Do you remember the game, MASH? If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you probably know the mansion-apartment-shack-house (MASH) game. Well, I used to play this game all the time with my friends back in the good ole days of elementary school. Essentially, the whole point of the game was to come up with a set of lists, each with four-five choices, and then you and your friend would randomly go...
21 Social Media Truths
1. Social media gives you the opportunity to be the best YOU possible. This applies to you and your brand. 2. There is no “one-size fits all” social media strategy. 3. Diving into social media without a strategy is like being on whitewater raft without a paddle. It’s probably not going to end well. 4. Crises happen everyday. Expect it will happen to you and your brand. Plan...
13 Signs You’re Not Cut Out To Be A Community Manager
Here’s 13 warning signs that you may NOT be cut out to be a community manager. 1. You think ROI stands for, “Really Overrated Idea.” 2. You are #winning at social media, but you only have 5 “likes” on your Facebook page. Four of which are your mom, Aunt Sally, Cousin Billy and your BFF. The last one is that creepy guy from junior high that stalks you obsessively...
How A St. Louis TV Station Used Facebook To Cover The Good Friday Tornado
As many of you know, an EF3 tornado tore a path of destruction through portions of north St. Louis county, including a direct hit on the Lambert St. Louis International Airport. Through all the breaking news on social media channels, I noticed one TV news station, KMOV, that truly understood how to use social media, in this case Facebook, in a breaking news situation. Within minutes of the...
Hey Students, 7 Tips To Ace Your Summer Internship
As someone who has been in the working world for about a year and half, I can honestly say that the three internships I had in college were so helpful. Not only did I learn a ton, but I also was able to gain a better impression for what it means to be working full-time post college. I firmly believe that no amount of classroom learning can replace what you learn in an internship. With that being...
We Are Human
There are moments in our lives that will ultimately change us forever. Exactly 12 years ago to this day, I had one of those moments. On April 20 1999, I vividly remember being horrified, confused and absolutely terrified as I watched the news about the Columbine High School shootings. As a 5th grader at the time, I never could imagine there were people out there, who would ruthlessly walk into a...
Follow Your Passion Series- Aurora Meyer
This is a guest post for my Follow Your Passion Series from Aurora Meyer. See what Aurora is up to on her blog or follow her on Twitter. It took me six years to find my real passion. I thought I had everything figured out in high school (what high schooler doesn’t think that?) when I found the school newspaper and broadcast news. I did everything I could to gain experience and eventual...
7 Crucial Things I Learned Outside The Classroom
In elementary, middle, high school and college, there are a lot of useful things that you will take with you in your career and in life in general. But, you ultimately have to take ownership of your own career goals. As a new (ish) PR/marketing professional, here are seven critical things I have learned outside the classroom. 1. Don’t try to hide mistakes and shortcomings As a new...
7 Things I Learned In School That Were Completely Pointless
Before I start listing these things, I want to clarify that my elementary, middle and high school teachers taught me a lot of things. There is a lot I’ve taken with me in my career as a PR/marketing professional. (But, that’s for a later post.) This post is going to be about those things that we, are most of us, had to learn in school, and were told were so important. Our teachers...
7 Deadly Blogging Sins
It’s been awhile since I did one of my 7 deadly sins post, so I’m bringing it back now to talk about the seven deadly blogging sins. This is a follow-up post to the Seven Deadly Twitter Sins, Seven Deadly Facebook Sins, Seven Deadly Linkedin Sins, Seven Deadly Email Sins and Seven Deadly Foursquare Sins. 7. Posting Infrequent, Unfocused Content If you are a casual blogger, it’s...