Jonathan Crow of ThinkFree recently conducted what he calls The Great Social ExperimentĀ 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, weāre starting to hit a ceiling of discussion versus…
The Blog Council, Intentions vs. Execution
Behind these closed doors, a virtual council of big business marketers will meet to discuss how to best engage with people through blogs and all forms of social media. The Blog Council exists as a forum for executives to meet one another in a private, vendor-free environment and share tactics, offer advice based on past experience, and develop standards-based best practices as a model for other corporate blogs. Founding members include the leading companies from a diverse range of business…
The Pitch is Dead – R.I.P.
Scroll below to read with a white background. We are gathered here to not mourn the death of “the pitch,” but to celebrate its life and how its misuse and oft irrelevance helped us improve the entire communications industry. R.I.P. Journalists and bloggers have had it and they’re fighting back. Quite honestly, it’s been a long time coming and we’re bound to see more blacklists and PR people called out for their mistakes. Hey, it happens to the best, and…
The New Rules of Breaking News, Beware of Embargoes
Part Four of a series discussing blogger relations, “Building a Bridge Between Your Story, Bloggers, and People.” Scroll to the bottom to read this article with a white background. The New Rules of Breaking News was written to open your mind and unlock creativity when introducing new products and services. It subscribes to the notion that there isn’t one “audience” to any given story or campaign. There are opportunities outside of the usual routine of drafting press releases and blasting…
Bloggers Versus PR – The Aftermath and What We Learned
Aaron Brazell of Technosailor hosted an incredible and informative roundtable to discuss the state of PR, reporters, and bloggers. The conversation was focused on five questions and included the answers of Doug Haslam, Marshall Kirkpatrick, Cathryn Hrudicka, Marc Orchant, and yours truly. Following is the complete Q&A; with my answers to help make it easier to read. The complete balance of everyone’s answers are available at Technosailor. (Also scroll down to the bottom to download this as a Word doc…
Blogworld Expo: Building Relationships with Bloggers
Building relationships with bloggers has been the hot topic of the last year, with an emphasis on the last couple of weeks – courtesy of Mr. Chris Anderson (btw, thank you Chris for sparking some of the most important and invigorating discussions to take place in PR in quite some time). I was invited to join Marc Harty of PR Traffic to speak about how and why to build relationships with bloggers at Blogworld Expo in Las Vegas. The room…
PR Roundtable Discussion: Advice on Media and Blogger Relations
Aaron Brazell, Director of Technology at b5media has lined up a handful of well-respected voices on both sides of the PR game to host a āroundtableā discussion on Social Media. It’s a five part series with the third post running today at Technosailor. The roundtable includes Doug Haslam, Marshall Kirkpatrick, Cathryn Hrudicka, Marc Orchant, and yours truly. Click here to read more about the participants. Question 5: What advice would you give to your own industry in engaging the other…
PR Roundtable Discussion: Outing Bad PR
Aaron Brazell, Director of Technology at b5media has lined up a handful of well-respected voices on both sides of the PR game to host a āroundtableā discussion on Social Media. It’s a five part series with the third post running today at Technosailor. The roundtable includes Doug Haslam, Marshall Kirkpatrick, Cathryn Hrudicka, Marc Orchant, and yours truly. Click here to read more about the participants. Question 4: Is āoutingā a wayward PR agency or individual an effective way of dealing…
PR Roundtable Discussion: How Bloggers Can Work with PR People 101
Aaron Brazell, Director of Technology at b5media has lined up a handful of well-respected voices on both sides of the PR game to host a āroundtableā discussion on Social Media. It’s a five part series with the third post running today at Technosailor. The roundtable includes Doug Haslam, Marshall Kirkpatrick, Cathryn Hrudicka, Marc Orchant, and yours truly. Click here to read more about the participants.
