Last weekend our local chapter of the American Advertising Federation hosted its annual awards dinner and here at Fletcher PR, we're just bursting with pride from winning 5 awards! Our 2 gold awards are for the work we did in a campaign with Revive Personal Products. That campaign (which included direct marketing, interactive media, and an online game) was featured in another Her Voice post here.

It feels great to be recognized for a job well-done! Congratulations to the other award recipients!

Ursula Burns is not only the first African-American woman to have been named C.E.O. of a major American Corporation, but she is also the first woman to succeed another woman as head of a company of this size. The company happens to be Xerox, whose name has been established as an everyday verb. Burns began as an intern with the company and over the last 30 years has worked her way up the ranks. When all the fuss was made about her new position, she enjoyed it at first, but quickly turned her attention to the task at hand, steering Xerox to become “more fearless and frank,” but describing one aspect of the corporate culture as “terminal niceness.”

There is no question that magazines geared to women are designed differently than those intended for a male audience. Among the many differences in men and women is how each gender views visual design and responds to it accordingly. This is especially important to understand when it comes to designing websites. All the great information in the world isn't going to get read by anybody if it isn't presented in a way that is first visually appealing.

For almost 150 years, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has been at the forefront of American art museums, establishing itself as a leader in the museum world. Arguably the most recognized art museum in this country, it has seen its share of leadership come and go, most recently with Thomas Campbell in his third year at the helm as director. Campbell is making waves at the museum in more ways than one, but one important development he is responsible for bringing about is the establishment of a greater virtual presence for the Met.

PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) released its new social media policy this week with the hopes that it will offer a unified voice to govern the organization's social media efforts. The entire world is buzzing over the use of social media these days, from organizing protests in Egypt to what Ashton Kutcher had for lunch.

Over 109 million viewers tuned in to watch Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, but as often is the case, some viewers are just as excited, if not more so, to see what new creative ads are unveiled. This year’s ads were a hit, with some of the most popular representing the automobile industry. While the NFL has made some strides to include and engage its female audience, the majority of the ads shown during the game were geared to men.

Our society and the practices we adhere to are constantly evolving with the times. With the advances in technology, everything seems to move at a quicker pace. Online dating has become as much or more popular than traditional methods and distance education via virtual classrooms now provide students with the same degrees they previously obtained only by physically attending courses. We want everything and we want it now. Curious about some song lyrics from the 80s? Google and many other search engines are only a couple of keystrokes and a click away. Can't decide what to have for dinner? From recipes to restaurants, the web is a seemingly unlimited resource for all our queries. One site that has gained popularity lately certainly appears to cover many bases when it comes to our questions. Girls Guide To...is a free online forum where members can post and answer each others' questions dealing with a wide range of topics, from self, love and health to college, finances and gadgets. Brette Borow is the president and founder of this venture, currently at 140k members and growing.

We've all heard the quote that "behind every great man is a great woman" and one great woman in particular is Mrs. Coretta Scott King. Today, as the rest of the world honors the life and legacy of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, let's also take a moment to honor Mrs. King and her tireless efforts working towards equal rights for all. After her husband's death, she took up his cause and helped lead the Civil Rights Movement, but then became very active in the Women's Movement as well. While we might still have a ways to go, it is thanks to the passion of people like Coretta Scott King who have helped us get here.

"We don't have a choice whether

we DO social media, the question

is how well we do it"

-Erik Qualman

(Social Media Guru & Author)