Here we are. A new year. A new shiny calendar. And of course…

New Year’s Resolutions!

It is not a true first week back without your belt a bit tighter, wallet a bit smaller and a healthy dose of New Year resolutions scrawled up and plastered to the front of your fridge.

Since reading many of the top 10 lists on the Internet, we thought we’d share a few of our favourite resolutions; both work-related and in our personal lives.

At Work

1. Slow down! – Stop and check what you are doing! PR can be such a fast paced industry, that slowing down and taking time with the details can only be a good thing.

2. Make a connection – PRBreakfastClub points out a very valid argument: How many of your social network connections or journalist contacts do you actually know? Get out there and meet them face-to-face.

3. Be more social. Understanding social media means participating in the conversation and engaging with followers. PR Daily puts Twitter in perspective by advising PR folks to “Become a better writer – in 140 characters or less.”

4. Read, read and read some more. The best PR practitioners are the ones that are constantly in the know. Although it may not affect you, it may affect your client.

5. Tell a story. Don’t write a pitch.

6. Or you can take cheeky advice from the Hacked off Flack and bury your head in the sand. “If you don’t know about it, you can’t worry about it.”

Day-to-day life

7. Slow down! Again! – Stop and smell the roses. There is a big shiny world away from your desk, take a break and check it out!

8. Remember that however good or bad a situation is, it will change. (This one works for business as well)

9. As losing weight is the number one resolution for us Britons, we like how Jane Shilling of the Daily Mail put it: “Step away from the diet book. Eat less, walk around more.”

10. Travel. There is nothing more valuable than real life experiences.

We wish you good luck with your resolutions as we aim to stick with ours. At least until tomorrow when we end this crazy detox diet!

Cheers to a healthy and happy 2012.

Of the 620,178 directors in the UK aged 35 or under, less than 3% have been chosen to be included in this publication.  In it are individuals who direct and manage a wide variety of successful businesses in the UK, and it aims to recognise young members of the business community who have achieved notable success. In today’s competitive market and testing economic conditions, it is no mean feat to be identified amongst such an elite group.

Congratulations Jodie on a job well done! Check out the full details here: http://bit.ly/qZEz3m

Jodie is quoted in social media rule number 4: Set up a Social Media Station, below:

“Jodie Welton, a founding partner of Connected PR who got married this summer, went down this route and had a huge projector showing images of the day for her evening reception, as well as a separate area for filming.

“We thought it was important that the guests are absorbed in the wedding and that social media enhanced the experience, rather than distract from it. So, to keep it ‘away from the party’ we had a designated area for guests to be filmed,” explains Welton.

“The DJ also took pictures and uploaded to Flickr there and then. As a nice touch, he then projected the Flickr stream across the walls so guests saw images of themselves. The DJ gave everyone the Flickr URL so all of the guests could view and add to it later.”

Jodie also shared her feelings on how it felt to have missing family members broadcast speeches live during the reception in number 5: Live Stream For Those Who Can’t Make it:

“Some of my family in Italy couldn’t make it to our wedding and we wanted them to get a sense of our big day. Being able to stream live video and pictures meant they could get a more authentic sense of the atmosphere. Amazingly, they even broadcast a live message (they are in their 80s!) after the speeches.”

Read the full article here

Founder Paris Welton talks about what constitutes “smart” PR on Fresh Business Thinking.com, discussing the advantages of embracing flexible and nomadic styles of working and removing the traditional boundaries of how and where you work.

Read the full article.

Not only was the Voyager Pro crowned the ‘Best for Noise Cancellation’, the award-winning headset also received the highest ranking possible: 5 out 5 stars.

Take a look a the article here…

Phil even reckons the MIX could last out one of their Twang parties!

“I stuffed it in my suitcase for my recent trip to The Oscars – it’s light, robust, and it sounds great.”

“Acoustically it packs a big punch with beefy low frequency sound.”

Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/cmC38x

With the Christmas party season well underway, it is easy to fall into hangover hell with all the tasty (and free!) drinks on offer. These tips, from The Juice Doctor, Sir Steve Redgrave and Dale Pinnock, will help keep you partying all the way through the night, and help ease the next day too:

1. Prepare Yourself for a night ahead by drinking lots of water before hand, or even better, an isotonic drink with added vitamins and minerals.

Five times Olympic gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave said: “Isotonic dinks like the Juice Doctor offer improved hydration over drinking water alone. They also taste better. So if you do struggle to drink water on its own don’t rule it out completely. Consider a naturally isotonic drink to help support your body’s hydration needs.”

2. Pace Yourself! It’s all too easy to over indulge – try drinking a fruit juice or glass of water with a twist of lemon or lime in-between each alcoholic drink (carbonated drinks increase the absorption of alcohol whilst water slows absorption). This will also help to minimise the impact of a hangover since alcohol dehydrates the body, and dehydration is the main factor in the morning after headache.

3. Know when to Mix – Try not to mix different kinds of alcohol; for example, if you’re drinking red wine – do not switch over to vodka or rum-based drinks towards the end of the evening. It’s a guaranteed way to feel worse in the morning. Also, know your own body – steer clear of certain types of alcohol that have made you feel ill in the past.  Mix It Up- If you do favour spirits, try cocktails or mixes with grapefruit, orange or cranberry juice to get some added vitamins.

4. Ice Ice Baby – Adding lots of ice to your drink will make it go further and dilute the alcohol.

5. Eat Something – Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach is a recipe for disaster, so make sure you eat something beforehand. After you have been drinking eat something that is easily digestible and healthy, such as yogurt, bread or crackers; this will help you regain some of the essential amino acids that have been lost.

Dale Pinnock, the UK’s first Medicinal Cook reminds us “Nuts can also be a good snack as they are a great source of B vitamins.  These water soluble nutrients are easily lost when drinking alcohol, and their loss can make us feel exhausted and very groggy”.

6. Know Your Limits – There are only a couple of drinks between feeling tipsy and being drunk. Learn to be able to identify that feeling so you’ll know when it’s time to put the brakes on.

7. Drink Slowly – When socializing it’s easy to work your way through several drinks without realizing it. Try to sip your alcohol and not have more than one drink per hour.

The Juice Doctor says: Your brain tissue is 85% water; keeping yourself hydrated keeps your mind sharp and articulate. When you become dehydrated the brain shrinks away from the skull and triggers the pain sensors on the outside surface of the brain, this causes a throbbing headache.

8. Keep Hold of Your Drink – Never leave it unattended. It is easy to confuse the amount you are drinking if you leave a drink here and there, plus there is always the risk of being spiked.

9. Designated Driver – Make sure one person in your group is assigned as the designated driver before anyone hits the bar.

10. Sobering Up – As a general rule of thumb, it takes as many hours to sober up as the number of drinks ingested.

Final word from Dale Pinnock, the UK’s first Medicinal Cook – Buy some Magic Milk Thistle – this common herbal remedy is available from any health store, and could be one of your best friends during the party season. It contains a chemical called sylimarin that has been shown in studies, to minimise chemical damage to cells within the liver.

Of the 620,178 directors in the UK aged 35 or under, less than 3% have been chosen for inclusion in this title.  It includes individuals who direct and manage a wide variety of successful businesses in the UK, and it aims to recognise young members of the business community who have achieved notable success. In today’s competitive market and testing economic conditions, it is no mean feat to be identified amongst such an elite group.

Congratulations Jodie on a job well done! Check out the full details here: http://connectedpr.eu/connected/2009/12/03/co-founder-of-connected-pr-selected-for-young-business-leaders-2010/