The World Wide Web is huge, therefore I wanted to share some interesting blog posts/articles that are related to diversity. Hope you enjoy! =)
Monday, December 8, 2008
Interesting Web sites for the Week of December 8!
The World Wide Web is huge, therefore I wanted to share some interesting blog posts/articles that are related to diversity. Hope you enjoy! =)
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Diversity in PR; Us vs. Institutionalization
To qualm the fears of those individuals, I wanted to address the issue. In the end, I am tired of being a PR anomaly--a crusader for diversity in the industry. I hate the glaring eyes that think diversity is a joke subject.
So, what do I want? Instead, I want willing allies to help make PR better instead of merely "letting" me do my "thang".
So, let us begin with the question--Debbie, what if I am not diverse?
But, what is diversity? Do you think it is race? Is it African-American, Asian, Latino, blah blah blah? Yes? Well, diversity is far more than race. Socio-economics, religion, etc. The world is a diverse place, and race is only one component.
So, the first step is to stop thinking about diversity as you vs. them. That's how we halt progress.
It's us vs. institutionalization (social theory to denote the process of making something (for example particular values and norms, or modes of behavior) become embedded within an organization, social system, or society as an established norm within that system.*) In the case of PR, we have created a narrow point of view. The norm is to look at a client and a campaign from the eyes of a white female. Granted, this is not always true, but most often, it is. And though, we try to look from another point of view, it is embedded within us to look from one singular viewpoint--our own; therefore, we have to challenge that norms that confine the growth of our industry.
Then, comes the next question...Debbie, how can we fight institutionalization?
Well, the answer to this question is not so cut and dry. I do have a few suggestions, but I want to hear from you before I say my piece. What do you think we can do? Or, is it a subject that we cannot fight? Think from a student's perspective, a teacher's perspective, and then a professionals point of view. If you disagree, then go on, comment. I want ALL sides. I can handle the criticism.
I will post my thoughts in a week, but till then, what do YOU think?
(*institutionalization definition taken from wikipedia.com)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Public Relations Diversity a Bad Idea?
http://barnettmarcom.blogspot.com/2006/10/diversity-in-public-relations-great.html
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Why do you think diversity matters?
I have preached about my beliefs about diversity and PR, but I want to hear what other professionals, students and professors think. Is it THAT imperative or am I making a big deal about an issue that is present in all industries?
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Power of Social Media
So, with that disclaimer--I think social media is a new-wave superpower. To some, referring to social media as a superpower is over-the-top and somewhat geeky, but in my experience, social media has empowered me in so many different ways.
Moreover, social media allows much needed dialogue to occur between generations. I am an undergraduate student. To some, I am not very influential, and though it is sad. it is how things are, but when I start to get backing from professors and industry leaders, I become a powerful voice. I must say--I feel quite empowered.
To me, diversity is an issue. I could not deny it. I could not ignore it. So, instead of fighting it, I acknowledged the facts, and I wrote about it.
"Diversified PR" is one blog, but it has already started a conversation between student, practitioners, and industry leaders. Hopefully, it will begin to generate action. The fact that I can become a catalyst to change is the beauty of social media, and thought I have spoken about the relevance of new and social media in diversity before, and I have preached about the opportunity in these tactics to companies, college, and agencies, it is not until I immersed myself in it that I began to believe.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Career Workshop Equals a Sigh of Relief
I have been meaning to write about a career workshop that I attended last week, but I have had an onslaught of midterms for school lately...so, a week later, here is the overdue post!
The workshop, which was held on September 26, 2008 by Porter Novelli and THE LAGRANT FOUNDATION, was very informative for a me, so I wanted to share.
As we talked about beginning and maintaining a career in marketing, PR, and advertising, some of the tips that professionals gave were the following:
-Always ask questions! When you are in an interview and you are asked if you have any questions, ALWAYS ASK A QUESTION. If you don't, then you look like you are not interested in working for them.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
UGAConnect Conference; Diversity and Social Media
Friday, September 19, 2008
UGA Connect: Why do I care?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Frustrations: From the Mind of Asian PR student!
Today, I was sitting in the library...pondering life, and what I wanted to do. Then, in an instant, I was scared.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Diversity Committee... Part Dos!
The diversity committee met for a brief 45 minutes this week, and though we are a small group--I see a lot of potential in this sub-committee of PRSSA.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Any Ideas?
If you have any ideas, please do not hesitate to comment or contact me.
This blog is dedicated to increasing diversity...but I need people to help!
It is not about MY ideas...its about a collaborative effort to make the diversity happen.
I am passionate about this topic...yes! I know that, but at the same time... I want this initiative to be a community effort. I want others to be invested in this cause. I know diversity does not happen over night--It happens when people are open to change and are willing to bring their ideas to the table.
So again, if you have a comment on what we can do, please post it! Or email me at debbielobo@gmail.com . I love getting feedback.
Some cliched saying once said that "One person can change the world." ..IMAGINE what more that one person can achieve?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Diversity Research pt.2
First, I wanted to thank Dr. Russel for giving me a few tips on finding diversity research!
Before I do so, I have to acknowledge something, these people who are interviewed are professionals. Sighs! It is scary reading some of their answers!
The interviewers had to give her a generic definition before she could even answer their questions.
After the explanation, she stated, "It's old news."
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
No diversity research?
I have searched for billions of hours [well not billions, but pretty dang long] for this specific subject in research, and I have to be frank, the search is not going very well.
I have found 2-3 full research articles on this topic which is very slim in my opinion. Diversity in communications is a subject that PRSA has pushing for a couple of years now, and the industry still does not have relevant research on the topic.
I am student and this is my first time truly looking at research, therefore I might be off in my comment about 'slim-findings' on the subject of diversity and public relations.
Hmmm, it's a bit disheartening for me to see this. The latest study I found was conducted in 2000 by a professor at the University of Florida. She even stated the lack of studies conducted on this topic--and that was 8 years ago.
If anyone has any suggestions on where I can find some studies on the subject of public relations and diversity...please contact me.
I am in need of some reassurance that diversity matters and that research is being conducted in the field.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Asian American Student Association PR efforts
Before anything, I want to give a little background about the The University of Georgia Asian American Student Association [AASA].
It was was restarted in 2003 and it has had a difficult time reestablishing itself due to a few variables including but not limited to the plethora of language barriers, the spectrum of majors for Asian students and much more, however this year the executive board has done a fantastic job in recruiting freshman and current UGA students.
First from a PR standpoint, we had to look at the whole group. Minorities are different--that is the first premise people must acknowledge, however keeping that in mind, the sender must also acknowledge that they also share similarities with the majority.
So with this in mind, how do we get hundreds of students excited about an Asian organization when they don't relate themselves with the Asian race but instead think of themselves as a subset of the race like Filipino, Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, etc?
And moreover, these subsets already have organizations themselves.
Hmmmm, interesting right?
Well, the approach was simple. First know that they are students first. Don't over complicate a situation. What do students want?
They want help. They want resources. They want a reason to join.
We, as AASA, must provide them [students] with what they want.
After assessing this--we looked at ways we can incorporate this with their culture.
The goal became clear--AASA is to be a resource for Asian students to succeed in school, while gaining friendships, along with becoming more aware of Asian issues across the board.
We implemented a mentoring program [FoundAsian] for freshman and upperclassmen, where freshman became mentees and upperclassmen became mentors. This was phenomenal. It did a few things. It broke the 'model minority' stereotype. It allowed members to feel needed. And lastly, it became a resource to build resumes and garner relationships.
Second, we looked at all the other Asian clubs [Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, etc.] and assessed what AASA can do for them.
It was simple--these clubs are small. AASA is big [or is suppose to be].
We had to bridge the gap. We had to welcome other organizations and explain that AASA is trying to help them succeed by allowing them to be part of a community.
One voice versus many voices?
Which louder?
Their issues will be heard,if they buy into the unification that AASA is trying to do.
Soon, we saw response and though it was slow, response was there.
As more organizations joined in, more organizations wanted to be part of the movement.
This Thursday on August 28th, UGA AASA had the biggest turnout in the club's history.
People were genuinely excited--PR efforts are still happening, but the beginning of the year has begun. I cannot wait to see what AASA will do next!
This is an example of minority PR, and how looking at the target audience allows the goals and objectives to be defined.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Diversity Comittee
WOOT WOOT!
It went off with out a hitch, but in the meeting, the NEW diversity initiative was announced! I was so proud! I think I cried a little.
Anyway, I am heading the diversity committee this year, and I am so excited to get started in promoting diversity in public relations. I feel UBER passionate about multicultural PR so this was a culmination of everything the executive board, Dr. Jones, and I have brainstormed!
I didn't see the entire list of people interested in the diversity initiative, but I saw MILLIONS of people signing up...so WOOT WOOT again!
If you are a UGA PRSSA member, and would like to get more information, please do NOT hesitate to email me at Debbielobo@gmail.com. I heart emails!
Some of the ideas that we may be implementing this year are the following:
1. Workshop for minority organization's on campus about PR and what their organization can do to promote themselves.
2. Minority Scholarships for PRSSA dues.
3. Attend the GSPA conference and speak about diversity and public relations in Grady.
4. SO MUCH MORE!
The Democratic national convention uses minorities to recruit voters
http://www.angryasianman.com/2008/08/convention-via-youtube.html
I was browsing around a favorite blog of mine www.angryasianman.com, when I came across a post about youtube videos that displayed prominent minorities urging others to get out to vote.
I posted this because it displays two things that I saw as very relevant to Diversified PR. One involves the use of new media [i.e. youtube] to get minorities to vote. As many of you know, new media is booming--and this is a prime example of how a PR tactic is being utilized toward minorities.
I am passionate about voting so this struck me as an AWESOME outreach tactic for the Democrats. Obama is really utilizing new media, and involving minorities in his campaign is crucial.
During the primaries, Obama lost to Clinton in California--this is huge since the Asian and Latino population is astronomical in Cali. Therefore, he did not reach out to those voters. He is changing that with his efforts now!
So kudos Obama and the Democrats!
Way to be aware of minorities in the U.S.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
UGA PRSSA MEETING
Hmmmm...if you said me, well...your SO SMART!
I will trying to recruit me in my efforts to increase diversity in PR as well as to spread the wonderful name of PRSSA to multicultural organizations at UGA.
How can you get involved?
hmmm...well, come to the meeting!
Listen to me along with a handful of other great people and if anything peeks your interest, then contact me.
I can't wait to get everyone excited about diversity and PR!
Public Relations Society of America Strives for Diversity
I searched in GOOGLE for diversity and PR today and found a website for the PRSA NY chapter. The site includes research about the diversity in PR and what is being done about it. Its quite interesting and a breath of fresh air, for me, to know that PRSA is aware of the problem in relation to diversity.
Here is a quote from the site:
"The findings revealed significant dissatisfaction with the PR profession's commitment to diversity, perceived pervasive discrimination, and widespread concern that multicultural practitioners are relegated to a slow professional track."
~Diversity in Public Relations - A Call to Action
Why diversity and public relations?
Why did I create this blog?
I had an idea for this blog in early summer, but never got around to writing about diversity in relation to public relations until now.
Why do I care about such a specific topic in PR?
It began when I sat in my first PR class in the wonderful Grady College at the University of Georgia. Don’t get me wrong–I love GRADY!!! I love…love…love it! BUT, I felt alone. I felt like I could not be myself. I could not talk like I usually talk. I could not act like I usually act. Why?
I was one of a only a few minorities in my class.
It was disheartening when I looked at the person to my left and right, and saw no one like me. I have always been active on campus with multicultural organizations, however I lacked proffesional development because I HATED going to a meeting or class because I felt like an outsider.
THIS WAS NOT RIGHT!
I should excel. I should be comfortable. I should be able to be myself.
So, early summer I began to contact our PRSSA chapter in order to increase diversity not just in Grady but in the PR major as well.
I talked to Dr. Jones who is one of the most open advisors I have ever spoken too, and she encouraged me to take action.
I did.
With the help of my wonderful mentors Mr. Bill Imada and Mr. Kim L. Hunter, I took action.
I drafted a proposal to give to PRSSA and…guess what happened?
We now have a diversity committee for PRSSA!
This blog is to going to speak about trials and tribulations of increasing diversity in an organization and in a college!
Wish us luck!
Debbie Ebalobo
Favorite Diversity PR Links
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