Talk is Cheap (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Conversations are People Too
Now Is Gone
In another excellent response to the Jonah Bloom Ad Age kerfuffle, Ike Pigott reminds bloggers that as we continue to participate in the online conversation, we mustn’t forget to also represent ourselves as respectfully as possible. We are all our own brand managers as we send thoughts out into the blogosphere, and taking the time to dial down the rhetoric and remember that there are humans behind every blog will go a long way towards keeping the conversation civil and useful. “With the interlinking and intermingling of social networks, it is even permissible to be a little more sarcastic on one than on another, as we expect each to bring out a different aspect of our personalities. At the end of the day, though - you still need to be accountable for what you say. The script is flipped, and you don’t just own what you write. What you write can own you.”

Not Another Social Network
PR 2.0
Brian Solis reviews Mash, Yahoo!’s foray into the social networking world that attempts to mash up the best of both Facebook and MySpace. He notes that the network more closely resembles MySpace, considering the user ability to alter the design of their personal page and other elements, and therefore probably won’t contend with Facebook as the central “online hub” of a user’s personal brand. That being said, he does find plenty to like about Mash—though interestingly, the features he praises are the ones most similar to Facebook. “So as a marketing professional, pay attention to Y! Mash. It's easy to immediately disregard it as a young Facebook or simply as just another MySpace. I think its value lays somewhere in the middle. Either way, our job is to listen to relevant conversations taking place and engage wherever the people we want to talk to congregate.”

Heading to the Tool Shed
Web Strategy by Jeremiah
The 2.0 era offers a nearly endless array of tools to use in your online marketing strategy, but which one is best? There’s no clear answer, according to web strategist Jeremiah Owyang. He points to surveys indicating that prospect conversion rates are the best for email campaigns, with paid keyword searches close behind. However, there is no telling what will work best for a particular prospect and urges companies to consider their options before diving into web marketing. “[W]hen deploying your strategy, here are the steps I recommend: 1) First determine the needs of the users and community, what do they want, where are they, who are they, and why are they going to care? 2) Understand business needs, what are you trying to accomplish? What are the short and long term goals of the organization? 3) What tools and technology (resources) do you have?”

Miniskirt Marketing
The Flack
Peter Himler praises Southwest Airlines’ recent campaign to regain some goodwill following a controversial incident in which a scantily clad passenger was asked to cover up. The airline launched a fare sale “in honor of miniskirts,” with “skimpy” prices as low as $49 for some flights. The passenger in question is still fuming, however, claiming that Southwest is using her “traumatic experience” to sell more tickets. Who is right? “Good for you, Southwest. Clever, fun, irreverent, and I bet you sold lots of flights as a result. Of course, the provocateur wasn't drinking the lemonade. She rejected Southwest's attempts to make light of a skimpy situation. I guess fame and an apology from the airline's CEO didn't measure up.”