PR Squared

About

Blogroll

PR 2.0 Tactics

PR Squared

I am kinda' sorta' back in the saddle; still foggy-brained and too swamped to be very effective. But then again, "foggy, swamped, and ineffective" doesn't sound too outrageous on the first day back --- it's almost to be expected!

Here are some of my lessons and musings from 2 weeks off...

#1 - Take a vacation. Anyone reading this blog lives in a 24/7 bubble of insanity. Two weeks off provides some much-needed perspective and by Day 10 or so you'll actually start to relax and breathe in the air.

#2 - Take a REAL vacation. Don't do what I just did, i.e., stay home. We all went to hang out at "our other house" in California for the break (believe me, being bi-coastal sounds more glamorous than it is in reality), but that kind of so-called "break" pales in comparison to, say, "hiking and surfing in Belize," as one of my colleagues just did. A REAL vacation takes you out of your normal contexts, and THAT'S worthwhile.

#3 - A good marriage is priceless. Almost 20 years since I met her, and after 10+ full days at her side, I am still enthralled by my gorgeous wife (and she claims to still dig me, too). When times are tough --- at work or on the home front --- having a partner to cling to can make all the difference. "Happy wife, happy life" is a worthy mantra, regardless of what your snickering buddies at the pool hall might say.

#4 - Before you set "Big Hairy Audacious Goals," think up some "Big Scary Audacious Thoughts." Part of the time spent away from SHIFT was spent wondering things like...

• "Could we pitch reporters via industry-, agency- or client-specific RSS feeds? Would reporters sign up for these feeds, to reduce the amount of so-called 'PR spam' in their in-boxes?"
• "What does it mean that the Rest of the World is quickly catching up to the U.S. in terms of Internet usage; how will that change things?"
• "If 70% of all online surfing starts with a search query, what are the ramifications for getting real about SEO's role in PR?"
• "What can we make of the opportunities to 'humanize' enterprise B2B clients via social media and video?"
• "How can we better evangelize the Social Media News Release?"

These are just some of the big, scary thoughts that I'll want to ponder in 2007.

#5 - I just got back from vacation --- "5" lessons is too many for my "foggy, swamped, and ineffective" brain!

Happy New Year, everybody!