#encoder pr

This guest post is written by our star intern Isobel Loschiavo, who has been interning with us for the last five weeks. 

When I was asked to write a post for the Encoder blog a million ideas were rushing through my mind. I could talk about Twitter, the Fairfax crisis or I could talk about Twitter AND television (a combination of my two favourite past times). But then I got thinking I am a 21 year old Melbourne student sitting in Sydney writing a blog post for a major PR consultancy.

A month ago I didn’t have any intentions on completing an internship during my university break let alone in another state. Fast forward 30 days and here I am, staring out the window at a view of the Sydney CBD.

Studying PR is something so many people dream of but like anything there is the reality of hard work. Last year when I began my course my lecturers emphasised the notion of applying for as many internship positions as possible.

At first I dismissed the idea; I thought “I am only first year why should I bother?” But now as I approach the half way mark of my degree I have realised everything my teachers said was true. Experience is essential for developing those skills you have only read about in your textbooks. For all those out there who thought like I did, this is why internships are essential.

1. Interning in different fields of PR can help you decide which area of PR you would like to pursue. An internship in Corporate PR might make you realise you’re bored out of your brains, but you might love Brands PR. Likewise, you might find PR isn’t for you at all.

2. Internships give you the opportunity to fine tune your PR skills. You might have read about how important it is to keep up with the news, but have you ever had to trawl Lexis Nexis and condense every bit of your client’s coverage into a table, clippings and all? Keeping up with the news is more than just reading 140 characters on Twitter.

3. Ultimately, networking is the key. It’s who you know. Not just in the PR world but with journalists, a range of suppliers, clients and the list goes on. You never know who you might need to call on in the future. Oh and it might just boost your LinkedIn connection number too!

4. One of the most important things about an internship is the real world experience you gain. As you apply for jobs in the industry the truth is that your new employer wants to see what real world PR experience you have. If you can show that you have paid your dues a potential boss is likely to be quite impressed.

So this is the blog where I wrap it all up and tell you guys all about my experiences and challenges with the Xperia Play. 

First, a quick review of the phone - remembering that the model I have is pre-release and there are still some glitches that are/have been ironed out!!! The phone itself is very comfortable to hold and use. Although the phone is of a plastic form factor, it still feels very robust and built solidly. The huge touch screen and androids easy AND modifiable user interface, means you have the freedom of creating your own canvas of mobile applications, shortcuts and widgets. The screen recognises all touch input easily, which makes easy texting and web surfing. The 1ghz processor is great when playing games, meaning for fast load times and smoother operation; although at some times the phone seems to lag (when multiple applications are loaded) it is able to pick itself up again very quickly and redistribute needed processing power to more important/in-use applications. The battery has a great life, allowing you to be able to play games, listen to music and use it as a phone, without comprimising too much battery power for each given application - a light to medium user of all it's applications will have enough power for a day's work; although heavy use users are advised to bring a charger, as you will drain the battery!!! Unlike some android phones, the four hot keys to the bottom of the phone screen DO NOT light up, unfortunately, which can make it difficult to operate some short cuts on the phone in low or no light. Another downfall of the phone is that it has a 'auto light sensor' - this means while gaming or use of any other phone function, the phone will automatically dim or brighten itself....this might sound ok, but unfortunately if you are directly under a light, any sudden phone movement means that the phone will brighten or dim itself. Short of all of that, the phone is a great all rounder. Really bringing a new competitor to the mobile gaming market!

NOW to the challenges!!! 

Challenge #1 - Find some real life game characters! In this challenge we were asked to find, compare and upload some 'real life' game characters. Here are the links where you'll find my comparisons: 

 http://bit.ly/ljegBQ  http://bit.ly/lF77An  http://bit.ly/jBguue http://bit.ly/lJRuqM

Challenge #2 - Capture 3 or MORE images of your daily life on the Xperia Play. Over the period of the challenge I have tweeted and uploaded to facebook many photos taken on both my Xperia Play and HTC Desire. I have uploaded both phones photos as to allow for comparison. Here is a blog entry on the camera quality of the Xperia Play - plus a link to all the photos on Flickr that I have taken with both phones: http://bit.ly/lk322Q

Challenge #3 - Demonstrate how your favourite app makes your life easier.... Read my blog and watch my video about my favourite apps right here.... p.s. I LOVE Google Nav :P http://bit.ly/mzX46A

Challenge #4 - Capture real life reactions to the Xperia Play - This challenge made me think: How would I capture real life reactions to the Xperia Play, without people 'acting' in-front of the camera. Although I have had some amazing reactions to the phone, they would not have been genuine if I asked people to film them or 're-enact' their reactions... it might have been just as bad as an episode of A Current Affair. So with my Xperia Play and heaps of credit, I set out to make sure EVERYBODY knew I had the phone...... Have a view and listen here --> Xperia Play Reactions Calls - Sony Ericsson PLAYers Road Test Vlog

Challenge #5 - Let's Golf Challenge - Try to unlock outfits and players in Let's Golf 2 by Gameloft and share our character with our social networks... Meet Vincent, he's my Let's Golf 2 Alter Ego (plus he's part pirate "YARRGGGHHHH" ):  http://bit.ly/kN8XoP

Challenge #6 - Recreate a scene using a favourite PS1 or Xperia Play game as inspiration.... I love Mortal Kombat - so here's my Stop Motion salute to PS1 Graphics of Lego Mortal Kombat - Mortal Kombat Stop Motion - PS1 Scene - Xperia Play

Challenge #7 - Come up with a saying for "Mr Xperia" the communicating, iPhone hating super-hero of Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play ... read my blog all about it here: http://bit.ly/l3lRL1

Challenge #8 - In this challenge we were asked to give an acceptance speech to a fictitious Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Award ... like all great acceptance speeches at all the great awards ceremonies, mine purposely has gone over time.... check it out here: Xperia Play Awards - Acceptance Speech - Sony Ericsson

Challenge #9 - Challenge #9 asked Xperia Players to place Android Man into entertaining situations! Have a look at these photos, he's been everywhere - from the statue of liberty to street view -

http://bit.ly/mIUAjL http://bit.ly/ihqJYZ http://bit.ly/jaEuJA  http://bit.ly/jaEuJA http://bit.ly/j1QFsp

Final Challenge - Challenge #10 - The moment I opened the email that set this challenge, my eyes widened and I ran around my work office screaming like a giddy school girl...which funnily enough is EXACTLY what this Challenge was all about. For those following me, you might clearly have noticed that since "Friday" came out by Rebecca Black, I have always been posting, tweeting and facebooking anything and everything I can find in relation to that horrid horrid song Friday on a Friday!! - I do this just to annoy the ones I love :P I have posted originals and covers of the song and this challenge gave me the chance to finally make a cover of my own!! Write or Preform your own "Rebecca Black" style song i.e. cheesy, poorly performed, nonsensical .... really I couldn't let this one go... I couldn't just copy her style, I truly needed to copy it.... so here it is "Xperia Play" - a Tribute to "Friday" by Rebecca Black - Challenge #10 lyrics: http://bit.ly/lx0hal

Now the competition has come to an end. I want to take this last opportunity to thank everyone who has blogged, tweeted and shared with me! I want to truelly thank all of you who have watched, read, shared and retweeted my challenge entry's, vlogs, blogs and photo's. I want to thank Sony Ericsson Australia, Optus, Encoder PR, Gameloft and everyone and anyone else behind the scenes of this promotion for giving me the opportunity to road test and play with this pre-release phone! For anyone off to the Xperia Launch party on Wednesday, I'll see you there in Sydney - we can share a beer!!! 

And that is my final blog entry for the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Players Competition! I will let you all know how I fared up against the other Players and if I get to keep the phone - Fingers Crossed!!!

Please keep laughing and sharing!!! Thanks once again!