We can do better. Really.

Watching the election coverage and the subsequent online conversations always provides a great deal of entertainment for me, and I’m sure many others. On one hand, you see the witty repartee of the various political commentators and bloggers, and then, if you happen to look at forums like I occasionally do, you get the most derogatory remarks you could ever imagine. It’s when I read the latter that really makes me lose faith in the democratic system. Most people are so unwilling to do research and see beyond the surface, especially when determining which candidates best suit our country’s needs, it’s really no surprise so many end up dissatisfied with the state of the nation.

I’m sad to admit that I have not yet voted in an election. In 2004, I was too young, and it 2006 I really got too lazy and tied up with my school work and work work to do the research. Yes, I am ashamed, and I plan to remedy this in November. But what about the thousands of others who, like me, get too lazy or disinterested to learn the issues and candidates or just generally don’t care about the future of their country?

I’ve gone back and forth on the argument of mandating that all citizens 18 and over must vote, like they do in Australia. I feel like it would at least make people pay more attention to what’s going on since they would be required to share their voice. But then again, all the disinterested out there could just walk in a voting booth and choose at random. So what’s the magic way to get the system to work? How do you get people to care and how do you get them to stop judging the candidates based on the surface quips thrown out there by the mainstream media? Maybe with all these people so interested in sharing their opinions online, a Web-based voting system would increase turnout. Why publicly participate in determining the future of your nation when you can do it in your pajamas?

Until a solution is found, I’m really excited to see how the rest of the season unfolds. Maybe it’s too much to ask for people to stop judging the candidates on anything but the issues, but I’m hopeful, and perhaps a bit optimistic, that this can be achieved in my lifetime. We’ll see.

Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future.

Really. That’s all I think about these days. The future… oh and lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how awesome my new place is. But yeah, mostly the future. What’s happening tomorrow, this weekend? Where am I going to be next year, 5 years, 10? It’s actually very annoying how obsessively I ponder things I currently have no control over. Of course I value having some sort of life plan or at least some semblance of a path, but what happens to that whole crazy notion of living in the moment?

Every day on the metro, I have the pleasure (read: tragedy) of passing through the airport station. This morning I watched the faces of everyone else on the train as we watched planes lift off, and many, like me, mourned the fact they were stuck on the same boring track, headed to their 9-5 and not hopping a plane to paradise, wherever that may be. Granted, I love my job and I actually enjoy getting up in the morning to head into the city, but there’s that small twinge of regret every time I pass through Reagan that I’m not taking that risk and just going where I want to go.

But like I said, I love my job. I get to research, analyze and make suggestions about my clients’ plans for the future and how they approach these plans right now. In a way, it’s like multitasking – bringing together my bad habit of harping on the future while getting to make decisions for this moment.

So where do you draw the line between settling for something you love and taking that crazy risk – just going for that one dream you’ve had forever and a day but are too scared/penniless/whatever to act on? I just don’t want to wake up one day and say, “Damn, I wish I had just gone for it.”

Virginia is for… me?

I am a Marylander at heart. No question. I have way too much Montgomery County (MoCo for those of you in the know) pride, a love for Baltimore (even though I would never live there), and of course, a deep-rooted passion for mocking Virginia. But somehow I’ve ended up in this ‘commonwealth,’ now living in the lovely town of Alexandria.

Honestly, I’d rather live in Arlington, but beggars can’t be choosers. But Alexandria isn’t so bad. I live next to a cemetery, only a mere four or five blocks from King Street, and maybe a half hour walk from the waterfront. I mean, you can definitely tell we’re in the south here which is hilarious since I’m pretty sure NoVA tries to separate itself from anything below Richmond, but it’s a nice change.

Point is, I will never be a Virginian. No matter how long I actually end up living here, I still think Maryland is better. It’s a personal choice we all have to make. Besides, if I really had it my way, I’d be living in Australia. Intern salary here folks.

Hey, where’d you go?

Yep, I was gone for awhile. Blog vacation. Blog hiatus. Whatever you want to call it. But I’m back now, and life certainly hasn’t slowed down one bit.

Though, it’s recently been brought to my attention that my so-called ‘adventures’ have decreased significantly in number since I’ve graduated college. ‘Tis a true and sad fact, if I say so myself. Being a ‘professional’ now, I feel like there’s no time to do anything really crazy and adventurous. It’s not like I can just hop a plane to Sydney, for example (IF ONLY). Nope, I’m officially a ‘grown up’ and obviously in that role, practicality must always come first.

But, I honestly hate practicality. My biggest fear is doing everything by the book, settling down and living the most boring, standard life ever. For some people, this is a perfectly adequate way of life. Good for you. You have your goals, you follow the exact path to get there and you’re content. That just doesn’t work for me.

With this realization comes my earnest vow – to you and myself – that I will seek out adventure wherever and whenever possible. Currently money seems to be my only constraint, but I plan on resolving this soon. I’m moving to a new city – a new state, in fact – where I can be plenty eager and find things to explore. There will be fun. There will be adventure. And, of course, there will be documentation.

Let’s hope I can actually stick to this. It’ll be a challenge, considering I plan on continuing to work my butt off at Edelman because a) I love it and b) … overtime.

Facebook + Craigslist = the killer network

Facebook sometimes seems to be running the world, with all its apps, friend suggestions, birthday reminders and anything else you can think of. I decided today that Zuckerberg could expand his business into the classifieds business a la craigslist. Maybe the two could even create some kind of partnership. How much easier would it be to find roommates if you could actually learn about them from their Facebook profile? As I go through my own apartment search here in DC, I’ve realized that there’s no way I can tell my life story in a brief email. Plus, people see the words “recent graduate” and I guarantee you they hit delete. Age discrimination is huge in finding the perfect housemate, or at least that’s what I’ve come across.

I’m guessing there’s already some kind of apartment search Facebook group, but maybe there’s a way to streamline this — social network integration is where it’s at. For an example of this, check out India’s version of social network meeting classified ads.

Very friendly skies

I spent this past week in California and found myself, like usual, hanging out at the airport. Even worse, I found myself really bored and disconnected during the actual flight. American Airlines tested its in-flight wi-fi this past Wednesday and plans to make it available in the next few weeks. Ridiculously good news for business travelers, I think. I just imagine being able to connect to a meeting while en route to the meeting when your flight is delayed, instead of missing it altogether. I don’t know all the logistics, and I’m guessing there are bandwidth limits, but just having that possibility is pretty awesome at this point. Can’t wait to see this on international flights – believe me, 20 hours over the ocean without email access can drive some people crazy.

Love that new book smell

Whenever I go to a bookstore, I always come out with at least 2 new books. Every time. It’s like this weird obsession or something. But I can’t help it. No matter how broke I am or how little time I have to even read them, I love new books. Maybe it’s that new book smell?

I actually bought four this time (it’s been awhile), but as I was standing at the check out, it made me wonder about the future of books with all this new media abound. As I walked through the store, I saw authors I recognized from the blogging world — Seth Godin, Charlene Li — and immediately thought, “I don’t need to buy this, I can just read the blog.” What if all writers were blogging? Or publishing free e-books? And since there are free e-books out there, do we really need to go to the bookstore and buy a copy?

I suppose paperbacks will never necessarily go out of style. Nor will bookstores – probably because of people like me who need something tangible once in awhile and, for some reason, library books just aren’t the same. I do think a time will come when the free accessibility of literature online will definitely change the dynamic of book sales. You see the same thing happening in the record industry, with bands like Radiohead offering their newest album for free online. Definitely a trend to keep an eye on…

I’m an artist, I’m in PR

Tonight I attended Artomatic, an annual multimedia exhibition held in DC. While I didn’t see all of the floors or musical acts (I hope to go back this weekend!) one thing stuck out — most of the artists described their passion for showing the world through their eyes, or more particularly their camera lenses, since I love and focused on the photography. As artists, their job is to find common ground with their audiences, while still maintaining their unique perspectives of the world. 

This is exactly what we do as PR practitioners. We cater our worldview — more or less the views of our clients — to various publics. Not only do we see the world through our eyes as representatives of big (or small) business, but also through our personal experiences, or lenses. And on top of that, we have to get inside the heads of our audience and find common ground to share a story. Public relations, like art, is all about storytelling.

Perhaps the next time someone asks me what I do for a living, I’ll tell them I’m an artist.

 

Photo by Tracy Lee

Where does your loyalty lie?

Watching the NBA finals right now makes me really wonder about brand loyalty. I know, PR nerd-dom once again. Regardless, how is it that we become tied to sports teams, or any brand for that matter? 

For some brands, it’s something we’re born into. My family has been in the DC area for at least 3 generations, and have been die-hard Redskins fans for goodness knows how long. Even after going to school in Boston and watching the Pats become a dynasty, I still had (way too much) Redskins pride.

But what about other products? Apple fanatics, people who swear by a certain clothing designer or shampoo or whatever else you can imagine — they all find ways to connect with the product. Companies use their products to build a relationship with their consumers. Emotional bonds are created through advertising and PR and marketing efforts, and we buy right into them. People are so inextricably tied to certain brands that they will even fight others who prefer the rival.

Plus, personal experience is such a great predictor of brand loyalty that the role of new media, if it isn’t already, should have a huge impact on brand awareness and development. How far do you think it will go? I’m surprised there aren’t more job postings for online brand evangelists because that’s surely the next step in word-of-mouth marketing. 

It seems I may have gone on a tangent here — watching the Finals is such a distraction — but really all I’m asking is what are the other determinants of brand loyalty besides emotional ties and personal experience? And with people starting to see right through the facade of giant corporations, are we slowly starting to see a breakdown in the system, or will brands instilled from birth (i.e. my love for the Redskins) continue to thrive and other means of brand loyalty develop?

Technologically attached

Yesterday my neighborhood was affected by all the storms and tornadoes coming through the DC area. We didn’t lose power, luckily, but we lost cable.

So while I could still watch ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’ my feeble attempts to connect to our cable internet failed miserably during every commercial break. It was so disheartening to realize how truly attached my life has become to the online world.

I’ve recently noticed a similar backlash from others who see technology as a wonderful tool of engagement, but also one of disconnect. I attended two events today — one was my sister’s graduation and the other was a preview party for the American Film Institute’s annual Silverdocs film festival. On the outset, you would assume that technology use for communication purposes would be at a minimum at both of these events. Who needs their Blackberry at a high school graduation? But the number of cell phones used during the graduation ceremony definitely outnumbered the number of Blackberries and iPhones I saw at the cocktail party, which surprised me considering the latter was a room filled with DC professionals.

The point I’m trying to make here is one I’ve seen posted about on other sites. We live in a world in which young adults especially are interactionally-challenged. We don’t know how to communicate with each other face-to-face anymore. We are bombarded with news and images and social networks. ‘Google’ has become a verb, along with ‘facebooking’ and ‘tweeting.’ I’ve actually heard kids say L-O-L out loud, in public. Our attention spans are so short that we live our lives in hyperdrive. We don’t know how to interact with other people anymore. We don’t know how to stop and breathe anymore. 

Fellow Edelman employee, Steve Rubel tweeted (see what I mean…) earlier about Mark Glaser’s idea of taking a ‘technology sabbath’ once a week, just to take a break from all of this and get back to the important things in life. He notes that the “always-on nature of the broadband Internet and smartphones” is overwhelming, as with instant messaging and social networking. By taking one day off a week, Glaser spends more face time with people and gets outside, instead of hanging out with his laptop all day. 

I lost internet for maybe 18 hours and felt completely disconnected from the world. But to see that there is life beyond the computer screen is especially important when all of my friends, family, work and fun also exist online. There needs to be time for relaxing and actually seeing the world for what it is, not for what we have virtually created it to be. I challenge everyone to follow in Glaser’s footsteps and take a 24 hour technology break every week. Go to a museum, take a trip, visit some friends, or even just sit on your porch and strike up a conversation with one of your neighbors. You don’t have to go anywhere to interact with the world, so long as you don’t always bring your laptop and wireless internet along for the journey.