And, just for the fun of it, check out this hysterical video by Sarah Silverman. (note: some may find it offensive)

Sorry about my recent absence in the blogging world.  My life has been chaotic lately… to put it lightly.  So, I’m getting back into the groove and actually setting aside some time to work on this lovely little blog.  I have lots of updates to share with everyone.

1. I’m getting married!! After about 4 years of dating, Aaron and I are finally tying the knot.  I was 100 percent wrong when I told people that he would be buying a big screen TV before a ring. Sorry Aaron, I stand corrected. (note: the TV was purchased approximately one week after the engagement) We picked August 29, 2009 and I cannot wait!  The wedding web site is in the works, the half-finished version of it can be found at www.abby-aaron.com.

2. I have OFFICIALLY moved to Cincinnati.  I couldn’t be happier about the move and I am excited to be starting my PR career in such a great city. The social media ties are strong here and I can only assume they will get stronger in the future. Thanks to everyone who has helped with the transition– mainly Kevin Dugan. Dude, you rock.

3. Aaron and I are buying a house! Our apartment lease is up in December, so we are on the lookout for a nice little starter home somewhere around Cincinnati.  If anyone has suggestions, please send them my way. I am a little partial to the east side of town

That’s about it for now. I have decided to change my blog a little bit.  I am still focusing on PR-related things, but some personal things are also going to be incorporated into some posts. I hope everyone is okay with this. Don’t worry, I promise to deliver some humor.  That’s all for now… thanks for reading. I will be back soon, I promise!

4 Things You Like About Summer

1. Baseball. And lots of it. Now, if only the Tribe could win some games!

2. Ice cream stands!

3. More hours of daylight

4. Swimming. Note to self: must invest in a swimming pool when I purchase first home.

4 of Your Favorite Vacation Destinations

1. Cincinnati… that works out pretty well since I am now living there

2. NYC

3. Put-in-Bay/Port Clinton – it doesn’t get any better than drinking some beers on the lake with old friends

4. I agree with Miss Swanson on this last one… undoubtedly, some friend’s wedding location. (I will be attending 11 weddings this year… )

4 of Your Favorite Summer Foods

1. Ballpark hot dogs with stadium mustard

2. Lemonade… Mmmm mmmmm

3. Ice cream (preferably Aglamesis Bros. )

4. Corn on the cob

4 Concerts Not to Miss

1. Kenny Chesney (Sarah, we need to plan this!)

2. Journey (with the new YouTube sensation lead singer )

3. Dave Matthews Band (as long as its not ridiculously humid like last year at Riverbend)

4. O.A.R.

4 Things to Avoid in the Summer

1. Falling asleep in the sun without sunscreen ( Trust me, it’s never a good idea. Just ask my sunburnt/ swollen shut eyes about it )

2. Staying indoors

3. Dehydration. (esp. when alcohol is involved)

4. Large quantities of sweaty people– Ewww!

Okay, now it’s tagging time. There seems to be a lot of ladies passing this meme along, so I am going to include some fellas in the mix! Tag, you’re it:

Paull Young ( it would be interesting to hear an Aussie point of view on this)

Luke Armour

Bill Sledzik

Doctor Anonymous ( miss you! We all need to hang out again soon!!)

Kevin Dugan

Just a little note to remind you all that Podcamp Ohio will be held this weekend in the glorious city of Columbus, Ohio. The event is FREE. Yes, I said FREE. If you are scratching your head right now asking yourself, “What the hell is a Podcamp?” — Please visit the Web site here.

If you are being highly productive and don’t have time to scan the site for information, then why are you reading my blog?!?! Just kidding of course. Here is a brief overview:

WHAT: A conference that helps connect people interested in blogging, social networks, podcasting and new media. Attendees can learn, share, and grow their new media skills with others.

WHEN: June 28, 2008 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

WHY: You will learn all sorts of really cool things about the various aspects of social media. It’s also a great way to meet new folks who love to do the same things as you! (translation: NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK)

Some of the sessions that are being offered include, but are not limited to:

Managing Multiple Online Identities by Daniel Johnson Jr.

Small Words: The Power of Twitter by Michelle Lentz

What NOT To Do: Podcasting and other Social Media Anti-Tips by Luke Armour and Paull Young

WordPress 201: Beyond the Basics by Mitch Canter

Dude, Your Podcast Sucks: Six Steps to a Powerful Podcast by Doug Petch

To see the full list of sessions, please click here.

Obviously, I am very excited about the event. I can’t wait to learn more about the different types of social media and how they all work together. Plus, I get to hang out with some pretty sweet people in the process. (Cough, cough) –my favorite Aussie Paull Young, Kait Swanson, Luke Armour, Constantin Basturea, and Michael Denton to name a few. Come join us for a great weekend!!

So, this brings me to my insightful “Bucket List” blog post. It’s a start to a list of things I would like to accomplish before I die. If you have done any of these things or you think there is something else I should try (I generally will try anything), please feel free to share your comments/insight.

1. Visit Venice, Italy and ride on a gondola.

2. Sit on a hill overlooking the Golden Gate bridge and watch a California sunset.

3. Go to the Olympics.

4. Write a book. (much like my friend Bob… everyone should go buy his book– it’s simply fabulous! )

5. Be my own boss.

6. Marry the love of my life.

7. Learn to play the piano.

8. Go skiing in Colorado.

9. Be a mommy and a best friend to my children.

10. Drive across the country.

11. Be a role model to someone.

12. Go to Disney World AND Disney Land.

13. Stay in a penthouse at the Bellagio in Vegas – hehe that’s just a fun one

14. Buy a house with a big wrap-around porch (with rocking chairs)

15. Sit next to Tom Hamilton while he gives a play-by-play at an Indians game.

16. Swim with dolphins.

17. Run a marathon.

18. Visit Sydney, Australia ( shout-out to Paull Young on that one! )

19. Travel Europe with my mom.

20. Own my own coffee shop.

So, there’s a start. Hopefully I can cross some of these off the list soon. But, I will probably add more to replace the ones I accomplished! Ahhh…. that felt good. Fellow PR folks and social media butterflies… sorry if this post bores you– but no fears, an insightful PR post is being crafted as we speak.

Has anyone seen the new music video ehhh…. speech put to music…. ehhhhh coolest thing ever from Barack Obama lately? Well, if you haven’t, you should probably take a look or this post will make no sense to you. Firstly, I would like to applaud will.i.am for pulling such great performers together and making a musical piece that is so inspiring. I am positive that Mr. Obama is also applauding and thanking you for all the publicity he has received from the video.

This particular video is another perfect example of how to use interactive tools such as streaming video and YouTube to drive a point home and promote oneself. The video was posted on YouTube three days ago and already has 1,205,535 views. How many of these people have never paid attention to politics before now? How many thought the video was inspiring enough to motivate them to vote in today’s election? How many people passed the video link along to their friends and family? I know I did. It’s amazing how fast these things can move huh?

I am already a big fan of Barack Obama. I think he brings a nice, fresh breath of air to a struggling society. After I saw the speech/music video yesterday, I thought to myself “Hmm…. maybe he gets this whole social media thing.” I would say he does. Look at his website. He not only features the video on the very first page, but he has a blog, streaming web video from events across the country and an interactive map used to locate local events. Oh yea, he has that whole social media thing going on down in the right-hand corner of the page too. It lists all the different tools he is using to connect to people.

As you read about the election coverage today and listen to the results later this evening, think about Obama’s strategy. I would venture a guess that he is gaining a LOT of younger votes. Every time I log in to Facebook, Myspace or Youtube,something about Obama is there to greet me. Sounds like a good strategy to me since the average user spends somewhere around 160 minutes per month on Facebook.

Other candidates are doing the same, but I think Obama has integrated his social media tactics better than anyone else on the ballot. If candidates are trying to win presidential elections while using these tactics, I think PR professionals should start using them too. I’m sure many clients would love to see their product’s video receive hundreds, thousands or millions of hits on Youtube. Once again, embrace these changes PR professionals! And go vote too!

While I was running around playing Santa, I came across a holiday greeting from England. I did a double take while scanning over some YouTube videos and sure enough, there she was–Queen Elizabeth. Apparently, the British monarchy has its own YouTube channel. The channel was started two months ago and has received millions of hits from its 19 posted videos. The 2007 Christmas broadcast from Queen Elizabeth was posted on Dec. 20 and already has nearly 450,000 hits. The 1957 Christmas broadcast, which features a special message from a much younger Queen Elizabeth, debuted the same day as the 2007 broadcast. As of this evening, it had more than 800,000 views. You do the math. People ARE watching.

Change is inevitable. As public relations professionals we must embrace the change in technology and all around us. Let’s face it. If an 81-year old woman can post videos on YouTube, so can a middle-aged PR professional. Social media channels like YouTube, Flickr, WordPress and others make it possible to reach a large audience in an effective way. With the American consumer spending an average of 14 hours online a week, it would be stupid not to tap into this resource. So, I urge you, public relations professionals, to embrace the change of online media. After all, a social media New Year’s resolution beats a diet resolution any day… right?

As for you Queen Elizabeth… you go girl!

I hope everyone is having a happy holiday season so far. As a present to my readers, I have decided to write an entertaining little post. It isn’t 100 percent PR-driven, but it should make your Friday go a little better. Enjoy!

1. I have more than 1,000 views on my blog! Yippeeee!

I have found this whole blogging experience to be pretty sweet. I have the chance to write about whatever is on my mind, ranging anywhere from the 2008 presidential election to the Cleveland Indians. And, apparently people are reading it. Very cool. Bill told me at the beginning of the fall semester that I had the “blogging bug.” I laughed it off, but then it became a harsh reality. I am not joking when I say I have got up at 3 a.m. and thought to myself, “I should blog about this or that.” I must say it’s rather addicting and oh-so-fun at the same time. Here’s to another great year of blogging!

2. Go Team Cincinnati!!!

So, I am a bit of a TV nerd. Now that I have no classes to keep me occupied, I have been spending my weeknights in front of the television. As you all know, I have a love for Cincinnati. It’s one of my favorite places to visit ( and not only because Aaron lives there .) Clash of the Choirs was on television this week. For all you who don’t watch the cheesy reality shows, here is a quick synopsis. Celebrities go back to their hometowns and assemble choirs. Then, they fly to NYC for a week and compete for a grand prize of $250,000. The money is then given to the hometown charity of choice. In Cincinnati’s case, the charity was Children’s Hospital. It was quite a victory for Cincinnati, and all of Ohio. I was pretty excited about it– especially because the choir did a version of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.” Take that puzzled look of your face and check out the choir’s version of the song here. I think anyone who can pull this off deserves to win.

3. Welcome to the blogging world Rob Jewell!

Everyone that reads my blog knows that I am very proud of the Kent PR program and all it has taught me over the past four years. I read Bill’s blog on a daily basis. Now, I am happy to welcome another great professor to the blogosphere. Everyone should check out Rob’s blog, PR on the run. Rob is a great teacher. He always encouraged me to do my best. He pushed me to excel, but always provided positive feedback. I am excited to continue my PR education through his blog. Bill– two professors down, how many more to go?

Okay, enough rambling for one day. Merry Christmas everyone!

For some sick humor, check out my new favorite Youtube video. If you are easily offended, you may want to avoid playing the video. But, I laugh every single time I watch it.

I apologize for being MIA for the past month or so, but I am proud to tell you all that I have completed my last ever college class. Wooooo Hoooooo. I must say it is a surreal experience. I am excited, scared shitless and so very anxious all at the same time. I am lucky enough to have obtained an internship until May, so the pressure of finding a job immediately is not here quite yet. So, I am taking this time to relax and de-stress myself… and of course to update my blog! I have wanted to post more in the past month, but I had this little class called PR Campaigns that consumed my entire life. I am back in the saddle again, so I hope everyone is still interested in this blog.

After reading about the infamous Wired magazine post singling out PR professionals who pitched stories unrelated to the magazine or simply put no effort into researching the magazine or the authors, I found this insightful post from Linda Vandevrede. It’s a must-read for all PR professionals who actually do their job the right way. Linda gives 10 reasons why people should not hate PR practitioners. My favorites are:

• They’re much easier to talk to than other professions. (Ever attend an engineering or accounting conference?)
  I agree. PR professionals are trained in the art of communication. We all know that newspaper or magazine journalists need extra information when deciding to write a story. Wouldn’t you rather talk to someone who knows how to explain things thoroughly? If not, then by all means, try to communicate with a lawyer or an accountant. I am pretty sure you will find it to be rather difficult.

• They’ve deliberately chosen a field where there is little control and few thank you’s. PR professionals realize that most of the hard work they do will never be credited to them. They will attract attention through media outlets, and no one will realize they were the ones who did all the research and compiled the information. Pat yourselves on the back journalists, you are the ones who will receive Pulitzer prizes.

• They don’t care how you communicate with them. They’ll respond to emails, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, cell phones, smoke signals, you name it.
  PR professionals’ goal is to get publicity for their company/organization. They are constantly trying to communicate with the media. Since the overall goal is to gain a noticeable presence in media, they will do everything they can to get back to your questions and concerns.

I agree that some public relations practitioners have become lazy due to online media options, but the vast majority of PR professionals still work hard to accomplish goals. We research for endless hours and then try to see our work come to fruition in the media. If we hold ourselves accountable and work as hard as we know we should be working, it will all fall into place. One last point. Research. Research. Research.