Your Copy Sucks: Ode to the Op-Ed

portrait of a mid adult man with his thumb on his lips

As PR professionals, we often deal with placing a client’s op-ed with what we hope will be a reputable, widely read publication or platform. However, as anyone who reads small-town newspapers for fun and schadenfreude knows, many op-eds are pretty much unreadable. One can only assume they’ve been printed because there wasn’t any news about angry, window-smashing McDonald’s customers that week.

While I was back in my hometown for winter break, I came across an op-ed that must be shared here with some (I hope) small suggestions for improvements so that you and your clients can see what makes a good op-ed and what makes a bad op-ed.
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Twitter Accounts: Personal or Public

Mobile Workplace

I was having a conversation with fellow PRBC-er Jess about our mutual Twitter dilemmas.

There doesn’t seem to be a week that goes by that I don’t hear “Hey Marie, you really should get a personal Twitter account.” But, why is that?

If you don’t know by now, I tweet from my work account. When tweeting on behalf of a company, you have to be mindful of what you are putting out there for public consumption. Continue reading

A letter from someone named Itsall Aboutme: Narcissism in social media

Twitter CEO Evan Williams Meets With Mayor Newsom At Company's Headquarters

Dear Kate,

I’ve noticed recently that I’ve had a drastic drop in my Twitter follower count (I already checked and there was no Twitter spam cleaning). I just don’t understand why people aren’t loving me and everything I have to say. I tweet about the things I do, what I eat, what kind of decorative head ornament my Chihuahua is wearing each day. I talk about how awesome I am, tweet my new blog posts (every day) and generally radiate hotness. So, Kate, why have I lost so many followers? Continue reading

SMS Marketing: Trend or Trouble

Business man having a break

Did you know that in the U.S. we send over 3.5 billion texts a day? I didn’t until a few months ago when I read, “Text-Message Marketing”. The article explains the rules on how to get started with SMS marketing. When I started the article I was completely against the whole idea. A few years ago I participated in a text message contest for “One Tree Hill.” We were allowed to pick which guy one of the characters could end up with. Who wouldn’t participate?! Continue reading

Geotagging: Already there & moving forward

Editor’s Note: A special post-counterpost from two of the PRBC bloggers to end 2009 with a bang.  For the counterpoint be sure to check out Keith Trivitt’s post.

World map on fiery backgroundI’ve recently become obsessed with FourSquare.  I can’t seem to stop myself from “checking in” places, and now that they’ve made it easier to add new venues, I’ve become the resident scout for my town in New Jersey.  So you can imagine how sad I was when my buddy Keith told me that he’s not a fan of the service.  However, I know that he isn’t alone- many people are questioning the point of FourSquare and other location-based applications. Continue reading

Geotagging: Will it go beyond ‘Cool’

Two businessman passing business card, close-up

Editor’s Note: A special post-counterpost from two of the PRBC bloggers to end 2009 with a bang.  For the counterpoint be sure to check out Jess Greco’s post.

I don’t care if you’re the mayor of the Kirksville YMCA, or you just ousted Marcy as the mayor of Pistol Pete’s Coffee Shop in Kalamazoo. That’s great … for you. But not so much for me. Even if I am your friend, and we have all long given up hope of not knowing every intimate detail of your life, played out for us online in real time, the fact that you have “checked in” at some store, office, coffee shop, etc., whether it be in the same city that I live in or 3,000 miles from me really doesn’t matter.  Continue reading

PR Pro’s New Year’s Resolutions

Boy and Girl in Party Hats Blowing NoisemakersIt’s that time of year again – time for reflection over the last 12 months, time to consider our victories and our losses, time for copious amounts of champagne and other adult beverages, and time to improve ourselves for the coming year.  And so, in no particular order (and with varying degrees of humor, sarcasm and (hopefully) wit)… Continue reading

Ugh, Time Management

Businessman Using Credit Card Online

Well being that it has been one month, and one week, since my last post, it’s probably time to jump back on the bandwagon.  Between a new job, moving to NYC, and the holidays, balancing everything has been quite difficult for me.  Honestly, if it has been difficult for me, it most likely has been difficult for more out there, hence the post on Time Management.

I feel like every interview I go on, when someone asks “What is your weakness?” I always say, ‘Time Management.’ It’s definitely an easy out, because most people have time management issues so it’s pretty acceptable – and I’m not about to admit a fault that I have that isn’t acceptable…Now, don’t get me wrong, some people have natural time management skills, have minor OCD, can stick to agendas, and fit everything in their life, but this is definitely something that takes time.  The real question is how does one learn time management skills? Continue reading

…..a chance to start the day off right.