Although I was no where near Fort Bradley while a 434 acre grass fire was burning a mile away, I was still part of the action and helped get video to both Fox40 and News10. My former roommate called me around 4:00 pm asking if I was home, I said "no" and then found out there was a fire burning in empty fields near my house, although not too scared (knowing that it would have to burn through lots of houses and jump a 4-lane road before coming close to mine), I was interested in learning more. A few minutes later he sent me a text message with a video, I watched it and again thought all would be fine. About an hour later, Fox40 tweeted asking for videos, I responded that I would send one, News10 quickly asked for the video as well. Within minutes I e-mailed the video in and my former roommate and I immediately became sources of information as the video was posted on both websites.
The lesson from this ... don't just sit on the sidelines when watching breaking news, help newsrooms by taking pictures and video, then send it in to the newsrooms that are actively seeking information. After all, it is always nice to be thankful and you never know when developing developing a relationship with an assignment editor or producer could pay off, especially if you work in PR.
Over the past two days I was fortunate enough to attend Sacramento's first Social Media Weekend to learn not just about Facebook and Twitter, but about blogging, selling online, building a brand, marketing and so much more. Speakers ranged from one of the best known "Mommy Bloggers" (Christine Young, founder and writer for FromDatesToDiapers.com) to Jessica Knows (a mom that just so happens to blog and is active in the PR community), to Bayside's Director of Communications and Technology, CJ Alvarado, to the brains behind the event, SacTweetUps and so much more, Sacramento Marketing Labs’ Alejandro Reyes.
What did I learn? - I learned that a lot of us really have no clue what we're doing, but we love what we're doing and will keep learning more and always try to do it better. - "Social Media," blogs, Twitter, Facebook and so many other applications are still new and everyone is working to figure out how to use them to benefit themselves, their brands a…
Just a quick post to show pictures of the newly reopened Roseville Galleria (as you may recall I helped break the news on Sunday). Only 41 stores open today, although about 70 have permits that basically say they can open when they are ready. A few more, including Banana Republic will be opening tomorrow. In speaking with a sales associate at GAP, they confirmed my suspicions that the person that started the fire (okay "suspected" arsonist) did not come out wearing GAP clothing as he originally claimed. It was most likely Anchor Blue or a similar store. The mall did have a smell a little bit like smoke and cleaning products, but overall was clean and comfortable. The wall that has been constructed to block off one section includes quotes that were written on the Galleria's Facebook page.
Over the last few months I have continued to use multiple methods while searching for my new "dream job." Beyond the traditional search (looking at Craigslist.org, the Capitol Morning Report, Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, Indeed.com) and attending Bayside Church's "Career Coaching," I have used social media sites to expand my reach and my networking, making lots of great connections and meeting leaders throughout the Sacramento PR and business community. My search started off by expanding my social media network, I added new LinkedIn connections, started to follow additional people on Twitter and went through my address book (Google contacts to be exact, I currently have more than 1400), researched industries and companies and began my "search."
Although I haven't landed my job yet, I have used my "sabbatical" to learn new things by participating in Webinars, many hosted for free by companies like Careerealism and CirclePoint, attende…
Although I was no where near Fort Bradley while a 434 acre grass fire was burning a mile away, I was still part of the action and helped get video to both Fox40 and News10. My former roommate called me around 4:00 pm asking if I was home, I said "no" and then found out there was a fire burning in empty fields near my house, although not too scared (knowing that it would have to burn through lots of houses and jump a 4-lane road before coming close to mine), I was interested in learning more. A few minutes later he sent me a text message with a video, I watched it and again thought all would be fine. About an hour later, Fox40 tweeted asking for videos, I responded that I would send one, News10 quickly asked for the video as well. Within minutes I e-mailed the video in and my former roommate and I immediately became sources of information as the video was posted on both websites.
The lesson from this ... don't just sit on the sidelines when watching breaking news, help newsrooms by taking pictures and video, then send it in to the newsrooms that are actively seeking information. After all, it is always nice to be thankful and you never know when developing developing a relationship with an assignment editor or producer could pay off, especially if you work in PR.
Comments