Blogging in the Public Interest

by Christopher Budd

Are you interested in blogging and other social media? Do you like wine and cheese? Are you looking for a chance to meet and greet your Puget Sound PR colleagues?

If you said yes to any or all of these, then you should come join us on Wednesday May 25, 2011 5:30-7:30 p.m. for this month’s event sponsored by the PRSA Puget Sound Programs Committee: Blogging in the Public Interest – A wine and cheese social.

This month’s event will be hosted at Weber Shandwick’s offices in downtown Seattle at 818 Stewart St..

In addition to wine, nibbles and networking, we’ll be featuring three panelists who will be talking about their experiences in blogging and social media: Wade Rockett, digital strategist with Weber Shandwick; Matt Rosenberg, executive director of Public Eye Northwest and Katie McCarthy, senior Media Relations consultant for Group Health Cooperative.

Wade has been blogging for about ten years on a variety of topics. Some of his current blogging work includes his blog at Rockett Science Labs and Weber Shandwick’s Social Studies Blog. He’s on the US Army Social Computing team which supports the Army Strong Stories blog and develops content for the Windows Embedded News Center.

Matt is a former Seattle Times columnist and think tank senior fellow and executive director of Public Eye Northwest which “fosters lifelong digital civic literacy, voluntary government transparency and constructive engagement”. He blogs on issues advocacy and public policy in the Seattle area at Public Data Ferret which “digs up the public’s business like nobody’s business”. He also has recently posted “Transparency Is A Two-Way Street” at the Sunlight Foundation’s blog.

Katie crossed over from being a reporter to work in health care PR/marketing for more than ten years. Shes the Senior Medial Relations Consultant and Social Media lead at Group Health where she utilizes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs to connect with patients/members and find/share stories about how they’ve become more engaged in their health. She also shares her knowledge of social media and marketing as a member of the Girls on the Run Puget Sound Board. She’s created more visual story telling through video and enhanced their brand recognition to a point where they now have waiting lists for schools wanting to bring the program into their schools.

All three panelists bring a broad point of view on how blogging can be a powerful tool for PR professionals.

The cost is $15 members and students; $22 nonmembers if you register by 5 p.m., May 23, online or by phone (206-623-8632). Registration will be an additional $5 at the door.

You can keep up to date on all PRSA Puget Sound activities by subscribing to the monthly Newsflash, by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook or joining our LinkedIn group.