So college is done. All I can think about is how fast it went by. I remember vividly driving down with my parents, moving into the dorms and beginning college. And now I'm leaving, packing up my things and moving home. And looking back, I think I actually learned some things, I know I made some amazing friends, and I even figured out what I wanted to do with my life.
So to all those entering college, a couple little "diddies" (bits of information) for you.
1. You might think that partying every night is amazing because you don't have to worry about your parents....but you might want to actually put some effort into your school work. You'll look back later and wish you had.
2. Travel. Travel. Travel. If you haven't do it. If you have keep doing it. Study abroad, go on as many trips with friends as you can or go places on you own. You learn so much from other people and other cultures and doing it now is the best time to do it.
3. Get involved. If you like something, do it. Whether it is a group in your field of study, a sorority or fraternity or even something like your schools student government, you should try it. Not only is being involved a great way to meet people, but you learn so much about your individual skills and it's a great resume builder.
4. Learn about yourself. This is such an important time to do that. Take new classes, meet people you normally wouldn't and branch out. If you don't, well, you just should.
So there you go. Love college. It's an amazing time and take it for all it is worth!

Response: Dove's Sleeveless Ready Campaign

I don't think you are grumpy, I agree. I don't pay attention to a lot of ads these days, especially one like Dove's doing.
I also agree that maybe focusing on more important issues is more important. There isn't a better way to say it. Even though I'm a student, I've become more aware of what is going on in the world and recognizing that the media is lacking on covering it. Why? An important person in my college career one said, "If we can't stand to see it, then why are we doing it?" And I couldn't agree more.

Is That Sugar-Free?

With the obesity epidemic growing in the U.S. everyday, it is hard to not look at how it is effecting one of, if not the most, influential target group today: children.

Children see thousands of advertisements everyday filled with messages about junk food, sodas and video games. This $11 billion dollar industry is only part of the reason why children are currently one of the most inactive groups of people in America.

Now advertisements are not the only thing to blame in looking at why children are fatter, lazier and overall less healthy than ever before. Cutting of funds for P.E. programs across the country have played a huge part in the epidemic. Without funding for physical education, children have no time during the school day to release energy, boost their metabolism and burn off any calories they may have consumed during the day.

There is also the effect of parents on their children. Kids learn from what they see around them and use what they are provided. If a child's parents lead unhealthy lives and provide their children with unhealthy food, the end result is an unhealthy child.

But a new factor has come into the blame circle, particularly in the past couple of years. Media. Not only are children bombarded with advertisements on TV, the radio and online, but they are also filled with images that promote negative body types as well as media telling children who are at an unhealthy weight that they are simply outcast and not normal.

After looking at these factors, one question needs to be answered. What changes first? There are people who support changing one factor over another. My answer would be to change them all.

Take out junk food and soda from schools, change advertisements and work with companies to develop healthier snack options, provide educational information for parents to help them change habits at home and cut out the negative media. I know it's a lot to ask, but when type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol are problems that 10 year old children are having to deal with, changing four influential factors may not be too much to ask.

Response: Walmart Should Decide What Kind of Company it Wants To Be

After reading this post, and relating it to my personal experiences with retail, legal actions and growing companies that are re-working how they appeal to the public, it is apparent that more than just the specific companies need to change.

How people work and look at business needs to change. I remember being slightly less than forced to work later than my shift, come in on days off and work a little off the clock just so my store met daily requirements. The sad thing is, no one sees that as a negative work habit. Managers see it as over-achieving, doing what needs to get done. Managers above them brush violations aside until someone sues them, and then it's kept hush-hush.

SO Walmart needs to evaluate its company standards. But then so should most retail companies like it. Just because one company is in the spot light for negative practices doesn't mean there aren't other ones hiding in the dark.

Why Don't you Just Call?

So while I am at my job, writing press release after press release, my boss walks over and gives me a new assignment. He wants me to contact a local newspaper and get them to write a story about some of the local real estate agents using our product. I say OK!
But as I pull up their information and begin to write an email, I feel as though someone is watching me. I look up and see my boss with a confused look on his face. He asks with a wiser, more informed tone to his voice, "Why don't you just call them instead?"
Now I understand where he's coming from. A call is personal, and it allows me to connect with the reporter and explain the release I will be sending to them. But then I think, I could explain all that in an email, AND send the press release at the same time. Brilliant!
In the end I got a response within an hour after I had sent out the release, but the best part of the situation was realizing that email can be an efficient way to send out information quickly. Because sometimes a reporter doesn't have the time to answer a phone call like mine, or even more likely, they're not even at their office.

Response - Work is Hard: Tips for your First Job

This post in particular is very interesting to me and makes some good points. As a full time student, most people are surprised to find out that I have been working 40 hours a week since I was 19. But even more surprising is that I've held a job since I was 16 and the idea of work-life balance is just how I live my life.
Knowing nothing different than going to school and working, while trying to be as active in my extra-curricular activities as I can, it always takes me back when I talk to other students who have never had an interview, or worked at all. And while there were times when my friends were out and I was at work till 11pm, looking back on it all I feel very prepared. I enjoy working, but I have learned the hard way that you have to do more than just work.
I enjoyed the advice in this post and the importance of establishing yourself, finding a mentor and learning to balance your life.

Response: PR - Or something like it

In response to Pr - Or something like it, how funny! PR isn't just "working with people" and if you ARE a PR student, you know that. You know that it is about influencing behavior, connecting with audiences, distributing messages and ideas and yes, working with people. But to sum it up as just that, doesn't give Public Relations (as a major or as a career) justice.
PR does so much more and it is important that more people figure out what public relations can do for you, for your company and for your analysis of other messages.
So maybe if you want to work with people, you should look more at retail or customer service, because a job in Public Relations takes a lot more than "Hi, how can I help you?"

Sisterhood is Forever!

I hear a lot that friendship, sisterhood, brotherhood is forever and that it's there through thick and thin. But how do you communicate when your friends are spread out through the country, busy with their work and relationships?
Well I've done some searching and found some new and classic ways to keep in touch with those friends.
1. Email. After the hundreds of emails you receive from professors, GTF's and potential employers throughout college, you tend to forget you can communicate with friends. Email's are a great and free way to send out a message to all your friends. They also provide a way to send out a lot of information, pictures and messages in the click of a button.
2. Blogs. It's amazing what people will read, especially your friends. A blog is another easy way to keep your friends in-touch with what you are doing, and what you think about current issues. You can also post pictures and videos and link to other blogs (maybe your friends) for people to read.
3. Texting. Now if you don't know how or don't text, you might be behind the times. For short messages or little bites of information texting is perfect. I happen to love texting and text more than I call people on my phone. Most new versions of cell phone's have great texting plans and capabilities - like adding photos - and allow you to let your friends know you just wanted to say hi!
4. Mail. Yes real, on a piece of paper mail. Most people don't think to use this form of communication anymore, but it is still a great form of communication. It's personal and lets the person you are writing to know that you took some time to think about what you are writing and about them. Letter's are great to send after interviews, after you accept a job offer, receive gifts or just fill your friend in on your life.
5. Meet up! Nothing is better then a reunion with your friends after not seeing each other for long periods of time. Old stories, fun nights out and new memories are all benefits of seeing people face to face. Take time to see each other and catch up.
So those are five ways I think are great to keep up with your friends. My thoughts for these came after realizing that I only have 2 1/2 more weeks with my fabulous 6 roommates. Over the past four years we have gone through our sorority together, traveled and had more fun than I can remember. And after thinking about the short time we have left, we began thinking about how we could keep in touch with each other.

As a student I understand why a company would name their product "Cocaine". When looking for an energy drink to get us through finals, a night out with friends or even just through our classes, a lot of us look for the drink that stands out the most. What would stand out more than "Cocaine"?
Personally I don't drink that brand, and I've never tried it. I stick with "Full Throttle" and "Monster", the sugar-free versions of both. Each drink does its job most of the time: keeps me awake to do the things I need to do to get through my day.
I'm not sure if it was the smartest idea to name their drink after a highly addictive drug that happens to be spreading around campuses like wildfire (students doing drugs? Yup....nothings changed), but I don't necessarily agree that it was the worst idea. I'm sure for a lot of energy drink enthusiasts, it caught their eye and they bought it. Which is pretty much what shock advertising is supposed to do.
But if you're really looking for a boost of energy, I've found a good night of sleep and a coffee in the morning is usually what does the trick for me!

Time To Get Healthy: Body Image & the Media

I have recently found that no matter where you are, or who your normal social group is, you can connect with so many different types of people on a variety of subjects. My most recent connection was with a group member of mine, and the topic was body image and health.
Her and I have both gone through our troubles with food: mind games, dieting, eating problems, and body image issues. And the funny thing is, after about an hour of talking about ourselves, we both related back to the media: magazines, TV, fashion. I'm not saying the media caused the problems my friend and I shared, because they didn't. But in realizing what we were striving to be, we looked at the media and found assurance in what we had been doing.
Magazines such as Health and Fitness, which I love to read for recipes and for fitness tips, can also lead young girls and even women to think in a different, sometimes negative way, about their body and how they fuel their life. Because even though these media outlets are promoting a healthy diet and active lifestyle, your still looking at a 20-something with perfect abs in a bikini you'll probably never wear, tanned and beautiful starring at you on the cover. And SHE is the one telling you to love your body? Personally, I think a lot of us would rather look like her.
So that was our dilemma. Should the media show women and men realistic role models with real curves and problem areas? Would that even sell? I recently picked up a copy of a magazine and saw a more realistic image of a women on the cover. It took me a while to figure out what was different, but when I did, I didn't like it. Amazing how we have been trained on what appeals to us and what doesn't.
If you have issues with how your body looks, take a moment to think about what you are comparing yourself to. If it's some unrealistic, airbrushed women who you think you should look like, get real. The only reason you should want or need to change your body is if your lifestyle is unhealthy. Want to feel better fast? Drink more water, walk outside more and eat more fruits and veggies and laugh. Laughter has been shown to burn a significant amount of calories and everyone looks better when their smiling.
Our conversation ended on a fairly unanimous thought. Don't let the media tell you how you should feel,what you should look like and how you should live. Figure it out on your own, get educated, laugh and love life. If you don't love it, change it so that you do. Life's too short to not enjoy who you are and what you have.

Response to-Pleasure Reading: Made to Stick

I rarely read anymore. I don't have time. I read for class and for my job, and the occasional magazine, but never just for pleasure.
I really enjoyed Kelli Matthews post on reading for pleasure. She covered the main points of the book in class (we were the class who had never heard the kidney heist story) and they stayed with me. I have even used them in my PR Planning class in my event strategies.
Made to stick ideas have even helped me tell my friends stories. It always makes me laugh when I actually use the things I learned in school in my every day life. I know for most students, they never feel like the material they learn will be useful except in their profession. But if you make ideas, messages, and activities memorable, your audience will keep those points on hand.

Simple, Clear and Repeat

I am currently writing for a software company that caters to real estate professionals. I came into the job thinking that my audience would be well informed and educated about the field they worked in.
That is not the case. I have connected with a few agents and brokers who are fluent in the technology language and the media that goes along with it. For the most part, however, that is not the case. Agents, I have found, are told what they need, how to do it and sometimes have no idea what you are writing about even though they use the software. That makes communication very difficult on both ends.
So I have learned to make things a simple as possible. And to repeat your main points, in a simple way. If you are clear and simple, people can understand your main points easier and it allows you as the writer to control your message as much as you can.
I am not the most technologically savvy person out there, but I know what I'm writing about and I can hold a conversation about my company, the software, as well as press releases. So write as simple as you can, don't use jargon and industry language unless you know your audience will 100% understand what your saying, and repeat your main points.
At the end of the day, you can't control how your audience is going react to your message, but you can help them along to where you want them to be. That is what I am working with my audience on, and slowly but surely I'll get there.

First steps in blogging

Welcome to my first blog post. My name is Megan M. Johnson, and I am currently a senior at the University of Oregon. I am new to blogging and all that is has to offer. My J452 class is currently testing the waters to find our voice in the land of Public Relations. I'm not sure what mine is yet, but hopefully I will be able to find an area to contribute to that reflects not only my professional interests, but my social interests as well.

I have learned that public relations can be used in every facet of every profession. Everything needs to be connected to the public. And everything connects to people in a different way. That is the most exciting part about this field for me. Learning how to connect with different people, in different areas and being able to contribute in a positive and new way.

I'm currently learning about connecting in the real estate world through my internship. I do public relations for IDX, Inc.http://www.idxbroker.com, a Eugene, Or based online real estate application company. I'm learning more about press releases and how media really effects a business. It's amazing how one release can bring in new clients just by the information you provided them.

One of my true passions is sports and I am lucky enough to be the Information Director for the Corvallis Knights, a minor league team that just moved into the town of Corvallis, Or. I came to the University of Oregon to study sports marketing, so I am excited to get back to something that I love. I will be covering their games beginning June 7th, writing and photographing their first season at Oregon State's Goss Stadium. The Oregon State Beavers won the world championship in 2006, and the Knights have at least four players from the Beavers on their 2007 team.