Proper Etiquette in a Faceless World

Online Etiquette

    Having never blogged in my life I had no idea there was etiquette for online usage. In my online journalism class my professor has required readings that we must read every week. The readings for this week were four articles on proper internet etiquette. After reading these articles I found that the same etiquette you use every day is applied to online conversation. However, there are a few new rules that must be taken into consideration because there is no face to face contact and you must be careful how you state things.

    In the social media world you can be whoever you want to be, but that does not give someone the right to act in ways they wouldn't act in public. Everyone is human and whether or not the person you're in contact with is a friend or someone you have never seen in your life they are entitled to some respect. If you are respectful to others they will be respectful to you and proper online etiquette just falls in naturally when you act in that manner.

My first press release ever; done in class in 15 minutes

Jan. 27, 2010

Social Media Club of Cache Valley

President Preston Parker

851 N. Main St., Logan Ut 84321

661-772-7537

Welcoming the Social Media Club to Cache Valley

Introducing the newly formed Social Media Club of Cache Valley

    Social media is a new way of interacting with others through the internet. This evolutionary experience has come through the rising generation and has brought to the surface the power of YouTube, tweeting, Facebook, and blogging.     

The Social Media Club of Cache Valley is new chapter of the national social media organization headquartered out of San Francisco, California. The club is run by President Preston Parker who was elected to his position in July 2009 when the club was organized. Parker is aided by a board of six members.

United Breaks Guitars

Dave Carroll vs. United Airlines

    With over 7 million hits on you tube, Dave Carroll and his music video "United Breaks Guitars" is a prime example of the power of social networking. In my opinion this was the best thing that Carroll could have done. After being bounced around by United and finding no answers he brought his story to the general public. He even warned United before he posted his video, but neither United nor Carroll new the impact his $150 video would have. Carroll's video went viral within five days and to the great surprise of United a simple disgruntled customer became a national problem for them. United watched as their stock dropped $300 million within a week of the video release. Now instead of handling the matter privately they had the entire country watching every move they made.

    In my opinion Dave Carroll followed all the procedures that anyone else in his situation would have done. He was probably polite to an extent and he made no outlandish threats to the company. All Carroll wanted was for United to pay for the damages to his $3,500 guitar, instead United kept him going in circles without any answers. I feel that he appealed to the public because he wasn't angry or mean with his video, but just simply stated what had happened and how he was treated.

    United on the other hand couldn't have handled this any worse. I am sure they get many threats from disgruntled passengers and they could not have known the impact this video would have on them, but not offering anything in exchange for the damage is just simply bad customer service. Once they had realized the impact of Carroll's video however, they still couldn't do the right thing. United tried to buy off Carroll, this didn't help the situation at all. The one thing United did do correctly was to comply with Carroll's wishes and donate the money to a charity; even then United's reputation was below retrieval.

    I think the reason the situation hit national scale in the manner that it did was because everyone has had that bad experience with an airline, but this publicized event was a way people could make the airline held accountable through one person. Dave Carroll was honest and up-front with everything that had happened to him and everything United was doing. United mishandled the entire situation and paid the price for it in their stocks. Carroll made sure to put himself in good light with public by being honest and frank, while United came across as shady and deceiving. The public wants honesty and if United had simply stated what was going on and what they were doing to make it better, the situation for them would have been less harsh.

Letter to Cousin

Dear Kelli,

I know you have asked me many times what public relations is and I have simply answered that it is relations with the public, but I have decided to explain to you what it is exactly that I am studying in school. In official terms public relations is defined as a leadership and management function that helps achieve organizational objectives, define philosophy, and facilitate organizational change. Professionals in the public relations field help others establish and maintain effective relationships with third parties. However, the very nature of public relations is constantly changing and adapting to the needs of society which make it difficult to create a standardized definition.

Public relations may sound like a new term or a new position that has been created within the cooperate world, but public relations has been used for thousands of years in one form or another. Plato was a rhetorician, the forerunner to modern-day public relations, who wrote speeches for important government officials and helped to form public opinion over Greek matters. The Crusades, the actions of Martin Luther, and the quest of the conquistadores seeking El Dorado have all been examples of ancient public relations.

Public relations involves a wide range of disciplines that include research, fund-raising, multicultural affairs, issue management, media relations, community relations, employee relations, publicity, and promotion. A public relations professional has to be urgent, flexible and an analytical problem solver. The position demands a lot out of one person. A professional must be good in writing and editing press releases, planning special events, and public speaking. Communication is the foundation of public relations so a professional must be able to communicate a message to all kinds of people in every type of media effectively.

This is the profession I want to go into and that is why I am studying it. It is a profession that demands a wide knowledge of how to communicate effectively and I believe I can learn how to do that. The job may be high pressure, but I believe it is something that I can handle. It is a profession that allows you to work hard and reward you by letting you see the fruits of your labor.

 

Sincerely,

Courtney

First Blog Ever

Hello world of blogs, bloggers, and social networking!

As part of a public relations class I have to take, my professor required all the students to create a blog of our very own. Having never created a blog or ever read a blog for that matter I thought this task would be a daunting assignment. To my great surprise it took only two steps to get one started and I found the most difficult part to be picking the background I wanted for my blog.

So far in this blogging process I have found it utterly enjoyable, even if I don't have anyone reading what I write. It's nice to write what I feel and send it into the great wide wonder of the internet. I like to think of it as a message in a bottle. You write what you want, bottle it up and throw it in the ocean, knowing no one will probably ever find it, but it's the thought that some part of you is out there just waiting to be found that I find most wonderful.