-Gather ‘Round, Lil Ones: This Here’s a Cell Phone!-

I feel that this is going to be very ironic, given that kids younger and younger are becoming much more familiar with cell phones than I was when their age, but why not give some background and explanation?  In case the kiddies don’t know, a cell phone is basically a mobile telephone: one that uses a battery pack to power it up, so that a user can take it and make calls wherever they go!  Additionally, they’re completely dependent of cellular networks, which provide the cell phones with their service.

Cell phones in today’s modern era are simply amazing: asides from making and receiving calls, cell phones are now also able to send and receive text messages, take pictures and short videos with their included camera, surf the web through data plans and Internet services-which means log onto Facebook, YouTube, and other sites, play little video games, and more depending on the type of cell phone you have.  Almost every cell phone made today includes these features, with the more advance ‘smart phones’ capable of doing more, such as downloading apps and other features through the phone.  If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m still relatively young myself (21 years old is still young) and own a cool phone (the Sprint HTC Hero), I’d be really jealous of the current generation of kids…

-Issues in Spectrum Allocation-

The spectrum of the telecommunications industry spans through a range of electromagnetic radiation frequencies, which are used in wireless communication systems: problems reside then in how they’re able to make services even better, to improve upon the system that already is in place.  This is due in large part to mobile communications using far less powerful transmitters when compared to those of broadcasters on the radio. 

Wireless communications used to be the center of the telecommunications network, carrying excess quantities of calls amongst cities instead of communicating directly from person to person: the development of microwave systems would then allow services to carry over thousands of calls simultaneously, but one problem to this was the system used directional antennas which made it impossible to extend their networks up to certain spans.  To rectify this limitation, it led to the development of fiber optic integrated systems, and soon after led to the rise of satellite technology and cell phone systems.  Even with all the advances and developments in technology and systems, they all faced the same constricting limitation of channel space.  To this very day, technicians are still trying to upgrade and develop even more communications systems, in the hopes of finally escaping those restraints. 

-Brace for Impact! The Telecom Act-

The creation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 immediately brought about changes and new developments within the industry, as the intention of the act was to let the free market rule through a great reduction in governmental regulation and restrictions: the hope was that through this deregulation, there would be a huge spark in competition and technological innovations, thus driving down consumer prices. 

However, instead of a surge in competition, what immediately happened after the act was passed was a massive movement of mergers and consolidations within the telecommunications industry.  At first this seemed bad, as the fear was that a single company could command dominance and assume a monopolistic economy in the field (the number of major media companies whittled down from 50 to just 6 within 22 years), but it ended up achieving what the act was meant to.  Phone companies were able to offer Internet and TV services, cable providers could now offer phone and Internet, and such: This led to a select few companies that would rise and battle for dominance in the market, but that was good since now special attention was given to quality and service.  Prices, more or less, were set at fair levels. 

I can give a personal example in my area of Westchester, NY: Cablevision was absolutely HORRENDOUS TV service providers, they always charged higher rates and took away channels that were a part of basic cable.  That was all on top of their atrocious customer service help; if a subscriber called Cablevision for a problem on Monday and the company said they’d be there between 1-5 that day, they’d actually show up sometime on Wednesday!  Once Verizon offered TV (in addition to their already superb phone and then-new Internet service) in our area, my family quickly jumped ship from Cablevision and signed up for Verizon FiOS to provide us with phone, Internet, and TV: I can tell you through experience, we’ve been very satisfied for years now. 

-Getting Some PR Experience! Promoting an Event on Concordia-

Believe it or not, your truly here has some experience when it comes to trying to persuade and sell people on things, especially to partake in events.  As a co-president of a club at school, it’s definitely an important job to not only plan and organize events promoting the club, but to make sure a crowd shows up for the event, and that the people who attend actually like it!  That’s the most important thing, so that not only will this encourage them and possibly others to attend more events, but it might even spur some people on to join the club as well.

As mentioned on a few previous occasions, the first step for a PR practitioner on any level is to research the target market that you’re trying to ‘sell’ something to: in my case, it’s the student body on campus.  Being one myself, I can easier understand and relate to their interests and on how to communicate with them, gathering feedback and data on possible event ideas I may have.  From there, I plan out the event that will take place: in this case, let’s use the example of setting up a game of bowling off campus.  After settling on a day, prices from the bowling alley, transportation methods, and every other aspect of the actual event, it’s time to spread the word for the event and get students to sign up.

There are quite a few techniques that can be used to promote an event such as this.  The first and perhaps widely used would be to print out and distribute fliers.  It would have a description of the event, day, price, time, colorful pictures relating to the event, etc…  Printing a massive amount and personally distributing them would be a bit excessive, so a smarter strategy would be to post them around campus, where students will certainly notice them.  Another method would to utilize the technology on hand: this can be accomplished by sending out e-mails to students about the event, and perhaps even creating a group on Facebook to generate a ‘buzz’ and sort of excitement for the event.  Lastly, I would go out and talk to students in person about the event.  Nothing can persuade and sell people more on an idea than personal interactions, where people can gauge interest, feelings of excitement, and such.  After all, you want to get people pumped and devoted to attending the event, so what better way than to tell them yourself how great it will be?  I know it'd influence my decision.

-Emulate This! The Four Models of Public Relations-

By now, people are familiar with the roles and functions that Public Relations serve organizations.  However, did you know there happens to be four distinct models of PR…?  There are indeed, according to James E. Grunig, who with over 20 years of experience in the field of public relations is essentially a PR guru and expert!  Grunig’s research has added many theories to the knowledge that already exists, theories which have improved the PR field and have allowed PR practitioners to become better able to serve both organizational and public interest.  But, without further adieu, I give to you the four models:

The first is called Press Agentry/Publicity Model, which is considered one-way communication.  It is based on using persuasion and even manipulation in order to influence the audience to the point where they act and behave as the organization wants.  The second is called Public Information Model, which is another one-way communication model.  This method uses press releases and other forms of one-way communication techniques to disperse organizational information.  Key to note, PR practitioners are referred to as the “journalist in residence” under this method.

The third model is known as the Two-Way Asymmetrical Model, and though is two-way communication, the goal is outbalanced in favor of the marketers and practitioners.  Under this method, information is sent out to the public based upon previously conducted research, with the hope that the consumer interprets the information the way the organization hopes.  Grunig also refers to it as “scientific persuasion”, and it remains as the most commonly used model today.  The last model is the Two-Way Symmetric Model, which is another two-way communication model that this time is in true balance between the organization and the public.  It involves the tasks of researching the concerns of both the organization and the public, so as to help them adapt to each other and both be mutually beneficial.  This model, as great and fair as it is, is extremely hard to find in practice, since sadly most practitioners are only concerned with the bottom line profitability of the organization they’re a part of. 

-The Keys to Being Successful! …In Public Relations, That Is-

We all know that the number one priority of any organization’s Public Relations branch is to garner good and beneficial attention for the company: But how exactly would they accomplish that?  Well, there are a few distinct steps in a continuous process that helps to achieve the mission: research, surveys, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and searches—these are the keys to bear in mind when wanting to be a successful PR, coupled with thorough assessment of the public.  Without truly knowing the public-what their ‘about’, their interests-it’ll be extremely difficult to communicate effectively with them, and that won’t serve any purpose if the job entails for being able to reach the audience and to respond accordingly. 

The aforementioned steps all serve one common purpose: to become familiar with the public.  The entire process, in a nut shell, is all analysis and research: to find out what the public needs or wants from producers/manufacturers.  From discovering this, PR must act to satisfy that desire of the public accurately to the information they had gathered.  In the end though, it isn’t enough to just perform: from there, perhaps the most important factor is to get feedback.  PR’s must find out how the public reacted to what was given to them: was it good?  Bad?  What improvements can be made for future attempts?  These are true keys, as it isn’t enough to get the public’s attention, but a company must hold onto it and because they themselves are doing a great job with marketing and fulfilling the ‘goods’, so to speak…  You got to give the audience what they WANT, after all.

-Our Specialty! Functions of Public Relations-

Everyone at some point or another has heard the term PR, which stands for Public Relations.  To give a quick definition, Public Relations are people who try and influence behavior of the public, typically through released written statements or more effectively, through the use of public speaking.  With that said, there are numerous functions that Public Relations perform.

First, they serve as counsels for the management group within an organization, advising questions of communication with the its public, and deal with emerging issues and any problems that may arise and potentially affect the prosperity of the company.  Additionally, they provide a support chain of sorts regarding technical matters for actions taken up by management, such as placing strong emphasis on media relations, publicity, promotions, and other ways in which to garner good attention and interest from society.  In all, Public Relations seek to make their respective organization portrayed in a good light in the media’s and more importantly, the consumer’s eyes.