April
2
2010
It’s time for another Follow Friday! This week I decided to highlight a few rockstar reporters/analysts/bloggers that I not only respect professionally but personally as well. These guys are serious ROCKSTARS in their fields. I’ve highlighed why I think you should consider following them below.
@Stiennon – Richard Stiennon writes the security blog for Network World Magazine and is the Chief Research Analyst for IT-Harvest, a research firm that covers the 1,500 vendors of IT Security products. Richard has previously worked at Gartner Inc. where he covered security topics including firewalls, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, security consulting and managed security services for the Security and Privacy group.
A security veteran, Stiennon is also writing a book on Cyberwar and is one of the smartest guys around. Interested in security? You should be following this man!
@dbeizer – Doug is a reporter for Federal Computer Week and Washington Technology magazines, covering Web 2.0 and other emerging technologies. Not only are his articles informative – they are relevant and interesting! He’s been one of my favorite reporters to work with over the years and his kind, genuine attitude is always refreshing! Interested in anything that affects the Government? You should be following him.
@grantusg – Grant is one of the coolest cats around. Not only have I enjoyed working with him professionally but I would consider him to be a friend. As a ninja reporter, Grant works for IDG News Service: PC World, Computerworld and 300 other fine tech publications. Want tech news? This is your guy!
Last but certainly not least —-
@mckeay – Martin is a blogger, consultant, podcaster and much more! He’s been blogging about security since 2003 and started as a means to extend his knowledge and test his ideas about security. He has a fairly regular podcast co-hosted by none other than Rich Mogull, Mr. Securosis himself and Zach Lanier.
Besides his professional accomplishments, I like Martin because he is a straight up guy. He often gives PR peeps advice on twitter and does so graciously without calling anyone out. He gives tips on how best to work with him and what NOT to do! Talk about keeping the communication lines open for a good “win-win” relationship! Besides that, he’s outright pretty cool. Follow him, you won’t be disappointed. I’ll be interviewing him for a future blog post, so stay tuned!
March
5
2010
As I noted in my last blog post, I am going to start participating in #FollowFriday. In kicking off, I’d like to focus this week on two people who I have great respect for both personally and professionally.
@jspepper – Jeremy Pepper, a proven PR professional who not only provides great advice but actually lives by it. As someone who has been in the PR industry for many years, Jeremy has been around the block and KNOWS what he is doing. He’s funny, charming, witty but maybe most important of all he’s straight to the point. There is no hand holding with Jeremy. He’s a tell it like it is kinda guy. I would encourage every PR grad/pro to read his blog. You won’t regret it. It’s the sheer honesty and bluntness that I find refreshing.
@suzielin – Suzie or Suz as I often call her. I’ve know this gal for several years and she is a stand-up person. As someone I would call my personal friend and someone I greatly respect – we’ve had our ups and downs as any friendship does but in the end – Suzie doesn’t let you down. She’s a loyal friend that admires/respects honest and genuine people. As a PR pro, Suzie continues to encourage and support me. She’s recently started a blog and is the co-moderator on #TweenPR chat with me. If you want a genuine and admirable person on your follow list – she’s a must.
There are always TONS of people I’d like to highlight each week, so I believe this is a good way for me to start.
March
5
2010
As many of you know, #FollowFriday is an opportunity for people to suggest who to follow on Twitter. While I love the concept, I’ve often stayed away from participating because I don’t want anyone I follow to feel left out. But you know what, you can’t please everyone! Starting tomorrow, I will use #FollowFriday as a way to promote people that I admire either personally or professionally and elaborate why I recommend them via a blog post.
So get ready! I’ll be doing a #FollowFriday at least every other week! Stay tuned!
March
2
2010
Yesterday was the debut for #TweenPR chat – a chat on twitter focused on PR pros that have at least 4-8 years of solid PR experience and are putting their mark on the industry. Given this chat was focused on a particular audience, we had no set expectations and jumped in head first! And what do you know, our first chat had roughly 300 tweets from nearly 40 contributors! Not bad for the first week!
With many chats focusing on the entry level PR pro or targeted to any level, we felt there was a strong need for the #TweenPR folks to connect and the conversations that took place solidified just that. After introducing ourselves (@NicolePRExec & @SuzieLin) we began asking questions, which started a great dialogue. Below are some of the key highlights!
Q1. Do you feel as though the social media realm focuses on entry level and senior level PR folks for the most part?
Several of the participants felt that social media tools (specifically Twitter) in the PR community do tend to lean toward entry level or senior level professionals – leaving the mid-level untouched. This developed into a stronger conversation discussing why this might be – suggesting that entry level candidates might be seen as more equipped when it comes to social media. Overall, people recognized the value entry level candidates bring when it comes to social media but that strategy and successful execution takes experience.
Star Tweet: @marissamed: I find management thinks entry level (younger) professionals understand SM more than seasoned/mid-level PR pros.
Q2 Lots of folks tweeting say entry level understands ‘net better than mid/SR level, do you agree?
As you can imagine, all of our participants disagreed on this one. @AlexAizenberg noted there are four generations in the workforce at any given time. There are both bright and not so bright social media folks at all levels. This is key to remember in every organization and further emphasizes the need for education and engagement at all levels.
Star Tweet: @elissapr it may be perception vs. reality.
Q3. Perception vs Reality of entry level being the “pros” for SM. What do you think?
This is a question that deserves its own hour, which we very well might do in the near future. It sparked a heated conversation that demonstrated Mid & Senior level PR executives feel as though they can handle social media efforts, especially given their past experience and ability to execute strategies successfully. Entry level professionals are key as team members but in this industry, no matter what level, if you aren’t involved and educated on social media you simply will not survive.
Star Tweets:
@P_C_M: think younger pple might be up on the delivery systems, but don’t have the know-how to be up on the strategy
@elissapr Sr execs intimidated by sheer vastness of SM; many see kids proficient @ it; so hire young cuz they MUST understand!
@SuperDu: Q3 Entry level might be pros at using SocMed, but exp’d pros still needed to set strategy and understand how SM fits into campaign.
What are your thoughts on these questions? Join on in the conversation below!
For those of you who missed the first #TweenPR chat, we hope you can join us next week – Monday at 9pm ET! We will have @shonali joining us and she will serve as the lead mentor to discuss next week’s topic: Mentor – Everyone Needs One!
Got questions you want answered? Contact @NicolePRExec or @SuzieLin via e-mail – tweenprchat@yahoo.com. Also, make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates on the chat!
Thanks to all who participated in making this a killer chat! Already looking forward to next week!
Nicole and Suzie
Full Transcript from 3/1/10 chat can be found here: #TweenPR Chat
February
23
2010
In sitting down discussing twitter chats with @SuzieLin, I noted that there weren’t any chats specifically targeted toward PR professionals with at least 4-8 years of experience. Most of the chats I had seen were an open forum for PR professionals at all levels or specifically for entry level people. I had to wonder – why is this “middle” section being overlooked? Thus, we created #TweenPR chat! Join us, Monday’s at 9pm ET for one hour.
For me specifically, I realized that despite having only 5 years of experience in the PR industry, I am already running accounts, managing junior staff and leading client relations on a day-to-day basis – and have been for over a year. It led me to question – are there others out there doing the same? And in assuming there are – are they searching for other people in this same situation?
Everyone progresses in a profession differently. Some people in this “middle” section are working toward senior level positions and some are already working in senior positions like myself. No matter which category you fall into, we recognized a need for a chat that helps guide us through networking with people who have already been in our position and were successful moving through it and progressing forward.
We look forward to making this chat a place where professionals in the PR industry can come together and network. Now that you’ve been in PR for several years and are “coming into your own” – it’s time to take it to the next level! Please join our facebook page and introduce yourself! In order to help us #TweenPR folks, we’ve brought on board our lead mentor – none other than the fabulous @Shonali!
More about Shonali Burke
Shonali is an accredited, award-winning communications consultant and sought-after speaker based in the Washington, D.C., metro area with a national reach and international network.
With more than 14 years communications experience, her forte is measurable, results-based strategic communications—highly personalized world-class communication services where her clients goals are the top priority. In short, she is an agency of one. KD Paine & Partners and The Measurement Standard declared her a measurement maven, and PRWeek named her to its inaugural “Top 40 Under 40” list of public relations professionals in the United States.
Shoanli adheres to IABC’s Code of Ethics and is often quoted in industry publications on public relations issues. She serves as President for IABC/Washington and is on IABC’s International Accreditation Council. She also teaches Communication.org: Not-for-profits in the Digital Age for Johns Hopkins University’s M. A. in Communications program. You can also catch her blogging at Waxing UnLyrical and on Twitter.
