For those of you regularly visiting the 25SecondsPR blog for PR advice and perspective here, may have noticed a scarcity of new content. This of course is not all that uncommon—bloggers often start out filled with ideas and enthusiasm, churning out 1,500 words each day, until the time comes when they run out of steam and disappear back into the ether without a trace. But, blogger’s block doesn’t explain my absence. Over the last 9-10 months have been trying and difficult for me, not professionally but personally. Last autumn my mother fell ill and in January she passed away, and while we all ..read more

Google's announcement this week that it is opening a new tech lab in in the heart of the Fruitvale district, is a sign that Oakland's tech culture is swiftly crystallizing. Google's Oakland presence will be a first for the city whereby a tech giant ostensibly seeks to cultivate real inclusion with significant African American and Latino youth population's here in Oakland. Google's new tech lab is a collaboration with MIT Lab and the Code Next Lab, to 'focus on educating young people in Oakland in the educational and career possibilities that computer science and nearby Silicon Valley offer ..read more

Anyone who lives and works in downtown Oakland’s tech epicenter, otherwise known as the East Bay tech epicenter, i.e., “Uptown” knows that it’s both exciting times here in the tech industry and yet equally disappointing, realizing the dismal statistic—that only about three percent of venture capital funding is going to women and less than one percent to people of color. As founder of an East Bay Digital PR firm who’s been here in the tech marketing and PR industry for more than 15 years, watching the growth is indeed meteoric particularly among young men and women of color tech innovators. In ..read more

If you're an East Bay-based tech start up owner, you know that on any given day, especially here in the Oakland where tech growth is booming, your company’s innovative idea can easily be obscured by another’s. In fact, this is true regardless of your location, which is why keeping your brand fresh and relevant is always smart. Bay Area PR is abuzz it's true. So, we thought we'd offer some easy advice. Here are 25 simple PR tips to help you. As an Oakland PR blogger, I like to think of these as helping you begin generating more awareness and inevitably more press coverage: 1. Tweet, Pin, Like ..read more

2016! What a memorable year in American politics, culture, et al. Not only will a new president soon emerge, but new life changing policies will likely be revealed with groundbreaking decisions about medical and recreational marijuana, which if passed will usher in a lucrative new market and era for the cannabis industry. In fact, earlier this year, Forbes reported findings from Arcview Market Research that the legal marijuana industry is poised to generate a staggering $7.1 billion in 2016. The potential for this industry is limitless. It’s interesting to bear witness to an entire industry e ..read more

For start-up founders who are ramping up a DYI PR campaign or who are hiring an agency, by now have heard the PR and marketing mantra about messaging, it goes something like this: identify your business messaging. A mantra it might be, but one that couldn't be more true. In fact, you'll want to pinpoint exactly what your business purpose is and be prepared when asked, to describe it effortlessly. But repeating the mantra and fully understanding it are two different things. Understand that it's also vital that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt what it is about your business that sets it apar ..read more

Despite recognizing (we assume) the urgency of the problem, tech industry leaders continue to struggle with diversity. Women and people of color remain seriously underrepresented at every level from management level on down, regardless of endless promises that radical change is just around the corner. But like time and the tides, the course of events in the tech industry has its own natural flow. A better future may be coming whether some are ready for it or not. Diversity is gaining momentum that is impossible to ignore and most likely impossible to resist. Diversity Sells—and Sells, and ..read more

Most of the time technology PR is rather straightforward. You’ve got a dynamic new service offering or disruptive app or platform that gets released, you work hard to engage journalists and industry watchers to take notice, and then coverage happens. My Silicon Valley-client VentureFund.io, is a perfect example. This month we officially launched its dynamic new early-stage funding platform and saw a steady progression of favorable press. On the other hand, when digital technology circumstances becomes complex, PR becomes more intricate. This couldn’t be truer than what's unfolding between the ..read more

Marine biologists study marine organisms, chefs are highly skilled at cooking and preparing food, and attorneys are licensed to practice law. All straight forward professions, but what about public relations and people like me who manage PR campaigns, what exactly is our business? Maybe not as clear to you? You're not alone apparently because over and over through the years, I've been asked this question: What exactly is public relations? And, again and again regardless of how succinctly or lengthy I choose to respond, I inevitably come around to the fact that PR is about shaping favorable op ..read more

Are you a company founder or organization director who has ever retained a PR firm? If you have, then you no doubt used a degree of PR Bling whether you were aware of doing so or not. PR ... what? Think of it as the times you knew we would answer if you were to call us on our cell phones late at night, or early in the morning, when you needed our thoughts on your media interview, your press release, or advice on a provocative Tweet, etc.. That's PR Bling from a client perspective. But 25SecondsPR, a California PR firm based in the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Area, is officially coining the phra ..read more