If I knew all the words

The bloggesphere can be a scary venue to many, especially for a young blogger such as myself. I’ve also heard the frustration of PR professionals and also my fellow students and colleagues from Allen Hall Public Relations, University of Oregon’s student-run PR firm, that many companies and organizations are nervous and unwilling to get involved in social media, especially blogging.

I have found that the more blogs I read and research I do I’m truly learning the power of blogging. Many may feel as though this form of informal communication is irrelevant because it isn’t in a professional format. Little do they know that this form of communication is becoming popular as well as beneficial.

According to Don Crowther’s Blog 101PublicRelations, “What the traditional media doesn’t recognize is that many bloggers, though unrestrained by traditional journalistic methods and ethics, have audiences and actual readership larger than many newspapers, television and radio shows,” Crowther said. “Plus this audience is often more loyal and able to be influenced than that of traditional media, giving bloggers tremendous power to shape opinions, actions and purchasing behavior.”

I believe many companies don’t understand the purpose of blogging and how there is an entire world of consumers and potential consumers who are talking about your product or service. Just because you feel as though social media is untraditional means you’re not listening to your customers and it removes you from the conversation and opportunity to make changes and advance in our constantly changing world.

Welcome. Guten Tag! Hallo.

My name is Staci Stringer, I’m a 21-year-old Senior at the University of Oregon (UO). I’m anticipating to graduate in June of this year with a Bachelors of Science, a major in Journalism with a concentration in public relations and a minor in communications. But my passion lies with event management and experiential marketing.

This past year I’ve had the honor of serving as the Panhellenic Vice President of Recruitment for Greek Life at UO. Panhellenic council is the governing body of all the sororities on campus. My job has opened multiple opportunities for leadership roles. I’ve overseen a staff of seven women, managed a $20,000 budget, planed fall formal recruitment, and organized programming for week of welcome and IntroDUCKtion. I have also facilitated recruitment chair meetings, and recruitment counselor training sessions. Through this experience I have had the opportunity to speak to large groups of parents and students to promote and educate them about the positive influence the Greek Community can have on ones undergraduate experience. This job requires me to be detail oriented, enthusiastic, independent, self-motivated, and personable. Through this job I’ve learned conflict management, good customer service, and verbal communication skills. All of which, I believe will be great skills when I dive into the real world in the next year. In October of 2007 I was hired at Allen Hall Public Relations (AHPR) as an assistant account executive. My team of four works with our client the Eugene Center for Community Counseling to outreach to the citizens of Eugene and Springfield as they celebrate their 30th Anniversary.

Over the past year I’ve seen the value of companies and organizations creating and participating in blogs. Not just product blogs, but blogs that reach out and communicate with the reader. By opening up a community conversation for clients, blogs allow them to fully connect with products, as well as the mission and values of organizations.

I began writing blogs my senior year of high school when my advanced algebra teacher decided to make it a weekly homework assignment. I thought this was weird considering it was a math class, not an English class, but little did I know it would become a part of my future profession. Later in the year I came to find out he is an accomplished writer and artist. During my freshman year of college I found his Web site, 39forks, and began contributing to his conversation. He has inspired me to continue to write and pursue this course which seems to be public relations.

I hope this blog can be a sliver of insight into myself, as well as my journey into finding out about the world of public relations. As I continue to develop this blog, please look for samples of work as well as my resume. Feel free to explore and get involved with the conversations!