Public relations and communications professional. Passionate about sports, photography, travel, friends and family. Minnesota native, looking for where life will take me next.
"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary." --aaron rose
As many people know, I am a proud member of my sorority and have no doubt that some of my fondest experiences, relationships and opportunities would not have been available to me without it. I often find myself defending my decision to join a sorority, constantly fighting stereotypes of constant partying. I’m not going to deny that I partied in college, most kids do (whether or not they join a fraternity or sorority). However, being a member of a Greek organization also opened a lot of doors for me, ones that I believe would not have been there without my affiliation. So, this series of posts will work to highlight all the things I learned while in my sorority, especially those that have helped me in the professional world.
I am not exactly sure how many learnings I will be sharing through this WMSTMA series, but I hope I can share some of the things that I learned, while expanding my creativity and writing prowess.
I have about had it with the entire late-night fiasco unfolding on NBC. While this will prove to be a learning opportunity for public relations professionals and teachers, my goal is to make some sense of this muddled situation.
Conan and Leno have made the most of the feud during their monologues and interviews, too frequently bordering on “too far,” especially in Conan’s case.
Unfortunately for NBC, one of the first official responses from NBC executive Dick Ebersol definitely did not go through his PR team:
The executive, Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports, said the reason for Mr. Leno’s return to NBC’s late-night roster after a short stint in prime time this season was a simple one: disappointing ratings for Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show.”
Referring to the pointed jokes made this week by Mr. O’Brien and David Letterman of CBS, Mr. Ebersol said it was “chicken-hearted and gutless to blame a guy you couldn’t beat in the ratings.”
He added that “what this is really all about is an astounding failure by Conan.”
So, my question is: Where do these three parties go from here? Is there a solution that will pacify the Conan-loyalists, NBC executives and Leno’s influential team?
The public nature of Conan’s show cancellation and options for a continued relationship with NBC, combined with the nature of late-night monologues and NBC failing in the ratings across the late-night line up, have made for a volatile situation. And I’m sure ABC, CBS and FOX are loving every minute of it.
I ran across this video this afternoon and wanted to share it:
Organized by Starbucks, the video highlights our ONE global community and the power of music.
From Starbucks:
On December 7th, 2009 at 1:30pm GMT Starbucks invited musicians from all over the world to sing together at the same time to raise awareness for AIDS in Africa. In that one breathtaking moment, musicians from 156 countries played “All You Need is Love” together. Watch now, as musicians from all around the world come together and share a song.
Warning: The beginning of this post is somewhat jumbled and could be frustrating to the reader. The independent thoughts are eventually completed, I promise. Just bear with me.
I am a list-maker by nature. Whether at work, school or home, I find great satisfaction in making lists and subsequently crossing off items upon completion.
Separate, but related: in participating in the Best of 2009 Blog Challenge, I tried to remember all of the highlights of 2009 and I’m sure that I forgot many great memories and moments.
So, to tie these two thoughts together, below is my list of to dos for 2010. Some are minor, while others are goals for the entire year. It is my hope that this list (by being public in nature) will help me stick to these goals. In addition, it provides a great opportunity for me to document some of the year’s achievements, no matter how small.
December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?
Sadly, I am a day late and a dollar short for this post, but I really like this topic.
I am a very lucky person, blessed with amazing friends, family and a great group of co-workers. So, naturally, when prompted to think of my best laugh of 2009, one of my first memories was while at work. So, here’s the story:
One of my co-workers, Bryan Brignac, has an irrational fear of large bodies of water. You might be thinking, well heck, that’s fairly common. However, what makes his fear irrational, is the story from which it stems. During work one afternoon, Bryan proceeded to defend his fear of water with a story he was told as a child.
Down in Lousiana, a young girl was water skiing and having a grand time. Until, however, she lost control of the tow rope and fell into the water – landing into… a nest of water moccasins. She did not survive.
Curious as to what a water moccasin even looks like, we asked Bryan to check out Google. What was the FIRST link that popped up? An urban legend Web site. Clicking on the link, we discovered that this is a popular urban legend from the south and, most importantly,water moccasins do not nest, as they are cannibalistic by nature.
I acknowledge that this story will not appear to be nearly as amusing as it was that day, but the most important piece of this post is a compliment and note of sincere appreciation for the wonderful people with whom I am blessed to work. Whether it be over lunch or in a gathering around the office, I find myself laughing every single day at the stories, mannerisms and jokes of my co-workers.
This afternoon I officially begin my holiday vacation, which consists of driving to Omaha until Saturday then returning to the Cities and continuing on to Green Bay for my first-ever Packer game at Lambeau field (cue music).
While my time at home will be relatively low-key, I am determined to maintain a healthy distance from online and social media. Blogs, Twitter and Facebook are a part of my everyday routine, but I don’t want to lose or miss out on the magic of family during the holiday season: playing board games, watching mom struggle with the Wii and enjoying movies.
That’s why I am braving a potential blizzard to drive six hours through Iowa. I’m not driving home to jump on Twitter or blog about my Christmas, recent news or any other daily ramblings I may have.
I don’t pledge a full black-out from social media, but my posts will be more scarce, tweets more infrequent. Have a wonderful holiday, and make sure to enjoy quality time with those you are with.
December 21Project. What did you start this year that you’re proud of?
Well, I suppose this might be cheating since I technically started this project in 2008, but I will bend the rules because it’s my post. The project that I am most proud to have completed in 2009 is… well, you’re reading it. My Web site.
For both Natalie Wires and myself, getting our Web sites up and running was a constant on the to-do list. Finally, in November (with enormous amounts of thanks to David Erickson for his technical prowess and encouragement) we hit publish and were off to the blogging races.
This project continues to be a challenge for me to maintain and update. However, it is no longer a nagging task and is instead slowly transitioning into something that I enjoy and comes naturally.
Thank you to all of you who stop by to check me out every now and again. I really appreciate it. If you haven’t already, please leave a comment when you are compelled – and if I haven’t compelled you to comment, then I need to do a better job in 2010
Also, if you have your own blog, let me know! I am looking for new ones to read and great people to learn from.
Public relations and communications professional. Passionate about sports, photography, travel, friends and family. Minnesota native, looking for where life will take me next.
and enjoying movies.