2012 PRSSA National Conference Day Three (part two): Blending Technology with Humanity

Editor’s Note: This is a post by guest blogger Jacquelyn Duhon, Vice President of PRSSA at LSU. To contact Jacquelyn, email her or find her on Twitter @jackieduhon.

The third day at conference was a whirlwind of awesomeness. After a morning of amazing sessions and speakers, we had the pleasure of hearing from the co-founder of TWITTER, Biz Stone, at a joint session with PRSA, or Public Relations Society of America. Stone related how Twitter was born, and that one can’t have spectacular success without the risk of spectacular failure. Opportunity can be manufactured, and creativity is a renewable resource, Stone said. Being emotionally invested in what you are doing is so important to success as well.Stone said that when the idea of Twitter first came about, everyone thought it was a useless, terrible idea.

“Ice cream is useless as well, but should we ban ice cream? No!” Stone said.

Stone also shared what he envisions the future of public relations to be. He feels that there is a compound impact in altruism, and that philanthropy is the future of all marketing. Consumers will want to buy the product that is attached to a cause. He also mentioned that information is NOT knowledge. Now that the democratization of technology has occurred, we have to find and comprehend the relevant information.

Stone was, in a word, inspiring. He truly believes that people are good, and if you give them the right tools they will prove it to you every day. I left the session wanting to change the world! Ambitious, I know, but that’s how good he was.

After a quick break, I attended the session titled “Navigating Your Life as a New Professional” featuring three young women that have had amazing success in public relations at a relatively young age. Christa Keizer, an account executive at Edelman, Sarah Siewert, a senior account executive at Public Communications, Inc., and Brandi Boatner (our favorite PRSA idol!), the digital experience manager at IBM Global Technology Services. The three women answering questions from the audience and shared their paths to success. The most important thing I took away from the session was to really take the extra steps in your professional growth. Show initiative, and never let anything fall through the cracks. Be independent, and show what makes you invaluable to a company.

After the sessions for the day were over, we set off to see the Golden Gate Bridge! We took the Muni, the city’s subway, and then switched onto a bus that took us right to it. Using city transportation is always an interesting experience, and we managed to avoid getting lost as a few nice people were kind enough to point out the right stops to take.

The first glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge was awe-inspiring. The sheer size of it was incredible! The sun was setting right as we arrived, and the view was amazing. I wasn’t expecting it to be as cold and windy as it was – we were freezing! The view of the city across the bay and Alcatraz was so cool, especially after the sun set. The lights across the bay were beautiful! I LOVE this city!

After the bridge, we went to Berkeley to meet up with a friend of Hailey’s. We ate at an adorable Roman-god themed pizza place. It was so delicious. I feel like every meal I have had on this trip has been amazing. My taste buds are on vacation, too! The day ended with a trip on the BART back to the hotel. The conference has blown all my expectations out of the water, and I can’t wait to see what adventures Monday will bring!

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