Dixon- The New addition to our Family

Thought I would post some puppy pictures of my Brother’s new Labrador Puppy, Dixon!

He’s six weeks old

Word of Mouth: Scott Wayne Indiana Horse Project

Word of Mouth is one way to gather a following. When you sit down to dinner with family friends and someone mentions these plastic horses they’ve seen on the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon, and you begin to wonder what they are doing there? Why did someone tie these plastic horses on the ground? Then you tell your friend who realizes they’ve seen these horses too and they tell someone else and the cycle keeps repeating… until you have a word of mouth epidemic and Oregonians are still trying to solve the mystery of the toy plastic horses.

These rings are used to tie up horses and carriages in downtown portland. Not many people notice these rings until one local artist, Scott Wayne Indiana started a project, The Horse Project. To participate in the project you must buy a toy plastic horse locate a ring, and tie the horse to the ring. Then take a picture and send it to Scott Wayne Indiana and he will post it on his Web site  39forks.com.

Scott tied his first horse to a ring in 2005, and four years later these little horses are showing up all over town and have inspired many Oregonians and visitors to participate in the Horse Project.

By beginning somingthing as intriguing as finding toy horses tied to the sidewalk it sparks interest and begins conversations. This leads to conversations about tiny horses during coffee, dinner, and drink. And there fore we have word of mouth marketing.

Although, Scott Wayne Indiana was not trying to promote himself and his art, he was simply trying to get people to notice their surroundings, to notice small details such as rings in the sidewalk. And what a great way to do it.

Props to you SWI, thank you for opening our eyes to the small details in our world.

What I wish I would have done Before I lost my job

A month and a half ago I was laid-off from my job. Unemployment is scary for a 23-year-old who is fresh out of college, and laid-off from my first “real” job. I’m not going to lie; it has been the most confusing time in my life. Every other day my plan changes on what I’m going to do next. Should I stay in Seattle, should I move home and save money, should I go to grad school? So many decisions, I wish someone would choose the right one for me, and I’d put all my faith in them and do it. Making these choices is such a great life lesson, but man it is stressful.

I am in a decent position, unlike many others who have families to support, mortgages to pay, I was able to take a position working at my family business, although, I’ve been forced to temporarily move out of Seattle to the Podunk town of Medford, Oregon (don’t get me wrong I do hold a place in my heart for Medford) where I have zero-friends and my dad seems like a ghost that shows up every 3rd Tuesday of the months that end in “Y”.  I’m getting by with the overwhelming support of my friends and family and  I know things will be okay; I just have to trust this. And I’m also doing work that is keeping my skills fresh and helping me advance our company.

I think about the week leading up to when I was laid-off every day, and I think of the moment I was let go, and feels like a vivid nightmare that replays every night. I loved my job, I loved the agency I worked at, and I loved the people. I looked up to my supervisor and hope we can keep in touch, because she is an amazing woman.

But, I was naïve about the situation. I didn’t think it was going to happen to me.  And there are things I wish I would have done before I lost my job, that may or may not have made a difference, but If I would have done these things, maybe I wouldn’t have to place part of the blame on myself.

I wish I would have asked for extra work. I was working at a communications agency that did everything from public relations to advocacy relations to advertising. It was very well rounded. I was working in advocacy relations, which was new to me, but soon became my passion. But the week before I was laid-off thing definitely slowed down, even weeks before that my work had slowed. Now this may not have been a direct effect of me being laid-off. But I could have assisted in different areas of the company to let executives know that I can be used in other areas of the agency. I received my degree in public relations, and also have knowledge of Social Media, which was being utilized at the agency. If I had offered to help out in these other areas while I was caught up on my work, the executive team may have noticed that I could have been utilized in multiple areas.

I wish I would have networked with more people. I worked on a very small team that was tucked in a far off corner of the agency. I didn’t meet many people in my four-month stint there. I never took the time to socialize, or even take advantage of meeting people through the extracurricular activities that were set up for us, Which means I wasn’t networking with my coworkers. They didn’t fully understand my capabilities and the value I could have brought to other areas of the agency. I’m kicking myself now for not making those connections and relationships, which could be assisting in my job search.

I wish I would have kept track with my network. Finding a job is about networking. I didn’t take the time to the day I was let go to take a look at the relationships I had made and write down their contact information. I was in shock mode when I got back to my desk to pack my things, I didn’t fully think of what I needed to take with me besides my personal belongings.

I wish I had an emergency fund. As a recent graduate I was just starting to become financially independent from my parents. Like most recent grads, I had to borrow money from my parents and was just going to be able to start paying them back when this happened. I’m still learning about saving and budgeting, but I wish I would have made a large effort to put aside a large portion of my money each month, so that I would have a safety net now that I am suffering.

I wish I wouldn’t have been so naïve. Nothing is certain in this life or your career. This economy is going to be out-of-wack for at least the next five years. In history it has taken at least five years for our nation to pick itself up and dust off its shoulders from the moment we’ve hit rock bottom, I still don’t believe we’re at rock bottom yet. It is scary for everyone. And I think everyone needs to know you aren’t safe. You need to be working extra hard and taking as many precautions as you can in case something happens to you.

I wish I wouldn’t have taken my job for granted. I remember the day I had to sit down and talk finances with my roommates. As soon as we wrapped up the conversation on a Sunday evening at 10:30 pm they all said in unison, “Man I wish I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow!” I looked at them all and said, “Please just be thankful you have a job.” I think about all of the mornings I got up and complained about getting ready and riding the bus. If only you know what I’d give to be at a job and know what I was doing with my future.

These are things I wish I would have done before I lost my job. Your life can change in an instant, and I cannot change these things I wish I had done, but I can pass along the wisdom to others. Not many people are laid-off from their first job in their twenties, although unfortunately I think it will begin to be more common than not, these are things to think about if you are at your job, whether it’s your first or your tenth position. Nothing is certain.

On a Final note, Today while reading Vanity Fair there was a pullout quote that said, “your dream Job is finding something with a salary and health benefits.” and it’s so true. Currently, yes I have future goals for my life, but I am NOT thinking about them right now. I’m focusing on today and finding a job for right now that has benefits and a salary I can live off of. Not 5 years from now. But I thought this was an interesting point that a dream job now solely involves a salary, benefits and a 401k.

On a final final note, no matter how you cut back, my biggest advice is to keep your health insurance. One accident or major illness can land you thousands of dollars in debt. If COBRA, the coverage you can get from a former job, is too pricey, find deals on ehealthinsurance.com. or look into high-deductible coverage; it has cheaper premium (you’ll just pay more out of pocket if an emergency strikes) but health insurance is so important, make sure that isn’t something you sacrifice in these hard economic times.

Update: Thank you for everyones support I accepted a job offer last week! And will be sure to take my own advice!

Beautiful Office Designs

I thought I would share these beautiful, well thought, creative, and inspiring place to work. I think I’d be in heaven every day if I worked in any one of these offices! Enjoy

Flirting 2.0

In our fast pace world it has become harder and harder to meet people through a traditional courtship. And our favorite Web 2.0 sites are making it much easier to show someone you’re interested via their widgets and services. TheFrisky.com blog posted this rundown on ways to flirt online. They say, “Sure, the Web has made many aspects of our lives easier, but it’s also complicated a few things—specifically, how we date, flirt and meet potential love interests.”

Being a twenty-something I still have faith in the traditional ways of meeting people, at a bar, the grocery store, or that mix-up of drinks at Starbucks- He grabbed my triple grande soy latte, and I grabbed his grande americano- you know how it goes. I’m sure it will diminish as my career and priorities shift and I will become more dependent on the untraditional methods of finding a mate. But I find this whole process interesting as my generation has been spearheading this technology revolution.

I love Drew Barrymores line in He’s just not that into you she says, “Now you just have to go around checking all these different portals just to get rejected by seven different technologies- it’s exhausting!” And it couldn’t be more true, you have to check all of these different applications to see if you’ve been “poked” or someone sent you a gift. And the interpretation could kill you. There is no guide book to online flirting, so how are you supposed to interpret a poke? was it friendly or playful?

It is interesting to watch the trends in older generations using dating sites like Match.com increase. Definitely wasn’t somethingn I expected- I have a hard enough time teaching my mom how to turn on her computer, let alone teaching her how to upload a picture and a profile to one of these sites. I would have imagined that this phenomenon would have skipped that generation and hit mine.

It does scare me that younger generations will be more dependent on this way of life- Communicating through Web 2.0 applications more than through human interaction. And does this lead to poor grammar?

Does this form of communication work against our english and grammar teachers, because when you use text messages or twitter, you have to simplify your messages, sometimes reducing the words and removing correct punctuation confusing it’s and its, a simple, but significant differance between the two words just to fit it into the 140 characters allowed?

But then again, does it help to simplify your message. I have found that working to cram my tweets into 140 characters teaches me to be sycnt and percise with my message, like a lead in a newspaper article.

There are pros and cons to both, but what I guess my point is we’re definitely moving quickly to a 2.0 world- especially when our flirting happens online, but what will this do to future generations? Will they become dependent on technology to be the liasion between human interaction? Will children fall into the trance of the online preditors, because they are comfortable online?

How can we as the Web 2.0 crusaiders prevent future generations from using the web and its tools incorrectly? Do we begin to teach classes on online ettiquet and safety?

What do you think?

Did you Know?

@aplusk posted this video on Twitter. It is pretty amazing the facts in this short 5 minute video. Take a look.

Ten Things I love

Time for something new! I was inspired by Jason Calacanis’s blog post “Ten Things I Love” so here are ten things I love right now.

1.  Christopher David Ryan – My new obsession. I love it. I love him. He has an eye and I already ordered this print. He posts his favorite prints of the day and they are always great. I’ve never been one for art, but I may have found my muse.

2. Tumblr – I’ve always had a hard time keeping my professional blog from my personal blog. Tumblr allows you to post quotes, links, text in easy to use formats. Took me awhile to catch on but Love it.

3. 2Birds1Blog My new favorite blog. It’s funny cleaver and very relate-able. check-it out! This is my favorite post on 20 facebook photos of guys.

4. Mark Beasly – I’ve been a fan since moment I heard him. He has the most amazing voice!

5. Digg-Took me awhile to catch onto this site, but what a great idea to basically vote on what information on the Internet is deemed interesting, funny and likable.

6. Top Chef Need I say more? I’ve missed this show, and I don’t know why I love it so much, I just do!

7. Etsy Love. Love. Love it. Etsy is a community of shopping & selling. With the most amazing gifts I could browse this site for days and never get bored.

8. Influence by Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen- This book is a collection of interviews and photos of the women who have influenced their lives. I’ve never really liked the two of them, even though I grew up watching them on Full House, but until a recent interview on Oprah and the lack of media presence I find this book a Must buy!

9. blip.fm A way to share your music on Twitter!

10. Hulu – where would we all be without hulu? Hulu is a website that offers commercial-supported streaming video of TV shows and movies. If you haven’t checked it out… you must be under a rock.

Hope you enjoy my favorite things….What are your favorite things?

And as an extra treat, I have had a request to add the People I love most (all my friends seem to love these crazy people too)

#11 on my I love list, and by popular demand  is Mama & Papa Stringer!!!!!

If you’ve got it, Flaunt it: A lesson in Resume writing

I’ve been at it again, updating my resume. And it is just around the corner for the senior PR students at UO, who are wrapping up their campaigns and focusing on their portfolio reviews. I remember one thing I struggled with the most was my resume. Thanks to the career building class taught by Bill Morill and the Career Center at UO, they taught me a lot about writing my resume. But I’ve learned more from playing around with it, looking at others, and having people look over mine as well.

Although this class was great in introducing me to the descriptive verbs to describe the tasks I’d accomplished, it also closed my mind about the format of my resume. There are so many different ways you can format your resume there is no wrong way.

So here is some advice I wish someone told me:

1. Keep your Resume to one page, and one page only: After 10 years of experience you are allowed a second page! But no one is going to read your resume if it is longer than one page. This helps you to be concise and use descriptive words to describe what you’ve accomplished.

2. Your visual presentation of your resume says a lot about you. Spice up your resume. Add some fun fonts and colors (just make sure it’s legible) and even print it on a nice thick resume paper. It will set your resume out from all the others, and the employer will know you put in extra effort to make it enjoyable to look at.  Note: Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT use a Word Template. SO boring. If I were looking at your resume and you used a plain word template it just lost about ten points!

3. If you got the skills, flaunt them. Highlight an unusual skill you poses. It doesn’t have to be that unusual, but for instance Social Media is a great skill to highlight as much as possible in your resume. So many employers these days are looking for new talent that hold that skill set. So don’t be shy.

4. Be Adventurous. Re-format your resume multiple times. I was so stuck in my way of having my resume cut and clear and to the point. But, recently decided to take a chance and write a short profile section explaining some of my skills, and I think it will help the employer know me that much more. By writing my skills out in sentences this freed up more space for bullets under my experience section.

5. Put another set of Eye balls on it. I’ve already had 3 different people look at my resume this past week, and have another person tomorrow. Be open to suggestions, fresh eyes come with fresh ideas.

If you have any other tips for writing resume please comment! I know there are plenty more

The University of Oregon’s Career Center provides this PDF packet on how to write good cover letters and Resume’s, it is a great resource and you can download it here. Page 3 has a great list of verbs to use when describing your skills!

Happy Resume writing and I’m more than happy to be another set of eyes! Good luck!

Back to Basics

Recently, I’ve been asked to put my social media passion into action. This is exciting for someone who has been blinded by my daily routine and the grind of the working world.

Since graduation, I’ve had minimal time to focus on my blog, tweeting valuable information, and exploring the social media sphere. One thing I’ve noticed over the past seven months is that I stopped actively learning, and for a topic I am so passionate about I am extremely excited to begin exploring again!

Now I’m working on a social media strategy for a company that you wouldn’t quite expect to use social media as a valuable tool. I feel limitless, which is basically like handing me the world on a silver platter.

But, this doesn’t mean I am going to dream up some crazy ideas of how to “jump in” that is unreachable for this company. I need to get back to the basics and deliver a strategy that they understand and doesn’t make them want to run in the other direction.

It is never to late to continually learning, and that is what I love about Public Relations- is that there is always knowledge to grasp, you can learn something new everyday.

And here I go, back to the basics.

PR-AD- Branding-Marketing in Layterms

I’ve never really understood how people have a hard time deciphering what Public Relations Professionals do, What we do is in our title. We build relationships with the public in simple terms. It’s not just PR professional marketing and branding seem to interchange with both PR and Advertising. These cartoons below help to describe what Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing and Branding actually are.

A lot of the time PR people use branding behind their methods, and call on advertisers to relay that brand message. Marketers are used in every aspect of PR, AD and Branding. They all may stand alone, but when used together they can expand the message being relayed to the audience.