Final Presentation from NMDL

I had my last New Media Drivers License class a couple of weeks ago, and our final project was a presentation on what we learned. I wasn’t a stranger to new media in the beginning, but I still learned so much. I think the most important thing I learned was, while I have some pretty solid knowledge of today’s media, tomorrow will be different. Keeping on top of things is important, but as the brilliant Shannon Paul once told me, the new wave of PR professionals will need to walk on the fence between new practices and old techniques.

I tagged all of my adventures under “New Media Drivers License” with this blog, and you can see more about the class here. Because I already some sort of preexisting knowledge about new media, my presentation was a little different than most of my classmates. I focused on these areas:

• Your online brand
• Ethics in social media
• The power of an offline network
• Continuing your education

Check out the presentation below or on my Slideshare profile.

I’m hoping to help out Derek Mehraban, the instructor, teach the course next semester, so I’m looking for some feedback from all of you. What would you like to see in a new media class? Does your school (or association) have some sort of indstruction on new media? Any best practices you’d like to share?

Thanks for the help!

Filed under: New Media Drivers License, Public Relations, Social Media, derek mehraban, ethics, new media, nmdl, Public Relations, shannon paul, Social Media, Web 2.0

Tips on Generating Content

If there was one thing that held me back from starting a blog sooner, it was my fear of not being able to generate content. I quickly learned some things that help me come up with a post every couple days. Hopefully the information is useful, and remember that I’m still learning, too!

Here’s some things that I do to generate content for this blog:

Read new things.

You should already be reading up on your daily news from The New York Times, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. With so many things going on in the news, it’s hard not to draw blog posts from how it’s affecting you, your career or your industry. If you’re into PR and advertising, it wouldn’t hurt to subscribe to PRWeek and Advertising Age. I got each subscription for $50 – look for deals and promotions!

Besides your typical news outlets, it’s also important to check up on what your friends are tweeting and blogging about.  If you take it one step further and see what your friends’ friends are tweeting and blogging about, you will be introduced to a whole new realm of conversations. Join them and write about it.

Also, keep an eye on what’s going on with things that might relate to you. As a PR student, I try to balance my PR news and blogs with social media and career sites. Here are some new great finds:

• Mashable is a blog with reviews and how-to’s of the latest Web tools.
• The Creative Career is a blog by an MSU alum in Chicago with tips and tricks for those pursuing a creative career. The podcasts are pretty cool, too!
• Having an unmotivated day? Check out Pick the Brain, a blog to motivate and inspire. It really is a great pick-me-up on those not so great days.

Meet new people.

Get off your computer. Get out of your apartment. Go meet new people.

If you’re not a social butterfly, it’s hard to walk into a room of complete strangers and start talking to people. When meeting someone new, find their twinkle spot. Get your mind of the gutter. The twinkle spot is that one conversation subject that really gets someone going. It could be about gardening, bicycling, swimming or even the new Nintendo Wii game. Once you find out what interests that person, you’re golden.

If and when you get over this hump, meeting new people will let you see new perspectives on things. Incorporate those perspectives on your existing paradigms of your career, industry, etc. Not only will this help you improve, but it will also help your readers, too.

Join new organizations.

See a common trend yet? Besides joining the professional association of your chosen profession, don’t be afraid to join young professional groups, interest groups or even just-for-fun groups. These meetings and events often strike up some cool ideas.

It’s important to not limit yourself by having a narrow perspective on what you want your blog to be. Don’t have an agenda — keep your options open.

Listen to new information.

Listen first, talk second. A social media rule of thumb is to not ramble and self-promote. Remember, you’re here to learn and channel what you learn to create your own content. At Shannon Paul’s CMPRSA presentation (I was there in spirit!), she talked about 4 steps to joining the conversation:

Consume – Respond – Reference – Promote

Listening builds your credibility. Credibility builds your network. A larger network means a larger flow of information. When you consume all this information, you learn and are able to share your expert opinion.

In general, do new things. I am a big believer in jumping in the deep end of the pool. Immersing yourself in the conversation is the best way to learn. Hey, you might even have some fun along the way.

How do you generate content? Where do you get your inspiration? I would like to add to this list, so comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Filed under: Uncategorized, content, conversation, networking, Social Media, Web 2.0