The Intern Diaries - 505W37th

Let the champagne flow and hour'doeuvre's be served for TF Cornerstone's newest luxury apartment rentals located at 505 west 37th street in Manhattan's midtown west. On April 29th, the property had its V.I.P. grand opening. For those in attendance it was another day in their fabulous life of social luxury, but for this intern it was a taste of a New York City lifestyle that I cannot get enough of.

Courtesy of my internship at Quinn and Co. public relations, the agency that handles TF Cornerstone's PR, I was able to attend the event along with others on an impressive guestlist that included Mayor Bloomberg dignitaries and ballet legend, Mikhail Baryshnikov (the dancer in me had butterflies in my stomach doing tour jeté's in his presence). Aside from the who's who in real estate being there, the property itself was simply astounding. The lounge area oozed class through subtle simplicity and the art photography by Natasha Toth-Elghanayan and Najib Aschrafzai added a great conversational piece to be had over drinks and hour'doeurvre's. As the April sun began to set, the outdoor patio area literally left me gasping at the exceptional lighting and design of the space. I was with the photographer, Pablo Corradi, most of the evening taking pictures of the guests and taking business cards or names for captions. Thanks go out to Pablo, a true professional. Understanding this was my first event, he did a great job of taking the photos but also helping me make sense of what was going on, who was who and making me feel comfortable.

Being attached to Pablo's hip was an easy segue into light chatter when I was off duty and able to partake in the schmoozing. I ordered a glass of red wine and proceeded to make jokes with journalists, share stories with real estate developers, snag some business cards and have my resume forwarded to some friends of friends. Being an intern at Quinn and Co. didn't hurt either. Once I mentioned who I was interning for, people listened and reporters raved. It is a public relations firm's duty to handle their client's brand management, but also to handle their own. The power of brand recognition is evident in just my experience at this event and how receptive people were to the lone intern working the room. The fearless leader at Quinn and Co., Florence Quinn, and the head of the firm's real estate division, Suzanne Rosnowski, were also in attendance and were bonafide celebrities. They effortlessly weaved in and out of the crowd with people stopping them just to get a few words. Interning at Quinn and Co., I know I am learning from true professionals. My shoulders were raw by the end of the night because I was rubbing so hard and to top it off, I got a snazzy complimentary umbrella, a life essential for the business New Yorker.

Real estate public relations does not have a fascinating ring to it. It does not have the immediate allure of travel or entertainment public relations, but ladies and gentlemen, I have drank from the fountain of real estate glamour and I am intoxicated by it. The sounds of corks popping, the breadth of creative possibility and the personal gratification of finding that captivating story in a property adds charismatic depth to the real estate industry. In short, I can see myself doing this.

Credit and thanks needs to be given to quinnling (Quinn and Co. employees), Marisa Long, for handling such a successful event at the TF Cornerstone grand opening of 505 west 37th and for bringing the intern along for the ride.

Pictures of the event will be coming soon so stay tuned!

Make sure to check out all the people mentioned in this post.

505 West 37th Street - www.505W37.com
TF Cornerstone - www.tfcornerstone.com
Quinn and Co. - www.quinnandco.com twitter:@quinnandco
Florence Quinn - @Florencequinn
Suzanne Rosnowski - @Suz_Rosnowski
Marisa Long - @Marisalong
Freddy Melendez - @FreddyMelendez
Pablo Corradi - www.Corradifoto.com
Natasha Toth-Elghanayan - www.natashafoto.com
Najib Aschrafzai - www.najibaschrafzai.com

In the Current Landscape, Anonymous Online Comments Have a Need for Transparency

If it ever feels like the Internet is shrinking, that’s because it is and newspapers are looking to make it even smaller as they dive into the issue of anonymous comments on their Web sites. In a recent New York Times articles entitled, “News Sites Rethink Anonymous Online Comments,” journalists and media outlets are advocating for the removal of anonymous comments and moving towards registered user comments. My comment is, “It’s about time!” It is no secret that the Internet, while culturally transformational and revolutionary, can be a hub for digital bathroom graffiti. This is clearly evident in anonymous comments posted in articles on media outlet Web sites, which brings about a needed conversation about changing how the media engages its online users and how that community interacts with each other.

News, when written objectively, is designed to inform its audiences and elicit thoughtful conversations. Using the Internet as a channel for these conversations interconnects the world and becomes a global melting pot of ideas and points of views which breeds a beautiful culture of participatory democracy and is a living statement of freedom of speech. If everyone wrote comments with this purpose in mind then there would be no need for any regulation, but this is not the case. There are many article comments that detract from the dialogue of people sharing thoughts by posting abrasive or over abusive verbiage, so much so that pages and pages of these comments disguise those that are truly relevant to the discussion and get lost in the clutter, or even worse do not get posted at all because the audience reading the articles are not the audience reading the comments. On several occasions I have not posted a comment on an article because the other comments didn’t engage the topic, forcing me to ask, “If I post this, who is going to listen?”

In addition to the overwhelming amount of comments that are tattered with inflammatory speech, come the comments that are rigged with mudslinging propaganda, citing in particular the situation mentioned in the Times article with the judge who posted anonymous comments about the lawyer who’s case she presided over.

The ugliness of some comments is undeniable and a testament to the damage of anonymity, but also anonymity just is not “in.” Internet users are starting to create online identities of their real selves through social networking sites, widgets and the inclusiveness of technology across the board. To not have an online identity, is to not exist socially, in the job market, in the consumer market and is not hip. To be honest, if I cannot find someone on one of these sites or through a google search, I really debate if they are even worth knowing! The days of hiding behind America Online screennames are far behind us and soon to follow is Internet anonymity. The media outlets that require a digital footprint now before it becomes the standard have a better handle on increasing trends and a more effective way at targeting their most interactive readers.

Media outlets ridding their sites of anonymous comments reap the benefits in these ways:

*Registered User Tracking: Media outlets would have the ability to track their registered users and how they interact with their Web sites. Through analytics advertisers can more effectively target their audiences and outlets can entice the purchasing of ad space next to the comments column, which has been lacking in sales.

*User Engagement Community: Users will be more encouraged and empowered to engage in conversation knowing that other users are there for the same purpose establishing a community.

*Relevant Discussions: Article comments become what they were designed to be, a forum for people to share thoughts and opinions through a relevant discussion.

*Digital Circulation: The more people engaging in an online conversation, the higher the likelihood of them retweeting articles or posting them on Facebook, increasing impressions.

Media outlets have already begun to look into ways to regulate anonymous comments. Requiring users to register with the website with an e-mail verification before they are allowed to engage on the site is a good start. The fact that one has to register and verify with a valid e-mail address requires a decent amount of mouse work that some offenders just do not want to deal with. Allowing users to rank other users establishes credibility and encourages visitors to increase their “cred” so that their opinions are heard. The integration of social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn also eliminates anonymous postings. Check out Citysearch.com and Metromix.com to see how they integrate Facebook into their venue reviews. Establish a clear user policy that outlines what is marked as offensive or is marked as clutter that does not contribute to the goal of creating relevant dialogue. Hire a person who’s job is to police the Web site and identify violators of the user policy. I know resources are low and hard to come by, but these are all excellent first steps in removing anonymous comments as a media outlet standard. The needs and capabilities of every media outlet are different, so these strategies may or may not work, but it is a trial and error process.

Defenders of freedom of speech argue that the media must allow those who are disenfranchised to have a voice and that anonymous comments serve as a stage for people who might want to say something that might affect them professionally or socially. To the disenfranchised I say, voicing opinions might lift a heavy burden but a presence is what elicits change. To those who want the freedom to say what they would like about their jobs or their neighbors without the accountability I say, leave the gossip for the water cooler and the PTA meetings.

The abolishment of anonymous comments will change the digital face of media interaction, but how else will these trends affect readers and their media consumption? Care to comment?

Check out the blog posted on Quinn and Co. Public Relation's purple lounge - www.quinnandco.com/wordpress

Pepsi - The Real Super Bowl Champs

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints put on a gutsy performance at super bowl 44 to cap off a stellar season, but Pepsi is the real winner this year.

check this out

The funny thing is, Pepsi wasn't even there. After 23 years of super bowl advertising, Pepsi sat the bench this year. That's because of their new integrated marketing campaign titled "The Pepsi Refresh Project" which is donating $20 million to causes designed to move communities forward. This social media campaign could not have come at a better time either. The recent tragedy in Haiti, in addition to the lack luster reviews of super bowl ads, has given Pepsi an opportunity to jump on the charitable trends of American pop culture and to really become the star in the midst of mediocre advertisements. This was public relations genius. While everyone else is battling for advertising supremacy, Pepsi is reaping the benefits left and right through blogs, trade publications, media coverage and every organization they donate some of that $20 million to.

Major props to the PR people at Pepsi. I think I'll go have one actually.

For an advertising perspective check out the 411 Overload @AmandaAnn124 - A young talented Senior Advertising Major at Rowan University.

In other news. I just landed an internship at Quinn and Co. in their travel division. Very exciting. Check them out @Quinnandco