front line PR and the easily inflated ego of a minivan mom

So PR is pretty organic business. The checkout person, the waitress, the receptionist -- the front line folks really set the tone and either carry the day or wreck it for a business. Today, I must commend Arby's on this. This is one of those moments when personal and professional cross paths. And I have to say the service, generally in this town is baaaaad. Teenagers with attitude, etc.

So today I go through the Arby's drive-thru in my mommy-style minivan and order a beef & cheddar b/c I love them and b/c I had exactly three singles in my wallet and some change after buying diapers and a shredder. (These are not related.) So I drive through and the nose-beringed teenage guy who takes my money offers up a little banter. "You should have bought 3 for $5 -- they keep in the fridge and they aren't bad heated up." he tells me. I tell him I'm just not that hungry and then he pulls out the kicker -- the line that will keep this 38-year old mom of three comin' back for more. "I really like your stockings," he says with just a hint of leer. (I have on a skirt and black funky tights -- no garters or anything, just slightly art-y work clothes).

I've been out of the game for some time, but damn whether it was sincere or not, there is NOTHING better than a little ego boost after buying diapers! I left there feeling very good and that's what PR is. Everybody feeling good.

balance due

I have two 2-year olds. Twins (obviously), and a 7-year old. All boys. My dog is a girl and she wears a very pink collar. I am one of millions of working moms walking the fine line between chaos and fulfillment. I mean, its all good (in theory anyway), but it is not easy. My theory on twins at 2 is that they are exponential. It's like raising 14 kids. People always tell us "oh you are so lucky! I always wanted twins!" We ARE lucky, and we say, "it's wonderful, we wouldn't change it for the world, and we do NOT recommend it."

WHY Web 2.0? Why?

I'm all about faking it 'til you make it. This is part of why I'm here though. I have got to figure out how to advise people on what they should do to get attention, drive action and manage their crises. That's my job as PR Director (cue wind machine, and me tossing my hair while dressed impeccably withOUT schmutz from the children on my suit jacket shoulder). We just had a meeting on that very thing, and here's my first stab (outloud anyway) at what this whole big old web 2.0 thing means to me and my clients...

Blogs are really the essence of what Web 2.0 is, and I hear tell that Google LOVES blogs. But if my blog or a company blog is going to get anywhere and DO anything, it needs to be authorative, right? I just learned that to be authoritative you must give good link back and have lots of Google juice.

If those terms sound vaguely pornographic to you, don’t worry. They're not! Here’s my interpretation – having a successful blog is like being socially successful. First, you must listen. Listen to your readers comments and then respond to them in a meaningful way. You can't respond as if you were actually carrying on a different conversation, one with a person not there, or someone you'd rather talk to. That's just rude! And far too common come to think of it.

Second, if you know your friends would love each other, bring them together! So with a blog you can connect and link to other blogs or people or products.

And of course, bring the conversation back to YOU (or your Web site or product). And finally, it's always good to be buzzed about. You want people to talk about you/your message/your product to each other. That is what the blogosphere is about, right?

Here is a good place to learn from someone actually in the know. And here too.

Where I live, what I do

The Piehl Patch is the unofficial name of the two-acre ranchette where I live with 3 boys, two horses, one husband, and a large dog. It is also how I live at present -- throwing things together, patching the gaps, limping through the days, but with an outcome that looks damn good, mostly. Almost as if I planned it that way. My goal here is to patch together a blog that addresses the things that take most of my energy -- PR and parenting.