So, the Facebook announcement was pretty awesome, as promised. Beyond the group chat capabilities, new chat design – and yes, even beyond the Skype video calling integration – if we look at this announcement with a public relations lens, there are a few awesome tips to take away from the work of the Mark Zuckerberg team to see how a company press conference can overshadow something like the White House’s first-ever presidential “Twitter Town Hall.”

Conventional PR wisdom will tell you that you can’t force something to “go viral.” Sure, you can make every effort to produce content that is hilarious, meaningful, catchy, valuable, or just so very cool that people want to share it with their friends. But no matter how real it gets in the Whole Foods parking lot, or how many dance parties take place in Apple stores, you truly cannot control what catches on and what doesn’t.

But sometimes a client offers a deal so amazing it takes on a life of its own, as was the case with the deal Kangaroo Express offered its guests: Pay $6.99 for a reusable cup, refill it with fountain or frozen beverages as many times as you like at any of the 1,600+ locations throughout the Southeast – all summer long.

Even the best of seasons have to end at some point - and with Gary Williams' unexpected retirement news I'm sure Maryland basketball fans will concur. The buzzer may have sounded for this year's Battle for Bean Street, but luckily we've got a highlight reel compiled by our friends at Skiver Advertising that will leave us basking in the glory of the battle until we're back in action next year.

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If it's not clear that I'm an NC State Wolfpack fan, take a look around my office. My diploma is displayed proudly on the wall, an NC State alumni magnet is plastered to my file cabinet, and I have two bobble head figures of former Wolfpack football staples, Philip Rivers and Chuck Amato, sitting on the window ledge.

You don't mess with the N.C. State Fair, y'all. We take this annual fête very, very seriously.

Yesterday during the Raleigh Public Relations Society (RPRS) lunch meeting, Jen Nixon and Paul Jones, public information officers at the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, shared a side of the N.C. State Fair that most people don't see - and may not even think about. We were able to take a closer look at the public relations efforts from an insider perspective.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the first-ever nationwide Media Leaders event that took place simultaneously in seven cities: New York, Austin, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and … Raleigh?!  Yes, that’s right. I was so proud to see North Carolina’s capital listed among these other major cities. I have happily lived, worked and played in the Raleigh-Durham area for several years now. Over time I have seen our area receive increased recognition across the country as a technology hub with Research Triangle Park and an education center with the many renowned colleges and universities in our midst. I am proud to see Raleigh is being recognized for its active social media scene.

For the holidays this year the Largemouth team decided as a group to contribute to the community through donations to the Durham Rescue Mission this holiday season. The Durham Rescue Mission’s goal is to help those in need across all aspects, spiritual, educational, emotional, physical and vocational, to enable them to become fully functioning members of society.

Amanda shared an earlier post that described our social media discussion with Laurie Steiner and Andrea Sanchez from the communications team at the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).

During our chat Laurie and Andrea shared IFMA’s overall approach to social media but the way they engaged with their online communities for the organization’s annual trade show was particularly impressive. IFMA’s World Workplace Conference & Expo took place in early October in Orlando, Fla. this year. Laurie and Andrea said that social media is now part of any event plan for IFMA and from our discussion I know they definitely succeeded with incorporating it into the World Workplace plan.

I recently attended a trade show with one of our clients to leverage its social media presence as a strategic part of its event outreach. In this instance, we wanted to share information about our client’s participation and plans for the event through the company’s Twitter account. The strategy Largemouth PR developed for the show was structured to support the launch of an industry-leading technology, as well as promote several cool features on display at the booth and encourage attendance and share highlights of presentations delivered by two company representatives.