But what is Memorial Day really about? Turns out, this famous (or maybe infamous for others) national holiday was actually set in 1868 for May the 5th, to honor those who died during World War I.
It wasn't until the National Holiday Act of 1971 that Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday of May and changed to commemorate all Americans who died in any war, and not just those killed in the World War I line of fire.
Fast forward to today... where Memorial Day has now become more of a pre-summer bash comprised of skimpy bikinis & coolers full of ice-cold beer for hundreds of thousands of Americans.
The question now is: Have we lost the true meaning of honoring those who served our country, or have we just evolved as free-spirits in our ability to celebrate national holidays?
At the PR Whores Online Reputation Managment Firm we most certainly want all of you to enjoy your 3-day weekend...but we also urge you to make wise decisions in order to protect your image as well as your reputation on and offline. Here are
3 Things You Can Do to Make Positive Memorial Day Memories in 2013:
1. Set an auto-reply for your work email account if you are going on vacation. This will inform your colleagues and prospective clients/customers that you are out of town temporarily, and that you aren't just ignoring their messages. You may want to update the voice message greeting on your mobile device as well, if you generally receive a lot of work calls outside of typical business hours.
2) Be mindful of the status updates & pictures you post on your social media accounts. Thanks to the evolution of the internet...just about anyone can look you up on the web at any time and discover those not-so-professional photos of you in a scantily clad outfit, drinking alcoholic beverages/smoking a cigarette, or simply engaging in debaucherous activities in a public setting (aka, having fun). These posts, although they may be very engaging to viewers, may not be the most flattering for your career image, should someone work-related come across them...so be careful what you upload!
3) Resume your work week at full-speed, sans the hangover or "laid back beach bum" demeanor. When your cohorts and other business contacts see that you are conducting business as usual immediately after your holiday weekend festivities, they will continue to hold you in high regard and respect you in the workplace (and rightfully so)!
So there you have it. 3 simple ways you can indirectly preserve (or even improve) your merit both in person, and on the internet.
These easy-to-follow tips from our PR Whores team may just keep you out of hot water (unless it's the beach)...so you can avoid the need for Online Reputation Management or any Public Relations services to execute damage control after what some would view as a "wild weekend" in paradise.
Here's to an unforgettable Memorial Day weekend bash...without an individual or professional reputation crash!
--The PR Whores Team
For more info about PR Whores ORM services visit: PRWhores.com .
References: http://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html
