Easter Break

So what does a PR Girl do when she is not nose to the grindstone studying??? We have broken up from Uni for a 3 week Easter break - whoop whoop!!! This also explains the lack of posting, we've been slacking I'm sorry.

BUT.... What exciting adventures have we been having... last week we trooped down to the Victoria and Albert Museum, I love living in London! The best thing is that the museum is free, so we had a gander at the art work, most of the exhibitions were closed though due to a strike that was taking place that day, this is the disadvantages of living in London!!!!! Then we walked around South Kensington and Hana took me to the treasure trove that is TK MAX!!! WOW The bags, oh the beautiful bags and so cheap!!! I was in heaven!!! The TK Max in Bristol is not very good which is why I was so surprised at the amazing bargains we found!!!! Handbags are a girls best friend and shoes of course.

Hana has managed to get us tickets to see Enron which is showing at the Noel Coward Theatre. The play is a must see for all you PR enthusiasts and Practitioners to be. The reviews have been great but the best bit is that Hana has pulled a few strings and called in a favour and Wham Bam we will be going back stage after the performance to meet the cast!!! I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited, hob nobbing with the celebrities!!! She happens to know one of the cast and arranged the tickets through him so it should be a really good day. We are watching the matinee performance and then will be partaking in the obligatory cocktails and vino after of course....

Anyhowz Hana is currently cooking me lunch it is so nice I am being spoilt!!! It smells amazing... so Dobru Chut my darlings!!!!

FIT BALL EXERCISE REALLY WORKS!!

I am in pain!! My body is aching today but you know what they say.... no pain, no gain!!! The Fitball Fundraiser was great fun and really glad we got involved and got up at the crack of dawn!! Oh yes 5am wake up call and on the tube by 6 - I have never been on the tube at that time in the morning before. One extremely strong coffee and we were helping the PR Team unpack boxes of T.shirts and balls and getting people to sign disclaimers. Thanks goodness for strong coffee it was my saviour!!! It was such a great atmosphere though and so well organised by the PR Team from Pegasus. Oh and the perk is that I got to keep my ball so I can keep fit at home..... I'll keep you updated on whether that actually ever happens!!!

Simplyhealth Fitball Breast Cancer Campaign

An evening with the Drama Society - presenting Closer

It was a PR Class outing, we met on campus and headed to Area 51, the student bar, where the Drama Society are putting on their latest production, Closer by Patrick Marber. Closer is a powerful portrayal of sex, relationships and the concept of love and WOW they were truly fabulous!! Particularly the ladies, really strong performances and some really hot talent!!! I love going to the theatre it is one of the perks of studying in London as there is always so much going on and so many new shows popping up all the time. Being a student its quite handy because we do get discounted tickets as well - another perk that I love taking full advantage of.

Going back to our evening at the theatre I was so impressed with the work that had been put into creating the performance considering as well that all of the cast and crew are full time students and no doubt have deadlines looming as we are nearing the Easter Break. Andre Walker created some stunning visual effects I particularly liked the scene when the two male characters, Dan and Larry, were talking online and they recreated the effect using two laptops and a projector so you could see the conversation appearing in real time!!! FANTASTIC!!!

So over to you Hana.... what did you think? Very erotic as well......

I am a big theatre fan and could not miss this show. It is fantastic to see new talents doing what they love and giving them the support they need and also deserve. Live performance has got such a magic in it and I love the possibility to become one of the characters for just a short time... I get very drawn into every story and CLOSER was no exception. One minute I was a stripper (Alice) and the other I was the broken - hearted Anna. It must be great but also very exhausting to be an actress and act as another character, feeling their emotions and Closer is such an intimate and challenging play...but that is the art of acting and maybe I should learn it so I can be a successful PR practitioner... hahaha the art of deception!!!!

It's that time again....

It has been a busy weekend!! Deadlines, Deadlines and more deadlines - its a juggling act!!! Had to work this weekend as well and today is mothers day - not to be forgotten!! My mum is in Bristol though and I did get a card to her in the post!! My brother is cooking for her which will be nice and I have promised her that next time she comes up to London to visit I'm going to treat her to a theatre show. That is one of the wonderful thing about living in the Big Smoke there is so much to see and do that you can never get bored. There is always a new show to see, a new band, a different restaurant to try - the world is indeed your oyster here and I have fallen in love with the city!! Studying PR here at the University of Westminster I am based on the Harrow Campus which is actually in North Harrow, Middlesex, so people do argue that I am not aloud to say I live in London (but its certainly closer than Bristol and only 20 mins on the Met line to Baker Street) I actually really like it here. It's not too crazy, I can walk to my campus and Harrow-on-the-hill is nearby and that is a really cute, posh area of London with the private boys school, very affluent!!! Sometimes Central London can get quite crazy so I like the peace and quiet of living slightly further away. I went shopping on Oxford Street on Thursday with a friend and the place was heaving!! Late night Shopping but it was great to be able to shop and then head for some sushi and a few G&T's before jumping on the tube home!!

But I have once again gone off on a tangent, I was actually on here to inform you all that I will once more be live on air tomorrow on smoke radio and this week I am interviewing The Universities Dance Society!!!! I wish I could dance, maybe I need to take it up. I like watching all the street dancers and movies like Step Up, now that would make for a very cool PR Stunt indeed!!!

So hopefully you will be listening and please do get in touch if you have any questions....

Take it easy B xx

A day at the University of Westminster

Is it a blog? or a website? or something else?

What is this Digital PR actually about???

This module was designed to help us to explore how on-line media can be used to further PR goals. It teaches us how we can produce high quality digital public communications.

We know that the most essential skill is creativity.

This blog, that we have started as a part of our University project, is our creative way of understanding digital PR and whilst we are still learning from it. It is a lot of fun to write about what we do and what we learn but the main point is to raise our profile to the public. That is a task that will not be easily done but Bex and I will try our best!

Yesterday Darika Ahrens ( http://www.grapevine-consulting.com/ ) came to talk to us about Advanced Social Media Tactics and I have really enjoyed her presentation.

For us, as a first year students, is very important to know which blogs are worth looking at, what websites may have the right content that can help us to understand the media better.

Darika went straight to the point and had our full attention. We have learnt how important it is to have a linkedin profile, if not right now, definitely for the future when we graduate. She showed us some useful blogs and gave us ideas how to improve our own blogs and websites that we work on.

The importance of Facebook and Twitter is also something to consider and pay attention to.

There is so much to learn and so little time.. don't get me wrong I d enjoy it .... I am just trying to say that I would be happy to learn more and know more, spend more time with people who know what they are talking about. I would prefer more lectures and more talks...but as I said...there is not enough time... so if you know about an interesting website or blog please let us know! ...we will definitely look at it and comment.

Off to blog a little on the Guardian website and Tweet a bit more ..... I am really getting into this Hana xx

What an eventful day!!!

What a day indeed!! Wednesday is our media and society lecture and class seminar, the discussions today were based around the influence of the media on us as consumers. The best example was that of the video gaming industry - class debate was based around consoles such as the Play Station 3, and how with the advances in technology you can now play on-line with others gamers from all over the world. I personally believe that this is a negative force on young people as they are becoming more and more recluse. I believe that we are creating on-line worlds in which people never need to have contact with and deal with people on a one to one basis and that will lead to a very lonely world.

The other angle which sparked much debate in class was about the violence in the games that are on the market. Does this encourage a generation of people who believe that violence is therefore acceptable as they are encouraged through gaming to shoot, fight and beat people up? There are surveys that show that this can be potentially very harmful in particular to young children. But keeping an open and critical mind here (a tool we are being taught in class, essentially when examining the media) can you believe these surveys? Where was the data collected from? How reliable is it? The latest crime statistic state that crime is currently at its lowest? Many questions and what I am learning is that there is always data out there that can back your case whatever your opinion so my advice is research and keep an open mind with everything you see, read and hear!!!

There is a little mid-week food for thought.....!

Following this I had a meeting with the head of events from the Smoke Radio Team here at the University of Westminster and we are looking at collaborating on some events in the very near future - its all very exciting but early days as yet so I will have to keep you in the dark but watch this space!!!!!

I also borrowed some very fancy technical radio recording equipment from the University so tomorrow Hana and I will be recording an interview with Cole Morton after our class, I am very excited about this!!! He has had an exciting and colourful career in the world of journalism from what I gather, two books under his belt and one more being released in April. I am looking forward to picking his brain and finding out his tips on how to succeed in this media world that I am so desperate to crack in to!!! I will endeavour to have the interview posted asap here for you to listen to, so you can stay in the loop.

Eventful day was finished by surprise call from my brother saying he was in London after a job interview and would I like to meet for a few beers before he heads back to the Bristol!!! Fan-dabi-dozy!!!! Great to see him and catch up, albeit rather brief!!

Roll on tomorrow.................... B x

Study Bolsters Blog-Related PR Practices - ClickZ

Study Bolsters Blog-Related PR Practices - ClickZ

Get Media Savvy

It is here in black and white folks!!! Spread the word Bex x

http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/study-new-pr-hires-must-blog-tweet-use-socnets-10144/

Radio experience...

uff ...it's done.... wow
That was absolutely amazing - and again I have to use these words..seems they are my two favourite ones because I use them a lot when I speak and as I listened to the interview again at home, in peace and quiet, I could hear myself saying them again and again.
I guess that I can get overwhelmed very easily, but I think that all the time something is happening that makes me want to say 'absolutely amazing'. That is a good sign, right?
I really enjoyed the show and I was surprised how much fun it actually is. Becky was so supportive and I would love to thank her for that!... and her voice ..OMG.. she was born for radio! don't you think ?? ;))
....Hana xx

SO..... Tired

OK Guys, its late its been a long day so you may ask why am I on-line blogging to you, after such a horrible and tedious shift at work?? It is a simple answer...... I am so excited about the radio show tomorrow that I thought I would celebrate by coming home and having a few glasses of vino with my flat mate whilst planning all of the wonderful questions that I can interrogate Hana with tomorrow on the show..... hehe, it's naughty I know!!! and then I thought why not scribble down a quick post. So I urge you if you read this before mid-day tomorrow - tune in to www.smokeradio.co.uk and click on listen live!!!! I hope to have a 2hour show tomorrow as there is so much to cram in and its all going to be very exciting. So if you have any questions that you would like to ask me you can email the show by writing on the website, emailing or texting whilst I am on air!!! Look forward to hearing from you.

MWAH Bex xx

Smoke radio show tomorrow @ 1pm!!

I am going to be live on air tomorrow at 1pm!!! ...so excited!!.... Becky's show 'What's going on' will be my first ever radio experience. So tune in and listen to what I have to say about studying in London and my experience as a mature student. Hear you soon..... Hana xx

Content is KING!

OK, I have been lax guys as this post refers to our digital PR seminar on Thursday but being a student I have been earning my crust in my part-time job. So.... We met this guy called Joe from Don't Panic!!! If you are a current student or have studied before you may well have seen the brown envelopes that you find in pubs, bars and other student hangouts and on Campus. Well he is the man behind those fabulous packages crammed full of advertising and sweeties!!! That is how he started his company, by producing these promotional packages!! He is a Guru that we can indeed learn from!! So I thought I would post some tips from the man himself:

1. Know the media!! What is in the headlines, what is going on in the world - keep up to date!!!

2. PR Week and Media Guardian and The Today Show (Radio 4) - Read and listen and absorb!!

3. Look at the Power List of top people in the media and get to know what they do etc...

and last but most certainly not least.... in fact I believe that this was the most important message of all that he told us....

CONTENT IS KING!!

No matter how good your plan is if the content is not there then it will never be a success.

His company now make viral ads which are posted on You Tube etc... some fantastic stuff, many of the videos are controversial and can be found through his website www.dontpaniconline.com I urge you to check them out. Very, Very Funny stuff and their website is jammed packed with information about everything that they are and have been involved with.

That concludes my entry and update!!! BUT one final exciting event - I have the pleasure and fantastic opportunity through The University of Westminster to present my own Radio Show!! Oh Yeah - it is pretty cool and this Monday I will be interviewing the beautiful and very sexy Hana, my fellow blogger!! So if you are by a laptop or a pc at Noon, that is 12 O'clock, on 8th March 2010 go to www.smokeradio.co.uk and listen live. I am on for one hour and will also be interviewing the President of the Dance and Drama Society about their up coming production of the fabulously saucy 'Closer' most well known for the steamy, sensuous film staring Clive Owen, Jude Law and Julia Roberts!!!

Ciao for Now Bex xx

Cole Morton's brain-teasing lesson

What a debate we've had with Cole Morton http://colemoreton.wordpress.com/ who wanted us to express our views about the way journalists think and work. We were making up a story to be published in the Daily Mail and let me tell you, the decisions were not easy... I know this was a scenario that does not happen every day but still....

We know that the relationship between PR and journalists is one of love and hate and we've learnt that PR have to fight a long and hard battle to get what they want into the papers.......that is what it means to 'sleep with the enemy'...
P.S. off to the Digital PR lesson...Hana xx

Class Begins

It's bright and early and we are sat in the classroom waiting for the lecture to begin.... today is all about Attracting Media Attention and Cole Morton, esteemed journalist and honorary lecture for this term, will be talking about "Sleeping with the enemy" I am intrigued.... and will update shortly on what this entails exactly..... Bex

We finally made it!

Today is a very special day for us because we have finally started our long awaited blog... woop woop

We will be bringing you all the exciting information and gossip from the world of a current PR students.