“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

Having graduated early, the majority of my friends were still attending class, writing papers and living the college life while I was blessed enough to have found a full-time job in the exact field I hoped for, I often forgot that my friends were still in the job search with up in the air futures.

This past week I’m happy to say literally all of my friends from BU and other schools received job offers and some are already settled in their new positions. I wanted to post this to say how overwhelmingly ecstatic and proud I am of each and every one of you.

Congrats! I hope you enjoy every minute of it.

With two of my close friends recently discovering the wonders of Foursquare, I’ve heard the phrase “Did you check in yet?” more times than I can count. Each stop warrants a new Foursquare check in, and on good days, a new badge or mayorship.

Combining the media frenzy that surrounds the popular location based service and eagerness of social media addicts to try the “next Twitter,” Foursquare’s check in rate more than doubled in February. Even though some believe Foursquare is a unique service that is paving the path for all location based services, many early adopters the days of Brightkite and Google Latitude. Unfortunately, neither services were able to tap into the perfect mix like Foursquare.

So, why do you check-in? I was introduced to Foursquare as a location-based service where if I can receive coupons and other promotions from businesses when I check in at their venue. I love the check-in part of Foursquare but have yet to experience any type of promotional activity on the application. Since many already discussed the idea of Foursquare being the “next Twitter,” is this an indication of how quickly businesses will adapt to yet another social media service?

The way I see it, Twitter is still a scary concept to many businesses, both large and small. Blogging has yet to be widely accepted by top management. Communications professionals are still experiencing resistance when trying to introduce a company to the world of social media. So, how long will it take them to latch on to Foursquare?

We will see a trend similar to Twitter but I think business leaders will actually be more open to the idea. Those who have started to use Twitter have already taken a huge step. If their Twitter usage has been successful to them as a brand or a business, the next step of joining Foursquare is much smaller than the first. They’ve already seen how social media can help them and will hopefully be much more open to the idea than they probably were even just a year ago.

Tonight, I’m flipping through the channels and landed on the infamous American Idol for the first time since… probably high school. I’ve always loved watching the initial auditions but get pretty bored after they pick the first 24 finalists.

All I have to say is… seriously? From when I started watching this show in maybe middle school or high school (yes, the Kelly Clarkson years) there was a LOT of talent showcased in a half hour. Now? I’m sad, but not surprised, to say that American Idol has turned into our favorite genre of ‘reality show.’ It seems the judges and producers are going for more of the story instead of the actual talent.

I could be entirely off base since I haven’t been following the season, but let’s think about it. How many people are in this world? How many of the ACTUALLY make it? The percentage to become a star is pretty much close to none, and the few performers I just watched didn’t really impress. I fell for their stories more than their voice and while, yes, that is a way to sell, it’s not going to carry them through. It’ll make me listen, but it won’t bring me to the concert. Most say Simon is too harsh and while I usually agree, maybe in this season, he’s just telling it how it is.

I feel uncommonly blessed when it comes to my college experience for several reasons, but mainly, in regards to academics, because of the valuable relationships I formed with my professors and friends, or soon-to-be colleagues. I learned everything from the intricacies of public relations to the routines of interviewing to the practice of networking while soaking up the knowledge of my experienced professors and the tales of friends just dipping their toes in the world, learning from everyone and sharing what I could.

An important milestone was, of course, my first internship interview and for someone who has never been in the hot seat before, it can be a very daunting. I went to everyone and everything – professors, friends, family, internet – gathering all the advice I could before taking my first step in the professional world.

Now that I’ve had the amazing opportunity to sit on the other side of the table and be the one asking the questions, I realized that some students might not have the resources I did when preparing for an interview and while all were wonderfully to speak with, some either forgot or didn’t know some of the basics of interviewing.

I wanted to share the three things that no prospective employee should ignore:

1. Research the company/agency before the interview
2. Create a list of questions to spit out when asked the final “Do you have any questions for me?” question
3. Write thank you emails after the interview

While the above might seem rudimentary, the most common one to forget is writing a thank you note. This is a tried and true tactic that will remind interviewers about your interview, and allows you to repeat some of your best qualities that set yourself apart from others for the position. In terms of always having questions prepared, this is a piece of advice I heard from almost everyone and I believe helped me many times in my interviews. Even asking a question that you don’t necessarily need to know the answer to will show how interested you are and might also uncover some facts about the internship or company that you didn’t know about. When jobs are as competitive as they are these days, it’s the little things that set you apart from the rest.

I downloaded the official Twitter application for Blackberry today (at the expert recommendation from colleague Donald Martelli) after using Seesmic for a couple months and UberTwitter before that. This might be personal preference, but I think the app blows other “unofficial” apps out of the water. As an iPhone user of over a year before I bought my Bold, I was very disappointed moving over from my beautiful Tweetie app to the practically archaic apps on the Blackberry.

Here’s my quick rundown of the new Twitter app:

Intuitive

The app includes a handy, easy to use reference bar at the top of the screen that offers a button or a click to all of my Twitter needs. Other applications, such as Seesmic or UberTwitter, I had to navigate through the menu button to get to my @replies and DM’s. The Twitter app also offers “Popular Topics” and “Find People” and these are two options I never found on other apps, and if I did they weren’t easy to use.

Fast

I no longer have to stare at the “updating” text on Seesmic because this app refreshes on it’s own and at a much higher speed than other apps. When I’m scrolling down through recent tweets, the last thing I want to do is wait to see more. Worst than that, on UberTwitter I would often get error messages when I tried to refresh and it seemed to slow my whole Blackberry down as well.

Not too bad to look at

This application takes the cake in terms of aesthetics, hands down. Since it came from the source itself, it clearly mimics the graphically elegant Twitter homepage and actually has some design to it instead of just a list of tweets (some apps are with or without avatars.. hardly a plus on their part).

All in all, definitely download this application even if you’re happy with your current one. That’s the same boat I was in but now I don’t think I’ll use anything else on my Blackberry.

My grandma passed away on Wednesday at the amazing age of 96. Emma was an incredible grandmother to me and it’s sad to say goodbye to such an amazing woman. She was a beautiful person, inside and out, and she will be greatly missed by all of us.

Grandma at Christmas 2009 (95 years old)

Emma in 1932 (18 years old)

I know I’m late in the e-book game, but I have come to rely on my Kindle every day for the past month or two and couldn’t help putting a post together on my most recent obsession. For someone who was unsure if a Kindle was even the way to go, it has helped me to four wonderful things:

#1: Read MORE!

Yeah, I know, seems like a silly thing to be excited about. Growing up I read every book I could get my hands on – I devoured the Nancy Drew series in elementary school, passed the time with girly beach reads in middle school and finally moved into some of my favorite novels to this day in high school. I recently finished Shutter Island and The Help, both read on my Kindle and both books I would highly recommend. College, however, didn’t serve as the best time in my life to start a new book. With all the reading I had to do for class, the last thing I wanted to do was set my eyes on another line of text, even if it was for pleasure. That’s the main reason why I waited to get my Kindle until after I graduated because I knew it was only then that I could put it into good use. So, to get back to my first point, the Kindle has enabled me to read more books than I read at any other point in my life – a feat that I didn’t think could ever be achieved. The ability to buy a book and read it with a click of a button is SO handy, and if I’m waiting for the T with nothing to read? I pull my Kindle out of my purse and problem solved. It even recommends books for me based on my past purchases so I don’t have to search endlessly for a new book.

#2: Read three papers a day.

During my last semester of college I had to read The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Daily Free Press and other online news sources every day and was tested weekly on the content. I was infuriated by this, not because I had to read the news like some, but because these are not my preferred news sources. I like to read The Boston Globe, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and before my Kindle I would do so online. But, this required me to be at my computer to read the online version because no college student can afford to have these papers delivered on a daily basis. So I would read the news occasionally throughout the day whenever I had a spare minute (rare) and computer access. Needless to say, I was never able to read all the articles I wanted to on any given day. Now, and for only $10 a month, I can get all three papers delivered wirelessly to my Kindle and ready for me when I wake up in the morning. I scroll through the Wall Street Journal at breakfast, multi-task with The New York Times while I’m getting ready and finish off with The Boston Globe on the T. Sounds like a pretty productive morning to me!

#3: Save money, and…

Yes, I know the current talk about raising e-book prices and/or some publishers no longer working with Amazon anymore, but I’ve never had a problem finding a book I want in the Kindle library and, let’s be honest, a couple dollars more on a Kindle e-book is STILL much cheaper than the hardcover version. And, trust me, I usually want a book the week it comes out which means I’m usually paying $25 for the hard cover book. And no, I’m not one to put my name on a wait list at the Boston Public Library. Usually for $10 dollars or less I can have my new book, and what’s even better, I can read a 20-30 page sample before I decide if I want to buy it or not.

#4: Have a lot of extra space.

Since I read an abundance of books throughout my childhood, my room at home is covered in books. Yes, they are neatly placed in the bookshelf but once that filled up I had to move to another book shelf. And once that filled up, I had to move to any empty spot on my dresser, in my closet etc… And last time I visited home, I even started to see some piles on the floor. In my Boston apartment, I had a small box filled with the few books I’ve bought in the past year before I received my Kindle (literally no more than 10 books – that’s how much I didn’t read during my college years) and I will never be struggling with a place to put my books ever again.

I was recently crafting a long (semi-rant) post about my Twitter frustrations, mainly consisting of my comments on Follow Friday (when will it end?) and spamming on Twitter. Thankfully, an event occurred earlier this week that caused me to change my tune and remind me exactly why I started my relationship with Twitter in the first place.

Boloco has become my meal of choice during the work days for a couple of reasons. 1) I can have a full lunch for under $5 and 2) It’s right around the corner from my office. Basically, there was no downside to this. Then, I was sitting at my desk happily munching on a Classic Burrito, when, alas, I found a chicken bone in my non-chicken meal. This, of course, caused me to throw out the rest of my lunch because if there’s a chicken bone in my food, who knows what else made it’s way in there!

I had already been on my Twitter page and I thought immediately (being the PR nerd that I am) – let’s see if Boloco is on top of their social media! I tweeted about my lunch time issue and immediately, the CEO (@Boloco) tweeted back with an apology and offering my money back. He also contacted the manager of Boloco location and asked them to be more careful. There was nothing they could have done to impress me more and they passed my little social media test with flying colors.

THIS is what Twitter is great for. It’s not a place to talk about your date last night, what you’re eating for dinner, or the other mundane activities that, let’s face it, NO ONE has any interest in reading. But companies and brands need to grab hold of the ever evolving world that is Twitter and other social media efforts because this is where everything is moving. It’s no longer solely about monitoring what the media is saying about your brand, it’s about each and every person.

If Boloco hadn’t responded during my test, I would’ve been thoroughly disappointed with them. After the chicken bone incident, I couldn’t stand the thought of returning to Boloco. Now? They’ve completely changed my thoughts about the brand, and because of their efforts, I will definitely give them a second chance.

Props to Boloco, and other brands who are doing the same thing.

This past March I was lucky enough to explore the New York City realm of public relations with Professor Quigley  and other motivated Boston University seniors. We met with everyone from CEO’s to entry level employees, and from each individual, we learned the same piece of advice. Experience is everything when applying for a job.

There are some students who focus solely on papers, exams, and most of all grades, and fail to notice the reality of the world outside of school. While doing well and securing a place at the top of the class is one of my highest priorities, I believe having an internship in my field of choice should also be one of my highest priorities. When I’m not at school, I’m at work, and vice versa. Still being a student myself, I am by no means an expert on internship advice. However, as my second internship came to an end last week, I began to reflect on my past internship experiences. Without having an internship, I don’t know if I could even be sure public relations is the right track for me. What I gain from my classes is beyond valuable, but there is only so much to learn in a classroom setting. My public relations classes gave me the foundation for my career, but only through applying this knowledge to real world campaigns have I finally learned what it’s like to live and breathe public relations. I whole heartedly believe the only way to truly understand and fully experience public relations is to throw yourself into an internship.

This brings me back to my most memorable tip  from the big apple. Remember it: Experience is everything when applying for a job. Most communications schools require students to complete at least one internship before graduation. I’m trying to complete as many internships as I can before committing to a full time job, and I start my third on Monday. Each internship helps me to narrow down where I hope to be after donning my cap and gown. In-house or an agency? Large, medium, or small agency? Consumer, corporate, cause marketing, investor relations, or entertainment? The possibilities are endless.

What do you think? If you’re a public relations professional, do you prefer students who weigh heavily on academics or experience?