I love this 4-photo series.

The most common question I hear when people ask about my major is “So..what exactly is PR?”

It is almost always directly followed with “So…what makes it different from marketing or advertising?”

I usually answer that marketing/advertising is your standard paid placement in media outlets and PR is free. Short and sweet and to the point.

But I think Chase touched on an important component I glaze over when explaining public relations. The field centers entirely around public opinion. Our job is not to tell anyone anything, it is to sell our brand/product/company so effectively that YOU want to tell people.

With current trends pointing toward the ever-increasing importance of peer reviews, public relations seems more relevant and needed than ever before. Companies and brands can no longer shove their information or merchandise down our throats and expect us to just take their word for it. We want to hear from those we trust, those we identify with, on their take.

I know personally I always read customer reviews when online shopping. And even if there are 10 good reviews and just 1 bad review, I tend to really evaluate the product and how much I want or need it before purchasing. I won’t even download some of the free book options to my Kindle if the book has a low rating. It’s free! What does it matter?

It’s not just about money anymore. It’s about time. Why waste those 5 minutes downloading and skimming through a book just to find it unsatisfactory? Next, please.

How do you describe the differences of PR/advertising/marketing/branding to people?

Do you pay attention to online reviews?

What I didn’t count on was just how difficult my semester would be. Communication law tests and collaborating on a 60-page research paper did not bode well with free time. And, I was still the social media intern at the Athens CVB so I was posting regularly to their blog each week. I just did not have the time or the words to commit myself to the blog. So I went on a long hiatus.

Now that it’s my last semester and things have slowed a bit, I finally have the time to blog. So I’m back!

We’ll see how this goes. I plan to take it one day at a time.

I am currently the office & social media intern for the Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau. Part of my job is to maintain their Twitter & blog. I am also working & taking a philosophy class this summer.

So my inactivity is mainly due to no time and fear of social media burnout. Although I am staying on as the social media intern for the Athens CVB in the fall, my current office position will be falling to a fellow Grady student.

What does this all mean?

I will be back with new posts once school begins in mid-August. Until then, you can keep up with me on my personal Twitter account, the Athens CVB Twitter account, or the Athens CVB blog.

1. Lauren, Haley, & I are in this together. No matter what, we will stand by and defend each other through anything.

2.It’s important to have people in your life who know your entire life history & love you anyway. It’s equally vital to have new people in your life who have no idea what has made you so crazy, but love you anyway.

3. Never say never. You never know what life has in store for you.

4. Hearts heal. Bad grades are forgotten. Stress is short-lived. Worrying never solves anything. Sometimes life sucks. Get over it or do something about it.

5. All families have a few crazy members. My family has no normal members.

6. Enjoy it while it lasts. It really feels like I was a senior in high school a year ago. Everything is moving so quickly & yet we continue to rush things. I want this semester to be over because I dislike this class or assignment or professor. I have spent so much time waiting for that next semester, and now I want all of them back.

7. Complaining about things gets you nowhere. Wanting something to fall into your lap gets you nowhere. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity, go search for it. And force it if you have to.

8. Being annoying (I prefer the term persistent) can get you very far.

9. Nothing wins respect like a well-written thank you card.

10. AP Style takes all the fun out of writing.

11. No matter what, I do have worth. I am talented. I am driven. But if I don’t believe that, no one else will.

Click this!

In my PR Communication class, our professor informed us we would be holding a press conference. Building off of our PAG project from Tuesday’s class- where our entire class worked as a team to create a background, media analysis, talking points, public statement, and RTQ for the public relations disaster that is currently AIG- three students would be chosen as representatives for AIG and the rest would serve as journalists.

No one wanted to be in the hot seat, obviously. Knowing my incredibly long history of having very bad luck, I knew I would be picked as a representative. So I was not surprised at all when my name was called.

Needless to say with five minutes notice, we were not prepared. And it was brutal. I was actually scared of some of my classmates. Questions were fired rapidly, all eyes on me, and all I could do was stare back.

What is interesting is, most would think I would be good at this. I have been spinning stories my entire life. If my sister and I got in a fight over Barbies, with both parties equally guilty, I would flip the story so convincingly she would get in trouble and I would get the Barbie. I can always think of answers quickly.

So, what was the difference? Knowing your subject and audience!

In previous spin cases, I knew what my parents or teachers or friends wanted to hear. I knew exactly what I did wrong, how to leave that out, and what not to say to tip them off.

Preparation is key. Learning from this experience, I will post this weekend some of the tougher questions, how I answered them, and how I think they should have been answered. 

I never want to feel unprepared again. And I am committed to assuring I never do.

No worries, A&E Intervention does not need to be knocking on my door anytime soon. I am not doing anything illegal or harmful. Well, to anything but my attention span.

I am addicted to technology. More specifically, my computer. 

It started small at first. I would forget my cell phone at home and feel lost until I was reunited with it. It would feel strange going on vacation and not using a computer. But it was ok.

First Stage of  Addiction: Preoccupation/Anticipation

Until I began college. All of a sudden, I needed to check my Facebook and email multiple times per day. Then, I started depending on my MacBook for everything. Why call & describe an outfit to my sister when I can video chat & show it to her? Why watch tv when I can find a summary, clips & review of it online? News, weather, celebrity gossip- I no longer have to wait for a certain show or time for updates. My computer is the center of the universe- and it is updated constantly.

Second Stage of  Addiction: Binge/Intoxication

With sites like Campus Canteen, I can order basically anything from my computer and have it delivered. I can rent movies, watch tv, talk to anyone in the world, see what my friends are up to, find out if Britney Spears is ready for her concert. All of a sudden, I was dependent on my computer for telling me everything I needed to know.(plus more than a few things I never cared to know)

Third Stage of Addiction: Withdrawal/Negative Affect

Then, last Thursday, the center of the universe (my Mac) fell into a black hole (I dropped it & the hard drive crashed). I rushed it to the store. Paced anxiously around to hear the diagnosis- only to be told they were keeping it until Tuesday. TUESDAY? What if I got an important email? What if someone wrote me a message on Facebook? How would I know what the temperature was?

It will be ok, I thought. It’s just a couple of days. You can use the computers on campus. Think how productive you will be without the distraction!

Three minutes at home without a computer & I started to lose it. There is nothing good on tv anymore! Celebrity gossip shows tell me things that happened hours ago! I want to know what the temperature is right now- not what it will be tomorrow!

An actual facebook message sent from my phone after about 4 hours computer-less: “Seriously i am going CRAZY I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE I CANNOT BE ALONE WITH MY THOUGHTS.” [Note: I have a very small tendency to overreact. Tiny, really. ]

Obviously I had reached a breaking point. The next day, I negotiated (aka annoyed) the Mac store into speeding up the process and received my MacBook back with open arms on Saturday. While it will never be the same (the new hard drive has about 2 documents, 4 pictures, & 5 songs…my old one had, to put it mildly, much more).

Still, the center of my universe was restored. All is well. I really felt like I made progress with my addiction. Saturday , before picking up my computer, I didn’t even wake up feeling anxious. I walked outside to check the weather- how revoluntionary! Just call me a pioneer!

That is, until this snowstorm hit Athens on Sunday- a mere day after being reunited with my beloved computer. No power for almost 24 hours.

It was back to the Stone Age for me. I read an entire book by candlelight, then stared at my ceiling for 4 hours.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, you can keep your prairie. I prefer my power cord.

My name is Staci Dale, and I am officially an addict.

I’m not here to discuss her weight- obviously she is not obese. Does she know the best outfits to flatter her body? Well that’s another discussion. But the focus of this is her image itself.

Like I said, she has received more free publicity from this outfit in the past few days than she has in months. While I can imagine she doesn’t really want to be known as the poster child for weight fluctuation, this has benefitted her in some way.

1) So many people have jumped to her defense.

2) Sympathy=support=increased record sales=increased ticket sales. And her team is playing it out perfectly. She has yet to make a public statement, letting everyone else do it for her & reaping the benefits of being the victim. This coverage of her body is unfair & unmerited.

Or, is it? Here’s the thing…she created this image. She wanted to be the girl who everyone discussed & looked at her body. She wanted to be the new Britney.

Don’t believe me? Then please explain why her washing the Dukes of Hazard car in a pink bikini, writhing on the hood, & running a sponge along the length of her body was so necessary in her These Boots Were Made for Walking music video.

 I mean, am I missing some deep plot point or inner meaning here? No. I don’t think so.

Is there anything wrong with this? No, not really. She clearly looks amazing. If I looked like that in a bikini, well this blog would be me sharing my thoughts through interpretative bikini poses. What she can’t do, though, is pick & choose when she wants her body to work for her & when she doesn’t.

It’s not about showcasing her voice here. Or her acting skills. Or dancing skills. Or anything else. It’s about her body. Plain & simple. And, she wanted it that way. The problem is, once you get that ball rolling, you can’t stop it when you aren’t working out 8 hours per day anymore.

So, here’s the thing. The public relations lesson Ms. Simpson can teach us all. You choose your image. You market that image. Once it is successful, you are stuck with it. So you better make it something good. Something substantial. Something with staying power. And, please, something that allows you to consume more than 12 calories per day.