AylaRelations

The first step in preparing for a big change.

Ayla Benjamin

Throughout her years at the University of Minnesota, where she studies public relations, Ayla Benjamin have spent much time dabbling in a variety of student organizations; from the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) to the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) as well as the Ski and Snowboard Club.
Participation in student organizations, as well as a leadership position for NSCS, have helped her develop focus and direction to accompany her studies in Public Relations. As Vice President for NSCS I have been able to fine tune my leadership skills, participate in and plan service projects throughout the Twin Cities as well as and mentor younger students who share the same excitement and hardworking attitudes.
After spending a semester studying, interning and exploring London, Ayla will have another section of relevant experience and interesting skills to make her a company asset. She will talk about her experience working globally, as well as, how beneficial it has become to be a global citizen of the world.

Your parents didn't mislead you they said to do always your homework
For my public relations class I was sent out on a mission to gain insight from and build a relationship with a Twin-Cities journalist, Kara Eliason from Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine. She provided me with interesting background information, her thoughts on internships, what she considers to be the best part about her job, but most importantly she provided me helpful insight and tips for public relations professionals.
The fundamental idea of being prepared became a reoccurring theme. Being aware of the audience a media outlet writes for, knowing an organization's lead time, when they go to press and the ways the prefer to be contacted all go back to being prepared.
Whether it is looking for a job, an informational interview, a story to be picked up or a reference for future communications, having an awareness of and respect for an individual's agenda is refreshing for writers. Showing that research has been done and that what it is you are doing is important enough for a publicist to take time to understand the organization goes a long way, and is noticeable.
The respect and consideration that is gained when a publicist really does their homework is mutually beneficial for both parties. The two-way street of having a relationship with a media professional is a hard one to get one, but once the proper steps are taken...it becomes smooth(er) sailing.
Although listening to my uncomfortable commentary and overly enthusiastic "Yeah!" in response to most of what Kara said, next time I will be prepared. I am now equipped with knowledge that will save me. Doing your homework before you make any sort of contact with a media professional is a must do. Next time, having an awareness of the tone, content and audience of an organization will hopefully distract from my awkward presence and leave professionals impressed instead.

The University of Minnesota campus has made itself home to hundreds of student groups. In the midst of student run organizations is a unique group that works hard for a cause halfway across the world. Invisible Children, University of Minnesota chapter, is comprised of just over ten committed members and has spent the last two years working hard to gain awareness on campus. This group of passionate young adults works with Invisible Children, an organization in San Diego, to improve the quality of life for people affected by war in Uganda. This documentary turned organization, Invisible Children, is an international nonprofit organization that gives youth across America an outlet to respond to the war.

"Some people might say we're crazy, and that our efforts can't make a difference in a war as big and far away as this one. But, we are in love with the impossible."

After talking to the chapter's Vice President, Kelsey Batkiewicz, I soon found out that the group members anything but crazy. Strategic planning, high commitment and incredible drive is what the group relies on to push forward through their second year on campus. During their bi-weekly meetings, the members do exactly that. What started off as a small group of friends who were inspired by a documentary has snowballed in to a miniature fundraising, awareness gaining, promotional machine.
Halfway through their second year in existence, the group has big goals for extending their presence. They hope to make a larger presence on campus and increase awareness of their student group and organization. Using social media very heavily has made the small chapter at the U of M able to spread the word about fundraising opportunities, news from the Invisible Children headquarters and Africa, as well as keep all of their members in the loop. Members anticipate using social media to be a critical tool to aid in their plans of growth as well.

To get convinced to get involved or for more information on the cause visit the UMN Invisible Children's website at https://www.facebook.com/icumn

Have you ever found yourself scouring over your Twitter feed, trying to keep up with the latest events and accidentally stumbling across a goldmine? Welcome to the new wave of business tweets.
The rapid growth Twitter has been facing is undeniable, and with that growth comes inevitable increases in the pointless babble the fills up more of the Twitosphere. The interesting new obstacle businesses on Twitter are facing is how to get their messages heard through the babble and the right way to reward followers for finding those golden nuggets of information.
The balance between tweeting enough to stay relevant and just making noise is a hard one to tiptoe. With increases of businesses joining in tweeting, it becomes apparent when tweeting just isn't working. The horror stories of bad customer services tweets, company's flooding news feeds with spam messages, or just plain flooding news feeds, are endless. The stories about when tweeting is really successful? Few and far between. The key is in the reward.

Of the 11.5 million Twitter accounts in use, the top 40 percent of users account for over 90 percent of tweets. So what does this all mean? In order to be heard, companies should be using unique incentives for users to follow them. In my personal experience of being a 20 year old socialite, it is not unexpected to have "who to follow" conversations with my peers. What makes a good follow, at least according to young adults; it all has to do with what the company has to offer. Companies that use their Twitter accounts to snag followers' attention with special deals or events had ringing recommendations from everyone I talked to.
Rewarding followers not only leaves customers feeling satisfied with their decision to follow a company, it often leaves them curious about what other events or deals are being tweeted about. This is how dedicated followers are born.

For Example:
A fairly well known band from Oregon, Blitzen Trapper (http://www.blitzentrapper.net/), comes through town for a sold out show at First Ave. A day before the show local record store, the Electric Fetus (http://www.electricfetus.com), tweets about an in-store performance with the band that will be happening, for free.
What's a girl to do but retweet it and proceed to tell everyone she knows! Hook, line and sinker. They left me wanting more and consequently checking up on their stream for more events.

For more information on how to improve your tweet quality visit this website: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-using-twitter-for-business

If you're interested in seeing how other company's are using Twitter effectively, check out Caribou Coffee: https://twitter.com/#!/caribou_coffee
and Electric Fetus: https://twitter.com/#!/efetusmpls

What makes a "bad" breakup is changing. A bad breakup is no longer determined by how many dishes were thrown, whether an infidelity was walked in on, or how long a shouting match lasted. What makes the difference now is the medium used to deliver the news.

In Ilana Gershon's book, The Breakup 2.0 , she uses stories and interviews from her students to further explore how exactly new media is being used in the ways people end relationships.

As the number of ways we communicate and form relationships increases, so do our options for disconnecting from them. Throughout the book, Gershon repeatedly states: the medium is part of the message. The beliefs people have about how medium conveys and structures certain messages, their media ideologies, gives different mediums different values.

Whether a message is sent from an email, blog, text message, or over Facebook matters and just why it matters various due to a person's ideology regarding that particular medium. A person's ideologies make Facebook different than Skype, texting different from phone calls or emails different than letters. Gershon talks to her research subjects about how mishaps with mediums and messages can occur and gathers tragic tales of communication calamities.

Though the breakup stories can be painful to read about, and the lack of an answer to the question "WHY?!" It is interesting and a little difficult to think critically about my media ideologies, as well as the ideologies of the people I communicate with, not to mention the role media has played in my own disconnecting from relationships.

Within the span of writing this post my phone has chirped twice for incoming text messages, I have checked Facebook notifications and sent and read an email. The messages I encounter each have a different purpose and significance based on my relationship with the person and what is being said. Despite the fact that I may be communicating with one person in numerous ways, the content, tones used and medium in which the message is delivered all varies.

The unspoken about agreement (or in some cases, disagreement) about what types of messages are talked about where can make for smooth connections or outraged disconnections. The easier and more convenient to communicating has become, it is that much harder to understand. New media has turned connecting or disconnecting with others into an unfamiliar, ever evolving experience and a nearly impossible one to understand.

Although Ilana Gershon was unable to provide standards for the use of different media, or tips on the best way to disconnect with new media, presenting a method to the madness is a welcomed first step. Understanding the "how" and "why" people consider the meaning of messages presented in different mediums to be so different isn't a quick and easy process. The universal struggle people face when communicating makes reading about mishaps in disconnecting a little less painful and a little more relieving.

AylaRelations is my first experience with blogging. Please forgive the hiccups but key your eyes out for posts. This food eating, concert-attending-extraordinaire will be documenting experiences around the Minneapolis area having to do with current events, public relations, food and live music. Enjoy!