Last night I participated in the fourth #journchat on Twitter.  (It was an abbreviated one because of the holidays but I might lobby for the shorter length to become the standard.  I think the longer ones are too long.  I don’t want to leave because I might miss something good but 3 hours at my dining room “desk” leaves me looking like the Hunchback!) (more…)

I recently got a note from a friend of a former intern who was looking for an internship with my firm.  The note caused me to think back on the many many interns I’ve had over the years and think about what makes a successful intern and intern program. (more…)

Many, many years ago…

The phone rings and I shift my 7 months pregnant bulk over to pick it up.  The voice on the other end of the phone is immediately recognizable as the editor in chief of one of the top IT weeklies.  He also writes the gossip column for the back of the magazine.  “So…” he starts in, “I hear there were naked women at the holiday party last night.” (more…)

Like most PR people who have been hanging around a while, I have a storehouse of weird tales that I pull out at dinner parties.It wasn’t until recently that I realized my stories were a little weirder than most.

I belong to a group called the PR (”Paul Revere”) Dinner Club of Boston.  I was invited as a member when I was heading PR at Parametric Technology Corporation.  (I keep expecting someone to take me aside at some point and ask me to step down as I no longer wield the “power” I once did, but they are WAY too nice for that.)

Upon being introduced to a new member one night, I was asked to trot out one of my weird stories.  The requestor’s introduction made me realize that this story was evidently an old favorite of his — I was famous! (At least my bizarro story was.)  So I dutifully launched into the story.  Then he asked for the next one, and the next one…hmm, he knew my top three.

So the next thought in my mind was, “Oh dear — I’ve told these stories way too often. I’ve become the bore I dread listening to, repeat the same old story every time I’m out.”  But, I was assured this wasn’t the case…am still a little suspicious.

So, I’ll try to catalog some of my Weird Tales here — and, I’d love to hear yours too!

Twitter 102 from Bobbie:  Or, Before you Twitter

I’ve read a bunch of articles that are either called Twitter 101 or should be.  They all adequately describe what Twitter is and how you should use it, even how to get started.  Some of those articles are downright genius – but I still find myself standing on street corners, in the office, at Starbucks and on the T, describing Twitter and explaining how I use it to someone, maybe even you.

So, consider this article Bobbie’s Twitter 102.  This is how I use Twitter.  You might find a better way, one more suited to your needs, especially if you are more mobile than I am – I spend a lot of time in front of a connected computer so my use of mobile apps is pretty limited.

I’ve had a Twitter account for a while, and actually muddled around a bit before I got “serious” (well, as serious as Twitter can be.)  The best way to understand Twitter is just to use it.  If you use it regularly for a couple weeks, you’ll also be in Starbucks explaining Twitter or, you’ll be trying to swear it off.  (A friend told me I was a candidate for Twitterers Anonymous – any other takers?)

Twitter is your life in 140 characters or less.  It’s like the Facebook status bar.  But before you start Twittering about what you had for breakfast, think about what messages/images you want to convey.  (But don’t swear off the “what I had for breakfast Tweets — just keep in mind that your followers will be reading this…like everything else on the Internet, it’s public.)

• Start with a goal.  How do you define success?  Make sure your actions support your goal.
• Is this your personal account?  Is it a business account?  Do you want to Twitter to support your current job?  Or is it intended to support a job hunt?  Think about your goals before you Twitter.
• Who is your target market?  Think of Twitter the same way you would SEO a website.  What are your keywords?  What are your themes?  Is it user friendly?  Does it draw in the right audience to support your goals?
• Use your keyword list and http://search.twitter.com to find people who are talking about the things you want to talk about.  Listen.  Go ahead.  Lurk.  Who is important in the space?  What events or Tweetchats are going on in your targeted space?  What interests you?  What makes you laugh, or cry, or say “hmmm”?
• If you don’t have them already, set up Google Alerts on your keywords.  What’s out in the Blogosphere?  Who’s making cool announcements in your space?  What’s new?  Bookmark interesting blogs and websites.  Many will have links to Twitter users.  Some can serve as fodder/links for interesting Tweets.
• Start tweeting.  Go ahead.  At this point, it is Tweeting to the great unknowing universe but Tweet away.  Practice tweeting.  Getting your message down to 140 characters can be challenging at first.   (Use a URL shortener to get the characters devoted to your links down to a manageable number too.  I use http://go2.vg as it is shorter than TinyURLs and I can make custom links.)
• Make sure your profile is focused on your goal too.  Will a visitor be able to tell right away what you do and what your focus is?
• Once you have started to establish an identity you can start following others. Start with people who know you and what you do: others in your company or personal contacts.  (I think it is important to have some tweets before you start hooking up with others. I am frequently   followed by obviously new Twitterers.  These people have no Tweets and no profile.  I rarely follow back because they might be spammers– perhaps I will in the future but the initial opportunity for a connection is gone forever.)
• Find a TweetChat and lurk.  I listened in on the first two weekly #journchats before I participated in the third one.  The Twitter event brought together a number of PR people and Journalists.  There were lots of great/interesting people involved in the event and I was introduced to several of the more active Twitterers.  I found lots of new interesting people and many of them followed me back.
• Have fun!  Twitter connects people on a personal level first and foremost — it is a SOCIAL media.

The vast majority of titles on my resume have some relation to public relations or communications.  Most of my friends and business associates introduce me as their PR person, or former PR person.  But, when I look back at my career and my experiences, I was fortunate in that I experienced PR as a function that was integrated into marketing.  (Maybe ‘fortunate’ isn’t the right word, often I pushed and shoved my way into integrated marketing organizations.)

I believe that PR, communications, or whatever you want to call it,  needs to work closely with other members of the marketing team. No man is an island and no marketing function is as effective all by itself.  So, while PR will always hold a special place in my heart and soul — I promise to never think it is so powerful that it can stand by itself.  PR plans and strategies need to be integrated and balanced with other marketing plans and strategies.  Work together now!