Congratulations to the newly elected 2012-2013 Eboard! We are so excited to have everyone on board and hit the next semester off with a bang. A big congratulations to the graduating board as well, and an electronic round of applause to them for making the past year a wonderful PRSSA experience. Looking forward to great times ahead!

And here is your new board:

Shira Palka, President 

Eva Huang, VP of Finance

We know that many of you unfortunately could not attend tonight’s meeting, so here are some highlights of our talk with Adrianna and Meg!

• Make sure you’re familiar with the latest social channels.Training programs are becoming more popular at agencies, and one day you may have to teach your boss how to use social media like Twitter or Pinterest.
• In such a stressful field, many people can easily burn out, but it is important to slow down and just breathe. At the end of the day, it’s up to you on how much you want to accomplish and this is an industry where you can really grow and shine.
• Some of the daily work tasks include planning and media relations; social media writing, a lot of media outreach, brainstorming and executing. And remember- “no idea is a bad idea in a brainstorm.” ~A
• “Intern as much as possible, no matter where it is.” ~M
• Experience is the only way you’ll truly learn about the industry, so try to intern, or even just learn about a company through informational interviews.
• An ideal intern from the NYC PR Girls’ perspective will: follow through and keep the flow of communication going at all times, be responsive, speak up, go the extra mile to complete a task, and mess up. That’s right, it’s important to make mistakes and you’re there to learn, so don’t be afraid to call out an error and learn from it afterwards.

The girls also discussed salaries, living in the city vs. commuting, making friends after college, and the perks of being in the industry.

Thanks for hanging out with our chapter, we hope you stop by again!

-Shira Palka
NYU PRSSA VP of Communications 

Over my spring break, I had the wonderful opportunity and honor of attending the PRSSA National Assembly in Charlotte, North Carolina, as NYU PRSSA’s official delegate. This was my first national conference and our chapter’s first representation in the assembly since its foundation. If I had to sum up my experience in one word, it would be Inspiring. Over 200 delegates and PRSSA members from around the country represented their universities, in order to learn important leadership skills, understand the role that ethics plays in PR, build their chapters, and spread the PRSSA love.

The assembly started out with an optional Day of Competition event in which I was placed into a group and asked to create a PR campaign for Duke Energy in just one hour. Though my team did not win, I got a little taste of what it’s like to work with a group of people I literally met on the spot, coordinate and work together under time pressure, and present a plan to a “client.” Over the course of the assembly, we had some very interesting sessions about the ethical standards of PR, chapter development for different board-member titles, and the history of PRSA and PRSSA.

I took away many valuable tips from the assembly, such as:

• How to develop an effective Student-Run Firm
• How to concisely explain what PRSSA is and encourage students to join
• What it takes to be a leader and why the executive board is so important
• What types of fundraisers to host each local chapter

It was wonderful to not only see how loyal and devoted the national committee was in helping other chapters grow, but to interact with other delegates from around the country and share personal stories with one another about our chapters. I believe we can learn more from our mistakes than our successes, and this was definitely the case when we were all able to share our mishaps and issues within our own chapters. The open discussions were effective in allowing me to look at my own chapter and think about our strengths and weaknesses.

During the assembly day, all of the delegates were given the task of electing their new PRSSA national committee. After listening to the speeches, I was so impressed with the leaders who are growing this organization and so proud to be a part of the process.

To end off the post, I want to quote Mary Tribble, the keynote speaker during our farewell reception, and Chief of Events for the upcoming 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. “It’s all up to you, each day and each career. Your happiness is up to you.”

Shira Palka
NYU PRSSA VP of Communications

At yesterday’s Career Forum hosted by NYU PRSSA and PRSA NY, guest speaker Kevin Mercuri kicked off the event with some wonderful words of wisdom to aspiring PR professionals. With twenty years of PR experience under his belt, and as the President and Founder of Propheta Communications, Kevin highlighted key aspects of making it in the business:

• “Once you’re out of college you’re a brand.” You must continue to manage yourself as a brand and be in touch with your inner type A.
• Use social media to your advantage. Clean it up and make sure you are up to date on all your channels. 
• Follow influencers and professionals on Twitter. Reach out to them and get on their radar early!
• Do your homework; read trade publications and stay on top of the buzz.
• Treat your internship as a full-time job. Take advantage of the resources you are given and make a lasting impression.
• “Polite persistence pays a premium.” Always follow up, send a note to a colleague, tweet out to a professional, and be persistent when networking.
• When it comes to networking events: leave your friends behind. The morning events are more business oriented, so be sure to go to those as well. When you’re there, work the room and ask good questions. 

Kevin ended his speech with some lasting remarks. He pointed out to know the trends and able to look ahead. It’s always helpful to know the agencies and the work they do, be able to handle stress, and have that aggressive edge that companies look for in an intern and full-time employee.

Thanks very much Kevin!

Shira Palka
NYU PRSSA VP of Communications 

Doreen Naor (Chapter President) Shira Palka (VP of Communications) & Elisa Freese (VP of Chapter Development) (Left to Right) at the PRSANY-NYUPRSSA Career Forum!

Welcome back from winter break! We’re excited to start the spring semester with all of our returning and new members on board. If you missed our first general meeting, here are a few important notes to stay active:

• If you would like to become an official PRSSA member: $50 dues should be handed in by the next meeting (February 21) (Cash or check are fine. Checks need to be made out to Eva Huang).
• There will be a Social Media Committee for the PRSSA chapter, in which members will be encouraged to take turns blogging, posting content on our Facebook page, and giving our Twitter handle a voice. A few members have showed interest in this, and if you would like to be a part of the committee or handle a specific aspect, please contact me at shira.palka@nyu.edu. Feel free to shout out some ideas!
• We already have a nice lineup of guest speakers with specific topics for each meeting. Want to see something covered in particular? Let us know!
• On March 5th, NYU PRSSA and PRSA-NY will be hosting a Career Forum at the Kimmel Center, where you will get to meet top PR agencies and network with NYC’s professionals. Mark your calendars people!
• THIS FRIDAY Ketchum and The Lagrant Foundation are hosting a Career Development event, where you will have the opportunity to ask both organizations questions, and even land an internship with Ketchum! DEADLINE to apply is this THURSDAY bit.ly/npYphI
• FIT PRSSA is hosting a speed-dating event for all other PRSSA chapters this THURSDAY- check out their facebook page for more info titled “A Match Made on Seventh”.

Remember to connect with us on Twitter, FB and Linkedin! Looking forward to seeing you all at the next meeting.

Shira Palka
VP of Communications

A few weeks ago I attended Smash Summit in NYC held at Microsoft and produced by 500 startups, with .CO as one of the main sponsors. The one-day conference featured top startups with speakers discussing platform strategies, tactics, and tips on attracting customers. Although I missed the morning sessions featuring executives from Youtube, Foursquare, Facebook and others, I came across other companies and took home some great advice:
 
Billy Chasen, Founder and CEO of Turntable.fm noted that the best way to acquire users is through the product itself. As the first truly social music network with over 625,000 users in over three months, the CEO admit that it was all due to word of mouth publicity, not your typical press release pitch. Turntable wanted to first target the community that loves music before anyone else; Chasen advised that you need to find the right crowd for your product at the right time. If you treat your core product as always evolving, there’s no such thing as the product “getting old.” Keep it fresh, add some features if you need and stay true to making a better user experience.

Stew Langille, CEO of Visual.ly expressed that in social media, people look for the stuff they want to share with friends, and infographics are a great way to do that. Publishers have grown 12% using visualizations compared to 1% of those who have not. You can use infographics for company presentations, to drive page views on your personal blog, impress clients and educate people, and of course don’t forget to give credit where it’s due!

Dan Porter, CEO of OMGPOP, talked about customer acquisition through gamification. Gamification is a huge trend, from the foursquare badges to the various leaderboards on Facebook and smart phones. A few key takeaways:

1. Guide the user- having an instruction that says “Click the tile” vs. “Click the tile (with picture of an arrow pointing to the tile)” showed that users were more engaged with the latter. EX) Turbotax deconstructs and walks you through filling out your taxes quickly and efficiently.
2. Think in loops- sites like Autocorrect, Twitter and Formspring are examples of sites that loop information back.
3. Create friendly competition- Linkedin, for example, shows users how many connections they have made (similar to how many Facebook friends one has), but rather than having it be a popularity contest, the site makes it so that users who rack up over 500 connections are all equally classified as “500+” so that everyone is happy.
4. Make things fun- post interesting and relevant content on your company’s Facebook page, make your product appealing and competitive in some form so that users will be more included to engage.

Overall there were some great tips to take away for one’s own company and product. The night ended with an inspiring speech from .CO’s very own Vice President, Lori Anne Wardi, who discussed .CO’s emerging influence in the domain world in spite of ICANN’s recent announcement to release all domains to the public. The night ended on a fun note with an after party hosted by .CO at INC lounge; one lucky person won an iPod shuffle and 50% off a .co name.

Shira Palka

VP of Communications

mbooth:

In last week’s Business Development Meetup, Startups Partnering With Big Companies: Best Practices, a rockstar panelist of professionals explained the ins and outs of working in business development. The speakers included Serge Kassardijan from Google, Jared Grusd from AOL, …

(Source: mbooth)

(Source: nycreativeinterns)

Originally posted on M Booth Blog:

Last week I attended NYC Interns Hash It Up, The Finale at Meetup HQ, sponsored by Hashable and Zaarly, in partnership with NY Creative Interns. As the last Hashable meetup of the summer, they invited a few special speakers:

• Dina Kaplan, the co-founder of Blip.tv, shared some of the lessons she learned from working at places like MTV and WNBC. A few things that stuck with me were to:
  • Trust your instincts
  • Value and keep track of interesting people you meet
  • Focus on your product but make time to attend meetups
  • Help people and don’t be afraid to ask for help
  • Take chances
• Jaime Hoerbelt, Managing Editor at NY Creative Interns, also provided some helpful advice. She suggested getting involved early, even if you don’t feel ready. Taking the first leap is a crucial part of one’s growth.
• Christina Cacioppo, an analyst at Union Square Ventures, emphasized two things:
  • Make decisions
  • Figure out what you want to do, and do it.

After the meetups that I have attended this summer and my experience interning at a PR agency thus far, I’m happy to say that I followed through with many of the statements above. In a PR agency particularly, I learned that making decisions, taking calculated risks and most importantly maintaining solid relationships, are key to success. In Public Relations, every client, every co-worker, blogger, journalist, should be a relationship that we take care of and take the time to develop. Every relationship leads to another completely different one, which is why each should be maintained. These meetups introduced me to a lot of wonderful, talented people, and while the summer events are ending, I think it’s safe to say that the relationships have only just begun.

-Shira

Via M Booth:

This infographic, by Dan Zarrella via Mediabistro, illustrates 5 basic steps to gain a bigger and more engaging Twitter following. It’s interesting to think about who we follow and why we follow them. The next time you’re ReTweeting someone’s post, take a look to see if they were using one of the tactics above.

-Shira

This week I attended the NY Tech Intern Meetup at Dogpatch Labs, organized by my fellow NYU classmates Andrew Oved, Jacob Laufer, and UPenn studentEric Berdinis. The event took place in a great space, and as usual I had a good time meeting NYC interns building their futures on the spot (or just eating pizza and relaxing after a long day’s work). Either way, it was a fun opportunity to network, chat, hash-it-up, hustle, or anything else you want to call it.

Guest speaker Chris Paik, a Harvard graduate and Handyman at Thrive Capital, spoke about his experience working in the investment startup, which focuses on early stage tech companies involved in the digital consumer area. I found some of his networking advice to be worth remembering:

•When you’re meeting someone for the first time, always try to make a warm and friendly introduction.

•Linkedin is a great tool to connect to someone. Use it! If you are interested in working somewhere or connecting with a company, send them a message with your information. It’s a great professional networking tool to take advantage of.

•Do things for people without expecting something in return. Just be authentic and genuine. 

•While networking, it’s important not to see people as a means to an end. People see through this. The best conversations had are with people who are respectful and open about who they are and what they are interested in.

•Be passionate. Say yes to every opportunity that comes your way. Be proactive about work and demonstrate that you and your skills are valuable. 

I think a lot of these points are good for life in general, not just for your career. If you’re honest about who you are and the things you love doing, it won’t take a lot of convincing for people to immediately notice that. I particularly would apply this to PR, as any personal connection with a client should be based on trust and dedication to work. 

As always, looking forward to the next event!

-Shira

Original post on M Booth blog here

Since we’ve just announced our launch, we officially welcome you to our new Tumblr page! We made the move from WordPress to Tumblr because we believe this will give people an incentive to post fresh and interesting content, and have the opportunity to follow others who enjoy tumbling as well. This is just one of many steps that NYUPRSSA is taking to create a new, professional look for its chapter, while remaining fun and exciting for current and prospective members.

If you’d like to submit a blog post to our page, please contact Shira Palka, VP of Communications, at Shira.palka@nyu.edu. You can write about anything you’d like that may relate to social media, PR, etc. that the chapter can learn from. We highly encourage you to start getting your name out there and blogging is a great first step in doing so. 

Special thanks to Eva Darron for designing the page, we love it! Check out more of her awesome work here http://www.evadarron.com.

Happy Tumbling Everyone!

-Shira

mbooth:

This infographic, brought to us by Lab42 via Mashable, illustrates how people are using their LinkedIn accounts. Some interesting statistics we found: Out of 500 users asked, more than half use the site for professional networking while the rest rely on Facebook, Twitter or none. I personally use Facebook and Twitter more often, but maybe now that will change. How do you use your LinkedIn account, if at all?

-Shira

(Source: mbooth)

mbooth:

How much time do you spend uploading photos, posts and videos of yourself on Facebook and other sites? Well, this infographic by MyCube via Minyanville illustrates that all that time isn’t going to waste, as the content you thought you owned is actually used and monetized by these social networks. Privacy settings acquire a whole new meaning, now that your next photo album can be making profits for the stranger next door.

-Shira

(via mbooth)