Flickr

Social media is the new rage, and Flickr is an online outlet for photography fanatics. Launched in February 2004 by Ludicorp, Flickr is an online photo management and sharing application that allows its members to share and network through photos and videos. I love to take photos of my friends and family, so to me it seems like a great way to do all of my editing, organizing and sharing from one Web site.

I originally had no idea how to use Flickr or what it really was, but the Web site had a helpful tour to show me each step of the photo sharing process, and even gave examples of what I could do with each feature. There were also helpful screen-print graphics that illustrated examples of what I can do with my pictures.

There are five different ways to upload pictures to the Web site, including using the Flickr Uploadr or e-mailing them from a mobile camera phone, so anyone should be able to find a way that works for them.

Flickr partnered with Picnik to edit photos, reduce red-eye, crop, rotate, change colors, add special effects and more to any photo. The example on their Web site shows how a picture of a lamb can be edited to look like it is wearing a crown and confetti is flying around it.

Once you have edited your photos, you can organize them into Sets based on a certain theme or photo subject, for example, a favorite pet or vacation spot. You can combine similar Sets into Collections, such as “World Travels” or “2007,” for even better organization. Both Sets and Collections are created by using the Organizr, which allows you to perform common tasks on multiple photos. You can also share pictures in three different categories of groups: public, public (invite only) or private. Every group has a discussion board to talk to others within the group and a pool to share photos and videos. There are also many privacy controls that you can adjust so you control who sees your pictures and what pictures you see.

Other fun features include a map that you can use to see where photos were taken, and you can use your photos to make photobooks, calendars and more.

You can also keep in touch with friends and family on Flickr by adding people as contacts whether or not they have a Flickr account. That can be a really useful tool in public relations since it helps you build and maintain relationships. Flickr allows you to easily stay up to date with what other people are doing, and they can do the same for you.

By: Lauren Rohde

Skype

The first thing that came to mind when I read the name of my new chosen technology Skype was…well that’s an interesting name. I had never heard of this new media before, nor did I have any indication of what a powerful tool it can be.

Skype is essentially software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet. This seemed rather boring at first, but reading further into it’s capabilities I’ve learned that Skype is a pretty incredible tool. Skype users have a plethora of free features and additions available at their fingertips. Some of the basic free features include a global use directory, call forwarding, instant messaging, file transfers, call logs and the added mobility that you are able to log into Skype from anywhere in the world.

Created by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friss in Tallinn, Estonia, Skye now has its headquarters in Luxembourg. In April 2003 the skype.com domain name was registered, and in 2005 eBay purchased Skype making it an official eBay product. Since this purchase Skype has experienced a dramatic growth, and is now available in 28 languages in almost every country around the world.

The only question I had was what makes this product so different that so many individuals and corporations would want it. Well, Skype has some really incredible features, especially for people looking to study abroad or who have family abroad. SkypIn has essentially made long distance phone cards obsolete. SkypeIn users can receive calls on their home computer or hand held devices that have been dialed by regular local phone numbers. This means that although Skype to Skype phone calls are free, your friends and family members do not need to be Skype users to contact you. Local numbers are available for Australia, Brazil, Chile, France, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, UK and the United States to name a few. What does this mean? Basically, a Skype user can have a local number in any of the participating countries, and will pay the same rate as any other citizen of that country would on a fixed line. I came to find out that my roommate’s best friend actually used this exact technology to contact her while studying abroad in Spain!

Imagine the possibilities that this feature alone could have on the entire make up of international affairs, both in and out of the world of public relations. It would certainly save corporations and agencies a significant amount of money, making it plausible for small agencies to connect with the rest of the world.

A few other available features that could be really useful in the field of public relations is conference calling, and video calling. Conference calling allows you to have up to five to ten people on one call depending upon the particular technology each person is using. This feature allows you to have a conference call with all the necessary contributors in one easy step without ever leaving your computer desk or wireless device.

Overall I’ve learned that Skype is a pretty good name, because the sky seems to be the limit with this new technology. It’s no wonder that Skype has become the leading internet communications company.

By: Shannon Lazo

What is a podcast?

A podcast is a digital media file that allows users to subscribe for periodic updates that can be played on a computer or a media player. Moreover, this media file can be a video or audio.

What is the big deal—why is there excitement over a simple Mp3 or Mpeg?

If you are unfamiliar with podcasts, it could be difficult to answer these questions, but it is simple.

Podcasts allow users to listen to whatever they want. Furthermore, they can listen to an endless variety of topics, whenever they want. This is a big deal because in turn, the user gains control.

‘When’ users can listen is also important. In an age where time is tremendously valued, this tool becomes a remarkable advancement. A car ride or casual walk can become a learning opportunity about any topic.

The other cool thing about podcasts is the ability for ANYONE to broadcast about any subject.

Due to this fact, educational outlets have actually begun utilizing podcasts to broadcast lessons and lectures. This is true even at the University of Georgia—if you are in new media with Dr. Shamp or in public relations research with Dr. Sweetser, you have the ability to listen to lectures online. So, if you happen to miss a class due to an unexpected emergency, you can acquire the lecture and listen to everything that was said in class.

Furthermore, if you are ambitious enough, you can actually create your own podcast.

A step-by-step procedure can be found on the Apple website.

What does this mean in terms of public relations?

In a professional setting, podcasts are also being utilized by organizations like the Public Relations Society of America. Learning about the latest trends in your respected industry is as easy as listening to the radio. Moreover, companies can keep their publics informed. When there is crucial news about a merger or crisis, companies can directly speak with their publics. The middle man is no longer relaying the message—direct communication can be achieved.

How can I get started?

Podcasts are easy to access. If you have iTunes, you can subscribe to any podcast topic you want, and once you subscribe, it will update automatically. Pick a topic that interests you and listen or watch away.

If you want to learn more about podcasts, you can visit the following links:

http://www.teachingpr.org/teaching_pr/2008/08/get-into-podcasting.html

http://www.podcasting-tools.com/what-is-podcasting.htm

By: Debbie Ebalobo

Second Life

Second Life is a virtual world created and constantly changed by its Residents. It is reminiscent of the Sims computer program in which users can create their own simulated people, buy a house, and live a virtual life. Millions of avatars, the people each member creates, inhabit this world. They can buy houses, build businesses, and sell their digital creations. Second Life includes a marketplace that supports real US dollars that can be converted to the Linden dollar, the virtual world unit of trade. This is truly a “second life” that people all around the world become members of and participates in. It is an outlet of creativity and expression.

People create all the elements that comprise a community such as art, fashion and music. Residents open up their own businesses and support themselves with actual currency. Huge aquariums are built. Places like Korea Town include a replica of the historic national treasure, Sungnyemun Gate. Weekly live concerts are held in outdoor amphitheaters. Basically, everything that goes on in real life goes on in Second Life. It seems like it may be a great escape to a not-so-great real life. But is this not a harmful alternative to being an active member of the real world? Possibly it is. Or maybe it is just a fun activity to do in spare time. It encourages people to create and experience as much or as little as they want to. For some, it allows opportunities that may not be possible in the real world.

One example of a positive role of Second Life is in a woman diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Nanci Schenkein was forced to quit her job as a wedding planner, but found comfort in her new life as­­­ Baccara Rhodes, a wedding planner as well. People pay real money for her to plan their online wedding. There are also groups of adults with illnesses like cerebral palsy who get together to create their own avatar and live through it. These virtual people can sing, dance, run, and do many things that disadvantaged people cannot do.

Also, some nonprofit organizations use Second Life to build facilities, promote campaigns, and raise awareness to audiences. For example, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) created a facility to provide interactive educational demonstrations about the ocean and weather. Second Life is a technological advancement that allows people to get, perhaps, more connected to society than they normally would.

Potential users could include virtually anyone, from teenagers to the elderly. It seems more adept for adults who want to build businesses and make money. But it could also be a place for fun and entertainment to younger crowds. Second Life appears especially beneficial to those with disabilities or those in need of a creative outlet. Second Life has grown explosively since opening to the public in 2003. There must be an appeal to all types of people in all stages of life. Where will technology lead us next?

By: Brittany Raines

Twitter

Social media is taking over the world…or at least the World Wide Web. Everyone who is anyone has joined one or more of these online networking communities. Sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are all competing to prove their usefulness to students and professionals alike. As a member of both Facebook and Myspace, I am decently familiar with these communities. Twitter, however, was uncharted territory for me. Other than what my professors and fellow students told me, I knew next to nothing about the “micro-blogging” site. A quick visit to Wikipedia and an even quicker conversation with my tech-savvy roommate showed me that Twitter appeals to the same group of people, but in an entirely different way.

My roommate explained it like this: Twitter is very similar to the “status” feature that I am constantly updating on Facebook and Myspace. A “tweet”, which is a short blurb of text that is 140 characters or less, lets people know what you are up to. It’s very much an “on-the-go” way to stay connected. Those with very little time and unlimited internet access via iPhones or other devices can update themselves on their friends’ and colleagues’ tweets quickly and easily using programs such as Twitterrific. Subscriptions through SMS, RSS, instant messages or email make the process that much faster. Even my beloved Facebook allows you to view tweets through applications on their site.

As far as posting your own tweets, that process is just as simple as viewing someone else’s. You can go through Twitter’s website, instant messaging, email, SMS or another third party application to update your profile. Twitter applications such as Twitter Blocks and Twitter Search add to the “at-a-glance” appeal of the site. According to Twitter’s company profile on Crunchbase.com, these applications allow users to search tweet conversations and see updates in a visual form.

Twitter’s potential in the PR field is immense. Presidential candidates are using Twitter as a publicity tool to keep the world updated on their status at the polls. Universities are using it to get various messages out to their students. Professionals keep in touch from all over the world, and students keep up with their friends at other schools. Business and organizations can use this technology as a quick, simple and cheap way to keep in touch with important publics and stakeholders.

Twitter’s possibilities are endless, and the convenience and simplicity gives this “micro-blogging” site an appeal that will ultimately lead to its mainstream success.

By: Rachel Atcheson

Public Relations: A Social Network Using Social Networks

I remember when AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) first came out. I was constantly logging on to talk to my friends, but after a while, I started to feel bogged down. I had things to do, and when I was available to talk, my friends were not online. It didn’t take long for me to turn back to the telephone as my primary means of communication.

Then social networking Web sites started to emerge. Social networking sites are Web services that allow you create a profile to contact your friends and network with other subscribers. The social networking Web site any particular person subscribes to depends on what they are looking for. For example, those who want to find a date might go to Match.com, but someone who wants to keep up with all of their friends might choose Facebook. Some other social networking Web sites are MySpace, a media-related social network, and LinkedIn, a networking website for professionals.
Okay, so you can create a profile. Big deal! What can you really do on social networking sites?

After you create a profile, these Web sites allow you to search for people or companies, join groups, post comments on others’ profiles, and upload picture albums.

Those are fairly common features on every social networking site, but different Web services have their own unique features. YouTube allows people to upload and view videos, but Facebook allows users to create and add applications through their platform. These applications range from sending virtual gifts to one another to inviting your closest friends to an event.

Why do I care, as a PR Professional?

Different social networking Web sites attract different crowds of people, or different publics. If my public communicates via social networks, then my job is to find out which one they are using and communicate to them through it.

Some public relations professionals communicate to their publics by uploading viral videos on YouTube. Others create a group within Facebook for their product or service. Whatever the case, social networks are becoming increasingly more important for the public relations profession.

What to Expect in the Future.

Okay, I can’t predict the future, but I know what I would like to see. I recently read a scholarly article about product placement in PR. The results of the study showed that public relations practitioners are more enthusiastic about the future of product placement than are advertisers, and I am definitely one of the enthusiastic ones! I cannot believe I have not seen more product placement within social networks already.

Companies can use Flickr, a picture-sharing network, to place their product in pictures they upload to the Web site or Facebook applications to send out virtual products. They can also use YouTube to place their product within videos, much like Hershey’s did with LonelyGirl15. Whatever the case, public relations practitioners are only beginning to tap into the technology surrounding us.


By: Erin Burry

Blogs

Simply put, a weblog, also known as a blog, is a Web site in which journal entries are posted on a regular basis. Blogs can be used for commentary, personal reflection, information, gossip and other topics such as political campaigns. The entries appear on the Web site in reverse chronological order and are available for the public to see and leave comments. A person who post entries and contributes to a blog is called a “blogger”. Bloggers most often use text in their blogs, but some of the other available features they might have are pictures, videos, music and often hyperlinks to connect the reader to other blogs or Web sites. For a more in-depth look into blogs and how they work, check out this entertaining YouTube video explaining Blogs in Plain English.

The inventor of the very first blog is still unknown, but the term “weblog” was coined by Jorn Barger in 1997. The word “blog” was not coined until 1999 when Peter Merholz broke up Bargers term into the two words “we blog”. Since then, the term has gained popularity and is used as both a noun and a verb. Here are some Important Blogging Statistics about blogs and their growing popularity in the United States.

There are many different genres in the world of blogging. Listed here are just a few.
--The most common type of blog is the personal blog. This type is used as a journal or diary where people can post about their daily experiences, thoughts, complaints, and much more. Visit Audrey Caroline's Personal Blog for one mom’s touching story.
-- Political blogs, which are often difficult to control, are also being used more often in campaigns to discuss issues and get feedback regarding elections and candidates. Visit the McCain 2008 Blog for an example.
-- Corporate blogs such as Coca-Cola's are used to promote businesses and their image as well as communicate internally and externally with employees and consumers.
-- Celebrity gossip blogs such as Perez Hilton's is also a popular way for people to read up on their favorite celebs and events in Hollywood.
--There are many other popular types of blogs. Some of the more popular include house blogs for home improvement purposes, fashion blogs, health blogs, news blogs, literary blogs, educational blogs and legal blogs (also know as blawgs).

Blogs have influenced the field of Public Relations by allowing companies to gain exposure and attention through new areas of media. Blogs are allowing companies to attract a much wider audience and are also providing this audience with a direct line of communication to the businesses. Businesses are able to establish more trust and address any company issues openly within a quick time-frame, and not to mention, with much ease.

Companies in the past, when facing controversial issues, have taken it upon themselves to address those issues on a blog to inform the public on the problem occurring. Doing this gives the company the chance to tell their side of the story and also helps them gain public trust.

By: Neila Fricks

RSS

Okay, so you see the RSS symbol just about everywhere as you are conducting your daily web-life. If you are like me (not quite as tech-savvy as the rest of Grady College seems to be) you may not know exactly what RSS is or what it can do for you. But even if you have no clue what it is, you have seen the symbol enough to be curious why it is popping up all over the web.

What is RSS?

RSS most commonly stands for "Real Simple Syndication" (although there are multiple names for it.) According to Wikipedia, "RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video in a standardized format." Put simply, it is an quick, easy way to distribute or receive news and web content, which is updated very frequently, without the hassle of surfing the web.

How does it work?

Many online publishers, such as bloggers or news organizations, syndicate their content. As new content is created, the updated information is organized into a list of notifications called an RSS feed. A special program called an RSS aggregator allows you to grab RSS feeds from various sites. It automatically checks the list of RSS feeds that you have chosen and organizes the information. It is then sent directly to you, so your mailbox does not get cluttered.

Why use RSS?

The Internet has become the most widely used way to obtain information (especially for those in the academic world.) The problem is that there is an overload of potential sources of information. It has become a tedious, time consuming process to constantly check websites whose information is important to you. Also, the content changes frequently and unpredictably. RSS has solved this problem. Notifications from many websites can now be presented to you in an organized manner.

What does this mean for the world of public relations?

Although it may not have been created specifically for this reason, RSS can be used as a valuable marketing tool. First of all, the more people that visit your site the more visible you are on search engines (the closer you are to the first page of results.) If someone adds you to their RSS aggregator they are technically visiting your site more frequently. Even though there are still many people who do not use RSS, most people do visit search engines on a regular basis. You are increasing the publics awareness of your site and/or organization. Now that is a great public relations strategy.

Also, PR2020.com points out that "RSS gives public relations professionals the ability to consume and filter much larger amounts of information."

How do I get started?

Fist you need to find an aggregator (or RSS reader). For most, an online reader is the easiest to obtain. Since gmail is so popular I would start with Google Reader, but there is also My Yahoo. Next, when you go to a site look for the RSS symbol shown above, or they may use an icon with XML or RDF.

For more information visit:

1. A great youtube video that explains RSS in simple terms

2. wikipedia

3. whatisrss.com (clever name, right?)

By: Kelli Hammock

Technorati Offers New Strategies for Public Relations Practitioners

Blogs are the newest rage in the field of Public Relations. Companies and organizations are beginning to use this new form of communication to reach their publics in a quite different way than ever before, and there are thousands of new blogs created each day. The problem, however, is how does someone go about organizing all of these blogs?

This is the question that David Sifry asked himself in 2000. His solution? Technorati, the ultimate blog search engine. It currently tracks 112.8 million blogs and more than 250 million pieces of tagged social media. Technorati is a place where bloggers can organize their favorite blogs, find new blogs, and share their own with people around the world. Technorati also tracks links and rates the relative relevance of blogs, videos and photos.

To fully understand what Technorati is all about, I decided to check it out myself. I found this site quite helpful. The headline tabs are useful to find popular topics quickly, and the search tool is also effective. Each blog has “tags” that are used for searching purposes and for finding related articles. Blogs are rated according to their relevance and popularity. However, when searching for simple topics such as, public relations, I found several top posts that did not seem relevant to what I was searching for.

I believe this search engine for the blogosphere can be an effective and helpful tool for PR practitioners. Technorati allows you to learn who is linking to your company’s blogs and what they’re saying by tracking conversations about your brand. By using the Technorati tags, you can create more exposure for your blog and generate more readers. By using Technorati, practitioners can perpetuate their strategies of furthering their company or brand.

A new approach that many companies are now taking is the use of blog advertisements, and Technorati is in the forefront of this new trend. Each page of the website has several advertisements for different companies. Advertising through social media outlets has recently become a popular trend in PR. This can be an effective tool for practitioners when trying to gain exposure for their company or organization.

PR practitioners should take advantage of what Technorati has to offer. Through creating blogs, or by making use of advertisement opportunities, companies and organizations can expand their resources and reach their publics in a new and innovated way.

Photo caption: Dave Sifry founded Technorati in 2000.

By: Samantha Riddle