InsidEPR

Why Internships Matter

By Stephanie Look

A college degree can definitely provide you with the skills needed for a successful career; however, I wouldn't say that having a degree is equivalent to having actual experience in one’s chosen field.

One problem commonly sited by employers is that many graduates do not have the necessary skills to excel in the job market. Even enhanced levels of education are not enough to prepare students for the “real world” job environment. The question is, then, what is the missing link between having a degree and having actual experience? My take?  Invest in an internship.

Counting Down a Lifetime

By Molly Miller

I have spent the last few weeks working from Nashville, Tennessee, so that I could care for my aging and increasingly frail mother.  At 86, mom has lived a full and eventful life, with its share of ups and downs, and while her body continues to fail her, her mind remains vibrant and intact.  The past month, I have enjoyed hearing about my family history, the many wonderful trips she made with my dad, and her memories of me and my siblings as children.  We have poured over old family photograph albums going back several generations, and have gabbed long into the night about our family history and heritage. These are moments I will treasure always.  Of course, there have been frustrating moments as well, especially as I become more and more acutely aware that there’s really not much any of us can do to help her be more comfortable beyond giving her our love, which sometimes just seems inadequate.

I couldn’t have had this time with mom without the support and encouragement from my colleagues at EPR—especially the senior management team.  They carried extra loads to help minimize the effects of my absence, both with internal team members, and with clients.  I give them my gratitude.

Are All Wire Services the Same?

By Neila Matheny

Recently, one of my clients decided to evaluate the various news wire services because of a reduction in the number of press release pickups company announcements received. A number of my colleagues were investigating the various options for exactly the same reason.  We all compared notes about the three major services, and man, did we learn a lot!

With recent progress in search engine optimization and RSS feeds, the major wire services have all introduced their own offerings in these areas. Linked keywords and multimedia features are becoming more important to our clients as they look to drive additional traffic to corporate websites. Our research showed that some wire services are more advanced than others, but that all plan to deliver similar services in the coming year.

Weighing in on SMNRs

By Becky Caudill

Over the last several days, there has been what can only be described as an overwhelming amount of discussion in the blogosphere on the social media news release (here, there, and almost everywhere).  It seems PR folks and bloggers either love it or hate it, and they certainly aren’t afraid to say so one way or the other. Normally, I love controversy and gossip, but I found myself just feeling tired by the fifth or so rant.

Here’s the thing – I’m familiar with the social media news release (SMNR), having used various versions of it with a couple of clients, and while I do believe a release of this nature has its place and provides many benefits, I’m not entirely convinced it is the solution to all that ails us in gaining exposure for our clients in the blogosphere.  I’ve seen a lot written these past couple of days, and I believe what it comes down to is having conversations.