Blog Spam

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from my mom reminding me to call the National Do Not Call Registry and register my cellphone number. It got me thinking about a discussion we had in class about etiquette when it comes to deleting spam on blogs. It seems as though no one wants spam on their blogs, but no one knows what the right way to handle it. I personally really do not like spam and believe it is appropriate to delete it. No one really enjoys spam, that’s why we have things like the Do Not Call Registry and spam blockers for e-mail accounts. Wouldn’t it be great if in a few years there was a Do Not Post Registry? Imagine, you could register your blog so that if a spammer decided to post something you could take action against them. You could report and add people to the potential spammers list as well. Then maybe we wouldn’t have to worry so much about the proper etiquette when it comes to what to do with spam. Just imagine, a world without spam. And remember to register your cellphone on the Do Not Call Registry! 

3.0 in 1.14.53

As I mentioned in my introduction to this blog I have been captivated the past few weeks by Thomas L. Friedman’s book The World is Flat 3.0. After playing around with podcasts in class last week, I decided to check out free podcasts on iTunes. I found some fun ones, but was thrilled when I found a video of a presentation by Mr. Friedman at MIT. In it he gives a summary of his book. It is a crash course in a 3.0 world in 1.14.53.If I could, I would make everyone of my friends read the book, but since most don’t have time, I hope I can get them to at least watch this. I also feel strongly that all students should watch it for his messages about the future that we are entering into. As someone going into an industry that, in many ways, is already international, corporate PR, it is scary to realize how much competition there is out there over these jobs. I feel that many people in my graduating class are naiive to how internet has changed the world. They understand how things have changed to make things easier for them, but not how it has also brought the rest of the world to their next job interview as well.If you are a student and haven’t gotten the picture about why you need to pay attention to social media and what is going on with the internet, you need to watch this video. If you care about your future job and think that the only people you will be competing against is the PR students in your classes or other PR students at colleges, you need to watch this video. We, as seniors need to be aware of what we are looking forward to in the “real world.”

Understanding something not so Really Simple: RSS

Every Sunday night I make my usual call home to check in with my parents and it has been fun getting to explain to them about all the new technology I am learning about. This past Sunday my Mom stumped me. She is quickly becoming a saavy Internet user, mostly with her ability to find great deals on eBay and CraigsList. She happened to ask me what that “RSS-thing” on so many sites was. I quickly responded, “Oh, it stands for Really Simple Syndication. You can use it to beam out your blog or news content.” She paused and then asked, “Well who does it beam to and how do I use it?” My mind drew a blank and sent me scrambling back to my class notes to try to find an answer. What I had was enough to somewhat satisfy my mom, but not me. I kept thinking about what if that had been in an interview?

I decided to search the web to try to find a good explanation that would help me understand what RSS is in actually “really simple” terms. I stumbled upon Stephanie Qullao’s blog post titled “How to explain RSS the Oprah way.“ It was incredibly helpful in enriching my understanding and I would like to share her thoughts. So this post is dedicated to my Mom, who is also an Oprah fan.   

 Stephanie explains that in “Oprah Talk” people can remember the purpose of RSS by remembering it as “Ready for Some Stories.” Basically it is the easy and time saving way to keep track of the latest headlines from your favorite sites and blogs in one spot. Instead of clicking through to each of your different sites that you want to check, you get one list on your RSS reader (which you can download for free from many different places) that you can look through to see what interests you.  If you would like to read a particular headline, all you have to do is click on it and it will pull the whole story for you. So you use your RSS reader when you get online and are “Ready for Some Stories.”   

Twittering

This past weekend our class participated in a Twitter experience.  Our teacher asked us to set up Twitter accounts and to post five times within 48 hours about anything.  The only rule was that we were not allowed to post all at once.  The goal of the assignment was to help us understand Twitter, how it works, and what benefits one might find with it.  After completing the assignment, I was still fairly confused with Twitter.  Although I understood how to use the program I really didn’t see the way it could be used for public relations.  For most college students, it seems a bit sub-par to Facebook’s status updates.  

So I decided to dig deeper into the issue and read Caroline Middlebrook’s Big Juicy Twitter Guide.  I now feel like I could talk with a client or my employer about the benefit of twittering and how to best use it.  I strongly encourage anyone who is still confused about Twitter to check out Middlebrook’s guide. As for college students, I highly recommend that they start using Twitter now to get familiar with it.  Personally I’m excited to use it to keep in contact with a smaller group of my good friends after we graduate.  It feels much more personal than a Facebook status, but not as response required as a Facebook wallpost or message.  The other thing I really liked from Middlebrook’s guide was her suggestions for Twitter to improve its features.  I agree that if there were more ways to filter those following you or who you were following, Twitter would become even more effective.  I also would like to see the Updates feature evolve into something more useful as well.  I am still a bit lost about why it lists how many updates someone has made. Overall Twitter is something that college students should start working with now, before they miss the band wagon and have to learn it because an employer or client wants them to use it. 

Jumping into blogging

My name is Kelsey Thompson and I am a senior at the University of Oregon. I am studying public relations. I have created this blog for a couple reasons. First, this blog is a class assignment for my Advanced PR Writing course. But secondly, I would like to use this opportunity to explore the ever developing technology that is affecting not only the PR community but every other business and individual.

The title of my blog is a reflection of a book that has in some ways been life changing for me. I randomly picked up a book to read while on a family vacation in Mexico and had no idea the effect it would have on everything I do, from how I approach school, to my career aspirations, to even my hobbies. This awe inspiring book is Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat 3.0. In it Friedman gives a historical look at how technology, specifically the internet, has been a catalyst for breaking down barriers around the world so that the global population is more connected then ever before. He also writes about his thoughts about what it will take to be successful in this new “flat” world. His account is both terrifying for someone like me getting ready to enter the “real world” and inspiring at the same time.

It is because of this book that I have chosen to use this blog as a place to gather information about how the professional community that I am interested in, PR, is being affected and changed by this “flat” world. It will also allow me to hopefully gain experience working with technologies that Friedman discusses in his book.

I am excited to jump into – “Trying to Understand a 3.0 World”