My Top Ten
1 Mullen
From the moment I’ve heard about this place, I knew it was something special. Located in something of a castle in Wenham, MA, the corporate culture and attitude here is wonderfully progressive. Combined with their new marketing ecosystem, Mullen is in a strong position to progress the community as a whole. I have had the privilege of interviewing, but lost out sadly. Maybe one day!
2 Arnold WorldWide
“Mi case es su casa” says the website, aptly at that. Arnold tries to showcase their one-to-one skills by highlighting their own employees. A strong brand and a huge portfolio, Arnold is a premier player in the ad field.
3 Corporate Ink
Caught wind of this firm through a professor of mine, and I haven’t stopped visiting their website since. A smaller firm, their focus is clearly in the details. I was especially impressed to see that they want to keep growing, despite the economic news. Sadly, that isn’t as true for the bigger players in the field, so a huge kudos to CorporateInk!
4 US Government/ Barack Obama
When Obama won his race, I was proud to say that I was with him on his journey. Setting up Recovery.gov and issuing decrees to update technology, a dream of mine would be working Obama. Ahh, I can imagine the the speech-writing now...
5 Hill Holiday
There is a strong recognition that the tools that got the news world here is in disarray. Hill Holliday has changed their website to reflect less of a firm, and more of a blog. Hill Holiday has let staff go recently, so clearly a shuffle is leading to some new thoughts. Would be fun to be a part of.
6 Thomson Communications
I am currently interning here, and it has been a wonderful learning experience. I would love to work here full time as I’ve made great connections and admire my co-workers. What could be better then that?
7 Lois Paul & Partners
After seeing some case studies, Lois Paul has a steady hold on the market. With aggressive planning and aiming to thwart competitors, there is a bit more tenacity here. Hopefully, the corporate culture is more forgiving then their website!
8 Apple
Where to being? Steve Jobs will analyzed for many years for how he revamped his own brand, after being ousted of course. Lesson? Work hard for what you believe in. Apple has created a loyal customer base unlike anything in its market. Just call me a sucker for success. (Plus, I love my Mac!)
9 Chris Sicuranza
A bit corny perhaps, but ideally, I want to work for myself. I want to make my own hours and meet my own clients. I am well aware that I cannot presently do this as I have little experience, but maybe some corporate giant will see this, through some ads on here, and I’ll be all set! Gotta go, think I just saw a pig fly out my window...
10 YOU!
A funny political ‘ad’
That’s right - you! If you are reading this, you must have some interest in my services. What about some of the lesser known qualities about me? I make a killer PowerPoint (seriously), have done stand up comedy/sketch comedy/improv and have tried to describe my ordeals with kidney stones. I’ll tell you this: I’m anything but boring!
The Art of a Press Release
Not too long ago, agencies and the like would create a carefully worded piece of information which would be sent off to whichever news outlet to see if it would get picked up for some coverage. However, when we ask newspapers today for some one-to-one support on submitting a release, they unenthusiastically report that they have an event calendar on their website, or that the managing editor for releases has since been laid off.
Picture from Tom Foremski - 2/27/06 - http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com
Again I ask, where does the traditional press release fit in? Most places require you to create said events through social networking websites, so placing another calender event on a website isn’t too demanding. Yet there is something to be said about how information used to be conveyed to one another and how this darn technology thing has once again forced a communication evolution.
My prediction? Press releases are already dead. Some even say they are downright ‘useless.’ True, services like PressReleaseGrader indicate that the written word can still be analyzed and edited through our new digital union. But overall, we have to move on here.
What you can take away are tried-and-true methods of success:
do your research, word simply, and edit, edit, edit!
I’ve quite enjoyed improving my writing, both professionally and personally.
All above being said, please check out my portfolio (should be up soon) which has plenty of press releases that I’ve worked. 
Follow Up
“Apropos your blog post, this article illustrates some glaring differences between US and UK regarding media violence and gun violence. Unfortunately, the watchdog group mentioned here was just a tad late, but maybe that indicates that gov't regulation doesn't stand a chance against commerce. I compare it to how building a Walmart takes about half a year, while merely renovating a subway station takes about three years.”
Videogames = Violence?
Patrick’s thoughts:
This person took their father's registered gun, so it was in some sense the father's negligence that made this possible. And if someone is psychotic enough, no amount of gun control will stop them from their goal.
To me, gun control only helps prevent spontaneous shootings. If you don't have a gun on you, you can't just snap for a minute and do something extremely regrettable. But if you're sufficiently lacking in the head and pre-meditate a shooting, it is quite possible.
You could blame society for failing this individual, but we can't all check up on the activities of our neighbors all the time. That's how East Germany was, for better or worse (mainly worse, because it was being done for all the wrong reasons). The right to privacy in our modern society is also the right to be a recluse.
But since this person was underage, the parents would presumably be to blame more than society at large. I'd love to know some background on this person's after-school activities, media consumption, and family relations. Probably to your chagrin, I still strongly believe that media violence plays a huge role in youths' nonchalance toward killing, to an extent that effectively overpowers any attempted parental control. Walk into an electronics store and see hi-def violence across the walls of TVs. Walk down the street and see billboards of Angelina Jolie pointing a gun at you. You'd have to be a homeschooling helicopter parent to shield a child from today's barrage of antisocial imagery.
This kid went to a technical school. Translation: he was on the low end of society. In Germany, school isn't a one-size-fits-all K-12.. You can go to a "Gymnasium" after elementary school and complete 13th grade to get your "Abitur" in preparation for university. Or you can go to a "Realschule" and get a more basic diploma in 10th grade before deciding to continue at a Gymnasium or going into a trade. But if you weren't great in elementary school, you're likely to go to a "Hauptschule", where you basically learn technical skills earlier on and they don't bother so much with academic or philosphical matters.
So in Germany, your fate is almost sealed after elementary school. If you were bad at grades 1-4, the system sort of gives up on you and says "don't bother". It really creates a division between the haves and have-nots, except that what's had is not money (yet), but education. You don't have to pay to go to a Gymnasium (they are generally public schools), you just have to have had good grades beforehand.
Germany is definitely far from perfect. It just has different strengths and weaknesses than the US. Maybe this tragedy will bring these "Child Left Behind" practices to the forefront. Ironically though, these technical kids might be better-positioned to make money than their counterparts in academia during times like these, so maybe they're not doing too bad after all?
A New Hope
Well, a few ground rules. I will probably keep more personal information out. If you want to get to know me better, you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or good ol’ email. I’ll do my best to contact you back in a prompt manner, but bribes go to the top of the pile (ha!).
So instead, this blog will focus on my journey from student to professional. Salem State has provided a wonderful education; one that gave me hands on experience leading to my own professional campaigns, while still in school. In just a few months, I’ll have accomplished a long journey that leads me to the next major chapter in my life, whatever that is.
I hope this outlet will lead to networking with new people, but surely I’ll be ranting and raving soon enough. Please, stay tuned and like Mario says, ‘here we go!’
(My recent purchase from NYC - love it!)