In the era of the Social Web, transparency, engagement, and a commitment to authentically connect people to your story are essential principles for practicing successful and meaningful Public Relations. Concurrently, the socialization of media is creating new communities and communications channels that are empowering journalists, bloggers, analysts, as well as everyday people, to actively and passionately contribute, share, and discover the stories around us. It’s changing the information ecosystem. Media and communications professionals must stay connected and work together now…
Facebook’s Attempt to Acquire Twitter = Fail Whale
Mark Zuckerberg at Web 2.0 Expo Evan Williams at TechCrunch50 Kara Swisher has written a tremendous post on Facebook’s quiet attempt at acquiring Twitter. It inspired me to share my thoughts on the subject. During the Web 2.0 Summit, John Batelle interviewed Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg, and if you listened closely enough, it was clear that Batelle was prodding Zuckerberg to validate the rumors that Facebook was exploring the possibility of acquiring Twitter. With a teasing smile, Zuckerberg described Twitter…
Barack Obama, The Social Web, and the Future of User-Generated Government
What follows is the unedited version of my latest post for TechCrunch, “Is Obama Ready To Be a Two-Way President. Barack Obama’s flickr stream Where there’s victory, there’s also opportunity… America voted while the entire world watched and listened. Whether you supported Obama or McCain, we equally shared the hope for positive change and a new beginning towards a brighter future. This Presidential election was the first in 50 years, in which there was no incumbent President or Vice President…
Now is Gone Celebrates First Anniversary
On November 13th, 2008, Geoff Livingston and I quietly celebrated the bookversary of Now is Gone, one of the first books that tackled the subject of social media and new PR strategies for corporate marketers and communicators. As Geoff pointed over out at LivingstonBuzz, the book has earned tremendous milestones: – Thousands of people have read the book – We’ve received hundreds of thank yous from folks who said it changed their business life – Now Is Gone received more…
Reinventing Crisis Communications for the Social Web
Source Businesses, individuals, and organizations will, from time to time, make honest mistakes or in some unfortunate cases, intentionally support unethical decisions to dissuade or conceal something significant from its public. Whether it’s an oversight or a matter of deception, savvy companies usually employ and deploy a crises response team to prepare for, manage and attempt to positively spin the potential backlash from customers, partners, and employees related to almost anything. Crisis communications is a branch of PR that is…
Where the Streets Have Names: Learning from Bono’s Facebook Dilemma
Source What happens in the real world can usually end up on the Web for all to discover, share, and assess with or without your knowledge. According to The Mail, even Sir Bono, lead singer of U2, couldn’t escape the global distribution and network effect of Facebook. The rock star, humanitarian, and family man inadvertently shared a portion of his St. Tropez holiday, courtesy of a 19-year old and her Facebook profile. Jane Smith (name changed for purposes of this…
Nike, Just Do It: When a Local Story Runs Away on the Web and Leads to Change
Nike, this may be one of those times when you follow your own slogan. Every year, I attend the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco to support my wife and my mother who run this incredible event with conviction, passion, and diligence. It’s a privilege, they believe, to participate in a special and dedicated event such as this that celebrates each other as well as the athletic achievement and capabilities of women, past and present. It’s quite the spectacle and…
Twitter Tools for Marketing and Community Professionals
Twitter is nothing short of a phenomenon. At the very least, it connects people to each other through a rich and active exchange of ideas, thoughts, observations, and vision in one, highly conducive ecosystem (known as the Twitterverse). The social fibers that weave together this unique micromedia network is strengthened by the expertise, respect, trust, admiration, and commonalities. These fabrics bind the people who breathe life and personality into the global community as well as fueling the disparate micro communities…
Redefining the Echo Chamber to Excel in an Economic Crisis
My latest post is now up on TechCrunch. What follows is the unedited director’s cut. The point of this article is to redefine how startups (not solely tech companies) view and define early adopters and the “echo chamber” in order to gain momentum in order to “cross the chasm” to the next tier of evolution, adoption, and monetization. This is about uncovering the very people who can benefit from what they’re introducing and in turn, evolve the product/service based on…
In A Down Economy, Tomorrow’s Leaders are Born Today
Thomas Kinkade According to news makers, analysts, and experts and their constituents, the sky is falling. You can’t run away or hide from this very grim reality. While we are in throes of a major financial crisis, it is during the most difficult of times when character is truly tested and defined. Panic only leads to the further declination and eradication of progress. Yes the market is slipping. Yes, the financial market is resetting. But the U.S economy, actually, the…
