Very pinteresting facts

To follow suit with the previous Pinterest post, I came across an infographic posted by Mashable about Pitnerest, via full service agency Modea. Here are some pinteresting facts about Pinterest users according to Modea, with statistics help from comScore:

To see a clearer version, check out the orginial post on Mashable by clicking here.

The hype about Pinterest

Okay, so what exactly is Pinterest? After reading through some articles and asking around, I decided to check it out. I had to request an invite which made me feel special, until I realized that others probably received invites without having to request one themselves. My confirmation email kindly stated: "Thanks for joining the Pinterest waiting list. We'll be sure to send you an invite soon." Hold on, I have to wait to receive an invite? I thought I was good to go. Apparently not. Considering I cannot access my own pinterest board until I move up on their waiting list, I'll start by explaining what Pinterest is and why I even requested an invite.

The definition directly from pinterest.com tells us: "Pinterest is a virtual pinboard to organize and share the things you love." There are pictures, lots of them. It is a visual form of Twitter. With these pictures, you can post them, I mean "pin" them, on your board(s). From my understanding, you can have several boards because they resemble lists. I think of it as a bulletin board with sticky notes that others can comment on or even re-stick on their own boards, if they choose to do so. One giant online bulletin board with lots and lots of digital push pins. Please correct me if I'm wrong; I'm still on the waiting list and haven't been formally allowed into the virtual pinboard just yet.

So what's the point? Pinterest drives referral traffic, as do Facebook and Twitter. But it's visual. It also has a reciprocity aspect like other social media sites: you can share, comment and repin others' pins.  

Once I'm accepted (crossing my fingers), I'll let you know how I truly feel about it. It seems like a trend that I need to take part in due to the hype it has generated around its' prospective PR uses. Let's hope that I'm invited!

UPDATE: I received an invite! Officially on Pinterest, but I'm not sure what to do next...

E-board positions are OPEN!

There are several open positions on our executive board for the upcoming academic year. Sadly, a handful of seniors will be graduating from Marist and leaving their positions wide open for the taking. In fact, all positions are technically up for grabs, as each candidate is required to undergo the nomination/elections process. Here are the executive board positions:

• Chapter President (Already taken!)
• Vice President (President-elect)
• Vice President of Chapter Development
• Public Relations Director
• Firm Director
• National Delegate
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Historian

To find out more about each position's duties and responsibilities, please do not hesitate to email prssa.marist@gmail.com. If interested, our executive board nominations meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 22nd!

What should you expect at your first PR job?

Ragan's PR Daily offers valuable advice in the article titled 10 things you should expect in your first PR job. Why? Because it's true. Graduating college and getting a real job does not exactly mean you are done working your tail off for grades; now, you'll be working your tail off for your boss or your client. Here are 10 challenges you should expect to encounter at your first PR job:

1. Fatigue. No napping on the job from 9a.m.-5p.m.
2. Stress. You'll have deadlines and demands far more stressful than your final exam schedule.
3. Unsupportive friends. Unpredictable hours will influence your time to socialize with friends who might understand the fast-paced PR world you've entered.
4. Money. This will come with time as most entry-level PR positions pay a mere $30,000-$40,000. Don't get discouraged: you've got a career ladder to climb.
5. Budgets. You probably wouldn't expect this, but you might have to manage clients' budgets in the PR world.
6. Accountability. Keep track and know what work you are doing. Take notes!
7. Digital Skills. We have new social media channels to master so keep up.
8. Multi-tasking. Learn to prioritize because your time must be handled well to complete every task you are assigned simultaneously.
9. Criticism. Life lesson: learn from your mistakes.
10. Validation. Don't expect praise because doing a good job is the reason they hired you; you have your paycheck as your praise.

Read the full article here.

Attention soon-to-be PR graduates: PRSA membership benefits!

Are you a graduating senior with a PR major? If you participate in Red Foxes PRSSA and you are in the graduating Class of 2012, there are several benefits to joining the parent association, PRSA, this month: associate membership for only $60 and free membership in PRSA's New Professionals Section.

If you intend to remain in the area, we strongly suggest that you join the new Hudson Valley PRSA chapter. Mark Van Dyke would truly appreciate your help in spreading awareness of this new chapter.

Spread the word: join PRSA and the new Hudson Valley PRSA chapter!

Tweet for a #job

Nowadays, using social media to market yourself differentiates you from other job candidates. It makes you stand out to employers, especially when your tweets are comprised of PR related topics and retweets from industry professionals and your favorite PR employers. Ron Culp, PR veteran, offers us a few tips on utilizing Twitter to your career advantages on his blog, Culpwrit.com:

• Clean up your feed. You want your tweets to impress prospective employers.
• Follow the leaders. This way, you'll get in the know about PR.
• Retweet every day. Flatter employers while also keeping your name out there.
• Tweet for the job you want, not the job you have. Write tweets from a PR industry perspective.
• Network: Assess your follows and followers; you probably need more industry pros.

Read the entire blog post here to find out how to leverage your Twitter to your career advantage.

Join your PRSSA chapter!

This post shouldn’t need any explanatory content because the title says it all! Join your PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) chapter!

I have been in the Marist College Red Foxes PRSSA chapter since my freshmen year. I remember speaking with students part of the chapter before I enrolled as a student here at the Accepted Students day. It got me so excited about my major that there was a student organization dedicated entirely to public relations. There was no question that when I attended the Fall semester activities fair of my freshman year, that the PRSSA table would be my first spot.

Since my sophomore year I have been on the executive board (e-board) of the chapter and I’ll never be able to fully express how being a part of this chapter has enhanced my education and prepared me for the professional PR world. From networking events to guest speakers, I have been involved in a lot of PRSSA activities. The chapter was newly created my freshmen year and it has come a long way.

My first position on the executive board was as the Vice President of Chapter Development). My main job was coordinating with guest speakers regarding their visits, booking rooms for the events and getting the events catered. This gave me the amazing opportunity to understand event planning as well as speak one-on-one with the guests. As a sophomore, I learned the logistics of my college which has helped me plan more properly for future events.

My second position was as the Vice President during my junior year. My focus that year was to assist the President as well as the other e-board members if they needed additional help with any of their responsibilities. By the second semester of my junior year, our advisors made it their priority to give me specific mentoring and leadership training to prepare me for my presidency. I entered my senior year with ease and confidence in running the chapter.

Now, in my second semester as President, I am so proud of the chapter. My other e-board members are so reliable and have been doing an amazing job. We have a full functioning newsletter, student-run firm and social media outlets. As I said earlier, the chapter has improved so much over my 4 years with it. Not only are the e-board members impressing me but the general members are as well! Everyone wants to contribute and be involved as much as they can, whether it be writing articles for the newsletter or being a staff member for the student-run firm. Everyone is so eager to learn and I love their enthusiasm.

In addition to all my on campus work, I was able to attend the 2010 National Conference in Washington D.C. and the Leadership Rally in Scottsdale, Arizona (which is exclusive to incoming presidents and most expenses are paid for my PRSSA!) Both of these experiences are completely irreplaceable. The National Conference was a huge event in filled with workshops, lectures and networking opportunities with other PR students and professionals. The Leadership Rally was a great step stone from Vice President to President with training from Nationals.

I have learned so much from my experiences with PRSSA that I’ll be so sad to leave at the end of the semester (but I have every confidence in my Vice President!). I’d have to say the most I got out of it was the leadership experience/training. I have overseen and managed numerous members of a team and learned to be a mentor to enhance their skills. I am so grateful to have taken advantage of this opportunity.

If you are a PR major and your school has a PRSSA chapter you need to get to their first general meeting this semester to join! Don’t just join to attend meetings but join to invest in your future and really contribute to an amazing organization. You’ll thank me for it!

This blog post was written by our chapter's president, Alexis Murphy. You can view the original post here: http://hudsonriverprgal.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/join-your-prssa-chapter