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I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
What would the holiday be without a good old PIO, PR, social media take on what if the first Christmas happened in the era of Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, Wikipedia, Farmville and Google?
To many of us integrating social media into our PIO or PAO pr and marketing plan seems to be a daunting task. Some look at it as all encompassing and begin to ignore the traditional and still strong forms of news dissemination such as newspapers and TV. Others see social media as such a big challenge that they push it off and say “I’ll start tomorrow.” But in essence, social media is no more or less an additional tool for the old pr toolbox.
It seems as PIO’s that we are beginning to look at the dawning of an era where one persons negative observation of our departments can be magnified a thousand fold through the use of social media. The power of the pen has become the power of the keyboard and we have to be prepared.
Even after the masses spoke out against Washington’s way of doing business during the last election, politicians and their minions continue to try to spin their talking points to the American people like we just fell off the turnip truck.
It doesn’t make a difference whether it is a democrats or republican, these empty suits continue to use the same old political talking points they used before the election and expect us to fall in line like sheep.
Last night I crossed the Thin Blue Line by speaking before 150 police officers at a meeting of The New York State Shields. What fascinated me about the evening were the stories behind a number of Hero Awards that were presented and how the fire service achieved a mention in each of them. Not necessarily a thank you, but at least a mention.
Its strange how there always seems to be this underlying rivalry and sometimes downright hostility when PD and FD are on site at the same scene. Yet by listening to these stories it becomes quickly apparent that during our worst times of crisis as well as theirs one cannot succeed without the other.
I was perusing U.S. News and World Report and found an interesting list that bodes well for us and our profession as public relations and communications specialists.
The magazine has placed PR specialist among the top 50 careers of 2011. The publication says the industry is expected to add 66,000 jobs, or grow by a whopping 24 percent, between 2008 and 2018. Median annual earnings are reported at $51, 960, with the top 10 percent making about $96,000 although in my estimation, on the overall lines I have seen of PIO and PAO salaries the figure skews a little low on the median.
A few days ago I was the guest speaker at the local Rotary. I was giving the Rotarians a general overview of my department and how we provide service to the community. In preparing an outline for my remarks I recalled that a member in the club always throws out a historic trivia challenge during the meetings. His facts are great and always met with amazement and a rumbling across the room of “I didn’t know that!”
Not to be one upped I needed a great wow factor fact about the fire service to win over the hearts and minds.
As you may recall this past September 1st, a man armed with guns and explosives entered Discovery’s HQ building in Maryland and took three individuals hostage for several hours. Thankfully no employees were hurt or killed; the gunman was shot by police during their operation to rescue the hostages.
Often I am asked by PR execs from for profit corporations what protocols I feel they should put in place in the event of a crisis, whether it is fire or law enforcement that might occur on their premises.
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