Do We Really Vacate During Vacation?

I’m sitting here in my home office on a warm, gray Sunday morning.  It’s 10 a.m.  I’m sipping coffee and  sorting through the mixed feelings of the last day of a one-week vacation.  It was all I could fit in this year.  It was a relaxing seven days.  My wife has a video production business that she operates from home.  This means she fits her work in around the three dogs (two Australian cattle dogs and a German Shepherd), her mother who lives with us, cleaning, and meals.  I took over dog and meal duty to give her more time to catch up on projects.  I did the grocery shopping and other running around duties.
I also answered emails, dealt with a few problems as they came up at the office, edited some podcasts and put the near finishing touches on a five-year strategic marketing report.
I didn’t mind the office work.  In fact, it was refreshing to work on projects on my time schedule, not being interrupted by folks walking into the office or phone calls from sales people.
But I did realize that I haven’t, in five years, taken a vacation and totally left the university.  In past years, when we drove across country, which we have on numerous vacations, both my wife and I walk into the day’s motel room, fire up the computers and do business for an hour or two.  Part of this is survival.  At Mansfield University, we have a size limit on our email account.  Mine is always hovering at the limit.  When it goes over, I found out, you can’t access it remotely.  I can’t live without it.  So I check it, answer things that need to be answered and delete the rest.
This year,  during my one-week vacation, I probably spent 15-20 hours doing university work.
It all leads me to wonder if anyone truly takes a vacation anymore.  Or does everyone pack their laptop, Blackberry or other mobile device and keep communication flowing through the cyber umbilical cord?
Does anyone ever totally escape the office anymore?  Be honest.
If you have advice or tips, share them.  Vacation season is about over now, but I, at least, will save any insights for next year.

Google Maps Heaven and Hell

This is the part three of my google series that began with Google To Communicate with Dead, Part 1 and Part 2.

Once Google broke through the rather limiting three dimensions and rolled out a program to communicate with anyone who has ever lived from the beginning of time, it then set out to organize a couple other places.
Keeping with its goal of “organizing the world,” Google is now making plans to map Heaven and Hell.  “It’s  a natural progression,” a Google spokesperson said.  “You’re looking at a couple of pretty vast areas that have been the subjects of speculation and controversy for centuries.”
Google says it plans on first going to Hell.  “We feel that’s where the majority of our potential users are, and a lot of them are already computer literate — lawyers. consultants, auditors, a few college presidents.
Google ad sense should do well.  “Especially with travel sites.  Everyone in Hell is looking for an alternative, someplace a little less intense.  Our preliminary research has shown that the area is so huge that the Devil himself doesn’t know where in Hell he is.”  The spokesman said this is pretty logical since Satan began admitting a few souls here and there at the beginning and then saw his population rise exponentially over the centuries. 

“The 20th century was a real boom time for him.  He had souls falling his way by the millions.  We think it took even him by surprise.  He has no idea of the size of his populations nor any idea what to do with them.
“If we can map out his area, it should go far to make the business operate a lot more efficiently. Right now it’s just Hell.”
The spokesman said Google officials will make the map available to everyone, including the Dark Prince .  “Once the Devil has a map and can really get a feel for his area, we’re pretty certain he’s ready to make some changes.  He’s already mentioned his desire to transfer philosophy professors to some outer area where they won’t be so disruptive to less confrontational types like computer programmers and mathematics profs.
English faculty are a larger challenge.  “Here they argue about the origination and interpretation of a Shakespeare sonnet just as intensely as they did on earth.  It would be to everyone’s advantage to get them to a section of Hell where they can be presented with a bigger picture. Maybe then they can expand their world beyond a couplet.”
The Devil does have a handle on one group, Google spokesperson said.  “Satan showed us an area where thousands of professor spirits are running on this unending track toward a land called tenure, thinking when they find it they’ll be in Heaven.  Satan just smiled and told us, ‘Even after all those years in higher education, they still don’t understand Hell.’”
The spokesperson also pointed out another growing site reserved for souls carrying carnal sins.  “The Devil is no fool.  He’s been taking notes and is prepared for a stampede of priests and politicians over the next couple decades.”
The next stage in the project is mapping Limbo http://technorati.com/tag/limbo.  “This is a really gray area,” Google spokesperson said.  “Here we have a big cross section of lost souls — associate professors, brain dead PR directors, marketers who realized after death they didn’t have a direction after all.  Maybe with a good map they can find their way again.”
Heaven?  “We’ve done a preliminary check,” Google spokesperson said.  “All told, it’s a pretty small population base.  Residents seem pretty contented.   There’s a large group of provosts who like to just sit and quietly babble.  Student affairs people wander around basking in eternal silence.”
Google person said researchers did find one anomaly.   “Despite their egos, a lot of music people have made it through the Pearly Gates.  They are always surprised to discover  millions of amateurs singing bad renditions of a few standard hymns.  After a nanosecond of this, most music profs opt for a transfer.  One prof through the beta Google Dead program told our researcher, ‘I’ll sing for the Devil himself if  I don’t have to endure one more soul warbling  ‘Amazing Grace’.  With this kind of noise, eternity damn long time. And do these angels know that their harps are out of tune?’”
While Google feels that Heaven will be a loss leader because of the small base, it is determined to complete the project.  “Hey, the population might start rising again,” Google spokesperson said. “Doubtful, but you never know.  Google likes to cover all its bases.”
When asked about a URL,  Google spokesperson said there will be three addresses.    “We were going to put Heaven, Hell and Limbo on one site,  but we didn’t think the world is quite ready for that. 

“We’re living in very politically correct times.”

Blog Action Day

I just signed up to participate in Blog Action Day October 15.  The premise is to see what can happen if on the same day everyone with a blog writes about the same issue.
The subject for the first Blog Action Day is The Environment.
This is really a mind-blowing concept considering there are millions of bloggers with tens of millions of readers.
Find out more about it.
Already 1,200 bloggers from around the world have signed up (actually 1,222 since I registered my two blogs; this and my Perfect Song site.
If you have a site, sign up.  This is a great experiment.  Things like this have been done with thought, prayer and various quantum physics experiments.  A worldwide thought via blog is a natural.  If you don’t have a site, just blog surf on October 15.  There will be plenty of thoughts, opinions, and, I’m sure, scientific blogs about the subject.
I found this experiment and site while catching up on Director Tom.  So Tom, thanks.
I’m dutifully, and enthusiastically spreading the word.
Anyway, Blog Action Day, October 15.  Start your computers  and rev your blogs.

Kubrik, The Chronicle and Sweet Corn

It’s Sunday afternoon. The thermometer reads 110 degrees in the sun but it’s probably more like 95. I sit on the deck that overlooks a patio my wife and I built from field stone given to us by the former Mansfield University admissions director, a dear friend who died in his late 50s of lung cancer.
I’m reading a treatise on Stanley Kubrik in the August 3, 2007 issue of the Chronicle. Before that I skimmed through the latest issue of Mac World.
I’m relating this because I cannot bring myself to read any professional blogs or listen to any podcasts today. I’m on overload.
I’ve spent three weeks, night and day (hence the slow down on blog postings) writing a five-year marketing plan, of which, the first two, maybe three years, are valid. The incredible pace of developing technology and changing methods of communication prevent detailed planning for five years down the road.
The iPod was introduced in October 2001 by one of the most innovative labs in the world. YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former Pay Pal employees. Both revolutionized communications in equal measures.
The all-too-common question in PR is: what’s next?
I don’t even want to think about it. I’m trying to keep up with: what’s now?”

At the same time, I’m still formulating the creation of an interactive, multimedia news site, a new blog totally different than anything out there at this point, and more videos. Our “video portraits” are doing a respectable job and I think will gain in popularity as we progress.

But right now I’m on overload. I won’t say “burned out.” I will say I need to focus on non higher ed things while I recharge.

Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed, burned out or on low charge? What do you do to re-energize?

(And believe me, it’s not a rhetorical question!)

Now, I’m going to grill some burgers, boil the sweet corn and slice the tomatoes that I bought at the local farm market, and enjoy an August dinner on our deck with my family.

Implementing Idea Publicity

In his last post, Dick Jones said when it comes to event publicity, If you are the PR director at a small college with 100 professors, every one of those professors thinks that he or she is your boss and has a call on how you spend your time and energy. The deans and vice presidents feel the same way.

My reply: I fully agree. You may have hit on the single biggest daily problem we in higher ed PR have. So how do we move away from our 100 bosses to slip in time to do some “idea publicity,” which, I think nearly everyone agrees is much more beneficial to the institution than “event publicity.” And when I say “event publicity,” I’m talking about the day-to-day small events that will never fill the house no matter how much effort we throw into it.

Dick’s response:
The fact that college PR shops can never move completely away from ‘event publicity’ into ‘idea publicity’ is probably the reason I have been able to make a living for the past 20 years. Essentially we help schools with the idea publicity.

But I recognize that not every school is going to take that route. For those at small college shops who know that they are going to have to do it all in-house, I suggest that they budget about 10 percent of their time for finding, developing and pitching idea-focused stories. I’ve been a small college PR director, so I know that’s about the maximum amount of time they can spare for the task. In practical terms that translates into one morning or one afternoon per week.

I call this ‘venture time.’ Venture time is when you spend time and energy on a process when you are unsure of the outcome. It’s higher risk, of course, because if you spend time on a pitch to The AP or The New York Times, you cannot guarantee that you’ll have anything to show for your work. But if it works, it’s a great third-party endorsement of your institution that can be used by the folks in admissions and development.

Most college PR work is not venture time (and cannot be). When you work on a brochure you know that at the end of the process you’ll have a brochure. But when you have the media relations cap on, there is no guarantee of any positive outcome for the time and energy you spend on the process.

My response:

Three things. First, I think you have to convince your administration that “venture time” is a worthwhile gamble so you have their support when someone eventually complains that you’re not giving them or their event enough attention. When you succeed (and you will) your administration will see the value. Most faculty won’t.

Second, have a student do some research on electronic news and blog sites. There are thousands of editors and writers in just about every subject imaginable. They’re all looking for experts and angles. When you hit with one or two, others copy or tag and suddenly your institution is making the international rounds.

Third, administrators love print. So print out a copy of what’s appearing about you on the Web. Give it to them, admissions and development.

As always, your comments and thoughts are welcome.