept that no one has seen before! Tell me what you think about it?

"Why Blog"....."Why Not"

The term “Blog” in today’s society would be one of the most popular words on the Internet.

So what is a Blog?

Blogging is an online public journal that has been written for other to read as a source of communication. Blogs are a great marketing tool as it’s an easy way for a company or business to get their ideas across to the public. For example, a blog exists on the Internet until you decide to delete it if you were to send out a newsletter or brochure they are shortly worn and torn and thrown in the bin. Blogs can also be updated at anytime.

So how is this relevant to Public Relations? Well in Public Relations Blogging is a form of social media, which is a great form of communication for information sharing for companies who would rather not pitch to the media but to simply communicate important messages to their customers through social networking.

Social media is growing each day and blogging is the fastest way of communication in the public relations industry. So I believe that blogging is a vital tool for any business that wants to succeed. They need to join the social media craze and make sure that they associate with having a blog on their website.

My tips for a successful blog:

• Be authentic 
• Don't take public risks and be offensive
• Get inside the audiences mind
• update continuously to keep the audience interested 
• Be creative!

I want to work in.....Public Relations

Through the public Relations course at Central Institute of Technology, I would like to gain the knowledge of the industry. This will teach me how to plan, develop, implement and evaluate communication strategies which present an organisation in the best light to public and clients, and promote effective information flow within an organisation.

I have learnt that to be able to exceed within the Public Relations Industry you will need to have excellent written and verbal communication skills. These are two skills that I want to develop while undertaking this course to be able to successfully be ready to work within the industry.

Two weeks have already gone past and i have learnt so much, i cant imagine how much my knowledge will expand after the next 18 weeks.  

I am very organised and proactive person who pays a lot of attention to detail and has a strong work ethic. These skills that i have already achieved plus the new ones that i will gain throughout this course will lead me to a successful future.