Today I came across an article on 10 reasons why working in PR is tough. The author, Andrew Worob, was careful enough to include a disclaimer that (of course) many other professions are much more challenging, and he just wanted to have a little fun and acknowledge the many reasons we PR pros often end our days collapsing onto a couch or bar stool, grateful to have survived another day. That said, I agreed with most of the reasons he listed — the demands, sporadic schedules, and pressures of not just doing the job, but doing it well, can seem quite overwhelming at times. But my experience has been that the rewards are just as astounding. So with that, I give you my 10 reasons why working in PR rocks:

10. You’re never bored. Whether you’re working on multiple clients or just one with multiple challenges, the pace and the problem-solving skills required in PR ensure that no day is ever a dull one.

9. You’re always learning something. Smart PR professionals dive head-first into their clients’ industries, most of the time having to absorb ideas and acronyms that are completely unfamiliar. Our brains get a lot of exercise.

8. You get to be creative. One of my favorite parts of working in a PR agency is the brainstorming, coming up with big ideas, offering plans and recommendations, and then figuring out how to “wow” everyone from the client to their customers and the media who we’re hoping will cover them.

7. Nothing is more satisfying than securing big hits. Sure, it can be mind-numbingly frustrating to pitch and pitch and follow-up and even after you’ve secured the interview, nothing is guaranteed to come out the way you (and your client) want or expect it to. But when it does? Exhilarating.

6. Okay – one thing is more satisfying: securing big clients. Going after new business is exciting and it takes a lot of effort. In the PR world, it’s nice not only because of the added revenue it brings, but also because it’s a fantastic, validating feeling when a company or organization puts that kind of trust in you and realizes what a positive impact you can (and will) have on their business.

5. The people. Let’s face it, we’ve all said at one time or another that it takes a certain kind of personality to do this job. We’re a fun, smart bunch.

4. What other jobs allow you to tweet, update Facebook and read blogs…and call it work?

3. There are a lot of career growth opportunities. If you’re ambitious and prove yourself, you won’t be stuck doing admin tasks or glossed over by those above you on the food chain. We’re all strapped for time and talent, so we are always looking to groom and propel those who are good at what they do.

2. To your friends and family, your job is a little bit “mysterious.” Admit it, most of us explain what we do time and time again, and it doesn’t sink in to many of our loved ones. While some say this is annoying, I say embrace it.

1. It just is. I love my job…and I bet most of you do, too.

It’s nearly impossible to execute a PR or marketing campaign without getting involved with social media at some level.

The benefits of exuding your brand’s personality on Facebook and Twitter, and interacting with consumers in a fun, pithy manner far outweigh the drawbacks of opening yourself up to public criticism. The problem is that social media can take on a life of its own and accounts can grow to require a lot of time and attention. In some cases, if resources are scarce, brands are forced to reevaluate their audiences and focus their time and energy on one channel over another.

That’s why, when I read fellow social media junkie and industry insider Zeny Huang’s recent opinion piece, “4 Reasons Google+ Brand Pages Will Be Better Than Facebook’s” on Mashable earlier this month, I paused to think, “Could it be?”

Though there’s much we still need to learn about Google+, Huang highlights two potential areas where I do believe this newcomer may have a leg up in this race: search and analytics. As Huang notes, Google has long been a leader in both of those fields. It’s still a guessing game at this point, but it will definitely be interesting to see how brands begin to use Google+ for their marketing and PR efforts, and if they’re able to effectively break into your “circle.”

What do you think? Based on what you’ve seen and read, does Google+ hold a candle to Facebook and Twitter when it comes to helping brands interact with consumers?

Last week, my adorable seven-year-old son Owen came bursting up out of the playroom, leaving his best friend with a paused game of Wii Mario Kart so that he could use the bathroom. He sprinted to the bathroom, did his business, and came back through kitchen in a blur, then paused at the top of the stairs before heading back down. He looked thoughtfully at me as he adjusted the twisted waistband on his shorts and asked: “Mom, why haven’t they invented pants with a toilet in them?” I laughed and said that he should invent them, but that plumbing was likely to be a big design challenge. He smiled with his big brown eyes and without another word, dashed away, back to playing.

This seemed a moment made for Facebook sharing, so I posted it, where it was met with a few Likes and some cynical (and funny) commentary such as “that’s called a diaper” or “because it would be hard to walk around!”

I posted it because it made me laugh out loud, and I wanted to share that. But the adult responses (including my own) made clear the massive gap in imagination between 7 year olds and grown-ups. And it made me wonder when it is that we lose the limitless optimism that underlies a child’s assumption that any invention is possible.

It reminded me of an article I read a couple months ago in Fast Company that highlighted a study by Latitude research about children predicting the future of computing. Here’s the part that’s thought-provoking. Only 4% of the children’s wishes were unattainable right now (teleportation and time travel) given what engineers are currently capable of. In fact, one of the children wished for the ability to search with an image, rather than text. Incredibly, Google announced Google Image Search the day the study was released.

Leading me to the conclusion that while wild imaginations might lead to crazy nightmares and very strange storytelling among the ten and under set, we adults could use a dose more of it in our everyday lives. Just imagine the things we could accomplish and invent if we suspended our inclination to say “because it would be hard” and instead, thought really creatively about solving problems, and then tried with boundless energy to make something amazing happen.

In our PR jobs, we get bound up by what’s practical: “the client might not want to hear this idea” or “they’ll never do it anyway” or “my manager will think I’m crazy for suggesting a different way” or “this reporter probably won’t take this meeting.” What a waste of energy and time. For my part, I’m using this pants-toilet incident as an object lesson in the benefits of being more childlike, and a little less practical. I expect that in addition to doing better work, I’ll be having a lot more fun.

Oh, and I fully expect that when Owen gets his prototype off the ground, we’ll all be more productive during the day, since we won’t have those pesky bathroom breaks to slow us down.

Sourced from The New York Times online, "The Elusive Big Idea," by Neal Gabler

Last week I read an article in The New York Times called, “The Elusive Big Idea.”

It scared the crap out of me.

We’re living in a time when information is fast, efficient, neatly-packaged & delivered— suspended in a magical (and convenient!) web of ether just waiting to be accessed.

…But how much of it are we actually processing?

As a new PR professional, I’ve noticed a change in my way of thinking. While I was in school, I took home books or articles, read them at a steady pace, underlined, revisited— and mulled, if you will. Most of the time, I would then sit down and start writing in order to develop and lengthen these study-lounge musings.

I find there to be much less time these days to study and mull. I’m submerged in the deep end of the information pool where quick facts, stats, industry news headlines, blurbs, and witty one-liners leave me drenched. Keeping the best interest of my clients’ business in mind, I pay attention to a much different, and much wider range of topics now than before. Relevant information is quickly bouncing back and forth between status updates, twitter handles, and blog posts. Web addresses aren’t even written in full anymore— our short messages are shortened further by bit.ly’s and tinyURL’s, even embedded behind # and @ signs.  It’s enough to make my head spin. I’ve learned, though, that scanning alone does not produce the best results.

As Gabler writes in his NYT piece,

“In the past, we collected information not simply to know things. That was only the beginning. We also collected information to convert it into something larger than facts and ultimately more useful — into ideas that made sense of the information. We sought not just to apprehend the world, but to truly comprehend it, which is the primary function of ideas. Great ideas explain the world and one another to us.”

Does this new trend of “apprehension” truly make us more informed? Smarter? I’m inclined to say no, that it only gives us the ability to move more quickly —finish the lap— call out a message first in order to win the recognition of passing the baton. We can certainly find the answer to just about any question online, but we need to remember to reflect on what we know first. The relevancy, context, and reliability of what we find must then be considered, as well as how we plan to use our new information sensibly.

Getting a bit more philosophical, can you say that you’ve thought through your own worldview, end to end, amidst the blur of contradicting information that’s available to us? If there was a line drawn across a particular ideal you’ve lived by, would you be able to confidently stand on one side armed with sturdy reasoning, or are you positioned a bit more shakily (and perhaps more safely) in the gray middle area? Have you thought through any one thing so thoroughly that you could ignite a fiery debate, and still stand unburned on your own turf?

As intellectual people with such amazing innate potential, I hope we can all say yes.

“We are like the farmer who has too much wheat to make flour. We are inundated with so much information that we wouldn’t have time to process it even if we wanted to, and most of us don’t want to.”

Isn’t it strange to consider that this overload of information, be it significant or trivial, has actually occupied space in our minds meant for new ideas?

For the maintenance of my own sanity, I need to set aside some time to step away, process, think, and comprehend. This is the key to generating innovative ideas! There comes a point when in order to be a good PR pro (or person of real substance, for that matter), we may need to disconnect in order to reconnect to our own thought process.

A recent national survey commissioned by TeleNav examined Americans’ attachment to mobile phones and the results showed that we are willing to give up many joys in life over our beloved mobile devices. So just how attached to mobile phones have we become?

According to the study, guilty pleasures were among the higher rated items that people would be willing to give up for a week over their mobile phone such as alcohol (70%), chocolate (63%), caffeine (55%) and even sex (33%).

As a PR professional, I consider my mobile phone to be a luxury item that allows me the freedom to step away from my computer while still remaining connected to my clients, family and friends, and the world-at-large. In the ever moving fast paced world of PR, I hold my cell phone in high regard and consider it a necessary tool to perform my daily tasks. But would I give up some of life’s greatest pleasures to in order to keep it? Chances are, probably not.

Others, however, seem to place their iPhone, Blackberry or Android higher on the priority list. In fact, they are even willing to go as far as to give up exercise (54%), shoes (21%) and their toothbrush (22%) all before parting ways with their mobile phone. Health and hygiene is now second to mobile phones? Maybe it’s time to draw the line.

But it doesn’t stop just there. The impact of mobile phone on our lives is becoming personal. From deciding who would make a good match for us (83% of iPhone users thought other iPhone users would make the best romantic partners) to the way we communicate an end to a relationship (18% of smartphone users have ended a relationship via voicemail, text message, email, Facebook update or Twitter post), it’s seemingly apparent mobile phones have become as important to us as our loved ones. Or perhaps even more so as 22% of smartphone users even said they would rather go a week without seeing their significant other than surrender their phone. And they say chivalry is dead.

Advancements in technology have allowed us many things, including our cell phones. And there’s no denying that they have become a part of our daily lives. But before you read another email at the dinner table, or reach for your mobile phone before stepping foot out of bed in the morning, consider this: just what would you be willing to give up. You make the call.

My favorite blog isn’t a newspaper site. It’s a blog by a lobster dealer who started working on the docks when he was 9 years old. Good Morning Gloucester gives a daily snapshot of life in Gloucester, Mass., the nation’s oldest fishing harbor. It’s hugely popular, with 22,000 to 30,000 page views per day.

The main reason Good Morning Gloucester connects with readers around the world is because it’s so real. The language is how real people talk and the people on the blog come across as real, likable people with interesting stories. There are lessons there for those of us who communicate for a living. Use simple, clear language. Be likable. Tell a good story.

My friend Joey Ciaramitaro is the lobster dealer behind Good Morning Gloucester. We interviewed him for ideas on ways to engage readers, build an audience and create, as he would say, “a blog that doesn’t suck.” Here are his tips.

What do you think? Which tips did we miss?

Though resistant at first, over the past few years I and the rest of the folks at Matter have come to embrace Twitter as an incredibly useful, powerful — and sometimes even fun — vehicle for connecting and communicating. Some of us would even go so far as to say we love Twitter now. Along the way, I’ve learned to keep the following tips in mind, which definitely apply to my fellow PR professionals:

1.) Follow and engage with relevant media. Doing so will keep you on your toes and in the loop. I can’t even count the number of times me or my colleagues have scored an interview opportunity, a competitive advantage, or saved ourselves from an ill-timed phone call simply by paying attention to what the people we pitch are tweeting at any given moment.

2.) Follow your peers. It takes a village to stay on top of the latest news, statistics, resources and “uh oh” moments happening in the wacky world where PR, marketing and social media intersect. Following and engaging with other PR professionals helps all of us pick up on things we should be paying attention to and doing…and helps us avoid the same mistakes others are making, as well.

3.) Keep at it. Sure, we’ve all let ourselves lapse from time to time. But if your last tweet was “Trying to figure out how to use the Twitter” back in January 2009, chances are your clients and colleagues aren’t exactly going to see you as the most credible and knowledgeable expert on social media and communications trends.

4.) Show personality, not poor judgment. Sharing emotions, pop culture tidbits and slice of life observations are a great way to build a following, demonstrate authenticity, and actually enjoy tweeting. But on the web, there is no real “delete” button, since just about everything is captured and cached and seen by someone the second it goes out. So if you’re tweeting in the heat of the moment, step away and take a deep breath before you hit send. If you’re commenting on politics or considering an update that some would consider TMI…all the more reason to truly stop and think before you tweet.

5.) Don’t drink and tweet. It’s never as cute or witty as you thought it was when you sober up. Trust me.

As a seasoned PR practitioner with more that 15+ years of experience, I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of mismanaged media opportunities. Most recently I volunteered at a fundraising event that was attended by Dr. Jill Biden, the Vice President’s wife, and other prominent political figures. I knew these personalities would attract both local and national media and potentially further expose the goodness of the cause.

Upon arrival I saw reporters, camera crews and photographers standing around waiting for Mrs. Biden to speak while, 4,500 people were eating, drinking and enjoying the day. I thought of the endless possibilities of where this story would run because the “White House” has arrived. CNN, NECN, ABC’s World News, NBC’s Nightly News – the list went on and on in my head. As the event drew near completion I realized that the media was ignoring the real essence of the event – the community who came together to support and raise money for military families in need during these difficult times. It was for this reason that the Vice President’s wife was there, after all.

As I curled up on my couch that evening and flipped through the various channels looking for coverage, I couldn’t find what I was looking for. Sure the media provided sound bites of Biden and the others, but neglected to include the purpose of the event, who it supported and where it took place.

After seeing the holes in the coverage I was watching, I was reminded of how important it is to properly manage media opportunities, especially live broadcast:

*Set the agenda – ensure the media knows the angle of the story, the facts and who is involved

*Control the environment – communicate, confirm and re-confirm

*Never assume anything – make sure your messaging is communicated before, during and after an interview/event.  Just because a “notable” personality shows up doesn’t mean your key messaging will be pulled through or automatically included.

AdAge recently published some interesting stats about how affluent Americans consume media, and the results seem to show a strong interest for “traditional” media formats (giving hope to those of us who’d like to see print media survive and thrive).

The study by Ipsos Mendelsohn, known as the Mendelsohn Affluent Barometer, surveyed 1,000 people with at least $100,000 in annual household income on how they consume media. When respondents were asked how they typically read magazines, 93 percent said they read the hard copies, 27 percent read them on the computer, and 9 percent saying they read them on their smartphone. Reading newspapers was similar, with 86 percent reading the hard copies, 39 percent on the computer, and 14 percent on a smartphone.

The key point by the study’s authors, Bob Shullman and Stephen Kraus, was that people tend to consume media in its traditional form, though they are increasingly willing to read it across other platforms (tablets, smartphones, e-readers, etc.)

Is this good news for traditional media outlets? It may not reverse years of lost subscriptions and declining revenues, but the research may give old fashioned print media some cause for hope.

To me, there is an underlying message in stats like these that consumers enjoy still reading their favorite magazine or local newspaper offline, where there is less noise and fewer distractions that our connected lives put on us.

It’s fun to flip through gorgeous-looking magazine on an iPad, and it’s usually more time-efficient to quickly check headlines through Google News in the morning rather than picking up a newspaper.

That said, I find that when I’m reading something in print, I spend more time with it. As a PR professional, I find I can get a deeper understanding of a publication’s focus and break it down further by reading it in print.

While technology is changing the way we want to consume news, there is still a strong desire for print media, even if the revenue those outlets earn from the printed version is only supplemental to the Web and other formats. How traditional media outlets can change their business model, create new revenue streams and deliver what today’s media consumers want would be the subject of a much longer blog post.

Since the beginning of time, I have feared change. I love knowing exactly what to expect and when to expect it. For example, today at lunch, I knew there would be a ham and cheese sandwich waiting for me in the fridge, the same sandwich that has satisfied my hunger pains since pre-school.  I also know that when I get home, my television shows will be airing the same time they do every week on the same channel.

But what happens when the deli is out of my favorite brand of ham, or a public service announcement pops up at the exact time I tune into my show? It used to mean absolute chaos in my life. However, in the past two years since I started working at Matter, these small changes no longer ruin my day.

PR can be an extremely fast paced environment. We are constantly drafting press releases, finalizing plans, running in between client calls, brainstorming new ideas and so much more. We strive to be ahead of the game and make it a priority to inform our clients of the latest and greatest tools and technologies out there. Even if it means moving from what we know to researching something totally new.

For example, last year I helped launch a Twitter account for one of my clients. At that time, Twitter was relatively new to me and I started relying on certain programs for my day to day activity. However, I quickly realized that I should be embracing the changes and not rejecting them.  In the social media world, new programs come out every day. While there will be tools I never use, I’ve found that there are some that have been extremely beneficial to my client, and have even made my job easier.

So is change really that bad? I would have to argue no, but this doesn’t mean I’ll be enjoying a turkey sandwich anytime soon.