Solidarity Time is always limited, but in these historic times, I wished to add perspective in the hopes of moving this important conversation in a productive direction. Malcolm Gladwell continues his march toward dissension with his latest installment in the New Yorker about social media vs. social activism. Honestly, Gladwell is more than welcome to share his thoughts as it is a democratized information economy after all. I do find it alarming however, that he is wielding his influence through…
Foursquare Means Business: Have you checked-in yet?
Are you playing Foursquare? Are you “going out” with Gowalla? Are you looped in with Loopt? Location-based services are once again changing the face of social networking. Where relationships were once at the center of user experience, in the Golden Triangle of mobile, social, and real-time interaction, “places” take center stage and corresponding activities and rewards become the cast and crew of the production. What started as a way to literally see and be seen, has now transformed into a…
ebook: The Art and Science of Social Media and Community Relations
After running the popular series that evaluated and discussed ThinkFree’s experiment in Social Media, I decided to compile all of the posts into one free and downloadable ebook for your reference. Download as a Word doc Download as a PDF The Series on PR 2.0: The Art and Science of Social Media and Community Relations Experiments and Lessons Learned in Social Media Part I Experiments and Lessons Learned in Social Media Part II Experiments and Lessons Learned in Social Media…
Experiments and Lessons Learned in Social Media – Part III
Source Jonathan Crow of ThinkFree recently conducted what he calls “The Great Social Experiment,” where he tested the art of online social networking to evaluate whether or not joining conversations across popular online communities would benefit his company. Crow created a roundtable featuring Chris Brogan, Aaron Brazell, Cathryn Hrudicka, Doug Haslam, and me to offer feedback, constructive criticism, and advice to help ThinkFree and other companies learn from his experiment. Before you read below, make sure to first read, “The…
Experiments and Lessons Learned in Social Media – Part II
Source Jonathan Crow of ThinkFree recently conducted what he calls “The Great Social Experiment,” where he tested the art of online social networking to evaluate whether or not joining the conversation across popular online communities would benefit his company. Crow created a roundtable featuring Chris Brogan, Aaron Brazell, Cathryn Hrudicka, Doug Haslam, and me to offer feedback, constructive criticism, and advice to help ThinkFree and other companies learn from his experiment. Before you read below, make sure to first read,…
Don’t Throw Out that Social Media Rulebook Quite Yet
…use some of it as a reference guide instead. I have to hand it to Chip Griffin. His recent post, “Throwing Out the Social Media Rulebook” is thought provoking to say the least. In his post, Griffin assertively proclaims, “I’m here to tell you that most of the rules are bunk, and we as an industry to ourselves a disservice by frightening off potential participants with absurd proclamations of the way things must be.” I like it. I agree with…
Experiments in Social Media – Part I
Jonathan Crow of ThinkFree recently conducted what he calls The Great Social Experiment where he tested and practiced the art of online social networking as a strategy for helping his company join the conversation across popular online communities and in turn, evaluate the business implications for doing so. Crow assembled a roundtable of those active in the Social Media landscape to offer feedback, commentary, constructive criticism, and advice for the good of all marketing. Those joining the conversation are Chris…
The Art and Science of Social Media and Community Relations
This post is in memory of Marc Orchant, an amazing friend, father, and geek, whom I will miss dearly. Marc was supposed to participate in this discussion. His unexpected passing has us all devastated. Our prayers and support are with his family. Social networking, and social media specifically, have been painted as the new marketing landscape for businesses to engage with their communities of customers wherever they congregate. In my view, we’re starting to hit a ceiling of discussion versus…
PRWeek Interviews PR Pros on the Ascendancy of Facebook
PRWeek recently interviewed me, along with a few other PR pros including, Gerald Kimber White, John H. Bell, David Almacy, B. Bonin Bough, and David Haase to discuss Facebook’s impact on the PR industry. It would have also been interesting to include Facebook’s inhouse PR spokesperson, Brandee Barker – I wonder if she’s had a chance to read this yet. PRWeek is the primary (traditional) source for news and information in the PR industry. Author, Alexandra Bruell, explored why PR…
Facebook is the Online Hub for Connected Professionals
As part of the new media regime, strategically participating in Social Media is not only critical to the evolution of PR, it is necessary in order to effectively communicate with the people that can help you extend the conversations that matter to your business. Where do you start? How do you jump in? It all starts with listening and watching, and eventually, participation becomes clear. I too will do my part to help you identify the networks and strategies necessary…
