PR Open Mic

I first joined PR Open Mic back in February, after following them on Twitter. I became interested in this social media site after noticing that they were posting notes and outlines from PR Real World break out sessions. I attended PR Real World in February and really enjoyed hearing the speakers there. When I noticed that people were posting their notes from different breakout sessions, I was so excited! There were many sessions that I was unable to attend, but with the help of PR Open Mic, I was able to get all the valuable information. 

Browsing around PR Open Mic, it reminds me a lot of Facebook. You can connect with other PR people and chat with others on the site. I really like that they offer links to various blogs in the PR community. I enjoy reading blogs and seeing what other people are learning in public relations. I am still fairly new to PR Open Mic...I'll admit I kind of forgot about it since finding the PR Real World links, but I can definitely see how this can be a very valuable tool in PR. 

I also like how different colleges and universities have the opportunity to run PR Open Mic. This week Oklahoma State University's Social Media class has the opportunity to provided the content for the site for the entire week. They post different questions and information for the members to take part in. I really like how PR Open Mic is helping students grow and giving them opportunities for some real world experience in PR. Hey Ging, maybe we could get PR Admin to do this?! Ha! 

Thunder Rolls: GCSU's 11th Annual Athletic Auction

This past weekend I helped plan and carry out my first "big" event! My PR Admin class had the pleasure of planning the annual Athletic Auction that the Georgia College Athletic Program puts on every year. It is their biggest fundraiser, and much of the money raised goes towards scholarships for student athletes. Our professor began talking about this event last semester in our Writing for PR class, telling us that this was one of her favorite events to plan.  On the first day of class this semester, we were split up into four different teams. We were each in charge of pitching our idea for the auction, planning everything from the theme, the invitations, the decorations, and even the menu. After a couple of weeks of planning, we presented our pitches to the Athletic Department. This was my first big pitch, complete with unfamiliar faces and held in the Dean's Conference Room. For a second, I felt like I was part of an agency!

Once the AE's were picked we began rolling (pun intented!) with the theme "Thunder Rolls". Finally, after all our hard work, Atheletic Auction weekend was upon us! We spent many hours decorating, making gift baskets for corporate tables, and blowing up hundreds of silver, green, and blue balloons. (PS-I am now a professional balloon arch maker and available for weddings, birthdays, and other special e

vents...) Seeing the final product Saturday afternoon was so rewarding. 

During the auction, I was responsible for selling "Split The Pot" raffle tickets and was able to see somethings that we learned from The Tipping Point first hand. I am not a salesperson, so being thrown a money bag and stack of tickets and told "Go sell all of these please!" I kind of freaked out. I started off going up to people and timidly asking them, "Would you like to buy a raffle ticket? You get a chance to win $260!". This did not work very well. After a coup

le of minutes, the guy that threw me the tickets (that I later found out was the tennis coach) began to help me. This guy was a salesperson and a connector in one! He began to go up to people he knew at the auction, which was pre

tty much everyone, and schmoozed his way into helping me sell my 52 tickets in ten minutes! He showed me that you've got to be aggressive w

hen given the task of selling something and reinforced the importance of networking.  

Playing a part in the planning of the Athletic Auction has shown me that I really enjoy planning events. There is something that just gets me really excited about being behind the scenes and being a part of big events. I think it is safe to say that event planning is becoming my favorite part of PR!

Here are some pictures from the event! 

Not Another Blog About Social Media...

I'll admit it, sometimes it is very hard for me to find something PR related to write for my blog. Not that I don't enjoy blogging, but I would rather be blogging about my current favorite song or my plans for the summer (but I think I would be the only one reading it!) I try to find things in my everyday life that can relate to PR but many are not long enough for a blog post...So around this time every week I check many websites and Twitter pages to find something that sparks my eye. If you look at previous post that I made, many have to do with social media. Imagine my surprise when I come across Stop writing about social media to be a successful blogger. 

Woah, really?! I had to read on!

The blogger points out that social media is an obsession for many people and something that we all have in common. This would make for a good topic to blog about but social media is something that can not be placed in a box, it covers many different facets. It is individual to every different user and we each use it differently. Something we all can take away from the blog is that writing about social media does not make us experts but actually using it and finding new and innovative ways to use it. Be an influencer, not an observer. Get out there and start something! Be original and don't just go with the flow. So this is not another post saying how much I love Twitter or that PR Open Mic is pretty niffty but one telling you to step out and try something new!