It’s also critical to how we as professional communicators, help clients and brands convey messages in the most effective manner possible. While you may not personally be an all-star photographer yourself, there are certain elements you can keep in mind when evaluating images for your own communications efforts.

Where does one get started ? When choosing images, it’s important to consider proper photo composition elements and user guidelines. Here is a handy list of elements and user tips to keep on-hand.

• Rule of thirds
• Leading lines
• Patterns
• Symmetry
• Depth-of-field
• Cropping
• High-resolution
• Compress the files
• Give credit to the source

If you are not a photographer, stock photo websites can offer more options than you can imagine based on your needs. A few of my favorites include: Getty Images, Stock Xchange and Flickr’s Creative Commons. Armed with the tips above and these online resources, you can easily incorporate imagery into your content for a lasting effect. Go ahead – give it a shot!

Photo credit: Megan McMullen

It’s not enough to be engaged sometimes. Today, it’s important to be engaging – always. When you engage, you converse. When you engage, you inspire advocates. When you engage, you create movements.

Weber Shandwick is reimagining public relations – helping clients solve business challenges in new ways while attracting new types of employees in the process.

Want to engage with us? Please RSVP to join us on May 30, 2012, 6-9pm to hear about the new rules of engagement.

Weber Shandwick. Engaging, always.
818 Stewart Street, Suite 1300, Seattle, WA
rsvpseattle@webershandwick.com

10. Angry Birds now a $100 million revenue business
Rovio Entertainment, the company behind ‘Angry Birds’ released its first financial figures this week posting total revenue of $106.3 million. However, it’s not just the game downloads that have proved to be profitable, it’s the merchandising and licensing that have driven a revenue increase. The consumer products group now accounts for about 30 percent of the revenue. The company also noted that it has hit one billion cumulative downloads of various Angry Birds games.

9. Google plays catch-up to Amazon in fight over cloud
Amazon has dominated the Web-based computer services market allowing hundreds of thousands of companies to rent servers for their websites, support mobile applications and store customer data. Now, Google wants to be on top of the cloud-computing market. The search-engine giant has doubled its efforts by hiring more engineers and salespeople, increasing marketing efforts and bringing new features for businesses seeking speed at lower cost. But will Google catch up to Amazon?

8. HP on Sleekbook: Apple doesn’t ‘own silver’
Hewlett-Packard unveiled a new collection of Sleekbooks or ultra-portable laptops. HP’s new Envy Sleekbook will compete against Apple’s Macbook Air. The Sleekbook is a cheaper version of the HP Ultrabook and carries the AMD processor versus the expensive Intel processors. The tech critics are not impressed with HP’s new series of laptops. They are not the envy of the market, yet.

7. Facebook launches an app center
Facebook users have always been left to fend for themselves when scrounging for apps and games like Cityville, Farmville or Draw Something.  Now the scrounging days are over as Facebook launches an app center to centralize all the social apps. Developers will be able to charge for app purchases just like Apple’s App Store.

6. Cisco income rises in line with forecasts
Cisco reported a 20 percent increase in its net income and six percent jump in total revenue for the third quarter. However, even with big profit gain, the company’s stocks were down nearly nine percent. The increase in profits comes as a result of job cuts and company restructuring in the past year.

5. Microsoft goes green: data centers, offices to be carbon neutral come July
After getting dinged by Greenpeace for having dirty cloud-computing data centers, Microsoft launched a company- wide carbon offset program. The tech giant’s goal is to go carbon neutral at the start of Microsoft’s 2013 fiscal year and hold various divisions accountable for their own energy usage.

4. AOL to give shareholders all proceeds from patent bonanza
AOL announced that it will give 100 percent of the proceeds from its $1.1 billion patent sale directly back to shareholders. Earlier this month AOL sold 925 patents to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in cash which in turn sold 650 patents to Facebook. Shares jumped after AOL’s announcement to hand over the sale proceeds.

3. Yahoo CEO apologizes in resume flap; board member Patti Hart to depart
Yahoo seems to be in trouble lately with its loss in total revenue, failed restructuring efforts and now the resume controversy with CEO Scott Thompson. Yahoo’s investor, Third Point pointed out that Thompson falsely claimed to have a degree in Computer Science on his resume. Director Patti Hart was responsible for hiring Scott which made her directly responsible for overlooking the resume error has announced that she will not stand for re-election to the board at the next annual meeting. The founder of Third Point, Daniel Loeb has called on the board to fire Scott Thompson. Who wouldn’t want to embellish their accounting degree?

2. Google moves for mistrial in Oracle case
The ongoing legal battle between Google and Oracle took a twist when the jury returned a verdict for the copyright phase of the trial. The jury declared that Google had infringed on the overall structure and sequence of copyrights related to the Java programming language. After the verdict was declared, Google filed for a mistrial. The May 7 jury verdict came in the first phase of an eight-week trial. The last phase of the trial will deal with damages.

1. Facebook IPO roadshow in full swing
Facebook’s IPO is looming while the CEO Mark Zuckerberg hits the road trying to woo investors. CEO Zuckerberg’s attire at the New York IPO pitch raised concerns but not enough to divert investors. The roadshow then went to Boston with a main presentation and better format but without CEO Zuckerberg and his famous hoodies sweatshirt.  Facebook’s first IPO is reported to be kicking off on May 18^th priced in a range of $28-$35 per share.

Disclosure: Microsoft and Amazon are Weber Shandwick clients.

Who wouldn’t want to go on a business trip, bypass lines for a taxi or hotel room,  and have your expense report automatically created before you get back to the office? I know we would.

The awards kicked off with John Vechey’s keynote speech highlighting the power of listening for effective leadership. Vechey, a successful leader himself, is co-founder of PopCap Games, which recently sold to Electronic Arts for up to $1.3 billion. With one of the largest ever gaming industry acquisitions under his belt, Vechey was a shining example of the scale of entrepreneurial success found in our very own community.

This year’s awards honored a variety of successful startups, investors, and entrepreneurs (all nominated and voted for by the community) while also including some fun categories such as “Geekiest Coffee Shop” (won by Weber Shandwick’s neighbor, Uptown Espresso), Schmoozer of the Year, and Bootstrapper of the Year. Altogether there were 14 categories (full list of winners) including the Wild Card/People’s choice, which was a new addition to this year’s event. This category turned out to be the highlight of the show, with “Iron Man of Startups” winner Andy Sack giving an engaging and emotional acceptance speech that touched on both his love for the Seattle start up community and his recent cancer battle.

Overall, it was great night of engagement and celebration of the thriving the Seattle start-up community.

PR was always my dream. When I was in high school, I worked part-time doing promotions for unsigned bands (which is a fancy way of saying that I sold CDs, handed out fliers and enthusiastically tried to promote the band on sidewalks). In college I majored in PR at Seattle University and worked as a promotions director for a small internet radio station. We had almost no budget and I spent most of my time at small-scale events. It was key to learning the importance of working hard at what you do, especially with minimal resources. I loved music, and I loved radio. But I knew there was more out there. I wanted to see more. Do more. Learn more. And the exciting thing about PR is, you can work in any field you want!

After college, I started an internship at Weber Shandwick. A fellow classmate of mine knew about an open technology intern position with the agency and passed it along to me. I applied and went from being simply a college grad, to a college grad with an awesome paid internship. I had always worked small groups, and tried to focus on the big picture, but at an agency you have a team and it’s the details that really matter to ensure the success of a client or brand. It was time for me to learn and I found myself, a tech-challenged chick, knee-deep in tech PR. And that my friends is where our story begins. And by story, I of course mean the following post where I provide my two cents about how to go from uninformed novice to an industry expert.

Now that I am sure you have your pens and paper (or styluses and tablets) ready to absorb my words of wisdom, here are three recommended steps to expert success for college grads just entering agency life.

1. Connect the personal with professional.

Within tech PR, I looked for those things that would or could potentially have an impact on my life. By creating that personal relation it becomes easier to learn a new practice area. I saw the advancements being made in the tech world and how they could benefit me and other consumers. I shared the same level of excitement that consumers did around products I was marketing.

“Wait, did you really just say I can buy a single device that will let me watch a movie and open my garage door – at the same time!? That’s exciting!”

Or…“I can sync my phone to remind me of my nutritional goals whenever I get within Wi-Fi stealing distance of a doughnut shop? Sweet!”

By finding this connection I actually started to care about the technology, the industry, and its developments. I had to break down the mental wall I had built up over the years. The mental wall was that voice that said, “tech is a field for someone else, someone who understands complex formulas, rebuilds computers for fun and who can figure out how to set the alarm on their clock radio.” I had to stop separating myself from the field, and realize that I too, have a legit place in it.

2. Read blogs related to the field.

Blogs have proven to be a great resource. Some of them really gave me a feel for the world I was entering. They allowed me to become familiarized with the industry, those working in it, and those who care about it. Blogs represent a window into your audience. If you are unsure of what blogs to read, I’d suggest asking your colleagues which bloggers they find influential in your practice area. Another reason blogs are helpful is that they tend to be written for non-professionals, so you don’t need to be an expert to make sense of them the way you would with a deep trade article.

And finally the most important piece of advice that I can bestow on you is the following:

3. Ask as many questions as you can, from everyone you can.

It doesn’t matter if you work with tech experts or not, asking everyone questions has been a life saver to me.

What you need to remember is that everyone was once new to this field. The best teachers are those who have had to struggle for the information before finally grasping a concept. Naturally, they know the best way to break down the barriers and create understanding.

I also found it extremely beneficial to ask for examples. When I was first asked to write or research something, I would immediate refer to an example as a reference. An example serves as a skeleton to add on to and frame your own piece of writing and style. It was also beneficial to set up coffee/lunch meetings with co-workers as it’s a more relaxed environment where you can approach others about sharing their experience and advice. I’ve realized there are some things you need a person to explain to you, in order to feel confident, and that confidence makes you a better employee and member of the team.

There will be a time in your life when you are given an opportunity to work in a field where you have little to no experience. Don’t shy away. You too, can master it, and improve your skills set. Just look at me. I was a technology novice. Now, I love what I’m doing. I have learned so much already and I can actually carry on an intelligent conversation about the impending industry crisis of 4G spectrum availability, and a shortage expected to take effect within the next five years. Lost ya? It looks like someone needs to explore steps 2 and 3.

Post by Caitlin Joyce.

(Image via Helga Weber)

10. Yelp down 8.5% even after strong first public quarter
Yelp posted its first quarterly report as a public company revealing a net loss of $9.8million. The review site went international expanding to 11 new markets including Sydney and Stockholm. The company is spending more on sales and marketing to widen its user base amidst competition from Facebook and Google.

9. Micron apparent winner in bidding for Japan’s Elpida
U.S based Micron Technology is the likely winner of the bidding for the bankrupt Japan-based memory chip maker Elpida. Reportedly, Micron offered $2.5 billion and pledged to keep the company’s primary plant in Hiroshima operating. Micron technology and South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix were among a handful of chipmaker funds to have shown interest in Elpida.

8. RIM shares hit 8-year low as BlackBerry 10 underwhelms
RIM’s shares plummeted hitting an eight-year low on Thursday. Shares reportedly fell 15 percent in the past three days after the company unveiled a prototype BlackBerry with new features and software. The new Blackberry 10 failed to impress analysts who believe that it is doubtful the new smartphone can reverse RIM’s fall from grace.

7. Cisco to buy network data analysis software maker Truviso
Cisco has agreed to acquire real-time network data analysis and reporting software maker, Truviso Inc. The acquisition will help users hone operational efficiencies. Truviso will join Cisco’s team to provide access and visibility into network use.

6. LinkedIn agrees to buy SlideShare, beats on earnings
LinkedIn agreed to buy the professional content-sharing site, SlideShare for $118.75 million on Thursday. The acquisition will be finalized at the end of second quarter and will include 45 percent cash and about 55 percent stock. The largest professional social networking site reported first-quarter sales topped analysts’ estimates and is now expanding with SlideShare under its belt. LinkedIn has made five acquisitions in the past two years.

5. IBM to buy Tealeaf Technology
Big Blue is expanding its “smarter commerce” initiative by adding yet another analytics-software company to its portfolio. IBM acquired Tealeaf Technology, a provider of consumer analytics software, for an undisclosed sum. IBM’s smarter commerce is focused on online analytics and automation to help companies tap into consumer behavior and trends and is reported that the software alone has a market value of $20 billion. Big Blue has invested $3 billion in building out its smarter commerce product groups.

4. German court backs Motorola injunction against Microsoft
Motorola Mobility Inc. won a patent ruling allowing it to ban Microsoft from selling Windows 7, Internet Explorer and Media Player and Xbox gaming systems in Germany. The case prompted Microsoft to move its European logistics center from Germany to the Netherlands. The suit is part of the global patent litigation as companies seek a greater share of smartphone and handheld device sales.

3. Target to stop selling Kindle
Reportedly, Target will stop selling Amazon Kindle due to its growing irritation with rival, Amazon. Target has been trying to stop Amazon customers from visiting Target stores to check out the products only to buy them online from Amazon. Irked by Amazon’s ‘showrooming’, Target will discontinue carrying Kindle.

2. Facebook to set IPO price range after market close
Facebook has been preparing for its first Initial Public Offering (IPO) scheduled to be held for the 18^th of May. Reportedly, the social networking giant is expected to set the estimated price range for its IPO at nearly $80 billion or more. The pricing puts Facebook on tract to become the most valuable U.S web company at the time of an IPO exceeding Google’s $23 billion in 2004.

1. Microsoft hooks onto Nook
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced a $605 million investment over five years in Barnes & Noble’s business unit. As part of the deal, Microsoft will have a 17.6 percent stake in Barnes & Noble subsidiary which will include the ebook division and Barnes & Noble’s college bookstores unit. The deal will help Microsoft break into the ebooks market and give Barnes & Noble a global reach for the Nook platform through a Windows 8 app.

Disclosure:  Microsoft, Amazon and Motorola are Weber Shandwick clients.

Yes, it’s Bike to Work month. And everybody is talking about the positive environmental impact of taking a car off the road and how good it is for one’s mind and body to ride a bike to work. I’m not disagreeing with any of those things. In fact, I took great pains to make those points during last year’s Bike to Work month. But that’s not why I ride my bike to work. I ride because it’s one of my favorite things to do in the world. Better than eating donuts.

When I was a kid, my brother used to build bikes in our garage, using parts he’d acquired from who knows where. He built my first bike. From scratch. And he painted it bronze (apparently the only color spray paint my dad kept in the garage).  It was my sister who taught me how to ride a bike. One of my most vivid childhood memories is of my sister pushing me down the street when I was five (on the bike my brother built), letting go and watching me race down the road, no training wheels, shouting after me with encouragement. Only then did she realize that she hadn’t taught me how to brake. About three hundred yards later, I dove off my bike into the ditch – the only way I could imagine getting off the thing alive.

There were of course also the epic bike rides with my brother and his friends – racing through the no-trespassing dairy down the street, fleeing from the owner of the apple orchard next door, and clearing the home-made bike jumps in our back pasture.  All with minimal visits to the hospital.

When I moved to Seattle nearly twenty years ago (long before the city’s ubiquitous bike lanes), I rode my bike up and down Queen Anne hill to and from work every day. Admittedly, as a broke recent college grad, riding my bike was more out of financial necessity than it’d ever been before. But it wasn’t an issue. And it’s not today. Because I love to ride my bike.  I love to take in the scenery that otherwise passes by without notice inside a car. I love being so close to the mechanics of the whole thing. I love the adrenaline rush of speeding down a hill. Sunlight on chrome, the blur of the landscape, every nerve aware.

So, I’m not here to make a plea for you to bike to work, save the planet. I’m here to say I love to ride my bike.

Are you participating this month? I’d love to hear passion around biking to work below.

Photo courtesy of Kharied.

Recently, I blogged about the power of the “nudge” and how a seemingly small change in everyday activity can generate desired impact on target audience behavior. Through the power of Facebook’s news stream and a quick commitment to updating a life event (and adding a personal story if so desired), the issue now has fuel to take center stage and grab attention in a whole new way. It’s of course still personal choice to add the info, but yet another great reminder of the powerful impact a platform such as Facebook can have in driving impact.

Kudos to Team Facebook and Donate Life America for heightening the issue. Be sure to check out the video below.

10. iPhone attracts customers, but Sprint loses $863
Sprint Nextel, the third-largest wireless carrier reported a loss of $863 million in its first quarter. On a brighter side, iPhone sales boosted the struggling Sprint Nextel beating AT&T in recruiting high-paying phone subscribers to the Sprint network. When the carriers decided to stop subsidized iPhone sales, Apple’s stock may instead take the hit.

9. Picture this: Shutterfly snaps up Kodak Gallery
The once popular online photo sharing platform, Kodak Gallery managed to get one bidder in a bankruptcy action for its photo-sharing site.  Shutterfly agreed to acquire Kodak Gallery for $23.8 million. It’s definitely a Kodak moment for Shutterfly!

8. Internet gets a hall of fame (yes including Al Gore)
It’s been 30 years since Internet was born. The Internet announced its inaugural Internet Hall of Fame featuring 33 of the net’s most influential engineers, evangelists and entrepreneurs including the “real” father of Internet Vinton Cerf and the Vice President of United States Al Gore. Between the 33 inductees, there were 9 countries represented, 11 PhDs, 11 published authors and winner of an Academy Award and Nobel Prize. The Internet Hall of Fame is on the Internet, of course.

7. Google unveils Drive storage service
Earlier this week, Google launched a new customer storage service called Google Drive which goes head to head with rival cloud services such as Dropbox and Micrsosoft’s SkyDrive. Cloud computing is trending and tech companies are offering numerous services based on cloud storage. However, it didn’t take long for tech critics to figure out that the policy of Google’s new service is very similar to the already established services of Dropbox, SkyDrive and iCloud. Debates and concerns have been raised over the privacy issues and it may take a while for Google to gain a strong foothold in the cloud service market.

6. Top analyst: ‘Apple will decline’
George Colony, the CEO of the research firm Forrester wrote a controversial blog post which predicts that with the demise of Steve Jobs Apple will decline in the next four years. Despite the huge profit it made in the last three months Apple will eventually slide down due to lack of leadership, according to Colony. The blog titled Apple =Sony has sparked numerous debates on whether or not Apple will face the same fate as Sony. But tech critics argue that the company’s fate really rests in the performance of its next big innovation, waving off Colony’s immediate predictions of Apple’s decline.

5. Facebook partners with McAfee, Symantec, Microsoft, others to offer free antivirus
Facebook has often been criticized for its poor security measures. In an effort to improve its security and protect its 900 million users, Facebook will be partnering with top computer security firms like Microsoft, TrendMicro, Sophos, Symantec and McAfee. The social networking site is expanding its blacklist system for blocking malicious web links shared on the social network.

4. IBM to buy Vivisimo; Expands bet on big data analytics
IBM is expanding its analytical roster with the acquisition of the ‘big data’ company Vivisimo, a Pittsburgh-based company. Vivisimo is a privately-held company that helps organizations, find and analyze large amounts of data. As part of the ‘Big Data’ initiative, Big Blue has spent $14 billion purchasing data analytics companies.

3. Facebook buys AOL patents from Microsoft for $550 million
Earlier this week, the popular social networking site purchased Microsoft’s patents which originally belonged to AOL. Microsoft sold 650 of the 925 patents to Facebook for $550 million in cash. Reportedly, Facebook was among the losing bidders in the AOL patent auction. The legal battle with Facebook and Yahoo over patent infringement has caused the social networking giant to purchase patents.

2. The profit is in another castle: Nintendo records first-ever annual loss
As the financial reports rolled in, Nintendo reported its first-ever annual loss of $461.2 million. Facing competition from Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo slashed prices of its 3DS console by 40 percent which affected its sales heavily. However, Nintendo sitting on a cash reserve of $14 billion still has time and money for improvement.

1. Apple profit surges 94% on strong iPhone, iPad sales
It’s comes as no surprise that the second quarter closed with Apple’s profits surging by 94 percent reporting strong sales of iPhone and iPad. The profits doubled from last year and reported a net income of $11.6 billion. Despite, the mass Mac virus attack and iPad heating issues, Apple posted a 58.9 percent revenue increase. The Cupertino-based tech giant has become the most valuable company in the world.