Cyber Monday

Well, Cyber Monday was pretty unsuccessful for me today. I was browsing all day on a public wi-fi network, so I didn't buy anything. When I finally got home, the three things I really wanted were sold out - very disappointing!

My new beauty product obsession

Well, I've slowed my pace on the blog updates ... once again.
I thought I'd go with a different angle today - my current beauty product/hair care obsession: Sexy Hair Organics.
My mom is always trying new hair products and her latest finding was Sexy Hair. We used their original shampoo and conditioner, which wasn't all that - so the company recommended we try their "Soy Tri Wheat Leave -In Conditioner" (I know, what a mouth full.) This leave-in conditioner is absolutely amazing (and it's organic!) I'm been using Chi's Keratin Mist for as long as I can remember, but once introduced to this new fabulous product - I'm afraid I'm going to have to switch. I have nothing bad to say about Chi's product, but I do like Sexy Hair's product better. I suggest trying this leave-in to anyone who hasn't because it does wonders!

Hope you enjoy!

A poorly written cover letter

So, I was going through people's tweets on Twitter yesterday and came across @MarkRaganCEO. He posted a link to someone's take on a horribly written cover letter - so obviously I clicked.
This is what it led me to:
"Is This The Worst Cover Letter Ever?"

Okay - well, I have mixed feelings about this, as do most of the commenters.

As a recent college graduate myself, it's hard enough job searching and applying for jobs without the criticism.

What I've learned is that a cover letter is supposed to be about you and why you're the best candidate for the position you're applying for. Yes, you should always talk about the company & at least prove you did a little research, but not to the extent of "over-doing" it. I cringed when I saw that she didn't spell the company name right. Okay, I'll give the blogger that, but I think he went a little too far with his "constructive criticism."

As I read some of the comments at the bottom of this post - I agreed with the idea of him posting a "good" rewritten cover letter - one that would lead to the company considering the candidate for an interview. For the time & effort this person put into criticizing the cover letter, he could have written a cover letter which we could all refer to in our job-searching rather than what NOT to do.

To be honest - I never learned how to write a cover letter in school. They never taught us that. I used Google to figure out what a cover letter should consist of. I would benefit much more from a well written cover letter rather than this one.

Win $500!!

Oh man, I seem to have forgotten (once again) that I started a blog.

Well, it's Monday - I hate Mondays! Weekends go by so quickly!


I thought I'd post BettyConfidential's November contest: "Win $500 in 5 Minutes!"
Who couldn't use an extra $500 in their pocket?
BettyConfidential.com has created a survey on money, the economy and how people are managing their personal finances. Once the survey is completed you're entered into the giveaway to receive $500!


http://www.bettyconfidential.com/ar/ld/a/Tell-Us-About-You-Money-and-the-Economy.html


I could really use this money!!

First week on the job

So, this week is my first official week working for BettyConfidential.com. I've been interning for them since June, but just came on board "officially." I've learned so much these past few days including how much time, energy and overall effort goes into creating and maintaining a website.

[sidenote: According to compete.com, Betty had over 1 million unique visitors last month and we are continuing to grow. Through the grapevine, I've hear our number was much higher than that, so I'm not too sure how reliable compete is.]

Anyway, since I do not go into an office every day, but rather work from home - it can be quite difficult communicating amongst everyone (from editorial to marketing to interns). Another issue I came across is that the staff is spread throughout the country, which puts us all in different time zones. Since there are so many different aspects of Betty, being able to target the right person for the right question can be rather challenging. I've been doing a lot of research for blogs and websites with content similar to ours and that alone takes up a lot of time. Then, going through each individual site, relating to it and constructing a personalized email to the editor is another solid amount of time. I think the key to all of this is organized. By tracking the things I'm doing, and building relationships with writers and bloggers, I can hopefully be able to develop a system where I can link exchange and get our content placed.

I think I'm all over the place in this post. Maybe I'm still all over the place in life, which is why I'm a little frazzled this week.

Eh, tomorrow I'll sum up the week (after my research, conference call, and weekly reports ...)

Pitching Tips

This is a great blog post I came across today. First off, I love mediabistro ... and they had a post today: "How to pitch: 5 Mistakes to avoid." I think the community just posts and submits topics all the time, but I really liked this one.

In summary, personalize your pitch:
1. Address your pitch to a specific person
2. Acknowledge something said, reference an article, etc.
3. Don't suck up
4. Don't say "awesome"
5. Stick to the point

View the whole blog post here:
http://mediabistro.posterous.com/how-to-pitch-5-mistakes-to-avoid

Balloon Boy

I couldn't help but write a post on the famous balloon boy, or lack there of. For the past two hours, the news and social media worlds have been blowing up over a 6-year-old boy, who apparently got into his father's homemade air balloon and took off over Colorado. As I continued to refresh my Twitter stream, @NBCActionNews @cnnbrk @ABC and basically any other news station known to mankind was constantly tweeting about the latest updates regarding the floating UFO look-a-like. Since the majority of the updates were concern for the 6-year-old boy that was inside the balloon, it was quite a relief when the balloon landed and there was no sign of the child. That was, until people starting questioning whether or not he had fallen out. At one point, it was said to have been at 8,000 feet in the air!

Right now, the trending topics on Twitter are #balloonboy, #saveballoonboy, Falcon (the boy's name), Colorado, Balloon Boy, CNN - Wow! I won't even count the number of posts I've seen on Facebook! The power of social media, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm sitting at work and as customer's filter through the store, some have mentioned hearing the story on the radio, while others overheard someone else talking about it. It's just crazy how a story like this makes its way through the public that quickly.

Let's all hope and pray that Falcon is hiding out in his basement. Until then, I hope everyone keeps their negative questions and comments to themselves.
#saveballoonboy


The latest from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html


UPDATE (6:32 PM):
According to CNN, Falcon Heene (better known as, #balloonboy), was found alive. He was found in a box in his family's attic.
(Reference: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.balloon/index.html)

My Favorite PR Newsfeed

So, sometimes I find it hard to open each and every e-mail from the daily newsletters and newsfeeds I get, but I must say that I do find myself opening Ragan's Daily PR Newsfeed every day. With exerts from other blogs, Job-of-the-day and the top stories, you can get almost everything you need in one stop. Although news and articles are never ending, I usually like to start my day with this feed (and of course, not rely on it as my only source of information).

For example: Since I'm a recent college graduate who in continuously applying to public relations firms, today the newsfeed had a blog post from PR Breakfast Club (another great PR blog): "5 Tips for Interviewing at a PR Firm" - Could not have been more perfect. Obviously I clicked, and each different point brought up different things to be aware of. This one especially caught my eye:

Know Social Media:

"Not every agency knows HOW to use social media successfully, but by now they all know that it’s important. This means that there are many companies who are looking for new, young people to bring in a different perspective and hopefully help them catch up with the future of the industry" [from PR Breakfast Club]

I thought this was very interesting because when you Google or research interview tips and things like that, social media isn't at the top of the list, but in PR these days, it's almost crucial. It's really quite strange how generations can be so different. I think if I said the phrase "social media" to my parents, they would tilt their heads to the side and question my odd statement. "Yes, mom ... something with Facebook," I would reply.

Oh, the changes ...

BettyConfidential's Hot List for Today

So, as I sit here contemplating on what today's post will reflect, I decided to address some of the articles on BettyConfidential's website today. I've been interning for this site since June and I absolutely love it! If you're not familiar with Betty, I encourage you to check it out (www.bettyconfidential.com) and if you're a Twitter-er, follow @BettyBuzz which I also post Betty articles on.

So, today @MeanBetty wrote an article on Khloe Kardashian. Since she and, now hubby Lamar, got married there's been a whole lot of buzz around her. I can't help but be bothered by her efforts to be in the spotlight. Except, now they've decided to map out their pre-nup. Wait a second ... isn't this a little backwards? Aren't you supposed to date .. for more than a month .. then love each other, talk about the future, get engaged, discuss legal issues, then get married? Man, I must be real behind in the world

Anyway, you can read the full article here ...
http://www.bettyconfidential.com/ar/ld/a/Mean-Betty-on-Khloe-and-Lamar.html


Okay, well since I'm done summarizing @MeanBetty's article, I'll move on to Beyonce's acknowledgment of Kanye's outburst at the VMAs. Since the VMAs are way over, I almost think she should have stayed silent about it. I think most people forgot about the incident and now she's bring it up again. Don't get me wrong, I admire Beyonce for many reasons, but not necessarily this. She told Oprah Magazine's editor:

"Well, I knew his intentions, and I knew he was standing up for art; and he told me before, when they said the nominees, he's like, 'You have this award.'"

Okay ... so, you clearly think you should have won? That's fine ... but you didn't. And, that's okay. I don't know. I just think she should have stayed quiet, that's all :)

Read the full article here ...
http://www.bettyconfidential.com/ar/ld/a/Beyonce-Breaks-Silence-on-Kanye-VMA-Outburst.html

My life is full of adventures...

Well, I think I start with a new topic every time I create a blog. I posted a discussion on LinkedIn not too long ago about how I can't maintain a blog, it just doesn't seem to work out. I've tried every hosting site and every different angle, but this time will work! (Ha!) I've been encouraged dozens of times to start a blog (which I've done), I just haven't continued to post to it. I'm going to make a solid effort this time though. Hopefully I'll be focusing on my life through the public relations/social media view (how I've gotten to where I am and where I see myself in the future).

Just a brief introduction (to my wonderfully large audience):
My name is Candice, I'm a recent college graduate from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in Communication and a minor in psychology. I've been studying public relations for some time now and really hope to start my career shortly. I've had 3 internships: one at an agency, one in corporate communications and one as a social media enthusiast.
I've been following numerous agencies online and reading your average PR newsletter every day. I'm currently addicted to Twitter (@candicewirth) and I'm phasing out of the "Facebook phenomenon." I'm trying to explore all there is to the world of social media, while maintaining the knowledge and information as it comes along.

Here it goes ....