About WheretoBegin.ca
When a friend suggested that I use my last name in the title of my new blog, I wasn’t convinced that I should. The only other time that I had used my name that way was to set a birth date for my stray dog Autumn by adding “ ’s birthday” to the calendar on the date that fall starts.
After thinking about it for a while “where to begin” popped in my head because I kept hearing how intimidated people are with social media. While this blog is for public relations practitioners who want to use more social media in their activities, anyone with an interest in social media should get something from it because it’s about everyday stuff.
Using “Begin” was also fitting because my whole life whenever someone saw my family name spelled out, they’ve never pronounced it like the English word “begin” (the preferable pronunciation should you not be French). In fact, when I pronounce it in English, I’m almost always asked to spell it out. Great analogy for social media: it’s human nature to make things more complicated than they are.
While there’s technology involved and generally some etiquette and norms, it’s really just about conversations and if you’re not afraid to talk to people, you shouldn’t be afraid to get involved in social media.
A nice twist none-the-less to my name because every single day there’s something new to learn in social and my colleagues and I often feel like the Carpenters’ song suggests “We’ve only just begun.”
Diane Bégin currently works in corporate communications for a PR agency in Toronto. She has been an active member of the Canadian Public Relations Society since 1999.
