Welcome! Hopefully you are getting settled in to the new school year at Missouri State University. My name is Dr. Randy Dillon, and I’m the interim head for the Department of Communication. Several of you may already know me as one of your teachers in a course or as the internship coordinator for the department. When you get the chance feel free to stop by my office in Craig 375, give me a call at 417-836-4423, or email at RandyDillon@MissouriState.edu.

Check out the following items below for some beginning of the academic year events and news happenings. Because things move swiftly I suggest checking out the latest information, media, and events going on in the department at our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @msuCOMDept. Also of course check out the Department of Communication’s University website for more resources and information available to students!

Get Involved!
When I have asked alumni and senior interns about advice they could give to current students I often get the same answer. “Get involved and get experience beyond the classroom!!!” Here are just a few things that are coming up for you to become involved.

What is Public Relations? Come check out PRSSA, the Public Relations Student Society of America, and find out! Our new member meeting will be at 4:30 on Tuesday, August 30th in Craig 334. Our first official meeting will be right after at 5:00 in Craig 330.

PRSSA New Member Video

Beginning-of-the-Year Meet and Greet Informational Get-together for Socio-Political Majors and those considering Socio-Political Com. Thursday, September 1, 5pm in Craig 334.
This get together will give you the chance to meet your professors, other majors, and students interested in Socio-Political Communication. There will be a discussion of jobs/post-graduation plans, and feedback will be solicited on “things you would like to see” done with the major. Better yet—pizza will be provided. And the RUMORS are TRUE about a new Socio-Political Bulletin Board going up. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Dudash at Dudash@MissouriState.edu or 417-827-4644.

Public Affairs Week runs the week of September 12-16, 2011
This year’s Public Affairs Week (PAW) kicks off programs relating to this year’s public affairs theme focusing on “The Culture of Connectivity.” There are several events during Public Affairs Week that COM students would find intriguing. Titles include: Connecting to our Past-Communication Methods of the Past; The Good of the Internet-How the Internet is being used to promote good causes; The Bad of the Internet- How the Internet is being used Internationally for Protests, and Internet Censorship; The Ugly of the Internet – Dangers of Internet Stalking and other misuses of the world wide web. For a complete PAW schedule go to: http://www.missouristate.edu/paw/

COM Week 2011 – This year’s theme is “Com-bat: A Superhero’s Guide to a Career in Communication”.  Superheros will be on campus the week of Sept. 26th – 30th providing students with an abundance of networking and professional development opportunities.  Several events are scheduled for COM Week including programs on dressing for success, managing your online presence, communication careers in non-profits, and the ever popular Friday networking luncheon. Stay tuned for more information.

It’s not too early to start thinking about…

The Career Center on the MSU campus has several things this semester with some events coming soon in September.

• Sept. 13 &14: Resume Madness – Bring in your resume for a quick review

• Sept. 15: Dress to Impress Presentation by Dillards. Dillard’s representatives will present information on how to dress appropriately for interviews, career fairs, and other job search-related activities. The event is free, but registration is required and limited to 50 students.

Check out the Career Center website for more information
http://careercenter.missouristate.edu
Career Center, Carrington 309/Glass 101, CareerCenter@MissouriState.edu

Ganbatte!
Several years ago I had the opportunity to live and work in Japan. One of my favorite words in the Japanese language is ganbatte. Ganbatte or sometimes spelled gambatte is a simple word that captures a complex meaning. Ganbatte means to try hard, to persist, to go for it, to do your best. Ganbatte is an excellent example of a single word in one language that has to be explained with several words and phrases in another language. So, as you thrust yourself forward into all that you have to do this academic year, the word from me to you is GANBATTE!

Randy Dillon

1.  2011 Public Affairs Convocation Lecture featuring Nancy Lublin (DoSomething.org and Dress for Success). Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m.  Location: Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.

This is a great opportunity to hear from the person who started Dress for Success and is currently involved in the movement to get young adults involved in their communities.  She does this by providing grant money to young people who want to make a difference.  Please encourage students you come in contact with to attend this event.

This is a free event, but requires a ticket.  Tickets are available through JQH, Hammons Hall and PSU ticket offices.  There will be a book signing after the event.
DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the United States that helps young people rock causes they care about. A driving force in creating a culture of volunteerism, DoSomething.org is on track to activate two million young people in 2011. By leveraging the web, television, and pop culture, DoSomething.org inspires, empowers and celebrates a generation of doers: young people who recognize the need to do something, believe in their ability to get it done, and then take action. DoSomething.org provides grants to young people who want to get involved in their communities.  Plug in at http://www.DoSomething.org. Ms. Lublin is also the founder of Dress for Success.  Her first book, Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business was just released on June 23, 2010.

2. Exploring Careers: Arts & Communication Panel. Wednesday, March 23, 2011, in Plaster Student Union Traywick Room, 3:00-4:30 p.m.

We have some great professionals who will be speaking about their careers: Kurt Theobald, Classy Llama Studios; Derek R. Munson, Springfield Regional Opera; Ann Elwell, Webster University; Brad Belote, KY3; and John Scroggins, Noble.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

SPRINGFIELD- The Missouri State University’s Public Relations Student Society of America is holding their annual PRSSA Day on March 18, 2011.  The theme of this year’s event is social media. PRSSA Day will be held in the Plaster Student Union Ballroom West from 9:15 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Doors will open for registration at 9:15 a.m. Pre-registration is $12 and registration at the door will be $15. Checks should be made out to Missouri State PRSSA; they can be left in the mailbox in Craig Hall Room 375.

Ryan Knapp will speak about the value of using social media from 9:40a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Teressa Robbins will speak about the misconceptions of social media from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. An awards ceremony will take place at 12:15 p.m. The ceremony will be followed by a social media panel at 12:30 p.m.  The last event of the day will be speed networking, which begins at 1:15 p.m. and ends at 1:55 p.m.

All majors and faculty are welcome.  For more information contact Colleen Hamilton:  Hamilton162@live.missouristate.edu

Incorporating #SocialMedia into your life: A Social Marketing Bootcamp

By: @DougGaehle (PR major)

As the economy moves forward, employers are increasing their presence online to reach wider audiences to market and sell their services or products. As students, we are next in line for those entry level jobs and what professionals are looking for is our online presence and how to work the trending of social media.

Recently I attended the Social: IRL Conference in Springfield. Social: IRL stands for Social: In Real Life which reflects the company’s belief that the real impact of social media is offline. In today’s society employers wanting to use social media effectively as a tool are not just looking for someone to run a facebook page or a twitter account but someone who can use social media to meet a specific set of goals and unique company culture.

The first step when using social media is to know what you want to accomplish and to set goals.

Social Media can be used as a tool for:

• Community Outreach
• Marketing
• Public Relations
• Crisis Communication
• Fundraising
• Customer Service
• Personal

Sarah Evans (@prsarahevans) of Sevans Strategy was the speaker at the event. A public relations and media guru, Sarah spoke on the benefits and uses of social media to businesses and students. Sarah covered the topics of Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare, and answered questions on other types of social media. Here are the pieces that I took away from this conference that would be most beneficial to students.

Twitter

• It’s all about the “Re-tweet”
• Promote other people’s blogs, businesses, ads
• Top 10 posts get a lot of attention
• Add Twitter id to email signature, resume, website when relevant
• Start a hashtag (#), join a hashtag, keep up with the trends other people are following
• Connect with media outlets
• Join an online industry chat such as #journchat or #pr20chat
• Make connections with businesses and important industry people
• Schedule your tweets using sites like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck
• Tuesdays are the best for tweets and media pitches

Facebook

• All about the “Like”
• Create a fan page for your organization or business for people to “like”
• Create separate accounts for personal and business use, don’t post things your mom or potential employer would not want to see
• Utilize it as a professional source of social media
• Use the groups function to keep in closer contact with an organization or particular group of people, it is like its own separate Facebook for your group
• Use Facebook Connect on other websites to link up

Foursquare

• Check-in as a way of communicating your interests as well as your location
• Look for and advertise deals/discounts
• Establish your presence by becoming Mayor
• Use to analyze your audience and their habits

Students have unlimited potential when it comes to using social media. It is becoming the forefront of typical business practices and is a necessity to modern public relations. As a student it is your job to establish your presence to employers as graduation approaches. Employers will be looking for the movers and shakers and those who will have an impact on their company or organization.  By increasing your knowledge of social media you will be better preparing yourself for your career.  So start following the trends or start your own, there are benefits in doing both.  Start using social media to advertise yourself and your abilities that will help secure you a job in the future.