Cleveland’s 1st Annual Yogapalooza was a success!  Around 30 people joined Yoga Bear at Wade Oval for our day of wellness and yoga and overall the event raised $600 for the organization!  This money will go to help grow the Cleveland Chapter of Yoga Bear as it is still in its beginning stages in the city.  Get excited for more to come from Yoga Bear!

 The weather was uncharacteristically beautiful for Cleveland and Wade Oval proved to be a wonderful backdrop for the event.  We raffled off eight great prize packages (thank you to everyone who donated!) and also were able to pass out water bottles and samples of granola from Kaia Foods.  Gaiam, Yogapolooza’s national sponsor, provided aluminum water bottles for the first 25 people to register and also gave away 4 yoga mats, some blocks and straps and yoga dvd’s (thank you again for sponsoring the event!).

The variety of classes were wonderful and enjoyed by all attendees.  Laura Noss started off the day with a Jivamukti-style flow class set to music and even included a song from the late, great Michael Jackson.  Following Laura, was Fabienne Bernard who shared her Healing Yoga class with the participants.  Rounding out the day was Marcia Camino who lead a beautiful Hatha class to end the event.  I can confidently say that everyone enjoyed the variety of classes, the yoga under the trees and the company. 

In terms of coverage, we had a visit from Fox 8 Cleveland, but unfortunately I do not think it turned into any footage.  We did have placement in The Plain Dealer (online and in the Friday Magazine To Do section), The Chagrin Valley Times, and the Cleveland Coffee News.  The event was posted on cleveland.com, callandpost.com, and ohiomag.com.  Keep an eye out for some great pictures taken by Jess and I which will be posted on the Yoga Bear Flickr account soon! 

Namaste

Overall I think it was a great first year for the event in Cleveland.  We successfully raised some money for the cause and increased awareness Yoga Bear’s presence in Cleveland with the general public and the Cleveland yoga community! Thank you everyone again and namaste!

Media Relations  While going over Ken’s first project, follow-up calls to national reporters regarding a book previously sent and the expert source who wrote it, I remembered what it was like that first day and how far I have come in my media relations skills.  As Ken made his first call, starting off with a smaller pub and working right up to the main news outlets on day one, I remembered going through the same experience- the uncertainty and fear one feels when you are asked to jump head first into something completely new and hopefully land on your feet.  I can confidently say I have and now feel great confidence in my ability to not only call the media, ranging from a local paper to an international publication, but also be able to speak with confidence and knowledge, while providing reporters with real, relevant news, foster placements and gather useful feedback.

Research and media list building skills While research is something we all must be familar with in school and in the workplace, is something that many people struggle with as it must be thorough, well-compiled and completed in a timely fashion.  I have always thought of myself as someone with strong research skills- I am naturally inquisitive an therefore enjoy learning all that I can about the world around me- but after going over the different tools and research tasks used and required at D&E, it solidified for me the importance of these tasks and the benefit of being proficient in using and compiling strong research, especially in the public relations world.  PR practitioners are expected to be experts on their clients and have deep understanding of what they are pitching and who they are pitching to.  This requires a strong research background in all aspects of the the pr process and makes daily news clippings and recent coverage reports seem all the more important.

Writing Skills  To be a skilled writer is a one of the greatest assets a person can have.  It is also something that you can work on and improve throughout your entire life, no matter what skill level you currently are.  I consider myself a strong writer, but this internship has helped me improve my abilities and better understand writing for pr and the importance of capturing the attention of your audience and making your writing clear, concise and well-edited.  It is also something I plan to continue to work on everyday as everyone can always use more practice

Confidence in my abilities and my future in the world of pr  Although not a tangible asset gained from my time at D&E, this may be the most valuable.  D&E was a fantastic opportunity as they truly allowed me to test the waters of the pr world and see if it is a field I am well-suited for and going to thrive in and enjoy.  I can safely say that my time with D&E not only strengthened my desire to pursue a career in public relations, but also has given me the confidence to know that I have the skills and the ability to succeed in this field.  Confidence is something that is hard to gain, especially when beginning one’s journey into the working world at such a challenging time, but I feel confident in my place right now; I am ready for the world of pr and can’t wait to jump head first into my next endeavor.

Planning for the Cleveland Yogapalooza is still underway, but here are the basics of the organization, the event and where I am at in the planning of the Cleveland event…

Yoga Bear – Yoga Bear is a national non-profit organization dedicated to providing cancer survivors with more opportunities for wellness and healing through the practice of yoga.  Currently operating in 23 states, YB helps connect cancer patients and survivors with yoga studios and also creates a community to join and connect with.  One the aspects of the organization that I find especially great is its utilization of social media.  The Yoga Bear site is a social network where you join, make a profile and can invite friends, participate in discussions and blog.  Yoga Bear is also present on Twitter, You Tube and Facebook.  Although many non-profits participate in social media, I have yet to find one where social media plays as large of a role as with Yoga Bear.  I think this utilization of social media tools is a great benefit to the growth and awareness of the organization and its cause and I am sure YB will become a role model for non-profit social media in the near future.

Yogapalooza Last year marked the first year of this event in San Francisco.  It was a great success and this year the event has expanded to six cities; San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin, Cleveland, New York City and Washington D.C. Although each city’s event is tailored to that city, all events have the same goal: to raise money for Yoga Bear’s cause and promote healthy living and the benefits of the practice of yoga. Also all events are scheduled for June 27th making one united, nation-wide day of yoga!

Cleveland Yogapalooza Here are the details on the Cleveland event as it stands currently. The event will be taking place on June 27 at Wade Oval in University Heights. Wade Oval is a beautiful park located right in between four of Cleveland’s best cultural landmarks: The Botanical Gardens, CWRU’s Gehry building, The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Natural History Museum. We hope for a beautiful sunny day (fingers crossed!) but tents will be set up in the case of rain.

By the end of this week my hope is to have our teachers and local sponsor set.  Meetings and phone calls are currently taking place and I hope to have some great additional news by Saturday to share! That being said if you are or know a great teacher in the greater Cleveland area please let me know! Feel free to comment to this blog or reach me directly at erika@yogabear.org.

I am so happy to be a part of this organization and cause. The benefits received through the practice of yoga are endless and it is wonderful that Yoga Bear has created a community of people who believe in the healing and restorative powers of the practice and support the fight against cancer.

Stay posted for additional news on the Cleveland event and I look forward to a great day of yoga on June 27!

This blog post is part of Zemanta’s “Blogging For a Cause” campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

VisualCV is an Internet resume that allows you to include more interactive features than a standard resume allows.  Aside from the usual list of past jobs and relevant skills, VisualCV allows you to include work samples, references, images and craft your own personalized url to send to prospective employers.  After beginning to build my own VisualCV, I had a realization- the progress and advancement VisualCV represents for resume-building is the same as what social media releases (SMR) mean to the practice of sending news releases in the public relations world. 

I first experienced social media releases when Dix & Eaton utilized them for one of our clients CPI.  The difference between traditional releases and SMR is amazing.  SMR allow for additional interactive sidebars of related information and videos, direct linkage back to the company’s website, RSS capabilities and the ability to distribute the release via the world of social media (i.e. Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc).  Although the traditional release is still relevant and sufficient for many companies, SMRs show the way the public relations world is evolving and the true power of the new social media movement.

I strongly believe that we are currently experiencing a great shift in our world and our use of technology.  Social media, although starting small, has grown into a force making a huge impact on our society including  the worlds of public relations and job hunting.  I am still learning to navigate this world, but everything I have tried and seen has amazed and inspired me.  Social media releases are a great new tool helping pr professionals publicize news in a way that the public will listen, and interactice resumes I believe will soon become a dominant tool in the job hunt.  Social media is continuing to grow and is here to stay so I say jump on and enjoy the ride.

Cleveland Scene.com

Although I have lived in Cleveland my entire life, this weekend marked my first visit to a local festival celebrating its 40 year anniversary, the Hessler Street Fair (website).  

The Hessler Street Fair started as an annual block party and in 1969 began its path to the street festival it is today.  Back then, University Circle Inc. wanted to bulldoze Hessler Road to build student dorms and parking lots, and thanks to the money raised by the street festivals the streets became Cleveland Landmarks and were saved from demolition. 

The fair today is a wonderful mixture of arts, crafts, music and food and attracts more than 10,000 visitors a year.  I, as a first time visitor, was greatly impressed by the offerings of the fair.

Hessler Road and Hessler Court (there is interestingly enough no actual Hessler Street) are the two roads which host the fair.  They are lined with a number of quaint, historic houses and end in a courtyard of apartments where local bands set up and played throughout the weekend.  I had the pleasure of listening to the JiMiller Band (website), who’s mix of jazz, bluegrass and blues was a perfect backdrop to the relaxed, free-spirited feeling of the festival. 

I did not get the opportunity to sample any of the food (as Emily and I had a craving for Tommy’s, a great Cleveland Heights food establishment), but we did stop by the craft stands, purchasing some fabric-covered hair clips and picking up flyers for a gallery opening of a local printmaking artist that I plan to visit in June.

My favorite part of the festival may have been the children’s section, Harmony Park.  A make shift drum circle was set up there where adults and kids alike joined together to make “music” and embrace the festivals musical roots.  

The festival, its visitors and the street’s welcoming feel made this a great first festival of the summer season.  If staying in Cleveland I would love to someday live on Hessler Road and partake in the planning of this yearly celebration of one of Cleveland’s great hidden neighborhoods.  Even when moving on and away from my hometown, I plan to make the Hessler Street Fair an event I revisit in the years to come.

The People Speak is a blog community for young people interested in global issues and making a difference in our world.  It offers a place for the youth of the world to post their ideas, form connections with other change-focused individuals and begin shaping the world from a very young age.  The site offers a number of applications for users to become involved in and truly gives the youth of our world a say in what is going on around us. 

Current activities on the site include Global Debates, Climate Crews, Youth Leadership Summit and Youth Climate Pledge.  One past activity that I believe shows the strength and potential of this site is a posted YouTube video where TPS community members were able to ask Ted Turner questions.  Now that is having a real influence. 

I may be just out of the age group that would classify me as a youth, but this site is one I plan to re-visit soon and re-visit often.  The youth can change the world and TPS highlights this fact.  Plus, I am pretty excited to learn how to host a UN-themed trivia night as well

Now what is a ‘hyperlocal’ site you may ask?  Well don’t worry I asked myself the very same thing.  ‘Hyperlocal’ news sites are website that allow users to choose their location and read the news happening right in their area.  The news is often links to articles and blogs as well as local data that would be of interest to dwellers in that specific area.  Most of these sites do not have their own journalists, but rather gather their information from other sources- definitely not your average news site.

Now I deeply love newspapers and hate to see the demise of print news, but these websites might be onto something.  We have already seen the immense growth of social media and the legitimacy of blogs and tweets as sources of news, so why not sites customized to your specific region?  Now I do not think all news as we know it is gone and lost forever but especially for local news, this might just work.

Currently most of the sites are only offered to the top U.S. cities.  Now as I reside in Cleveland, there is not information currently available (surprising I know), but I did play around on EveryBlock stealing a friend’s Chicago address to use for my trial run and I was very impressed by what I saw.  When using Wrigleyville as my location I learned of a dead goat found hanging on the Wrigley Harry Carey statue, 2 real estate listings, 1 theft, some business reviews and new business licenses, all from toda- April 13.  There was also an archive of previous days news, in case you missed your local fix over Easter weekend.

Although not the international, in-depth news we all love and enjoy from traditional news sources, these new ‘hyperlocal’ sites provide customized, up-to-the-minute news that meets our need for knowing what is going on right now.   Although still in the very beginnings of growth, I predict these sites will soon become forces to be reckoned with.

• Most reporters want a monogamous relationship, or the exclusive.  So true and yet so hard to pull off.  I am not saying that I am against this idea, on the contrary I completely agree and would want an exclusive myself if I were writing the story.  But from a pr perspective, how do you find that perfect reporter to have this relationship with?  Do you pitch the idea to a number and may the first and best man win? Or pitch one by one and risk not getting any placement or not enough feedback to your client in a reasonable amount of time?  I, in my short time in this field, do not have the answers to these questions yet, but I constantly question them and hope to eventually find the answers.
• Uninterested reporters will not respond no matter how often you contact them.   I don’t even think this needs discussion, I just loved it and thought, how true.
• As the same pick up lines do not work on every person, the same pitch will probably not work for every reporter.  This may be one of the very first things I learned when beginning to contact the media.  That extra step of doing your research and personalizing your pitch to each RELEVANT reporter makes all the difference in the world.  Another analogy I think fits well with this idea is an un-researched pitch is like getting spam in your inbox-  No one reads spam so why would reporters be expected to read it either?
• Placement may provide immediate gratification, but relationships are often built over time.  This point is what I am most excited about as I become a more seasoned PR professional.  I love every day learning more about the people I pitch and finding stories or ideas that truly help and fit their coverage.  It is frustrating to have a media list and know no one, but even in my short time at this internship I am already familiar with many reporters and can’t wait to continue our relationships in the future.

Now although I think Rob did a great job, I wanted to add a few insights myself.  As a participant in the dating world there are a few things that have helped my love life and I think will help me strive in MR as well.  So here is my additional list of tips for the dater or PR professional:

• You must have genuine interest in the other person.  You can go through the motions of dating or PR, but if you don’t truly care about the person on the other side, 9 times out of 10 you will fail.  Both in dating and PR I genuinely want to get to know the person on the other side, build a relationship and help them succeed.   I believe this sincerity is apparent in my pitches and I hope is apparent in my pick up lines too
• Kindness and Confidence.  Confidence mixed with friendliness I think is the key combination to getting past that initial introduction phase in the dating and media world.  When someone exudes confidence, it is apparent and attractive and who can turn down someone who is kind?  I know I have a hard time of it and in PR I think the same is true.

Now of course you will still receive exceptions to these rules and like in dating, not every relationship is meant to last, but I think this analogy is a great one to keep in mind.  My parting tip?  Draw understanding from the one you know better to help you out in the other, equally important, part of your life as well.

National Geographic

I thought my blog was in need of some visual elements and therefore decided to share this photo from National Geographic’s Week in Photos depicting the collapse of the Cologne city archives building on March 3.  I feel a special connection to Cologne after living there last summer and therefore was immediately drawn to this photo.  The building contained centuries worth of archives, housing works by such people as Karl Marx.  No one knows as of yet why the building collapsed.  This photo reminds me of looking into a dollhouse, especially with the bed and painting in the wall still fully intacted- eerie for sure.

At Dix & Eaton, interns are treated as employees.   Therefore I do not sit around and make coffee all day, but rather I am treated as an Assistant Account Executiveand have real, billable work for a number of clients.  I learned very quickly that I will always be busy and need to prioritze and therefore I learned some pretty good tips and have gotten some great advice to help manage my time.  Here a few of my favorite pieces of advice:

Triage your work.  In pr, there are always stories to be pitched, media lists to create, follow-up calls to be made- the list goes on.  The trick I have found to organizing what to do when is to organize by urgency and immediate importance.  An event for a client in a week that has no press coverage of course must be completed ASAP, while the media list for outreach you are just beginning can probably wait.  It is not always that simple to gauge the importance of projects compared to one another, but you can always ask the advice of your collegues and when someone says something is urgent, by asking more questions you can find out how truly “urgent” it really is.

Block off time in your schedule.  Is there something on your to-do list that you never seem to be able to check off?  A colleague of mine suggested that for times such as this a good option is to block off time in your calendar dedicated solely to whichever task it is that you are hoping to accomplish.  By scheduling time into your calendar people won’t think you are free and you will have a better chance at avoiding interruptions.  It will also help you mentally plan to complete that task when you see it planned into your schedule.  Along those same lines, in order to not forget something you can plan a reminder into your schedule as well.  I have found this especially helpful for completing follow-up calls when pitching numerous clients.  When you see on your calendar that you must contact Joe Smith at 3 p.m., you will be much less likely to forget to make the call.

Finally, when overwhelmed…simply take a break.  In a world where every 15 minutes matters, it can be hard to justify taking a break to relax and refocus.  But that mental rest is probably just what you need to re-assess and be more productive when you are feeling like your work is controlling you.  Trying to work through it rarely works and means you are probably less focused and completing work that is not up to your best standards.  My favorite way to take a break is a Starbucks run (since there is one conveniently located in the lobby of my building), but even a walk around the office can do wonders for your sanity.

Of course, there are many more tips to managing you time, but these are a few that I have found especially helpful and think can add sanity and productivity to anyone’s job/life.