Catharine Montgomery

What if, what if? That is the question many Americans are actually asking themselves in regards to the recent manner problems Americans are having. I was listening to the Frank and Wanda Morning Show on V103 the day after the VMAs when Kanye West inappropriately interrupted country music singer Taylor Swift, A college student from Georgia State University called in and the entire call-in, which was rather long, went essentially like this: Kanye West is a modern day activist and he is speaking out and letting people know his opinion. What if Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t speak out or what if Malcolm X didn’t take a stand and what if Rosa Parks stayed in the back of the bus? All of this was to say that West had a right to interrupt Swift. What is the world does Kayne West acting like a “jackass” as President Obama says, have to do with some of the greatest Civil Rights activist of all time? Absolutely nothing.

It seems like society has become ignorant to what really counts as a good act. How can we even begin to confuse the two situations? I think we all like to make excuses for people. I know when I like an actor, musician, politician, etc. I can always find excuses for them. For example, I love Obama and when he name called West, off the record, I was like, well I mean, West is a “jackass” after all, so what does it matter if the President of United States said it?! It actually does matter and if former President George W. Bush had said it I probably would have reacted the exact opposite.

We have begun to make these excuses for all of the poor manners celebrity figures have made recently, including South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson who gave an alarming and unusual outburst during President Obama’s address on health care to Congress by shouting “You lie!” last week and Serena Williams, whom I happen to love as a tennis player, become irate with anger as she lost the U.S. Open semifinal to Kim Clijsters on Saturday.

There was an opinion column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today titled “Stop bashing Joe Wilson — he’s said he’s sorry.” The article seems to take a neutral stance on political parties, but list several instances of when Congressmen have “jeered, eye-rolled and made other expressions of disapproval” at Presidents including Sen. John McCain’s “dozing through George W. Bush’s 2007 State of the Union” and Hillary Clinton who “listened to Bush’s State of the Union addresses with the sort of expression one usually associates with sailing the Drake Passage.” Those are all great analogies, but does that give anyone the right to behave in such a poor manner no matter who the President is, white or black, Democrat or Republican? A big, fat NO! We all need to learn to stop making excuses for people, whether they be our friends, family or celebrity favorites. These manners start at home and correcting them there will prevent them in public.

I have had the priviledge of working at both small and large companies. I interned at Edelman which has about 3,000 employees and now work at a company that as two people including myself! That is a drastic change, but not in a bad way. Each company has it’s pros and cons.

According to The Harris Poll, in general the smaller the organization the more people like their jobs, their employers and their top management. Statistics show that people who work at organizations with fewer than 50 employees have more positive attitudes than people who work at organizations with more than 5,000 employees.

Here are some other statistics from the study: 64 percent of people working for small employers are satisfied with their jobs compared to 54 percent in large companies. Thirty-eight percent of people working for large employers feel they are at a dead-end at their current jobs, compared to only 24 percent of those working for small employers. Only 25 percent of people working for large employers feel that “this is the best organization to work for,” compared to 43 percent of those working for small companies. Also, only 30 percent of employees at large organizations, compared to 48 percent of those working for small employers believe their top managers display integrity and morality.

This obviously doesn’t mean that everything about small businesses is better than larger ones. Working at large firms gives you the prestige and name recognition needed to succeed in the industry. Every time I met someone in the PR industry and I mentioned I interned at Edelman, they automatically knew what company I was talking about. On the other hand, when I mention the company I work for now, I have to explain our specialities (non-profit and government) so people have somewhat of an idea of the company, but 9 out of 10 times have not heard of the company.

Large firms also offer more competitive wages, but if you think about it all large companies started small so it would seem like people would navigate to a firm that has the potential to grow and become a company with prestige in its name leading to an increase in salary.

Also, according to a 2006 study from the U.S. Small Business Administration, of the nearly 26 million companies in the United States in 2005 97.5 percent had fewer than 20 employees (though the SBA Office of Advocacy defines small business as less than 500 employees making this figure jump to 99.9 percent) and these organizations have generated between 60 and 80 percent of the net new jobs in the United States over the past ten years.

Here are my top 5 pros for small businesses:
1. More one-on-one time with senior level management
2. Flexibility in schedule
3. Opportunity to develop skills in several different areas
4. Recognition for work (sometimes in large corporations the work you do can be lost as it is transferred from one person to the other, after awhile nobody knows who did the wonderful work in front of them, they just know it’s done!)
5. Endless group for growth

Top 5 pros for large businesses:
1. Work with a variety of people so can learn from numerous people who are experienced in many fields
2. Higher pay
3. May be easier to find a job later because of the reputation of the company
4. Can hone skills better because of brainstorming sessions and other group meetings
5. More of an opportunity to be known the industry because of the contacts that are easy to be made

At least once a week I have the assignment of writing a press release for a client. It doesn’t seem to be a thing of the past and for every client it is a must to disseminating information. I also don’t think the reporters and journalists I communicate the press releases with are bothered by this form of communication. I think, for many, it is expected and although PR is changing it will take a lot more for the press release to become obsolete.

For one thing the journalists who are not up for changing their format for communications will have to retire and the PR practitioners who are used to doing things the old fashioned way will have to snap out of the press release mentality. An article by Lindsey Miller from Ragan Communications called Is the R.I.P. for PR a trifle premature; where Michael Cherenson, chairman of The Public Relations Society of America said, “I don’t think we should be negating the importance of the press release,” he says. “I think all reporters and all bloggers are looking for information that’s provided in such a way to break down the story. I don’t think it matters what you call it, what matters is you take complex issues and you break them down and help other people understand.”

I think his statement is absolutely correct. Why are we fighting over whether or not PR or press releases or whatever else is dead, but just let it take its course. Keep delivering information that is tailored for the medium the agency is communicating with. If the reporter likes multimedia then do that, if the reporter likes press releases send him/her that. It all depends on preferences, so yes, PR practioners need to know how to deliver information in multiple forms and be willing to adapt to different circumstances which is a prerequisite of PR in the first place!

Everyday there is something in the news that surprises me. Today it was a story about a 20-year-old woman in Kansas whose life was saved by her tightly-woven weave.

As told by msnbc the woman broke up with her boyfriend of eight months; to try and get her back, his friend walked up to her car and told her that his friend still loved her. She responded by saying she didn’t love him anymore.

Long and short story short is, the two men started shooting at her car as she drove off shattering her back window. After such drama you would think she would go home or a friends place, but no she turned around and went back to the market where the events took place to see if the shooters were leaving. They were indeed re-entering their car.

Once the police arrived on the scene they found a bullet in her hair and said her tightly-woven hair saved her life.

This is crazy, one day our President is being shot and compared to a chimpanzee and the next people are being saved by their wigs. What will tomorrow bring? I guess we will have to wait and see.

For the full story click here.

eMarketer announced Wednesday that sales for blogs this year were down to $1.2 billion from the expected $1.6 billion set at the beginning of the year and $1.4 billion set in May. The estimated advertising drop was determined by the decrease in sales for MySpace which dropped $170 million (from $755 million to $585 million) and Facebook, who’s sales decreased from $265 million to $210 million. Overall, MySpace and Facebook make up 70 percent of social media ad sales.

It is hard for me to understand this drop in advertising because MediaWeek wrote an article in November stating that “More than half the country actively uses social networking sites.” So, what is the problem? Have people not figured it out yet? There is no more advertising, pr, marketing, etc. It is all integrated. You can’t have one without the other. A PR practitioner would know that advertising (at a lot lower price) on a social media Web site is a brilliant idea.

It is cheap, millions of people see it everyday. As a matter of fact, IDC’s report (U.S. Consumer Online Attitudes Survey Results Part III) stated that, “more than three quarters of social networking site users log on at least once a week, and 57 percent do so daily. And these folks are logging an increasingly large amount of time on these properties, as more than 61 percent of users spend more than a half hour on these sites per session, with 38 percent staying at least an hour.”

I even recently went on a job interview at Kleber and Associates and the main topic of the president; Steve Kleber’s conversation was that advertising, pr and marketing were becoming one. He stated there were many professionals who were reluctant to make this transition, but his company and the industries were going to have to embrace the change.

Edelman was one of the first companies to realize this transition was taking place years ago and is therefore at the forefront of all communications breakthroughs.

Social media advertising sales should not be dropping, even in a recession. Why advertise on TV when consumers can fast forward through the commercials or get up and walk away from them? When ads are on the screen and you want to read the content of the page, the advertisement is not going anywhere. It will be there starring the consumer in the face.

But not only are social media ads permanent, it’s where the world’s going. There are thousands of blogs popping up each day; that is where the money is. At least until 2012, this is where the integrated world of marketing, pr and advertising should go…ad sales on social networking sites.

“[B]rands need to revisit the original form of social media — the blogosphere — to reach the masses.”
–Buzz Corps co-founder Chris Aarons, writing in ADOTAS

I recently discovered a new Web site that keeps you up to date on all the latest media news. The site is called SmartBrief, which is published in partnership with leading trade associations, such as AAAA, ProChef, InfoTech, CPA Letter Daily, AARP, AMA and CEA. Anyone can sign up to receive a daily summary of the essential news and it go straight to their e-mail inbox. The summaries come from the day’s most important industry headlines, handpicked from hundreds of newspapers and trade publications.

The updates I receive are called SmartBriefs on Social Media, but people can also receive daily briefs on accounting, food service, advertising, media and entertainment, automotive, business, biotechnology, health care and the list goes on and on.

Yesterdays highlights included: “Corporate etiquette on Twitter,” “Art and commerce intersect on Flickr,” “Not all branded apps are created equal” and “40 tips for a better blog” by Chris Brogan, just to name a few.

Check this site out. It makes catching up on the latest news easy and best of all FREE.

About two weeks ago I was at a loss for words to describe how hard it was to find a job. But I always went to work with high hopes. That upcoming week I had an interview with Brandware PR and another possible opportunity with Eberly PR. So, that Monday did start off as a normal day, but as I finished speaking with my manager about a Wal-Mart pitch letter, I was asked to come into the business managers office. Now. I have never been asked into her office before so immediately my heart started racing. As I sat opposite of her my hopes came true, and although it wasn’t a job offer I did get an offer to extend my internship.

No longer would I be working on the real esate team, but I would be the General Manager’s assistant. The current assistant was going on maternity leave until February, so I would be filling her position. Last week I had two days of training and there was plenty more to learn, but the assistant assured me I would be ready by the time her baby came. Now, we all know babies can come whenever they want to, so after 30 minutes of being at work today I found out she had her baby this weekend!

Today I will be starting as Claudia Patton’s, General Manager of Edelman Atlanta, assistant. To say the least I am a little nervous, but for good reason. Besides the fact that she is a powerful, determined, face-paced person; almost everyone in the office has stated how they would not want my job! Let me just say that is not motivating, but Claudia chose me and although it will be a learning experience and a challenge, I have never failed before and if I work just as hard and maybe even harder than I have so far at Edelman, I am sure I will succeed.

Also, the best part, I get to learn how public relations operates from the top-down instead of the bottom-up. I think I will be able to learn more in these three months as her assistant than I would as an assistant account executive for three months. Also, Claudia has all of the power. If she likes me enough then she can make anything happen. I just have to stick to my guns and do a great job. Everyone at Edelman is encouraging, besides not wanting my job, and I know with their help I will be great. I am just thankful for this opportunity to prove my abilities even more.

On Tuesday I was sitting in the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta for lunch with the other three interns at Edelman – Atlanta and noticed a group of elementary kids on CNN. I thought what are they doing and why are they so special? A few minutes later the same children came walking through the lunch area with one of Edelman’s Account Executive’s, Mallory Tacker.

By then I was really curious as to what was going on. Later in the day I heard Mallory talking about the children and on Wednesay she sent out an officewide e-mail stating their purpose.

The kids were seventh graders from Ron Clark Academy. Their teacher, Ron Clark, helped them create a unique way to spread the word of the importance of voting and the issues of each candidate. They decided to create a parody called “Can Vote However You Like,” to T.I.’s song “Whatever You Like.”

They first appeared at the Coca-Cola Leadership Summit in Atlanta and the attention and credit they have gotten since then has not stopped. While performing their song and dance it was captured on a cell phone video camera and posted to YouTube. They started with 51,000 views in just a few days and as of today have a total of 214,867 views since Oct. 10.

The attention they have received is a big surpise for the seventh graders. After their debut performance, it caught the attention of T.I. and the producers of the Ellen DeGeneres show. So far, the students have been featured on Good Day Atlanta, CNN (on Campbell Brown’s and Kyra Phillips’ shows and Anderson Cooper’s blog) and CNN.com, as well as 11Alive. Between now and election day the students will be appearing on Fox Business News, Good Morning America, 106 & Park and ABC World News Tonight where they will be named the “person of the week.” 

Below is the video from their CNN performance and a couple of other links to their perfomances on 11Alive News and the Anderson Cooper 360 blog. I have also posted the lyrics to the song, so everyone can capture its true meaning.

Embedded video from CNN Video

11Alive

Anderson 360 Blog

Lyrics

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

(McCain supporters)
McCain’s the best candidate
With Palin as his running mate
They’ll fight for gun rights, pro life,
The conservative right
Our future is bright
Better economy in site
And all the world will feel our military might

(Obama supporters)
But McCain and Bush are real close right
They vote alike and keep it tight
Obama’s new, he’s younger too
The Middle Class he will help you
He’ll bring a change, he’s got the brains
McCain and Bush are just the same
You are to blame, Iraq’s a shame
Four more years would be insane

Lower your Taxes – you know Obama Won’t
PROTECT THE LOWER CLASS – You know McCain won’t!
Have enough experience – you know that they don’t
STOP GLOBAL WARMING – you know that you won’t

I want Obama
FORGET OBAMA
Stick with McCain and you’re going to have some drama
We need it
HE’LL BRING IT
He’ll be it
YOU’LL SEE IT
We’ll do it
GET TO IT
Let’s move it
DO IT!

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

I’m talking big pipe lines, and low gas prices
Below $2.00 that would be nice

But to do it right we gotta start today
Finding renewable ways that are here to stay

I want Obama
FORGET OBAMA,
Stick wit McCain you gone have some drama
MORE WAR IN IRAQ
Iran he will attack
CAN’T BRING OUR TROOPS BACK
We gotta vote Barack!

Obama on the left
McCain on the right
We can talk politics all night
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

Democratic left
Republican right
November 4th we decide
And you can vote however you like, I said
You can vote however you like, yeah

So, the time has come again…

After interning at Edelman Atlanta for the past couple of months, the internship is coming to a close and I am in need of a full-time position. As of now Edelman has no job openings available, but hopefully after gaining the experience I have and with the stature Edelman has it will be a little easier to find a job this go around.

I cannot wait for November 4, so this job market can turn around. What happened to the demand for well-qualified, determined, organized, multi-tasking communicaters? I have searched high and low for a job and would love for anyone to comment on my wall with any ideas. Thanks for the help and I will keep you all updated!

Visit My Web site for a portfolio and resume.

After today my life will never be the same. Today I started my first agency internship at Edelman. I have dreamed of working at Edelman for at least two years and today that dream was answered, but it was not an easy road getting there.Let’s just say any way I could get Edelman to recognize me, I did and in the end I even got recognized in ways I didn’t even know.

It all started about a year ago when I found out my best friend’s sister-in-law knew someone who worked at Edelman Atlanta. From there, her friend forwarded my information to another person and that person forwarded it to another. There was little response with that form of communication, but I was still getting my name out there.

Then in February I went to the PRSA and AMA conferences, and guess who was there both times? Edelman. I met with the woman I had been e-mailing for the past year every single month and also met a woman I had a connection with through my internship with the Atlanta Braves.

Through all of this meeting and e-mailing I think I landed the internship, not because of my superb resume or communication skills, but because I sent the HR Coordinator, at that time, a St. Patrick’s Day card. I got more response from employers from sending a card than anything else I had done. What it did was differentiate myself from everyone else who was sending packets of writing samples and resumes. When the employers saw a green envelope with a stamp of a leprechaun on the back, they had no choice, but to remember me.

As for the recognition I was getting that I had no idea was getting noticed, it involved my activity on PR Open Mic. This summer in my Style and Design class I wrote several blogs on PR Open Mic and low and behold Edelman got a list of the people involved on the site and my name was on it. It just goes to show you that you never know what affect a task is going to have.

What I learned from this experience is to always go above and beyond. Never put off tasks or do them half way because you never know who is watching or when it is going to get noticed. So, yes networking and e-mails are great ways to communicate or land the perfect job, but differentiate yourself. Do something that the other person isn’t thinking of and it will get you even further…trust me.