Did I choose the right field? Lately this question has been stirring in my head. I love the idea of public relations. I love working with people, I love taking a product or organization and thinking of creative ways to reach the target public. More than anything, I love social media and the people I have met and endless amount of information that I have learned because of it. However, one thing concerns me about this “new age” PR…do you ever “clock out” of work?
Keeping up with all of the latest blogs, Twitter updates, headlines, etc. is an exhausting job and people do not stop writing on the weekends. It really bothers me that you can get Twitter and blog updates sent straight to your phone now. I don’t want to know that “hottie98 is stressing over a test” while I am out with my friends.
My dad is a pilot for Delta and took a management position three years ago. This position also came with a Crackberry, I’m sorry, a Blackberry. My dad’s job did not end at 5 PM. It woke him up with e-mails at 2 AM, called him during dinner, and forced him to respond to emails and answer phone calls while lying on the beaches of Greece on a family vacation. I loathed that damn phone. The whole family called it his Crackberry because he never put it down. The worst part is, its not that he didn’t want to be with the family or get away from work…he couldn’t! With Blackberry your work is always with you.
My point…I do not want to become one of those parents or a spouse who cannot leave the job at the office. With all of these social media advances I am starting to think that is going to be an impossible desire if I continue to want to specialize in social media. So here is my question to all of you current PR social media junkies…is it possible to leave the Crackberry at home? Or do you really need all of those Twitter updates coming to your phone and do you really have to check your Google Reader on a Saturday afternoon?
