As we begin to close the door on 2017, it’s not too early to look at where we’re headed in 2018. One of our favorite events of the year, Lady & the Champs in Las Vegas, will be holding its final conference ever. While we’re of course saddened that this will be L&TC’s swansong, we’re also confident that it will be the best one yet.

2018’s Lady and the Champs will be held—as always—in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 9^th – March 10^th. Join renowned speakers Patricia Fripp, Darren LaCroix, Ed Tate, Ford Saeks, Mark Brown, and Kevin Burke as they impart their unique knowledge and expertise in the speaking realm. By attending Lady & the Champs you will discover methods to refine your speaking technique, and turn presentations into profit.

Whether you’re a speaker, author, coach or consultant, the final Lady & the Champs is the best way to start the New Year.

To save your seat, head over to the Lady & the Champs website and register. Virtual attendance is also available for those who cannot make the trip to Vegas!

Back to the regular order on the blog! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Stay away from the scale for a bit—it’s always worse when you think after a massive feast and four days of leftovers.

But you know what can cure your overeating ailments and tryptophan blues? Online shopping from your smartphone—and this year, Cyber Monday hit a massive new high with over $1 billion spent via mobile. That’s right, over one billion dollars were spent yesterday by users in bed, on subways, in Ubers, or in bathrooms.

What a crazy world we live in.

Cyber Monday has set records in recent years, and continues to post them as apps and smartphone-centric website interfaces have become ubiquitous. As of 10:00pm yesterday, overall sales had topped $6.6 billion.

But cracking the $1 billion mark via smartphone sales is the more impressive story. It highlights the importance of online marketing, social media utilization, and ensuring that your website is optimized for smartphone accessibility. So many purchases are made on-the-go these days, and your smartphone and tablet component has become just as important as your traditional website.

Cyber Monday demonstrated increased buying confidence this holiday season, and a consumer inclination for smartphone purchases. Make sure you’re taking advantage of all the applications and social media platforms that can help promote your business and boost your profits.

How fast has this year flown by? I feel like it’s said every year, but 2017 seems to be in warp-speed.

Regardless of how incomprehensibly quick the year is moving: PR/PR wants to extend our thanks and well-wishes to each and every one of you. We’re thankful for all of the new relationships we’ve formed this year, and each and every one of the friends and familiar faces we’ve seen at events or worked with.

As we approach Thanksgiving on Thursday, we hope you enjoy all of the happiness, friendship, and fellowship of this season.

We will be out of the office on Thursday and Friday, but back to work eager–and heavier–on Monday.

Happy Thanksgiving, from PR/PR Public Relations.

Got a hot take you just need to let the online community know about? Well now you can double it.

A double-take, if you will.

Last week, Twitter unveiled its new format for posting, increasing its 140-character limit to 280. So whether you’re aiming to vent into the internet ether or utilizing the platform for business marketing, you’ve now got twice the length to do it. Twitter’s decision to allow an expanded character count has drawn some strong opinions, both for and against.

The obvious argument for a 280-character count is the ability to expound on points without sacrificing content for brevity. For many business owners, this allows for succinct, single posts, as opposed to threading tweets (which may or may not be read.)

But the argument against—which I am in line with—is that the additional text strips Twitter of what made it so unique. You were forced to be creative to get your point across—be it marketing-specific, a humorous opinion, or quick-time reaction to a current event. With a doubled character limit, tweets are reading more like status updates as opposed to well-crafted posts.

Most social media users have a “feel” for what works best on Twitter, and what works best on Facebook. With an increase to 280 characters, Twitter has blurred the line that made its platform singular in the online space.

So for better or for worse, you now have double the space to make your voice heard online. It will be interesting to see user numbers a year-on from this major update from Twitter.

Atlanta–we’re coming back! Yes, Russell enjoyed you so much at last month’s IMC USA Conference that he will be returning next week for the 2017 iteration of Build Your Speaking Biz Bootcamp.

If you’re a speaker looking to gain traction, name-recognition, and increase bookings and fees: this is the event for you. The event is being held at The Westin in downtown Atlanta, and will take place Thursday, November 16 – Saturday, November 18th, with registration beginning on Wednesday the 15th.

If you’ve yet to register there is still time! Please follow this link to secure your attendance at one of the speaking industry’s marquee events.