What Electronic Dance Music Can Teach PR Pros

Over the past few months I have attended my fair share of concerts, most of them being categorized under the genre of EDM. It’s no secret that electronic dance music is on the rise in the United States With songs like Nero’s “Promises” being featured in a Hewlett Packard commercial and household names like Avicii and DJ Tiesto beginning partnerships with big name brands, the presence of EDM is spreading rapidly and will only grow larger in years to come. Shows put on by well known house music DJs like Swedish House Mafia and Kaskade are selling out in a matter of minutes with tickets priced close to $100 or above.

Looking at this from a public relations standpoint, I feel like there is a lot to learn from this recent phenomenon. The EDM audience consists of men and women ages 18-35, with a focus on college students, who are extremely tuned into social media and are willing to spend upwards to $300 dollars on festivals like Camp Bisco and Electric Zoo. Due to this audience, there are specific reasons as to why house music, dubstep, techno and trance artists have become so popular. After some research, here are some things I believe PR pros can take away from the explosion of EDM into America’s pop culture scene:

• It’s all about social media: Although this is an obvious observation in 2012, the key to making social media work is by integrating all social media channels. House music DJs utilize social media far better than any other type of artists/bands that I follow. They engage their audiences by syncing Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and YouTube to connect with fans, announce shows and line-ups, post photos in real time and to hold contests and giveaways. I have had DJs reply to a tweet and a something as simple as that allows the fan to feel a personal connection, something that brands may have a hard time doing.
• People like suspense: Welcome to the world of teasers. DJs have caught on to the fact that teasers work. The infamous trio known as Swedish House Mafia created a teaser website hinting at something epic before announced their 2011 Madison Square Garden show. Within minutes fans were sharing the link and counting down the days until the big announcement, which was their show at MSG that completely sold out in 40 minutes. Similar tactics are used to announce and promote EDM festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival. When launching a new PR campaign, consider coming up with a teaser that will get your audience excited.
• Recycle: Well, not literally. Today’s DJs are known mostly for how they re-work other DJ’s music. They are performing at sold out shows playing recycled songs that they have made their own. Repeated ideas are often seen in the PR world. The key to making it thrive, however, is to take an idea that works and simply make it your own. New ideas are often more successful than the original (hence remixes).

Do you see other ways in which this music culture can be helpful to PR pros? Let us know!

Pitching? Consider pop culture

I was reading through my PRSA Issues & Trends e-mail the other day, and a featured story caught my eye: "How Dwight Schrute Helped Me Place a Story in TIME." As an avid fan of "The Office" and a person who finds Dwight's character to be hilarious, I clicked on the link and read the story on PRSA's ComPRehension blog.

So how did Dwight Schrute help Michael Smart land some great placements, including a spot in TIME? The same way his headline enticed me to read his post. Smart had been working with a professor who was researching the pros and cons of working with people she called "'socially distinct newcomers.'" "That's a perfect, precise description of what she studied...[b]ut it's obviously not very familiar language that would be useful in a pitch e-mail subject line or in the lead of a news release," Smart explained.

His solution was to come up with a way of expressing the concept concisely. He made the connection between Dwight Schrute and "socially distinct newcomers," and used it in his e-mail subject line and to help explain the study. His creativity landed him great coverage, including the placement in TIME he mentioned in his headline.

Smart identified two key takeaways from this successful media relations effort:

1. "Ruthlessly trim your pitches to make them as short as possible," he said.
   
2. "Consider an image or concept made familiar through pop culture to make your pitch stand out," he advised.
   

This case study definitely left a lasting impression on me!

You can read Smart's press release by clicking here.

Welcome to Twitter Charlie Sheen!

As everyone knows, you can't go a day without hearing someone reference one of the latest "Sheen-isms." Charlie Sheen, the controversial and reckless star of the popular and recently canceled series, Two and a Half Men, has been making his rounds on the television and radio talk show circuit, blurting out statements that have increased his "popularity" ten-fold over night. After making such a buzz on television and radio waves, Sheen has now turned his time and attention to the Twitterverse, creating his own verified account last night.

His Twitter handle, @charliesheen had over 300,000 followers within the first few hours. His first post: "Winning..! Choose your Vice... #winning #chooseyourvice http://twitpic.com/455ly9- boasting a picture of himself with his girlfriend, endorsing his beverage of choice: chocolate milk. The star, who's bio describes him as an "unemployed winner," will be tweeting regularly to stay more connected with his fans. However, it is yet to be seen how his entrance into the world of social media will affect his reputation with the public? So far... it doesn't look too promising.

Charlie Sheen has been in desperate need of good publicity for awhile now due to his problems with drugs, sex scandals and acts of violence. Stan Rosenfield, Sheen's publicist for several years, finally threw in the towel and respectfully resigned after one too many blunders during his most recent round of interviews.

However, Team Sheen seems to be doing just fine in terms of generating publicity and Sheen has managed to make himself the next "Chuck Norris" of American pop culture. With fan sites popping up all over the internet and companies such as Zazzle.com producing Charlie Sheen gag gifts, Sheen has become one of the biggest pop culture sensations.

We have all heard the cliche saying: "All publicity is good publicity"- however I am not so sure in the case of Charlie Sheen. The four-time Emmy Award winning actor was once respected for his talent - not his drug habits and has recently become the newest joke in Hollywood. His fan base may be increasing and although he is still raking in large amounts of money from sites that are partnering with him to sell products, his reputation is abysmal and without a publicist to guide him, I am sure it will only grow worse. Although Twitter could be used to improve his reputation and standing with the public, it appears as though Sheen will only be using it as another platform to continue boasting of his blunders and famous zingers.

What are your thoughts on all of the Charlie Sheen gossip? Does the saying still stand true that all publicity is good publicity with Sheen's growing popularity in pop culture or does this increased fan base only indicate how far Sheen has fallen off the wagon?

Be Careful What You Put Your Name On– 'Kardashian Kard' Controversy

The Kardashians have their image and name behind a clothing line boutique, beauty products, a book, a new jewelry line for BeBe and just recently a credit card. Branding themselves with these products has mostly improved their celebrity status. However, if you think celebrity fame and name equal instant success in all endeavors, you’re mistaken. Recently, the Kardashian sisters and their company, Dash Dolls LLC, were hit with a $75 million lawsuit over the termination of their Kardashian Kard, a pre-paid MasterCard held by Revenue Resource Group LLC who reported “being severely financially impacted” over a pulled 2-year contract, says Fresno Bee.

The lawsuit came about when the Attorney General of Connecticut opened an investigation of the Kardashian Kard for claims of possibly illegal and outrageous card fees to its users. The sisters terminated the contract for the use of their name and image on the card after being informed of this.

The Kardashians have a very loyal fan base of mostly young women, who would probably love the idea of having a Kardashian credit card. In fact, Resource Group LLC reported 140,000 hits after the card was launched in November. That said, it was a strong decision by the Kardashian sisters to terminate the card because they sacrificed a possible big business venture for the sake of their name and image.

However, the suit claims the sisters signed the agreement acknowledging the fees on the card. If that is true, it may raise some questions to their credibility as businesswomen. This situation ultimately brings up the ethical question of whether or not you should promote a product or service when you are aware of unfair terms to its consumers.

Despite the controversy, the Kardashians are still a very strong force in entertainment and have experienced no apparent change in their fan base due to this situation. Even if it was bad publicity, the Kardashian sisters and their name remain unaffected for now.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jessica Lopez.

Celebrity Twitter Deaths Go Unnoticed

Buzz has been circulating about the major flop that resulted from this year's "Digital Death Buy Life AIDS Campaign" that involved the social media death of popular celebrities such as Alicia Keys, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Justin Timberlake, Usher and Lady Gaga. The campaign's mission was to raise $1 million for the charity Keep A Child Alive by refusing to tweet until the money was raised.

However, the campaign fell incredibly short of its goal and has only raised $200,573. This embarrassing failure is contributed to various reasons according to an article from International Business Times.

Although the participating celebrities are incredibly popular on sites such as Twitter and Facebook, each having millions of followers and fans, the campaign did not account for the thousands of other celebrities that still actively used their social media sites, making the impact of absence less profound.

Additionally, the timing of the campaign was poorly executed. Although the campaign was scheduled around World AIDS Day, it also conflicted with Black Friday and the upcoming holiday season. Throughout the end of November and the month of December, users are utilizing social networking sites less frequently and are spending more time with family. Not only did issues surface with the lack of impact from the few celebrities' absences, the users the campaign was targeting were also largely absent from the sites making it difficult for awareness and donations to be raised.

Lastly, the publicity for the campaign was ineffective. Many of the celebrities failed to mention on their sites that they were participating in the campaign and that they would no longer be tweeting, therefore little to no buzz was generated about topic. Many twitter users were unaware that a campaign was even in effect and if your target audiences are unaware, then there has been a clear failure in audience communication.

Although this social media campaign for charity was not successful, there have been several others have generated a large amount of press and donations.

What are some suggestions you would offer to improve this campaign for the future? Let us know!

Crisis Management PR...Coming to a TV Near You!

I'm not sure if I've ever been so excited about a piece of gossip as this. If you haven't heard yet, there is rather credible information being leaked about a potential new TV drama inspired by the career of Judy Smith, a legendary public relations consultant who specializes in crisis communications and has a portfolio of scandalous clients including Bill Clinton and Michael Vick, among others. There are other "reality" shows that chronicle the lives of the rich and fabulous people of PR (ahem, Spin Crowd on the E! Network), but this is rumored to be a Law & Order-esque drama created by none other than the woman behind the popular Grey's Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes.

The show, which development trackers have been calling In Crisis, is being developed for the 2011-2012 TV season and should air on ABC.

What do you think? Would you watch a non-reality show based on the public relations industry??

Has Breast Cancer Awareness Become a Trend?

My aunt, a two-time breast cancer survivor, sent me an interesting New York Times article titled Think About Pink. The article offers one breast cancer survivor's perspective on the trend of sexualizing breast cancer awareness.

You have probably seen the bracelets, t-shirts and other items displaying slogans such as "I Heart Boobies," "Save Second Base" and "Save the Ta-Tas." These have become particularly popular among teens and young adults. The aim of these campaigns is to continue to break the silence and the stigma that surrounded breast cancer just decades ago. The growing popularity of these items has made breast cancer a more positive and popular discussion among young people. However, this new image of breast cancer does not accurately reflect the experiences of most women who have dealt with breast cancer. The author of the article offers an interesting insight about these campaigns when she says, "Forget Save the Ta-Tas: how about save the woman?"

Although these campaigns create a buzz about breast cancer, they may not be doing so in the most effective and sensitive way. The campaigns are not encouraging action or understanding about the disease itself, but rather creating a false image that some breast cancer survivors may find offensive.

Do you think these breast cancer awareness slogans bring something positive to the issue, or have they become a pop culture trend with little meaning behind them?

GQ's GLEE Cover Controversy

GQ is receiving mixed reviews about their November issue, which features provocative photos of GLEE cast members. The magazine is aimed at adult males, but the television show is geared toward a teenage crowd. The actresses in the questionable photos are in their twenties, but they play high school students on the show. They are shown in the magazine wearing provocative clothing and posing suggestively.

This situation may remind you of Miley Cyrus' magazine cover controversy in 2008. The 15-year-old posed for Vanity Fair wrapped in a bed sheet, appearing to be otherwise topless. While both Cyrus and the GLEE actresses appeal to a young fan base, the GLEE actresses are several years older than Cyrus and the characters they play on the show.

GQ included the photos of the actresses to sell magazines to their target audience, which is not the same as the audience for the show. The actresses are young adults, and old enough to make choices about the personal image they wish to portray. In similar incidents, it has been argued that such photos help actresses break away from their childish image and gain more adult acting roles.

Was GQ wrong for including provocative photos of the actresses because of their young fans or was the magazine just catering the photos to their target audience? Is it wrong for female actresses to express their sexuality if their fan base is mainly teenagers?

To form your own opinion, read more and see the photos here.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Elle magazine celebrated its 25-year anniversary this month with four covers, each featuring a popular Hollywood actress. While three of the covers were graced by full-length profiles of Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, and Lauren Conrad, the fourth one was a cropped, mid-chest shot of a lightened Gabourey Sidibe. It was apparent that Sidibe’s cover was somewhat lightened to match her fellow cover mates. Sibide’s cover brought up questions about whether the cropping and lightening was done on purpose due to her differences from the other actresses.

Elle’s editor-in-chief, Robbie Myers, is speaking out on behalf of the magazine and the photographers, Joe Zee and Carter Smith, who shot the pictures.

As for dealing with the negative feedback from the public, Myers is denying that the magazine lightened Sidibe’s skin by claiming the lighting in photos taken on the street looks different from the lighting in those taken in a studio. Myers is standing by the magazine’s decisions about the photos and their choice of artists. Defending the magazine is one thing, but defending the artists as well is a step further.

Although the magazine is adequately speaking out in defense of the covers, the situation could have been avoided altogether. The photos could have all been shot in the same formats or in equally different formats to keep the public from making any snap judgments.

Click here to check out the covers and decide for yourself whether Elle was right or wrong in this situation.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jesenia Lepiz.

The Social Network: Zuckerberg Should Fight Fire with Fire

With the tagline “You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies,” The Social Network is sure satisfy Facebook fanatics’ desire to learn more about social media king Mark Zuckerberg, who founded the revolutionary website back in 2003. An almost faceless figure for some time, Zuckerberg has not shared much about how he created the website that forever changed the way we communicate and made him the youngest billionaire. From the trailer, it seems that the October 1 release will reveal how Zuckerberg’s desire for female attention and power led him to create the phenomena during his Harvard undergrad.

However, Zuckerberg claims the movie is simply a piece of fiction, with a quote in the August 20 edition of The New York Times reading, “Honestly, I wish that when people try to…write stuff about Facebook that they at least try to get it right,” said Zuckerberg, “The movie is fiction.”

From his summer controversy over privacy on the website to the upcoming film, Zuckerberg seems to be in need of a few lessons in using public relations to help him present an accurate image of himself and the site. Here’s an idea, Zuckerberg: Harness the power of social media and become more open with the public via your Facebook page. This may seem obvious, but Zuckerberg should open up his page to the public so they can get a better understanding of who he is as a person. Zuckerberg should let users know what is on his mind or what he is up to with clever status updates and share more information about himself in the “interests” and “about me” sections. Essentially, he should create a public image of himself that is honest, yet professional. After all, he created the website to allow users to reach out to others and ultimately get a better understanding of who people are. So doesn’t it seem logical that Zuckerberg would want to make his page more open, to humanize himself as more than a billionaire social media revolutionary?

Ultimately, good public relations is about openly presenting information to the public, so that people are not left to believe what they hear through the grapevine. It is always better for the subject to send their message directly to the public, rather than having the public speculate over what the message really is.

For those of you who just can’t wait for the October 1st release, indulge your Facebook cravings with a look at the trailer: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/thesocialnetwork/itrailer/.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Shari DaCosta.

Luxury Handbag Designers Battle to Unbrand

Branding is an important part of creating and perpetuating any successful product or service. Using product placement and celebrities to endorse products or services is not a new part of the branding concept. However, a recent battle between luxury handbag designers to disaffiliate their brands with a certain reality television star has developed the term "unbranding."

Designers such as Coach and Gucci have allegedly been sending MTV's The Jersey Shore star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi bags from their competitors' collections in attempts of deterring her from carrying bags from their own brand.

When the reality star emerged in the spotlight, she was rarely seen without a Coach bag on her arm. Recently, her Coach bags have been replaced by Coach's competitor Gucci's bags. The switch is said not to be the result of a change in taste on Snooki's part, but a strategy by Coach to stop their brand from being associated with the self-proclaimed "guidette."

Whether or not Coach is behind Snooki's switch to Gucci bags may not be something they will admit, but it has certainly stirred up some talk about a new twist on branding.

All successful brands have their own strategies for building and maintaining their image, but how ethical is the strategy of "unbranding?"

Shark Week: The Ultimate PR Campaign for Sharks

This week is the 23rd annual Shark Week and people all over the world are celebrating by tuning into the Discovery Channel for a myriad of television specials highlighting the sheer awe that is demanded by one of our world's most powerful and feared creatures.

Although many tune in for blood and gore, Shark Week's main focus has always been to educate the population about sharks in an incredible attempt to save them from their impending extinction.

Let's face it- sharks are a tough creature to create a PR campaign for. Animals such as the panda bear or the polar bear are much easier to generate sympathy and compassion for. However, the Discovery Channel has successfully cultivated a popularity for sharks that did not exist, lets say, back when Jaws first came to theaters.

With nearly one-fifth of all sharks critically close to extinction, and over 70 percent of the world's oceans shark free, humans have been destroying the world's shark population through pollution, fear-fueled killing, habitat destruction and human induced global warming.

With over 30 million viewers and counting, Shark Week is creating quite a buzz. With so many people tuned into this week long special, different conservation groups across the world are receiving support from viewers everywhere. With the increase in support, these groups are able to further strengthen their efforts in saving sharks from extinction.

What is your opinion on Shark Week? Is it a great media campaign to raise awareness or just another television fad? Let us know!

Be sure to check out all that Shark Week has to offer by visiting their website!

Find Food on Twitter!

Here in Philadelphia, food trucks are very popular. Trucks park along curbs all over the city and serve hot food at cheap prices--on the fly. At Temple alone, I can think of over 15 food trucks lining various streets on campus. Many people have their favorite foods they like to get from their favorite trucks.

But what happens if one day your food truck isn't parked where it normally would be? Enter Twitter onto the scene.

That's right, food trucks all over the country are tapping the power of Twitter to keep their faithful customers abreast of their location.

Twitter is also facilitating a change in the types of cuisine that can be found on the streets. In California, as discussed in an article I recently read in Food and Wine Magazine, it is a rising trend for famous chefs to serve their cuisine out of trucks that allow them to travel around the city. Author Salma Abdelnour has credited social media for the success of these new "catch-me-if-you-can" entrepreneurial ventures. Some such trucks have amassed as many as 63,000 followers on Twitter, as people "chase" the trucks through the city for a chance to sample these fine foods.

Pretty cool, if you ask me. The power of social media never ceases to amaze me!

Click here to view Food and Wine Magazine's list of top restaurants, food trucks and and carts to follow on Twitter.

To Infinity and Beyond

If you remember watching characters like Buzz Lightyear and Woody in Disney's "Toy Story" on the big screen for the first time, you were probably fascinated by the detail and clarity in the movie's graphics. Having released "Toy Story 3" this past weekend (to great critical and box office success), it appears that Disney is continuing to utilize ground breaking new techniques as it continues the story.

This time around, though, the company is using other, more behind-the-scenes techniques to bolster the movie's success. In fact, Disney has been identified by examiner.com as the first company to advertise its product using the trending topics feature on Twitter.

What is a trending topic? According to the examiner.com article, the use of trending topics is Twitter's "effort to monetize their platform and allow for companies to pay for greater visibility by tweeters." As such, companies can pay to have their tweet featured at the top of a search results page. The tweet will also feature a different background color, both to catch viewer attention and to help differentiate a sponsored tweet from a regular one.

Disney has tapped into this new feature to sponsor tweets about the new "Toy Story 3" movie. Do you see the promotion of trending topics as s useful or valuable marketing tool? Have you ever promoted a trending topic or been drawn to a promoted trending topic? Let us know what you think!

There is Nothing Like the Summer To Spark Up Nostalgia!

As my tribute to the infamous hit Summertime by Will Smith infers, the summer of 2010 can be defined by none other than a little nostalgia. Feeling like you are in Grease or a Happy Days re-run recently? In case any fashionistas did not take notice yet, vintage designs from the 1940s and 50s are making a huge comeback. What is the theory behind this? According to Nigel Hollis, the chief global analyst for the market research firm Millard Brown, “We’ve been through a very unsettling time, and it’s when people are discontent with the present that they really start appreciating or having a nostalgia for the past, marketers are seeking to tap into that.” Current market research Gallup polls indicate that retail sales have declined 1.2 percent since the fall.

To combat and help improve these figures, retailers such as Eddie Bauer, Jantzen, L.L. Bean and others are going back to the drawing boards of the 1940s and 50s. From a PR perspective, this can be considered a type of "branding." By bringing back styles from a better economic time period, consumers will intuitively think things are turning around in the economy, and this encourages them to buy more. To see some of the styles or to learn more about the vintage comeback, read the entire New York Times article here.

This guest blog was written by staff member Michele Reilley.

FOX News Channel PR No-No

In my News Writing & Media Relations class this semester, we take time to discuss the current events in the media concerning education, politics and celebrities. A recent dispute between former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin and rapper-actor LL Cool J has grown to be a topic of conversation for the class.

To make a long story short, a past interview of LL Cool J was used without permission in the preview of FOX News Channel’s special program “Real American Stories,” with host Sarah Palin. The show highlights different stories of Americans rising above diversity by interviewing celebrities that match the criteria.

The rapper used social media as an outlet to respond to the preview, saying that FOX “lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else & are misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palin's Show. WOW."

My professor discussed with us the issues from a public relations standpoint faced by FOX:

• Don’t pull an interview that isn’t your own.

The interview that was used was created two years ago from a different interviewer, causing confusion for both the creators of the footage and LL Cool J himself. If you are using another person’s interview, let them know and ask for permission!

Which brings me to the next issue…

• Inform a possible interviewee of an appearance on the show.

LL Cool J was unaware he would even be a candidate for the program, and was shocked by the appearance of his own face on television. Following this tip will prevent future insults from happening via social media.

If these issues were addressed prior to the release of the footage, FOX wouldn’t have outlets like social media working against them.

For the complete story, go to http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/01/arts/AP-US-TV-Sarah-Palin.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=ll%20cool%20j%20sarah%20palin&st=cse.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Liz Offner.

Undercover Boss

Last night, while visiting my family for the Easter holiday, I tuned in to watch an episode of "Undercover Boss" with my family. Run on CBS, the show follows CEOs who go undercover to find out what their company is really like at the ground level.

The particular episode we watch profiled the CEO of Roto-Rooter, as he went undercover under as a new hire named Hank at several Roto-Rooter locations across the country.

As we watched the show, I was struck by how great of a PR opportunity the show presented for Roto-Rooter (and other companies who will be profiled throughout the course of the season). On this show, the company received a one-hour profile, and the format of the show was perfect for enabling Roto-Rooter to show off its strengths as a company, profile some of its best employees, make it look like they are genuinely looking for ways to improve and show that their company embraces both its workforce and its customers.

A show like this is an especially good opportunity for a company like Roto-Rooter, one that doesn't get a lot of publicity and operates in an industry that is not usually front of mind (plumbing). The show was definitely entertaining, but this all begs the question: at what point are shows like this beneficial for brands and at what point do audiences become suspicious that they are advertisements operating under the guise of entertainment?

What do you think? Have you watched the show? If so, what is your take?

Chatroulette: A Call for Change in Social Media?

Recently, discussions of Chatroulette have come up in several of my classes. Some classmates admitted trying the new form of social networking, while others were skeptical or unaware of it.

In a video posted on Vimeo.com, filmmaker Casey Neistat explores the Chatroulette phenomenon. Neistat spent a Thursday afternoon clicking through 90 people on Chatroulette to collect data about the users. He divided the users into three categories: boys, girls and perverts. Of the people he encountered on the site, 71% were males, 15% were females and 14% fell into Neistat's "pervert" category. As a subcategory, he found that 83% were young people and 17% old people.

Through his experiment on Chatroulette, Neistat discovered the concept of being “nexted,” which is when the stranger immediately clicks the “next” button upon seeing you. Neistat was nexted 19 out of 20 times in an average time of 2.9 seconds. After the initial disappointment of being nexted so frequently, Neistat realized that he would probably next himself too. Once he became comfortable with the service and its nexting option, he only stopped on pretty girls. Neistat's experience with Chatroulette raises the question: besides giving boys a place to surf in the hopes of chatting with pretty girls and offering a place where perverts are free to be perverts, what is the value of Chatroulette?

Chatroulette may be a call for change in social media. After all, the service was created by a 17-year-old Russian teen seeking a more entertaining form of social networking. The entertainment value of Chatroulette may lie in the element of surprise it has introduced. As Neistat stated in his video, “It’s like gambling; you can never predict what you might roll. Maybe you meet an interesting girl, maybe it’s a fat Asian guy in a pink bra.” The allure that people have to this element of surprise might be something for social media professionals to consider.

To watch the video and read more about what PR professionals could learn from Chatroulette, visit the Strategic Public Relations blog: http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/2010/02/chat-roulette-the-element-of-surprise-discovery.html

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member, Michelle Voli.

Twitter on TV!

It feels so good to be on spring break! I am currently visiting my family, and it I'm really enjoying being home. With as busy as I am during school, it is awesome to have time for even simple things like watching TV.

While watching TV with my parents Saturday night, I saw a commercial for CBS's show, "The Good Wife." During the commercial, which was a preview for an upcoming episode, one of the characters asked another dramatically, "are you tweeting about me?"

I thought this ad was a really good example of how pervasive social media has become in our everyday lives. I thought it was especially interesting that the ad referenced Twitter, as this speaks to the amount of growth the social networking site has experienced of late. Even one year ago, many people had never even heard of Twitter, let alone it being mentioned in mainstream pop culture.

What other examples have you seen of the growing pervasiveness of social media? What are some new areas that social media has popped up in your life?

The Tiger Saga Continues

Despite the fact that Tiger Woods finally came out on February 19 and made a statement about the personal decisions that tainted his public image, the worst may not be over for him.

On Friday, Gatorade announced that it "no longer see[s] a role for Tiger in [their] marketing efforts and have ended the relationship." Gatorade's decision to part ways with Tiger marks the third sponsor to end their endorsement deal with Tiger.

Accenture and AT&T ended partnerships with Tiger earlier this year, while Nike, EA Sports and Tag Heuer remain on board as sponsors. According to CNBC, Gatorade's sponsorship of Tiger was especially significant because the deal "was structured unlike any in the brand's history, as Woods got paid a licensing fee on sales of his drink."

It remains to be seen if Tiger's other sponsors will stay with him and if he will acquire new sponsors when he begins to golf again. Gatorade's decision to end their relationship with Tiger, though, poses important questions about if and when Tiger will be able to put this scandal behind him.

Do you think Tiger would have been able to keep more of his sponsorships if he had spoken out sooner? Where should Tiger go from here?