ashley's vista

My foodie experiences lately

2010-04-23T13:21:00.001-07:00

Well, it has once again been an embarrassingly long time since I wrote a post last. Wanted to give an update. Over the past couple of years, I have been able to enjoy and indulge in some amazing food made by some of the best chefs in the world. For that, I am grateful. It's amazing how much your palate can change just from a couple of years of refinement. Most recently, I attended the 2010 Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival, where I tasted samples of 50 of world's the best chefs' cuisine. There were plenty of stand-out dishes, but I would have to say my favorite was Iron Chef Morimoto's shredded pork in endive salad cups. So yummy!

Anyways, being a Portland native, I'm loving the fact that I can discover new things each day. The never-ending culinary scene (in which chefs are following the trend of growing their own produce) happens to be my shit right now. This last weekend, I would venture to say that I overindulged a little too much, eating out three nights in a row. But it was well worth it. Thursday night, my boyfriend and I (BTW, he's a veg, but is a total foodie as well, which I'm so happy about) made our second visit to Vindhalho, which serves food that I would say is a fuse between American and Indian food. I wasn't too impressed with the food (which was also my impression when I walked away the first time we ate there), it just wasn't traditional enough for me. The veggie pakoras were pretty good, and so was the chutney trio that we ordered to go with our poppadoms. One of the main dishes was the Sang Paneer, which was a mixture of tomato, spinach, tofu and fresh cheese on a bed of yellow rice. The sauce was good, but not seasoned enough, and not spicy enough. The other dish we shared was the vegetable korma, which was ok, but different. A sauce that consists of ground up nuts is not what I would traditionally order at and Indian joint, so I'm glad that it was the dish that by boyfriend ended up ordering because he had to eat it. In my opinion, Vindalho is definitely worth trying if you're looking for Indian food with a twist (not to mention paying a shit ton of money), but doesn't make me want to come back for more. If I want good, cracky Indian food, I'll go to my trusty Swagat's in NW.

Friday night we went to Ken's Artisan Pizza. We were able to walk right up and sit at the bar, in which we were waited on by Ken himself. Very nice guy, you can tell he loves his job and the restaurant industry. The bf ordered the margherita pizza, that came with a bed of arugula on top. It was so delicious and the arugula wasn't overbearing on the basil. I ordered the olive pizza, which had mozzarella, whole black olives and rosemary- I added red onion for some more flavor. Both pizzas had a perfectly cooked crust, and the dough was thin and crispy on the outside and fluffy/chewy on the inside. Also, both pizzas were delicious, and we'll definitely be going back. It's just a hop, skip and a jump from my place.

On Saturday night we had a triple date night, and went to Toro Bravo. This place serves amazing tapas, and is definitely good for groups. The wait was two hours (they unfortunately don't take reservations on the weekend) but that was fine because we wandered down to the White Eagle and sat on the patio and a had a couple of drinkypoos while we were waiting. Anyways, Toro Bravo recently changed its menu (another thing that I love: the menu is changed on a seasonal basis), and was probably the best that I've had there so far. We ordered the braised leeks with salbitxada, which were awesome, but I felt like it should have been on a piece of toasted bread or something. After that, we ordered singing pig greens with grapefruit, blue cheese, pickled red onion & almonds, radicchio salad with green olive toast & manchego vinaigrette, potatoes bravas, and the tortilla espanola with nettles. Both salads were fresh and delicious, I liked the second salad more because I like the bitterness of radicchio. Potato bravas were cubed potatoes with what seemed like a red pepper cream sauce, or some kind of harissa- nonetheless the dish was simple and well-seasoned. The tortilla espanola with nettles was like a potato and nettle quiche, without the crust. My first encounter with cooked nettles was a couple of visits ago, and this dish is always one that we order whenever we go to Toro Bravo. Next we ordered the grilled flat bread with black truffle cheese & arugula, harissa stewed butternut squash with crumbled sheep's cheese, sauteed chard with sunny side up egg, seared scallops with romesco, and the cubano sandwich. The grilled flatbread was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and the truffle cheese was amazing-definitely the hero of the dish. The butternut squash stew is so god damn good! To put it this way, if you don't really like butternut squash or have never had it before, try Toro Bravo's version and you will love it. The sauteed chard with an egg was also one of my favs of the evening, cutting into the yolk and watching it spread all over the chard is so satisfying for some reason. By the time I could get a bite of the scallops and the cubano sandwich, I was so full, that's all I had of each dish, just a taste. The scallops were seared perfectly, and is something that I would order again. Dessert was the churros and chocolate, almond ice cream with a shot of espresso, and the molten lava cake. Yeah, molten lava cake is overdone, bla bla bla, but it's still good. The churros and chocolate was by far my favorite, think of a chewy cinnamon and sugar pastry dipped in melted dark, bitter chocolate. The damage at the end wasn't that bad either. Along with all of the food, each person had two drinks, and the ticket was under $200. Out of the three restaurants, I would definitely go back to Ken's and Toro Bravo anytime.

Until next foodie time.

No Post in Long Time

2008-08-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well, folks it has been way too long. So long that I almost thought for some weird reason my account had disappeared since I hadn't written a post in such a long time. Anyways, the reason being, I got a job. In the real world. A real world job. Which is awesome! I got an internship back during the summer of 2007, and got hired on shortly afterward. And, I can honestly say it has been a great experience. I work for a CFM, a public affairs, research and public relations firm. During my internship, I got to dabble with some interesting stuff, like helping to lobby on behalf of a measure that was at the federal level. Let's just say that was interesting. We went to pick up an old lady(old-people-calling was the extent of my help on this project while I was an intern), to take her to her member of congress in Salem to oppose the cuts to the measure. Well, turns out she had, ahem, problems with controlling some functions of the body, and to put it shortly, I wasn't sitting in the front seat on the drive back from Salem.

Also, my main work as an intern on the Tillamook Cheese account, and it still is. It has been an amazing learning experience and fun job overall. The people that I work with are great, and I've been able to travel to some unseen territory to represent Tillamook. Austin: very fun city, small liberal town in a big conservative state. Chicago: energy there was incredible - has an underground funk, yet slightly sophisticated feel to it. So much history and culture, definitely a city I will revisit. Aspen: beautiful and quite charming. Like Ashland, but in the mountains. Washington DC: I didn't travel there for Tillamook but was fortunate to travel to a city with so much history. Very business-ey and political. I didn't see one person wearing jeans in that city. And I was also careful to not wear my seersuckers. Park City: another beautiful city. Rolling meadows with lupines scattered everywhere, red and dark brown and purple mountains in the background. Not a city that I think I would care to live in, however. Seattle: of course I've been there before, but not for an event where I literally saw half of the city come out. The Bite of Seattle was the Pacific NW in a nutshell. Yuppies mixed with outdoorists, cyclists, naturlists, what ever. Just down to earth people.

So, that's where a majority of my time for about the past year has been spent, in a long-winded version.

The Proliferation of Internet Advertising

2007-06-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

Something that has recently been very annoying to me and that has been widely used as an advertising tactic are pop-ups. I have MSN.com set as my homepage on my laptop, and every time I go to the Web site to peruse the news, a freaking pop-up jumps out at me on the right side of the page, covering the links to the news segments that I want to read. The worst part is that there aren't any of the "X Close" boxes in the upper or lower corners of the advertisements anymore, which gave me the wonderful option of selective exposure, and I could close the darn thing right away if I didn't want to watch the advertisement.

Now I just have to sit there and wait for the advertisement to be over, and of course I don't even pay any attention to it because I'm so frustrated that the pop-up is covering the link that I want to click on.

The average person is exposed to about 1,000 advertising messages daily, and with the rise of Internet advertising, that number can be expected to grow. The nuisance factor can be expected to grow along with it as well. What ever happened to selective exposure in advertising??

Labels: pop-up

Dove's Sleeveless Ready Campaign

2007-06-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Dove's "Are You Sleeveless Ready?" campaign has received a lot of criticism lately, especially from feminists. Yes, we have come a long way in regards to equality, and yes, some women might take offense to an advertising campaign that is trying to build self-esteem by targeting women's armpits. To me, this campaign is a good idea in theory; however, it exudes a little bit of puffery by claiming that a woman's armpit is going to be prettier if she applies Dove's Ultimate Clear deodorant to her pits.

There are some good highlights about the deodorant in the campaign like, be "naturally comfortable in the look and feel of your underarms," which is just a fancy way of saying your armpits won't smell if you use Dove's deodorant. I'm not so sure about its claim to "possess the confidence to wear underarm-baring fashion." The "new" self-esteem building deodorant is probably just the exact same deodorant Dove always offers, but now it's just in a new package with a different advertising angle.

Talking about armpits is a little bit awkward, having an advertising campaign that claims that one's armpits are going to be prettier with the use of a particular deodorant is a little awkward as well.

Personally, I've had someone tell me I have nice armpits, and I honestly didn't know how to respond. Should I have said, "Thanks, your armpits aren't bad either" or should I have poked fun at the person for noticing my nether-body part? It's like saying, "Hey, I like your elbows." Just weird.

Trying to make a self-esteem building campaign out of armpits, which is a semi-awkward issue in itself, is a bold move on Dove's part. The campaign will likely reach its target audience, which are women in need of a good, strong deodorant for their pits. However, the campaign still exudes a little puffery, by saying that a woman's armpits will be prettier with the use of the Ultimate Clear deodorant.

Labels: Dove deodorant , Sleeveless Ready Campaign, feminist, criticism

Marriott's Decision to Cater to Female Tenants

2007-06-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

The grand opening of a new JW Marriott hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan has dedicated an entire floor solely to female travellers. This idea is good in theory, however I'm not so sure if it is a step forward or backward in light of the feminist civil rights movements and issues of equality.

Also, the spokesperson Andrea Groom highly contradicted herself when she said that if a male wanted to request a room on the female-only floor, "it's not going to be an issue...he won't be excluded." In this case Groom was likely trying to be sensitive of gay men's safety issues, in that if a gay man wanted to request a room on the female-only floor, he better get a room.

But what if a man requests a room on the female-only floor and ends up being a serial rapist or murderer? Is this man "not going to be excluded" from the female-only floor? How are the hotel's staff supposed to know the difference? There are likely already enough video cameras and security in the hotels that a female-only floor is not needed.

This new female-only floor is just not a good idea. If Marriott is going to cater to female tenants, then it also needs to cater to the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, ethnic minority and every other stereotyped group in society. I understand the positive effort that Marriott was trying to make by addressing the needs of its consumers, but to me this only discriminates against other groups in society, including females.

Labels: Grand Rapids Marriott

Mis-informed Clients on Public Relations

2007-06-04T23:11:00.000-07:00

In a recent post on Guy Kawasaki's blog, "How to Change the World," Margie Fisher provides a list of the top ten reasons why PR doesn't work. As an aspiring PR practitioner, I could see how disconnects in communication could lead a client to believe that public relations is not working in their favor.

I especially agree with reason #9: "Clients get upset when the media coverage is not 100% accurate or not the kind of coverage that they wanted." My first press conference that I organized and hosted, the Campaign for Affordable Textbooks, I thought was a complete disaster. There were only two media contacts present to cover the event, plus a crowd of about 15 people. However, I managed to get some great guest speakers and ended up with a 30-second segment on one of the leading news stations in Eugene, as well as an article in the local newspaper. I later learned that a 30-second segment is a good thing, considering that most news segments are only about minute long anyways. But people who are not in public relations don't understand the media relations process, which is why it may be viewed as inefficient to some clients to have only a small segment on television. But in reality, it is a good thing if positive publicity related to a client ends up on the news, because that means the issue is newsworthy.

I also agree with reason #10: "Clients won't change their schedules for the media. Clients need to drop everything if the media calls." One of the main points that I learned in my PR writing class focused on specifics about media relations, and one tip I remember is to always answer a reporter's phone call, or at least always return it the same day. Denying the media will not only burn a bridge with what could be a pivotal media outlet, it will eliminate an opportunity that a client had to inform and communicate with the public.

Labels: PR services

PR 2.0

2007-05-28T22:28:00.000-07:00

Public relations is much more than media relations. However, today it seems as if it is becoming more and more a blend of marketing, advertising and communications all in one. Look up a job listing for "public relations specialist" and it will probably fall under the category "Advertising/Marketing/Public Relations." Certainly one needs to have a expanded knowledge of the social media, such as social media press releases, business blogs, Technorati, Digg This, etc...but public relations is not strictly about media relations. The purpose of the media in public relations is to act as a medium for which the PR practitioner can get a message communicated effectively to the public, to influence behavior.

Of course there are many different publics with many different messages that need to be tailored and communicated accordingly to each specific audience, which is likely why we as PR practitioners are essentially having to learn all of the social media stuff.

And I have no problem keeping up with the technology (that seems to be changing every day at an exponential rate) that's used as a medium to get a PR message communicated to an audience. The future of journalism is technology.

Labels: social media

Hi, My Name is 37 Percent Masculine

2007-05-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

According to a recent article in The Observer, a United Kingdom newspaper, research showed that names do have an effect on people and give them a pre-conceived idea of how that person is going to behave.

The research also showed that girls with very feminine names like Isabella, Emma or Anna will more likely steer clear of math. The study conducted by psychologist Albert Mehrabian, gave the most popular girls' names taken from 1.4 million birth certificates a "femininity rating," with Isabella having the highest rating of 1.21 and Alex the lowest rating of 0.28.

My name, Ashley, is right there in the middle with a supposed predominantly less feminine view, according to this study. In other words, on a scale of 100 (although I'm not sure what the scale range was for this study because Isabella received a 1.21 femininity rating, but let's just say for the sake of normal scale increments we'll use 100) my name is 37 percent manly.

Personally, I always think of Gone With the Wind's McDreamy, Ashley Wilkes, when I think of my name as originally being masculine. One of my friends whom is a male is also named Ashley, and it honestly feels a little weird calling him by that name.

The shift in masculine/feminine names also is just a reflection of societal changes. What may have been masculine nearly 150 years ago is now a popular name for females, giving it more femininity. An example of this are the names Taylor or Morgan.

It is also true that names provide a powerful image of a person and influence peoples' reactions toward them, which is likely connected to the image of a particular person in one's memory. I know this is bad, but I would not name my little girl Christina or Jennifer because these were the names of people that I knew from childhood, which just give me bad memories.

Labels: Ashley Wilkes

Business Blogging On Its Way Out?

2007-05-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

I have occasionally been reading Wieden + Kennedy's blog, "Welcome to Optimism" every now and then just to see what's new in the agency with a bunch of very talented advertisers, and according to one person who I met that works at the agency, describes it as "the shit."

This is the agency that has produced many influential campaigns to the especially-important consumer marketing group, Generation Y, such as the most recent media attention-grabbing "Hondamentalism" campaign that came out of Wieden + Kennedy's London agency. And a new term was coined. I like how in journalism we are so grammatically focused and nit-picky about our writing, but we can make up words just because it sounds cool.

As a journalism student at the University of Oregon, my advanced public relations class has done some extensive studying on corporate blogging. From what we've learned, the purpose of corporate blogging is to create a distribution/syndication platform that helps to build brand identity, support marketing and public relations objectives, and most importantly from a public relations standpoint, to build mutually beneficial relationships with the client and the agent.

Many other topics can be posted on business blogs, like on W+K's, a special post titled "Drama in the Office," but mainly blogs should be a medium in which a company can get feedback from clients and consumers in general. W+K did a great job on incorporating a little PR into its post about Hondamentalism.

In my opinion blogs are here to stay, even though there are some who claim they are already on their way out.

Labels: corporate blogs

The Morphology of Facebook

2007-05-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

For those of us who are in college and have a Facebook account, we likely have a Myspace account also. For those who don't know what Facebook is, it is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. I still remember back in the day (read: 2004) when I first opened my Facebook account and it was none other than a simple Web site where one could upload pictures, create a profile, have a comments section on his/her profile, and be "friends" with other people on this Web site. Not that one didn't have friends before, but now h/she has Facebook "friends."
The most fun was being able to "poke" someone. Not that way-geez. But just a poke, as in "Hey, I'm over here looking at your Facebook profile and I kinda wanna poke ya. Poke me back if you want to." It still is the most entertaining part of the site.

From this seemingly simple network social utility, we now have a Web site that has groups that one can join, events that are advertised and posted, notes that can be posted on what looks like a quasi-blog, and a marketplace where stuff can be advertised, similar to that of Craig's List.

The expansion of services that Facebook has to offer is not just due to an increase in new users on the Web site. It is a reflection of the morphology of the Internet as a whole. Along with Facebook, there is also Myspace (for everyone, not just college students) as well as a plethora of blogs emerging as the new trend, the blogosphere, which I just entered and started using last month.

At first when I heard about Facebook, I didn't want to have anything to do with it. I wanted to remain unknown to others until I met them in person, and found spending time on the site counterproductive. Since then, my notions have changed, and I am glad that I am a Facebooker, as well as a Myspacer, and a Blogger. To keep up with the exponentially growing technology trends, one is at a disadvantage if h/she does not have any accounts with the services listed above.

My motivation comes from the insightful saying on the back of my Yogi Tea bag from this morning, and is my advice to new users of the Web 2.0: "Keep Up!"

Labels: facebook

Trans Fat, Does it Exist?

2007-05-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Trans fat labeling is something that has always fascinated me. A lot of the chips, crackers, and cookies that we eat will say "0 Grams Trans Fat" or "Trans Fat Free" on the packaging, which has led me to believe that it never existed, and that it was just a powerful marketing tool directed toward the health-conscious population of society. "Zero Grams Trans Fat"...so it doesn't exist, right?

Trans fat is partially hydrogenated oils, which raise levels of bad cholesterol and lower levels of good cholesterol. Products that contain fully hydrogenated oils are saturated fats, which do not contain trans fat, but are still just as bad for your arteries.

There are actually some very specific guidelines about packaging as regulated by the Food and Drug Administration that states that if a product has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, it is trans fat free. Way to go FDA! So for all the other government related issues, if a politician sort of lied, does that mean h/she's not a liar? With all of the news stories and national efforts to help reduce obesity, maybe the government should reconsider its trans-fat guidelines.

The National Academy of Sciences and the World Health Organization recommend that a person's daily intake of trans fat be less than 1% of energy intake. According to labels on the FDA's website, there are no % Daily Values (DV) for trans fat. For example, if there is 1.5 grams of trans fat in a serving of potato chips, there is no percent daily value because the molecules of trans fat are so complicated that a %DV recommendation can not be made. However, 5 grams of saturated fat is 25% of a persons recommended intake, so wouldn't that make 1.5 grams of trans fat extremely bad for you?

Also, partially hydrogenated and fully hydrogenated oils can be used interchangeably on food labels, which adds to the confusion of whether or not it exists in a product. If in the ingredients in a product says "hydrogenated oils," we as consumers don't know whether it is partially hydrogenated (trans fat) or fully hydrogenated (saturated fat).

Trans fat does exist, even in some products that state "0 Grams Trans Fat," because the FDA allows less than 0.5 percent of trans fat existing in a product to be labeled trans fat free. Even though the FDA has implemented stricter labeling laws, we should still be conscious consumers and read labels carefully before purchasing any product. That is, if you're a health nut.

Labels: trans fat

Should PR be a Business Major?

2007-05-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

Absolutely not. At a recent PRSSA meeting, one of the speakers expressed his concern for the administration at the University of Oregon talking about turning PR into a business major. I feel this would be detrimental to the PR industry because business professors don't incorporate grammar-specific writing exercises into their curriculum and the students are therefore a little, umm, less fortunate in the area of writing, if that's the right phrase. I'm not speaking for everyone in the business school because I'm positive that there are some individuals who write beautifully as a business major, but then again I'm almost positive that at least one person in the business school couldn't tell a passive verb from a predicate nominative (nightmarish flashback from Grammar 101).

Moreover, there are differences that walk a fine line between business (i.e. marketing), public relations, and advertising. Marketing has sales goals, advertising has awareness goals, and public relations has behavior-influencing goals. If public relations turned into a business major, business executives would likely end up regurgitating a bunch of messages containing jargon and unclear writing.

With the rise of business blogging as a new way to create a bond with consumers, having a PR practioner to manage the blog is that much more important. According to a recent article on Yahoo news, "Writing Blogs Can Be Hard, So Get 'Help,'" growing numbers of writers and Web design firms are writing and posting blog entries on behalf of clients who want to have blogs but are poor writers. This is where our job as a public relations practioner comes in.

Let's leave the creation and effective communication of business messages up to the PR folks, and the marketing/sales strategy up to the business folks, please.

Labels: public relations

2007-05-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0 In a Nutshell.

In my new found fancy for the blogosphere, I think I have found some decent explanations of just exactly what Web 2.0 is. According to Wikipedia, it is "an improved form of the World Wide Web; [...] technologies such as weblogs, social bookmarking, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds (and other forms of many-to-many publishing), social software, Web APIs, Web standards and online Web services imply a significant change in web usage" (Wikipedia.com).

That's great and all with the technology jargon, but here is an even better explanation that I found hilarious: Supermarket 2.0.

Video: YouTube

Narcissist, Individualist, Who Me??

2007-05-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

After reading a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, that suggests that our generation's ego trip could lead to volatile relationships ahead, I am a little entertained. According to the psychology report, "Egos Inflating Over Time," led by a San Diego State psyhcologist, a rising ego rush could cause problems for Generation Y individuals, in that people with an inflated sense of self tend to have less interest in emotionally intimate bonds and can easily lash out when rejected or insulted. The heightened "sense of self" was attributed to Web sites like Myspace and YouTube.

While I agree that a lot of people, mostly teenagers belonging to the Gen.Y category are somewhat individualistic, it is not just due to Web sites like Myspace and Facebook or reality TV shows. American culture is highly individualistic, as we are based on a democracy of capitalizing in areas that will only be beneficial to the money-makers of America, like large corporations.

Take Starbucks for example. On its Web site, there is a whole section with a bunch of links dedicated to their "sound" business move to offer Fair Trade coffee. And that's just the thing, they offer Fair Trade coffee, and always have it available for the caffeine addicts who love drinking coffee from the cup with the green and black mermaid, but it is not used in their everyday espresso or fresh brewed coffee. One would have to ask for a pot of Fair Trade coffee to be brewed and then wait an additional 4-5 minutes for Fair Trade coffee.
There is nothing in the promotional brochures about Starbucks' dedication to coffee farmers that says that Fair Trade products are available only upon request. Additionally, Fair Trade coffee farmers have to meet specific guidelines set by Starbucks and Conservation International before they and their communities can receive the benefits of being a Fair Trade farmer.
The bottom line here is that Fair Trade farmers have to meet specific guidelines to receive the benefits. What's more is that land in third-world countries that is highly arable is basically taken by large corporations who are capitalizing on America's societal consensus to be environmentally conscious.

It is also ironic in this report that a sociology professor at Cal State Long Beach said, "If you don't have a me-first attitude, you won't succeed." It appears that individualism is the way-to-be down in southern California, which helps contribute to America's stereotype as being an individualist nation.

My sociology professor here at the University of Oregon believes that we are entirely individualistic. He has been a sociology professor for years and was once a leader of a Vietnam student anti-war organization, the Student Democratic Society. He has formed his opinion just by examining student behavior on campus, like walking and talking on cell phones, listening to iPods when walking down the street, and even down to the fact that we are not protesting the war in Iraq. He specifically says that we just "don't care."

While this may be true for some, for others the reason for not protesting the war is that the tactics used by the police force are far more harsh than they were in the 1960s. Instead of fire hoses and batons, we now can look forward to tear gas, tazors, and rubber bullets.

In speaking with my good friend, Becky, whom used to live in apartments in the middle of greek row down at UCLA, individualists roam the streets at all hours. Down there it is okay if one answers his/her cell phone or Blackberry in the middle of a posh dinner. Also, according to Becky, employers will hire and fire without thinking twice. As a well-known photographer's apprentice, Becky was expected to work 15+ days, and if she decided to relax and work the "norm" of nine-hour workdays, she was threatened with termination.

So I guess the bottom line is that our individualistic behavior is not our fault. There are many outside forces that result in Gen. Y's egoist behavior, many of which are out of our control. My advice: live life like honeybees do, that is work together instead of with concern only of oneself.

Labels: Honeybee

Introductions!

2007-04-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

So this is blogging, huh? At first I really didn't know how I felt about creating a blog, letting people that I don't even know comment on my personal views, letting them have an insight to myself. But, then I realized that a lot of my personal information is already on the Internet, and many people already have easy access to my information if they really wanted it-so what am I worrying for? Also, owing to the knowledge of my current PR professor, Kelli Matthews, (for which this blog has been created) employers like that aspiring PR students are familiar with blogging and have some experience with it in one way or another. Maybe Myspace. Or Facebook. I'm excited that the future of journalism is obviously technology, and that I am familiarizing myself with what appears is going to be very valuable in the PR industry. I found on Kelli Matthew's blog PRos in training, to have some helpful advice for aspiring PR practitioners.
To introduce myself, I am senior at the University of Oregon, where I am currently studying public relations, and I plan on walking in June. I serve as the journalism/education senator for the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, (ASUO) where I have learned a lot-perhaps too much-about politics, but have also gained some valuable pr skills along the way. I recently helped to organize a friend's campaign for ASUO executive this year. It was pretty successful, up until the last week a very politically motivated tactic was used to our opponent's advantage, which showed me the true colors of politics which in many cases is owed to the ever-present political skirmishes that appears will always be present on any senate or political body.
But the additional experience that I received from organizing the campaign is valuable to any aspiring PR student, and I'm glad I had to opportunity to gain some additional PR knowledge outside of class time over the past two terms.
Well, that's enough about me! More posts will be sure to come in the near future...stay tuned!