Need a Job? Well, HAPPO Can Help on April 30th!

Well it's final exam time for me! In addition to studying, I've been networking like it's my full-time job. Regardless of how busy I am, I cannot overlook sharing an opportunity for my 2010 college graduates. Do you have a job lined up? If not, don't fret. If you haven't figured it out yet, public relations is about being proactive, having perseverance and getting a little help. Help A PR Pro Out (HAPPO) is having a "tweeting" contest, specifically for the 2010 grads to help you change their employment status!

How it works:

Use Social Media (a blog post, video, slideshow etc) to provide a creative response to the “Why would I hire you?” question. Please tweet it to your local champion and @helpaprproout using the #happo hash tag on April 30.

Check the HAPPO site for more info!

Best,

Passion Redefined

My Foursquare Epiphany

Okay, I know I was griping about how Foursquare is like a magnifying glass, exposing me for the lame I've become since college graduation. However, I had an Foursquare epiphany last Saturday.

While standing in line for the International Spy Museum in D.C, my eyes started wandering. As someone who likes to save money, I'm always looking for any type of discount. After sizing up the standard senior citizen and children under age 10 discounts, I gasped in amazement. There it was, a discount for mayors and frequent visitors on Foursquare. I immediately cursed myself for not having the Foursquare Blackberry Application on my phone and was determined to check-in. All my doubts about Foursquare immediately subsided.

What is Foursquare?
Foursquare can be described asm when Twitter meets Facebook with location. This location-based social media program allows you to access it from your laptop. However, it is the application for your mobile phone that really takes Foursquare to another level. People use Foursquare to check-in, which allows their network to know their whereabouts. Friends can either join you or recommend places for you to visit around your reported location. A lot of my friends do not yet understand the point of Foursquare and think it's silly. However, those same skeptics thought the concept of the Facebook status was stupid, so they're obviously not social media compasses.

What is the point of Foursquare?

This seems like the million dollar question. In my last post I briefly thought about the word of mouth aspect of this application. Foursquare promotes a mutually beneficial relationship between the local community and the businesses in the neighborhood. Unlike Facebook, Foursquare can offer immediate benefits to the consumers and businesses that choose to join. Personally, if you give me incentives like a loyal customer discount, without a doubt, I will make sure to check in and return. While I won't be going to the Spy Museum all the time, I will however, visit a local coffee shop, pizza place, or pub on a regular basis.

Who's Taking Notice?

Local Businesses

Yahoo

Newspapers- The Wall Street Journal

*Just to name a few!*

I feel Foursquare is too big to ignore. Check out how other businesses are using it and let your imagination fly. I'm not a person that typically gets swept up in hype but I think pretty soon, the whole world will have a foursquare epiphany.

Best,

Passion Redefined

Does Foursquare Promote How Lame I've Become? Or is it the NEXT thing?

It's my job to be on the forefront of social media. What would I look like working on a project and not being current? That's like a hairstylist that doesn't know how to use a good flat iron.

Whenever I'm in a class, work, or just sitting on the couch watching the news, if a hear about a social media that I am not familiar with I sign up immediately. So after hearing all this hype about Foursquare, I had to check it out.

Contrary to popular myth, Foursquare does not track you. So if you do not want people to know where you are, guess what? They won't. Just like Facebook or Twitter people don't know what you do not share. But since the objective of Foursquare is to microblog your location, if you don't go anywhere cool, you look lame.

I feel like Foursquare mocks me. It forces me to think about all the places I've been in the last 48 hours. Unless it's been an extraordinary week, you will see the only places I've been include school, home (since I mostly work from home no work location) and an occasional happy hour. Looks like I won't be a mayor of anything anytime soon. Another downside is if your network is not on Foursquare, a lame-0 like me has no one to vicariously live through and interact with.

However, do not write off Foursquare just yet. Rumors have been circulating that Yahoo is very interested in purchasing Foursquare. Obviously the big wigs see a possible ROI for Foursquare. If your a little wary of big businesses or "the man" no need to fear. Foursquare fits into the social media rules of success, giving it even more potential.

1. It's free and effortless to sign up (In the age of easy accessibility, people don't like paying for things)
2. It's easy to find people thanks to it's automatic search of your e-mail contacts (Part of my frustration of MySpace was I couldn't find anyone)
3. You can control your privacy
4. You can share within your chosen network (Remember it's all about two way communication)
5. There is a direct benefit to joining (It caters to our curiosity about the neighborhood around us and will break some people out of their daily routine)

I see Foursquare being a major launch pad for word of mouth marketing for the organization's smart enough to expand themselves onto this medium. In the age of distrust for the government and corporations, word of mouth marketing is arguably the most valuable type of influence anyone could ask for. If I have a friend who is a "foodie" or another who goes to the hottest parties, I'm going to want to be their foursquare pal. As a person who values every penny I have, if I must part with it, I want to be ensured by a third party who is an expert in that arena that I will be getting the best bang for my buck.

Best,

Passion Redefined

Sorry Facebook, You Can't Reach Me Anymore.

Last winter, the world commemorated Facebook as it celebrated it's sixth birthday. Currently, over 100 million people access the popular site on their cell phones. As the numbers keep growing, I cannot help reminiscing about, the good old days. With the expansion of Facebook, I feel its popularity will decrease the effectiveness of businesses reaching the younger consumer.

The reality is there are a growing number of bitter Facebook pioneers. The pioneers are people who have been active on Facebook when it was exclusive to only college students. After polling my friends and checking out various comments, I realized this was a real problem for the corporations flocking to Facebook expecting to reach a younger audience. In the book The Facebook Era, by Clara Shih, she articulated the demise of MySpace was because it became impersonal and too vast. Now, Facebook is growing and becoming too corporate.

Long before my friends knew what social media was, we were learning about the latest party and promoting campus events via Facebook. What was once an intimate place for college friends to look at pictures is now a circus with everyone in attendance from Sarah Palin to your grandmother. As a result, I just log on occasionally to change my status and log off. My addiction to Facebook may have subsided due to my recent immersion into the real world, but I cannot deny it is a little annoying. Between the club promoters bombarding me with messages about parties in a city I no longer live in and the increasing amount of friend requests from people I don't know, sifting through the junk is frankly not a pleasant experience.

The consequence? Marketers have a very small window of time to reach me. The changing environment is just not as fun as it used to be. Yes, I understand in reality I know privacy, is no longer in existence. However, that has not stopped me from shifting into a smaller, private network within a larger. In reality, I love the concept of staying in touch with my college friends and sharing inside jokes without being so rudely interrupted by the outside world.

Do you think businesses can combat these changes or is it not a problem worth addressing?

Best,


Passion Redefined

Getting a Taste of The Real World: Response to Open Letter to the Millenials

If you're proactive in your career, whether you’re banging down the door to get a start or wanting the keep your job in this Great Recession, you had better be either keeping up with or setting making PR news! Today, Todd Defren posted, Open Letter to the Millennials (PR Industry Edition) in response to the Dear Millennials: Your Parents Lied to You rant. It spread like wildfire across the Internet. If you haven't seen this tweeted or in your inbox, please upgrade your professional network immediately! Some people griped about how he was too harsh. (They must not be PR professionals if they thought he was harsh.) I felt he was dead on and decided to share his words with my peers.

As a fellow millennial (I think that's what they're calling us now) it gets tough being the new kid on the block with everyone seeming to pick at us. Apparently, we're too sheltered, too educated, and too entitled. Sometimes it's like, "Hey, we're graduating in a recession that has shaken our realities like an earthquake. Give us a break!" Of course, in the real world, no one cares! If anything, I think this should be our selling point. We have been forced to adapt and have been challenged to either sink or swim. I've been treading water for over a year now and I think a few points from Defren's post will be a help to anyone who heeds his advice.

Key points from the letter:

• Spelling counts- this is not college where the gist or idea is good enough, PERFECTION is the name of the game.
• Sell yourself- say why you would be vital to the continued success of the organization. I know at times I feel intimidated by the fact I don't have years of experience, however, I know I have something to offer.
• Be visible- we are in the communications industry. Who is going to hire you if they don't see you on Twitter, Facebook, or a blog? Privacy settings are for your friends in the sciences. Please join us in the digital world. Make it appropriate and relevant to your career goals.
• Research- always have a question and show you are really interested in any potential job opportunity!

And I know at times, it feels like we're alone. Our big sisters, brothers, and mentors seemed to effortlessly graduate (with good grades and an internship or two of course) and transition into a career that could actually pay a bill or two. Remember, excuses are tools of incompetence that build monuments of nothingness!

Read the original post and rise to occasion!

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Best,

Passion Redefined