Message from the president: A New Year!
Greetings PRSA Alaska Chapter members! Welcome to 2010 – a year that marks a new decade and promises exciting developments in the public relations profession.
Was it only 10 years ago that gloom and doom predictions were running rampant in the media regarding Y2K? Businesses worldwide hunkered down and frantically backed up systems on “floppy disks” in anticipation of an unknown but highly touted possible catastrophe. Snail mail media pitches, fax machines and tedious hand calculations of media clips - common forms of communication in the profession just a few years ago seem so archaic now.
Fast-forward 10 years and the change in the public relation’s industry is enough to give any communication professional whiplash. Ten years ago, I didn’t participate in blogs or watch - let alone create - Podcasts. ESP had a totally different meaning in the dictionary. I didn’t have an RSS feed, a Twitter feed or much awareness of online social networking. I didn’t virtual chat or text, nor did I use Mashable, Ping, Hootsuite, WebEx, Gmail, Gmaps, Google News, Google Docs, LinkedIn, Flickr, Firefox, Netflix, Wikipedia, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, wifi, iPressroom, Travelocity, Yahoo, satellite radio or any of the other endless stream of digital services I rely on today to interact and communicate on a multitude of levels both personally and professionally.
PRSA national has recently launched its updated Web site, PRSA.org, which offers new tools and resources for effectively addressing prominent issues within the industry. In addition, the PRSA Alaska Chapter has resources available to help professionals adapt to the ever-changing communication environment. As PRSA members, sharing experiences with one another is one of our most important assets!
As we approach this new decade, I look forward to actively exploring with you throughout the year the challenges we collectively face as digital-age communicators. The 24/7 media room, pay-for-play bloggers, front groups and how to Tweet without being a twit are a few of the things on my list...what’s on yours? It should make for interesting dialogue and I look forward to many lively discussions.
On behalf of the newly elected board of directors, please engage in the conversation!
Nance Larsen, APR, Fellow PRSA
Aurora Awards Banquet to be held Jan. 27
Please join the Alaska PRSA Chapter as we highlight and honor the achievements of professional communicators in our community. This year's Aurora Awards Banquet features an awards presentation emceed by John Tracy, a silent auction and a celebratory reception featuring exquisite hors d'oeuvres and wine tasting. This event is a great opportunity to network with friends and colleagues.
The banquet will be held at The Petroleum Club, 3301 C Street. Doors open at 3 p.m. with the awards program beginning promptly at 3:30 p.m. Wine tasting and reception immediately following at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Member fee - $45
Non-member fee - $50
Sponsor a Reserved Table (of eight) - $450
Professional development: Performance Indicators
RSVP through Cvent now!
Managers aren’t satisfied with just measures of communication activities we accomplished; they also want to see the outcomes. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are vital for effective performance reviews. Whether you manage a communication vehicle or an entire department, Angela Sinickas will show you how to develop your own KPIs and share them with your leadership, as well as identify the right metrics and choose how to visually display them.
You will learn how to:
• Collect and evaluate all the current measurements available to you.
• Identify new metrics that may cost you nothing to collect.
• Select the most meaningful metrics to track over time.
• Establish baselines and set realistic targets for the metrics you select.
• Choose among various options for sharing your results, such as a Balanced Scorecard, an index or various approaches to a visual “dashboard” of the key indicators.
Instructor
Angela Sinickas, president, Sinickas Communications Inc., has been measuring the effectiveness of communications since 1981. Her prolific publications and speaking engagements have made her name synonymous with measurement of organizational communication. Angela and her measurement work have been cited in Harvard Business Review, Investors Business Daily, HR Magazine, Executive Solutions, PR News, Journal of Communication Management, Ragan Report and Communication World
When: Thursday, Jan. 28, 11 a.m. - noon
Where: Alaska Mental Health Trust, 3745 Community Park Loop, Suite 200, Conference Room #210
Event Registration: $25
Fairbanks luncheon: 2010 planning
The first Fairbanks PRSA meeting of 2010 will be held on Monday, Jan. 25, noon at Zach’s. This will be an interactive “show and tell” meeting to discuss topics and speakers for 2010 PRSA meetings, PR accomplishments in 2009, and PR challenges ahead in 2010.
We will spend approximately 15 minutes per topic so please come prepared with the following:
Speakers and ideas for topics in 2010.
A short list of your major 2009 PR highlights or one major accomplishment. Handouts are welcome (brochures, fliers, etc.). There will be a laptop and projector available. Please no more than 2 minutes per person.
A short list or one major PR challenge ahead for you. Maybe we can help brainstorm some approaches or resources to help (or topics for a future PRSA meeting!).
RSVP by Friday, Jan. 22, to Sharon Burke, slburke@alaska.edu or 474-7587.
PRSA releases new communications vehicle
Recently, PRSA reviewed the growing issue of email overload - something members have complained about for some time. Today’s 24/7 information cycle offers news and material at moment’s notice, but the mass delivery rate of email communications is at an all-time high, leading many professionals to opt out of email services from associations outside of their business environment.
PRSA members polled indicate that the daily news digest e-mail, "Issues & Trends," is among their most valued member benefit. At the same time, some members have found the overall volume of e-mail they receive from PRSA to be overwhelming. As a result, PRSA is proactively addressing this issue by cutting back on its e-mail volume with the launch of a consolidated daily publication.
This new communications vehicle will deliver a concise summary of the day's top industry relevant articles. It will also incorporate PRSA news, notices and offers, all of which previously have been communicated through separate e-mails. Each day of the week, the new Issues & Trends will have a different theme.
To ensure receipt the new Issues & Trends, you must change your communications options in MyPRSA if you have not already opted in to receive this publication. To do so:
1) Log in to MyPRSA.
2) Click the "E-Mail Preferences" tab.
3) Check the box next to "PR Issues and Trends."
4) Click "submit."
If you need assistance with MyPRSA, contact helpdesk@prsa.org.
Issues & Trends provides valuable professional news and information. The new format will continue this effort, while reducing the volume of e-mails received from PRSA.