The summer is almost done, but there are a couple of things that remind me of what happens in August. First of course is the fact school will be starting, and I will be beginning my fifth year teaching at the University of Louisville. Amazing how time flies by! Second, August marks the start of the 2015-2016 academic and research calendar and one of the major PR conferences also happens in this month.
I will be heading to San Francisco for one of my favorite conferences – AEJMC. I have been going pretty much every year (only time I missed was due to my dissertation being on the day the papers were due in 2011). I really enjoy not only the atmosphere, but the connections and people you are able to meet along the way.
This conference will be a busy one for me. While I am not the social media chair any more for the PRD (the fabulous Geah Pressgrove is and is doing a tremendous job!), I am now the communication manager. This role is pretty cool in my opinion and a new one for the PRD. I am excited and thrilled to have this great opportunity.
I will be presenting during two (well, actually three) panel sessions. The first one is actually a workshop on Twitter analytics on Wednesday. It will be fun to be part of the roundtable sessions to answer questions about analytics and what professors need to know about the program to share with their students. Should be fun! I will also be talking about the risks and challenges associated with social media and crisis communications. I am excited to be part a great panel with professors Chip, Jeremy, and Melissa.
The last session is the top teaching paper, and I am thrilled to be presenting a research project I had a chance to work on about Hootsuite University! It was a true honor to work with leading professors and researchers (as well as the team at Hootsuite) on this project. We also got first prize for the teaching competition as well! Congrats to Emily Kinsky (West Texas A&M), Carolyn Mae Kim (Biola), Matt Kushin (Shepherd University), and Bill Ward (Syracuse University) for this great project!
Another thing I am very excited about for AEJMC is to be able to see some long time and great friends of mine in the field. It will be great catching up with everyone. Plus, I will be bringing a guest along with me as well. Mom (the original Dr. Freberg) will be attending her very first PR conference. Very excited to have Mom come with me and see what I am doing in my field.
If you want to follow along with what is going on at the conference, feel free to connect with me on Twitter (@kfreberg) or follow the #AEJMC15 (main conference hashtag) or #PRProfs (PRD hashtag) to see what people are talking about from the research presentations and activities. For my fellow colleagues heading to San Francisco, see you in a few days and safe travels!
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
