Each year, there’s a great debate that rages about setting (and actually keeping) resolutions. So as entrepreneurs and stewards of business (for ourselves and our clients) it’s important to set goals and try our best to keep them. I turned to some fellow SoCal tweeps to find out what’s important to them for 2010 both professionally and personally, as well as their predictions for our industries in the coming year.

Here’s to a productive and fantastic 2010! Enjoy!

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Denise Scatena
Lemonade Public Relations
@lemonadepr

As a new parent of twin girls, I am committed to find the right balance of work and family time. Being able to properly prioritize assignments and use time efficiently will be the key to my success in 2010, so I may continue to build the foundation, revenue and reputation of my businesses. I also want to further my social media engagement by attending more tweet-ups and GNOs so I can meet my amazing tweeps IRL.

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Lauren Walsh
Citrus Public Relations
@citruspr

Clients will finally stop asking why Twitter is so important and see the value in sharing the personality of their brand through new communication channels.  In 2010, I also believe PR firms will lead the way, ahead of SEO companies and other niche businesses, with intelligent strategy, planning and execution that reaches both traditional and new media.

As I see clients continuing to cancel their personal subscriptions to magazines like Newsweek, it’s obvious that the outlets with delayed timing in the immediate news cycle will find their new landing place.  And, we as PR practitioners will continue learn to reprioritize our tactics and achieve the best results for our clients.

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Michelle Brubaker and Nina Jimenez
Petopia.tv Pet Friendly News Unleashed
@petopiatv

As co-owners of Petopia.tv Pet Friendly News Unleashed, we want to grow our site from a labor of love to a lucrative business in 2010, securing corporate sponsorships, advertising and media partnerships. 2009 was a year of laying down a solid foundation for Petopia.tv, and we will now re-evaluate our site/business to make sure we are providing the best quality of service to our audience in 2010 and years to come. We want to establish ourselves as a competitor in the pet industry, as we take our site to new levels with a consistent revenue stream. We have battled a bleak economy and other hardships in 2009, so here’s to a successful 2010 for all entrepreneurs!

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Natalie Wardel
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
@sdmts

My Resolutions for 2010:

Get good grades. This year I’m back in school. I start the MBA program at the University of San Diego in January. I’ll be going part time and working. I am preparing for it to be stressful, but I am also motivated to excel.

Start my own business. As in, buy the license, get everything built – web site, business cards etc. I am doing more and more consulting on the side and I want a place to keep it  together. While now this would be to keep track of side projects, eventually, I hope to be on my own full time.

Date night once a week. With school – husband and I are both in graduate programs – work and the volunteer service I do for two local organizations, life is busy.  I could never succeed without my husband by my side. He even makes me breakfast every morning because I am always running out the door. So I’m resolving for a weekly date – in quantity time there is quality time.

Serve. I volunteer with the San Diego Sexual Assault Response Team and the teenagers in my church. It is an adventure and at times time-consuming but I love being a part of it. In 2010 I hope to continue doing what I already do, as well as look for little ways to serve, like packing an extra lunch and giving it to someone on the street. Or spending a Saturday painting a house. Little things that make a big difference to people. 

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Rachel Kay
RKPR
@rachelakay

In 2009 we saw a common question with a convoluted answer – who owns social media?  PR agencies struggled to get up-to-speed to prove, as communicators, they should spearhead social media program management.  A number of “social media experts/gurus/consultants” insisted that PR agencies were behind the eight ball (not necessarily untrue) and that companies needed to trust an expert (whatever that is).  I predict in 2010 more brands and companies will seek out PR agencies who understand the nuances of social media and will hire those who can execute on a large scale, comprehensive communication campaign rather than dilute efforts among multiple, non cohesive entities. In turn, PR agencies will catch up, or fold.

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Steve Suhrheinrich
SDNN.com
@stevesuhr

Predictions for PR/Media/Life:

•  Wounded consumers will come back smarter than before. They will cautiously increase spending, but purchase value over sparkle.
• Genuine social media marketers will win, while the unauthentic will suffer at the hands of the smart and outspoken consumer. 
• Traditional print media will lose more readers and advertisers to progressive and flexible online publishers.  More newspapers will shut down. 
• Publishers will sell more online advertorial/sponsored content, bringing non-traditional interactive advertisers online.  PR companies will place ads for their clients this way.
• A few start-up publishers will emerge as leaders in the future of local online journalism.  They will be entrepreneurial, produce great content, interact with readers and offer really unique advertising solutions while maintaining small budgets and small staffs. 

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Dorrine Mendoza
North County Times
@assignmentdesk1

Normally, more caffeine than is currently coursing through my bloodstream is required for me to give serious consideration to resolutions or predictions (or anything really). First because I lack the discipline to convert decisions into habits. And second because I really like surprises.

With that confession it’s probably a given that  most “resolutions” have as much force and power to change my life as the shameless, judgmental stares that my neighbor’s cat have to stop me from chasing him out of my yard. That is to say, not so much.

But that won’t stop me from trying. If failure is the foundation for success, enthusiasm is my mortar.

So with some confidence I can make the following resolution: I will stand up to fear. Or at least stand up more often. Fear being the corroding thread that it is, its become clear if I fear starting my own business, I will probably also fear adopting a shitzu and being a terrible cook. What I mean is that a single corroding thread affects the entire fabric of my existence. The only way out is through.

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Jennifer Wilbur
Rockstar Communications
@rockstarjen

Resolutions

• I have been slacking the second half of this year on contributing to blogs (guest posting, commenting, etc.). I plan to carve out 30 minutes each day in 2010 to focus on being part of the conversation.
• I am going to spend more time on my sandiegodogbeach.com blog and learn to be a better photographer.
• I will travel much more (for leisure) in 2010 than I did in 2009.
• Nothing unique, but I must get back to the jean size I was wearing 3 years ago. Either that, or buy a bigger chair.

Predictions

• Due to economic struggles and the proliferation of excellent collaboration tools, we’ll see a continued marked increase in working remotely (both from consultants and employees).
• As more and more professional journalists turn to self-employments, citizen journalists and bloggers will adopt a code of ethics.
• Twitter will no longer be called a “fad.”
• The Chargers will be in the Super Bowl.

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Kevin Sablan
Orange County Register
@ksablan

Resolution: Discuss challenges only with the goal of creating solutions.

Predictions: PR and news organizations will see more competition from “content farms.” Consumers and businesses will increasingly connect to each other directly via social media, forcing PR and media organizations to define how they fit into that ecosystem.

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Angie Robert
ConsultMyAgent.com
@consultmyagent

In 2010 as businesses start to emerge from the nuclear winter of the previous year, they will begin to loosen the reigns on marketing budgets and start spending again in order to grow their marketshare. This year spending will be more heavily scrutinized and traditional methods of paid-for marketing, such as big-ticket sponsorships and huge ad buys, will be foregone for more affordable and effective methods, like public relations and social media. 

Businesses will begin to extensively shop for their marketing and communications services.  They will be seeking organizations that can handle all of their MarComm needs for less than what it would cost to hire an additional staffer.  They will forego working with big-name agencies that nickel and dime their clients and will be seeking strategic partnerships with smaller, freelance-type or boutique organizations with limited overhead. Gone are the days of unlimited marketing budgets and frivolous spending. Now is the time for value in services and long-term relationships.

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Stephanie Thompson
Stephanie Thompson Public Relations
@stefaniya

Even more than in the past year, 2010 will be the year of personal branding, thanks to blogging and social media. Every person on earth with internet or mobile phone access has become his or her own brand, with an image to develop and curate through the various platforms available. A strong personal brand has a knock-on effect on the success of your personal and business relationships, and this phenomenon will become ubiquitous in 2010, with those most skillful at branding themselves in the lead. Centuries of developing both mass communication skills and personal technology have led us to this moment, a perfect storm of storytelling, marketing, and a certain amount of hubris.

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Christopher Carmichael
sdradio.net
@sdradio

My New Year’s Resolution will be 1920×1200. I find that best for Hi-def TV.

Predictions for next year include: Four major radio shake-ups including the dismantling of a large radio group with ties to the San Diego market. Losers besides the listeners will be the hard workers at these stations as the implosion opens a black hole vortex and it’ll bring down television advertisement too.

ON a bright note, everyone gets a rescue puppy or a rescue kitten from the local humane society.

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