Writing Style

Hopefully, I'm not "preaching to the choir" on this post. Recently, PRSA Tactics (a monthly publication of the Public Relations Society of America) titled their Feb. 2009 issue "The write way." They've done a couple of these, and to me, reading about the latest "trends" if you will in writing style is very interesting.

I should preface this by saying that a colleague of mine told me something very valuable a couple years ago. He said that there's a big difference between writing for college papers and journalistic writing. Through my four years of college, I got accustomed to APA (American Psychological Association) Style. APA Style consists of long paragraphs and punctuation like you wouldn't believe.

Which was part of my problem. My English professor, bless her heart, drilled APA Style very hard. So much to the point that I became "comma crazy." Not just commas, mind you, punctuation altogether. But this colleague of mine reminded me that "less is more" and also that you don't want an incredible amount of punctuation to slow down your readers.

Another piece of writing style that drives me crazy is which words are hyphenated; and which are not. This colleague of mine once again taught me something very valuable - if the combination of words are written in an adjective form, then they are hyphenated. For example, "low-income housing."

Here's writing style you probably wouldn't see in an AP Stylebook; but would find in the PRSA Tactics January 2009 issue (15 for '09 - New media terms for a new year): media terminology. For instance, "cell phone" is two words; yet, BlackBerry is one word, note the upper-case letters. The same rule applies to MySpace, YouTube, and one that really drives me crazy: LinkedIn. Every time I see that one in an e-mail, I have to look twice. For me, the lower-case "d" and upper-case "I" being so close together makes it hard to read sometimes.

For the record, your Yahoo, Gmail or POP Mail accounts would be written as "e-mail." Here's one that was interesting to me, "blog," is short for "Web log," and therefore is not capitalized, neither is "podcast" or "videocast."

As we move into a world with less newspapers, and more blogs and social-networking sites; it is fun to examine how the rules are changing, right before our eyes.

What's on your MP3 player?

How about that for an icebreaker question at your next networking event or "meet-and-greet" event? Hoping that I'm not breaking any copyright rules by somewhat taking a page out of CapitalOne's ad campaign...I thought it was an interesting question.

I also thought I'd take the safe route and not alienate a whole group of people who don't specifically use an iPod. Me, personally, I don't have an iPod, I use my LG Chocolate 3 from Verizon Wireless.

There are dozens of Facebook groups that ask the same question. I vaguely remember someone even sending me a Facebook message once about the "soundtrack of your life." Basically, you take the music on your iPod, and press "shuffle." Apparently it says alot about who you are as a person.

MP3 players of all persuasions are fun tools. You literally have a commercial-free radio station, with a format that is out of style in today's radio market: all-over-the-road, or AOR. Personally, I have everything from classical to hard rock. Top 40 to the obscure. The Berlin Philharmonic to Metallica.

I haven't figured out what the music on my MP3 player says about me. though. I have one CD that I imported through my PC to my phone that has 44 tracks on it; so pressing "shuffle" gives me alot of tracks from that one CD all at once.

Try playing the "soundtrack of your life" sometime. It can be interesting, and fun. Of course, every time you press "shuffle," you'll end up with something different. And, the next time you're at a networking event, try asking the question; you might be surprised what you find out.

Extra, Extra! Read all about it - somewhere else

It is a tough time for many industries; but the one that seems to be hardest hit is newspapers. Especially in the last month or two, it's really getting tough. First the Rocky Mountain News closes, then the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ceases print operations, and becomes online-exclusive.

Other newspapers, such as the San Francisco Chronicle are also in danger of ceasing operation; and the Minneapolis Star Tribune declared bankruptcy last month. Is this a result of the sagging economy, or a shift in the way people get their news? Might I suggest it's a little of both; but probably more of the latter, as opposed to the former.

When the Saint Paul Pioneer Press re-designed its paper last year, I saw so many posts on their website about "[There's] a print edition?" or people saying "I just read it online" messages like that were aplenty after the paper re-designed. People even went so far to say that they would cancel their subscriptions because of the re-design.

I have caught myself wondering whether or not the two Twin Cities papers would actually merge. The Pioneer Press is increasingly combining several sections into one. The front page, Local and Business are combined more often than not. The Star Tribune combines its front page and Local section on Mondays.

Fladung told me in an interview for an article I wrote for the June 2008 issue of PRSA Quarterly, the chapter newslettter of the Minnesota PRSA (Public Relations Society of America), "[The papers] could merge tomorrow...can the Twin Cities be a one-paper market?"
I'm not entirely certain we could be a one-paper market. Fladung also told me about news "agnostics," people who demand that their paper come from one source, and one source only.

The Twin Cities has lots of people like that. There are people who wouldn't be caught dead reading the Pioneer Press; and vice versa with the Star Tribune. And, after over 140 years, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer became an online-exclusive newspaper earlier this month. To some degree, with all the young, tech-savvy people in Seattle, I'm surprised the Post-Intelligencer didn't take that step sooner. Not to be guilty of insider trading, but reports say the Ann Arbor News in Ann Arbor, MI will follow the Post-Intelligencer's route in July, after 174 years of print publication. Even college newspapers are being hit. The Minnesota Daily, a newspaper published by students at the University of Minnesota, ceased the Friday print edition in December, 2008.

Get your print editions of newspapers now, they might not exist in a couple years. At least, we can still get a print copy of The Onion. But for how long?

The Timberwolves' Pledge

I'm sure we've all seen it by now, the TV spot featuring Glen Taylor, owner of a beleaguered Timberwolves team, sitting center-court, in a darkened Target Center, telling folks about season tickets for next year. "Season tickets as low as $5 per game" is the marketing ploy for the 2009-10 season ticket campaign.

If you have turned on a Timberwolves game lately, there have been lots of empty seats. And, it's not just four seats here, three seats there that are empty; there are entire sections of seats that are empty.

Think back 20 years, when the Timberwolves, one of the newest expansion franchises in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing in front of very large crowds at the Metrodome. As a matter of fact, in their inaugural season of 1989-90, they set an all-time NBA season attendance record of over 1 million people.

But now, the Timberwolves are changing things up for their 2009-10 season ticket campaign. In a letter penned by Glen Taylor (and also mentioned in the TV spot), the Timberwolves have reduced prices on 95% of the seats in Target Center. I looked on the Timberwolves website, they have reduced ticket prices dramatically. Glen Taylor's letter to the fans can be found at http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/tickets/200910_Glen_Taylor_Letter.html .

Don't get too excited, however. The $5-per-game tickets are way up at the top of the arena, on the ends. And, those are season ticket prices; not single-game prices. What's more, the "Early Bird" deal, as they are calling it, lasts only until July.

This might be a bad thought, but I wonder whether or not the Timberwolves are lowering ticket prices to match the product on the court. Gone are the days of the NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Gone is our beloved Kevin Garnett, who for so many years got us to the playoffs. Now. it seems as though they're starting all over again.

Perhaps, in this bad economy, which is cited as a main reason for the ticket price reduction, that's exactly what the Timberwolves should be doing from a PR standpoint. They aren't asking for a billion dollars to build a new arena; they are trying to get their fan base back. What's more, they are trying to do that amidst a bad economy and a poor team.

Another part of this new campaign is the "no-risk pledge." This confused me at first. The pledge was, that if you lost your job, you wouldn't have to pay for the season tickets; you'd get your money back. According to the letter and the website, folks who lose their jobs will be refunded the money from the unused tickets. It's unusual, if not unprecedented in professional sports. But, I'm happy the Timberwolves have made that pledge.

In this world of billion-dollar stadiums, skyrocketing ticket prices, and the increasing luxury that is professional sports, it is refreshing to see a professional team make a PR move like this. I hope that this campaign is successful for the Timberwolves. I also hope that it will set a standard for other teams to consider; instead of always wanting more from their fans, to give a little back.

In my opinion, that is what keeps a fan base.

Facebook - as a resume tool?

An interesting thought came to me as I was eating dinner recently with a colleague that I met in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). The thought was this: to what extent is Facebook a good tool to post a resume?
The ultimate question that came to my mind was, "how much do I want a potential employer to see?"
Social networking sites are great tools. I know it's a cliche, but it seems to me that these days, "everybody's doing it." If you can't find people on Facebook, they'll be on MySpace. If not there, try LinkedIn or Twitter.
However, Facebook is a different monster from the aforementioned social networking sites. Facebook has games, applications, groups - things that if a potential employer saw some of them, might sound an alarm.
Profile photos could raise red flags also. In my early days on Facebook, I had some strange profile pictures. Me making strange faces, me and my brother making strange faces, my cat, me and my brother making strange faces at the cat; you get the idea. Recently, I changed my profile picture to a more professional looking, suit-and-tie picture. I have to say, that's the one I'm keeping.
Making funny pictures, strange groups, games - it's all in good fun on Facebook. But, be careful, you never know who might see "the real you" posted on Facebook. Twitter is a great alternative, as you only get 140 characters to work with to get your point across.
Bottom line, it's probably better if you keep the resume off Facebook. Someone, anyone could use it against you.