I’ve been involved with Social Media since the beginning and the more I work, write, and speak, the more I learn. Over the years I’ve observed a series of questions and reactions that I’ve documented along the way and have actively included them in my posts, ebooks, contributions, as well as at my speaking appearances. Over the last year, I’ve assembled the most commonly asked questions and the answers into a free, downloadable ebook as a way of contributing to…
PR Tips for Startups – The Director’s Cut
Note: This post was originally published on TechCrunch as “PR Secrets for Startups.” Many thanks to Michael Arrington and Erick Schonfeld for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences with the startup community. Due to space constraints, the original draft, which was entitled “PR Tips for Startups,” did not run in its entirety. Some of the edits actually wound up changing the context of the post and its intentions. I’ve included the full draft for you here, as I…
Ariel Waldman vs. Twitter, When TOS Doesn’t Apply to You
Credit: Ariel Waldman This is part of my ongoing series on Crisis Communications 2.0, which helps companies and marketing professionals learn from each other to more effectively communicate with customers, stakeholders, media, and peers. I purposely waited to write this post until this discussion cleared techmeme so that I could reach a fresh set of people who could see things clearly, while also calling attention to something we overlook everyday. When’s the last time you actually read the terms of…
The Escalator Pitch, Going Up?
The escalator is the new elevator when it comes to pitching and the emerging practice of micro public relations. While some bloggers and reporters are actively blacklisting PR people, whether it’s fair or not, it’s not truly fixing or changing anything at a grand scale – at least not yet. I’m part of a growing number of PR folks who are committed to sharing stories, experiences, tools, practices, and ideas on how to specifically fix the relationships between PR and…
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Conversation Has Left The Building
Earlier this year, I wrote “The Value of Online Conversations,” to share and talk through my thoughts related to improving the quality of online discussions in the face of potential degradation and decentralization of important online discussions. We live in the era of Social Media, which represents the socialization of content and conversations as well as the creation of communities around thoughts and ideas. People are the hubs of information and we’re witnessing the creation of mini-societies that expand, contract,…
PR 2.0 = The Evolution of PR, Nothing Less, Nothing More
Source There are many of us running back and forth from the edge to the center who would love to drop “2.0” from new evolution of PR. Hey, it’s even the name of this blog, and has been for years, but there’s a reason I haven’t changed the name yet. The subject itself is a catalyst for healthy, informative, and motivating conversations. I was reminded of this as good friend Kami Huyse shouted on Twitter recently, “I hate PR 2.0…
Discovering and Listening to Conversations in Twitter
We all know Twitter is an essential example of the conversations that help define Social Media. What if we could find the conversations that were important to us, even if we don’t follow the people engaged in those conversations? I think it would transform one of the hottest conversation-based communities on the Web into a goldmine of information and and catalyst for forging new relationships. In August 2007, I wrote about a public discussion including Chris Messina, Stowe Boyd, and…
Brandweek: Brian Solis on Facebook Becoming a Hub for Personal Brands
Brandweek has run my latest post discussing the role of social networks in framing and portraying your online persona. Excerpt: Social networks are becoming the very mechanisms for connecting with people, ideas, brands, news and information. But thinking of social networks as a personal playground will only come back to haunt you and any company you work with in the future. Facebook is the most legitimate and productive social network for business professionals on the Web today. This isn’t a…
The Wall Street Journal Recommends Now is Gone
Co-Author, and very good friend, Geoff Livingston, emailed with great news. Now is Gone is listed in The Wall Street Journal as a resource for businesses looking to understand and embrace Social Media as an extension to their corporate marketing initiatives. Congratulations Geoff…I think we’re truly contributing something very useful to the community. At the very least, and ideally, it’s all we hoped for…to be regarded by those we want to help as a resource for them. Thank you to…
Cultural Voyeurism and Social Media
Sociology – The study of human social behavior, especially the study of the origins, organization, institutions, and development of human society. About a year ago, I wrote an article entitled “Social Media is About Sociology and not Technology.” The recognition of people versus the tools is now more critical than ever. Although, it still isn’t necessarily embodied in many of the words and work shared by fellow Social Media Marketers. Less talk, more learning and action are required. There’s no…
