Lauren White

Dressed from head-to-toe in warm clothes, Linda’s Hope volunteers were eager to raise awareness for their organization during the Make-A-Wish Holiday Home Show at Kings’ Chapel from Nov. 28- Dec. 6, 2009.

Linda’s Hope is a new organization that was established in Nashville, Tenn., with the principle objectives of raising community awareness about pancreatic cancer and to offer support for the victims of the disease and their families. Volunteers for Linda’s Hope believe an overall increase in public awareness will have a significant impact on future research and funding.

“Those affected by pancreatic cancer need to know that they have the support of their community and that is what Linda’s Hope is trying do; offer love, encouragement and hope for those that have very little because of this disease,” said Molly Turner, a volunteer with Linda’s Hope.

The home show, held in Arrington, Tenn., provided visitors the opportunity to view several beautiful homes in the area, as well as, interact with the builders and owners of the homes.  As guests walked from one home to the next, Linda’s Hope volunteers greeted these visitors at the organization’s informative booth.

The volunteers baked brownies, cupcakes, cookies and other baked goods in order to help raise money for their organization. Visitors at the home show had the opportunity to take a baked good, purchase a Linda’s Hope T-shirt or make a charitable donation.

“I am thankful for the help of all our volunteers and the donations we received in support of Linda’s Hope and pancreatic cancer,” said Meredith Waln, founder of Linda’s Hope. “Our organization is grateful to have been part of such an amazing event.”

If you would like to volunteer with Linda’s Hope or would like more information about pancreatic cancer please visit www.lindashope.org.

I was reading a blog by Jason Falls on the difference between a professional blog and a personal blog. He wanted to know if there needs to be a division between how much personal opinion you put into a professional blog. Granted, a professional blog focuses on a few specific topics, but is it alright to tell the readers how you feel too?

Today there are so many people blogging that if you wanted to have a professional blog and a personal blog than you could do so. A personal blog written about your own opinions can be good for a person who wants the world to know how they feel. Like Falls, he already has a sufficient amount of readers so a little personal opinion is fine to me.

This is my first real blog and so far it is a good way for me to express how I feel on certain issues. I don’t think I have put too much personal opinion into it, but if I have then that is why it can be considered a personal blog. My blog also focuses on things PR related.  I usually discuss a PR-related topic and put some personal opinion into it.

The only other blog I have written was a private blog between my friends and I which was started last summer to stay in touch. I was studying abroad in Italy and it was a great way for me to hear about what was going on at home. The blog only lasted for the summer, but it was a different type of blog that I never knew existed until my friends introduced me to it. To me, that type of private blog is the most personal type of blog people can engage in.

So again I ask, is there a line that needs to be drawn between how much personal opinion you put into a professional blog?

If you read a well-known blog and the person writing it gives their personal opinion on a certain issue, are people more likely to agree or disagree with that person? It also depends on the issue that the person it discussing. Bloggers don’t want to lose readers because their personal thoughts got in the way of what readers really wanted to hear, but they also want to gain readers. Their personal opinion could help their numbers increase.

In Falls blog, he makes a point that people aren’t attracted to blogs that are predictable and safe. Many companies and chief executive officer’s try to play it safe and taking a stand on an issue can mean losing readers. But taking a stand on something can give the blog a human touch and attract more readers. So where do corporations draw the line between taking a stand using personal opinion and professional blogging?

Whether you are a writing a professional or personal blog, you need to keep the readers in mind. Some readers may want to hear how you feel, but others want straight information. Blogging has changed the way many people communicate and I think that in the next few years it will be even more popular than it is now.

My style and design in public relations professor has been introducing our class to different social media outlets. For the first two months I thought that this was pointless because I didn’t have any experience using them. Once I began to explore sites such as Twitter and Utterli, I began to understand that they are great networking tools.

Social networking sites allow you to interact with future employers and others in the world of public relations. It is a great way to get your information out to the public and it could also lead to internship opportunities or jobs. Finding an internship can be difficult, but if you know the right people or have good experience than an internship may be easier to get than you think.

I will be doing my internship summer 2009 and I am not sure where I will be doing it. I want to be with the right agency and in the right location. My future internship will teach me new skills and ways to get ahead in the business world. I hope that when I get my internship I can bring a voice to the company I will be working at. I want to have some skills that others may not possess because of the great education I received.

I think that internships help both the intern and the company. An intern can bring a lot to the table such as technology skills and the knowledge of social networking. A company can teach an intern a lot that they may have not learned or fully grasped in college.

I was reading the article in PRWeek called “Internships help both parties reach their objectives” by Ted McKenna and it got me thinking that my style and design class is going to help me in the future. I have learned many new things with just the click of a button.

In the article by McKenna, the account supervisor for RLF Communications said that not many interns have the knowledge of new media and that most of them had never heard of Twitter.

When I read this I thought I am one of those people that know about Twitter. It is not that I just know what it is, I actually use it. My helpful PR class introduced me to Twitter. The article also talks about how some interns come in with social media and Internet skills that are surpassing many older employees of companies.

This is why I agree that both interns and the company can benefit from internships. Many agencies run “boot camps” to help interns learn social media that they might not know. The “boot camp” will also help the agency because once the intern learns these new skills they can use it during their internship.

Like many interns, I would want my internship to lead to a future career within that company. The article says that interns are a great breeding pool to hire from. Interns already have knowledge of the company which can only lead to a positive outcome.

Internships are a great learning resource for the young adult who needs one and for the company seeking an intern.

I have been thinking for some time about what I am going to do after I graduate. Am I going to get the job I want? Will I even be good at it? These types of questions make me anxious because it will be different to transition from the college world into the business world.

I am nervous that my future career won’t start how I would like it to or I don’t get a job at all. I guess there are certain steps that I am going to have to take to make sure I am successful post graduation.

The first step is making sure the internship that I am planning on having is something I can see myself doing in the future. Will I want to work for this company in the future and is it in the city I want to be in? I think that if you don’t like where you are geographically then it will be harder to like where you work.

So after my internship, I am going to need a job. Having the internship that you want can lead to networking possibilities or moving up within that company. Once I have the job I will have to take certain measures to ensure success.

How you present yourself the first time to any employer needs to be positive and should be lasting. I don’t want people to forget about me just because I didn’t make a good first impression. Confidence is also key to being successful, but you don’t want to be overly confident because you are starting a new job.

An Auburn graduate once told me that the first few weeks of your first job are going to be difficult, but you eventually get the swing of things as long as you speak up and ask questions.

I also think that how you dress will determine how successful you will be. You want to present yourself so that people take you seriously. I think a conservative look is best while you are at work.

I also believe that if you don’t put yourself in the action, you aren’t going to learn anything. Working in your first job is going to be challenging, but if are constantly helping out and asking questions then people will remember you and know that you want to succeed in the future.

In the PRWeek article, “I just got my first post-graduation job. How can I ensure my career starts on the right foot?” Keith Pillow says that there are two important things that you must do ensure that you are successful. The first is setting yourself apart from co-workers by arriving early and leaving late, taking shorter breaks and asking insightful questions. The second thing is seeking the qualities most valued by your company and finding ways to demonstrate them. This would include such things as creativity, good communication skills and a positive attitude.

This article demonstrates everything that I hope to accomplish. I might be nervous about my first job, but I know that if I try hard to succeed then good things will come for me in the end.

To make any advertisement worthy it has to appeal to the public. Many ads you see in the media have celebrities endorsing the product. To me, this is a good way of getting the public’s attention.

People can identify with a celebrity in many ways. A celebrity can be a role model or people may see the person’s character in themselves.

Celebrities somehow can get portrayed in a negative light in the news and this can be bad for anyone that looks up to them. An example of this would be when a certain celebrity is a child role model, but they get arrested for drinking and driving. This is not the type of celebrity I would want to see in advertisements.

It is crucial to pick the right person to endorse your campaign. Companies pick celebrities based on who they are and what they stand for in life and not how they act during their career. Many people will see commercials on television and want to purchase a certain product because their favorite celebrity claims they use it.

I know it is good PR for companies to use celebrities, but how many of those celebrities actually use the product they are endorsing? I think it is funny when I see makeup brands and hair coloring commercials advertising its products with a celebrity talking about how they use it. I don’t think those celebrities are using those “cheaper” products. I consider many celebrities to be using designer hair stylist and higher quality cosmetics.

I guess some people actually do believe that those celebrities may use those products. I’m not at all saying that these consumers fall for the celebrity appeal, but they may just choose to think that if that product works for the celebrity then it can work for them.

A recent article in PRWeek by Kimberly Maul titled, “Athletes bring connection, inspiration to endorsements,” explained the point that I am trying to get across. The article said that a celebrity appeals to the public positively and companies must choose the right celebrity.

“The ways that companies use endorsements have changed since Michael Jordan helped Nike to sell its first pair of Air Jordans,” said Maul. “Companies must find the right athlete – in terms of temperament and background – to promote their brands, not just pick the top scorer.”

The article focuses on athletes, but the same goes for a celebrity on television and in the movies. Companies must pick the right person that appeals to the right demographics.

Celebrities seem to be in a lot of advertisements today, which makes me think they will jump at an opportunity to get their name out in a positive way. This is a good thing for the celebrity and the advertising company because I could imagine it would be difficult to work around a celebrity’s schedule.

The next time I see an advertisement I plan on examining it a little further. I want to make sure these companies chose the right person and if that person appeals to the targeted public.

I was thinking the other day how one of professor’s said that our class would need to dress professionally for a presentation we have to give. Naturally, I thought of wearing black slacks and a nice button-down shirt. It is a simple choice of clothing and is comfortable. My professor also said to the class that we needed to make sure we didn’t get our “going out” clothes confused with an appropriate presentation dress.

After my teacher made a comparison between clothes I wear out at night and clothes that would be worn to a job, I started to think that I am going to have to buy a lot more clothes to accommodate my future dress code in the business world. This isn’t a bad thing to me because I love shopping, but it is going to be hard to transition into a more conservative look.

I guess it depends on what your job or internship is to how you need to dress. To me, the classic suit for women doesn’t seem to be in style anymore. There are suits you can buy, but most women want to keep up with the current fashion trends. I think of a conservative dress attire to be simple and clean. Nothing should be too bright and patterns should be limited.

I also think it is a lot harder for women to dress in a professional setting than men. Men can put on a different colored button-down shirt and slacks everyday. Women have many styles to choose from making dressing for work difficult.

“Agencies don’t agree on what defines appropriate work attire,” said Alexandra Bruell in her article, “Dressing for success has a variety of permutation.” “However, in an industry where presentation is key, dress code often reflects the nature of the industry the agency serves and its clients’ corporate culture.”

I agree with this quote because how you dress may determine how other employees and companies see you. I want my colleagues in the future to look at me as an equal employee that knows what I am doing and I think how you dress is a big factor in determining this.  I also look very young so being able to dress conservatively can make me look more mature.

I think it is all about how confident you feel in the clothes you are wearing. If you look like you know what you are doing in the clothes you are comfortable in, then you can get the respect you deserve.

I also think that since we live in a world where clothing is a big issue it can make it hard for some women to feel comfortable. Not everyone can afford designer clothing so finding stylish clothes in a certain price range can be tricky. I guess this is why some companies are having a more laid back dress code. It gives everyone the chance to focus more on their work and not what they or other people are wearing.  

I recently read an article on PRWeek about a beauty retail store that was catering to people with disabilities. The article titled “American Beauty” by Tanya Lewis caught my attention because I love shopping at Sephora, a beauty retail store.

I started reading the article and learned that Gretchen Vogel, a teenage girl with a disability causing deformities on her face, went into Sephora and was treated well. The makeup artists at Sephora made this girl beautiful and feel great, despite what may have been on her face. Vogel’s mother, Nadine Vogel, was so pleased with how Sephora treated her daughter she decided to work with Sephora to create an event for children with special needs.

In May, Sephora had a Mother’s Day event where they worked with a public relations firm and also a consulting company that specializes in marketing to the disabled. This event was the first type of outreach to be held by any cosmetic company.

I think that this is good public relations for Sephora. It doesn’t seem like the type of store that would reach out to people with disabilities, but in a way it makes sense. Everyone always wants to be beautiful and people with disabilities are no exception.

Many companies do not reach out to this kind of market, but it is a market that needs to be tapped. The companies that focus on the market of people with special needs advertise toward the actual individual or the parents of the individual.

More companies should focus on people with disabilities because these individuals are just like everyone else. People with disabilities or the people who take care of them tend to spend as much or even more money than people who don’t have special needs.

Sephora has a large market in the United States and abroad, so it makes sense to get its name out in an even more positive way. Now Sephora can be seen as an outreach store where anyone should feel welcome to shop.  The store already has easy access to all of its products and the sales associates are trained to cater to everyone’s needs.

The success of the first event in May has created two more similar events to take place. If Sephora keeps up this positive publicity then maybe other companies will do the same.

“The disabled community is very loyal because so few companies reach out to them,” said Nadine Vogel. “It’s a marketer’s dream if done right. Companies [should] do it because this market can provide sustainable revenue… and it’s going to mean the world to the people they’re doing it for.”

I think this quote from the mother is very true. If a company reaches out to the disabled community it would come with high rewards because the company would be helping someone out who really needs it and that would feel good.

I also think it is great that a mother with a disabled child is so involved in the special needs market she is willing to help others out. Sephora is doing a great thing for children with special needs and it just proves that everyone can be beautiful.

It is surprising to me that MTV is saying goodbye to Total Request Live, a music video show that has been on the air for 10 years now. I grew up watching this show and it was a show I could watch everyday after school.

TRL presented musicians, movie stars and other celebrities. It was a way for new artists to get their music out into the public and movie stars to promote their upcoming flicks. It was a great show for teenagers to catch up on the music and movie scene.

I loved watching TRL because I always wanted to see what celebrity was going to have on the show and what the ‘top’ song was for the day. I also always wanted to go on the show and be in the audience. I am sure many other teenagers that watched TRL wanted to go to New York City and do the same thing.

I quickly grew out of the TRL phase as years went by. Instead of showing the whole music video like they did in the beginning years, the show eventually would only show a 15 to 30 second clip of each music video. To the public, I’m not sure if it was smart for TRL to show short clips of the music videos. I know for myself that this was a reason I slowly stopped watching.

Now after 10 years TRL is going to call it quits. I am also not sure if it is good publicity for MTV to take the show off the air because the music and movie industry is booming. So many teenagers turn to TRL for musical inspiration and now what do they have to look forward to on MTV?

The title of a recent blog on PRWeek was “Are you mourning or celebrating the loss of TRL?” by Kimberly Maul. The title got me thinking. I am mourning the loss because it was a part of my teenage years. I am also celebrating the loss of TRL because it has changed so significantly over the years it doesn’t feel like the same TRL I know and love.

I wonder what teenagers today think about TRL going off the air. Do they feel the same way I do? TRL was a great show for the past and present youth. I still remember the original host, Carson Daly when he was on air and I am sure many teenagers today will do the same.

The final show will be two hours, where the producers hope many celebrities that helped make the show successful will come. I know when the show airs I am probably going to watch. It would be like my way of saying goodbye to a musical tradition. MTV has found a replacement show for TRL called FNMTV. It airs music videos, but will not be the exact same as TRL.

TRL has been working hard for 10 years and now it is time for MTV to let it go and start something amazing for the upcoming generation.

The recent blog from PRWeek, “McCain takes turn on ‘People’ cover” by Frank Washkuch sparked interest in me. McCain’s family appears on the front of People magazine, which is an entertainment magazine.

A political family on the front cover is not something you usually see in People magazine. The article focuses on McCain’s family and the role of his wife. The article stays away from the upcoming election.

Is it fair to put one candidate on the front of a popular magazine and not the other?

When the magazine got published, I am sure it caused controversy within the political realm. Having the Republican candidate on the front, may show readers that this is how People magazine feels politically. The best thing for the magazine to do is an interview and article with Barack Obama and his family.

I am also curious whether an entertainment magazine with high credibility should have put a politician on the front cover? In the present day, anything happening in the world can be turned into an entertainment piece, so it would seem understandable.  

McCain’s vice president nominee Sarah Palin has been put into the spotlight because of her family. Palin has a teenage daughter that is pregnant, so this piece of news has been turned into an entertainment story.

McCain and Palin’s campaign seems to always mention something about family. Journalists find anyway to turn a family story into an entertainment piece, whether is negative or positive. I will have to agree with what these journalists are doing because reading about the life of a political candidate makes for a good read. The upcoming presidential campaign is all over the news so it is refreshing to hear something about their family or even a scandalous story.

In Washkuch’s blog, Tom Hollihan, a professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication, told PRWeek that “the magazines are realizing that politicians have become celebrities.”

This quote from Hollihan is proving to be very true. Politicians becoming celebrities is very recent because of the detailed background checks made on political figures. If a politician has any negative history, then those incidents are made into gossip for everyone to read.

The same goes for sports figures becoming celebrities. Sports figures may play their sport on television, but they aren’t in movies or making music and I thought that is what entertainment was. I guess to some people watching a sport on television is entertainment, but going back to the basics of entertainment, sports figures do not fall into that basic category.

A sports figure, just like a politician has become increasingly popular within social media, it sometimes can be hard to keep up with who did what and why in the news.

The article in People magazine on John McCain’s family is to the point and expresses true family value. Of course, an entertainment piece couldn’t be written without bringing up some past scandal, which the article covers briefly.

If the political world collides anymore with the entertainment world, then in the future there may not be a division between political and social media anymore.