PROpenMic celebrates six months online :: How are we doing compared to other sites?
September 28, 2008 by Robert · 6 Comments
If you just want the stats and graphs, follow this to see them below.
Our social network for public relations students, PROpenMic.org will celebrate six months online on October 1st.
Allow me to begin by thanking all of the members. So many people have helped with advice and guidance along the way. I appreciate all of your help. I also appreciate the involvement of our volunteer administrators (in no particular order): Phil Gomes, Edelman; Kelli Matthews, University of Oregon; Tiffany Derville Gallicano, University of Oregon; Mihaela Vorvoreanu, Clemson University; Karen Russell, University of Georgia; Kaye Sweetser, University of Georgia; and, Barbara Nixon, Georgia Southern University. Not only do they help with the site, but they allow me to bother them asking questions all the time. :o) I really do appreciate their contributions. Read more
The Social Media News Release and News Room are Heuristic :: Help Us
February 18, 2007 by Robert · 11 Comments
This post is about the good ideas that have been generated re: PR, social media, news releases and more. What my students desire is to see how journalists are reacting to all of these new ideas. Media relations is, after all, a large part of many PR practices. We have yet to see any significant research (actually, no research at all) as to whether the new approaches will work. So help us, please.
An heuristic effort is one that “encourages a person to learn, discover, understand, or solve problems on his or her own, as by experimenting, evaluating possible answers or solutions, or by trial and error: a heuristic teaching method.” We need your help in pursuing research on the issues of hreleases and social media newsrooms.
What we are seeing in the hrelease, social media press release and social media news room efforts are experiential learning activities. It is collaboration. It is the essence of what this interactive conversational media represents. Just read the conversations it has generated.
I love these learning and experimental efforts. I’m often confused, even saddened, by the way they are so quickly written off by observers. To me, blogging and wikis and all of the interactive online dialogs are the best part of the WWW. In fact, the best part of blogging to me has been the wide variety of ideas and opinions it opens up to students. That is why I’m so happy that so many PR practitioners are choosing to blog.
So, whether we are talking about Todd Defren at PR Squared and his Social Media Newsroom Template or his “Social Media Press Release” Template; or, Chris Heuer’s Idea Engine and Brian Solis at PR 2.0 - Silicon Valley and all of the people involved in the Social Media Club … it is all one big collaboration.
Comments and input from those like Brian Oberkirch about “The Case for hRelease” and Tom Foremski’s rant on the press release and attempts to change it are all equally important.
Phil Gomes, Rick Murray and Ming Lee at Edelman have given us StoryCrafter and Shannon Whitley has given us PRX Builder.
Everyone is learning. I don’t think any of the participants in the collaborations actually purports to have all the answers. Now, my students want in on the action in a little deeper inspection of all these ideas.
What is the one of the important things that is missing? The research to see how journalists will react to these new ‘animals’ like the hrelease, newsroom and social media in the PR/Journalist symbiotic relationship, overall. My students have done research on social media adoption by newspapers. Now, this semester, they are embarking on research to see how journalists react to these new approaches.
Anyone want to participate? Want to help us, please?
Leave a comment and we can hook you up with the student group that is doing the research. Anyone that may provide contacts and introductions to national journalists in the top 50 newspapers, for instance, will likely help the students achieve a more successful survey effort. In their previous efforts, it was easier to get through to the 51-100 top markets.
My hope is that three different research teams will focus on three different groups of journalists. Those are:
- local journalists in a regional area, like Alabama, or any other state,
- national journalists in the top 50 newspapers,
- one specific trade group or market segment - to be determined.
What are your thoughts? This way we’ll have an idea of the viability in a large section of PR that seems to go unnoticed in these discussions - local PR practitioners and journalists. We’ll also address national media. The trade group, or market, can be anyone’s choice - as long as we can get to a significant respondent pool.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see if these people actually find benefits in all these new tools or approaches? How about gathering their input as to ways the approaches might be improved to increase acceptance and adoption by journalists. Or, we might just find that they aren’t desired at all. Who knows … until we ask.
I’m just testing to see if merely posting this in a blog will bring in participants, by the way. We’re going forward with it regardless. But, we’d love to have help and guidance. Thanks.
Do You Want Some Free Survey Research?
January 7, 2007 by Robert · 3 Comments
For Spring semester, the survey research class is seeking clients.
So, I’m going to try something new here. Do you need some survey research done for your organization? We might be able to help you.
We have the ability to perform surveys either by online data collection or phone collection. We do not want to do any research that has open access to the survey instrument online. This must be research among a predefined audience that we may contact.
The potential respondent pool isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but we would prefer a potential respondent pool of 500, or so. However, if you have known group of influencers or stakeholders (for instance) you wish to survey, we will consider that group, too.
If the survey is online, we will do it via a Secure Form Link and build in a process to restrict your form with a password in order to control multiple submissions.
If the survey is by telephone, we will use online data capturing software filled in by the interviewers. However, it will be secured so only you and the survey team will have access to it.
I cannot promise we will accept your project, but we’re open to all who might wish to offer a project for consideration.
Ideally, we would like to work with a public relations and/or marketing firm, nonprofit organization, government agency or a corporation/business. We’ll have to talk, of course, and work out details. Also, the client must be available to interact with the students in multiple phone conferences, if not in person.
So, anyone game out there?
PR Licensing and PR Measurement - infOpinions? del.icio.us links for 2006-03-04
March 4, 2006 by Robert · Comments Off
For PR practitioners, the issue of licensure has been around for a long time. Edward L. Bernays’ final years were spent hoping for some form of PR licensing to take hold in the US. Visit the Museum of Public Relations for a bit of background about Bernays’ work.
Also, from the PRbytes listserv (forgive me, I cannot find the originator of the post), there is an interesting download entitled: PR Measurement Comprehensive Overview.
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So, is this an argument to *not* have PR licensing?
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Kudos to Cyrus in the PRMindshare listserv for tips to this, and the NYTimes article, links.
