Keep on keeping on!

Ok, so I’m going to take a different angle today. Its class based, only it won’t be about something I’ve read, because tell you the truth I’m sick of it?! I’m sick of reading, I’m sick of writing (blogs), I’d rather sleep than be in class and frankly Facebook takes priority over homework right now. Now to those who know me you’re probably thinking this is a rather dark change of tune for me...no really I’ve just hit THE HUMP!

Ah yes, the dreaded HUMP, that part of the first part of the semester where things get a little fuzzy, not to be confused with the same time in the second part of the semester where things get scary, that’s a whole other world!


This is that hazy, boring, dragging part, two weeks out from the holidays where you haven’t had enough pressure from class/assignments to motivate you so you mosey on through and force yourself to do those last necessary bits and pieces just enough to get the mark you want and you think to yourself “why, what’s the point? The couch is such a better proposition right now”. Don’t worry my friends, you not alone, the only reason I’m writing this blog is for those same reasons I just explained (and because I get to have a whinge).


I was contemplating making this a motivation blog filling it with links to motivation sites and have lots of great quotes and all that other cheesy crap...instead I opted for the “we need a break from academia” option. So instead this is riddled with funny things to help take you mind off that dying feeling inside most of us at this point...so beware when clicking on links, who knows what you will find?!

My suggestion is, take a bloody break! This is a great way to do it: sit down organise exactly what you need to do, suss out how to do it, write that all down then put that piece of paper in a safe place. Then take a day off and do something fun and energetic, now here comes the multitasking...or thereof. At the same time as you are having fun DO NOT THINK ABOUT TECH WORK!!!! Forget about how god damned frustrating DigiPub is and how you would rather eat cat food than open another online account and not to mention that if that person in your group (no specific reference here, I just know everyone has experienced this) says one more idiotic thing, you’ll slap them! Just forget all of that, RELAX and have fun. This way you have recharged your batteries and when you go back to your work, it’s all laid out and organised, ready for you to jump straight in with a clear head. Then my advice would be, as I’ve said before, JUST DO IT! This way, this time after the holidays, it won’t be so scary!


So, we are all in the same boat right now and it may seem arduous and monotonous but hey the trick is just keep on keeping on!

If you're not online, you don't exist!!!

No not really, you still exist...just not in any real functional way in today’s society. This topic was brought to my attention by Adam tagging this article in our recommended reading (thanks Adam) and sparked up a few things in my brain.

Ok so this article is based on businesses needing to be online and the article, although averagely written, was right on the money. This is besides my point; it was the title that got me. IF YOU’RE NOT ONLINE, YOU DON’T EXIST. Now that is the whole point of this class!!! We are told and taught week in and week out that we have to be online we have to be constantly active and writing blogs and tweeting AND uploading photos AND creating accounts AND EVERYTHING ELSE! It’s rather overwhelming, in fact its getting irritating. Now here is the part where I just don’t know which stance to take, both sides have relevant points.

Side one: We are media students and this IS where the world is going. And the truth is everything is done online these days, shopping, banking, information gathering, reading, networking, meetings, communicating and hundreds and thousands of other things that would be stupid for me to go into. The thing that really gets me is that we now socialise online with things like Facebook and Beebo which is plain proof that OUR WHOLE WORLD IS ONLINE! Almost every part of our lives revolves around the internet; even one of our most basic human needs, somehow, socilasing online suffices our need for other human contact. Seriously, does anyone know anyone else (in the western world) who isn’t online in someway. So it’s not just necessary it’s almost evolutionary! So for us, it’s vital. I think this is why the title got to me so much. Twenty, even 10 years ago you “didn’t exist” if you weren’t in the phone book, the internet, now, is the same difference.

Side two: All of these different accounts are annoying and hard to keep track of. Also there is the threat of being too exposed online with too many accounts with personal information. Even if you limit your information to what is necessary to even create the page there is still a lot being sent out to the world that could be potentially dangerous. They are total time wasters; I have lost so much of my life online making accounts, updating, commenting, blogging, uploading etc.
Do I really need three email addresses, four social networking accounts, three photo uploading sites, two uploading video sites and seven blogs??? I think not!

So… My conclusion is that it’s a necessary evil; this class has proved that, considering we have to do this to pass, but I’d really like to know what you as classmates and future colleagues think? So leave me a comment!

Tips on how to get hired

Ok, so everyone is getting a little worried about what might happen to us in the big wide world when we get out there with this recession looming over our heads. We are all smart, educated well presented young (well most of us) adults so why shouldn’t we get a job? Well, just to put things further into favour here are a few tips derived from PR Buzz – a letter to young job seekers translated from American sugar coating into plain Kiwi. But feel free to read the original.

Tip 1: PROOF READ!!! This may sound obvious, but you really need to make sure CV and cover letter are %100 free of any errors, especially spelling and grammar mistakes. If you’re sending out a few CV’s obviously to don’t have the time to fully customise each CV, however doing something as stupid as misspelling the name of the company you’re applying for id the type of thing that will get your CV chucked away after the first glance. - Typos send the message that if you’re careless with work for your own benefit, you’ll be careless with agency work.”

Tip 2: SELL YOURSELF! A lot of interviews will start with the “tell me about yourself” line, so you need to know how to talk yourself up. This is not the time to be modest and coy; this is the time to tell them exactly why they should hire you over anyone else. So if you can’t sit there and list of your strengths, than get practising! - Prepare a one-minute spiel that highlights your strengths and personality, then practice it before your interview. You don’t want to recite mechanically, but you also want to sound ready and polished.

Tip 3: Research the agency before you get to the interview. More likely than not you’ll be asked why you picked that particular company to work for. Right now while you’re going for that job at the local retail store it’s easy to bluff this one with a few generic answers. But when you’re going for that wicked job at the wicked PR firm or ad agency, that’s not going to work - you’re meeting with professionals who can spot spin in an instant - So jump online, get some info and show them that you’ve done your homework on them.

Tip 4: Bring a portfolio. Make sure it’s a good one that showcases your good work. It’ll make you look good and hopefully set you apart from the other candidates, giving you the leading edge.

Tip5: Prepare Questions. This is just as important as doing your homework on the agency because it’s basically the same thing and shows that you have initiative and are interested in the company and your possible place there. The article goes into really good detail on this one - Go beyond “What is an average day like for someone at your agency?” That’s not a bad question, but a better question would be, “I saw on your website that you work with Client X. What are some of the projects and campaigns you put together for Client x?” This lets the interviewer know that you researched the agency and demonstrates that you’re interested in the agency’s work. Asking questions also extends the interview, meaning you have more time to convince the interviewer that you’re the right candidate for the job. Ask questions about the interviewer’s perspective on industry issues. Engage in conversation. Even if you don’t get the job, at least you will have learned something new that will help in your next interview.

Tip 6: Be careful with your online footprint. Here we go again with the stuff our tutors tell us in every class, but turns out they were right...who’d a thunk it? Basically just be careful what you post, because it’s all fun and games until a potential employer finds that photo of you at your mates 21st spewing in the main street dressed as a skanky pirate on your Facebook. Either get rid of those photos or set privacy filter on all of your social networking sites. - Peter Shankman once said, “Grandma, Priest, Boss - If either of the three would be offended, DON'T POST IT.” In the same vein, if your cell phone has a voicemail greeting that presents you in an unprofessional way, consider changing it. Your friends might love the rap music that plays before they leave you a message, but your potential employer probably won’t.

Tip 7: Turn all of those “wasted” hours on Youtube, Facebook and Twitter etc in valuable new media knowledge and savvy. - Demonstrate that you can be creative and insightful about how new tools can be applied to PR. Comment (positively!) on past agency work in this area and be familiar with some of the well-known case studies in the PR industry. Make sure you are in the know about the latest social media tools. – To me that sound like a great excuse to be on Facebook at work!

So get out there, do the research, sell yourself and PROOFREAD!

Twitter...

Am I old fashioned? Out of the loop? Ignorant? …no, I just don’t care. Tell you the truth I was hoping this stupid thing would be a fad that crashed and burned like ICQ. (Well here in NZ at least) Unfortunately, no, it looks like its here to stay and we keep hearing about it left right and center.

What’s so great? You get 140 characters to “tweet” about something to the whole world. Honestly…I don’t care that Cocoholder just drove past a car fully of slappy teenagers, nor do I care TanujDua has moved to making cat noises. Seriously what is the bloody point other than to give ones self a false sense of high self importance, when the truth is that no one cares. At least on other social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace the information is going out to just your friends, who may care a bit, not the whole world. Because who else, other than your friends, let alone even them, cares that your dog just jumped up on your lap.

As an interesting test, I went on twitter and searched “twitter”, here are the most amusing ones: N0R3: @MzS0IcY heyyy! tryna break my twitter addiction lol...
kayjacobs: I got twitter back on my phone, Yes! :D
xpureirishx: good night twitter <3
Rootsology: Hows my Twitter family.....
These people are sad…yes that is a symbol for a love heart. Idiots!

It’s not all evil though, a SMALL percentage of people actually post some relevant information. And if people have nothing better to do that read and write tweets then why not be one of the smart people and make some money off of this or use it to enhance your business in someway. If thousands of peole want to read about what other people are doing, why not send them a PR message. According to the PR warrior blog on our recommended reading these are the 10 reason PR practitioner need to be on twitter:

1. Twitter is an influential medium – Twitter definitely reaches people en masse you just might need to filter out the irrelevant idiotic tweets, but in the case of influencing idiots, this might just be the right way to go!

2. Meet clever people – apparently “disproportionate number of smart/clever/intelligent people hang out on Twitter.” If you want the same result you’d better be careful and specific about what you’re looking for or you’re going to be filtering through some crap!

3. Build your network - "Every connection is a potential business opportunity". Just pick the right people!

4. Keep up with trends – Like I said I hope this one dies, but if the big wigs are saying this is the way to go, we’d better do it.

5. Pitch journalists – I think this point shows its irrelevance, why not just email the pitch in full? It even says that Journos probably don’t bother with twitter.

6. Pitch bloggers – why does it matter if bloggers are on twitter, it’s the same difference just longer/shorter?! People will write what they want regardless of the medium.

7. Tactical execution – If people think twitter is important, then unfortunately, it is. So I guess despite thinking it’s stupid, it’s worth getting amongst.

8.. Get info...fast! – For the usage of quick-polls, yes twitter works, because you have thousands of people with nothing better to do than give you their opinion. And as before, if people think it’s important, take advantage of that.

9. Build your personal brand (and sphere of influence) - "In the future, if you don't exist online, you don't exist." This is true and necessary, so if Twitter is the fad, exist within it, stand out and “build a base of professional credibility”.

10. Have a laugh. – On this note, I prefer to laugh at the idiots on twitter who think we care about what colour the rash on their foot is and more so take advantage of that for the use of PR.

So despite how base the idea of twitter may be, it seems to be necessary evil as it is a great networking resource if the ability to reach thousands of people. But I am quite happy to be proved wrong about this in either sense, so feel free to comment and let me know what you think about twitter.

Helen Baxter - I wish I could take her knowledge, put it in a pill and swallow it!

It's spark week, as all Wintec students know, and I just came out of one of the most awe inspiring seminar ever. In saying this I feel shattered, empty, a little worthless and sort of like my world has fallen down around me, but on the bright side now I know how to create a working online business.

Ok, so it's not all doom and gloom, but after hearing Helen Baxter speak about all the awesome things she has done using new and unconventional methods it feels like we're sitting in the dark ages here in Wintec...I feel worse for Uni students!!!! However to quote Helen and reiterate what all our lovely tutors have told us time and time again "you need to learn the rules before you can break them" ...Damn, I was keen on jumping straight in! Anyone else?

Helen started her first business at 21...most of us are pushing that or past it. She has been making 100% independent businesses using the internet and succeeding where most of us fail to even write good blogs. Not to mention she has wicked blue hair that holds it's colour where mine goes grey! But all hope is not lost because she has shown us the way to do the same, business and hair wise! She is someone Wintec could really learn from, what she talked about really is the way of the future and some of the Wintec dinosaur tactics need to be brushed from the shelves and replaced with Helen Baxter's revolutionary knowledge.

The presentation she gave at spark is featured at http://www.mindmeister.com/26209232/how-to-be-a-new-media-mogul Here she has put links to numerous websites that help you produce and sell your own music, designs, books, brands...basically anything. And best of all: 100% independently, no hand outs, most if not all of the profit goes back into your pocket.

Despite her depth of knowledge making me feel like a primary school student, this isn't rocket science, everyone of us, yes even while studying, could be making, creating and running our own online/home based businesses. She even has links onto free online accountant services/programmes and sites that manage your money and so on and so forth. She showed and explained how a TV show could be made using, two people, a camera phone and half an hour.

"The time of sitting around and waiting for a deal are over, in fact they never even existed" these wise words from Helen made me realise something: Why on earth would I sit around and wait for my education to finish when I can go out there now and make my mark on the world? Forget trying to get my foot in the door at some 'big wig' studio...MAKE YOUR OWN SHOW! Forget waiting making coffees for 6 months just to get a piece in the paper...POST YOUR OWN STUFF!

Now I guarantee any tutor who may stumble upon this will say "we told you so!" and "that's what we said" Hey, give us a break, it's always going to hit harder when a successful blue haired woman with a crazy accent shows you how to do it in a fun way rather than just blogging! Why do you think I dye my hair all the time? Like the special group said: “if you’re not noticed you fail”. Stephen, you’d look great with pink hair!

Anyway to conclude this rather hectic piece of writing (you must forgive me I'm still very overwhelmed from the seminar) I have to admit that although this seminar made me feel like all my hope and dreams had been crushed it also showed me how to creative some far cooler ones! Honestly any one who missed out on this missed some of the most vital information that we have been given in our entire degree. So get out there, off your cushy little student bums and JUST DO IT! -thanks Nike.

Check out her MsBehaviour piece at www.thebigidea.co.nz