Friday, October 22, 2010

I Feel Used!

Last week, some co-workers told me that this October was the first in 823 to have 5 full weekends. Having no reason to doubt who I view as intelligent colleagues, I thought to myself, “Wow, isn’t that interesting.” I didn’t give it much thought after that and seemingly heard it around a few other places, as well. So, as any person (especially in a profession so tuned into the “news”) tends to do, I proceeded to pass along the information to friends and family. I got through a few people in circle with no push back. However, when I relayed my interesting tidbit to a certain friend, he happily informed me that this was impossible!

Needless to say after a short conversation and little thought, it didn’t take much convincing at all for me to realize that my friend was right. A quick internet search confirmed that I had been duped by an internet experiment testing how easily we believe what we read on the internet and in my case (even more embarrassing) what our friends read on the internet. EGadds!
What a wake-up call. While I do feel foolish, this little experiment reminded me how easy it is to forget the pitfalls of the internet. We rely on it so heavily, and in the PR and marketing industry it often acts the end-all be-all resource. It is easy to forget that not all web is controlled by truthful sources like ourselves. 

Friday, October 8, 2010

Media Day Hooray!

This Tuesday I attended my very first PRSA Media Day. For this entry, I just wanted to give a quick kudos to all parties involved in making the Cincinnati Media Day possible. The PRSA commitee, the panelists and speakers, and local media who attended were all excellent. I especially enjoyed both the YouTwitFace panel discussion and the Toyota presentation.

 It was great getting some face time with local editors and reporters who can help us do our jobs better.  I think it is safe to say that now knowing there is a 1:4 journalist to PR guy ratio, everyone will find use for the the great tips for pitching the media generously shared.

Kudos Cincinnati PRSA!