Once again I find myself trying to explain why it has been so long since I have updated. I keep asking myself why I do not just make the time to update, as I have so many ideas for posts that I would like to share with you.
For the first time in my life, I can legitimately say that I have not a minute of free time, and when I do, I feel like doing nothing except kicking back on the couch and playing some Call of Duty. As the semester draws closer to a close, I can feel myself preparing for a greater change than I am ready for. My long semesters of 19 credits and working are about over. I am 14 credits away from a degree, and the key to move past this time and into the next phase of my life.
Who knows what lies upon the horizon? So many decisions to be made over the next 8 months, and all will be monumental. The only comparison I have was the last semester of High School. Things seemed like they would change so much, and they did, but in the most amazing ways that I could never have imagined. Here is to the next step -- may it bring as much amazing change and positive influence on my life as the previous steps have.
Legitimate updates to follow - until then... enjoy the ride my friends ;)
Sean
Monday, April 26, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Saints, Snowboarding, and a few minor house cleaning issues.
Once again it has been too long my friends. Hello again and welcome to my little corner of the internet. How have you been? We've missed you!
First things first - I would like to say congratulations to the New Orleans Saints! Superbowl 44 Champions! The Saints had me a bit scared going into the second quarter, but by the start of the second half (well after that amazingly executed onside kick), I was content that Brees and the rest of the Saints could put this one away. Anyone else glad to see pro teams take chances like the Saints did last night? Made me think of something Boise State might attempt. Fun fact though, last nights onside kick to start the second half was the first onside kick attempted before the 4th quarter ever in Superbowl history. Big call, big payoff. That is what the game of football is all about!
In an attempt to start doing more during the winter, I went (read: attempted) snowboarding up at Bogus Basin for the first time in years yesterday prior to the Superbowl. For never really knowing how to snowboard (I think I am truly a skier at heart) I think I did OK by the end of the day. I am feeling it today, but there were a few times yesterday that I really started to have fun. This was, of course, in between some of the hardest crashes I have had doing anything in awhile. It was totally worth it though, and I may even attempt to go up again next weekend. A few pictures from snowboarding yesterday are posted in my Flickr feed - check them out!
In the craziness that is 19 credits at Boise State and work three days a week at Drake Cooper, I really haven't been able to blog much lately. I have been learning so much that I want to share with you all, and I feel that I am finally moving towards a point where valuable content will be available readily through this blog. It's coming soon - I promise! I really do enjoy posts like this though, as it gives me a chance to share a bit of Boise life with the rest of the world.
In my last note of the day, I would like to acknowledge some major changes that are coming. My group: the people I live with, I party with, and do pretty much everything else with is coming into a great deal of change. Josh is deploying to Afghanistan, Anthony is moving home, and Mat is in a similar place I am. I have been living with my best friends for the past 4 years now (has it really been that long???). I just want to say thank you to everyone - It's not goodbye by any means. Josh will be back in a year, and I will still see Anthony and Mat. It is just an odd change to note, as this may be one of the most significant events in my life since I moved in with Josh and Mat almost half a decade ago.
I look forward to the turns that life will take, and I hope that the next 5 years will be as absolutely amazing and influential as the past 5 have been.
Cheers! And I will see you all soon.
Sean
First things first - I would like to say congratulations to the New Orleans Saints! Superbowl 44 Champions! The Saints had me a bit scared going into the second quarter, but by the start of the second half (well after that amazingly executed onside kick), I was content that Brees and the rest of the Saints could put this one away. Anyone else glad to see pro teams take chances like the Saints did last night? Made me think of something Boise State might attempt. Fun fact though, last nights onside kick to start the second half was the first onside kick attempted before the 4th quarter ever in Superbowl history. Big call, big payoff. That is what the game of football is all about!
In an attempt to start doing more during the winter, I went (read: attempted) snowboarding up at Bogus Basin for the first time in years yesterday prior to the Superbowl. For never really knowing how to snowboard (I think I am truly a skier at heart) I think I did OK by the end of the day. I am feeling it today, but there were a few times yesterday that I really started to have fun. This was, of course, in between some of the hardest crashes I have had doing anything in awhile. It was totally worth it though, and I may even attempt to go up again next weekend. A few pictures from snowboarding yesterday are posted in my Flickr feed - check them out!
In the craziness that is 19 credits at Boise State and work three days a week at Drake Cooper, I really haven't been able to blog much lately. I have been learning so much that I want to share with you all, and I feel that I am finally moving towards a point where valuable content will be available readily through this blog. It's coming soon - I promise! I really do enjoy posts like this though, as it gives me a chance to share a bit of Boise life with the rest of the world.
In my last note of the day, I would like to acknowledge some major changes that are coming. My group: the people I live with, I party with, and do pretty much everything else with is coming into a great deal of change. Josh is deploying to Afghanistan, Anthony is moving home, and Mat is in a similar place I am. I have been living with my best friends for the past 4 years now (has it really been that long???). I just want to say thank you to everyone - It's not goodbye by any means. Josh will be back in a year, and I will still see Anthony and Mat. It is just an odd change to note, as this may be one of the most significant events in my life since I moved in with Josh and Mat almost half a decade ago.
I look forward to the turns that life will take, and I hope that the next 5 years will be as absolutely amazing and influential as the past 5 have been.
Cheers! And I will see you all soon.
Sean
Monday, December 28, 2009
Justarant (yes, a rant)
As this blog slowly drifts to a place that actually has meaning and is not just the rants and raves of a student in Boise, I find that the real world seems to change with it. As I find purpose in this grand theater that we call life, so much changes. In the next few months, my whole life is going to be flipped upside down. Currently, I am living with three of my best friends, and have been for years now. As circumstances would have it, this is all coming to a crashing halt in the months to come.
Not only am I completely occupied with school and work, (as I should be, I am getting close to graduation; it's crunch time!) but I am losing one of my best friends for a year as he is deploying to Afghanistan. This is not the entire reason for everything breaking apart either. One of my other roommates is moving in with family, and the other is yet undecided. This leaves me in a peculiar situation, where for the first time in years I am looking for a roommate who is not someone in my very close group of friends.
In any case, this is a time that really snuck up on me. It seems that for so long it has been me and this very tight knit group, and now for some reason everything feels as if it will never be the same again. It is a scary, yet very liberating feeling. This will give me the opportunity to really focus on school and my career, as I need to at this very important section of my life. I expect the next year to be a great one, even though some of the people who I have shared every experience with in the past years will not be present. I look forward to next semester, and I look forward to furthering myself as a student and a professional.
Have a safe and happy holiday season everyone, I'll be back soon - I promise :)
Not only am I completely occupied with school and work, (as I should be, I am getting close to graduation; it's crunch time!) but I am losing one of my best friends for a year as he is deploying to Afghanistan. This is not the entire reason for everything breaking apart either. One of my other roommates is moving in with family, and the other is yet undecided. This leaves me in a peculiar situation, where for the first time in years I am looking for a roommate who is not someone in my very close group of friends.
In any case, this is a time that really snuck up on me. It seems that for so long it has been me and this very tight knit group, and now for some reason everything feels as if it will never be the same again. It is a scary, yet very liberating feeling. This will give me the opportunity to really focus on school and my career, as I need to at this very important section of my life. I expect the next year to be a great one, even though some of the people who I have shared every experience with in the past years will not be present. I look forward to next semester, and I look forward to furthering myself as a student and a professional.
Have a safe and happy holiday season everyone, I'll be back soon - I promise :)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Tumbling back to Tumblr
I discovered Tumblr quite some time ago when it was brand new. It was a site that I created an account for, and set up direct updating from Twitter, FaceBook, and my Blog. I then completely forgot about it! It just didn't offer what I was looking for at the time. This was about the point in my life where I was engulfed with Twitter and this blog didn't exist yet. If my memory serves me correctly, this was also the time I was discovering public relations - but that story is to be saved for another day.
I recently have rediscovered Tumblr and I am very impressed. I had almost completely forgotten about it, but I was linked to a friends Tumblr account through their Twitter. When I when to their Tumblr profile I was in shock at how different it was than I remembered. It has evolved into a very functional, user friendly social media platform. I will be playing around over the next few days, trying to discover what else Tumblr has to offer - If you are on Tumblr, you should add me! My Tumblr URL is - http://seanwinnett.tumblr.com/.
Also, if you have any fun thoughts or cool applications for Tumblr, let me know! I want to hear all your cool uses for this very cool site!
Sean
PS - I LOVE the way that Tags are done for this site :) - Very impressive guys.
I recently have rediscovered Tumblr and I am very impressed. I had almost completely forgotten about it, but I was linked to a friends Tumblr account through their Twitter. When I when to their Tumblr profile I was in shock at how different it was than I remembered. It has evolved into a very functional, user friendly social media platform. I will be playing around over the next few days, trying to discover what else Tumblr has to offer - If you are on Tumblr, you should add me! My Tumblr URL is - http://seanwinnett.tumblr.com/.
Also, if you have any fun thoughts or cool applications for Tumblr, let me know! I want to hear all your cool uses for this very cool site!
Sean
PS - I LOVE the way that Tags are done for this site :) - Very impressive guys.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Looking Forward
With yet another semester coming to a close, I am extremely looking forward to the one month break that is only days away. I have actually managed to finish up all my projects and papers, and only have one final left, which is not until Thursday. Next semester is looking to be just as busy as this semester was, if not even more. I am set to take 19 credits next semester, including classes such as PR Writing, Reporting and News Writing, Advanced Studies in Media, Mass Communications and Democracy and a few other upper division Comm classes that I have left to take before I graduate.
Another change for next semester is that I am now the Project Manager for the Boise State chapter of PRSSA. I think this will be one of the more fun aspects of next semester, and I am really looking forward to another great semester in PRSSA. We have a really great group of members, and I believe that we will have a lot of fun next semester.
Looking forward to it!
Sean
Another change for next semester is that I am now the Project Manager for the Boise State chapter of PRSSA. I think this will be one of the more fun aspects of next semester, and I am really looking forward to another great semester in PRSSA. We have a really great group of members, and I believe that we will have a lot of fun next semester.
Looking forward to it!
Sean
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Promotional Public Relations
Once again the semester is winding to a close. WIth finals quickly approaching, my free time is dwindling away. Haven't had a bunch of time to post lately, but trust me when I say more is to come. Christmas break will be a great time for me to do a bit of catching up with the thingsin my life that I have fallen a bit behind with. In the meantime, please watch this awesome video we made in my promotional public relationsclass last week. We had 25 minutes to concept a video for YouTube and then shoot it, and I think it turned out pretty good. It's about going green and encourages college students to recycle.
More to come in the upcoming weeks, I promise :) Good luck with finals everyone!
Sean Winnett
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Leadership in Public Relations - PRSSA National Conference 2009
Hello All,
I recently had the amazing opportunity of attending the PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) National Conference in San Diego, CA. The conference was a great place for students to connect with other students and professionals in the industry, as well as to get a better feel for where PR is at and where it is going. There were many workshops that I attended, but I am going to focus on two of my personal favorites from the event.
The first workshop I attended was "A View From the Top: How to stand out as a young professional". This workshop was lead by Ron Culp and Kevin Saghy from Ketchum PR. This was a great presentation in my opinion because it gave both an upper and lower management view of young professionals coming into the field of PR. They posed four questions, and then gave the responses that they received from both upper and lower management across many different agencies and corporations.
The four questions they asked were:
1. How can young talent stand out in your organization?
2. What example comes to mind of a young professional who advanced quickly in your organization, and why have they done so well?
3. How can/have employees hurt themselves by trying to raise their profile?
4. If you could anonymously say one sentence to your junior staff, what would it be?
There were many responses and quotes given for each question, so I will briefly go over the most common and relevant responses.
1. How can young talent stand out in your organization?
Senior Management - They show initiative, and they are a team player.
Junior Staff - They go the extra mile, and they show a positive attitude.
2. What example comes to mind of a young professional who advanced quickly in your organization, and why have they done so well?
Senior Management - They know the business, they show quality work, engage us with intelligent ideas, and they go the extra mile.
Junior Staff - Quality work, they present smart ideas, they work hard and they are willing to explore new learning opportunities.
3. How can/have employees hurt themselves by trying to raise their profile?
Senior Management - They should not seek credit all of the time, or follow own agenda instead of the agenda of the team.
Junior Staff - Don't throw co-workers under the bus, and don't skip the tactical work. The ones who succeed are the ones who do not have a sense of entitlement.
4. If you could anonymously say one sentence to your junior staff, what would it be?
Senior Management - What are you doing to prepare yourself for the next level? There is not a bad idea in a brainstorming session.
Junior Staff - Become known for your willingness to take on the most challenging, difficult assignments no matter how big or boring. Be the 3 C's: current, curious, and creative!
I have about 10 pages or so worth of notes from this seminar, as I felt they addressed a lot of the prominent questions a young professional has when going from college into the "real world". I also had the opportunity to stay after the seminar with about five other students to hang out and talk with Kevin and Ron for about 40 minutes. This was where the real insights came out, and allowed for some great one on one discussion about how the industry is evolving and where they feel it is going from here.
The other event I am going to talk about was the speech given at the PRSA National Conference by Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/)Arianna was a great speaker, and had some great insights on the industry. The most important piece of information she shared I felt was how drama is a necessary component in the news and in public relations. This is the driving force behind passion, and getting people to care about what you have to say.
Arianna Huffington speaking at the PRSA National Conference in San Diego, CA
Overall, I would say this was an amazing conference where I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of students and professionals in the field and get some great insight on how Public Relations is changing. Since the day I started at Drake Cooper, I have witnessed a passion and desire to always be ahead of the game by everyone here in the shop. This conference strengthened my view on how important this fact is not only for young professionals going into the field, but for professionals already in the public relations field, and any field for that matter. This drive to always improve ourselves, our work, and Drake Cooper in general is what will keep us ahead of the game in years to come! Thanks guys :)
Sean Winnett
I recently had the amazing opportunity of attending the PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) National Conference in San Diego, CA. The conference was a great place for students to connect with other students and professionals in the industry, as well as to get a better feel for where PR is at and where it is going. There were many workshops that I attended, but I am going to focus on two of my personal favorites from the event.
The first workshop I attended was "A View From the Top: How to stand out as a young professional". This workshop was lead by Ron Culp and Kevin Saghy from Ketchum PR. This was a great presentation in my opinion because it gave both an upper and lower management view of young professionals coming into the field of PR. They posed four questions, and then gave the responses that they received from both upper and lower management across many different agencies and corporations.
The four questions they asked were:
1. How can young talent stand out in your organization?
2. What example comes to mind of a young professional who advanced quickly in your organization, and why have they done so well?
3. How can/have employees hurt themselves by trying to raise their profile?
4. If you could anonymously say one sentence to your junior staff, what would it be?
There were many responses and quotes given for each question, so I will briefly go over the most common and relevant responses.
1. How can young talent stand out in your organization?
Senior Management - They show initiative, and they are a team player.
Junior Staff - They go the extra mile, and they show a positive attitude.
2. What example comes to mind of a young professional who advanced quickly in your organization, and why have they done so well?
Senior Management - They know the business, they show quality work, engage us with intelligent ideas, and they go the extra mile.
Junior Staff - Quality work, they present smart ideas, they work hard and they are willing to explore new learning opportunities.
3. How can/have employees hurt themselves by trying to raise their profile?
Senior Management - They should not seek credit all of the time, or follow own agenda instead of the agenda of the team.
Junior Staff - Don't throw co-workers under the bus, and don't skip the tactical work. The ones who succeed are the ones who do not have a sense of entitlement.
4. If you could anonymously say one sentence to your junior staff, what would it be?
Senior Management - What are you doing to prepare yourself for the next level? There is not a bad idea in a brainstorming session.
Junior Staff - Become known for your willingness to take on the most challenging, difficult assignments no matter how big or boring. Be the 3 C's: current, curious, and creative!
I have about 10 pages or so worth of notes from this seminar, as I felt they addressed a lot of the prominent questions a young professional has when going from college into the "real world". I also had the opportunity to stay after the seminar with about five other students to hang out and talk with Kevin and Ron for about 40 minutes. This was where the real insights came out, and allowed for some great one on one discussion about how the industry is evolving and where they feel it is going from here.
The other event I am going to talk about was the speech given at the PRSA National Conference by Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/)Arianna was a great speaker, and had some great insights on the industry. The most important piece of information she shared I felt was how drama is a necessary component in the news and in public relations. This is the driving force behind passion, and getting people to care about what you have to say.
Arianna Huffington speaking at the PRSA National Conference in San Diego, CA
Overall, I would say this was an amazing conference where I had the opportunity to meet a bunch of students and professionals in the field and get some great insight on how Public Relations is changing. Since the day I started at Drake Cooper, I have witnessed a passion and desire to always be ahead of the game by everyone here in the shop. This conference strengthened my view on how important this fact is not only for young professionals going into the field, but for professionals already in the public relations field, and any field for that matter. This drive to always improve ourselves, our work, and Drake Cooper in general is what will keep us ahead of the game in years to come! Thanks guys :)
Sean Winnett
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