It seems to be that time of year where we are all planning on making our New Year’s resolutions. There have been some like this that have focused on a few things to improve upon on social media for PR professionals.
However, I found Stephen Waddington’s list for things to work on for the upcoming year to be a great start for professors and practitioners in PR to look at. Lots of great things for PR professionals (and professors) to continue to work on for the new year. In addition, I’d recommend looking at what Jessica Smith has written about for trends to watch in sports and social media for the next year. Awesome ideas and really exciting developments in the area of social media.
There are the usual personal resolutions I have (drinking more coffee :), continue to exercise more, and be professionally active in my field and in research. I actually got a head start on this today with a running hike with my parent’s Australian Shepherd puppy, Ronnie. She’s a sweetheart!
As a professor, there are some that I will try to do this upcoming year in 2015, but there are some others that I would encourage my fellow colleagues and students to do for the upcoming year as well. Here are some of my proposed resolutions:
- Taking time to enjoy the fresh air. I try to do something active every day, but this is not what I mean. I mean taking some time to enjoy life – so many times we see professors and others in the field get under the pressure of their jobs or tenure that they let life pass them by. Take a moment to breath, get outdoors, and be inspired by the world. You will get a fresh perspective as well as possible new ideas as you take this time to rest and rejuvenate.
- Network, network, network!: It’s not only about what you know and what you have experienced, but who knows you and will advocate for you is the name of the game for 2015. If you are a professor, it’s absolutely key to have a strong and sustainable presence on social media both for your own personal brand, as well as for your classes. #SocialProfs more than ever are going to be in high demand for 2015. I have been very grateful for all of the great professors, students, and professionals I have had a chance to meet this year because of social media. I look forward to what 2015 brings!
- Be your own coach and surround yourself with strong members in your community. At the end of the day, it does come down to you and what you decided to do for yourself. You have to be your own coach and set the tone for the year and what you want to accomplish. However, creating a “team” or community of professors, professionals, and practitioners who follow the same hard work mentality and who are willing to share/educate each other is key.
- Return on Relationship is key and needs to be invested: Take the time to invest in these relationships to formulate these communities to help you not only with your teaching, but also in your research and for your students in your classes as well. Conversations are key to engage in on social media – and I have found this to be very effective on Twitter. Once you have established these relationships, it’s key to sustain them.
- Educate yourself each and every day: Since technology is rapidly changing as we speak, it’s also going to be important to make sure you are on top of things for your classes as well as for your research. Take some time you have in your day to read a new book, catch up on a blog, participate in a Twitter chat session, or explore new videos and campaigns to share with your classes and possible use as a platform for a study. I am going to try to do more of this for this upcoming year.
- Present/Talk/Go to an event OUTSIDE your area. I know this may sound different from what others may say, but 2015 is the year where it is essential for professors to do this. Go to a conference in another field, network with fellow professors who are studying the same elements you are, and collaborate on joint projects. I’m working on this and this one has been an ongoing one for me for a few years. The result has been not only successful, but very rewarding.
- Experiment with a new idea, platform, assignment. So many people are afraid of what happens if they fail. Okay, we all have to test and test to see what works – that’s life! What’s key are the lessons we do learn from the experience. Case in point – I did this with Google Glass and there were a lot of takeaways I got from this experience and from this emerging tech.
Overall, I am very pleased with the way 2014 has gone and I am sure 2015 is going to be a great and fabulous year as well. These changes as I have listed above are just suggestions and ideas to think about – and as they say, Rome was not built in a day, so don’t try to do all of these in a single day. 🙂 Take these as a guideline for a new mindset to have for the upcoming year.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
