Check it out:

Communication Overtones Home Page 

Anatomy of a Social Media Campaign: Journey to Atlantis 

Case Study: SeaWorld Uses Video to Promote Its New Coaster 

Steve Kayser has a great post at Media Bullseye about writing for “new” PR.

From Steve’s Post:

Ernest Hemmingway had a clear understanding and vision of writing simply and effectively when he discussed the four rules of writing he learned as a journalist at the Kansas City Star.

Hemmingway’s Four Rules (well, not really, they were the Kansas City Star’s actually)

1. Use short sentences.
2. Use short first paragraphs.
3. Use vigorous English.
4. Be positive, not negative.

“Those were the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing,” Hemingway said in 1940. “I’ve never forgotten them. No man with any talent, who feels and writes truly about the thing he is trying to say, can fail to write well if he abides with them.”

Check it out.

Rather than sending out emails, I’m going to start posting entry-level jobs and internships on PRos in Training. If you’d like to get them regularly, I’d recommend subscribing to the feed.

The feature article assignment has a lot of complexities – urban villages, mixed-use development, LEED certification. I’m collecting some resources on my del.icio.us page and I encourage you to use them as shortcuts to do your research.

If you’re just beginning to read blogs, or you’re looking for something new to read, try these resources:

Constantin Basturea’s PR blog list is the mother of all lists with 743 feeds from around the world.

PR Voices: PR blog ranking list with suspect metrics, but still has some good blogs on it.

Technorati’s Top 100 Blogs: The biggest blogs in the blogosphere, as measured by unique links in the last six months.

Deep Blog: Guide and portal to good blogs in all topic areas

Best Blogs of 2007 That You (Maybe) Aren’t Reading: A fun list of random blogs.

Blog Catalog: Comprehensive directory of blogs from all categories

The Best of Blogs: Regular voting by readers with winners listed

I’m going to try Google Calendars. I’ll update the winter term calendar often and include what’s on the agenda for each class session. Click on the button above and you can subscribe and get regular updates to your feed reader or your email (I think).

You can order your packet through University Readers. If you do it in the next couple of days, you’ll be in good shape when you actually need it to do the assignment work.

You can pick up Made to Stick anywhere books are sold. I did not have the bookstore order them – figured it would cost you more than it would at Borders or via Amazon. So you’re welcome.

Official inclement weather policy for my classes: I will send out an email before 9 am the morning of class (Tuesday or Thursday) if classes are being canceled or altered in some way due to weather.

I live in Northwest Eugene. To get to campus, I have to cross many bridges and travel about 15 minutes with no traffic. I’m not a big fan of driving in ice and snow, so… chances are if it’s snowing or icy, I’ll be staying home and you should do the same.

However, if you’d like to go for a swim, who am I to stop you?

photo via Corbis 

You can download the J452 syllabus via slideshare this term.

You can view it online (choose “full screen”) and also download it as a PDF.

Wow. The last weekend of winter break. And to welcome it? We’ll have some northwest storms to greet us. This from the UofO:

Powerful winter storms may make travel in the Pacific Northwest hazardous over the coming days. The UO is scheduled to resume classes on Monday, January 7. Students, faculty, and staff returning to campus are encouraged to use extreme caution while traveling.

If you have a minute this weekend, you can order our course packet through University Readers and pick up a copy of Made to Stick. If you order now, you’ll have both by next week in time for class.

Enjoy what’s left of your break!