Social Media for School PR.

Richie Escovedo and I presented the below Social Media Tools for School PR presentation this week at the Texas School Public Relations Association Conference in San Antonio. It is always interesting to see where questions will lead. I've been part of presentations on this topic quite a bit in the last year, as well as many conversations. There's been a positive trend that the majority of PR professionals are beginning to shift from a slight resistance to social media to a healthy curiosity.
The majority of questions centered on these topics:
1. Promoting social media when many social media sites are blocked at schools and school facilities
2. Facebook - Good? Bad? (special interest in photos & tagging)
3. Blogging - How often? How does one find time?
4. Security issues with social media related to students, staff, and PR initiatives



This presentation is also available on Slideshare.

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Let's Start with the Universe.

Richie and I began our presentation today about social media to the Fort Worth PRSA crew. It went well, I felt. The discussion was real. The questions were all over the map(a good sign). People generally nodded their heads. Even when we went over time and gave everyone the go ahead to bolt, the majority stayed and continued to ask questions.
But after all that, there was something holding us back today, and I realized it after getting back to the office. It was the universe.
Trying to explain social media, as a concept, is a little like trying to explain life, starting out with a brief discussion on the universe as a whole. Basically what I'm saying is, it is a BIG subject. And discussing this BIG subject with a group of nearly 60 professionals from different companies, with different interests, etc., is also BIG.
There's also the slight problem that asking Richie and I questions about SM, is a little like asking a Trekkie, "Hey, what's the big deal with all this Star Trek stuff?"...or asking a jazz fan if Miles or Monk is better? Anyway, you get the picture.
If you were there, I'd be interested to hear your comments.
If you've presented SM to a group of "non-tech" types, I'd also love to hear your feedback and experiences.

America's Heart Problem.

Vedo and I were discussing the Cohen/McClellan situation this morning and something struck me. Let's call it Jerry Maguire's disease. Forget all the "you complete me" side of that movie, I remember my incredible shock at the beginning as Jerry composed his treatise on everything that was wrong with his business. He was unceremoniously canned, spiraling his life into a somewhat inspiring romantic comedy. We should all have such luck, right?
The first act of that movie laid out an all-too-familiar scenario in America. Just a few weeks ago, I witnessed a candidate whipped by Tim Russert for changing their mind about major issues. Why, in America, are public people unable to change their minds on issues. New information comes to light. The world changes. For example, the way both parties talk about the environment has vastly changed in just the last 10 years.
So, I know there is more to this story. Those of us who weren't there can never truly understand the pressure McClellan was under. We can also not understand his heart now, in this situation. I venture to say that every person has the right to have a change of heart, and even to be disgusted by some of their own actions in looking back at their life. Isn't this what we call wisdom?

Pic courtesy - http://www.dvd.net.au/movies

A Hard Look in the Mirror.

Andrew Cohen of CBS News took a shot at PR professionals as liars. Many in the profession took incredible offense at the comment. Were they wrong to be offended? I say no, but conditionally. When I tell people at a party what I do, they crack a joke about me being a flack, putting "lipstick on a pig", etc. Any attempt at further explanation and they just get bored. The general public has opinions about lawyers, politicians, and yes...PR people.
That said, Cohen was fundamentally wrong about PR pros as paid liars. It reminded me of a story...
Early in my career, a colleague told me a story of being asked by his boss to lie on behalf of the organization. He took a long look in the mirror and decided no career was worth compromising himself. He did not lie. The person that asked him to lie was later arrested and he remained with the organization. Trust me, dear reader, this is not the only example like this.
I venture that all professionals are faced with some type of ethical dilemma within the scope of their career, whether it be cooking the books, lying, etc. The true measure of a professional is how they react. PR people are not able to simply ignore ethics as part of their job description. The issue is human, not job specific. So Cohen(a member of a traditionally picked-on profession) took a shot at PR, we can withstand it, BUT better - let's do our best to educate our co-workers, friends and clients of our true purpose.