prclass

By: Alison Geraghty

For those who are not sure what podcasting is, you may be categorized as a blinking 12.  Blinking 12, as I have learned from http://www.podcast411.com/f12.html is someone who is technologically challenged.  They are those who can not figure out how to program their VCR after a power shortage and when you walk into their living room you notice the clock blinking 12:00.  These people are not exactly technologically savvy and so explaining something such as podcasting could prove to be a challenge.

For all of those Blinking 12’s, podcasting is something like a radio show that plays off of your computer, or if desired your MP3 Player. To receive a podcast you must subscribe to a show, which usually costs nothing.  After you are registered as a subscriber, the podcast is automatically downloaded onto your computer when it becomes available. After the podcast is downloaded onto your computer you have a few options.  First, you may listen to it immediately by pressing play, or secondly, you can transfer it to your MP3 player and listen to it while tackling other tasks such as, taking your dog for a walk or hitting the gym.  In a society where we have so much to accomplish with so little time, podcasts are great for multi-tasking.

Podcasts are one of the greatest tools that a public relations representative can make available to them self. As a public relations and communication representative we are expected to stay ahead of the trends and technologies. Subscribing to podcasts will help us to stay on top of current events and help us better understand our target audiences.  We can listen to our podcasts while in the car driving to the next meeting, or whenever it is convenient!

One of the easiest ways for a public relations practitioner to get a message out to their target audience is through podcasting. People are able to search the web for podcasts relevant to them. Once they have searched for a topic that interests them, they can download it onto their computer.  All a public relations person needs to do is write and produce a podcast. “If you build it, they will come” is a line from a great movie called Field of Dreams.  Listeners love podcasts because it works around their own individualized schedules.

It can not get much easier for communicators trying to get our messages out. Life just got that much easier! Let’s take advantage of this cost effective tool and get our messages out there. If you would like to do further research and see how podcasting has helped in the sales department for a small business, go to:  http://podonomics.com/i-do-i-do-podcast/. It’s a great case study that shows how podcasting can prove to be beneficial to any business.

I strongly encourage all public relations practitioners and communicators to jump on the bandwagon before the wave hit’s hard. Start learning about podcasting and how you can use it to your advantage. It proves to be the next biggest thing in our industry!

The United States’ Federal Emergency Response Agency (FEMA) has been a public relations (PR) embarrassment for most of its history. Recently, it was the scapegoat for everything Hurricane Katrina related. Headlines reagarding FEMA’s reaction to the disaster read: “Aid workers turned away at the Louisiana border”, “Housing Trailers sitting in empty warehouses”, “Hundreds of New Orleans stuck inside the Convention Centre”. What I uncovered in my research was that most of the accusations against the federal agency were in fact true, but that the agency had also done some good in the past. Unfortunately FEMA’s poor performance in the wake of hurricane Katrina left Americans and the US government wondering if FEMA is still an effective government body in its current form.

Since its inception in 1979, FEMA has been a flawed and heavily criticized government body. Originally formed as a one-stop shop for previous federal emergency response groups, the agency had a lot of ground to cover. Former groups such as the Federal Insurance Administration Program, the National Fire Prevention, and even Civil Defense from the Department of Defense and Civil Preparedness all merged together under the unified FEMA. For 27 years, the agency has endured continual restructuring of roles, reshuffling of management and changes to scopes of practice with each newly elected government.

The area of Civil Defense has proved to be FEMA’s downfall because it takes the agency’s focus away from natural disaster relief. This area was removed from FEMA’s jurisdiction in the 1990s. This resulted in positive representation in the media for FEMA because the agency was able to focus on natural disaster relief. There were constant pictures of aid workers providing relief to affected areas and large cheques were written out to communities in need. This period of good public relations lasted until the events of 9/11. In 2003, national security/terrorism was added once again to FEMA’s scope. The agency changed from a cabinet position within the government to one part of many federal organizations banded together under the newly formed Department of Homeland Security.

 In September 2003, Michael Brown, then FEMA’S director, worried about this shift of focus. He was concerned that FEMA’s motto of, “A nation prepared” would fundamentally sever FEMA from its core functions. He also felt that it would, “shatter agency morale and break longstanding and effective relationships and first responder stakeholders”. He went on to say that all of the reorganization would, “be an ineffective and uncoordinated response to a terrorist attack or a natural disaster”. Take a look at all of the FEMA directed criticism following Hurricane Katrina and this theory has proven true.

Over the years FEMA has endured mostly negative public opinion despite the brief period of positive relief in the 1990s. In 1985, FEMA was criticized for developing crude plans for guarded camps during the Los Angeles riots in order to detain African Americans. As well in the late 1990s, the agency deemed homosexuals as security risks and tried to compile a list of all of the gay and lesbian workers within the agency. Incidences like these, along with Hurricane Katrina, should remind all PR practitioners and students studying public relations of the differences between crisis prevention and crisis management. All organizations, especially those dedicated to disaster relief need to have a crisis management plan in place as part of their communications plan.

Is FEMA still a relevant government body? I think in its current form, no probably not. Fortunately, for me it’s not something that I have to decide. Over a year after Hurricane Katrina, the United States government still hasn’t decided if it is or not. Despite this one thing is clear; one more public relations embarrassment will cause whatever shred of respect and clout the agency has left to disappear.

  Want to know more? Check out the sites that helped me in my research: 

FEMA’S Official Website

www.fema.gov/about.index.shtm 

The Department of Homeland Security

http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=14&content=4264&print=true 

FEMA - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title+2006Federal_Emergency_Management_Agency&pr 

FEMA after Katrina, by Patrick S. Roberts

http://proquest.umi.com/pgdweb?did=1130709681&sid=1&Fmt=4&clientld=20370&RQT=309&Vname=PQD  

 Submitted by Laura Kolstein

 Edited by Tara Wood

After researching for an assignment on Offshore Labour, there are many trends and themes, which are common to this topic. Today, I am going to post a blog on one of the trends relating to Offshore Labour.  A reason why businesses and companies rely on offshore labour is to reduce costs and to be more effective.

My research for this class assignment is mostly from journal articles and some internet articles from websites. To start, technological advancements are very important to area of Offshore Labour. In order for Offshore Labour to be effective and for companies to perform well, having a knowledge of the different technological tools is important. The host country relies on technology tools for communication purposes. Without these technological tools the host country would not have an efficient or profitable base to their profit. Hence, it is important companies research and know their labour force offshore.

The term “Outsourcing” is relavant to offshore labour. I performed a search on the definition of Outsourcing on google.ca, and it defines outsourching as taking the internal company functions and paying an outside firm to handle them. Outsourcing is done to save money, improve quality, or free company resources for other activities. In regard to Offshore Labour, all these are primary motives and reasons why companies offshore labour. Hence, it is apparent the theme of cost savings and effectiveness is relavent here.

In today’s global market, companies and businesses are primarily just interested in making money and or profit. With the research I have compiled for this class project, I strongly believe, Offshore Labour will continue to occur in the future. In regard to Public Relations, the practitioner must be able to communicate globally and know the language of the country where the labour is being offshored. Even though, offshore labour is done to save money and be more effectivess, research and culture are very important when considering offshore labour.

Here are some of the sources I used in my research:
Davison, D. (2003, December 9). Top 10 Risks of Offshore Outsourcing. Tech Update. Retrieved October 7, 2006 from Google.ca search engine on the World Wide Web: http://www.METAgroup.com

Kakumanu, P. & Portanova, A. (2006, September 1). Outsourcing: Its Benefits, Drawbacks and Other Related Issues. Journal of American Academy of Business,9 (2), 1-7. Retrieved September 21, 2006 from ProQuest Database on the World Wide Web: http://www.lib.uwo.ca

. King, W. (2006 summer). Offshoring decision time is at hand. Information Systems Management,23 (3), 102-103. Retreived September 23, 2006 from ProQuest Database on the World Wide Web: http://www.lib.uwo.ca

Jamie Gill, CC&PR Edited

Digital copyright is an area where the technology has advanced a lot faster than the laws and social codes.  Both companies and consumers have been unsure how to proceed, with companies refusing to advance at the rate needed and consumers wanting more.  The emergences of companies, such as iTunes, who exist in the newer technological realm, have paved the way for a new type of consumption: digital media.

The fact that most companies did nothing to change the way we consume media or the laws surrounding media consumption, created a bit of chaos once digital media became popular.  People wanted to buy it, but had no legal way to do so.  By falling behind the new technologies, companies missed out on opportunities and alienated customers.  In my opinion, music was the first area to deal heavily with this problem, followed by movies and television.

                        Currently, companies are trying to play catch-up.  They are creating new ways for the consumers to buy and trying to adjust copyright laws to fit.  Since companies were behind in the technology, the process is slower and certain companies are still not embracing the technology as much as they could.

                        Nettwerk is an example of a music company that is embracing all of the new technology.  Terry McBride, the CEO of Nettwerk is a firm believer in following the technology.  Nettwerk has been releasing music in different formats, giving consumers the choice to listen the way they want.  One recent Nettwerk release has allowed fans to either buy the album normally on a cd, buy it digitally from a store like iTunes, buy it on a USB stick, as well as separating out guitar and vocal tracks, letting the fan mix their own version of a song.   Nettwerk, is helping consumers rather than suing them.  McBride has publicly opposed the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for suing the music fans and has even paid the legal fees of one of the defendants.  Being flexible and keeping up to date with technology has allowed Nettwerk to embrace the new instead of clinging to the old.  They are better equipped to serve the tech-savvy consumer and this will make them much more successful in the long run.

          It is an important lesson for public relations practitioners to stay up to date with technology.  It moves so fast and has become such an integral part of our lives that we cannot afford to fall behind.  Companies must listen to what the customers want and how they want it.  They must be versatile rather than clinging to the same old models.  Keeping up with technology and the consumer as well as being willing to try new things is what will allow companies to be successful in the long term.      

Laura - Very interesting topic.  This is such a good one for you.  Editting was pretty easy I just had one sentence I could not understand to correct.  - Mel

Links!

www.savethemusicfan.com  - Terry McBride talks about his beliefs and why music is not a commodity.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use - a brief overview of copyright and fair use laws. 

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/5t3cwW3SZQmV2npBBtrPkT0 - recent article from the CEO of EMI record label stating that the CD is dead.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june03/digital_5-01.html - an old article from when iTunes was introduced.  This shows that there has been some progress.

A PR professional must be in constant contact with a numerous amount of people at all times, because the work is ongoing and fast paced.   With all the hustle and bustle of everyday activity, it could be easy to sacrifice some business etiquette in order to save time.  The PR professional must be aware of this and make strides to improve electronic etiquette in order to facilitate, manage and keep clients and their organization pleased with their performance.  Keeping up on your etiquette, in all venues of communication can boost your credibility, which is an indispensable asset in the PR profession.

Helpful Websites:

• E-mail Etiquette Rules for Affective Email Replies

• Electronic Etiquette: Keeping the Human Element in Communication 

• E-mail Etiquette: A Quick Guide to Writing a Professional E-mail (This article concentrates on the on-line job application process.)

Edited by Laura K.