Karen’s PR & Social Media Blog

In preparation for my upcoming trips, especially the one to Paris [not necessarily a business trip - more like a mini vacation].  I have been watching several movies to get prepared for the lovely scenery, cuisine, and atmosphere of Paris.

One movie in particular I have watched recently has been Sabrina. I have both the original movie with Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, but I also have the updated version with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond.

One quote that Sabrina [played by Julia Ormond] that struck out to me in this remake was how she described Paris. She talked about how her friend “found herself in Paris.” This got me thinking – has there ever been a place I have been where I found myself?

The answer of course is yes, but for me, it has not been one place – but many that make up various aspects of who I am as a person. Every place I lived or traveled to has shaped me into the person I am today.

Here are just some of the highlights of my travels and what I found out about myself along these incredible adventures:

• Curiosity: I have to thank Mom and Dad for allowing my sisters and I to travel and experience our first international travel to Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Fiji, and Raratonga (Cook Islands). We experienced so many new elements during this trip that it really sparked my curiosity of the world. I knew even at 10 years old I wanted to see more of the world – not just read about it – but see it in person. The more I travel, the more curious I become of the world and want to explore more of it.
• Strength: Strength comes in many forms, but I would have to say this is represented in many places I have been to. My time of Florida taught me how to be strong mentally and physically in athletics and academics. I also learned this lesson when I went abroad for the first time by myself. Each of these experiences taught me how strong I was – both mentally and physically.
• Passion: Passion comes in many forms, but I would have to say that I found passion when I was in several places.  Florida introduced me to my passion in the current field I am right now, PR. Tennessee was the place where I found my passion for teaching and becoming a professor. I found my passion for exploration with every aspect of a culture during my time in South Africa.
• Community: Being part of the USC Track Team and Annenberg Community in LA for two years taught me the importance of community. Engaging in teamwork and focus towards a common goal was a strong emphasis highlighted for me in both of these categories. To this day, I still have contact with many of my friends at USC and the relationships and connections still remain today.
• Tradition: My first trip to China really brought this forward to me back in 2008.  The history, cultural elements, and tradition was prominent in every aspect I saw in Beijing. Walking around the Forbidden City and up the Great Wall to oversee the landscape of China was remarkable. Experiencing a traditional Chinese tea ceremony was also another experience that allowed me to not only appreciate tradition, but embrace it as well.
• Persistence: Track and academics both taught me this, but it was really put to the test during my time in Tennessee and both at Florida and USC. Track was a very rewarding athletic adventure with many highs, but there were some challenges. One of the biggest I had was at the 2004 Olympic Trials. Before the trials, I had a serious back injury which almost made me have to retire from track and field permanently. I had no throwing practice in an actual ring two months before the meet and was second to last to get into the meet. I worked out on my own with my Dad’s virtual coaching from CA. With Dad’s help and my persistence to work out hard to do as well as I could at the trials, I was 6th in the prelims and made the finals at the Olympic Trials to finish 9th.  Also, a PhD program is tough – you don’t see many PhDs for a reason!
• Cuisine: Ah, the love of food – of course, I am from a family of foodies! South Africa taught me to explore and open my horizons to wonderful Afrikaan cuisine, Greece showed me the happiness that is brought with food and dancing, Amsterdam taught me about my home roots and appreciation of apple flaps and stroopwaffels, Italy introduced me to cheese and cured meat [and expresso!] along with fabulous fashion in Milan, Brazil opened my eyes to the lovely Brazilian cuisine of meats and amazing desserts.

As you can see, there are many characteristics and attributes I do contribute to my travels and stays in various places around the US as well as internationally.  However, there was one place I know several of my family members and friends mentioned to me that they thought I did change and grow up from this experience. This place was of course South Africa.

Reflecting on top of Table Top Mountain, South Africa [2007]

While I am just 30 years old, I know I will continue to grow and evolve as a person and professional based on my travels. I will be traveling to Spain, France, and China this summer (actually all in a month’s time – amazing!), so I will most likely have to add these characteristics to the list here as well. I will make sure to note these in my blog as soon as all of my travels this summer are complete to keep you all updated.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

I have been off from teaching classes for the last couple of weeks, so this has given me time to work on research, conference presentations (I have four coming up in two different states and two different countries), and prepping for projects and classes for the fall. However, it has also given me time to catch up on shows my students, friends, and family members have recommended to me to see as soon as I have free time.

One of these shows of course has been the HBO hit Game of Thrones. This show is finishing its third season and the books go up to five (so far) – but there are some interesting themes that emerge from the series. One in particular is the issue of power – how it makes people do whatever is necessary to get it and can be almost corruptive in nature.

When thinking about this very issue, I saw this article talking about how brands can be looked at from this standpoint as well from the Game of Thrones perspective. After seeing this, it raised an interesting question – can we look at academia the same way? Are we searching for power and are there the same elements emerging in our field as in this book and TV series?

Interesting question – and I would have to say that the answer is indeed yes. Here are five ways academia is like the Game of Thrones:

• Rise of Power for Academic families:  Like in Game of Thrones, there are “academic families” that have dominated or are strongly present in the field. There are successions and quote “academic offspring” that are supposed to follow the line and duties from the previous research and so forth. However, if you do not have an academic family, you are technically looked down on, which is unfortunate and not fair. Look at what happened with John Snow in the book and series.
• A huge focus on where you came from: This is not necessarily based on location, but this really does focus on your academic institution. This does have a judging impact on the overall perception and reputation of an academic professional – and it is almost something that embodies the overall identity of the researcher. However, shouldn’t the work and personality of the person dictate how they should be perceived? You almost have to introduce yourself as not necessarily I am so and so, son of x, lord of xyz, etc – but you do have to introduce yourself with your position and where you are from.
• Gatekeepers role in power: I see this all the time in academia – the gatekeepers that position themselves to decide who gets published, who presents their research or gets a position on a specific committee, and other activities that are not necessarily judged based on the work presented. The same goes with the Game of Thrones – this is a powerful message to say that life is not fair, but you have to be able to handle the deck of cards you are dealt with and strategize how to get around the gatekeepers. Sometimes it is tough, but it can be accomplished, even in academia. Everyone wants to be on the “iron throne” or the position of being a changer in the particular field they are in.
• Growing need to formulate your own “teams” and alliances: The world for Game of Thrones characters is a tough place to be in, so they have to formulate teams to help them accomplish their goals and objectives.  Alliances have to be made, so you are seeing this with the Starks and the Lannisters in the series and book. Same in academia – there are going to be those that will do whatever possible to see your work not get published and there will be others that will help you and support you. Find these similar professionals and collaborate with them on projects to accomplish your goals. I have been very fortunate to have been able to work with some amazing professionals in the field on collaborative projects, which is good.
• Triumph over adversity and challenges: Lots of the characters are either killed or are challenged during the course of the series, but some have overcome these challenges and obstacles. The same goes with academia – persistence and hard work will allow you to accomplish your goals and objectives.  If you get a rejection from a journal, find another outlet to publish in. If you find a conference where there are tons of politics going on, find another one. Look at the potential opportunities each action can give you – and go for it. Do things that are not excepted to keep people guessing – this is one of the things that worked well with Rob Stark with his war efforts in the book.

In summary, what are seeing here is a connection to the TV and book series with academia. There are times where we see great challenges ahead of us and that there are some things life throws at us in our field that are not fair. It is how we handle these situations and overcome them that makes us stronger, which is one of the lessons we can take away from Game of Thrones.

Staying focused, working hard, and thinking outside the box and formulating teams are just a few best practices we can look at when operating in the field of academia. We are seeing this become more of a trend and challenge for young professionals trying to establish themselves in the field and the growing pressures due to the tough economy and lack of job opportunities.  It’s definitely tough out there. As they say in Game of Thrones – winter is coming.

Hope you all are having a great day.

Best Wishes,

Karen

I thought I saw it all when it came to how brands would respond to customer reviews and interactions on social media.  Well, now I have seen one example that really surprised me from a crisis and social media perspective.

With Amy’s Baking Company in Arizona, I think they have set a whole new standard to how not to respond to online criticism via Facebook.  Here’s their Facebook page if you want to check this out for yourself. Buzzfeed gave a detailed account on the various posts, social media updates, and interactions the bakery had with others on Facebook in their article as well. Consumerist also highlighted this particular case as well on their page with some updates as well.

It all came up due to being on Gordon Ramsey’s famous reality TV show called “Kitchen Nightmares” and this actually was the first time that the well-known chef actually quit the show – which was pretty surprising in its 82 episode history. There are two videos from the show related to this business on this website as well or can watch the full episode here.

What we are seeing here is a translation from behavior offline and it is happening online – and the reputational damage for both of these cases is huge.

There are many issues here to look at with this case, but what has escalated a already tense situation on the show to a whole other level is the behavior displayed via social.  This case has become viral and everyone – from traditional media to crisis communication professionals – has started commenting, sharing, and disseminating this information across multiple platforms and channels online.

I’ve seen many crisis situations emerging from brands online, but this one I think takes the cake as being the most extreme one I’ve seen in my years working in social media and crisis communications.

I think Gordon Ramsey handled himself appropriately in the show and you could see his emotion that he wanted to help this business, but he couldn’t help people that didn’t want help. What is shocking about the clips from the show and what is being played out online is the fact that this is behavior that is displayed publicly – so we have to wonder what happens when there is no filming crew or interactions online.

Hope you all are having a great day.

Best Wishes,

Karen

I was pretty surprised when I saw this article on LinkedIn titled “Don’t go to Grad School.” The post was written by Penelope Trunk, who is co-founded Brazen Careerist, which is a new generation career management tool. While Ms. Trunk stated in her bio on her website that she did indeed go to graduate school for English, but did not mention whether or not she finished the program.  However, she did document her activities in graduate school in this post - some were quite surprising admissions. With this in mind, after reviewing this article by Ms. Trunk, I personally did not attribute any credibility to it as a source and authority on whether or not someone should go on for a graduate degree.

As someone who has not only gone on for a Master’s degree but also a doctoral program [and graduated with her degrees], I can say not only have I grown as a professional and scholar in the field of public relations, but also as a person.  Graduate school has not only transformed my learning capabilities and knowledge in the field, but opened the door to numerous opportunities and connections I would have not had otherwise.

To address some of Ms. Trunk’s comments – my parents did not pay for my graduate school – I did.  I paid for my Master’s degree by competing as a track and field athlete at the University of Southern California where I was an All-American and school record holder in the shot put. So, if you saw the tuition for USC recently for graduate school, you can see that it is not “free.”

In addition, writing papers and exporting these emerging issues and concepts allow you to be able to articulate this with some authority. Yes, it is a tough market out there for jobs, but graduate degrees are not only recommended now, but are expected for applicants because they bring great value to them for their future careers. Plus, there are so many additional points that you learn along the way in graduate school to take into consideration.

Why should you GO to graduate school?   There are several reasons why and I would be happy to share them with you:

• Opportunities to explore and contribute to research and practice: What graduate school allows you do to is explore what has already been done and what questions have not been answered.  Being in an environment where you are with classmates asking the same questions from various perspectives is really enlightening.  Also, having premier scholars in the field as professors who have both researched and worked in the field is key to have.  We were able to have some of the leading PR pros come into my classes at USC to share their experiences and expertise – and I would not have gotten this otherwise if it wasn’t for being in graduate school.
• Practicing how to present your insights and expertise on a subject:  Yes, graduate school has a lot of papers and presentations you have to do – but this is essential to become an expert in the field. Having the experience to present, refine, and articulate your insights with others is key to establish credibility as a source on a subject. I can’t tell you how many presentations and papers I had to write in my six years of graduate school – but it was a lot. However, all of these activities have helped me become the person I am today and what I am currently doing in social media and PR practice and research.
• Learning beyond the classroom: With graduate school, you have to think about what opportunities you can take advantage of during your time that will make you marketable for the workplace.  Internships are a huge plus, and with the USC International Internship Program, I was able to spend four months in South Africa working in PR and with various clients.  I was able to build networking opportunities and focus on my PR skills during this time.  I would not have had this experience otherwise if it wasn’t for graduate school. This one experience shifted my way of thinking both professionally and personally, and resulted in my interest to grow and expand my horizon to other ventures. Since I was in South Africa, I presented research in various countries including China (2008), The Netherlands and Greece (2009), Brazil (2010), Milan and Australia (2012), and will be heading to Spain and China in a few weeks to present.
• Respect for advanced degrees: Whether or not Ms. Trunk wants to admit it, there is still a huge amount of respect for advanced degrees. You do see a lot of graduate degrees out there, but not too many – if graduate school was early, everyone would have a graduate degree.  Graduate school is hard work – not only at the Master’s level – but especially at the PhD level.  We’d see a lot more PhDs around if it was easy.
• Gives you options:  Graduate school does give you more options as well. With a graduate degree, you are able to consult or work at an agency if you are pursuing a PR degree.  Also, you are able to teach at the college level. However, another benefit for graduate school is the fact that it does teach you adaptability. If something comes your way, you can go down another path.  Personally, for me – I am able to say I am a researcher and professor – but I am also a consultant. I wear many caps, and graduate school as allowed me to do this. If I just got a bachelor’s degree, my options would be fewer in number.

With this in mind, while Ms. Trunks is entitled to her own opinion, we have to understand the overall purpose of what graduate school is all about.  Graduate school is NOT easy – it takes hard work, perseverance, and dedication to achieving your goal.  However, graduate school is very rewarding in that it is an investment towards your future and a time to become more of a lifelong learner in your craft – it’s really about becoming an expert in the field of study you are passionate about. Graduate school is about focusing on refining your skills as a professional and scholar in the field while being able to sustain this learning ability for the future.

We are always going to be students of life and lifelong learners, and graduate school is part of the equation.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen

Just some of the statistics related to cyberbullying are pretty amazing – however, this issue has been around for years before the age of social media.  It seems these numbers are growing each day as the technology and platforms evolve.  First there were discussion boards and websites, then it was Facebook and Twitter, and now we are seeing cases involving Instagram and Snapchat.

Melissa Agnes has a great list of resources and best practices on how to deal with cyberbullying and social media. This past week, I was invited to do an interview with WAVE3 News here in Louisville on the subject of cyberbullying. I think this is a very important issue to discuss since social media continues to evolve and change every day.

Interview w/ WAVE 3 News on cyberbullying & social media

I sat down with Scott Adkins of WAVE 3 News for the interview where I showed him various resources like Samepoint, Social Mention, and Statigram for parents to use to track hashtags, monitor usernames, and document conversations that could be considered to be inappropriate. In case you want to see the interview, here’s a Ptch of the interview I had with Scott. Thanks again to WAVE3 News for inviting me to be part of their story related to this important issue.

With cyberbullying, not only was I talking about this issue from a professional researcher/professor perspective, but I have been on the other side as well. I have experienced cyberbullying first hand as a student-athlete in track and field.  My first lesson came actually when I was first starting out in track and field when I was 14 years old on a discussion board dedicated to the throwing events.  What was amazing was to see who these individuals were – some were athletes, but there were coaches and parents as well who were involved.

There were many lessons I learned through this experience, which helped me become the person I am today.  I had an ongoing conversation with my parents growing up on this very issue – and I think this is key for parents and children to realize today.  I’ve shared my experiences not only with others, but also with my students who are taking my social media classes.

In summary, bullies are out there – one of the lessons I learned early on is that not everyone is going to like you. However, what we need to do is to know what steps to take to protect yourself and those you care about online and what tools and resources we have at our disposal to help handle the situation accordingly. Taking action proactively in this situation is key.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Best Wishes,

Karen