Letters home

Ready to earn your stripes?

nobody@vox.com(Erin) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 21:02:39 -0500

When: Saturday, March 1

Why: To gain practical, hands-on experience with researching, planning and executing a social media communications campaign.

The cost is minimal ($25 for students, $40 for educators) and that goes to cover the costs of materials and food — both of which will be provided at the event. Attendance is limited, so I encourage you to register online today! (Ahem, I don’t see any Auburn students signed up yet. I’m just sayin’.)

Okay, now that all those essentials are out of the way, I can talk about what this event means to me and why I’m so excited to be a part of it …

Right at the end of 2007, I had the pleasure of having lunch with Kaye Sweetser of UGA. We had a great conversation — chatting about social media best practices, the challenges of practicing and teaching online tactics, and some interesting case studies. We also talked about how GREAT it would be to do some sort of “social media bootcamp” to expose students and educators to social media and teach them the basics. Well …

A few short months later … here we are!

I think it’s clear that it’s a passion of mine to further the adoption of new media in the public relations curriculum. That’s why I started Forward. And even though I’ve been too busy to contribute as I should (sigh), I still think the great work that Paull and Luke do with the podcast contributes to the site’s mission. The PR blogosphere as a whole does an excellent job of evangelizing social media best practices. There are numerous events every year that serve to educate communicators on this new and growing medium. I hope that the Edelman Digital Bootcamp serves to advance this larger movement, as well.

I encourage you to visit the event’s site to learn the whole story about the event, grab a badge or widget to show your support, read the blog (written by students - so drop in and say hello!), and see who’s going to be there — both as leaders and participants. Oh, and don’t forget to join the Facebook group.

But I’d like to close this post giving kudos to the top-notch group of students working on this event. Dr. Sweetser set me up as a “client” for her campaigns class, so we’ve had a group of students working to plan and execute the logistics, publicity, Web strategy — everything! They’ve done press releases (both traditional and social), a media plan, communication strategy, arranged for lodging, the venue for event and reception, created the Facebook group, set up Flickr and Twitter, drafted Web copy and blog posts … you name it … they did it or are doing it!

So kudos all around. Just a few more days till the big event. If you know any students or educators who might be interested, pass it along.

(Cross-posted at Forward. And for transparency sake: yes, I work at Edelman.)

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Feeling lucky

nobody@vox.com(Erin) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:56:00 -0500

Sitting on my couch watching TV, I took notice of a small blue book on my end table: "The Little Book of Stupid Questions." I decided to flip through it.

I was reading a stupid question about why they call a "navel" a "navel" when a four-leaf clover fell from between the pages to my lap. I immediately let out a gasp -- this was the clover I'd been trying to find!! I knew I'd pressed it in a book somewhere ... but had forgotten which book.

This clover is very, very special to me. My grandmother found it in my yard and gave it to me on the day of my college graduation. No kidding. The DAY of. She was out in the yard (we were grilling out), spotted it, plucked it, brought it inside, handed it to me said, "Here you go. Looks like you're gonna be lucky."

I'm delighted to have found it! And now I can finally get it framed.

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How do you say ...

nobody@vox.com(Erin) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:35:19 -0500

"I just got a SWEET deal on a SICK pair of boots" in French?

Well, I have less than a month to figure that out. Because I just arrived home to discover a package on my doorstep! And what was in this mystery package?? Why, my BOOTS, of course!

I searched for weeks and weeks and finally found a pair that was satisfactory ... and well within (at the low end, even) of my price range.

Voila!

Boots

The perfect boots for our trip to Paris! Ideal for going sightseeing ... and still being incredibly fashionable. Thank you, Steve Madden, for $60 very well spent.

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Heartbreaking!

nobody@vox.com(Erin) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 00:38:37 -0500

I just spent the last couple hours watching Becoming Jane. (Movie starring Anne Hathaway as Jane Austen.) I am so exasperated. That was the most heartbreaking two hours I've endured in a long time. UGH!

I was not in the mood for SAD! Great. Now, I get to stay up for at least another hour watching something more cheerful to get rid of these feelings of hopelessness and heartache.

Thanks a lot.

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Pretty toes!

nobody@vox.com(Erin) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:48:33 -0500

Well, today I had a pedicure for the first time ever! (I had a manicure, too, but I've done that at least once before.) I've just never been a big ... pay for pampering kind of person. Not for lack of desire, but just ... never got around to it, I guess.

About two minutes in, though, I looked over at Jenna and said, "I have to do this every month." I loved it!

Granted, one reason why I was always a little hesitant about getting a pedicure was because my feet are extremely ticklish. But you know, I finally thought ... it's not like it will be painful. Worst case scenario, it will TICKLE! And I will LAUGH! Big deal.

And ohhhh ... I did. I didn't just giggle. I full-out threw my head back and LAUGHED. Yeesh, I'm ticklish!

But now my hands and feet are very soft, smooth and pretty. Yay for girly time!

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hiLARious

nobody@vox.com(Erin) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 21:37:03 -0500

Every time I watch this, I literally laugh out loud. Great stuff.

The amazing pianist ... JENNA!

Beyond Jenna entertaining us with her phenomenal musical talents, the entire Valentine's evening was very enjoyable! Jenna cooked up a FABULOUS dinner. I ate entirely too much of everything. And then we played pool (i sunk a grand total of ONE ball - yay me) and just enjoyed a night of general silliness.

Aren't we a good-lookin' group:

Aww

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Just for you, Paull

nobody@vox.com(Erin) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:29:56 -0500

Leaning Tower of Pizza

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Happy Saturday

nobody@vox.com(Erin) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:27:28 -0500

I don't think I've looked forward to a weekend quite this much in a while. Looking forward to taking it easy ... tackling my to-do list at my own pace ... napping a bit ...

And now I'm off to settle into my papasan chair on my balcony with a cup of tea and a book.

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