Reaching out to Generation Connectivity Online

Public administrations have a reputation for inertia, so it’s always refreshing to see innovative counterexamples. The French Office national d’information sur les enseignements et les professions (ONISEP) is tasked by the Ministry of Education to help students, parents and educators to learn about existing professions and various opportunities for training or further studies.

Pink Gloves, Hashtags and Lost Opportunities

A few weeks ago on the Hobson and Holtz Report (For Immediate Release 493), Shel Holtz mentioned that participants at this year’s Blog World Expo had been requested to use the Twitter hashtag #fightcancer during the day in order to raise awareness for the fight against the disease. At the time, I remember thinking, “So [...]

Four Things That Only Took Me Five Years to Learn

As most of you are aware, in barely two weeks I will retire after five great years as President and CEO of the Institute for Public Relations. In several recent speaking engagements, I have taken the opportunity to reflect on the important ideas encountered and adopted. Thus the title, “Four Things That Only Took Me [...]

‘Enough is Enough’ – an economic model for Net-Work and Net-Worth?

With its roots in 1546, the wisdom underlying the John Heywood proverb ‘enough is enough‘ has been recognised by many. But when is enough truly enough? The churning over the recessionary pressures – real or otherwise – have, more so in recent months, led many to question the economic models we have used for so [...]

Starving for Context and Translation: Lessons from the 2008 Food Crisis

The first half of 2008 was a blur for me. When the global food crisis hit, the fertilizer industry went from obscurity to centre stage in the blink of an eye. There was little or no time to build up resources, so all of the communicators I know in the sector went into overdrive. While [...]

How reliable are PR qualifications?

UK media reports of the inherent unreliability of school exam results have drawn criticism for undermining public confidence in qualifications.  Can the same observations be made about the veracity of PR qualifications?

Euroblog 2008 in Bruxelles 13-14-15 March- Euprera and Edelman together for one hell of a program

I know I am biased and I know I have already posted on Euroblog 2008, but -come on!- take a look at the euroblog final program of what is possibly the most intense ever exchange between professionals and academics on social media and public relations, and hurry up and register here.
You don’t really want to [...]

Ethics, Culture and Public Relations

I’ve been perplexed for a long time about the interface between public relations and ethics. Most PR associations espouse codes of ethics, although they seem devillishly hard to police, leading some people to ask what the point is. After long reflection, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is almost impossible for an international PR [...]

PR Vs. Marketing: Things might be changing in Portugal

Portugal is a different country in what concerns corporate practices. At least that’s what some studies about the level of salaries earned by top managers say. And now, for the first time to my knowledge, a ranking shows that a PR Director in Portugal can earn slightly more than a Marketing & Commercial Director and [...]

On the little black book syndrome, personal influence, organizational influence and knowledge management

A public relators’ personal relationship network has always been considered an essential (when not the most essential) part of her/his professional assets. And this by clients/employers, colleagues/competitors and other relevant stakeholders such as business and other opinion leaders.
This ‘untold truth’ has always embarrassed scholars and educators, as well as practitioners, because its most immediate [...]

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