SHERWOOD ROSS DISHES OUT A LITTLE "PR" ADVICE FOR SENATOR OBAMA

I thought that this article, which showed up on the Scoop website recently, presented quite an astute, thought provoking and humerous look at the current communications efforts of Senator Obama.

Freelance writer and public relations consultant, Sherwood Ross, believes that, rather than attacking Hillary Clinton, Obama's campaign would benefit much from him turning his attentions to the man currently in charge, George Bush. As Ross declares:

'How much better off Obama would be to turn the media spotlight on a detested president! He's got a fantastic educational opportunity if he exploits it. For example, he might issue a new white paper on Bush wrongdoing each day for the rest of the campaign.'

Ross suggests a few press conference ideas such as 'presenting a detailed white paper about the scores of horrific violations of the U.S. Constitution of which Bush is guilty' and 'exposing the illegalities of extraordinary rendition, the dragnet arrests across the Middle East, and how thousands are being held without due process.'

So, what would you suggest if you were Obama's public relations advisor? Would you have your sights set on Clinton or Bush? Or would you take an entirely different approach? I would love to hear your thoughts!

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: WATCH OUT FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF PR LEADERS

The competition for public relations positions, both in-house and in consultancies, is becoming ever fiercer. More and more young people are enrolling on public relations and communications courses, no doubt attracted by the prospect of what they think will be an exciting and high profile career. What's more, as increasing numbers of our Baby Boomers retire over the next decade, PR youngsters may find themselves shooting up the career ladder much faster than they expected!

I think that as more Boomers leave the industry and more of young people step in to fill their shoes we will see a wonderful shake-up in the PR sphere. I am by no means disregarding the immense amount of knowledge that somebody with 25+ years of experience will have built up. Senior level PRs have a depth of knowledge that will take those of us still in our 20s many many years to achieve. However, I think that the next batch of PR consultants will bring some exciting, fresh ideas and new perspectives to the table. There will also be much more emphasis on social media and online communications, driven by practitioners that grew up with social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter.

The number of public relations blogs written by young PR professionals and students is a good indication of the passion that many members of this group have for the industry. It also demostrates the superior understanding of and respect that they have for online communications.

Here are some top blogs, written by our future PR leaders:

The PR and Comms Network blog, written by two young PR professionals, Alex Pearmain and Alain Desmier, is probably my favourite PR blog at the moment- I read every single post! Being an expat from the UK, I read it to keep up-to-date with the young PR 'scene' back in the homeland. It is entertaining, informative and very well written.

Young PR, written by Paul Young, a Senior Account Executive at Converseon.

Chris Clarke's Student PR blog

PR Student, written by Leeds University student, Chloe Chaplin.

There is also a great blog post here, written by David Meerman Scott, author of the WebInkNow blog, which talks about the 'new PR generation'.

So, how do you think the departure of the Baby Boomers and the increasing presence of the younger generation will affect the PR industry? This is something that really interests me (being a PR consultant in my mid-20s) so let me know what you think!

WHY TALK WHEN YOU CAN TEXT....?

There is something about the now familiar Telecom ads, featuring those small, fluffy and totally technology obsessed toys that makes me feel slightly uncomfortable. The sight of that white bunny furiously texting away until her paws set on fire is a sharp reminder that we live in a world where people don't talk to each other face to face anymore.

Across New Zealand and the rest of the world, people are texting more than they are talking. Office workers would rather send an email than get up and walk to somebody else's desk. I have even heard tales of Account Managers emailing a simple request to the Account Executive sitting right next to them! Many of us are even loathe to pick up the phone to contact the person that we need to speak to (although, even when we do, we are usually met with an answerphone message). Then, after work is over, we chat with our friends using online networks such as Facebook and by texting.

Even though these new technological developments bring a huge amount of convenience to our time poor lives, I think that it is important that we remember the value of the human touch.

Despite the fact that long, lazy lunches are now out of the question for most people, there are still a number of things you can do to keep that personal connection with your client or customer alive. For example, pick up the phone and call your client or your customer now and again, rather than sending an email. You don't have to be on the phone for hours, just long enough to help nuture the relationship and to let the recipient know that you care enough to give them a ring.

Have meetings in-person as often as possible. This is another great opportunity to develop interpersonal relations. People also work better when they are face to face as it is easier to gauge reactions and feelings.

Also, never underestimate the power of the letter. If you need to say thank you to a client or a customer then send them a letter instead of an email. A letter is much more personal and warmer than its electronic cousin and will, once again, help you to build better relationships with the people that you work with.

There is no denying that new technology has brought a whole host of opportunities and benefits. The Internet means that we have access to a much larger and more accessible pool of information and blogs, forums and applications such as Facebook and Bebo enable us to interact with and get our message out to a much larger audience- even if we aren't meeting them face to face...

Just don't rely on electronic tools entirely. Make sure that you don't lose the human touch and your clients, your customers and your business will all thank you for it.