Kiara Pesante

The Women’s Campaign School at Yale

April 23rd, 2012

KP

The Sterling Law Building at Yale Law School is where most of the 2012 session of the Women's Campaign School will take place.

Over the weekend, I received some exciting news. I have been accepted to the 2012 class of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale!

I could not be more thrilled to be invited to participate in this intensive political training, aimed at increasing women’s involvement in the political process – something that is desperately needed. The program counts Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as alumnae, so I know I’ll be in the right place! Those are two women that I have tremendous respect for, and have admired for some time.

As wonderful as this opportunity is, it does not come free.

PR101: Making It In DC

March 13th, 2012

KP

Come out to my mentoring non-profit's first event!

Join District Connectors (my new non-profit!) and IMPACT for a chance to meet and connect with some of Washington’s brightest minds in public relations and communications!

Recognizing the need for increased diversity within the public relations industry, District Connectors and IMPACT have partnered with Edelman‘s DC office to host “PR101: Making It in DC, ” a meet-and-greet and mentoring experience for young PR, media relations, and/or communications professionals of color. Among the Edelman presenters are: Alyssa Boule, Vice President of Recruitment, Rita Johnson, Recruitment Coordinator and Intern Manager, Ashley Huggins, Senior Multicultural Account Supervisor, and more!

The event takes place on Wednesday, March 21st from 5:30 until 8 p.m. at Edelman’s DC office, located at 1875 I Street NW, 9th Floor.

Spirits and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. All attendees must RSVP here by noon on the day of, and be 21 or older to participate.

Questions? Shoot me a note! kiara@kiarapesante.com

#AtTheWH President Obama Uses Social Media to Promote Jobs Act

September 12th, 2011

KP

Today I had the distinct honor of hearing first-hand (AP style?) from our Commander in Chief about why he thinks the American Jobs Act is critical and needs to be passed by Congress. I was invited due to my community organization ties and digital engagement skills. The gathering was a partnership between the White House Offices of Public Engagement and New Media and InteractiveOne (The Grio, Hello Beautiful, etc.) My video of the President’s remarks are above (shot from the iPhone – woot woot!), but a cleaner version is here.

What do you think about the President’s digital strategy in pushing his jobs legislation?

Red, White and Tweet: Edelman’s Latest Op-Ed on Politicians + Twitter

June 24th, 2011

KP

70 percent of Congress is active on Twitter - and that number should be higher

This week, @EdelmanDigital posted a piece on politicians and their use of Twitter. As I have come to rely on Edelman’s digital team for sound facts (I did, after all, base my master’s thesis on a report they released two years ago), I thought it would be useful to share my take on the op-ed, courtesy of @mnewbert.

She starts by introducing Adam Sharp (@AdamS), Twitter’s government/politics guy based in DC. Due to his work, over 70 percent of Congress actively uses the micro-blogging site. What I do love about this piece is she directly addresses that tired, ridiculous question that social media not-so-enthusiasts often ask: W-H-Y? She hits the nail on the head:

You’re Invited! BWB Summer Brunch Soiree

June 13th, 2011

KP

If you know me, you love I love a good brunch… and I love giving back. This upcoming event, hosted by the fabulous ladies at Bitches Who Brunch, deserves your support. Cheers!

The Bitches Who Brunch Summer Brunch Soiree is July 9th at RIS. Get your tickets!

The PR Guide to Email Pitching

June 7th, 2011

KP

Finesse your email pitching skills with these tips

I had been working on a post about this for a while, but once I found Jason Falls’, decided to stop. I don’t believe in reinventing the wheel. So, I’ve posted his thoughts below, but if you want to check out the comments, the original is here. -KP

I’ve always considered myself a public relations professional by trade. Even when the general perception of PR isn’t all that good, I still try to advocate for stronger ethics, better measures and more honorable tactics than those that give the industry an iffy reputation. But despite the last several years of trying to help many of my colleagues better understand that blasting and lists and impersonal communications is not only generally not effective but under certain conditions illegal, too many still don’t get it.

So let’s review … and this time pay attention:

Lessons from #Weinergate: Teach Your Boss the Difference Between Mentions and DMs

June 6th, 2011

KP

Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted to taking and sending lewd photos via Twitter

Well… I honestly didn’t see this one coming.

As someone who has managed the social media accounts for several politicians, I have had quite an interesting week, full of rather interesting conversations, all due to our embattled Representative from the great state of New York.

What has been most troubling to me about the entire thing, from the technical aspect, is that it could have been avoided had he simply brushed up on the difference between a DM and a reply. Oh, and also got the name of the person he meant to send the photo to correct… but that’s for another post. Granted, I am young, but I don’t know of many other scandals that could have been prevented with a simple one-character change on a text message.

Facebook Patents ‘Tagging’ Feature

May 18th, 2011

KP

Facebook has patented its photo tagging feature

Last week, Facebook took their photo tagging to another level. The social media OG (yep, I said it…) got approval of Patent 7,945,653 – the “Tagging digital media” patent – which describes a method that “includes selecting a digital media and selecting region within the digital media.”

While this may have once been a problem for those of you who had camera-happy friends in college (always at the WRONG times), the tagging feature did help the social networking giant explode in popularity. This was, according to Erik Sherman, the reason why Facebook filed for this patent almost five years ago. It is extremely broad, as patents tend to be, and isn’t just limited to “the context of a social network,” says Sherman.

[SMGTF?] Couple in Israel Name Their Baby ‘Like’

May 17th, 2011

KP

I’m starting a new series of posts entitled Social Media Gone Too Far?, or SMGTF. Why, you ask? There have been several instances over the past year where I saw, used or heard of something that I questioned and thought could be an abuse of the power of social media. It started with the iPhone app that allows Catholic users to ‘confess’ to it, then progressed with the one the allows you to fake your number AND voice on an outgoing call.

Then, I thought rapper (err singer… err… maybe Auto Tune enthusiast is best…) T-Pain had topped the list of Silly, Semi-Permanent Things Inspired by Social Media with his ridiculous tattoo…