Hypertext » Bethany Latta

Students & Social Media: The Future is Bright

Bethany Latta — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:59:37 +0000

I was recently invited by the communication department at Rochester Institute of Technology to give a brief lecture on the for-profit public relations milieu. It’s been so long since I was back at college that the students made me feel a bit like an old man. Nevertheless, I persevered through my presentation on what agency PR is, what corporate PR is, and what Text 100 has to offer. In particular, I pointed out how Text 100′s peer media practice and Second Life expertise is a big differentiator for us. You could feel the interest level in the room perk right up.

Text 100 isn’t new to the peer media landscape, especially not as the first PR firm to have a presence in Second Life. But these students have been utilizing all kinds of peer media for years now. When I was in school, AOL Instant Messenger was all the rage. But now with the advent of YouTube, MySpace, FaceBook, Friendster and a cadre of other tools and applications, the students sitting before me in the auditorium were no newbies (read: "n00bs") to online social environments.

But the interest they showed in Second Life was really astounding. While only a dozen raised their hands as actually active in-world, I think many more were able to grasp the scale of the SL economy and the opportunity for building brand awareness through PR. After my presentation, Dr. Susan Barnes from RIT told me they were offering a class in conjunction with RIT’s Lab for Social Computing for winter quarter focusing solely on Second Life.

In the end, it was great to see so many young students so excited about PR and the future opportunities for the field. Based on the acumen demonstrated in post-presentation questions many of them brought to me, I’d say the future is in good hands.

Kevin Ptak

Technorati Tags: Rochester Institute of Technology, Second Life, Text 100

PRSA’s North Pacific District Conference Hits San Francisco This Week

Bethany Latta — Tue, 15 May 2007 15:45:48 +0000

As I mentioned in a post earlier this month, PRSA’s North Pacific District conference is coming to San Francisco this Friday. Themed “The Golden Gateway to the Global Village” – the conference is shaping up to be an interesting day of networking, discussions and educational sessions.

I’m co-hosting a session on international PR with VTM’s Bill Warner. The fact that we’re on immediately after my friend Ryan Donovan’s session on HP’s Board leaks should ensure we have a good crowd!

Green issues are also on the agenda and my ‘green’ colleague Jodi Olson will be presenting a session titled “The Greening of Silicon Valley”. She follows a fascinating-looking clean technology panel moderated by Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures which features Jim Carlton of the Wall Street Journal, Michael Kanellos of CNET, Jennifer Kho of Greentech Media, Adam Lashinsky of Fortune and David Baker of the San Francisco Chronicle.

I’m told there is still time to register – so if you’re in the area don’t miss out on this one!

David McCulloch

Technorati Tags: Vinod Khosla, PRSA, Text 100

Text 100 and PARC to Share Green Knowledge at PRWeek Sustainability Event

Bethany Latta — Thu, 10 May 2007 17:07:50 +0000

Today, clean tech and communications gurus alike will join together for "Target Green – Making Sustainability Work" - an event taking place in San Francisco, sponsored by PRWeek. Attendees will hear case studies on how both companies and the environment are benefiting from corporate Green initiatives. Experts will also discuss the crucial role PR and marketing are playing in these initiatives.

Text 100′s own clean tech expert Jodi Olson will be participating, along with other corporate and agency sustainability authorities including Scott Elrod, manager, Hardware Systems Laboratory, Palo Alto Research Center, in the event’s "The Future in Clean Tech" panel.

Keynote addresses from Jeffrey A. Hollender, CEO, Seventh Generation and Paul Zeven, CEO, Philips North America are also planned.