I’m so happy I have a contact form on this website. I get a steady stream of mail from you folks; mostly with questions about breaking into the public relations industry, how to handle various PR issues or a comment about one of my Her Nashville columns.
Today’s question comes from new reader JM:
I’m a recent graduate who just moved into the Nashville area from California and have found myself to be one of the millions of fish in the employ-me-sea. Any advice/tips for a upward minded new guy?
FlackRabbit says:
Dear JM: You’ll love Nashville. I was born in raised there. I moved to D.C. a year and a half ago, but Nashville will always be home. Family and friends are still there; I still write for Her Nashville magazine; many Nashville folks believe I still live there. Here’s three ways a recent grad can stand out in Music City:
Talk to strangers: many fantastic job opportunities are discovered by word-of-mouth, so start meeting folks! A great way to meet fellow recent grads and potential employers is through Meetup.com. That’s where the Nashville Flacks PR happy hour lives; the first meetup is Tuesday, August 10 in downtown Nashville. If you don’t find a Meetup group that suits your fancy, start your own. That’s what I did when I moved to D.C. and DC Flacks now has 270 members! After you meet someone new, stay connected with them with LinkedIn. Read More…
Nearly one year ago, I moved to D.C. declared a PR people happy hour and was shocked when a dozen folks actually showed up. Now, DC Flacks is more successful that I could have ever imagined. We are 250+ members strong, each happy hour is attended by anywhere from 25 to 60 flacks and we’ve even got a fancy-pants sponsor: Vocus!
Building on the success of DC Flacks, I’m proud to introduce Nashville Flacks, co-organized by the lovely and talented Cindy, Jena and Mary Beth. I can’t hardly wait to see what the future holds for this group!
If you’re a PR or communications pro in the Middle Tennessee region, I hope you’ll join us. Membership is free. Like DC Flacks, the group meets once a month for beverages, conversation and ranting laughs. We’ve only been an active group for two days and already have 40 members! Pretty cool.
Now, for those of you not living in D.C. or Nashvegas, you should start your own ____ Flacks chapter on Meetup.com. If you need help, tips or encouragement, just shoot me an email at Margie (at) Flackrabbit (dot) com. Read More…
The July issue of Her Nashville magazine is here! For those of you unable to hop over to Nashville and pick up a copy, surf on over to the Her Nashville website. There, you’ll read my/the Chic Geek’s thoughts on the importance of surrounding yourself with positive people:
I have an incredibly kind and encouraging foundation comprised of my husband, family, friends, bosses (past and current), and mentors. The power of their kind gestures and encouragement is immeasurable; it has made me the confident, positive person I am today, and I experience that positive power nearly every day.
Do you?
If you almost said “yes,” then thought “not really,” and then quickly started defending the intentions of negative folks in your life, I encourage you to begin seeking out and surrounding yourself with kind and encouraging people. Read the full column here!
I hope you’ll find this column just the motivation you need to wash away negative influences and bathe your soul in the uplifting people who know and love you. I promise your heart, career and health won’t regret it! Read More…
Last week, I sat 800 miles away and watched as my hometown drowned. I’ve lived in D.C. for one full year now, but Nashville is home. I’m a communicator–a good one–but I don’t know how to express how much my heart hurts for my city. I can’t find a way to verbalize it. My fingers refuse to put pressure on the keys when I try to type it out.
The good news: I don’t have to worry about my inability to explain how I feel, folks like Patten Fuqua, A.C. Kleinheider and countless others have said it all for me–for all of us. Powerfully, honestly, beautifully.
My one contribution to the discussion is over at Her Nashville magazine. As the post says, I’m completely in awe over the way Nashvillians are using social media platforms to communicate, connect and share information in such a meaningful way. Facebook, Twitter, text messages, YouTube, Flickr, blog posts, websites. Nashvillians have taken to the Web and it’s working. Read More…
{In today’s guest post, Nashvillian Mary Beth Ikard offers up a friendly reminder about the advantages of being an approachable PR pro.}
Of all the characteristics you’d like included in your reputation as a PR practitioner: great writer, strong sense of news value, deadline-oriented – you wouldn’t want ‘unfriendly’ among them, right?
As spokesperson for myself and my organization, I want each person with whom I interact to walk away saying –to quote the Beach Boys– “I’m pickin’ up good vibrations.”
Obviously, being a “people person” doesn’t make you default-qualified to work in PR. But there’s great joy to be found in being open, in fostering an ability to relate to the publics you seek to address on behalf of your organization and cause. Read More…
My hometown of Nashville boasts an abundance of talented PR firms, but D.C. is truly bursting with fabulously useful PR events.
This week, I’ll be attending two flack-tastic gatherings. The first because I’m hosting it, the second because it features a rockin’ panel of D.C. journalists I’d like to get to know. And because the hostess makes for a delightful coffee date.
So, if you are a Washington D.C. PR pro (or just wanna hang out with cool people who like to talk a lot), I hope you’ll show your face on:
Wednesday, January 13 at 6:30 p.m. — it’s time to resume our monthly DC Flacks happy hour at the District Chop House downtown. Join us for cheap beer (a near-impossible find in this town), talented PR, PA and Web professionals, and onion rings. We’ll see you at the upstairs bar; membership is free. Read More…
Well OF COURSE there would be a Fame flash mob in Nashvegas now that I no longer live there! (sigh). So very sad I was not a part of this FABULOUS impromptu display of jazz hands at the Nashville Farmer’s Market. Well done, Circle Players!
Be sure to watch it all the way through to view maximum tourist confusion:
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